The worlds of watches and cars have almost always overlapped. Beyond gears and intricate mechanical bits, something inexplicable connects the two realms. There are quite a few iconic timepieces that owe their fame to their association with cars and racing. These include some of the greatest of all time such as the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona and the Heuer Carrera. Even the Omega Speedmaster, before it became famous for its trip to the moon, was originally designed and used as a racing chronograph.
Although the Monaco, thanks to its unique case and the association with Steve McQueen, is by far TAG Heuer’s most popular chronograph, the Carrera’s history is more intertwined with the world of racing. The most notable of these is the Heuer Carrera chronograph reference number 1158CHN, which was presented to drivers of the 1970s Ferrari F1 team including Niki Lauda, Mario Andetti, and Jacky Ickx. The watches, crafted in 18kt gold, were personally engraved by Jack Heuer with the names of each member of the team, who in turn made it even more famous by wearing it on and off the track. Now, TAG Heuer has released a reissue of this legendary chronograph but flipping the original colour scheme with a black dial and gold sub-dials.
Released in time to celebrate founder Jack Heuer’s 90th birthday, the special timepiece’s colour scheme is a nod to the distinctive two-tone palette of the John Player Special livery seen in F1 cars including Ayrton Senna’s 98T Lotus. The new watch, reference CBN2044.FC8313, gets a 42mm 18k yellow gold case that frames a black sunray dial with the two sub-dials, indices and hands executed in yellow gold. Visible through the transparent sapphire glass centre of the solid gold case back is the in-house Calibre Heuer 02, a column-wheel chronograph movement that beats at 28,800vph and has a power reserve of 80 hours.
The special watch is paired with an alligator leather strap in black and an 18kt solid yellow gold buckle. Priced at R391,000 in South Africa, it comes with a complimentary travel pouch.
For more info on Tag Heuer in South Africa contact Picot & Moss at info@picotandmoss.co.za
