TAG HEUER BOUTIQUE SL
TAG Heuer Sri Lanka celebrates 60th anniversary of the iconic Carrera Chronograph
Colombo, 26th July 2023. TAG Heuer Boutique SL, affiliated to Sri Lanka’s premier high-luxury jewellery and watch retailer CJS, celebrated the 60th anniversary of one of TAG Heuer’s most acclaimed and iconic models; the Carrera Chronograph. Since 2021, when TAG Heuer first established its official presence in Sri Lanka, the Carrera line-up has always been a prominently featured part of the brand’s range of watches, highly sought after for its prestigious identity and heritage derived from the world of motorsport.
In lieu of the Carrera anniversary celebrations, a special event was held today at the TAG Heuer SL Boutique at One Galle Face. The occasion saw CJS CEO and local TAG Heuer Retail Partner Akram Cassim welcoming General Manager of TAG Heuer Brice Tchaplyguine along with Area Sales Director for TAG Heuer in Southeast Asia Hisham Al Jamaan. A special presentation of a Carrera Chronograph was also made to Popular Sri Lankan singer / songwriter Yohani De Silva, for her contributions to the Sri Lankan music industry.
It was the exotic setting of the Carrera Panamericana race, staged only for five years from 1950 to 1954 that would inspire Jack Heuer to create the signature Chronograph. Both as a design piece and a statement of precision watch-making, the Carrera exemplifies the essence of danger, endurance and high-adrenalin drama the Carrera Panamericana presented. It was Jack Heuer’s intention that the spirit of his new watch embody those tales of ‘ultimate victory over insurmountable odds’ related to him at Sebring in 1962, years after the race was cancelled. The outcome of this passion-driven venture has today gone on to become a vital representation of TAG Heuer’s affinity for motorsport, as well as immortalize the legacy of Carrera Panamericana from a cultural standpoint.
The Heuer Carrera uses a bold, confident design, which even though has evolved over the years, continues to respect the original traits central to its DNA. One such mainstay feature is the emphasis given to legibility. From the very inception of the idea for Carrera, Jack Heuer understood it to be a crucial aspect of racing and really, everything else. From the moving of the 1/5th seconds scale to the flange on the 1963 manual-winding chronograph, to the use of contrasting colours in the models thereafter, every innovation contributed towards enhancing legibility from all angles. But, it would be with the Solid Gold Reference 1158 that Carrera’s racing pedigree was truly established. Its beauty and impact was so phenomenal, every driver craved one. This launch of the Carrera would soon come to be known as the ‘Success Watch’ after Jack Heuer began gifting an engraved version of it to every new Ferrari Driver including legendary greats Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni. The appeal of the TAG Heuer Carrera wasn’t just limited to personalities within the sphere of racing. Icons across music, film and beyond, such as the likes of Mick Jagger too fell in love with the piece.
At the turn of 60 years for the Carrera legacy, TAG Heuer will be reinventing many of the chronograph’s classic renditions and design lines. The Carrera Skipper, once a favourite among both professional and amateur sailors was made in various series from 1968 to 1983. Its signature livery on the 15-minute subdial, comprised of three segments in the colours of orange, green and light teal, is a commemoration of the yacht Intrepid’s win at the 1967 America’s Cup, which was aided by TAG Heuer’s timing devices. Now, exactly 40 years after its last release, the Carrera Skipper makes a return with the same unmissable look, yet up-to-date with 21st century technology. Another design that will see an update in time for Carrera’s 60th anniversary is the all new version of the TAG Heuer Carrera Date 36mm. Specially significant considering that the original Carrera of 1963 also measured 36mm in diameter, the new Date promises its audience a refreshing revival with a sporty, ergonomic new-age profile, tapered bracelet design and a range of colourful dials. The Carrera Chronograph itself has received a celebratory renewal from core to surface in preparing for its seventh decade of service. One standout highlight is the implementation of the collector-favourite ‘glassbox’ design (a highly-domed sapphire crystal) that allows the tachymeter scale to sit raised above the dial. As a first, again thanks to unique dimensional qualities of the glassbox, the Carrera 60th Anniversary Chronograph will have a version with an aperture in the dial, holding a tourbillon mechanism inside. Alongside the slew of mechanical and design enhancements, nostalgia too plays a prominent role in the crafting of the new Carrera. Fiery orange detailing over each hour marker and the crisp, triangular shape of the chronograph’s central seconds hand is an unmistakable reference to the racecar dashboard instruments from the 1960s, signifying that even after all this time, Carrera’s racing spirit is not lost. 
