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When designing the Carrera, Jack Heuer prioritized legibility and durability above all else. The Carrera was, from the very beginning, waterproof, shockproof, and anti-magnetic. As for legibility, the dial is clean and markers are well-spaced to make reading the chronograph accurately at a glance easy on the eyes for drivers. The tachymeter scale wouldn't come until later, but the earliest models incorporated the second and 1/5th second scale into the dial's flange. Inside these early Carreras was a Valjoux 72 movement, which is manually wound with three chronograph registers. The chronograph is operated with simple pump pushers and has a clean clicking feedback.
Eventually, in the early 1970s, the Carrera would begin housing automatic movements and a thicker, more typically 70s-style case came on the scene. Different dial configurations were produced over the years as well, including one-register, two-register, and date variations. This year the Carrera is celebrating its 50th anniversary, so we sat down with Jack Heuer himself to discuss the birth of this icon.
Inside this Carrera is TAG Heuer's in-house Calibre 1887, though that "in-house" does require a bit of an explanation in this case. Before we get into that story though, let's take a look at what the Calibre 1887 does.
The 1887 is TAG Heuer's basic in-house chronograph movement. The balance beats at 4 Hz, the power reserve is approximately 50 hours (40 or so if you're using the chronograph a lot), and it is wound automatically by a full sized rotor. There are subdials for running seconds, a 30-minute chronograph register, and a 12-hour chronograph register, as well as a small date wheel. Importantly, the chronograph itself utilizes a column wheel instead of a lesser clutch.
Named for the year that Heuer invented the oscillating pinion to be used in stopwatches, the 1887 is the fourth in-house movement from TAG Heuer - Calibre 360, Calibre S, and Calibre V came earlier. When it was unveiled in 2009 to celebrate the brand's 150th anniversary, there was a bit of commotion in watch circles about how in-house the 1887 actually is, and here's the full scoop.
TAG Heuer acquired the exclusive European rights to the TC87 movement platform from Seiko, who had patented the design back in 1997, and used it as the foundation for the 1887. TAG started with the Seiko 6S37 column wheel chronograph and adapted it to suit their needs, doing things like moving the balance wheel's position, flattening the movement out overall, and reconfiguring the main plate, bridge, and oscillator architecture.
If you're feeling skeptical at this point, bear with us for a second. TAG Heuer, while touting the 1887 as 100% in-house, has also announced publicly that it has a formal relationship with Seiko and is sourcing some less critical components for the 1887 from the Japanese brand due to Swatch Group restricting supply. All told, there are 22 suppliers of components for the 1887 and Seiko is the only one that is not Swiss. So while the "100% in-house" moniker might lead to you believe something a bit far from the truth, TAG Heuer has been transparent and provided information when asked about the 1887's provenance.
There are even a number of reasons why TAG Heuer building on this Seiko foundation to bring us the 1887 is a great thing. The proprietary, Seiko-conceived double pawl winding system is more efficient than a standard rotor winding system, and the column wheel system in this movement is extremely reliable and reactive.
As mentioned above though, TAG did make some significant modifications to make the 1887 their own, one of which is the addition of their internally developed rocking pinion. To oversimplify a bit, this means the chronograph's seconds hand is always partially connected to the movement's running seconds gear train, so engagement is much faster and smoother.
So while ultimately the 1887 is only partially "in-house," it's a great movement nonetheless and certainly a significant step up from the ebauche movements used in many competing chronographs. But now let's take a look at this watch overall.
Now that you've got the full story of the 1887 movement, let's see how TAG Heuer has put it to use in their most famous watch. The movement was launched in the Carrera in 2009 and the watch has been slowly tweaked over the last few years.
The model we have here is the 41mm Carrera 1887, which seems to pay closest homage to the vintage Carreras we love so much while also sitting close to the entry-level price point in the Carrera range. While many watches from the range sit at 43mm, we find the 41mm size works great for this watch. The case recalls the Carreras of old with its clean, thin bezel, faceted lugs, and sleek profile.
Both the entire case and all the silver markers on the dial are highly polished. This does leave the watch feeling a bit shinier than I'd like optimally, but hopefully with some wear this would go away a little bit. It does make reading the dial extremely easy in all different lighting conditions however, so there is some give-and-take here.
The black dial is extremely handsome, combining a flat finish with circular graining in the subdials, further accented by a polished silver flange. Just as you would expect on a Carrera, readability is great. The hour markers are large applied metal, with readable seconds and 1/4th seconds hash marks between them. I particularly appreciate that these are 1/4th seconds markers and not 1/5th seconds, accurately nodding to the 4Hz movement's ability to measure only down to this interval. A tachymeter scale lines the main dial flange, which is matte black to match the rest of the dial.
The subdial layout has the chronograph 30-minutes at 12 o'clock, chronograph 12-hours at 6 o'clock, and a running seconds at 9 o'clock. "Cal. 1887" is indicated discretely in the running seconds dial, which is barely set into the main dial adding just enough textural difference. Tucked into the chronograph's hours subdial is a small date window that is there when you need it but unobtrusive otherwise. Overall, it's a pretty pure, no-frill expression of what the Carrera should be. There are a number of variations available for the 41mm Carrera, including a white dial, a solid 18k rose gold case, and a few bracelet and strap choices.
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