TAG Heuer has made a significant breakthrough in the luxury watchmaking industry with its Diamant d’Avant-Garde technology. This groundbreaking technique uses Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) to produce the first colored TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma 36 mm watch, adorned with 1.4 carats of colored Diamant d’Avant-Garde. The watch also features a unique combination of pink and white lab-grown diamonds, a first for TAG Heuer, with plans to use colored lab-grown diamonds more extensively in future luxury watch models. This announcement follows the unveiling of the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde “2.0” earlier in the day, which showcases a total of 124, 15.5-carat Diamant d’Avant-Garde diamonds in custom, creative shapes on the watch’s aluminum bezel and bracelet.
The debut of the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde 36 mm with pink diamonds is a clear indication of TAG Heuer’s Avant-Garde and inventive approach. This innovative spirit is deeply rooted in the brand’s DNA, using lab-grown diamonds of various shapes and forms, now including colored ones, to produce a distinctive and groundbreaking design.
This release marks the second chapter in TAG Heuer’s rich and evolving story, where the brand’s 163-year heritage merges with avant-garde innovation.
During the unveiling, Frédéric Arnault commented, “With the new TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde, we aim to broaden the new high-end innovative segment with this first-ever colored lab-grown diamond watch. At TAG Heuer, we take pride in our ability to introduce genuine innovation, and we are thrilled to incorporate colored Diamant d’Avant-Garde into our luxury timepieces.”
The stunning pink color featured in the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde is achieved through a unique diamond growing process, with more color options expected to be available in the future.
According to Emmanuel Dupas, Director of the TAG Heuer Institute, “A diamond, whether natural or lab-grown, is made up of a regular arrangement of carbon atoms. A perfect diamond, classified as color D and flawless, has almost no defects in its arrangement and is entirely colorless. To obtain a colored diamond, some controlled disorder must be introduced into this perfect arrangement. This disorder can arise from the addition of atoms of different elements or from the presence of defects, such as missing carbon atoms.”
Dupas further explains, “The CVD process provides the opportunity to introduce these defects during the growth process in a well-controlled environment, without requiring any post-processing. As a result, the diamond is colored all the way through and consistently homogeneous. Achieving this requires specific expertise, which is held by one of our partners, ‘Proud,’ to control the process and produce the same color consistently, batch after batch.”
The latest addition to the TAG Heuer Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde lineup is the 36-mm white gold timepiece, which is part of the revamped TAG Heuer Carrera Date collection introduced at the Watches & Wonders 2023. The watch features a newly azure flange, which is the ring located just under the crystal that elevates it above the dial and hands. The signature crown of the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma watch is a single, 1.3-carat, pink, lab-grown diamond, and the timepiece also boasts a new signature shape, with a Diamant d’Avant-Garde shield stylishly embellishing the polycrystalline dial.
The innovative feature of the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde timepiece is achieved by growing numerous diamond crystals together to form a single diamond entity, resulting in stunning light effects and reflections. This groundbreaking technique is just one of the many creative applications of the CVD technology and has been previously used in the production of TAG Heuer Carrera Diamant d’Avant-Garde timepieces.
The one-of-a-kind dial design of the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde timepiece features a 2.9-carat diamond punctuated by 12 white gold indexes and set with lab-grown white diamonds. The hours and minutes hands are “skeletonized,” while above them sits a special shield-shaped pink lab-grown diamond just below the signature Carrera dial logo.
The three-hand TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde timepiece weighs a total of 4.8 carats and features a black alligator strap with a white gold pin buckle. Its TAG Heuer Calibre 7 Automatic movement is visible through a sapphire crystal case back.
It’s exciting to see TAG Heuer continuing to push the boundaries of innovation in the luxury watch industry, and this new Diamant d’Avant-Garde technology is a significant milestone. With the upcoming 60th anniversary of the TAG Heuer Carrera, it’s fitting that the brand is introducing these new pieces in their flagship collection, showcasing their passion for innovation and their commitment to their DNA. The limited production and availability of the first prototype of the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde 36 mm at the end of 2023 will surely make it a highly coveted timepiece for collectors and watch enthusiasts alike. It will be interesting to see what other fully colored models TAG Heuer will introduce in the future.