Meet the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Watches in Black & Blue

From Mick Jagger to Ryan Gosling, the TAG Heuer Carrera has been the first choice for celebrities, motor racing enthusiasts and fans of the classic design for over 60 years. To mark its six-decade-long legacy, Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer celebrates the covetable Carrera Chronograph wristwatch with yet another ageless design to add to the collection. It comes in a signature deep blue or a professional-looking black dial colour. The new Carrera Chronographs watches have been released at Geneva’s annual Watches & Wonders 2023 event – a showcase that has been long awaited by TAG Heuer fans over recent months. The brand’s releases certainly don’t disappoint this year, with a plethora of Carrera watches that perfectly encompass the brand’s ethos as a respected luxury watch manufacturer, along with its synonymous links to motorsport racing. The designs are inventive and stylish whilst remaining functional and ergonomic. The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph watches tip their hat to the collectable “glassbox” model that made the Carrera watch such an innovative tool for tracking speed based on distance during the 1960s. Let’s take a closer look.

The history of the TAG Heuer Carrera

The first Carrera watch was released back in 1963 and was designed by Jack Heuer who gave the wristwatch an unforgettable name based on a popular yet dangerous Mexican rally that took place during the 1950s. Due to fatalities on the track, the sporting event was short-lived, yet the Carrera watch lived on with its crisp and legible chronograph dial, not to mention its simple time and date model. The Carrera’s stylish profile has now been refined even further with a design that pays homage to its roots, telling a story of its beginnings where Jack Heuer attended the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida – an event that was timed by Heuer. Here, he met with two individuals who told him about the Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico. Intrigued by the allure of the rally and the speed, adrenaline and emotions associated with it - Jack Heuer decided he would create a chronograph wristwatch in its honour. Translated as “path”, “career” and “race” – the Carrera name has firmly anchored itself in the brand’s catalogue of stylish wristwatches and continues to soar in popularity with its ageless, sporty look.

The TAG Heuer Carrera, with its strong racing spirit, was aimed at the young and adventurous and was leveraged further in its design by Jack Heuer’s electrical engineering knowledge and his own passion for the racetrack. The modernity, beauty and functional elegance of this new watch became a cultural icon and a symbol of endurance, adrenaline and speed. Read on to learn how its design has evolved through the decades…

An evolved version of the Heuer 02

The engine inside the new black and blue Carrera Chronograph watches released at the Watches & Wonders 2023 event in Geneva is an evolved version of the Heuer 02 calibre. The TH20-00 movement is made visible through the back of both watch cases thanks to a piece of strong anti-reflective and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass. The exhibition caseback reveals the beating heart complete with an oscillating weight with bidirectional rotation. With faster and more reliable winding, the TH20-00 self-winding movement promises a power reserve of 80 hours. Its elevated finishes can be admired inside the case of both watches – each design offering a slightly different style. Whilst the blue version nods to the modernity of the Carrera and its evolution over the decades, the black Carrera version picks up on the racing pedigree in a more traditional sense. These differences can be subtly appreciated in the dials of the watches. In the blue Carrera chronograph of 2023, the date window resides at 6 o’clock, whilst the black dial iteration features the date window at 3 o’clock – both, however, are executed on a white background to enhance legibility.

Interestingly, experts at TAG Heuer have worked hard to achieve a balance of harmonious and angular proportions. The domed sapphire crystal glass top works effortlessly alongside the contradicting muscular physique of the case’s Avant Garde lugs. Cleverly, the brushed and polished finishes also work well together creating a velvety yet assured aesthetic. This ergonomic and thoughtful design accurately captures Jack Heuer’s original vision, whilst the same time pointing to the future of the Carrera.

The innovative “glassbox” design of the Carrera

It’s always cool to learn new things about yesteryear watches. The original 1960s Carrera Chronograph was not only a modern and forward-thinking design for young adrenaline junkies but was also a functional tool that required a great level of thought and intuition. The tachymeter scale, for example, was located on the tension ring, which not only held the sapphire crystal glass firmly in place but also made the tachymeter scale itself more visible from different angles. The design of the new Carrera Chronograph watches for 2023 adopt this same key design element envisioned by Jack Heuer. The 39mm and 42mm stainless steel watches for the black and blue chronographs respectively are integrated with 100-meter water resistance and are fitted with a domed sapphire crystal glass that looks similar to the hesalite crystal seen in the original models. It curves seamlessly over the tachymeter scale and into the case. The flange and indexes are also curved, creating a coherent and seamlessly flowing design. The new pump pushers at the side of the case are even more wearer-friendly than before and have been redesigned for comfort under the fingertips.

The dials

The 39mm black and silver dial version of the new Carrera Chronograph watches by TAG Heuer is a reverse panda style, with silver-filled sub-counters at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock., The azure sub-counters in the blue Carrera watch, however, are trimmed with a high-contrast silver ring. The 1960s triangular-shaped chronograph hand tip is present on both models. The rhodium-plated faceted central hour and minute hands have also been treated with Super-LumiNova and both models feature a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock (speedometer-style numerals feature in the black model, whilst the contemporary blue version features dashes). The two models also feature a 30-minute counter located at 3 o’clock and a 12-hour totaliser at 9 o’clock.

The blue TAG Heuer Carrera chronograph reference CBS2212.FC6535 is fitted on a smooth blue leather band with a stainless steel folding clasp and double safety push buttons, whilst the black dial version reference CBS2210.FC6534 can be enjoyed on a perorated black leather band with the same clasp.

A five-year warranty is offered on these new-for-2023 Carrera Chronograph watches from TAG Heuer. If you’d like more information on either of these two models, you can call and speak to a member of our Jura Watches sales team on 01335 453453 today.