FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Carrera Heuer 01 Chronograph Ceramic Bezel

CAR201Z.FT6046

My credit card was still throbbing from the shock of purchasing my own Carrera Heuer 01 skeleton watch when TAG Heuer announced the new 43mm solid dial models, which could have been a nasty surprise, but for the fact that my first impression was 'Ugh, that's hideous!'.

Now, to be fair, I haven't seen one for real yet, so it might look a lot better close up, and in all honesty the more I look at them the less offensive they are to my eyes, I wouldn't say I'm sold on it yet, but my opinion is definitely coming around. That said, while a slightly smaller Heuer 01 appeals to me, there's no way on earth I would consider switching from the skeleton dial to this, not least because as far as I'm aware the cost is exactly the same for both models (£4000). Maybe I'm wrong about that, but I would have thought a smaller watch with a solid dial would have been maybe 10% cheaper, surely? 

The other issue I have is something that really may be nothing and I can't be certain until I get to see one, and that is that the lugs don't seem to sit as nicely as on the 45mm version. It almost looks as if they've taken the lugs off the 45mm and bolted them on to the smaller case without allowing for the smaller dia of the case. Maybe that's complete nonsense, but that's the impression I get from the picture above.

Maybe the problem is that I'm so used to seeing that case with a skeletonized dial that anything else just looks wrong and I suppose that's just a case of time and getting used to the new models. As I say, my opinion is coming round already, so it will be interesting to see how my attitude adjusts over the coming months.

UPDATE

I have now seen one of these and the lugs do sit fine and are perfectly scaled, still not sure about the face though, just doesn't look right to me with the bezel. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about it that looks 'wrong', maybe it's because I associate that bezel with the skeleton version and so it always looks clunky with a solid dial. Maybe repeated viewings will help, I'm sure I'll be seeing it a lot in the jewellers. One thing, for those who found the skeleton's 45mm dial off-putting I can say that this model is noticeably smaller, it's only 2mm, but you can definitely see the difference.