Heuer Carrera Automatic, c. 1984

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

Why We Love It This is about the most 1980s thing we've ever seen. Just look at it! You could be mistaken for confusing it with the dashboard of Porsche's seminal dentist-killer, the 930 Turbo ! This Heuer, a Reference 510.533, is one of the last Heuer models to bear the Heuer name on the dial - before TAG Heuer branding took over. Dating to circa 1984, this automatic chronograph bears the name Carrera - not only sharing nomenclature with the aforementioned Stuttgart-based automobile manufacturer, but bears the name of motorsport chronograph royalty. Featuring a stainless steel cushion case, a crisp black dial with large luminous plots and orange-tipped chronograph hands, this model is powered by the Lemania 5100 central minute-counting chronograph movement, not the Calibre 11/15 models Heuer was producing for themselves since 1969. The result? A very odd, scarcely seen - and dare we say incredible looking - 1980s iteration of one of our all-time favorite chronograph models. Don't sleep on this one! The Story The Carrera was one of Jack Heuer’s most passionate projects, and his design ethos for this watch can be summed up in one word: legibility. Jack wanted a watch that was stylish and functional, a watch that gives you everything you need and nothing you don’t. From the sharp bevels on the case to the artful openness of the dial, it's become a classic. In designing the Carrera, Heuer finally created something that was entirely his, and is without question the chronograph that is most associated with him. He incorporated a tension ring around the edge of the dial, and printed the tachymeter track on it. Heuer's obsession with legibility led to a dial design that was simpler to read than the Omega Speedmaster or the Rolex Daytona (released the same year as the Carrera). What resulted was a chronograph that gave only the most necessary bits of information, with plain baton markers: clean, uncluttered, undeniably attractive.