A stainless steel, three register, manually wound chronograph by Heuer.  When you look back at the history of the chronograph wrist watch, Heuer plays a very important role in its development and production.  The Swiss brand produced a large number of these two and three register chronographs during the middle of the twentieth century.  References such as the 2402, 2433, 333 sat along side their three register counterparts such as the 345, 2433 and 2437 to name but a few.  These were all the predecessors of the Carrera's, Autavia's and even Monaco's that really placed Heuer on the map for being one of the finest chronograph makers in the world. Watches like this one

This particular example is a very fine and lesser seen watch.  This is the manually wound Carrera that came a little after its automatically powered siblings.  These manually wound examples are easily distinguished by having the winding crown stacked on the right with the pushers. The automatic models find the crown moving to the left hand side of the case. This classic two button, three register layout is both easy to read, and easy to use.  As a result of this these models were very popular with the race car drivers at the time.

The name came from Jack Heuer. The Carrera was named after the legendary Carrera Panamericana, a grueling thousand-plus-mile race that stretched from the northern to the southern border of Mexico along a highway of the same name. It ran for only four years before being cancelled due to safety concerns.

In 1962, Jack Heuer had just launched the Autavia and was attending the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida. There, he met the parents of two Mexican drivers, Pedro and Riccardo Rodriguez, who recounted the drama and danger of the Carrera Panamericana. Heuer was immediately taken with the stories – and with the name itself. Carrera translates to “race” in Spanish, but he loved its romance and elegance. He sketched Heuer’s next chronograph himself, envisioning something more refined than the robust Autavia, and found the name simply perfect (as, of course, did Porsche, which remains a TAG Heuer partner today).

The C-shaped case became most closely associated with the automatic-powered 1153 and 1158 models, and rightly so. Yet by the early 1970s, Heuer was producing more economical watches to survive a changing market, including manual-wind chronographs in the same C-shaped cases, powered by Valjoux’s 77 series movements.

This watch represents the first series dial launched in 1970, with second execution hands that contain the black stripe running through the center. The stunning watch dial was known as charcoal, but over time this metallic dials develop their very own uinique colours. This example has turned into a stunning dusty grey blue. The three off white sub-dials pop beautifully off the dial. The dial itself is in superb original condition. Surrounding the dial is the more unusual tachymeter scale. The logo is the classic Heuer shield logo in the frame that became commonplace through the 1960's and onwards.  

The watch is powered by the Valjoux 7736 caliber, manually wound movement.  These watches from Heuer, as well as other Swiss watch makers making chronographs often opted for either Valjoux or Lemania movements. The 7736 is one of the most robust and reliable manually-wound chronograph movements ever designed. The Valjoux 7736 is a hand-wound, cam-operated chronograph movement produced from 1969 up until 1978, notable for its three-register layout (60 seconds, 30 minutes, and 12 hours). It is part of a series based on the Venus 188 movement, which Valjoux acquired in 1966 and adapted into the 7730, followed by the 7733 and its variants. The 7736 was used by brands like Breitling, Heuer, and Tudor

Overall, the condition of this watch is very good.  The case remains unpolished, which is key for these wonderfully contoured and finished cases.  The edges are very clean. The original pushers are present, and the watch is working well having undergone a recent service.  If you are looking for a period, large size case vintage chronograph, it is hard to find a better looking more handsome example.  The beauty of watches like this, being vintage, is that they can look god when dressed up, as well as more casual.