Although it’s far from the most common or popular alternative color in watchmaking, purple is quietly shaping up to be one of 2025’s dark horse trends. TAG Heuer is no stranger to this regal hue, having launched a mysterious, purple dégradé dial variant of the Monaco back in 2022. As part of its LVMH Watch Week 2025 novelties, the brand returns to this smoky, compelling violet dial treatment, bringing it to the Carrera line for the first time. The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph and limited edition TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon in purple bring a rich, mystical new character to the brand’s cornerstone chronograph collection, while preserving the traits that have made the “Glassbox” line a fan favorite.
Although both the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph and the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon in purple begin with the brand’s retro-futuristic “Glassbox” case in stainless steel, each model takes a different approach to the same design. For the standard chronograph, the brand uses the more compact, balanced 39mm version of this case, while the bolder, more spectacular Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon is sized at 42mm wide. Outside of giving the tourbillon model a more open, airy feel in images, there’s little that separates these two cases. Both models have the same distinctive, bezel-less sapphire crystal, the same faceted, inwardly beveled lugs, and the same blend of broad polished surfaces with crisp horizontally brushed case sides. Despite the addition of a tourbillon complication, even the difference between the two models’ overall thickness amounts to less than half a millimeter (13.86mm thick versus 14.33mm thick, to be exact). Both models also sport sapphire display casebacks, and are rated for a reasonably sporty 100 meters of water resistance.
Naturally, the purple dials are the focal points of the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph and Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon. Like the purple Monaco before them, these new models use a deep, rich, slightly reddish shade of violet in images, fading to full black at the two-sided, sand dune-like chapter rings. With the addition of a dynamic, finely grained sunburst texture, these dial colorways give the modern Carrera design an opulent, almost magical bent in initial photos, which complements the offbeat Glassbox silhouette well. Outside of the dial colorways, these two models are more or less identical to their stablemates, from the sloping split indices to the contrasting black azurage subdials with raised outer scales. With that said, the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon arguably makes better use of the high-impact color palette here, as the broader, less cluttered dial lends more visual space to both the new dial surface and the open, minimal three-arm tourbillon cage.
TAG Heuer powers both the Carrera Chronograph in purple and the matching Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon with in-house movements. For the Carrera Chronograph, the brand’s TH20-00 automatic chronograph movement is used. Despite being a few years old at this point, the TH20-00 remains a class-leading performer, and a fitting flagship for its regular-production chronograph offerings. Performance figures include a massive 80-hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph beat rate, along with a precise column wheel and vertical clutch chronograph actuation system. Finishing here is what we’ve come to expect for the TH20-00, including Côtes de Genève for the bridges, and a skeletonized, layered rotor with a TAG Heuer shield motif featuring both linearly brushed and matte blasted layers. The TH20-09 automatic tourbillon chronograph movement inside the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon is mechanically quite similar to its more pedestrian counterpart, with the obvious exception of the exotic tourbillon escapement. The TH20-09’s power reserve is down somewhat compared to the base TH20-00, almost certainly due to the torque-hungry tourbillon complication, but it still offers a robust 65 hours at a 28,800 bph beat rate. Finishing (apart from the radially brushed tourbillon cage) is largely in line with the TH20-00 as well. Interestingly, both the TH20-00 and TH20-09 here do away with TAG Heuer’s colored column wheels in favor of simple polishing. The previous purple Monaco launched in 2022 used a purple column wheel, so the reasoning here is likely a deliberate stylistic choice rather than manufacturing difficulty. To complete these two models, TAG Heuer pairs both watches with classic black leather rally straps with tone-on-tone black stitching and deployant clasps.
2025 is subtly becoming a banner year for purple timepieces. The trend has slowly gathered momentum over the past several months, and with the release of the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph and TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon in purple, this royal hue may be poised to gain mainstream attention. Although they may not be the most groundbreaking releases of LVMH Watch Week 2025, these two new models are both attractive, compelling additions to the Carrera stable. Both the Carrera Chronograph and the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon in purple are available now through authorized dealers. Only 200 examples of the purple TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon will be made. MSRP for the purple Carrera Chronograph stands at 6,500 CHF, while the limited edition Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon in purple is priced at 34,000 CHF as of press time. Interestingly, this amounts to a nearly 10,000 CHF increase over some recent tourbillon-equipped Carreras, despite being mechanically identical. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
