Sixty years since the introduction of the Carrera, the market for them has certainly matured and grown – but is nowhere near where many thought it might be by now. It doesn’t take much to imagine a world where these watches – or many of them – have a following as robust and pricing as strong as a vintage Rolex Daytona or Omega Speedmaster. And at times, it can happen, with Skippers and 1158s trading into the six figures at times, and of course James Garner’s Carrera breaching $170,000.
Further, TAG Heuer has done a masterful job in the last seven years at causing younger eyes to glance towards the past of the Carrera with wonderful limited editions like that with Hiroshi Fujiwara (which is effectively a 2447NT), the new 60th anniversary SN-inspired watch, and of course our Skipper and Dato, and those in green and red, all using the 39mm case that is most reminiscent of the original 2447 case. I think the success of these watches has helped support the Carrera market in a way that we didn’t see in, say, for example the Auatavia market.
But you take a very special Carrera, like, say a three register, hand-wound Carrera from the first generation, and compare it to the earliest generations of Daytona or Speedmaster, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be trading for the same price, but it’s not. And that could be due to the fact that yes, these Carreras are smaller than either a Speedy or a Daytona by a millimeter or two, or the Heuer brand doesn’t have the same cachet today that it did back then. But that presents the greatest opportunities for fun – finding value in places that others might not be looking (or, at least weren’t looking).
I have my own favorites within the Carrera world – the original Skipper, which is undoubtedly the most valuable of vintage Carreras and the 1158CHN which is every bit a gold 6263 for a fraction of the price, but there are watches that might be rarer: the 2447SN was revived this year, and of course all of the special logo dials. But any vintage Carrera is special. And I think the argument could be made – and to be clear, I’ve been making it for over ten years – that the Heuer Carrera in fact has one of the most authentic relationships with vintage motorsports of any chronograph out there. And after today, it is my hope that many more watch lovers will be armed with the information they need to understand them in the way they deserve.