ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Grand Carrera Chronograph

CAV511E.BA0902

TAG Heuer Boutique / York, 21st July 2018

At first glance you might be forgiven for thinking 'why is he writing about that Grand Carrera again', but look a little closer and you will see that the dial on this particular one is brown not black. Obviously, everything else about the watch is the same, but the brown dial really does look quite different in person and gives this CAV511E a distinctly luxurious appearance.

In all honesty, I never thought I would like a brown dial watch... the thought of it ranks right up there with brown straps for me, but in actual fact this one is rather gorgeous. Maybe it's because the brown dial is a little warmer and a little less harsh than the solid black version, but it just screams 'luxury' and looks worth every bit of the asking price (I think it was about £3400 IIRC).

It looks and feels fantastic on the wrist, and yet again made me question whether buying the GMT Calibre 8 was wise, when I know that deep down this is the one I really wanted. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't buy the pre-owned black dial CAV511A that was on offer for £2400 in my local jeweller. That was a mistake, for sure... but then I did manage to offload my CAU2012 for a good trade in price with Watchfinder, so I can't complain too much.

A quick Google throws up a pre-owned brown dial CAV511E available from Watchfinder for £2450, but the glass looks in a right state and it's nine years old, which again makes a NOS piece with a two year warranty look attractive if you can stretch to it.

CAV511E.FC6231

As you would probably expect, this brown dial watch was also available on a brown leather strap, although I haven't seen one myself and personally I don't think it improves the overall appeal one bit for me. But it is available, if you like that sort of thing... :)

Overall then, count me as a convert. I really would never have dreamed of liking a brown dial watch, but this one absolutely blew me away. It is absolutely stunning in person, and I think it's actually nicer than the black dial, which again I really didn't think I'd ever find myself saying. Without a doubt if I had unlimited funds this one would be sitting in my cabinet at home already, but it's still a lot of money to invest in one watch, and I'm still holding out some hope of finding the rare blue dial Japan only version. It has to come up sooner or later, doesn't it?