“DATO“, AN ATYPICAL LOOK
A nickname that suits it like a glove, immediately brings out the specificity that makes it incomparable, even within its own family: after years of absence, this sports watch produced by the Locle watchmaker is finally back in the limelight.
A quick exploration into the past allows us to trace the appearance of the date display on Heuer‘s Carrera watch, long before the merger with TAG and subsequent takeover by LVMH, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023. Indeed, it was in 1966, three years after the creation of this sporty timepiece designed for racing drivers, that it adopted this useful everyday complication on its dial. Placed at 12 o’clock, the date migrated to 9 o’clock in 1968, inheriting the nickname “Dato” in the process. As the years go by, so did the changes in ergonomics, aesthetics and techniques: in 2021, the minute totalizer is reduced from 45 to 30; in 2023, the curved “glassbox” sapphire crystal, perfectly embedded in the reworked case, is added over a graduated convex flange; and in 2024, the new Carrera Chronograph, presented in January during the LVMH Watch Week, takes on a beautiful hue halfway between green and blue, intensified by a circular brushing.
Housed in a steel case measuring 39mm in diameter and 13.86mm thick, the TH20-07 caliber powers the various hour, calendar and chronograph functions. This powerful automatic movement, tuned to the standard 4hz frequency, delivers a substantial 80-hour power reserve when fully wound, thanks to its openworked oscillating weight, which takes up the silhouette of the Le Locle brand’s shield. The unique style of this Carrera is based on the union between the particular configuration of its dial, with the date at 9 o’clock echoing the azure counter at 3 o’clock, the greenish blue color of the latter, on which the rhodium-plated applied hour markers are set, and the piston-type pushers on the right-hand side of the case.
