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Heuer Carrera 2447S, 1960s — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Heuer Carrera 2447S, 1960s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Heuer (maker)
Date
1960s
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
Product 6554959511639
Credit line
Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 6554959511639)
Catalogue title (original)
Heuer Carrera 2447S (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 6554959511639), this is a wristwatch by Heuer, made in Switzerland, dated 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — S.Song Watches

The Heuer Carrera would have to be one of the most iconic timepieces ever created. Designed by Jack Heuer in the early ’60s, the Carrera line still exists to this day with early models becoming some of the most desired vintage watches in the market. With the Carrera, legibility underpinned all of its design cues, with Jack Heuer taking an obsessive stance on stripping away all that was unnecessary and presenting only the most important information on the watch dial. The result was a clean three register chronograph with baton markers and an outer tension ring that featured the minute markers. Over the years, the Carrera saw many dial variants, from different color combinations to different scales featured on the dial. The example you see here today is the purest and simplest form of the Carrera- the plain silver dial variant. Powered by the venerable Valjoux 72, it is one of the most popular and iconic movements of the 20th century. Of all the watches ever created, in my opinion, the Carrera is one of the most beautiful and timeless. The case of the Carrera, with those long angular inward lugs have an amazing proportionality and while it does look good in photos, on the wrist it is so much better. Even by today's standards, the 2447S still looks like a modern watch. It shows that in design if you only design what is necessary, without superfluousness, you will end up with a product that will remain relevant for generations.

Historical context

Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)

Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.

The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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