Heinrich forges ahead with the new Taucher Lume Infused Forged Carbon V2

One of the best things that makes microbrands so interesting is how they highlight different regions of the watchmaking world. Germany already has a world-famous luxury watchmaking Mecca in Glashütte – however, Heinrich is an independent watch brand located in Stuttgart, less than an hour from its manufacture in Pforzheim, another town in Germany steeped in watchmaking history. Founder Wolfgang Heinrich draws watchmaking inspiration from not just the watches of the 70s and 80s but also from that era’s culture, cars, movies and fashion.

Incorporating those influences with modern features, Wolfgang blends them into the Heinrich brand ethos, which is focused on redefining vintage design. Heinrich’s latest creation, the Taucher Lume Infused Forged Carbon V2, is well-aligned with that ethos, bringing together a mix of 70s and 80s style, with ultra-modern material tech. Many microbrands today have taken vintage inspiration so far that it can often be thought that those are indeed much older watches; however, thanks to their unique twist, there’s no mistaking that these two new limited edition watches from Heinrich are almost an anti-vintage statement.

The case

Naturally, vintage-style watches tend to creep down to sizes that aren’t always best suited for everyone these days – however, thanks to a unique case design, the Taucher is well suited to pretty much anyone. The brushed stainless steel case is 41mm in diameter and is formed in a subtle, almost tonneau shape with super short lugs. This compact design gives it a lug-to-lug measurement of 47.8mm, making it suitable for most wrist sizes as a tool watch. It’s not just the size that lends itself well to tool-like versatility: thanks to its screw-down case back; knurled, screw-down crown and glassbox-style sapphire crystal, the watch features a robust 200m water resistance rating. Boasting this while still managing to maintain a 13.6mm thickness (including the crystal) is pretty impressive and makes for quite a functional and versatile base to start with for a tool watch.

The dial

Two colour options exist for the limited edition Taucher Lume Infused Forged Carbon V2, and quite striking ones at that. Available in blue or brown hues, the dials and bezels are colour-coordinated and manufactured from forged carbon fibre, a process borrowed from the high-tech world of motorsport and aerospace, involving fusing chopped carbon fibres with resins at high pressure and heat to create complex and technical components. Recently, we’ve been seeing the watch industry adopt this style of manufacturing with carbon, as it’s somewhat easier to produce certain shapes and designs and certainly looks more interesting than the usual chequered appearance of carbon fibre. The real benefit is that each piece made using the forged technique is completely unique.

The bracelet

The movement

For the Taucher, Heinrich has used the trusty, Swiss-made Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. Beating at 4Hz with 38 hours of power reserve, it’s also been modified to remove the date wheel and function. Again, at this price point it’s a perfectly acceptable movement that is reliable and accurate, everything you could need from a watch like this.

Heinrich Taucher Lume Infused Forged Carbon V2 pricing and availability

The Heinrich Taucher Lume Infused Forged Carbon V2 is available now directly from Heinrich. It is limited to 150 watches, 75 brown and 75 blue. Price: A$1,478, US$971, €1,099

Made in partnership with Heinrich. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.