FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Red Dial 'Heritage' Heuer 02 Chronograph

 

CBK221G.FC6479

Did anyone know they wanted a red dial Heritage Carrera? I've been on the THF Forum now for about six years and I've never ever heard anyone there say they wanted one. But come to that, I've never heard anyone say they want a purple Monaco either and that sold out pretty fast. What you forgot about that one already? Yeah, these 'limited editions' come and go real fast these days don't they...?

With the Monaco though, it feels somewhat more 'acceptable' to push the boat out. For a start the watch is more adventurous and quirky in its design and wearing the 'TAG Heuer' badge and being powered by a Heuer 02 rather than a Calibre 11 movement somehow puts it less at odds with history than this new red-dialed 'Heuer' Carrera.

Of course that doesn't unduly bother me, but I'm sure a few feathers have been ruffled in the Heuer watch collecting community*, especially since TAG Heuer steadfastly refuse to give these most discerning punters the Panda dial chronograph they've been asking for I don't know how long. 

*(Maybe not, I wrote this before the COCO Council presented their surprisingly high scores..)

Personally I don't mind a splash of colour, but even I'm a little unsure as to how well it works with this particular watch. My first thought on seeing the pictures of this one was that it reminded me strongly of the metallic dark red dial found on the 1000 Series back in the 1980s. That was a beautiful looking watch and one that is hard to find and quite expensive even if you can find one - don't be confused with those matt orangey looking dials you may have seen on eBay, I'm still not quite sure what they are - franken watches perhaps or just fakes?

But red is a difficult colour to get right, and I know because I own a red dial three hand S/EL and even though I like it, it must be said that red-dial watches are a bit.... strange. For some reason they just never look quite 'normal', which may be a good thing or not, depending on your point of view. Personally I think red-dials are things you love one day and look askance at another day, depending on your mood. They certainly aren't something you would want as your only watch. 

But while my foray into red dial ownership was relatively inexpensive at just £300, this limited edition of 600 pieces will set you back £5600... and once again, I struggle to see where the money goes with this one. Compare it to the 1000M Superdiver and it looks way overpriced, but yes, I know, the price charged for a product is not simply a reflection of what it costs to make, and this one (unlike say an Aquaracer) isn't pegged at a certain price point by competition from a similar product. Realistically if your heart is set on owning a Heritage Carrera, then that's what you want.

But does the 'Heritage Carrera' community really want a red dial LE? I'm not sure, especially given the number of comments below tending towards 'I kinda like it, but I wouldn't buy it or wear it'. But then perhaps the 'Heritage Carrera' community isn't really the target market for this model. I mean this really smacks of being a 'hype-watch' that only really needs to stay 'hot' for as long as it takes to sell all 600 pieces. You know, it's funny, over the last few years I've heard several people bemoan the fact that there aren't any Heritage models available in the standard line-up. But I genuinely wonder if they would sell at these prices without the hype of being limited editions. 

Okay, lets find out what the esteemed council of Heuer enthusiasts think...

CBK221G.FC6479: 7.4/10

6/10. "I can't rate it any lower as It's absolutely fine. The red dial is nice but just not wow'd by it. Also a big negative for me is the faux Patina lumed hands and markers! They just don't look right."

7/10. "Quite like this, whilst I wouldn’t buy it or wear a red watch. I do think it works."

6/10. "I am glad to see them still producing watches in this case and design. I just don’t feel the color choice this time around."

7/10. "Love the colour, the strap suits it very well too. Nice and 'in your face' with the colour but keeping that heritage look."

9/10. "I've seen the video of it though i haven't seen it in real life. It was kinda amazing for me actually."

8/10. "For me it is behind the Silver, the Montreal, and the Teal Carrera… I gave 8/10 to the teal Carrera, but maybe a 7/10 is too low for this -anyway beautiful- watch. So I give same 8/10 to the red Carrera."

8/10. "Anyone saying this is better than silver deserves to die. Just kidding. Kind of. Anyhow, red sunburst watches seem to give me a strong lady vibe and to me this is the ideal glassbox Carrera for fancy ladies. A solid 8 from me."

8/10. "Lost a couple of marks for not being a panda."

7/10. "Boring black strap, chance to shine missed."

6.5/10. "Colored Carreras and Monacos have gotten boring. Never was my cup of tea to begin with. The dial does look gorgeous, but somewhat feminine. It would make a nice ladies watch if in 34mm size."

8/10. "Juxtaposed against the 50th anniversary red Monaco, it might look very cool. I just want to change the strap. I don't know what kind of strap is good, but I don't know if the colour is bad."

9/10. "Watch itself 9. Don’t like the croc strap. I base the high score on my love of my 50th Anniversary Red Monaco. I think the Carrera face looks very similar."

9/10. "I really love my Carrera 160 years silver. So this watch appeals to me very much. Personally I guess I would not wear a red dial watch very much, even if I like the look. But I would feel a bit too eccentric wearing a red dial."

7/10. "In my opinion the least successful of the Glassbox range so far. It's still nice, but the jewelry-like dial probably would've been better suited to one of the 3-hand models. The matching red column wheel is a nice touch but yet again the overall presentation is let down by that boring plain black croc strap."

I don't usually comment on the comments, but I am a little surprised at the (high) scores for this one. Still, the CBK221G fell just short of the score achieved by last year's 'Teal' Carrera, and obviously way behind the silver 160th Anniversary piece. I still reckon it will be a strong contender for the COCO 'Watch of the Year' though, in fact I think it will probably win that when the votes come in at Christmas.