CAR2A1Z.FT6044
While I do have a somewhat 'large' collection of watches, individually a lot of the components of it are relatively inexpensive. In fact of the twenty three watches I currently own, quite a large percentage of them cost me less than £500. So when the Heuer 01 Carrera was launched at Baselworld 2015 and I instantly fell in love with it, I cringed waiting to hear the retail price. I fully expected it to be way out of my price range, so I was (almost) pleasantly surprised when Mr Biver decided to price the Carrera aggressively, stating in interviews that TAG Heuer were now selling an £8000 watch for 'just' £4000.
Don't get me wrong, £4000 is still a (hell of a) lot of money to me and truthfully, probably my absolute limit for a wristwatch. But, I had some savings and after umming and ahhing for six months, trying the watch on several times and flip-flopping over whether the 45mm diameter was too big or not, I eventually took the plunge. Even though I managed to get the watch with a good discount it was still more money than I'd ever spent on anything less than a car or a house, and it felt quite surreal to finally have it on my wrist for the first time after spending so long mulling it over.
Perhaps surprisingly then, I never really had any buyers remorse... I mean obviously I occasionally fretted about the huge hit to my savings, but I never actually regretted buying the watch and I still love it to this day. I really like that it is the 'first' of the new Carreras, and while the 43mm would perhaps be slightly preferable, the detailing isn't the same so I wouldn't swap even if it was an option.
At 45mm the CAR2A1Z is my biggest watch and it is big, but the way the strap blends into the lugs helps to disguise this. Also the rubber strap helps a lot as well, plus the case is titanium so it's not that heavy which, again helps counteract the diameter. This is really brought home to you when you try on a modern Carrera with a steel bracelet, the step from the bracelet to the lugs is a bit ugly to my eyes, and the bracelet adds so much weight and heft that it makes the whole watch feel bigger. I guess if you like that then fine, but I would definitely try both and see how they wear because it makes a HUGE difference.
I think one of the things about the Carrera, and one of the reasons I was willing to spend the money on it was that it was something completely extraordinary. It didn't look like just another watch and it certainly didn't look like just another £4000 watch, to me it looked like something that could cost way more even than £8000. Obviously, as with anything new, the buzz has died down and the 'impact' has lessened to a degree, but I still think it stands out from all my other watches. Put it alongside my WAY208C Aquaracer that should have cost £2300 had I not managed to get it from the outlet and it still looks like it should cost more than twice as much to me.
I know a lot of people are excited about the Heuer 02 Carreras that are coming out, preferring the 3-6-9 dial layout and the new in house movement over the original modified Seiko, but honestly I really like the 6-9-12 layout, in fact I'm not crazy about the Heuer 02s because the area at the top of the dial looks a bit bare to me. That said, the positioning of the date window is a little odd, especially with the TAG Heuer logo so close by. They've recently tried to move the shield closer to the middle of the dial (see the Aston Martin Carrera) but to me this looks a bit ridiculous, they've taken a weak design choice and made it worse.
I'm not entirely sure why they abandoned the engraved logo as shown on the prototype at Baselworld, or the side by side placement of the shield and date. I can't really see any reason why they couldn't have kept the date at the three position even if they went with the applied shield, it's a strange choice really, but I can't say that it bothers me that much. I'd rather have a wonky date than a shield that's too close to the central peg.
Of course, mine being the original version my bezel is coated titanium not ceramic and I must admit I am a bit cautious when I wear it because I fear it may be quite easily damaged, so far I've kept mine looking pretty immaculate, but then I don't wear it all that often. Over the last year or so these have started to come onto the pre-owned market and I'm not sure if they've had hard lives or whether they just don't photograph that well, but it would be interesting to get hold of one or two and see what sort of condition they are in. Prices seem to start at about £2700 and go up to about £3200 for a really pukka one (which is what I paid for mine, so I'm doing pretty well so far).
This picture makes a fantastic desktop wallpaper!
The CAR2A1Z isn't overflowing with lume, but while it is applied sparingly it's surprisingly effective considering this isn't a dive watch by any stretch of the imagination. I can't really comment on the accuracy of the movement as I don't think I've ever worn the watch for more than about 24 hours, I certainly haven't noticed any issues and I do check it now and again and it seems fine. Given that the Heuer 01 is a modified version of a movement that has been around for quite a while, first as a Seiko and then as the Calibre 1887, I would imagine they've got it right by now, let's hope so as mine is out of warranty now...
I know the 'modular' Carreras aren't popular with everyone, and in some ways it's a shame TAG Heuer didn't give this product line a new name to differentiate it from the traditional Carrera (maybe they could have used the Grand Carrera name?). But I suppose it wouldn't make sense to have two 'racing chronograph' watches, which is why the new Isograph Autavias are being fielded as a 'pilot' watch of sorts. Personally I much prefer the newer incarnation, there's actually very few Carreras that really float my boat and most of them are black PVD coated funnily enough.
I mentioned earlier that I wouldn't swap for a 43mm, and it's really because I think that TAG Heuer got the details absolutely spot on with this. Everything is perfect, from the thin red line around the case, to the rubber crown, to the black pusher sleeves... I wouldn't change a thing. I also think the brushed/polished lugs look great and the strap is super comfortable with an excellent and easily adjustable clasp.
The only tiny regret I do have is that if I had known they would eventually make the Drive Timer version with the Arabic numerals, ceramic bezel and the leather strap, I might have waited for that. But, well.. you can't live like that can you? And I can't really justify both, so no, I'm happy with my Carrera... but that Drive Timer is damn nice all the same!
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