FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Polychrome' Dial Heuer 02T Limited Edition Chronograph

 

CAR5A8AF.FC6415

Well if there's one thing that's certain, it's that TAG Heuer's releases are never 'boring'; you might not like them all, but there's no way anyone could predict everything they come out with and to be honest this was one of the things that first interested me about the company and one of the things that has kept me interested so long. I could never write a blog like this about Rolex, pretending to be excited about a 1mm change in case diameter and slightly thicker lugs.

And so now, at the tail end of 2022 we come to this rather surprising release, which is... yet another tourbillon! They seem to be spitting them out left right and centre nowadays, which surprises me somewhat given the £19,500 price tag, but I guess there's still a lot of wealthy people out there with plenty of cash for these sorts of watches. And in actual fact this particular piece is limited to 'just' 150pcs...

Despite this watch's radical appearance, there's actually not an awful lot that's genuinely 'new' here other than the dial treatment. The carbon bezel and lugs combo matched to a DLC coated titanium case we've seen before, but it's none the less effective for that. The star of this particular show of course is what TAG Heuer are calling their 'rainbow opaline' dial. Confusingly the watch itself is actually called the 'Polychrome Carrera', which admittedly sounds better than the 'oilslick' dial that was suggested when Mr Jim Dollares objected to the use of the term 'rainbow' in this instance (apparently rainbow should only be utilised when we are talking about gem set watches). So now you know!

As you've probably guessed by now, this is yet another 45mm case tourbillon, which is sure to draw criticism from some quarters, but not me. I have no problem with the 45mm Carrera and surely if you bought a watch with a dial like this you wouldn't really want to hide it under a cuff, would you? 

As usual the TAG Heuer website is simply overflowing with details, describing the dial both as 'opalin' and 'black', which is as helpful as it is confusing. No really, go and check for yourself... (link at the foot of this page).

Okay, well I like it anyway... I mean I'm not sure I'd buy it even if I had £20,000 burning a hole in my pocket, but I'm glad it exists and that dial is certainly interesting to look at. Let's find out what the esteemed 'Council of Considered Opinion' thinks...

CAR5A8AF.FC6415: 5.8/10

5/10: "Didn’t Zenith have a collaboration with an artist that had this same concept of colour? It has some nice details but I am not sure this really works overall."

6/10: "I actually like this. Works in a modern way."

8/10: "I love this case, the carbon is cool, and it’s an interesting version of the Tourbillon. Just the croc strap is not for me."

5/10: "I actually like the face and colourings but thought it was mismatched with the carbon bezel. Overall...not my bag baby."

6/10: "Well it's not really my style of watch - too big, modern and gawdy. But actually, I quite like the rainbow colours. Certainly the best tourbillon model I've seen."

3/10: "It looks like a Casio G-shock. I don't think I want much."

8/10: "If you are going to do a rainbow dial, this is a really cool way to do so. I like how the colours fade into one another. It pops, but in a subtle way (particularly against the carbon case)."

2/10: "Sorry my boat is aground."

2/10: "The basic Skeleton Carrera H02T is not for me. Add in TAG Heuer's gaudy looking swirly carbon fibre case, plus an unappealing rainbow dial and the result just looks horrible."

8/10: "I like it. However I think this one would have been better suited in a heat treated titanium case, instead of Carbon. Too bad it will be out of reach for most."

8/10: "I really like this, TH have managed to make a watch that's different and striking without being hideous. If it wasnt a billionty pounds I would interested"

6.8/10: "I will try to ignore my rage about that this is no actual rainbow watch and score it for what it is. It looks cool and I would not say no if you gifted this watch to me."

8/10: "This might look better in real life..."

9/10: " It's a very well done watch. On paper, it sounded dodgy but the reality is a fantastic result and not over the top."