Monday, 6 November 2023

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Peach' and 'Hammered Silver Dial' Automatic Watches

 
WBN231A.BA0001                                          WBN231B.BA0001

Are we still going to pretend these 36mm Carreras are unisex? We are? Okay then...

Many years ago my wife and I were lucky enough to see an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in Selfridges that had a hammered finish. It looked nothing short of spectacular and my wife loved it. Unfortunately it cost about four times her yearly salary and as such was completely out of the question. But now, finally, TAG Heuer have (partially) embraced the look with this new 36mm hammered dial Carrera. And while I haven't seen one (yet) I have seen a photo and it looks pretty damn cool!


One thing I really like about these two Carreras is that they've set the diamonds into the chapter ring rather than externally, which not only gives a different aesthetic, but also means the diamonds are protected from wear and tear and dirt, which is a brilliant idea when you think about it. The peachy/pink dial I'm not quite so enthused about if I'm honest, but then again I don't think these are aimed at a 54 year old bloke, so fair enough!


At a list price of £4150 I doubt my wife will be rushing to the store to buy the silver hammered dial: if it was 32mm and quartz then we might be talking, but who knows - maybe it will wear better than the 36mm Aquaracer, I would expect it to... but historically her wrists have been too small to carry off more than a 32mm. The peachy/pink dial is slightly cheaper at £3950, but doesn't look anything like as  exciting to these eyes.


We are now operating on a reduced Council for women's watches as eleven of the members opted out of reviewing ladies pieces. Thankfully we still have sixteen members to call on for scores and comments, so let's find out what they think of these.






Peach Dial 2/10 - Silver Hammered Dial 5/10: Neither my Wife nor I like diamonds on a watch. Renders of both of these look terrible. Actual photo of the grey looks a good bit better but can’t see the Peach being anything other than terrible.

Peach Dial 7/10 - Silver Hammered Dial 6.85/10: These have a wonderful way of integrating diamonds below the crystal, creating a sophisticated and discretely blingy look.

Peach Dial 3/10 - Silver Hammered Dial 5/10: Quite like the grey textured dial but it's no Grand Seiko. Nothing to really distinguish it from the myriad of other ladies' models.

Peach Dial 7/10 - Silver Hammered Dial 9/10: The pink / peach could go either way IRL but based on the picture my score is 7. The hammered dial looks gorgeous. As far as I'm aware this is a new look for TAG and I love it. Shame it's so expensive! Now if only there was a quartz version.

Peach Dial 5/10 - Silver Hammered Dial 7/10: The peach dial is nice but its nothing special to me. The diamonds in the chapter ring are a nice touch but over all its ok. I like the hammered dial a lot, it's a lovely effect especially with the contrasting gold markers and hands.

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