Saturday 10 September 2022

FIRT IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 Japanese Limited Edition Chronograph

CBN2019.BA0642

I was trawling YouTube for TAG Heuer videos the other day, when I came across a Japanese video... I don't really know why I clicked on it since I can't speak or read Japanese, but for some reason I flicked through it and right near the end I spied something which caught my eye. 'What is that?' I thought to myself, 'I don't remember an Elegant Carrera with rose gold on it'. However, I wasn't 100% sure so I spent the next 15 mins trawling my Gallery Blog and anywhere else I could think of to make sure this was something new and then hit on the idea of visiting TAG Heuer's Japanese website where my suspicions were confirmed.


This turned out to be a 300 piece limited edition made specifically for the Japanese market and inspired by the armour of the Samurai (see picture below). Actually the TAG Heuer website mumbled something about gold and the line of swords, or something - I assume it was a bad translation, but our resident Japanese COCO member 'Snowy' clarified the details.... before laying into the watch and damning it with a paltry score of 2/10. Ouch!!


I think it looks okay, although I do think having 100% of the rose gold under the sapphire crystal it lacks a certain something. Perhaps a rose gold crown would have given it that little finishing touch? I also can't help but think that overall it would look better on a black alligator strap instead of the stainless steel bracelet, but I guess that would be an easy fix if you were in the market.


If you are in the market, I've included a link to TAG Heuer's Japanese website below. The watch is currently on sale at Y726,000 (£4385) and as ever is powered by TAG Heuer's in-house 'Heuer 02' movement, offering 80 hours of power reserve. But then you knew that anyway, cos it's written on the dial.  

Okay, enough jibber jabber, let's find out what the rest of the council thought of this one...




CBN2019.BA0642: 6.1/10


6/10: "It could have been very interesting to have opted for a black PVD case and bracelet… but combining that black and gold dial with steel, I don't like it too much."

8/10: "I agree 100% that a blacked out version woulda been killer. But still, gold always makes me hard so I give this one a weak 8... gold crown and pushers with black case woulda been close to a 10 damn it!"

6/10: "The gold components (indices, hands, rings, etc.) mesh well with the black dial. As it is, I would rate it a 6/10. If it was offered on a black leather strap, I would bump it up to a 6.5/10."

7/10: "I like it. there is nothing awfully wrong with it but don't understand it being limited as well. perhaps WIS community will jump at it if it is offering diameter of 38mm with 18mm lug width."

8/10: "The contrasting gold and stainless looks good and even the running seconds works for me. Shame it’s limited, but based on previous models I expect something similar will appear in the catalog soon."

6/10: "It's just another colour scheme. It's alright but would choose something else personally."

2/10: "I think this watch is a trash. So my score is 2 points. If TAG Heuer Japan makes something limited to Japan like this, it will go unsold and eventually Japan will not be able to make a limited product. It is not an attractive product that sells well."

7/10: "While it might not be all that creative or special, I kind of like it. For starters, the Carrera Elegance is a good looking watch. The addition of Daytona like circles on the sub-dials gives it a cooler look compared to the normal versions. So it gets a bonus point for that."

8/10: "I like this one (and not because I like Japan), although a black leather strap would’ve been better IMHO."

7.5/10: "I agree this will look great on a black crock strap."

7.5/10: "This is very nice with the black dial complimented with rose gold markers and hands that gives off a nice luxury warm feeling. Also the negative date window is a plus for me. Not sure it needed the '80 HOURS' on the dial but I suppose it balances out. A solid ltd edition."

7.5/10: "It's quite nice, but that "Heuer 02 80 Hours" footer still bothers me."

6.5/10: "7 with rose gold date, 6.5 without."

6/10: "I like combinations of black and gold/ yellow. But would be better with a black strap or even better with PVD coating."


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