That threshold being the fact that TAG Heuer will be the largest producer of Swiss made chronograph movements in all of Switzerland. The 100,000 production number will include both Calibre 1887 and 1969 movements. Each excellent movements, there are of course differences between the two. The Calibre 1969 began development a few years ago, and is indeed fully designed and manufactured in-house by TAG Heuer. aBlogtoWatch is pretty excited about it.

Many watch collectors are aware of TAG Heuer’s relationship with Seiko with regard to the Calibre 1887, but there is frequently a misconception about what the relationship is. Seiko does not produce the movements for TAG Heuer (save for the hairsprings, as I understand it, only in the 1887 movements). TAG Heuer licensed the right to a Seiko movement and then adapted it for their own needs. All 1887 movements are Swiss made, and it is a rather fine movement on top of that. The Calibre 1969 is also an automatic chronograph, but is arguably a slight step up in terms of functionality and refinement.

The story of the Calibre 1969 goes back to the year 1969. This was a very important time for TAG Heuer because it is the year they released the legendary Calibre 11, which also happened to be the debut year of the automatic chronograph movement. For a while it was actually believed by some (perhaps naively so), that an automatic chronograph movement was not possible. It certainly was possible, and TAG Heuer proved it. The Calibre 1969 is not a copy of the Calibre 11, but thematically takes its place among TAG Heuer movements all these years later. 1969 also saw the release of automatic chronographs by Zenith and Seiko.

Compared to the 1887, the 1969 movement has fewer parts (for efficiency), is thinner, and has a longer power reserve. As a chronograph movement it offers a triple subdial layout (tri-compax), with counters at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock, along with the date. It operates at 28,800 (4Hz), and has a nice long power reserve of 70-80 hours. I want to emphasize that I am really happy they decided to go with a 4Hz frequency, that in my opinion is the standard for modern movements. This is especially good given the long 70-80 hour power reserve, which is often done at the expense of frequency (we see too many 3Hz movements coming out these days in our opinion).