A New Approach to the Moon Phase Complication: The TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer
With the launch of the new TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer in three distinct versions, TAG Heuer presents a contemporary reinterpretation of the moon phase complication. Yet this bold step inevitably raises the question of whether the most classically poetic of all complications can truly harmonise with a brand so deeply rooted in the world of motor racing. However, a glance into the company’s history reveals a number of – at times surprising – touchpoints with both space exploration and lunar indications, offering valuable insights into how this complication finds its place within TAG Heuer’s identity. In this article, we take a closer look at these historical connections, the new releases, and the brand’s modern take on the moon phase display.
The Story of the Solunar – The First Watch with a Tide Indicator
One of the most notable moon-associated chapters in TAG Heuer’s history is the Solunar. Launched in the late 1940s, this remarkable outlier in a product range otherwise dominated by chronographs was the very first wristwatch to feature a tide indicator, positioned at 6 o’clock. Its name – a blend of “solar” and “lunar” – hints at its purpose: the Solunar was aimed primarily at sailors and fishermen, allowing them to track the ebb and flow of the tides based on the lunar cycle. The indicator was calibrated to a specific location via the pusher and would then complete one full rotation every 50 days – approximately twice the length of the 28.5-day lunar cycle. It was encircled by a 24-hour ring, which helped visualise the tides: blue-ringed white lines marked high tide, while white lines bordered by an orange hue indicated low tide.
With its highly unconventional display, the Solunar laid the groundwork for a chronograph version of the tide watch: the Heuer Mareograph, which made its debut around 1950. This model combined the Solunar’s tide dial (now positioned at 9 o’clock) with a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock and a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock that doubled as a regatta timer. Thanks to its division into five-minute intervals, the latter could be used to time the countdown to the start of yacht and boat races. The concept of this chronograph – which was sold by Abercrombie & Fitch as the Seafarer, and later by Orvis as the Solunagraph, though all were manufactured by Heuer – saw a revival in 2024. The idea resurfaced in modern form with the launch of the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Seafarer × Hodinkee, ushering in a new era for this fascinating chapter in the brand’s history.
However, during the late 1940s and 1950s, Heuer also produced watches that combined a full calendar with a chronograph complication. These models featured the day of the week and month in two apertures at 12 o’clock, the date indicated by a central hand along the outer edge of the dial – and additionally included a moon phase display.
These relatively rare pieces, such as Ref. 823 and Ref. 2643, were often powered by the Valjoux 88 calibre and offered in both stainless steel and gold cases. Today, such complicated chronographs are considered highly collectible, as Heuer – both then and now – has primarily been associated with pure sports chronographs.
Interestingly, the brand revisited the moon phase tradition once more in the mid-1980s, shortly after the transition from Heuer to TAG Heuer. In 1985, as part of the “Golden Hours” collection launched to mark Heuer’s 125th anniversary, a limited edition 18k gold chronograph with date display and moon phase (Ref. 188.205) was released. Powered by the Lemania 1883, this re-edition reaffirmed the enduring significance of the traditional astronomical complication for the brand.
The First Swiss Watch in Space? It Was a Heuer.
Let us now turn to the most significant link between TAG Heuer and outer space. The date is 20 February 1962. At Cape Canaveral, preparations are in full swing for a landmark mission: under the Mercury-Atlas 6 programme, the United States aimed to send a man into Earth’s orbit for the very first time. But the mood was tense, shaped by the mounting pressures of the Cold War, which would reach its peak later that year. Just one year earlier, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first human to orbit the Earth. Standing on the launchpad was the Atlas LV-3B rocket, topped by the Friendship 7 space capsule. Inside the capsule sat pilot John Glenn – and strapped to his wrist was not a Breitling or an Omega Speedmaster, but a stopwatch by Heuer: the Reference 2915A.
At exactly 9:47 a.m., John Glenn launched into space. Accompanied by his Heuer, he orbited the Earth three times over the course of 4 hours and 55 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of 260 kilometres and an orbital speed of approximately 7.8 kilometres per second. With this fully manned mission, the United States had finally caught up with the Soviet Union in the space race. While the Heuer Reference 2915A may not hold the title of the first watch in space – that honour belongs to the Sturmanskie chronograph worn by Yuri Gagarin – it does claim the distinction of being the first Swiss timepiece to travel into space.
The Reference 2915A worn by John Glenn was a stopwatch with a white dial, secured to his wrist using elastic straps. The central chronograph hand completed one full rotation every 60 seconds. The upper sub-dial recorded intervals of up to 60 minutes, while the lower sub-dial tracked durations of up to 12 hours. Thanks to a combination of large Arabic numerals and a finely graduated minute track at the edge of the dial, the chronograph allowed time to be measured with a precision of 1/5th of a second. Pressing the crown in sequence enabled the wearer to start, stop, and resume the chronograph, while the side pusher reset the hands to zero.
In 2012, TAG Heuer marked two important milestones with a commemorative timepiece: the 50th anniversary of being the first Swiss watch brand in space, and the first successful SpaceX mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The result was the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 1887 SpaceX Chronograph – a limited edition of 2,012 pieces. The dial design paid tribute to the historic Reference 2915A, reinterpreting its layout for a modern wristwatch. Accordingly, the anniversary model featured a white dial with a 60-minute counter at 12 o’clock and a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, housed in a 43 mm stainless steel case. TAG Heuer also retained the triangular markers at 12 and 6 o’clock, as well as the numerals in the original typeface. A new element, however, was the addition of a date window and a graphic at 3 o’clock depicting a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule in low Earth orbit. Notably, one of these limited-edition pieces actually made it into space: during SpaceX’s mission to the ISS in May 2012, a Carrera SpaceX Chronograph accompanied the crew onboard. Upon return, the Calibre 1887 inside was found to be fully intact and was subjected to a thorough technical inspection back on Earth.
The New Moon Phase Display by TAG Heuer: The Carrera Astronomer
Having explored TAG Heuer’s historical ties to space, we now turn our attention to the brand’s latest release. With the Carrera Astronomer, TAG Heuer seeks to establish a distinct counterpoint to the predominantly motorsport-inspired models in its portfolio – while also tapping into a new customer segment through an alternative price point. To achieve this, the brand relies on a complication that is as unconventional in its execution as the moon phase display itself is unexpected for TAG Heuer today.
Unlike the traditional method of depicting the moon phases via a rotating disc with two moons, the Carrera Astronomer employs hands to guide the wearer through the synodic lunar month – a period of exactly 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.8 seconds. During this time, the moon transitions through the waxing crescent, first quarter, and waxing gibbous phases, culminating in the full moon – before waning through the gibbous, third quarter, and crescent phases, eventually returning to the new moon.
What sets the Carrera Astronomer apart is its ability not only to display the lunar phases themselves, but also to indicate the exact day of the synodic month, along with selected phase descriptions. In a modern reinterpretation of the complication, a rotating disc carries two indicators: a lower arrow points to the written description of the current phase, while an upper arrow marks the corresponding day of the lunar month, paired with a visual representation of the moon’s appearance. This disc advances once daily at 1:00 a.m. At the heart of this mechanism is the newly developed Calibre 7, offering a power reserve of 56 hours. Based on the Sellita SW385-1, the movement operates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour.
The Aesthetics of the TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer
The new TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer debuts in three versions, all united by a 39 mm stainless-steel case measuring 12.16 mm in height, a sunray-brushed silver inner dial, and an engraved observatory motif on the caseback. But while these shared elements set the foundation, it is the differences between the models that define their character. The black-and-silver edition pairs a black chapter ring with rhodium-plated hands, indices, and logo, while the moon phase display is rendered entirely in black. The rose-gold version adopts the same silvery tone for its moon phase disc as used on the dial, complemented by rose-gold-plated hands, indices, and accents on the seven-row stainless-steel bracelet.
The most striking version of the TAG Heuer Astronomer introduces a pale green hue not only to the hands and indices but also to the moons themselves. These elements are set against dark grey tones on the chapter ring and moon phase display. Rather than a metal bracelet, this variant is fitted with a calfskin leather strap that echoes the darker colour palette.
Pricing – and a Point of Criticism
With the new Carrera Astronomer models, TAG Heuer aims to broaden the appeal of its three-hand offerings. Drawing on its spacefaring legacy – as the first Swiss watch worn in space by John Glenn – the brand introduces a novel and coherent moon phase display that offers a precise visualisation of the synodic lunar month and its various phases. One minor drawback does present itself in everyday use: depending on the position of the hands, legibility of the moon phase display can occasionally be compromised, as the hands are located within the indication itself. This can partially obscure the display and make the dial appear somewhat less clear at certain moments.
In terms of pricing, the green version comes in at €4,400, the silver-black edition is priced at €4,600, while the rose-gold variant sits at the top of the range at €7,000. Both the green and the rose gold versions are limited to 500 pieces each, with a corresponding engraving on the caseback indicating the limitation. The new TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer models will be available from October.
After nine years of research and development, TAG Heuer unveils the TAG Heuer TH-Carbonspring – an innovative hairspring crafted from carbon. The brand had already presented an early prototype back in 2019, but the technology has since been refined and is now ready for series production. This patented hairspring offers three key advantages over traditional…
A look at one's own past is part of the marketing basics of pretty much every watch brand. Hardly any other manufacturer can look at a history like Breguet. During his lifetime, Abraham Louis Breguet was probably the most important watchmaker of his time, and he is still the most famous today. However, the newly…
If you happen to have spent even the smallest amount of time interested in watches, you have probably already come across the term ‘chronometer’, and perhaps even confused it with chronograph. If like me however, you spend far too long researching watches, then you no doubt have glazed over it more times than you could…
The Big Bang – the watch that disrupted traditional notions of luxury timepieces upon its launch in 2005 and has since become a permanent fixture in Hublot’s product portfolio – celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. A journey marked not only by the collection’s longevity, but also by its continual evolution in both design and…
The watch industry has something of a penchant for superlatives, but it would be no exaggeration to say that this is, in many ways, the most exciting new product of the year: the Patek Philippe Cubitus. For the manufacture, it is the first new watch collection in a quarter of a century – the predecessor…
As any watch enthusiast will know, it is often not just the aesthetic of a watch that enamours us: it's the story behind it. Cue the Reverso Travelling Collection, which is currently making a stop at Jaeger-LeCoultre's boutique on the prestigious shopping street Maximilianstrasse in Munich. The story behind the Reverso is a tale well-told,…
The luxury goods group LVMH has just promoted Frédéric Arnault to CEO of the LVMH Watch Division, and Julien Tornare to the new CEO of TAG Heuer, as the group continues to massively expand its competencies in the watch segment. But what impact might this have upon the entire watch industry? What is owner of…
With the SP One, MB&F ventures into uncharted territory. Instead of their usual futuristic and radical forms, the manufacture's latest creation prioritises classical elegance for the very first time. This timepiece not only heralds the launch of a new model line called Special Projects, but also begs the question of what "special" truly means for…
What makes the young Swiss brand and its new chrono so special? It was almost two years ago that I first stumbled across Norqain watches, while skiing in Switzerland – whether on posters in the winter sports resort, or on the advertising windows of the ski lifts. Since then, however, particularly as a close observer…
Luxury: what is it? What is it that so entices us to invest our money in it? At every restaurant, on every train, every street, you will most likely see somebody indulging in a luxury product or experience. A mechanical watch, a world-class hotel, a vintage car – the list is endless. But why do…
When Patek Philippe created a pilot's watch with the Reference 5524G back in 2015, the watch world was in for a surprise. For such a classic manufacture, such a striking watch seemed somewhat unusual. But the surprising new piece did not appear by chance. Patek Philippe had already developed hour-angle watches for the military back…
Were it not for a coincidence, Enrico Barbasini would probably be making it big as a musician, like his father, and not in the limelight as one of the most talented watchmakers of our time. Fortunately, a chance encounter gifted us Enrico Barbasini when his father (he was opera singer) met a young man with…
It’s been another extraordinary year for us all, and the watch world is no exception. That is why the Swisswatches team sat down once more to comprise a list of our top watches of 2022. From anniversary models to world records, we are presenting you 24 special highlights to emerge from the ever-surprising Swiss watch…