FIRST IMPRESSIONS:TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 'Japanese' Limited Edition Chronograph

 

CBN2A1G.FC6501

When it comes to limited and special editions collectors often cite Japan as the epicentre of the market and not without good reason. Of course other markets get unique products from time to time, but Japan does seem to get more than it's fair share of markedly different pieces. For example we could point to the 2018 white ceramic Heuer 02T Ginza boutique edition, or perhaps the 2017 'Men's Club' Calibre 11 Monaco with it's eye catching 'green tea' inspired dial and strap (both of which were made in extremely limited numbers).But going even further back than that one can also cite Calibre 16 Carreras with black mother of pearl dials and and other truly unusual pieces like the awesome multi-coloured classic Formula 1 released in the early 90s in honour of (Japanese F1 driver and TAG Heuer ambassador) 'Ukyo Katayama'. 

Clearly Japan has always been an important market for TAG Heuer, so perhaps we shouldn't be overly surprised that they have chosen to issue this first 'special' variation of the 44mm Carrera Sports there...

So clearly what we have here is a modified version of the CBN2A1B which was released last year to somewhat mixed opinions. I rather liked it but of course others balked at the 44mm case size and uncharacteristically (and un-Carrera-like) short lugs. For a 44mm watch the new Carrera wore surprisingly well (no doubt largely due to those shorter than expected lugs, which gave it a very respectable lug to lug measurement) and given my experience of black coated watches I would expect this one to wear even 'smaller' on the wrist.

This is actually the first 'coated' Carrera Sports if I'm not mistaken and they've gone all out with DLC coating rather than the usual PVD, but then I think perhaps given the price point this is to be expected.

On the flip side though, this watch is not as you might expect 'titanium' under that black coating, but the standard steel construction from the CBN2A1B. Given that the new Aquaracer in titanium is coming in at about a grand over the regular model perhaps this was a decision made to keep the price from getting out of hand? Or perhaps 300 pieces is too small a run to justify the set up costs to machine the Sports Carrera case in titanium?

Being a Japan only limited edition the watch is obviously only priced in Yen (726,000) which equates to about £4800 so it's actually not much more than the standard model (here in the UK).

The watch is rocking a semi-phantom look, where they have blacked out the hands and hour markers but left the 'Carrera' dial text, subdial and bezel markings white. On the one hand I kinda like the contrast but from a functional point of view they've made the watch harder to read and without the 'excuse' of full-on 'phantomisation'. So while my initial reaction was quite positive... now that I'm actually thinking about it it seems like a slightly odd design choice.

On the reverse of the watch TAG Heuer have given us a nice green coloured display-back which follows on from the red one found on the reverse of the limited edition Fragment Formula 1 Heuer 02 we had last year. I like it, but I can't help wondering if they couldn't have made the dial crystal green too and left the hands and baton markers alone. Or is that just the demented ramblings of a mad man?

After such a long period of inactivity the C.O.C.O. Council awakened from their cryo-sleep chomping at the bit to rate this one, take it away chaps!

 CBN2A1G.FC6501: 5.9 / 10

"A five for me, I don't dislike it and don't like it. It really doesn't do anything for me. I find that all black watches like this seem to be a lack of creativity and seem lazy, few pull it off and are interesting to me. I like the sunray dial and colored case back but I also don't understand the correlation of the green back to Japan or the all black watch."

"It’s nice, but being a Carrera it should be easier to read, and it’s not titanium, so it’s a 7 for me."

"For me, I like black watches. And it smells like evil panda around the corner... The green caseback looks fresh and yummy. 8/10 points."

"I love black watches, and the stainless steel will feel nice and substantial. I'd come to mentally assume that coated watches are by default titanium - especially the higher end ones. I don't usually like Carreras, but this is really cool, it looks like Batman's watch! Christian Bale should have been wearing this in The Dark Knight. The coloured sapphire is gorgeous - the red sapphire was my favourite thing about the F1 Fragment. Using the Heuer O2 makes it nice and up to date too. It seems VERY contemporary and VERY fresh. All of the elements seem to work together excellently. 44mm is HUGE, but I still want to try it on. 8/10 - maybe more if I could I try it on... Why does Japan get such good special editions? ("Men's Club" Monaco etc.)"

"An 8 for me. I like it, but it's not compelling enough to buy it."

"I like it! Murdered out black. Pretty cool! Although I’m not sure why this color scheme was chosen for a Japan LE plus with a touch of green at the crystal case back. This makes me think of “wasabi” or probably “nori. I’m giving it 8! Konnichiwa!"

"It's a middle of the road 5 for me. It's black which is kind of cool. The green sapphire is very cool but, ultimately, it is still an oversized lump of non-Carrera-ness."

"44mm is an interesting choice for the Japanese market. I thought they had smaller wrists and a slightly more reserved nature over there. Maybe things are changing. I don't see much special here, though, other than a fairly standard Carrera in a black case with "one of 300" on the back. I think the standard models look better. 3/10"

"Hard to read the dial…but extra points for the green case back. 5/10"

"It's 6 for me. In order to improve the score a little more, I think they should change the half-finished phantom black: the index on the dial and the hand Luminova are black, but the logo and bezel remain white... The reason why I gave it 6 points instead of 5 points is because the sapphire glass on the case back has green color which is related to the traditional Japanese colour. Tag Heuer said it is 'Moegi' green."

"It's a 5 from me. Stealth treatment is getting old. The 160 years white dial panda is still the best version of this watch, followed by the Carrera x Porsche."

"I really like the look of this one and a blackout stealth watch can sometimes not really work for me. But this one is lovely. It's a shame it's on the case back but that green crystal is lovely and adds a nice touch. A good hit from TAG. I would give this Carrera a high and solid 8 out of 10."

"5/10 - the black coating suits the bloated 44mm case better than the steel models, and the monochromatic look is actually handsome. Shame it's not titanium though like they used to be. But that's TAG nowadays - charging more, for less."

"A green caseback that’ll be mostly hidden, not a fan of all black for legibility but wouldn’t refuse it in a gift, so 4/10 from me."

"Doesn’t excite me much I must say. I Like the coloured case back, as with my Fujiwara F1 LE, this feature looks great and is very appealing. 7/10 for me."