CAV518E.FT6016
Ah the Grand Carrera... it's definitely not for everyone, is it? It has it's own unique charm for sure, but I can see why some people wouldn't like it. For a start it's 43mm, which is a tad big for a three hander, leaving it with a huge expanse of dial in the non-chronograph versions. But then if you do go for the chronograph, you have those slightly strange sub-dials which really clash with the man dial and more often than not give the impression that the whole face is oval rather than round.
I've looked at all sorts of Grand Carreras over the last few years, I've tried the basic steel ones, steel ones with diamond bezels, steel ones with a GMT function (I actually bought one of those and then sold it again), PVD chronographs in various colours, PVD chronographs with the extremely clever but unusably convoluted caliper system... yep I think I've pretty much tried them all and the only ones that really still capture my imagination are (in no particular order) the common or garden steel chrono version with either the brown or black dial, the Japanese limited edition chrono with the blue dial (300 pieces) and this black and rose gold variant, which is currently available on the Watchfinder website (and I believe has recently been seen in the Cheshire Oaks outlet; before it closed for the lockdown, obviously).
I do like me some black and gold... and so far that's one colour scheme that's evaded me. Looking through those old 1980's TAG Heuer catalogues one can't help but be seduced by the plethora of black and gold watches available back then, but you just know thirty five years down the line the black will have worn thinner than my socks and the gold plating probably won't have fared all that much better. Speaking of which, my eye cannot help but be drawn to the bottom edge of the strap end link... that damage to the PVD sticks out like a sore thumb and it would genuinely annoy me so much that I doubt I would wear this, unless of course a replacement was available.
That aside, the colour scheme looks fantastic, although why for the love of God they thought it was acceptable to put a silver coloured clasp on this one is beyond my comprehension. A rose-gold clasp would obviously be foolish in the extreme, but a black one.... to go with the black case and black rubber strap. Obvious, no? This steel clasp would seem slightly ridiculous on a £2000 watch never mind this one which probably cost more than three times that when new.
Ah, and so we come to the Grand Carrera's Achilles' heel - price. In a world where you can buy an Autavia or a Carrera with an in-house movement for somewhere not far North of £4000, the Grand Carrera pricing structure looks somewhat bonkers. It's not for nothing that the Grand Carrera models sit unwanted in the outlets, scuppered by their price tags and their lack of perceived value.
Given that the regular PVD chronos are selling in the outlets for £5000+ (with stated 'list prices' in the £7k range) I'm guessing the original list price of this one (or what would now pass for 'list price' today) would be somewhere in the region of £7-8000, so what would represent a fair pre-owned price in 2020 do you think?
Well, this particular piece has been on the Watchfinder site for a little while and has recently dropped in price from £4335 down to £4250. I suspect they might have to drop it further to secure a sale though, after all black and gold isn't for everyone...
Damaged end link aside I really like it, but there's no way I could justify paying more for this than I did for my Heuer 01, gold or no gold. And really, unless one of those super rare blue dial chronographs turn up I can see me being without a Grand Carrera for a very long time...
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