TAG Heuer is launching the Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary, a 600-piece limited edition with a ‘panda’ dial and a price of €7,100
On occasion of the LVMH Watch Week, during which the watch brands of the luxury group unveil many novelties, TAG Heuer is launching today the Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary, a 600-piece limited edition watch featuring a ‘panda’ dial which opens the celebrations of the 60th Anniversary of Jack Heuer’s iconic creation, the Carrera.
Launched in the spring of 1963 at the Basel fair, the Carrera quickly became an international success and, probably, the most famous wristwatch of the brand (you can read more about the history of the TAG Heuer and the Carrera in our article "The history of TAG Heuer").
Taking its name from the legendary week-long "Carrera Panamericana" road race held in Mexico, the Heuer Carrera was expressly designed for drivers with ergonomics and legibility as priorities.
The first entry in a season of releases planned to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Carrera faithfully reproduces the look of one of the most collectible of all vintage Carreras, the reference 2447 SN from the late 1960s.
The first-generation Carrera model had a hand-wound Valjoux chronograph movement and either a silvered or black dial in a variety of configurations, sometimes with the addition of a scale around the dial periphery. It was followed by a second series with either a silvered dial and black subdials, or the other way around, known respectively as ‘panda’ and ‘reverse panda’.
The Heuer Carrera 2447 SN from the 1960s
The 2447 SN had a silvered dial with black subdials – a panda – as noted in its nomenclature: ‘SN’ meant ‘silver’ and ‘noir’, or silver and black, a curious mix of English and French. To further improve readability at a glance, the hours and minutes hands and the hour markers included black stripes down the centre, double stops at 12 and white hands and markings on the black counters for optimal visibility.
The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary reproduces the dial layout of reference 2447 SN, including the vintage Heuer logo with the name Carrera above it and the word ‘Swiss’, marking the watch’s Swiss Made status, on the counter at 6 o’clock. Here the T that can be seen on the original has been removed as this letter designated radioactive tritium, replaced with contemporary Super-LumiNova on the new model. Another difference that can be noticed is the inversion of the 60-minute and 12-hour counters.
The old (on the left) and the new dial
The dial is framed by a 39 mm polished stainless steel case and protected by an anti-reflective sapphire crystal whose raised ‘glass box’ profile contributes, along with the vintage pushers and the beige lume, to the retro look of this edition.
The sapphire crystal case back showcases the in-house manufactured Heuer 02 automatic chronograph calibre and its special Carrera 60th Anniversary rotor.
Oscillating at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vph) and guaranteeing 80 hours of power reserve stored in a singe barrel, this movement incorporates 168 components, including the black column wheel - a device that makes the activation of a chronograph more precise and smooth - and a vertical clutch.
The screw-down case back is engraved with the watch’s individual number, XXX/600, and with note of its 100 metres (330 feet) water resistance.
Matched to a perforated black calfskin leather racing strap with steel pin buckle, the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary ref. CBK221H.FC8317 has a suggested retail price of CHF 6,950 / Euro 7,100 / US$ 7,400. tagheuer.com
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