Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Heuer Carrera 'Lemania', 1980s
- Maker / attribution
- Heuer (maker)
- Date
- 1980s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 38 mm
- Stock no.
- 40992808
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40992808)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Heuer Carrera 'Lemania' (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40992808), this is a wristwatch by Heuer, made in Switzerland, dated 1980s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 38 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 — Analog/Shift
The design language of the 1970s was bold, funky, and colorful. Sporting chronographs from this era are quite unlike anything that came before. Heuer's 'Golden Age' of wrist chronographs started in 1963 with the introduction of the first series Carrera, and lasted through the mid-70s, when the Quartz Crisis hit hard. Unlike the first series Carreras, the design language of the second generation featured the cushion case popularized by models such as the Autavia and Montreal, and Heuer began fitting their Calibre 11 automatic movements into them in 1969. This example, a Reference 510.523, features a 38mm stainless steel with a black dial set with orange chronograph seconds hand, a three register layout arranged on the left side of the dial, and a date window at 3 o'clock. This cushion-case piece is outfitted with caliber 5100 by Lemania, and dates to the 1980s as a modern extension of the classic Heuer design language. If you are searching for a Heuer that is a bit more funky - and considerably less expensive - than the earliest versions, have a look at this beauty!
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
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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