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TAG Heuer completes 160th anniversary trilogy with Carrera Sport Chronograph Special Edition
IN 2020, TAG Heuer has taken the opportunity to celebrate not only a special anniversary but also to honour the memory of Jack Heuer and his proudest creation, the TAG Heuer Carrera chronograph. It was nearly 60 years ago that the then CEO heard about the Carrera Panamericana, an open-road border-to-border automobile race in Mexico, best remembered for its dangerous routes and daredevil drivers. Inspired by the racing event and the word “carrera,” which in Spanish can mean “road/ race,” to create a robust, sporty chronograph, Heuer launched the first Carrera timepiece in 1963. The watch has since remained a true TAG Heuer flagship model.
Throughout this year, TAG Heuer has been celebrating its 160th anniversary with special editions of its signature Carrera chronograph collection - first the Carrera Silver Dial and then the Montreal Limited Editions. Completing the watch trilogy is the recently launched Carrera Sport Chronograph 160 Years Special Edition. Available in 44mm with a blue or white dial, the watch is powered by the Heuer 02 manufacture movement, with each version limited to 1,860 pieces - a nod to the year Edouard Heuer founded his watchmaking workshop in Switzerland’s Jura Mountains.
The TAG Heuer Carrera Sport Chronograph 160 Years Special Edition was inspired by the classic Heuer “Dato 45”, which in 1965 was notably the first Heuer wrist chronograph ever to feature a turning date disc. Like its famous ancestor, the new TAG Heuer Carrera Sport Chronograph has its date window positioned at 12 o’clock on the dial.
Elaborating on the historical timepiece, TAG Heuer’s heritage director Catherine EberléDevaux said, “The choice of the 3147N ‒ the
in-house reference for the Carrera ‘Dato
45’ ‒ was a bold one because it challenged our design team to create a clean, legible chronograph dial with a date window in an unusual position. They updated and upgraded a true icon, rising to the occasion brilliantly.”
The TAG Heuer Carrera Sport Chronograph featuring a blue dial comes in polished and fine-brushed stainless steel and a blue ceramic bezel with a tachymeter scale. The blue circular brushed dial has contrasting white “azurage” chronograph subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock marking the elapsed minutes and hours, respectively. A blue opaline permanent seconds counter is positioned at 6 o’clock.
The white dial reference also has a robust, polished and fine-brushed stainless-steel case, but its black ceramic bezel with a tachymeter scale offers a particularly bold contrast to the silver opaline dial. Black “azurage” minute and hour chronograph counters, at 3 and 9 o’clock, respectively, add to the striking look.
A white opaline permanent seconds indicator is positioned at 6 o’clock.
On both versions, the indexes and hour and minute hands are coated in white SuperLumiNova, offering outstanding legibility in all lighting conditions. The dial features a rhodiumplated TAG Heuer logo and is printed with the words “CARRERA HEUER 02 80 HOURS”.
The highlight of this model is the aperture at 12 o’clock displaying the red date on a white background ‒ a nod to the original Heuer 3147N “Dato 45”, the watch that inspired the new timepieces. The red date is complemented by a red lacquered central chronograph seconds hand and red motion lines in the 3 o’clock counter. The dial is protected by a domed and bevelled sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides.
Each watch is enclosed with a stainlesssteel screw-down case-back engraved with its unique serial number, indicating its limitededition status. Through the sapphire crystal
“THE CHOICE OF THE 3147N – THE IN-HOUSE REFERENCE FOR THE CARRERA ‘DATO 45’ – WAS A BOLD ONE BECAUSE IT CHALLENGED OUR DESIGN TEAM TO CREATE A CLEAN, LEGIBLE CHRONOGRAPH DIAL WITH A DATE WINDOW IN AN UNUSUAL POSITION”
on the case back, the Calibre Heuer 02 manufacture movement is revealed along with its specially designed 160th anniversary oscillating mass. Made entirely in TAG Heuer’s Chevenez manufacture, the sophisticated inhouse movement comprises 168 individual components, including a column wheel and a vertical clutch, which enables the chronograph’s start-stop functions and central chronograph seconds hand to run independently of the measurement of the current time, and boasts an impressive power reserve of 80 hours. Its slim dimensions allow for a thinner case and enhanced comfort.
Water-resistant to 100m, each model is presented on a stainless-steel bracelet and delivered in a special box designed to celebrate TAG Heuer’s 160th anniversary.