SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Japanese MOP' Calibre 5 Limited Edition

 

WAR211G.BA0782

It's not that often these days that I come across an older TAG Heuer watch that I wasn't previously aware of, so to find this model on the Watchfinder website the other day was quite a pleasant surprise. I've seen black mother of pearl dial Carreras in men's sizes before (I tried on a Calibre 16 at Bicester Village years ago) and just recently we've seen a new limited edition 42mm Carrera with a MOP dial, again for the Japanese market - but I think this one is the nicest of the lot. 

I only have photos to go on of course (more here), but from this angle this watch looks absolutely stunning and if it had been 41mm I would have been severely tempted to snap it up. Unfortunately it is 39mm (traditionally more suited to Japanese wrist sizes, though that seems to be changing) and while I do have 37/38mm watches in my collection, I'm not keen to add a modern watch in the sub 40mm range, especially not one which could be construed to have a 'feminine' dial.

Unusually Watchfinder put an unobscured photo of the display back in their listing, which features a smoked crystal through which can be seen the words 'Carrera Black Pearl' and 'Japan Limited'.

The watch is limited to 500pcs (individually numbered) and priced at £2250, which is not cheap, but then this isn't exactly something you can pick up anywhere/anytime so part of that is undoubtedly 'scarcity value', plus you are getting a two year warranty. If you are willing to import from Japan yourself you will probably be able to find it cheaper, but bear in mind you might have to pay customs charges.

Meanwhile I noticed a gap in the numbers and went on a Carrera hunt, managing to find another 500pce limited edition presumably released at the same time (2015).

WAR211F.BA0782

Essentially the same, the WAR211F features a black rehaut instead of the white along with a matching date wheel. Personally I think the WAR211G looks much, much better and would definitely be my choice, though I must admit the 'F' does look a bit more 'masculine' which would perhaps work better with the case size (for a man, anyway). I managed to find the WAR211F for sale on Ebay for about £1600 (plus carriage from Japan).

Finding this watch reminded me that I still haven't made any progress with my 'History of the Carrera' posts, and so I am resolving to get that done before the end of the year. Unfortunately there's still many, many hours of work to be done there, but I really don't want it to drag into next year.