ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph

CBS2213.FN6002

I know that as a rule I am generally out of step with the watch community at large, but even I am flummoxed by the turnaround in opinion that's been brought on by the release of the new glassbox Carreras. To me these watches are inferior to the previous iterations, damned strange looking AND feel even smaller on the wrist than the old models even though they are in fact the same 39mm size.

And yet every time I go to YouTube I see video after video praising TAG Heuer to the skies for these new watches, even Teddy Baldassarre (who rarely even ever talks about TAG Heuer) recently posted a video praising the company for the direction it's heading since Frederic Arnault took over.

Of course this is good for TAG Heuer (and Frederic) and I'm not so contrary and kvlt that I preferred it when TAG Heuer was the black sheep and people posted lazy videos about how much TAG Heuer sucked and asked questions like 'Is TAG Heuer Even a Proper Watch Company?' One of the main reasons I started this blog was because it irked me how much negativity there was towards the brand after all. But on the other hand, if TAG Heuer get the idea that these are the watches they 'should' be making... well, sorry but not for me.

I will say that this particular version is undoubtedly the best of the 3 released so far, but having already decided that the black/silver CBS2210 is in my top 10 least favourite TAG Heuer watches of ALL TIME, that in itself isn't saying much.

Granted this watch, at 39mm (wearing like a 36/37mm) feels too small for my 7.1/2" wrist. but I don't really think that's the issue. After all I still own and wear 80s and 90s TAGs that are smaller with no problem and even at 42mm I don't think I would like it much more. It's the whole 'pebbleness' of it that I don't get. The glass going to the edge of the case just makes it feel tiny and again it puzzles me that so many people seem to love this.

Admittedly the blue dial is pleasing to the eye and the splashes of colour add a certain amount of interest... and I bet a lot of people are happy this exists so they have an alternative to the used market prices of the originals or the Hodinkee re-issue. But it hurts my brain when I look at this and try to understand why everyone is suddenly back on the TAG Heuer train. 

An interesting thought popped into my head while I was sitting in the TAG Heuer boutique with this on my wrist though; given the levels of hype and praise this watch has received from almost everyone but me... could this be the watch we needed to make a fight of the COCO 'Watch of the Year' award? Up until now it's been assumed that the battle was already won with the final 'Heuer' branded 'Panda' glassbox standing unopposed... but maybe not?

And furthermore, given how much everyone (else) loves these 39mm glassbox Carreras, could there still be one more contender yet to join the fight? You don't need to be a genius to work out what that might be; just look back over this years press and see which other classic Heuer has been talked about in tandem with the Skipper. If you're still none the wiser let's just say TAG Heuer ambassador Ryan Gosling already dropped a massive hint in the recent 'Barbie' film...