CBE511A.FC8279
Way back in March 2019 a Czech website called Hodinky.Koscom posted pictures of a bunch of TAG Heuer Autavia chronographs, including this one alongside the black and silver versions which were released early last year. I'm 85% sure there were more than three but I don't recall what the other ones looked like and sifting through my records produced nothing but a slew of broken JPGs. Typical.
Suffice to say that this watch is already nearly four years old, which is kinda crazy. One of the reasons for this perhaps, is that these watches were originally supposed to carry the Isograph carbon hairspring which was originally launched in the three hand Autavia range and then subsequently recalled and discontinued as in practice the technology did not work well with the (rebranded Sellita) Calibre 5 movements. And then of course there was the global pandemic...
And so here we are four years later finally seeing the (not so) 'new' Autavia Heuer 02 Flyback Chronograph. And maybe, just maybe time has worked in the watch's favour, because I seem to remember a lot of harsh words spoken about this back in 2019 when we had nothing more than Hodinky.Koscom's leaked images to go on, but now it seems like people are warming to this a little bit: perhaps because it has a strong 'retro' vibe to it...
Of course, for the most part this one is very similar to the CBE511C released last year, sans the green lume and black DLC coating. There are minor detail changes here and there, albeit nothing really to speak of - the Autavia font on the dial has changed colour and the steel version has a white stitched strap, but apart from that it's very much the same watch.
To be completely honest I much prefer the black 2022 version and I really enjoyed trying it on even if it was rather expensive for my pocket. In fact I nearly gave it my vote in the 2022 W.O.T.Y. poll. The things that I particularly liked about it were, naturally, the DLC coating and the green lume... so taking those things out of the equation was never really going to work for me. What remains is a pleasant enough watch, but it's a little pedestrian for me and not all that much cheaper.
About ten years ago I used to own a black Suziki Ignis Sport with Recaro seats, flared arches and white wheels. I really loved that car, and this watch kinda reminds me of when I would see a standard Ignis in yellow, without the flared arches, funky wheels and seats. Maybe that's a tad harsh, but you get the picture... and I can't help thinking if they'd released them the other way round it probably would have been better.
And interestingly, there are still images out there for at least one unreleased watch, though whether this one will ever materialise is at present unknown.
Okay let's find out if the C.O.C.O. Council have truly warmed to this one or not...
167.5 / 26 = 6.44 (Rounded down to 6.4)
7/10: "I Personally can't fault this Autavia. It's a lovely watch with great movement and complication. For me, the only issue is I much prefer the black case version (CBE511C.FC8280) of this watch."
7/10: "A nice looking watch. I usually find black dials difficult. But this one certainly succeeded."
8/10: "I like this iteration more than the all black and also feel like it is more fairly priced being a fly back with chronometer specs."
8/10: "I find the Autavia Chronometer Flyback range a very attractive design and a good proposition."
8/10: "I hope that somehow the Autavia series will survive and that it is a series with a retro look and modern movement."
6/10: "It's just... nice, really."
6.5/10: "Overall I like the look. Having the Tag Heuer logo as the 12 hour marker is slightly wierd, obviously to accommodate a lot of text on the dial, and I'm not generally a fan of large numbered, pilot style numerals. It works here, though, the case is good-looking and the bezel is relatively slim. I have to take into account size - not so much the 42mm diameter, but the close to 16mm thickness and I believe it's also 50mm lug to lug which means it won't fit well on quite a lot of people."
6/10: "I would have preferred if this had the green lume markers of the black one."
7/10: "Overall a nice looking Autavia."
8/10: "Looks more balanced than the silver one. For me it also it has a more classical and versatile look than the black PVD one. Price wise it's great for a flyback movement."
7/10: "...just because the travel pouch is cool."
6.5/10: "The black one has a lot going for it and overall this looks pretty badass. However the combination of the matt case with the shiny rounded bezel is a dealbreaker. Also the green lume is a bit much. On the original Autavia the numbers were green, but the hands were standard white lume, later ageing to cream. For those reasons I really prefer the new one. I still don't like the shiny bezel, mushroom pushers and Oreo cookie crown but the rest of the package looks good. Given diameter and thickness it's not a contender for me but I get that more people will be swayed by this one than an all black chronograph. In any case it will not get better than the original bund Autavia."
6/10: "There is something in the design of these new Autavias that I don't like... it's the whole, not an isolated detail. I can't give it more than."
4/10: "I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact the Autavia line will not live up to my excitement from the relaunch. I don't hate this, but the tag logo position kills it for me, like a bad fake from a market in Turkey."
7.5/10: "I like it, lots of pluses, applied numerals, COSC movement, nice size, although unsure on lug to lug."
3/10: "All of the problems of the other black dial model (and there are very many) while lacking the interesting DLC case and Bund-style green lume."
7/10: "It's nice on its own, but I'd much rather have last year's all black version. I think l might also give a slight edge to last year's Autavia panda over this one too. One thing I don't care for on all of these current Autavias is the rounded bezel. I think they would look better with a more traditional flat style bezel. Overall, it's a good looking watch. But unfortunately, too big and thick for my wrist."
6.5/10: "Didn't really fancy the earlier one and this doesn't really do much for me."
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