Plenty of watch companies have chronographs in their portfolio, watches with a ‘stopwatch’ function. Some, like Omega’s Speedmaster, or Rolex’s Daytona, become well-known in their own right, making it into the news when a vintage model does big numbers at auction, or else are linked with an indelible moment in pop culture – the Speedmaster with the moon landings, the Daytona with Paul Newman.
Tag Heuer is blessed with having not one flagship chronograph, but three. Chronographs are what it is known for. So much so that back in the day it made them for other marquee brands, including Rolex.
Tag Heuer’s big three are: the Monaco (the square-faced model worn by Steve McQueen), the Carrera (named for the frequently deadly 1960s Panamericana Road Race) and the Autavia (which grew out of the brand designing its first dash counter for cars and aircraft, the name being a portmanteau of ‘automobile’ and ‘aviation’).
The Monaco celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019. The Autavia announced its 60th anniversary in 2021. The Carrera turns 60 this year.
Almost a year to the day since announcing 12 months’ worth of anniversary activity for the Autavia, Tag Heuer has done something similar for its Carrera.
The “curtain-raiser” to the birthday celebrations is the reissue of a model coveted by collectors, the Heuer Carrera reference 2447 SN – featuring eye-catching “panda” colourways, ie: black sub-dials out of a silver face. (SN stood for ‘silver’ and ‘noir’, and was part of a run featuring five contrasting dials. In the spirit of watch fans giving models funny nicknames, this one is sometimes referred to as ‘Big Eyes’.)
tag TAG Heuer Carrera 60th Anniversary
Aside from a modern movement and a larger case – 39mm versus the original’s 36mm – it’s a faithful reinterpretation of the 1960s original. There’s the vintage Heuer logo, the word ‘Swiss’ on the counter at 6 o’clock, denoting it’s Swiss-made status, and the tone of the silver sunray dial is a direct lift.
One concession to modernity comes with the markers and the hands – their glow-in-the-dark properties now come via Super-LumiNova, which is both brighter and less scary-sounding than the original’s radioactive isotope Tritium.
Vintage Heuer watches from the 1960s and 1970s are widely collected. Although this reference is not the rarest, it’s generally agreed to be the best-looking and most sought-after of the Carreras.
An impressive way to announce your 60th birthday, then – and there’ll be more to come.
£6,100; tagheuer.com
