While the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition is definitely not the star of the brand’s novelties at the LVMH Watch Week in Singapore, it is a good headliner. The Carrera was launched in 1963 by the legendary Jack Heuer, and we have covered the gist of the collection elsewhere, and TAG Heuer is going to be celebrating this iconic collection across the year. In other words, this 2023 model might soon be in the rearview as Watches and Wonders Geneva approaches in March. To be clear, this 600-piece limited edition Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary is definitely going to be one of the last versions of this watch.
In its presentation for the Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition, TAG Heuer plays up the legibility focus of the original design. We also know from TAG Heuer Creative Director Guy Bove that the brand works hard to hew close to that legibility focus, and this 60th Anniversary Edition reflects that by referencing the 2447 SN model of the late 1960s (as opposed to the actual first Carrera, because that was a manual-winder, but you may recall that reference 2447 SN was in production from 1963). Those who may have been expecting a manual chronograph here will be disappointed, but it should never have crossed anyone’s mind that TAG Heuer would actually deliver on that; there is also no manual chronograph in the brand’s in-house inventory.
Most of the relevant action takes place on the dial, which like many variants of reference 2447 SN had, is a tricompax layout of chronograph subdials in the so-called ‘panda’ setup. In fact, there the dial of the Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition could have been lifted from the old reference, with the vintage Heuer logo in place at 12 o’clock. The black stripes bisecting the hour and minute hands as well as the markers is present, and so are the double-stops above the logo. Of course, the automatic calibre Heuer 02 powers the watch, so the chronograph counter is at 9 o’clock while the minute counter is at 3 o’clock; it was the reverse for the originals from the 1960s. Likewise, tritium is out and SuperLuminova is in, case size is 39mm, and water-resistance is 100m (the original was probably something like 30m but we will have to check on that).
Purists should take note of the various ways the 2447 SN differs from the tribute Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition, but also how this special edition differs from the core collection Carrera. The 60th Anniversary Edition has a pin buckle rather than a deployant clasp, for example. We will finish here with a note that we are excited for the Carrera anniversary, but for now are very impressed by the electronic pieces from TAG Heuer, including Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph and the All-Black Connected Calibre E4, which can tell you the time on Mars (or elsewhere in our solar system). We will come back to that in a general story that covers the highlights from the LVMH Watch Week.
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