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Sunday, 15 January 2017

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Carrera Calibre 16 Chronograph

CV2A84.FC6394

Wow, so here we have a Carrera on a brown leather strap, so this is only going one way right?

Well, not so fast... because actually, I don't mind this one. It reminds me of a Timex I used to have many years ago (back in the days when I used to buy my wrist-watches from Argos - I know, the shame of it...). It was either called an Explorer or an Expedition or something else beginning with E that made it sound rugged and manly, and truth be told it looked nothing like this Carrera, but it did have a suede/leather type strap and at the time I really liked it. Not actually sure what happened to it, probably fell to bits like the Citizen I had after it...

But anyway, I think this is rather smart and reminds me of that new Aquaracer with the brown nylon strap...


...a watch incidentally, which looks a million times better once you get it off that daft nylon thing and put it on black rubber. In fact now that I've seen it on black rubber I am sorely tempted to buy one, were it not for that damn silly bubble thing over the date.

But I digress. I think TAG have done a great job of matching this strap with this watch and marking out the numerals in brown, which sounds awful, but looks rather splendid. The black day/date looks good too, I think white would have looked all kinds of wrong.

Legibility looks great too, which is unusual for this style of Carrera, since the numerals are often reflective and disappear into the face. The silver hands are a good choice, and it will be interesting to see what it looks like in the dark, does it really have brown lume?

The white stitching on the strap looks great, but I fear it will quickly look grubby, maybe they should supply it with an alternative rubber strap as an option? I think that would look pretty damn good.


Now that's what I'm talking about!

UPDATE: The numbers on this watch ARE luminous.
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14 comments:

  1. Anonymous15 January 2017 at 20:40

    It's good because it looks like a Timex? Lol :)

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    Replies
    1. Aquagraph15 January 2017 at 22:34

      Technically, not what I said...! :)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16 January 2017 at 20:24

      OK, I took your words out of context, but if you just look at the quote! :) "I don't mind this one. It reminds me of a Timex"

      Delete
    3. Aquagraph16 January 2017 at 23:29

      The disappointing thing is, having now seen the video with this watch in, the strap doesn't even really look like that, it's much lighter and not at all like my old Timex. :(

      Delete
  2. Anonymous24 April 2017 at 02:02

    Hi. I think this new Carrara looks great, are the minute numbers on the dial luminous?

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    Replies
    1. Aquagraph24 April 2017 at 14:13

      Hi
      Thanks for visiting my blog. That is a very good question, and I don't actually know the answer. I suspect they are, although having said that, I thought the orange markers on my new F1 Calibre 16 would be luminous and they aren't.
      Actually, you know, now I think about it, maybe they aren't... because the hands seem to have white lume. If they hands were the same colour as the numbers that would suggest it was 'antique' lume, but I think it may just be paint.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous24 April 2017 at 20:58

      Hi. Thanks for replying, the consensus seems to be that they aren't luminous. It's not a big deal but I think they look better when they are luminous. I think, with the Carreras, some models do have luminous dials and some don't, even within the same range. I have a Carrera CV201ag which doesnt have luminous hour markers but has small luminous dots around the edge of the dial. The similar CV201ah doesn't have a luminous dial despite being the same watch.

      Delete
    3. Aquagraph24 April 2017 at 21:11

      Hi, no problem at all. Both nice watches, those lume pips really are tiny aren't they. I think I prefer the AH personally, but there's not a lot in it. I do feel a bit swizzed on the CAU2012 not having lume, I think it should have lume markers, and the more I think about it the more I think the beige markers are paint. Thanks for bringing it up, I will pay more attention when I try watches on in future.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous24 April 2017 at 23:36

      Yes, they are small. The CAU2012 is a nice watch too, I have CAZ2011.

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    5. Aquagraph25 April 2017 at 00:54

      Ah, do you find it feels quite 'mechanical' when you wind it? It seems quite, well not that smooth compared to the Heuer 01. Quite a big price difference I appreciate!

      Delete
  3. Anonymous6 May 2017 at 23:29

    Hi. sorry for the delay in replying. When I compare winding the CAZ2011 and CV201ag, both Calibre 16 movements, the CV201ag wind is smoother maybe its because the CAZ2011 has a screw in crown. I had a look at one of the Heuer 01 Carerras, really nice. However, I took the leap and bought the CV2A84. it's awesome and the numbers on the dial are luminous. The winding mechanism on it is also smooth like the CV201ag.

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    Replies
    1. Aquagraph7 May 2017 at 11:35

      Hi
      Thanks for letting us know, that makes me even more annoyed that my CAU2012 doesn't have lume on the dial! Hahaha. Congrats on your purchase, hope it brings you years of pleasure. Might have to look at it again myself, after I've secured my Grand Carrera of course.
      Rob

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    2. Anonymous7 May 2017 at 16:43

      Thanks. The Grand Carrera is a nice watch, the rotating dials are cool. Hope you are able to get it soon.

      Delete
    3. Aquagraph7 May 2017 at 19:03

      Not as soon as I'd like! :)
      Rob

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