TAG Heuer Motors Back to 1963 with New Historically Inspired Carrera Chronographs


In its 160th anniversary year, TAG Heuer has placed its focus, as one might expect, on its most iconic watch model, the motorsport-inspired Carrera. Thus far, we have seen two retro-look special editions and a new collection outfitted with the in-house Caliber Heuer 02. The Swiss brand’s latest Carrera family, launched this week, adopts the understated look of the earliest model from 1963 — minus the now-familiar tachymeter bezel — for a streamlined, elegant alternative.

The new “elegant” TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph family

Like its sportier siblings, introduced this past summer, the new Carrera Chronographs contain the automatic, Swiss-made Caliber Heuer 02, whose attributes include an integrated stopwatch function, driven by a column wheel and a vertical clutch, and a lengthy 80-hour power reserve, an improvement on all the previous calibers used in the Carrera. Its 42-mm case, in polished and fine-brushed stainless steel, bears a stationary steel bezel, echoing the look of the very first Carrera, the most famous brainchild of founding family scion Jack Heuer, an inveterate auto racing fan who named his creation after the grueling Carrera Panamericana road race. The tachymeter scale was added to the design in subsequent versions, imparting a sportier and arguably more energetic look but also an undeniably busier one. “Timing at a glance” was the goal of the original Carrera, and that spirit is revived in the new models, which feature “azurage” subdials at 3 and 6 o’clock, for chronograph minutes and hours, and a small seconds counter at 6 o’clock over a discreet rectangular date window.

TAG Heuer is offering the new “elegant” version of the Carrera in four versions: the models with opaline black and brushed blue dials, pictured above, are mounted on stainless steel bracelets with an H-shaped link design; the angles of the outer and inner links are more rounded and the overall bracelet width is thinner than previous ones, both in the service of added fluidity and comfort. The bicolored model with silvered opaline dial and rose-gold-plated hands, and the one with a deep antracite dial, are both presented on brown alligator straps, equipped (like the bracelet closures) with safety push-button clasps. All the watches have rounded, pump chrono pushers on the right side of the case and sapphire exhibition windows in their screw-down casebacks to display Caliber Heuer 02, with its rose-gold colored rotor.

All the new Carrera Chronographs are available in October 2020 and priced at $5,350, except for the silver-dial reference with rose gold-plated details, which is priced at $5,550.

Manufacturer:TAG Heuer SA, Rue L.-J. Chevrolet 6a, 2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Reference number:Various
Functions:Hours, minutes, chronograph with hour counter at 9 o’clock, minute counter at 3 o’clock, small seconds and date at 6 o’clock
Movement:TAG Heuer manufacture Caliber Heuer 02, automatic, 28,800 vph, 33 jewels, hack mechanism, quick date adjustment, column wheel, vertical clutch, eccentric fine regulator, Kif shock absorber, 80-hour power reserve, diameter = 31 mm, height = 6.95 mm
Case:Stainless steel case with screwed sapphire caseback, standard crown, domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, chronograph push-buttons at 2 and 4 o’clock, water resistant to 100 meters
Bracelet and cla­­sp:Stainless-steel bracelet or brown alligator strap with safety push-button clasp
Dimensions:Diameter = 42 mm
Price:$5,350 – $5,550
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  1. Colson Simmons

    I have one of these bought for me by my wife on our honeymoon in 1965. Still keeps perfect time. All functions work perfectly. It’s a windup.

    Reply
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