Heuer Carrera

As far as we're concerned, a vintage Heuer Carrera is about as cool a chronograph as money can buy. From its very inception, the Carrera was meant to break the mold set by Heuer’s earlier chronographs. Like the Autavia, the first watch that Jack Heuer had a hand in creating, the Carrera was intended to be a racing watch. But rather than rely on the tried-and-true to create the Carrera, Jack Heuer sought to create something entirely new, drawing inspiration from the work of masters of modern design. In his student years, Jack Heuer had been inspired by the revolutionary work of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret. History would know Jeanneret as Le Corbusier, the pioneer of modern architecture (and himself a native of La Chaux-de-Fonds, the sleepy Swiss village in which Heuer’s factory was located). Le Corbusier’s concern—one might almost say obsession—with functionality was apparent in his work, which became known for its minimalism. This particular example, a Reference 2447N, features the classic, arguably perfectly proportioned 36mm case with barrel pushers, an acrylic crystal, a matte black Tritium dial with a 3-register chronograph layout, applied indices, and a matching handset. Powered by the venerable Valjoux 72 manual winding movement, this piece comes fitted to a Ralstra® International perforated rallye strap with a drilled steel pin buckle. Simple. No-frills. All you need. Taken as a cohesive whole, the Carrera’s elegant minimalism—like Le Corbusier’s designs—remains evergreen.