HEUER CARRERA 7853S – SILVER DIAL – VALJOUX 7734

What are we looking at?

A HEUER Carrera ref. 7853S with a very sensible colour palette. Silver, charcoal grey, soft vanilla.

Then someone at Heuer reached for the orange.

That chronograph hand gives the whole watch a different mood. Against the silver dial, charcoal-grey subdials and matching tachymeter scale, it is a small detail with rather a lot to say. The vanilla lume softens the picture, bringing warmth to an otherwise crisp, sporting design.

The rounded steel case belongs to the Carrera’s move into the broader shapes of the 1970s. At 38.5 mm, it has presence without demanding too much wrist space. Spend a little time with it and your attention moves between the colours, the proportions and that orange hand.

It usually ends up back at the orange hand.

What do we need to know?

As much as we enjoy the colours, the condition of this dial is what makes us stop.

It is flawless. A proper 10/10, with beautiful vanilla lume plots and not a single defect on any of them. Look around the dial, marker by marker: every plot gives you another reason to keep looking.

The case is strong, with only minor signs of wear for its age. It gives the watch the substance this Carrera shape deserves. It comes fitted with The Desert Drift strap, with a 20 mm lug width.

The manually wound Valjoux 7734 has been serviced, and the watch comes with our 12-month warranty.

We started by admiring how well everything had aged.

Then realised the dial had apparently declined to take part.

Original crown and pushers, new original HEUER pin-buckle.