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TAG Heuer Carrera 'Dato' Limited Edition
We've worked with TAG Heuer to bring a favorite 1960s chronograph back to life: the second-generation Carrera Dato ref. 3147N, a groundbreaking 1960s single sub-dial chronograph with date. The TAG Heuer Carrera Dato Limited Edition for fashiontourbillon.com features an updated version of the brand's premium in-house automatic Calibre Heuer 02 placed inside the vintage-inspired 39mm "glassbox" case.
Vintage chronographs from the 1960s have long been a point of interest for in-the-know watch enthusiasts, and some of the most desirable are black-dialed examples from Heuer. An inky portal into the collector's world, these models are typically distinguished by an N – for noir – at the end of their reference numbers and share a bold, saturated aesthetic that stands out against the more conservative look of chronographs with silver and white dials.
The only digits that appear on the new watch are those in the date aperture and on the sub-dial – 45 minutes on the original, 30 minutes on the new release – a choice made to emphasize elapsed time in short bursts. With no running seconds or way to track passing hours, the Dato offers a chance to live in the present, away from the hustle and bustle of diptych and triptych sub-dials and the crowded calculator displays found on other popular mid-century chronographs.
Inside the Tag Heuer Carrera Dato Limited Edition for fashiontourbillon.com is TAG Heuer's in-house automatic chronograph, the Calibre Heuer 02. A catalyst for a new generation of in-house watchmaking at TAG Heuer, the Calibre Heuer 02 is the brand's latest-and-greatest chronograph achievement. It was developed in the 2010s from the ground-up by TAG Heuer, whose objective was to combine all the technical specifications one might desire in a 21st-century chronograph in a single flagship movement.
To recreate the unique dial layout of the original Dato, TAG Heuer removed the Calibre Heuer 02's typical six and nine-o'clock register and developed a brand new date disc with a refreshed font. It otherwise starts with a fully integrated design that runs in 33 jewels, at a beat rate of 28,800 vph, with an impressive power reserve of up to 80 hours, all stored in a single barrel. The Calibre Heuer 02 utilizes both a column wheel and a vertical clutch mechanism, a premium combination found in many of today's top chronographs. Visible through a sapphire crystal exhibition caseback, the Calibre Heuer 02's finish is simple but attractive, with crisp côtes de Genève across the mainplate and a blackened and open-worked rotor that commemorates the brand's recent 160th anniversary.
A limited edition of 250 numbered pieces, the TAG Heuer Carrera Dato Limited Edition comes paired with a black alligator leather strap featuring a Heuer-signed deployant clasp. Half of the 250-piece run is available from the HODINKEE Shop with complimentary, worldwide delivery, while the rest are available from TAG Heuer brand boutiques in the United States and Japan.
First released in 1963, the Carrera served as the building block for a new generation of Heuer wristwatches. Its quick success granted the company the financial footing for further experiments in design and engineering, and in 1965, Heuer followed with the inaugural Carrera with a date function. That watch was the ref. 3147; not only was it the first Carrera with a calendar complication, but it was also the first chronograph wristwatch ever to feature the now-standard rotating date wheel display.
Nicknamed the "Dato 45" for its combination of an elapsed 45-minute register at three o'clock and a date display, this new-age chronograph featured the same clean and compact case profile of the conventional Carrera with a back-to-basics dial. You might recall this isn't the first time we've drawn from the original Dato 45 for a collaborative limited edition with TAG Heuer: The 2017 Carrera Skipper Limited Edition for HODINKEE featured a nearly identical single sub-register orientation. In working with our friends at TAG Heuer once again, we wanted to bring back the watch that helped inspire one of our favorite projects ever, in as authentic a manner as possible.
