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

 

CBN2A1K.EB0265

Way back in the mists of time I believe I might have encountered a 'Macao' Calibre 5 Carrera (as seen below) at TAG Heuer's Bicester Village outlet. It was rather unremarkable, some might even say relatively tasteful in its execution with a plain silver dial decorated with the four suits of cards, 'Macao' and a fairly subtle 'limited edition' text line on the lower half... this model was limited to 200 pieces. 

Fast forward to 2022 and we have a new 'Macao' Carrera and again it's a limited edition, but this time just 20 pieces are available and instead of a Calibre 5 three hander we have a full on Heuer 02 chronograph. But this time, any notion of subtlety is best put to one side!

WV211X.BA0787

But then Macau/Macao (both spellings are correct), is itself a sort of Chinese 'Las Vegas' replete with everything you'd imagine (casinos, Eiffel Tower, etc). If that comes as something of a surprise to you and your immediate thought when presented with the word Macau/Macao is 'motor racing' I can assure you that you are not alone. So then, given this information, it seems a little churlish to call this watch out for being 'gaudy'...

And let's be honest, TAG Heuer have really thrown the kitchen sink at this one; there's emblems on the bezel, a roulette wheel around the dial, more emblems in all three subdials... not to mention more roulette motifs around two of the subdials and a dial texture which is presumably based on the pattern found on the back of playing cards, but I'm not 100% sure on that. 

I mean, to be fair, it looks very well executed, it's just that maybe it's all a bit much? Still, to be honest I prefer this one to the (rather boring) previous model and if Macau is truly like Las Vegas, than surely it is 'all a bit much'. Or to put it another way, if they can't go completely crazy with this one, then when can they? 

As you've probably realised by now the CBN2A1K is based on the 44mm Carrera Sports line, so not only is it bold, but it's fairly hefty as well... but if you've tried one of these on you'll know that with those short lugs (the bane of Carrera traditionalist) that while they are thick these models do wear smaller than you'd imagine. 

I've just managed to get a shot of the back from @ericcccccth (thank you Eric). And also this shot from his Instagram account which shows the watch pretty well...

Price for this one is 56,000HK$ (approx £6000), which doesn't seem too much of a premium over the standard model all things considered.

 I did manage to find a very short wrist-roll video on Instagram (@mingwatch) which gives you a pretty good look at the watch. It's certainly quite big and shiny and certainly not for the small wristed or conservative amongst you. 

Anyway, let's turn it over to our resident 'Taste Police', who I fear may be slightly less open minded about this one than I am... and finally thanks to Hubert at THF Forums for sharing this one.

STOP PRESS: As this was about to be published it emerged that TAG Heuer have also released an identical version for Las Vegas (from the front anyway, obviously it says Las Vegas on the back) which is limited to 77 pieces (CBN2A1J.EB0265).

CBN2A1K.EB0265: 4.7 / 10

5/10: "It’s a nice LE but I’m not sure if this will truly click with the high-rollers in the casinos. I have a notion that they tend to stick to bling timepieces or the ultra highly expensive ones. Just me guessing."

4/10: "Another effort where TAG is trying too hard. This Carrera is packed with clever gambling motifs (i.e. roulette wheel, playing cards, poker chips etc.), which is kind of cool. However, the watch as a whole just looks over the top and a bit ridiculous."

4/10: "It’s nice they tried something a little different but I agree it’s way too over the top. Seems TAG can’t help themselves when they do these editions."

6/10: "I am not into poker so much, so I can't give it more than 6 points."

4/10: "This probably the worst Carrera I will rate. Long gone the subtle interpretation of a dial worthy of Carrera name with legibility in mind. Might be seen better in person, but for now, I am not liking it."

4/10: "Interesting design but definitely not one I'm interested in. Just doesn't look special to me. But limited to 20 pieces and probably not available here anyway, it's just as well."

6/10: "I actually like this one more than prior editions. I'm not a card player, but if I was, I would have considered one."

2/10 "It's shit." 

5/10: "I think it's cooler if it's limited to Las Vegas."

5/10: "A Macau Carrera LE should be related to the famous F3 race and not to card games… I would buy many Carreras before this one."

4/10: "Not for me, feels slightly tacky IMHO."

8/10: "Ok, it's not the best looking watch and a bit gaudy but I have a soft spot for these "Casino" themed watches and as its a TAG Carrera it's all the better!"

1/10: "In my opinion this limited edition does not do anything good for the Tag Heuer brand."