On March 27,TAG Heuer kicked off Baselworld with a giant entertainment show at the city’s nightspot, the Kaserne Basel. More than 800 special guests were present at the live music event, which showcased TAG Heuer’s latest expressions of its manufacturing clout: Its second 100 percent in-house movement, housed inside the CARRERA CH80, and its newest Haute Horlogerie breakthrough, the stunning V4 Tourbillon.

The event is the opening salvo in the pioneering brand’s yearlong art of manufacturing celebrations. Partygoers enjoyed a unique interactive experience in the Kaserne, which was entirely redecorated in a sophisticated mix of avant-garde and art — the two pillars of TAG Heuer’s manufacturing prowess.

"When TAG Heuer talks about manufacturing, it does so in its own inimitable way," said TAG Heuer CEO Stephane Linder, who will oversee the festivities and unveil the brand’s new creations.

"Of course, watchmaking is always at the fore, but equally important is our overriding desire to innovate, to go further, to entirely reinvent ourselves. Our new Monaco V4 Tourbillon is a beautiful expression of this. Ten years ago, we defied all expectations by creating the MONACO V4, the first watch driven by belts instead of gears, which we then successfully brought to market,” Linder added.

“Now, ten years on, we’re launching the next phase, an extraordinary Haute Horlogerie complication based on that breakthrough V4 technology: the world’s first belt-driven tourbillon. The second cause for celebration is this: we’ve focused our energies and expanded our production capacity to become the world leader in prestigious and high-end chronographs. As our own maker of 100 percent Swiss-Made manufactured movements, cases and dials, we’re one of a very small handful of Swiss manufactures that can boast total vertical integration," Linder said.