2447 NST Heuer Carrera Second Execution

This 2447 NST is every millimeter the chronograph that a 6239 Daytona is, a motorsport thoroughbred which is critically too little esteemed. The NST is about as collected as the Carrera gets, a truly rare bird in this condition. It’s in the article on thee Heuer website, On the Dash, where Jeff Stein placed it inside the ‘Chasing the Grails’ article. Visually, the differences are slight, the NST only denotes the addition of a tachymetre. But a motorsport chronograph needs a tachymetre in the same way that it’s morally wrong to have a GT3 without a wing. And even though it’s a small change, the complete motorsport chronograph specification and relative scarcity make the NST a collector darling in the way that few Heuers are: it weathered the tumultuous market of the last few years well and has created its own cult-like following inside of Heuer. In short, the Carrera’s never looked better.

The three-register 2447 Carrera was penned by Jack Heuer himself, which makes it an entirely different thing to anything TAG. Jack observed that, post WWII, many chronograph dials were cluttered with their artillery telemetre multi-scales and others to the point of being illegible. He created a unique case and crystal design aimed toward maximizing dial real estate. That expansive and uncluttered mass was made to be legible, later marketed to be legible at speed (hence the racing connection). An inner tachymetre scale just feels at home in this design in a way that not all executions of this configuration do. The same can be said of panda contrast, panda dials don’t get better or more classic. This is a Carrera variant which is very true to the core of what the Carrera stands for historically, not just the minimalism and long-legged 36mm case we love, but F1 golden era. 

The NST is one of the most collected Carreras and hardest to come by in great condition, but still an undisputable value relative to Daytona or even the more exotic UG Ninas. At peak, they were in the 35s. Today, they’ve settled right around 20-24K and, speaking plainly, could easily justify considerably more in great condition. I’d take an NST Carrera over just about all other Carreras barring the wild stuff like Volvo, Indy 500, or Shelby Cobra signed dials. That these trade hands for 1/4 a good 6239 is equal parts criminal and an excellent opportunity for those who know. Heuer never left for real collectors, it’s just back in the domain of those who care about vintage.

This example appears in solid condition overall, not perfect but stronger than most. I see a small partial loss of the lume pip at 3 & 9 which is fairly common in Carrera. The case is very lightly polished, which can always be see easily on the edges of these very angular lug shapes. All tritium appears original and unrestored which is great, same of the case. It comes from a new retailer who’s just branched out on his own, focused in vintage with a promising start.