Ronnie Peterson Carrera in Solid Gold - a limited edition of one will be auctioned by Bonhams on 11 May 2018

HEUER CARRERA RONNIE PETERSON EDITION IN STEEL AND ONE-OFF GOLD EDITION FOR BONHAMS
Today we can bring you news of a very special new Carrera with genuine Formula 1 heritage. Every Carrera re-edition since the first in 1996 has been based on the case design of the original 1963 Carrera, but now we have a new model that is a re-edition of the second generation Carrera that debuted in 1969- the Ronnie Peterson Special Edition Carrera. The watch is limited to very small numbers- only 40 in steel (Ref. CBH2210) and just two watches in Gold (Ref. CBH2240), only one of which will be sold to the public at the May 2018 Bonhams auction.

Ronnie Peterson was a Swedish Formula 1 driver from the halcyon days of the 1970s, driving most of his career for the JPS Lotus team. Tragically, Peterson died following a crash at the Italian Grand Prix of 1978, a significant accident that broke both of his legs, although one that most people agree should never have resulted in the driver’s death had he been correctly treated in hospital in the hours following the crash. The “Super Swede” was a two-time runner-up in the Formula 1 World Championship and still remembered fondly in F1 circles for his speed and dash, especially in his native Sweden.

Let’s get straight into the specs of the newest Carrera:

• Case: 38mm stainless steel
• Bezel: fixed steel
• Domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective glass
• Silver dial with matching silver flange
• Movement: Calibre 11 (Sellita/ Dubois-Depraz)
• Milanese steel strap

While some of Heuer’s recent re-editions have been “inspired” by the past, rather than being faithful reproductions, the Peterson Carrera is a near-perfect facsimile of the original, all the way down to the fluted chronograph pushers.

But there’s more- a second version of this watch in 18k gold- as we’ll tell you shortly.

THE INSPIRATION- HEUER CARRERA 1158CH

The new Carrera is based on the 1158CH Carrera from the mid 1970s. Using the second generation case, the 1158CH is made from 18K gold with a matching 18k Milanese bracelet, which at the time cost twice as much as the watch itself. There were several versions of the 1158 Carrera, but the specific version used as the basis for the re-edition was the watch above, owned by Ronnie Peterson. This model has the distinctive Cotes de Geneve Champagne coloured dial, with black sub-dials, a black central chronograph hand.

The watch above- a gift from Jack Heuer to Ronnie- was sold earlier this year by Ronnie’s daughter Nina (yes, Nina is named after the wife of fellow F1 great Jochen Rindt) earlier this year for an amazing CHF225,000.

In fact, there were two “Peterson” Carreras, because Ronnie and his brother Tommy bought a similar 1158 Carrera as a gift for their father. One of Tommy’s friends shared with us a photo of Tommy Peterson with that Carrera. And that second Heuer box that contains a Rolex? That’s the original box for Ronnie’s gift from Jack Heuer.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY- CARRERA CBH2210 AND CBH2240 RONNIE PETERSON CALIBRE 11

There are two versions of the Ronnie Peterson Carrera Re-edition. The first is the stainless steel model shown here, which is limited to only 40 pieces (sorry, that’s not a typo), all of which are on sale in Sweden priced at 85,000 SEK, approx. US$10,500. Considering the small production run and the bespoke nature of the case and bracelet, we think that’s a very reasonable price.

The second is a unique edition of one- a single gold Carrera, just like the original, that will be auctioned by Bonhams on 11 May 2018. Actually, while there will only be one Gold watch sold to the public, in fact two have been made: one for Bonhams and one for TAG Heuer Ambassador Cristiano Ronaldo.

(c) All information taken from www.caliber11.com