Though TAG Heuer was officially a partner in LVMH’s inaugural watch week 2020 in Dubai, the La Chau-de-Fonds watchmaker elected not to display any novelties at the fair but instead quietly released the TAG Heuer Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition, celebrating a milestone birthday for the makers of the legendary Heuer Carrera.

Since 1860, the Heuer family has reinforced its precision time-measuring ethos through its lineage; from its days of founding with Eduoard Heuer till 1962, when then-CEO Jack Heuer was inspired by the treacherous Carrera Panamericana road race, the name “carrera” became a synonym not just for that motorsport but also the precision time keeping instruments used by future racers to measure time down the road. Hence, the Heuer Carrera chronographs were born.

TAG Heuer Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition celebrates milestone anniversary for the brand

From pocket watches to dashboard instruments (from whence the Autavia line descends) to wristwatches, TAG Heuer has always kept clean design and legibility at the core of its aesthetic codes, the Heuer Carrera chronograph was no different, especially when it came to timing something as dangerous as a no holds barred road race, the Jack Heuer’s Carrera Chronograph was designed so that racers could take a glance at the time without taking undue attention from the road and its driving conditions during races.  As such, the re-edition TAG Heuer Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition takes its raison d’etre and aesthetic cues from the classic 2447s Carrera chronograph, a recognisable monochrome silver-dial model from 1964, with its 3-6-9 snailed subdials and silvery starburst dial.

That said, the Heuer Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition may look vintage but its modern heart is anything but. Instead of a traditional Valjoux 72 (incidentally the base calibre for vintage Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytonas), the contemporary interpretation of the TAG Heuer Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition carries within its 39mm case, the avante garde Heuer 02 movement.

Yes, 3mm larger than its original predecessor, the new Heuer Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition also packs power reserve of 80 hours – an increase of 30 hours compared to the Calibre Heuer 01, a vertical clutch for precision of start-and-stop functions as well as the running of the chronograph second hand, and the beloved column wheel, a symbol of fine watchmaking with noticeably smoother button actuation, all packed within a slimmer calibre.

Another departure from its vintage forebear is the shape of the central hour and minute hands, now facetted and coated with beige SuperLuminova. The TAG Heuer Carrera 160 Years Silver Edition is limited to 1860 watches

New Heuer Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition Price and Specs

Movement Automatic Calibre Heuer 02 Manufacture with 80 hours power reserve
Case 39 mm stainless-steel case with 100 metres water resistance
Strap Leather
Price TBA