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TAG Heuer Boutique, Sheffield, 12th November 2022
It's always a pleasure to visit Meadowhall's splendid TAG Heuer boutique, but in all honesty I wasn't really expecting to find much in the way of 'new stock' to look at. After all, it's not that long since I visited the Milton Keynes boutique and tried on the new F1s; but I was (perhaps naively) hopeful of finding a Solargraph in store (which turned out to be a non starter without a deposit).
However it transpired that not one but two unexpected watches were lurking in the cabinets - well I say lurking; as usual one of them was right at the front of the store and I had walked straight past it on my way in!
The first was the 'Year of the Rabbit' Carrera which I posted about a few days ago and the second was the red/gold limited edition 'Porsche Carrera', something I didn't honestly think I would ever see, and certainly not north of the Oxford Street boutique!
The first thing that struck me about the watch was just how small it seemed considering it is classed as a 42mm. But, again as I said in my 'Year of the Rabbit' Carrera post this may have something to do with the watch I was wearing that day, my new SLR Calibre S Laptimer which is a big chunk of a watch!
I really liked the tone of the gold, which despite being 'rose' gold was quite subtle. Now that may be a plus or a minus depending on your viewpoint; it may be that you feel that if you've spent the price of a decent car on a watch (with no tourbillon) then it better be obvious to everyone else that it's gold... but for me personally I quite liked that it was a bit less brash and, to be honest it didn't look overly 'rosy' either.
Thinking about that for a second, I wonder if you put this watch on a black strap the rose gold finish would be more obvious? Perhaps the bright red strap is why the gold looks a little muted? It certainly could be... though TAG Heuer's rose golds have never been the most 'pink' looking; I've seen rose and yellow gold Aquaracers next to each other in Bicester Village and struggled to tell them apart (although that could in part be because apparently the 'pink' element in rose gold can deteriorate, leaving your rose gold watch looking, well.... gold).
While I like the case and the rich, red strap (completed with a gold buckle and pin), I can't honestly say I'm crazy about the dial. It looks a lot more 'vintage inspired' in the flesh than I thought it would. Which is kinda the point; this watch is supposed to be inspired by those classic old Porsche 911s after all... and so that's fair enough. But it's certainly not something I would buy.
Unsurprisingly, Tom informed me that all the blue/steel versions of this watch were long since sold out. Which is a shame as it would have been nice to see them next to each other for a direct comparison. Personally I think I prefer (from the pictures anyway) the red/gold version, not least because the engraved 'Carrera' down the side of the gold case looks way classier than the blue paint infill on the steel model.
Again though, it kinda feels like these are another limited edition that really only held the attention for about a fortnight, and with TAG Heuer still releasing models deep into November, I think these are fading from the memory rather quickly - especially now we've seen the launch of the 'Watches of Switzerland' limited edition panda-dial Carrera Elegant, which is sure to be a contender for the coveted C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year title.
Limited to just 250 pieces worldwide this one is actually showing as 'Out of Stock' on the TAG Heuer website, so if you want one I guess you will need to ring a boutique. But you will need deep, deep pockets. £19,950 to be precise, which seems an awful lot to me when you think what else you could get for that money, not least from the TAG Heuer website.
Still it was nice to see the watch and try it on. Good to see also that the watch was wrapped in clear film, thus keeping that super expensive gold in tip top condition for it's eventual purchaser. This is important particularly when you have a watch like this in gold which marks relatively easily.
A while back I wrote a post with Jim Dollares about whether trying on expensive watches that you can't afford was a good idea or does it just breed dissatisfaction and resentment. In this case I'd have to say it was 'nice' to see and try on, but it certainly didn't leave a lasting impact on me... I think on reflection I would struggle to give it more than a 7/10.
And I still haven't seen a Solargraph...
IS TRYING ON EXPENSIVE WATCHES A GOOD IDEA?
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