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Heuer Carrera Gold Filled Ref 2448, 1960s — view 1 of 6
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Heuer Carrera Gold Filled Ref 2448, 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
Materials / technique
gold filled
Dimensions
Case 36 mm
Stock no.
W-2427
Credit line
Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-2427)
Catalogue title (original)
Heuer Carrera Gold Filled Ref 2448 (English)

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

Record summary

Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-2427), 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. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold filled. Recorded dimensions: Case 36 mm. 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 — Bulang & Sons

The Heuer Carrera is a sports chronograph steeped in the history of automobile racing. Jack Heuer spent a lot of his life immersed in the dangerous world of motor racing. No race was more deadly than the Carrera Panamericana across Mexico; a race that claimed more than 25 lives over the course of its existence from 1950 to 1954. Carrera, Spanish for race, inspired Jack Heuer to christen his chrono with its name. Measuring 36mm across, this rare watch is gold-filled, a process that offers over 100 times more gold covering than plating and is, therefore, much more durable. The case back is, as you would expect, steel. The silver dial is lovely, with its soleil finish and bold hour markers and tritium lume. The watch is fitted with the pictured Bulang and Sons leather strap and the manual wind Valjoux 72-based Heuer Leonidas movement has been fully serviced by our watchmaker. This is a lovely and elegant looking dressy sports chronograph that we would love to discuss with you more. Please get in touch! Specifications: - Reference 2448 - 36mm gold filled case - Steel case back - Serial 120xxx dates to the 1960s - Silver soleil-finish dial - Heuer Leonidas Valjoux 72 manual wind movement - Comes on the pictured Bulang and Sons strap - Fully serviced by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade leather watch pouch

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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