CBN2014.EB0240
When the 42mm Carrera 'Elegant' range was released last year, there was one notable absence from the range when compared to the 44mm Carrera 'Sports' range, that being a piece with a green dial. Well, I don't know if TAG Heuer are intending to remedy that in the future (maybe the green dial fad is just starting to run out of steam?) but here at least we have exactly that. True the chances of seeing one outside of the Middle East are pretty slim, but you never know...
Green dial aside, the obvious feature of this watch is the 'Arabic' characters on the dial, which makes this piece very specific to its market and I kinda like that. This isn't the first time we've seen this feature on a TAG Heuer watch: the red and white bezel Aquaracer of a couple of years ago springs immediately to mind.
On the reverse side TAG Heuer have also given this watch a matching green rotor and column wheel (something they also did with the green 'Heritage' Carrera L/E that came out earlier in the year), and the case also bears the script 'Middle East - Limited Edition - 1 of 150'.
Details about this piece were a little hard to come by until I discovered 'Monochrome Watches' article (see link at the bottom of the page), but thank to 'ali_tagheuer' on Instagram I did manage to establish the part number and also catch a brief glimpse of the fantastic box which this edition comes in. It's hard to say exactly what the box is made of but it looks like polished wood and features a checkerboard lid (the box contains black and white checker pieces alongside a spare tan leather strap) which gives the whole package a real 'special edition' feeling.
Price for this is AED23,200 or CHF5800 and it is available from the 'Mall of the Emirates' boutique.
So once again, perhaps for the last time this year, it's time to turn this new release over to the 'Council of Considered Opinion' to see if they have any strong feelings about it either way...
"It's a five from me. To say I’m over green dials is an understatement, I disliked them from the start."
"I really like this. I too am feeling the green dial fatigue but a few of the real life shots are nice. The packaging and extra strap are a nice added touch to the special edition. 8.5 is my score."
"7 for me. I'd probably give it an 8 if I lived in the Middle East. A nice LE for that market."
"7/10… although not for me, because I don’t understand the number of the date! :)."
"I don't really see the point of the watch but I suppose it's a very lucrative region for LVMH. The watch is ok, nothing special, easily forgotten. 5/10 "
"Nice colour. The Arabic numbers don't do much for me, though, and look messy compared to some nice applied markers. But basically it's just a standard Carrera with a different dial. 5/10."
"I agree, I don’t need actual numbers on the the dial, just markers(although not against them), so numbers I don’t recognise are only a talking point here? 5/10."
"I like it, 8.5/10 from me! I am scared of Carrera price nowadays though..."
"7.5 for me, the "quirky" display of the Arabic numerals on the nicely coloured green dial is very attractive, although they shouldn't have used the Heuer 80 hours text."
"4/10 , it's a handsome colour but nothing special really. More 'cynical cash grab' than interesting new model."
"5 for me, the dial generally doesn’t resonate this side of the pond."
"6 for me, I like the colour but overall uninspired."
"The Carrera elegant is a cool and versatile watch. The green on this dial seems close to the one on the latest Monaco - awesome. The hour markers do nothing for me, since it's not my language / culture. Score: 7/10."
"I’ll give it a 6. I prefer the Bahrain L/E Carrera."
"I'm not big on green in general, nor Arabic numerals. But I'll give it a 6 because it's a nice shade of green and comes with a very nice box."
"6/10 for me. It really is a regional product. I respect these kind of editions but it won’t surely have a global appeal. F1 and TAG Heuer has been very aggressive in the Middle East so this makes perfect sense. If I’m from the Middle East I’d give it 9."
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