ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 Chronograph Watches

CAR201Z.BA0714   CAR201W.FT6095   CAR201W.FT6122  CAR208Z.BF0719

TAG Heuer Outlet / Bicester Village, 19th September 2019

And so the Heuer 01 era draws to a close... I was pretty surprised when I heard that the Heuer 01s were coming to Bicester, but I suppose it was inevitable. With hundreds of watch combinations on the market, TAG Heuer didn't really need both the Heuer 01s and 02s competing for the same sales, especially when the 02 has the more symmetrically pleasing dial and carries the added heft of being genuinely 'in house' (but let's not open that particular can of 'tuna' yet again, eh?).

CAR201Z.BA0714

List Price £4250*

Bicester Village Price £2975*

I must admit, as the owner of an original Heuer 01 Skeleton dial on a rubber strap, I didn't much care for the solid dial variants when they came out. They just looked inherently 'wrong' to me, though I couldn't really put my finger on why. And then they dropped the sizes from 45mm to 43mm and that didn't appeal to me either, perhaps because it made a thick watch look even thicker and also because the nearest equivalent to mine had silver pushers and a non PVD steel case and no red line around it.

CAR208Z.BF0719

List Price £4750*

Bicester Village Price £3325*

Surprising then how much I liked these watches once I had them on the wrist, and how much my opinion has changed about the solid dial versions of these watches. This may in part be due to my recent acquisition of a 'proper' Carrera, which has meant that I've got used to those thick subdial rings (that I used to really dislike) but also perhaps it's a case of familiarity and the (old) new Carreras finally winning me over. Perhaps it's a bit like when a band release an album you don't like as much as their old ones and then when they release a new one you like even less you suddenly decide you kinda like the previous one more than you thought? That happens to me quite a lot actually.... by the time the Heuer 02s hit the outlet I'll probably be completely on board. :)

CAR201W.FT6122

List Price £4250*

Bicester Village Price £2975*

Bicester Village had four watches in stock when I tried these on, albeit two of them are the same watch 'head' on two different coloured straps. The CAR201W and CAR208Z variants have anthracite dials, while the CAR201Z has a black dial. I must say I preferred the anthracite, but the black is nice enough... just a bit more 'regular'. I preferred the watch on a strap and in particular I preferred the FT6095 (grey) strap. Unfortunately you can't see the straps too well in my photographs, but to my eyes the grey certainly sat better with the dial and bezel than the brown.

CAR201W.FT6095

List Price £4250*

Bicester Village Price £2975*

*The prices shown above are the prices at the time of my visit, since then the prices have changed significantly with the watches now being available at a much higher discount. The titanium CAR208Z is now £2205 (albeit on a rubber strap, not a bracelet), while the other three pieces have dropped to £2085. To be honest if you are in the market for a Heuer 01 Carrera I would take advantage of this while it lasts, because you could wear them for a year or two and sell them pre-owned for more than that!