Whilst many vintage Heuers can claim to be true "motorsport" watches worn by motorsport greats, it is the Autavia 2446 Rindt and the Carrera 1158 that perhaps have the highest profile in today's collector market. Today's blog is on the latter, which was worn by most Ferrari drivers and a whole host of Heuer "ambassadors" during that period. The list is impressive: Niki Lauda, Mario Andretti, Jacky Ickx, Clay Regazzonia, Ronnie Peterson, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mike Hailwood, Arturo Merzario, Jo Siffert and more.

The Carrera 1158 launched in 1969 with the very rare Chronomatic signed 1158S version and after this came in three distinct flavours, all constructed with 18CT gold. The S version had an all silver dial, the CH had an all gold dial and the CHN, pictured here, had a gold dial with black sub registers. The 1158CHN came with a silver or black date window, and could have been either on a black Corfam band or a very valuable and highly prized 18CT gold GF bracelet. The latter is much rarer because it cost a considerable amount as an option, up to twice the price of the watch itself, so was a statement piece indeed! There have been various estimates about production numbers in the past, but I think more units were produced than some imagine. I have full serials for around 70 Carrera 1158 on my database and the majority are the 1158CHN. The serials appear in several blocks but there is one large run of serials in a block of 500 that is exclusively held and widely populated for the 1158. With the data available I would estimate the serial allocation of all 1158 versions to be "up to" 1000. Whilst that is an outer limit for production I still think a minimum of 500-600 were produced.

Things you should look out for when adding one of these watches to your collection are over polished cases, the unpolished originals should have a nice brushed finish. Cases that have been refurbished can be spotted by looking for the gold hallmarks, which should be clear, crisp and deep on the side of the case and inside the back case. The serial and model reference numbers are on the thin lip of the lugs and, as this wasn't an ideal placement for them, they can be worn or polished away, which does affect collectability and value to some degree. Depending on age they could have the Calibre 11 or 12 movement, the earlier serials would have the 11 unless it had been changed at service which, given some of the early issues with the Calibre 11, is always possible.

Although the 1158CHN is the most common of the three dial variants (well over 50% of the noted 1158 are the CHN version) it is considered the most beautiful and desirable. Values vary considerably depending on condition within a range of £7500  to £17500 depending on condition "head only" but, of course, examples that can be tied back to their Ferrari owners could be worth considerably more!

To read more about the Carrera from the 1960s and 70s click the link below to view the Heuer Carrera 1963-85 Chronograph book.