CBK221D.FC6479
Today Jim Dollares gives his first impressions of the new Hodinkee Dato 45
The diehard Heuer watch community went bananas when TAG Heuer and HODINKEE teamed up to release this 250 pieces limited re-edition of the legendary ”Heuer Carrera Dato 45”; I heard rumours about this release for a couple weeks and I didn’t feel that strongly about it, the Dato has never really caught my attention and the odd placement of the date is something I never understood. I guess for collectors, watches that sold in limited quantities in the 60’s will be rare on today’s used market and when something is rare it usually gets more popular with collectors.
The internet also seems to have a way of uniting and 'shaping' how collectors get drawn to and learn to like the same things. If the Dato 45 from Heuer did not exist and was designed and released today, do you think the same enthusiasts would be excited about that brand new asymmetrical weird design? Probably not. On the positive side I thought to myself that at least our friends in the watch community who are stuck in the past will be pleased to see another watch where TAG Heuer, instead of being creative and come up with something new, just make another watch purely based on an old recipe...
Once the release day came I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Instagram posts started to pop up in my feed and the more I saw, the more I liked it and understood why someone would love this watch. The black dial looks insanely sharp and the contrasting crisp white logo and details look amazing, I also know from my experience with the CBK221B that these 39 mm glass box Carreras wear perfectly on the wrist. As expected all these 250 pieces were sold out immediately and the same day some appeared on the secondary market flipped by filthy scammers who buy just to re-sell at a high premium 'scalping' true enthusiasts who want to get their hands on a watch like this because they truly love it. For me personally it did not matter as much as there are many other watches I prefer over this one.
HODINKEE release sold in TAG Heuer boutiques?
One thing I find interesting with this release, is that only half of the pieces were sold via HODINKEE’s web shop and the other half through TAG Heuer boutiques in US and Japan. For my fellow nerds in the watch community this meant that a lucky few with good connections were able to book and pre-pay for their purchase, not risking being left out on the release day when thousands of people gather in front of their computer to do what they can to purchase the new watch in panic before it is sold out. I have not seen any numbers but I heard that it sold out online within the first minute or two.
What would I change about it?
In my humble opinion this would be a perfect watch with a few minor changes. First of all I would replace the thick and noisy Heuer02 movement with a thin, silent, sophisticated manual wind movement. Then I would make it a two-register chronograph with one sub dial being the running seconds. No doubt it would bother me to have a watch with no running seconds, I want to be able to see that my watch is running. I would also move the date window to 6 O’clock and change the colour of the lume to a nice, warm beige tone (otherwise known as 'fauxtina' - Ed)
Unfortunately TAG decided to release the Dato on the same alligator strap as the two 160th glass box Carreras, this also means it comes with the nasty, cheap-feeling folding clasp. If you have worn this clasp you know that if feels far from premium and the fact that it can be popped open by force makes you worry that you will drop your watch at any time. The 250 lucky owners of this watch will be forced to replace the strap and clasp to properly enjoy their new purchase; hardly acceptable for a watch at this price point I think!
A TAG Heuer 160th anniversary rotor in 2021?
One thing that made me laugh was when I noticed that TAG had recycled their inventory of rotors found in the TAG Heuer 160th anniversary models released in 2020 instead of using one more specifically suited to the Dato 45. In 2020 TAG Heuer did in fact celebrate their 160th birthday so in those anniversary models it made perfect sense, but imagine spending over $7000 on a watch like this and every time you turn the watch over being reminded that the manufacture cheaped-out on the rotor which is plainly visible through the clear caseback.
Final thoughts...
In general I am glad that this watch exists. Its also very nice to see that this limited edition is properly (individually) numbered rather then the usual "one of 250" seen on most limited editions today. I am happy for the collector community because I know how loved the Dato 45 is and this release is hopefully also a sign of many more good things to come from TAG Heuer in the next couple of years leading up to the 60th anniversary of the Carrera in 2023.
Jim Dollares
CBK221D.FC6479: 7.2/10
'It's not my kind of thing, but from the pictures it looks quite nice.... except the date window, which is woefully positioned (too far to the left), clearly the Heuer 02 movement wasn't suitable for this design in a 39mm Carrera case but they've done it anyway! Plus, you are paying for all that movement and only getting one of the three subdials, which seems crazy to me!'
'Without seeing it in the metal I score it a 9. Would likely score it a 10 if the outer ring was white, as this is one of my favourite Carreras from a design standpoint and I love the harsh contrast between a black dial and white outer ring personally. I’m also interested in seeing all the numbers of the font disc as I think that helps bring an interesting vintage element (if they chose a true mid-century styled typeface). All in all I think it’s a beautiful piece and hope it’s a precursor to a reverse panda in the next year or two.'
'Based on the Hodinkee photos, 7. Based on the photo I saw, 5. The milky ring and the $7k price drop it down from 9.'
'Well I like it, but the price, makes it a no-no, even if it was available to the masses; TH should have gone alone and sold hundreds without the Honking premium....'
'I'll give it an 8. I've got a soft spot for asymmetrical chronographs and it's nice to see something a bit outside the norm once in a while. There are plenty of panda chronographs out there in the microbrand world, and while it'd be cool to see TAG reissue them it really wouldn't be all that interesting.'
'8.5: I'm sure some will absolutely love this watch! But it's not for me. I need symmetry and balance.'
'OK, so for me this one is a winner. I held off buying either of last year's 160th Carreras, but I have bought one of these. I don't love the strap- that's probably the only detail that I found underwhelming. The price is high, but this reflects a broader issue on what TAG Heuer are doing with their prices... they're up relative to the JCB days. Remember that the Calibre 18 Telemeter was US$6400 when it was launched six years ago! Having said that, prices are too high....or I'm out of date with reality.....or both.'
'9/10: I know I can't have it, but the watch itself is a winner. Congrats to those who purchased it! A really great one!'
'This is a tough one to score to be frank. I don't like it but that's because I don't really like the original, I don't like the 39mm glassbox models in general and I don't like Hodonkey. It is also just a straight copy with no original design. It's a meh, 5, from me. It's not offensive like a Bamford so I can't really score it any lower despite not liking it.'
'It's an 8.5 from me. I really like it, but it's not a 2 or 3 register panda/reverse panda Carrera so I'm saving my '10' score for those if/when they get released. Also lost half a mark for pricing. The fact it's US/Japan only sales means crushing import tax in the UK, but I think these 39mm Carreras are a bit overpriced anyway.'
'For me it's a 7. I pre-ordered one as a collective, because it's a pretty faithful homage to the original, but the lack of symmetry bothers me a bit. I would have loved if it, if it had been the two register Dato.'
'I’m a 6. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. It’s not new, but it’s not bad. Its lopsided, but the black is nice. If it was available in the UK, I’d still take the 160th over this.'
'I was not impressed... perhaps after so much previous announcement, I expected something more original, or even the much requested panda, but it is a reissue that -due to its asymmetry in the distance of the date window- is in a bad place when compared to the original... I don't like the strap either, so I'd give it a 7 at the most.'
'I'll go for 8/10. I'm biased as I both love the original dato and bought the Howinkee ;)'
'I’ll score it a 7/10 at best. Never really like single subregisters but they can be okay if it’s in the 6 o’clock position to make it more balanced. Although I liked the Skipper by Hodinkee (which is also single subregister), the ORIGINAL Heuer Skipper (Skipperera) is really a dual register (3 & 9 o’clock) and not a single one and its history had more homage and allure. That’s probably the reason why the re-edition was a big hit. It also has an interesting colour combination which was about the seas & yachting and not motorsports related even though housed in a Carrera case back in the day. If they want good ol’ homage, bring on the three register 39mm Carrera pandas and reverse pandas! Maybe TAG Heuer is reserving those cards for a later release date?'
'8/10: I just love all those retro designs. The Dato dial was preinstalled in the TH Connected 46 mm (pre Watchmaker era), and I used it from time to time, but never too long. I am sure the real thing looks awesome. You could say it's grotesque to use a movement with more complications and to hide them for retro design reasons, but who is really using a 12 hour chrono anyway? Which would be true for automatic watches per se today. Or as Mr Biver said: 'Obviously, you do not wear a watch to read time anymore. You wear a timepiece for your own joy, with pride. It tells people something about who you are.' I think, that's exactly what this Heuer x Hodinkee is all about.'
Further reading: HYPEBEAST Hodinkee Dato 45 Sells out in Minutes
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