ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 02T Tourbillon Limited Edition

CAR5A97.FS6463

TAG Heuer Boutique / Sheffield, 26th January 2019

I was led to believe that this limited edition tourbillon (and the orange lume variant) were only for the German market, so I was more than a little surprised to find this one in the distinctly un-German city of Sheffield a few weeks ago! Indeed, such was my excitement that the other two watches I was looking at (the Rose Gold Carbon Aquaracer and the Alec Monopoly Carrera) rather paled in comparison...

Distinctly 'Bamford-esque' in design, this Carrera is a real stunner and answers the question that literally nobody was asking: 'What would I buy if £17,000 fell into my lap?' quite conclusively. Sure the blue isn't going to be to everyone's taste and you could make a case for a plainer finish, but I really liked it. Yes, it's possible that it might get 'old', and I would want to know if replacement straps would be available before comitting to purchase (this piece is limited to just 50 and I've seen enough limited edition Grand Carreras with the wrong colour stitching on the strap to know that replacements with the blue stitching are probably not going to be easy to come by), but leaving that aside... like the carbon Carrera I tried on at the start of January, this was another one I really didn't want to take off.

Admittedly I haven't seen both versions in the flesh, but judging from the pictures I definitely prefer the blue. Orange is a difficult colour to get right and it seems it works best when applied in small doses - on the tip of a second hand for example, but still, I'm sure the orange model will have it's fans.

Cased in matt ceramic, this one also features a matt ceramic bezel and a very, very nice strap which prompted me to ponder the possibility of getting something similar for my own Heuer 01. Again, this one is 45mm and while it is big, it fits perfectly on my 7.3/4" wrist. As with all these 45mm modular Carreras, the fitted strap goes a long way to making the watch fit comfortably and look 'right'. Incidentally, if you have a smaller wrist I would certainly suggest you take a Carrera with a rubber or leather strap over a bracelet as they definitely smooth out some of the watches' bulk.

It's nice to try pieces like this on, even if it's way out of my budget. I guess if I sold all 18 of my watches I could get somewhere near being able to buy this one... well, actually not that near thinking about it! But would I want to put all of my eggs in one 'blue-lumed' basket? I don't think so. I don't think this is likely to be an 'only watch' for anyone really. It's very cool and I really like it, but it's hardly suitable for every occasion.

It is gloriously bold though, and once again TAG Heuer shows why it is the market leader in affordable luxury pieces, I just wish you get this at a more affordable price without the tourbillon.