Why We Love It
By any number of of standards, vintage Heuers are some of the most impressive timepieces from the golden era of sporting chronographs, and for good reason.
From the excellent proportions to their durable Valjoux movements, early Heuer Carreras are sought after by collectors worldwide. Amongst the favorite versions? Triple register Reference 2447 models and double signed dials. This one is both!
This Reference 2447D is an incredibly crisp example with a sharp case and flawless Mark II dial with outer Decimal track. Featuring perfectly intact luminous plots and hands that show a rich yellow patina. The best part is that this one happens to be signed by Fisher on the dial, signifying that it was sold to the Fischer Scientific Laboratory. Pretty neat right?
We've had LOTS of vintage Heuers come through our doors, and without question this is one of the sharpest, cleanest, and coolest we've ever had the opportunity to offer!
The Story
The Carrera was one of Jack Heuer’s most passionate projects, and his design ethos for this watch can be summed up in one word: legibility. Jack wanted a watch that was stylish and functional, a watch that gives you everything you need and nothing you don’t. From the sharp bevels on the case to the artful openness of the dial, it's become a classic.
A longtime racing aficionado, Heuer first conceived of the Carrera in 1962, when he was attending the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida. It was there, in a conversation with the parents of the legendary Rodriguez brothers (both drivers), that Heuer first heard the name: Carrera, meaning the Carrera Panamerica, a treacherous five-day race along the Mexican stretch of the Pan-American Highway. The name haunted him, and he registered it the following year.
A new innovation--a tension ring to anchor the dial in place, while also offering greater water resistance--the same year inspired him to incorporate that feature in a watch that would be a game-changer just like Omega's Speedmaster was. Taking the tachymeter track off the dial wasn't a new innovation--Rolex did it with the Daytona and Omega of course started it, more or less, with the Speedy--but Heuer's obsession with legibility cleaned up the dial in a way that hadn't quite been achieved before. Here now is a watch that shows you only the minimal amount of information, with plain baton markers: clean, uncluttered, undeniably attractive.
These early Carreras were produced in a variety of styles with a range of dial colors. The dials were manufactured by Singer, the same company that produced dials for the Rolex Daytona. While the elusive black-and-white ("panda") designs remain the most desirable, there's something to be said for the light-catching silver dials like the one we offer here. The clean lines of the dial are echoed in the sharp bevels of the lugs, manufactured by esteemed case-maker Piquerez. The result is iconic, Heuer's answer to mid-century trends that translates well to modern tastes.
