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Wednesday, 7 September 2022

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 2021 'Qatar' Limited Edition Heuer 02 Chronograph

CBN2015.BA0642

Unfortunately this one passed me by when it was released last year, so it didn't get its shot at the 2021 COCO Watch of the Year. Somehow I don't think it would have mattered much, but still, it's always interesting to get the feedback of the council whenever a previously unseen watch turns up and this one is pretty unique. It's also very exclusive, with just fifty examples made (although from what I heard very few were actually made available to the public for purchase).

Photo: YG_Rulz

Based on the 42mm Carrera Elegant, this limited edition features a dial 'inspired by the golden sand dunes of the inland sea', as if it could have been anything else! It's interesting to see real-life photographs of the watch as it looks very different to the render. To be honest I think I prefer the render, this has overtones of some of the less successful gold dial watches TAG Heuer produced in the late 1980s.

YG_Rulz

According to the article linked below, this one has a never seen before 'aureate' dial. Looking up the definition of 'aureate' it means either being made of gold or being gold coloured, so we assume it's at least gold coated I guess? The article also says the watch has an 'opaline permanent second counter', but I'm not sure exactly what that means since the watch has no running second subdial. Are they talking about the crosshair lines maybe? I doubt it, but I'm at a loss to understand exactly what it does mean. Opaline is a milky white glass, so what else can they possibly be talking about?

Clearly, this one is aimed at a very specific market so it's probably not going to have universal appeal, but let's run it by the COCO Council and see what they make of this one anyway...




CBN2015.BA0642: 5.6/10

Since this watch was a 2021 release, this will not be rescored at the end of the year and this score has been entered into the running COCO Council scores which can be found HERE


6/10: "But then again, based on experience, most of the Carreras need to be seen in person to be able to give them a fair assessment."

4/10: "I can't get excited by this. The dial colour is uninspiring and the markings mean nothing to me."

5/10: "Don't care for the Mustard colour dial and find the numerals distracting. I'd pick any standard Carrera Elegance model over this one."

7/10: "I think it's pretty unique looking. I mean the Arabic numerals aren't really aimed at those of us in the West, but the dial colour is striking and make it a stand-out piece. If I had larger wrists and was looking for a modern Carrera, I'd certainly consider this one if it was available."

6.5/10: "Face colour is good, numerals don't do anything for me unsurprisingly, I'd be happy with battens. Somehow I think the bracelet lets it's down and a nice brown/tan strap would set it off better."

5/10: "I don't know if if its the lighting, but the colour and overall package doesn't appeal to me at all."

6/10: "For me, last year's red dial was 9, but this time my score is 6. The desert-inspired dial looks fresh, but it doesn't look good."

7/10: "I like it, love the numerals, colour is different, size a tad to big for me."

7.5/10: "For some odd reason the Arabic numbers work for me, I like it."


Link to an article about this watch by Almajed Jewellery:

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