CSome watches tell the story of time. Others measure it precisely. Then there’s this one, the Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1, which seems designed to challenge it. In Dubai, during Dubai Watch Week (19-24 November 2025), TAG Heuer has just launched one of the boldest creations in its history. An object that weighs just 85 grams, yet contains pure gold, and is shaped less like a wrist than a Formula 1 track.
The achievement is contained in three letters: SLM, for Selective Laser Melting. This additive manufacturing technology, which we usually encounter in Airbus workshops or car factories, has been domesticated by TAG Heuer for watchmaking. “ We had to adjust it on several levelsconfides Emmanuel Dupas, who heads TAG Heuer LAB. Additive manufacturing of metals leaves porosity in the parts, and the surface condition is never perfect. We work on powder and laser parameters to obtain a rendering worthy of fine watchmaking. “.
Light as a driving force
The process is almost like alchemy: grade 5 titanium powder is deposited in successive layers, which are then combined with a laser according to a three-dimensional design. Layer by layer, the box emerged, with its cells, its impossible curves, its volumes that a machine block could never produce. “ For the first time, designers were not limited by the shapes that could be machinedcontinued Dupas. He could imagine new shapes, and we had to develop the technology to meet his needs. “.
Because Monaco is a myth. Launched in 1969, it was the first waterproof automatic watch with a square case. Steve McQueen on the wrist in the film Le Manshe had manifested an elegant form of rebellion. Since 2024, TAG Heuer has enriched the line with split-seconds chronographs such as the red and blue Split-Seconds presented at Watches and Wonders, then the white ceramic and TH-Titanium versions. The Air 1 is its newest and most extreme avatar.
Here, everything is designed to be light. The Caliber TH81-00 movement, developed with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, oscillates at 36,000 vibrations per hour. The titanium blank only weighs 30 grams. “ Vauchier is one of the best manufacturers of high-end movements in Switzerlandunderlined Dupas. They already have this catch-up function in the catalogue. We asked them for a variation with titanium components, and we reworked the entire termination together. “. The hand-engraved checkerboard pattern on the back of the movement, the micro-painting on the oscillating weight: so many details that turn engineering into art. The 41 mm case is reminiscent of an exoskeleton. Its taut lines and muscular edges are reminiscent of a supercar’s air intake. Beneath the black DLC titanium bezel, a laser-cut 18k yellow gold grille catches the light. “ We’ve hollowed out the center and bezel to limit weightexplained Dupas. Even with the gold component, we stayed at 85 grams “.
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“ For us, there must be a reason to integrate a technology into a productemphasized Emmanuel Dupas. We didn’t do it just to say we were the first “. SLM, here, is not a gadget. It enables geometries that traditional machining cannot achieve. The result? A watch that seems to be sculpted by the wind, ready to slice through the air at 300 km/h. Limited to 30 pieces and selling for 160,000 euros, this watch marks a breakthrough. “ These works serve to show our avant-garde side and legitimize our knowledge », Dupas concludes, They also opened a door: watchmaking where the materials follow the imagination and not the other way around.
