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Marin, Switzerland, 04/20/2007 – ICONIC DESIGN ULTIMATE MOVEMENTS TIMELESS LINK
“20 years of unrivalled sport and elegance”
ICONIC DESIGN
Unique architecture, outstanding comfort, ultimate luxury
For 20 years, TAG Heuer’s LINK, born S/el (Sport/elegance) in 1987, has been the Swiss watch making world’s superlative sports and elegance timepiece, and the emblematic icon of success achieved through mental strength and a sporty attitude to life. On the wrist of the world’s number one golfer, Tiger Woods or a F1 racing legend such as Ayrton Senna, a Hollywood star like Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy), or a high-powered CEO, the LINK has become a universally recognized status symbol, with an emblematic design and precision-driven architecture unlike that of any other sports watch ever made.
The LINK bracelet, with its unique and recognizable signature S-shaped links, is a worldwide reference for its flexibility, wearer comfort, timeless aesthetics and peerless ergonomics.
First created in 1987 and called S/el for “Sports and Elegance,” the benchmark design was endorsed in 1988 by Ayrton Senna, who wore it to three F1 World Championships. In 1999, the S/el was boldly redesigned and relaunched worldwide as the LINK, with sports celebrity endorsements from great champions like Leonardo, Boris Becker, Marion Jones, Colin Jackson, or Monica Seles, to name but a few…
In 2003, to honor golfing legend Tiger Woods, the series’ new global ambassador, a prestigious new edition was launched with the legendary 1/10th of a second Link Calibre 36 mechanical chronograph as its flagship timepiece. The bracelet design was streamlined and the case, now cut from a solid steel block, was large-faced for optimum readability, but thinner and rimmed with a slender fixed bezel. While capitalizing on the inimitable strengths of its two predecessors, the luxury edition reflected more contemporary tastes for cleaner, bolder lines and economy of form.
Today, the addition of new sports Chronographs and lady size timepieces and endorsed by dynamic personalities like golfing great Tiger Woods and superstar actress and elegance icon Uma Thurman have consolidated the series’ position as the world’s leading “elegant sports watch”, i.e. a sophisticated yet casual timepiece, utterly elegant in an executive board room, as well as cool and comfortable on golf course.
ULTIMATE MOVEMENTS
With new mechanical complications, up-market finishes and high-end added features, the superlative timepieces in the new high-prestige LINK Series are bigger, better and more stylish than ever.
LINK CALIBRE S: The world’s most elegant luxury Chronograph
Since the second half of 19th century, Chronographs have displayed elapsed time in small, hard-to-read counters crowding dials with many kinds of information. The revolutionary, in-house developed and manufactured new Calibre S movement equipping the LINK Chronograph further enhances the pure elegance of the Link design, while providing more functions, user-friendliness and readability than ever in the high-end chronograph world. This truly revolutionary movement is a major milestone in Swiss watchmaking, outdating existing quartz and mechanical chronographs by combining the best of both technologies to offer a new standard that is unique and patented by TAG Heuer. It is to chronographs what the “Hybrid” engines have been to cars with their unique combination of the advantages of both electricity and gasoline. There will be a “before the Calibre S” and “after the Calibre S”. The Calibre S heralds a revolution in Chronographs comparable to the one brought to watches in 2004 by the Monaco TAG Heuer V4 belt-driven mechanical movement.
Unlike all the other first-generation quartz chronographs marketed today, which continue to mimic the display architecture of mechanical movements, the exclusive LINK Chronograph Calibre S movement measures and displays watch and Chronograph functions with the same full-sized central hands associating the ultimate precision of a quartz beat with the unrivalled complexity of wheels and pinions of a mechanical chain.
Best-in-class readability, functionality, and 1/100th of a second accuracy
Even by TAG Heuer standards, the LINK Chronograph Calibre S is a technological marvel, combining the ultimate in quartz and mechanical innovations. A proprietary movement developed and patented by TAG Heuer, the Calibre S movement requires no fewer than 230 components and 5 high-performance bi-directional engines capable of twice the torque of conventional timepiece engines. This movement is produced and assembled by TAG Heuer both in its La Chaux-de-Fonds factory and a newly built workshop facility in Sion (Valais).
With a 42mm case and distinctive dashboard-inspired counters, the LINK Chronograph Calibre S fuses intuitive functions with a streamlined sensibility at the cutting edge of avant-garde design. Keeping and telling time has never been easier, with both Time and Chronograph display on the central hour, minute, and seconds hands. Simple and additional timing functions are available in easy-to-read displays, including split and intermediate times. Moreover, two separate times can be measured and displayed simultaneously. Another innovation: 2 semi-circular counters either display a perpetual “retrograde” calendar in the watch mode (meaning there is no need to change the date until 2099) or an exclusive 1/100th of a second accuracy in Chronograph mode.
Other iconic LINK features include: solid steel folding clasp with folding buckle; curved scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with double-sided anti-reflection; specially treated glass to optimize readability; hand-applied curved and faceted indexes; and water resistance to 200 meters. The Calibre S was first introduced in March 2007 on the Aquaracer with a special “Regatta” function as a result of the brand’s collaboration with the China Team challenger for the 32nd America’s Cup. With the Link Calibre S, the movement goes one step further, providing 1/100th of a second chronograph accuracy and readability, encased in the most elegant sport inspired style on the luxury watch market.
LINK CALIBRE 5 DAY-DATE
Men seeking the highest expression of LINK prestige can opt for the TAG Heuer exclusive Calibre 5 Day-Date, a stylishly appealing new automatic watch with a hand-applied date window at 6 o’clock and oversized day window at 12 o’clock. A new benchmark in upscale design for the iconic LINK series, this timepiece features all the famous LINK attributes and sports a striking black and silver dial. Available in steel or steel & gold, its bracelet is an elegant, high-luxury version of the LINK’s celebrated S-shaped classic.
LINK CALIBRE 5
The LINK Calibre 5 is the new LINK automatic watch in the prestige series, with TAG Heuer’s exclusive, self-winding Calibre 5 movement under the hood, a diamond-angled date window at 6 o’clock, and the iconic LINK features throughout, including the classic screw-fitting caseback in sapphire crystal. Combining sport with elegance, the distinctive Calibre 5 is available with 4 dial colors: black, silver, brown and blue.
LINK CALIBRE 16 AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH TACHYMETRE
For racing-lore enthusiasts and luxury watch collectors, the all-new LINK Calibre 16 Automatic Chronograph Tachymetre for men is a must-have. Loaded with high-end refinement and all the iconic LINK features, it is especially noteworthy for the sporty tachometer scale on its fixed bezel. A new classic, available with black, silver, anthracite or blue dial, this elegant new member of the LINK family is sure to become very soon a coveted collectible.
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