Thank you for your most informative reply. There are certainly alot of things to consider when restoring a watch to this extent and you have given me some points to think about a little harder. As you say the hands and pushers definately need replacing and i think the plexi and internal 1/5th second ring need some work. As for the dial i think i would be tempted to leave it as it is, the lume is not an issue for me and i feel i could live with the broken text if i couldn't find a replacement dial.

I will start the serach for parts and post up the before and after pictures for you later on in the New Year

Kind Regards James

: Hello James, and welcome to the forum.

: Your watch is a late Carrera 12 reference 2447 NT, which is row D-8
: on our Carrera reference table:

: http://www.onthedash.com/Guide/Master_Reference.php4

: Here's a photo of another example:

:

: It's great that it's still running and that you want to get it up
: and running still further. As to what to restore and repair,
: that's ultimately your decision; though some restorers might be
: keen on pushing you to go as far as possible towards getting
: everything pristine, I'm not convinced that's always the best
: way to go and that some patina and wear is worth taking in order
: to keep originality. That though is a personal decision and not
: the same for everyone.

: Let's start with some of the non-controversial items:

: - replace the missing lower pusher. These crop up sometimes on eBay
: etc and quite possibly some of the people on this forum would
: have one in stock.

: - replace the hands if possible. I say replace rather than relume
: because these hands have either lost the black centre insert or
: are replacement hands; the seconds chrono hand definitely looks
: like a replacement as it seems to reach the outer edge of the
: internal 1/5 seconds ring rather than the inner edge. These
: hands are harder to find than the earlier plain hands but that
: insert is part of the look of the watch and they always look
: best with these. The existing hands could be tidied up while the
: search is on perhaps.

: - replace or polish the plexiglass. If replacing, you might also be
: able to replace the internal 1/5 second ring for a cleaner one,
: though bear in mind you might not want to depending on how much
: the registers on the dial can be cleaned. Don't consider
: removing that ring entirely - these early Carreras always,
: always look better with even a dirty ring than none at all.

: - service the movement. It looks a little dirty so some parts may
: need replacement, especially as the chronograph isn't
: functioning. Fortunately the Valjoux 72 is a well-known vintage
: watch movement and was well used by many major manufacturers in
: its time, so finding parts might not be as hard as for some
: other movements.

: Now onto some of the points where some views may differ:

: - reluming the dial. I have rarely seen this done well - on these
: early Carreras, this involves removing the hour markers so that
: part of the lume's radius lies underneath the marker. Typically,
: the relumer does not go to that effort and you end up with a
: blob of lume sitting on or by the marker, which doesn't look
: right and is by no means original. An easy decision for me -
: it's quite common for lume to have degraded and gone in a
: vintage watch, so I am happy to leave it at that but I know some
: people disagree.

: - polishing the case. Cleaning definitely, I don't think anyone
: would have a problem with that. I'm a believer in letting a
: watch wear its scars of age; others advocate polishing. If you
: go the polishing route, then ensure the polisher will leave
: references intact and maintain the iconic sharp edges of this
: Carrera case. Looking at the watch, the case seems in good
: condition and not in need of a polish to me, but that's one for
: you to decide.

: - redial. Possibly the most controversial of all. I have rarely
: seen this done at all well. Ideally, you could find a
: replacement dial in good condition and use that, I don't think
: there would be any controversy in going that route. Let's assume
: that you won't be that lucky, though, and we need to do
: something with the existing dial. I'm kind of torn here myself.
: I really value originality but the white text on these early
: black Carreras is very prone to breaking up, as on this example.
: It has been retouched on a lot of watches but to me it then
: never looks quite right. So the decision is then between
: complete text that might not like quite right or the current
: broken, but original, Heuer Carrera text. Tricky one. If it was
: me, I would see if I could look at the watch with the rest of
: the work done, then decide on whether to have this retouched -
: once that's done, you can't go back of course. The Tachy scale
: doesn't look too bad - 150 looks totally obscured, 160
: partially, as are 750, 500 and 80 (as far as I can tell from the
: small photos). I'd be tempted to leave that as is. The rest of
: the dial can be cleaned without redialling and see how well that
: comes up before making a decision whether indices etc would need
: to be repainted. If the watch were mine, I would have the dial
: cleaned but not redone and would remain on the lookout for a
: replacement dial thereafter.

: So a fair amount of work, but the watch is worth it. I've not had a
: watch restored to that extent, so can't suggest someone for you
: - there are some on the forum who could do the work but I'll
: leave them to come forward if they want to take it on. Failing
: that, I'm sure someone will be able to give you a contact,
: either in the UK or continental Europe.

: Good luck in getting it restored and when it is, please treat us to
: some before and after photos - I'm a sucker for those!