ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 'Chinese Edition'

WAR215F.BD0783

TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village, 4th Dec 2019

If you've never been to Bicester Village, you could be forgiven for thinking it's simply a place to pick up watches from 'three seasons ago' at a discount, and while that is true, I think it's become fairly apparent to all of you who read my blog regularly that there's definitely more to it than that!

For example, just a few days ago I wrote an 'OTW' post about a Calibre 16 Carrera that I tried on at 'BV' and that I have never seen for sale anywhere I've been in the UK. Now obviously I can't say for sure that it's never been for sale anywhere in the UK, but I spend more time than most 'normal' people looking in jewellers' windows and to be honest most of the time they have the same watches as all the other jewellers, which is why I came to the conclusion that that watch might not have been aimed at the UK market (this seems to be further confirmed by the fact that the UK TAG Heuer website completely refuses to acknowledge the existence of that watch's part number). I don't know why that would be, but there rarely seems to be a logical explanation for these things; maybe it's as simple as they showed the black/brown one and the black/white one to the buyers at Ernest Jones and Goldsmiths and they all got excited about the black/brown one. Who knows?

But here we have a watch I can be sure hasn't been for sale in the UK before, as this one is a special edition made for the Chinese market. It's not marked as such, it doesn't have a special backplate and it's not numbered or anything like that... but Evan at Bicester Village was keen to show me the watch and tell me the story and sure enough, Google this number and all you get is links to Chinese websites (and my own TAG Heuer Enthusiast Gallery blog of course).

As you'd imagine for a watch aimed at the Chinese market, this Carrera is on the smaller side at 39mm, which I know will please many Carrera fans who despair when confronted with watches of 43mm and more, but for me it is perhaps just a little small for a modern watch. I don't mind wearing older watches that are smaller because that's just the way it was back then and you either get on board or you don't; but when there are reasonably similar 41mm Carrera alternatives available... well, I would probably move in that direction if I'm completely honest. 

Perhaps 39mm is more appropriate for a two-tone model with a more 'traditional' aesthetic though, and let's be honest, it's still quite a novelty to see a TAG Heuer watch sporting a classic look with Roman numerals and a blued second hand. Indeed, off the top of my head I really can't think of more than a handful of men's TAG Heuers with this kind of look, which makes it something of a novelty in itself.

The WAR215F is one for the 'traditionalist' then, or perhaps even a lady who likes her watches on the larger side? After all, 36mm seems to be the new normal for ladies, so an extra 3mm isn't going to look outrageous, unless the lady in question is particularly petite of wrist...

So then, the big question; is it a winner? I kinda liked it, even though it isn't really my style, but I must admit, it isn't the most legible watch I've ever had on my arm; the yellow gold against the white dial doesn't give a tremendous amount of contrast and so I found myself turning the face to try and get a better view. Also, if I'm honest, I didn't realise the second hand was blue to start with; it actually looked black to me, but then to be fair the boutique isn't always the best place to assess how a watch will look in the 'real world', with lights directly overhead creating annoying reflections, etc...

Personally I think I'd prefer this in rose gold, but it may be that yellow gold sells better in the Asian market, or maybe rose gold isn't popular there? I don't know, but I'm sure they have their reasons for choosing yellow over rose. Then again sometimes I've seen yellow gold and rose gold watches next to each other in the boutique and it's been almost impossible to tell them apart!

Anyway... if you fancy a 39mm TAG Heuer Carrera with a traditional style and the novelty of regional market specificity, you can pick this up from the Bicester Village boutique at a 30% discount off the £4050 list price (bringing it down to £2835). I believe there is only one piece though, so you might want to give them a call first and make sure they still have it (01869 249008).