ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 7 'Twin Time'

WBN201A.BA0640

Tustains Jewellers / Leamington Spa, 16th October 2021

When the new Carreras launched back at the start of October, one in particular caught my eye... so when the opportunity came to take a closer look at the new pieces I obviously elected to go with this Calibre 7 'Twin Time'. Right from the start it was the absolute standout piece, but for me it was a watch that I thought I would admire without the slightest thought of ever purchasing. I still don't think I will ever actually own this watch, but having had it on the wrist I certainly wouldn't say never.

For me the Calibre 5 / Calibre 7 Carreras have always been 'nice' watches. As in 'nice but not really for me'. I've tried on a few of them over the years and always felt they were very middle of the road, very inoffensive, very.... 'mass appeal' to be completely honest. To me they were 'safe' watches made for people who weren't really that 'into' watches but who wanted something better than the run of the mill.

However, I feel like somehow TAG Heuer have managed to refresh the range without losing that 'mass appeal' draw, but at the same time they've managed to inject a little bit of something in there that lifts them up just enough to the point where the more seasoned watch buyer takes notice.... and that's probably quite a hard trick to pull off. 

Strapping this piece around my wrist I immediately felt much more spark than I ever have with any other 'three' hand (yes, I know this one has four hands) Carrera. For a start the dial is really stunning, that blue is rather gorgeous and the light plays off it wonderfully. The 24 hour rehaut also adds some interest to the dial, being split horizontally into two parts (white and blue) which represent the day and night. Unusually TAG Heuer have decided to flip the 24 hour markings over so that midnight appears at the bottom of the dial rather than the top. This doesn't sit well with everyone, but I imagine one would get used to this change fairly easily with ownership.

At 41mm and with a very narrow, plain bezel, I was kind of expecting the watch to appear somewhat large on the wrist, but it really doesn't. I think perhaps because inside the plain bezel you have the 24hr rehaut so you focus on the dial itself and this tricks the eye into thinking that the watch is smaller than it actually is. As for the bracelet, it certainly isn't the same as the old Grand Carrera band but there are some similarities, and the watch seems reasonably thin for an automatic, which is always good for a watch that will be expected to wear well under a cuff.

There is definitely a greater feeling of 'quality' with this over the older models. It's hard to put into words but holding this you can definitely believe that it costs £2650, whereas with the older models it was always a bit of a stretch. I actually think this watch looks even better in real life than it does in pictures and as I sat there with the new Aquaracer Night Diver in one hand and the Carrera Twin Time in the other it dawned on me that choosing between them would not be easy, and I think honestly if it did come down to a choice between those two it might well have been this one which came out on top.

That said, I still think this watch is a bit 'dressy' for me, and I think if I wanted something like this I would probably look into getting a 40.5mm Grand Carrera Calibre 6 (preferably the blue Japanese limited edition model). Personally I don't have a 'need' for a Twin Time or GMT function and I've already owned a 43mm Grand Carrera Calibre 8 GMT and I didn't click with it too well, but even so I can't deny this piece has made more of an impression on me than I expected and I think it will do very well for TAG Heuer in the market place.

Finally I would like to mention that the service in Tustains today was excellent, and a welcome change to that encountered in Ernest Jones earlier in the day where I felt like my request to try on the Red Bull Formula 1 was more of inconvenience than anything. Unfortunately I didn't get the name of the lady who served me but she was a pleasure to talk to even if she admitted right from the start that she wasn't totally au fait with the technical details of the watches I was trying on. Personally I'd rather someone be upfront than try to bullshit me and so I left the store with my faith in ADs largely restored. 

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