Last Updated on June 22, 2019 by Calibre 11

A few days ahead of its official launch at Baselworld 2012, we can show you some more photos of the 2012 TAG Heuer Carrera Jack Heuer 80th Birthday Carrera (Ref. CV2119). As the name suggests, the watch commemorates the 80th birthday this year of Jack Heuer, the man who among other notable achievements, launched the Carrera back in 1964 and was CEO of Heuer until its sale in 1982.

It’s appropriate that TAG Heuer chose the Carrera for this limited edition, as it’s not only the model most closely linked with Jack, but is also arguably the most enduring model in Heuer/ TAG Heuer history. Introduced in 1964, the Carrera was discontinued in the mid-1980s before being brought back in 1996. Today, it’s the best-selling model in TAG Heuer’s line-up.

Here is what Jack has to say about his watch.

Dial

The new Chronograph has a metallic Silver sun-burst pattern with applied hour-markers and simple silver hands, much like the original 2447S of the 1960s (see below).

The watch has a traditional 2-register “bi-compax” Chronograph lay-out, which is a welcome change from the ubiquitous Valjoux 7750/ Calibre 1887 design. The sub-dials are dark Grey and have the same radial pattern as the vintage Carreras.

Contrasting the Silver dial is the bright red “Heuer” logo (although the watch is not a re-edition of a historic model), the Red chronograph hand and the two red-tipped sub-dial hands. There is also a red “80” on the tachy scale- a nice touch.

Overall, the design is similar in concept to the 39mm 40th anniversary TAG Heuer Carrera Limited Edition launched back in 2004 (below).

Case

The Jack Heuer Carrera uses the same 41mm case as the Carrera 1887/ 300 SLR, including the new-style pushers, which look great. The 41mm size is about right for these watches, although the case is deeper than older Carrera models.

While the diameter of the case is perfect, it is a thick case that some may find too large- depends on your tastes.

Movement- Calibre 17

The Jack Heuer Carrera is the first new watch in the last few years to use the Calibre 17 (ETA 2894-2) movement. Most of the re-edition Chronographs of the late 1990s/ early 2000s (Monaco, Carrera, Monza, Targa Florio) used the Calibre 17, including the 40th anniversary Jack Heuer Carrera. As regular readers will know, supply of ETA movements is restricted these days, but it’s the right movement for this watch given the bi-compax lay-out.

The watch has a solid-steel caseback with Jack Heuer’s signature and the family crest.

Strap and Bracelet

The black calf strap has a red soft rubber lining, similar to the 300 SLR and Monaco 24. The strap itself has a textured finish, similar to the Corfam straps used by Heuer in the 1970s.

The watch is also available on the standard bracelet (below), which had a nice combination of brushed and polished finishes.

TAG Heuer Jack Heuer 80 (Ref. CV2119)- Price and Availability

The new Carrera is a Limited Edition of 3000 with an estimated price of CHF4500 in Switzerland.

The new watch looks fantastic- it has enough of the classic Carrera traits without being overtly retro- TAG Heuer have done a great job and no doubt this one will be a hot-seller.

The photos in this post come from our friends at Ace Jewelers, who are a great supporter of Calibre 11, so if you are in Europe and want to place an order for the new Carrera or any other model, click on the Ace Banner and make sure you tell the Ace team that you are a Calibre 11 reader to get the very best offers and service.

Live Photos

Hodinkee took some great photos of the Jack Heuer Carrera while at Baselworld- to see more photos from Hodinkee click here

To read our detailed review of the Jack Heuer Carrera 80 and see more than 30 live shots of the watch, click here.

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Photos

– Carrera 2447s: OntheDash

– Carrera Jack Heuer 80: Ace Jewelers

– Live Photos: http://www.hodinkee.com