FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Wempe' Limited Edition Chronograph

One of the nicer Carreras of recent times has to have been the 'Swiss Alps' tourbillon that came out in a limited run of fifty pieces back in 2024. Despite being hampered by being a 'glassbox' this one fared rather well with the 'Council of Considered Opinion', scoring a creditable 6.5 on release (falling slightly to a 6.3 at the end of the year) and to me it was a no brainer that the blue/silver 'panda' would return at some point... and hopefully without the dirty great hole in the dial needed for the tourbillon. 

And sure enough, here it is (kind of), albeit once again in a limited run of fifty for the German luxury watch retailer 'Wempe'. Which seems a little odd to me, because surely it's easier to sell 50x 39mm chronographs than 50x tourbillons, no?*

*And no, it's not just 50x watches in Germany because I am reliably informed that Wempe operates in the US too.

But leaving that aside, this is a great looking watch. Though I do kinda wish the dial was a little more 'white' and a little less silver. The 'Swiss Alps' tourbillon looked like it had a white dial initially and it was a bit of a surprise when I discovered that it was actually silver, whereas this one is definitely silver right from the off. I don't have anything against silver and it works great with blue, but I do have a bit of a soft spot for blue and white dials.

This one popped up about four weeks ago and as I type this it's still showing as available on the 'Wempe' website (priced at €7200). which does a great job of selling that silver dial (see above) and the blue rally-style perforated strap (which is fitted with quick release sliders).

On the rear we have the usual display back with the text 'Wempe Signature Collection' around the edge and the now standard 'One of 50', which is bound to ruffle some feathers in the comments section below. But I think most of the time you'll be staring at that cool dial highlighted with that bright red second hand. I just hope this one doesn't turn into an ugly duckling (like the new 41mm CBS2114 did) if I ever get to see one in person. 

Overall then, quite a nice addition to the line-up, but it's a bit of a shame that it's limited to just fifty pieces. Anyway, let's turn it over to the Council and get their input on this one. I'm thinking it should get a reasonable score at least...

6/10: "Looks pretty much standard fare." 

7.5/10: "I like the chosen colours. all in all a fine Carrera."

3/10: "New style glassboxes do not, and will never, do anything for me, and come on, "ONE of 50" -- they cannot even be bothered to individually number 50?"

6.5/10: "Classic and stylish. Can't go wrong with blue and silver."

7/10: "Reminds me of the Swiss Alps Tourbillon glassbox from a few years back. This Wempe has a similar color combo at a more affordable price. But I prefer the white, blue & red look of the Swiss Alps more."

6.5/10: "Another new glassbox 😏 and not properly numbered (just the lazy “One of 50”) 😏… I like the strap, but it’s just a 6.5/10 for me."

7/10: "Very limited. 50 pieces. It's a solid looking piece. Not that special on the other hand."

3/10: "Sigh."

4/10: "Hmmm…yet another Glassbox…yet another ONE OF, despite there literally only being 50 to number. Boring 2026 so far. A generous 4/10."

7/10: "At least it’s actually limited to 50!"

6.5/10: "Oooh another glassbox! Not bad, not as nice as the Aussie edition but better than most. Usual glassbox reservations aside, it's ok."

3/10: "For some reason, these two-tone modern glassboxes don't look right to me. I like blue and silver, but this just doesn't grab me at all."

8/10: "Nice execution of the glassbox design.."

8/10: "I like the red, silver and blue."

7/10: "Wouldn't it be fine to have blue as a regular colour option too?"

6.5/10: "There's something about this, nothing ground-breaking but I like it."