7/31/2023 0 Comments Tag heuer monaco v4![]() Designers in the watch industry such as Ruchonnet are no doubt talented and inspired, but are often known for delivering “incomplete projects.” What that means from a technical standpoint is that the Monaco V4 plan he gave to TAG Heuer was not for a working timepiece. Having said that, TAG Heuer did not come close to releasing the watch (which used many belts instead of gears in the movement) until several years later.įive years to be exact. Given that we are writing this in 2014, I guess it is the 10th anniversary of the watch. If you don’t know, the Monaco V4 was originally a sort of concept watch designed for TAG Heuer by Jean-Francois Ruchonnet back in 2004. It just goes to show that cool watches can fall through the cracks (though the video in this article is from a look we did in 2012). ![]() Back to top.It is a bit hard to believe that after all these years this is the first hands-on article we’ve done with the famous TAG Heuer Monaco V4. Limited to 50 pieces, the Monaco V4 Tourbillon will retail for 150,000 Swiss francs, which is equivalent to US$169,000. ![]() The Monaco V4 Tourbillon has a 41 mm by 41 mm polished titanium case coated in black titanium carbide. These are set at a gentle incline of 13°, just like the cylinders of a car engine. This novel but inefficient mechanism winds four barrels, arranged in pairs, which are each mounted on ball bearings, giving the watch a power reserve of 40 hours. The four inclined barrels with the linear weight in the middle But instead of a regular oscillating weight, it has a tungsten mass that travels on a linear, double-track rail, moving up and down to wind the watch. Like the original V4, the Monaco V4 Tourbillon is automatic. On the other hand, a belt transmission system requires more numerous and larger gears, resulting in an enormous complex mechanism, which is why the first V4 took years to get from prototype to final product. Though a belt transmission has a marginally lower efficiency compared to a well-lubricated gear system at the very start, over time the belt transmission will maintain its efficiency, while a traditional gear-based mechanism will deteriorate due to the break-down of its lubrications. The gear train and the tourbillon at left, linked by beltsĪnother advantage of the belts is that they are lubrication free. In contrast, the Monaco V4 Tourbillon rotates smoothly, once a minute, due to the seamless motion of the belt transmission. This eliminates the backlash present on a regular tourbillon which stems from the meshing of the teeth in its gears, which results in its ever so slightly jerky motion. Theīecause of the tension in the belts, there is no play between the gears as in a conventional gear train. The smallest belt is just 0.07 mm in width, about the width of a hair. ![]() With a movement comprised of 214 components, the Monaco V4 Tourbillon extends the belt transmission all the way to the tourbillon, with the tourbillon cage itself connected to a belt that drives it.įour belts made of an elastic polymer are used in the Monaco V4 Tourbillon, three for the gear train and one to link the barrels. It took six years to get to a working, commercially available wristwatch, but TAG Heuer has now integrated a tourbillon into the movement, creating the world’s first belt-driven tourbillon, the Monaco V4 Tourbillon. It had tiny belts to transmit the torque from the barrel, instead of conventional gears. Ten years ago TAG Heuer presented the world’s first belt-driven watch, the Monaco V4.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |