HEUER.
AN EXTREMELY RARE AND ATTRACTIVE EARLY MEN'S STAINLESS STEEL MANUAL CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH

Model: CARRERA 45 "First execution"
Date: Circa 1963
Case reference: 3647S stamped inside case back 92, ED. HEUER &CO SWISS
Movement: Extremely rare signed ED. Heuer & Co SA, 17-Jewels, Cal. Valjoux 92
Dail: Signed eggshell, silvered applied hour batons with tritium applied dots, black outer minute and seconds division, subsidiary dial for chronograph minutes at the 3 o'clock position, subsidiary dial for seconds at the 9 o'clock position, silvered sword hands with tritium insert, black centre seconds hand for chronograph
Case: Signed, brushed and polished stainless steel, screw-down back
Strap: Leather, silvered buckle
Size: 36mm
Accompaniment: Generic black leather pouch

The history of the iconic chronograph brand known today as TAG Heuer starts all the way back in 1860, when its founder, Edouard Heuer, set up the company's first workshop in St-Imier, a village in the Swiss Jura region. In 1882, Heuer patented his very first chronograph and by no later than 1887, he patented an "oscillating pinion", still used by major watchmakers of mechanical chronographs today¹. The first wrist chronograph was designed in 1914, and the genius of the company's founder fostered a long tradition of technological innovation in precision timepieces, including stopwatches, dashboard timers used for automobiles and aviation (AUTAVIA) and water-resistant watches. In the last 160 years, all the creations of this iconic brand have been spearheaded and stirred by four keywords: precision, performance, avant-garde technology and absolute reliability². No wonder TAG Heuer has often been closely associated with Olympic Games, FIS Ski World Cup, FIA Formula 1 World Championship and many more competitive sports events.

Our watch, the Carrera 45, is part of the Heuer Carrera chronograph family, a line of Valjoux movement-powered chronographs introduced in 1963 and designed by Jack Heuer, the great-grandson of Edouard. The name stemmed from the Carrera Panamericana, an exhilarating and challenging border-to-border sedan and sports car racing event that took place in Mexico during the 1950s. Together with the Autavia and the Monaco, the Carrera model would become an evergreen icon at Heuer.

The quintessential features making our watch a rare Carrera example are the lack of a -T- on top of the inscription "SWISS" at the 6 o'clock position; the square hour markers at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions; and the double signature "Ed. Heuer & Co SA" on the inside of the back case and on the movement. Another striking characteristic is the colour of the dial, showcasing what the collectors would call an "eggshell white" with a very rare mat silver tinge. This feature and the presence of a faceted screw-down caseback are two classic qualities only encountered in early executed models. Lastly, the number '45' was added to the model name as this double register wristwatch features a 45-minute register, differently from the 12-hour register of the Carrera 12, a unique timepiece ideal for football enthusiasts and professionals.

For a comparable example dating to 1963, please see Phillips, The Geneva Watch Auction: Eight, 10 - 11 November 2018, lot 67.³

1_ http://www.thewatchguy.com/pages/HEUER.html

2_ https://www.watchpedia.info/brand_history.php

3_https://www.phillips.com/detail/heuer/CH080218/67