tag heuer carrera calibre 17 limited edition

Tempting to say ‘haha’, but truth is, both are so desirable in their own right, it scarcely matters. Neither though, carries the red 80 on the tachymetre scale, or Jack’s signature and coat of arms on the case back. TAG’s response to seeing demand outstrip supply has just been announced – two further versions of the watch, dubbed the Carrera Calibre 17 Limited Edition, one blue and one anthracite.īoth retain the pre-TAG red Heuer logo, bi-compax subdial layout, red central seconds hand and perforated leather strap that gave the 2012 model so much of its retro cool. The answer, for the record, is always a firm no. I know this for a fact because I have one and people keep asking me if they can buy it from me. The TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 17 Limited Edition in blue and anthracite, both £3,750Īnd it was. But it was also limited to 3,000 pieces, which always felt like too few to keep Carrera lovers happy. Simple, classic and sporty, it was an honest, legitimate interpretation of Jack’s original design.

In 2012, to mark Jack’s 80 th birthday, he helped design what at the time was described as his last watch (it wasn’t – he jumped in on last year’s 50 th anniversary collection, too).

The Carrera shot Heuer into the big time, becoming the racing driver’s watch of choice and a genuine watchmaking icon. At the time, Heuer was still a relatively small company, supplying stopwatches for dashboards and industrial machinery. The idea behind the original, which first appeared in 1963, was to create a clearly legible stopwatch on the wrist. He was one of the pioneers of product placement in the 1960s, long before such a concept had been given a name, devising schemes to get a watch on Bobby Kennedy’s wrist and onto a Ferrari F1 car.īut for watch fanatics, his greatest achievement will always be the Carrera, TAG Heuer’s most successful line. Jack has achieved many things in his time at Heuer. But I’m assured he’ll retire soon after that. Jack is about to launch an autobiography (I had a nose through an advance copy, and full of fascinating insights it is, too), which means it’s not time to settle into that wingback, pipe in hand, just yet. You can’t keep a good man down, and all that. I say ‘any day’ – I’ve interviewed Jack twice in the last 18 months, and on both occasions I’ve been told it would be my last chance to quiz the man before he retreats from the international stage. Jack Heuer, the great-grandson of Edouard Heuer, who founded the company known today as TAG Heuer, is now 81 and due to step down from his post as honorary chairman any day. One of the great men of the watch industry retires this year.

Tag heuer carrera calibre 17 limited edition