CAV5185.FC6237
I was going to start this post by declaring the 'Grand Carrera' as the most recent 'new' product from TAG Heuer (launched in 2007 and now discontinued). But when you think about it, since then we have had the 'Connected' smartwatch and also the modular Carrera and the TAG Heuer 'Autavia' (which is a brand new model in all but name). I guess it's the last product that was released with a new 'name' but then again... it's just 'Carrera' with 'Grand' in front of it, so no not really. Maybe the 'SLR' or the 'Golf' should have that particular accolade? Wow, 15 years since we had a genuinely new product launched in it's own right, vive le Avant Garde!
Leaving that aside, the Grand Carrera isn't exactly universally adored in the TAG Heuer community; some people love it and some really don't. Personally I have a very on/off relationship with the line (so far I have owned and sold one piece) and the high prices have kept the ones I really like very much at arm's length for me. But I still have my favourites and one day when that lottery ticket finally comes up trumps I'm sure I'll add more than a couple to my collection.
Let's take a look and see which ones have made my top five:
#5 WAV511E.FC6230 40.2mm Calibre 6 Brown Dial & Diamonds
It was a toss up for fifth place between this and the black and rose gold CAV518E, but in the end I gave it to this one because I wanted at least one Calibre 6 in the group. One of my issues with the Calibre 8 GMT I owned was that at 43mm the watch was too big for a three hander with a narrow bezel, so I've often wondered if I wouldn't have been better going for the smaller Grand Carrera with the running seconds sub-dial at the '6' position instead?
I've chosen the brown dial version because I tried on a brown dial GC Chronograph one time at the Hull outlet store and I thought it was extremely classy. It's a very dark brown, you might even mistake it for black at first, but that subtle colouration was a big plus for me and the diamonds... well, I also tried on a black dial GC Calibre 8 GMT with a diamond bezel at Bicester once and I really liked that too... in fact that was the event that lead to my poor choice of first 'Grand Carrera'.
#4 WAV5114 43mm Calibre 8 GMT 'Singapore GP' Limited Edition
This render gives the misleading impression that this watch is black PVD coated, but in fact it's only the bezel that is black, the case is brushed stainless steel. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that but I like the black and green colour scheme so much that I'm willing to overlook it. Actually there's not as much green on this watch as it seems, it's only the second hand and the stitching on the strap, oh and a tiny bit on the GMT function... but it looks fantastic.
Would this one look as good in the real world? I don't know and part of me hopes I never actually see one because I don't want to be disappointed. Same goes for all the 'Singapore Grand Prix' limited editions actually, they all look great in pictures, but as yet I've never actually managed to clap eyes on any of them.
#3 CAV518H.FC6273 43mm Calibre 17 RS 'UK' Limited Edition
Limited to just 150 pieces, this 'United Kingdom' limited edition has long been a favorite of mine, indeed I've viewed it a few times on the Watchfinder site, but never found one a) with its PVD in tip-top condition and b) with the correct 'blue stitched' strap. Unfortunately, from what I've seen of the Grand Carrera range the straps are definitely on the delicate side and with this limited edition it's doubtful that spares are available so you're eventually going to end up with either a plain one or one that has the wrong colour stitching (I've seen at least one with red stitching).
It's a shame because I really like the black/blue colour scheme (the blue extending not only to the chronograph second hand, subdials and bezel text, but also the crown), but it seems like all the ones that I've come across have lived slightly harder lives than they would have on my wrist. Never mind, I'll keep looking and maybe one day a nice minty one will pop up.
#2 CAV5186.FC6304 43mm Calibre 36 'Caliper' Chronograph
Again it was a toss-up between this and the CAV5185 (shown at the top of the page) for second place, but the bright yellow won out over the red in the end. This one is a real eye-catcher with yellow highlights all over the place, enough in fact that the yellow stitched strap almost looks slightly OTT. Still, since it's best left in a drawer and kept for special occasions, what I think I would do would be to order the FC6237 rubber strap and switch it onto that for day to day use.
I've tried this model on several times over the last six or seven years and it's very enticing. This model has some very unusual features including the 'straight line' (faux) retrograde running second on the left hand side of the dial (which should hopefully negate the wobbly running seconds dial symptomatic of the Grand Carrera) and of course the genius (but at the same time hopelessly overly complicated to use) 1/10 of a second 'caliper' chronograph. The main issue with this one though is the price; even in the outlet these are over £5000 (down from £7500) which is way too much for me and (realistically) for what you can get for your money in the current TAG Heuer range.
#1 CAV511F.BA0902 43mm Calibre 17 'Japanese' Limited Edition
I'm sure regular readers might just have had an inkling about which Grand Carrera I would pick as my number one and looking at the picture above I'm sure you can see why! Limited to just 300 pieces and intended for the Japanese market, I know there is at least one in the UK because I came across the 'sold' listing on a Northern jeweller's website. So yeah, it's a long shot to say the least... but crucially not completely out of the question.
Realistically though I would take the watch with a blue, brown or even black dial - but blue is definitely my first choice. I just wish I'd bought one of these instead of the Calibre 8 GMT when I had the chance. That was definitely a mistake, especially since the GMT only shows twelve hours of the day which renders it practically useless for long haul travellers.
So there we are, my top five Grand Carreras, I hope you enjoyed this post and if you did leave me comment and let me know which one you prefer?
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