I think I've been pretty clear on my feelings about the 2021 Hodinkee Dato and the 2023 39mm glassbox Carreras in general come to that... and I was also less than enthusiastic when I wrote my 'First Impressions' post for this new teal dial version back in February. So honestly I was all ready to hate this even before I got it on the wrist. But... and this just shows that I am nothing less than professional at all times, I was somewhat shocked to find that I actually liked this one a little more than I thought I would.
Now don't get the wrong idea, I didn't feel like the scales had dropped from my eyes or anything, but in the flesh it certainly looked better than expected. The thing is my expectations were low. Very low. I actually gave it 3/10 when I gave my 'First Impressions' score, so there was a lot of room for improvement and even now I don't think I would give it more than a generous 5, but still it's not the disaster I thought it was and that's something.
It's still too small for me of course (I honestly still don't quite understand how a 39mm watch can wear so damned small), give me a 37mm 2000 Series any day of the week! And the colour is an odd choice for a watch I think, definitely a bit Marmite. But the one positive of not having the subdial a contrasting colour to the rest of the dial means that you're not constantly wondering if it's your eyes that are skewiff or the watch.
A positive experience of sorts then, but still clearly the Skipper is the pick of the current 39mm Carreras. No doubt there will be at least one new glassbox to write about after Watches & Wonders next week, but overall I can't really see me changing my mind about them anytime soon.
LOL
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