WBN2050.FC6506
There was me thinking I had to write lots of posts about random stuff to get us through January, because surely nothing new was going to come out before February... how wrong could I have been? Very wrong... we've already had two super limited edition Heuer02Ts and now we continue 2022 with this new 'Year of the Tiger' 41mm Carrera day/date.
Now the first thing you might notice about this particular watch is that it is blue, and Tigers are not blue. This is a fair point, but blue is a very popular colour in Japan (in particular), you may remember we've had several blue faced limited editions for Japan in recent years. Of course the 'Year of the Tiger' is celebrated in other countries besides Japan (China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc) but I think it's safe to assume that most of these will be sold in China and Japan.
Strangely though, since I originally wrote this post, this watch has appeared on the UK TAG Heuer website.
I can't find anything to suggest that orange is an 'unwelcome' colour in China or Japan, so I assume it was decided that an orange and black dial was too 'obvious' or just didn't look 'luxurious' enough? Honestly I think it works in blue just fine, though whether you would immediately know it was supposed to be a tiger.... probably not. But then if you make a dial that's so specific will it be 'bad luck' to wear it when the 'Year of the Tiger' is over?
Taken on its own merits I have to say it's rather a cool dial and it's nice to see TAG Heuer doing something a little more artistic. As some members of the Council have pointed out, there is a touch of Rolex 'Palm Tree' about it; although I think it's much more interesting, especially with the contrast between the dark (matt) blue background and the vibrant metallic blue 'stripes'.
This watch is limited to 300 pieces, and I've already heard from one member of the C.O.C.O. Council that his local AD had it in stock and was willing to sell it providing it was bundled with other TAG Heuer products. This is not good. Do we really want to be heading down this Rolexian cul-de-sac? I think not. I guess AD's will use any leverage they can when they have a limited edition to sell, but I am surprised this one has enough 'pull', this is not a 'Daytona' after all.
So to recap, this one is 41mm and comes on a blue leather strap with some very cool gold coloured stitching. The watch also features a (solid) gold crown to match the gold indexes, hands and date window frame. On the reverse the crystal display case has a blue tiger mural printed on it (for the life of me I can't understand why they do this, just give it an engraved backplate...), on the plus side the Calibre 5 movement isn't terribly exciting to look at so it's not like you will be missing much. It also comes in a very cool box with a travel pouch, which is a very nice touch.
The price on the Japanese website is 440,00 Yen (which is approximately £2810) but for some reason on the UK website it is priced at £3100. Okay... I guess there must be a reason, but the big question is, come January 2023, which of TAG Heuer's models will we see adorned with a 'Rabbit'... and how on Earth are they going to represent that without literally painting a rabbit on the dial? Cant' wait to find out!
Answer on a postcard please. In the meantime, let's turn this one over to the C.O.C.O. Council and see what they make of it.
"I actually quite like this watch. The dial has interest and works well making it stand out as a bit more special than a standard Carrera. It reminds me of a really high end luxury watch (if that makes sense).
I would give this watch a 8 out of 10. It really works for me and i feel TAG have got this one right with the blue tiger stripe dial and rose gold marks and hands. They could have gone tiger orange and that may not be so good on this model!"
"There are only 300 pieces of this watch, which is valuable and the first limited item based on the new Carrera. The tiger-patterned dial is very chic in the real one, and the finish is reminiscent of Palm dial Rolex. The leather band also matches the dial, and the gold stitching is nice."
"I like the strap, I like the box… I like it at least the same as my favourite among the recently released Carrera Calibre 5 day/date series, so same score: 7/10"
"5 for me. I’ll give the box a 6 though..."
"In these renders I immediately think Fashion Watch - this one’s a miss for me - 2 is my score."
"Not for me this one. It reminds me a bit of what Rolex did, putting out an Oyster Perpetual with green fern leaves on the dial. 5/10."
"Mmmm, tigers are black/orange so doesn’t quite fit, not bad but I’m not rushing out to the shops. 5/10."
"It has a strong female touch. It looks elegant, but I wouldn't wear it myself. Seetrough casback with Cal. 5? Maybe would give some insight in the handwinding-rotor-issue, or was that only with the Aquaracers?"
"It looked quite striking in the real life video, better than the renders. However, this is not a watch that I could wear as tiger stripes are not my style. OTOH, my wife would probably love it."
"This gets an 8 from me. Love the effect of that dial, golden accents are a plus and solid gold crown a nice touch."
TAG Heuer Carrera Year of the Tiger Limited Edition on the TAG Heuer Japan Website:
And on the UK website:
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