FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 'Diamond Bezel' Limited Edition Chronograph

 

Much as I appreciate the participation of the Council of Considered Opinion, when I saw this I knew instantly that they would get this so wrong and score it as a dismal failure... when it's clear to anyone with an ounce of common sense that this is easily the best looking TAG Heuer we've seen this year! But you know, 44mm and a diamond bezel... it's a travesty to the memory of Jack Heuer etc etc. 

Well first of all dear Jack is still with us, and second of all 'Pah'. And again I say 'Pah!' Yes it's 44mm and what of it? Anyone who has tried on one of these 'SPORTS' Carreras will know that it doesn't wear like a 44mm and what's wrong with a diamond bezel? I think it looks rad!

But I know I'm wasting my breath trying to change their minds, so I won't even bother. Let them have their fun; I bet it will be doing well if it scores 4/10! No doubt the comments section will be littered with the obligatory 'get rid of the diamond bezel and make it a 39mm glassbox' nonsense too... sigh. 

But you, dear reader, surely you can see how awesome this new Carrera is right? You're not going to disappoint me too, are you? I mean look it has a reverse panda dial... a reverse panda Carrera is an instant 7 without a second thought right?

Well not for me it isn't, I'm going all out with this one and giving it 9.5/10. That's right, easily my highest score this year and at this moment in time a solid contender for my 'Watch of the Year' vote. Although, that would probably be a waste of a vote in what could be a very competitive field given that there hasn't really been one stand-out watch yet so far this year. We'll see, but morally, this should get it. 

Okay and yes, I must confess there is one minor sticking point, because this one costs about £11,000... which means it's completely out of my price range (that's Chopard 'Alpine Eagle' money lest we forget) and it also only seems to be available in Australia. Though it doesn't seem to be an 'Australian exclusive' - and honestly I find it hard to believe there's a market for 200 of these in just that one territory.

Okay, well, I guess it's time to turn it over to the great unwashed so they can pour their wholly undeserved scorn on this most magnificent of beasts. Have at it you philistines!  

2.5/10: "I'm not the target audience for this so it is always going to get a shit score. 2.5/10. I can't stand diamonds on watches, full stop, never mind a double row on an overly wide bezel."

5/10: "I like the dial but I really dislike the bezel full of diamonds, so it’s a 5/10 for me."

4/10: "I hate the diamond bezel."

1/10: "I must admit I don't really get what it's trying to be. A classic sports chronograph, famed for it's simplicity, with vintage-inspired panda dial. But in 44m with diamonds all over it. No thanks. No doubt it's hideously expensive as well."

2/10: "No comment."

9/10: "A strong 9 from me. The only thing holding it back is that small disproportionate little sub-dial at six."

4/10: "All these LEs reek of 'We cannot sell enough core collection models, so let’s keep our watchmakers busy as we can…'. 4/10 (since they haven’t skimped on the number of stones used and the contrast with the black dial kind of works)."

3/10: "This watch is like an oxymoron."

1/10: "Horrible!"

2/10: "I see all these little LED lights instead of diamonds in the bezel? This may be due to the fact that I drink beer early in the day at my holiday address."

2/10: "Not for me, at any price." 

7/10: "Wow, that is blingtastic! I score it 7."

3/10: "Oh… no… no. Nope. No. And absolutely not… what were they thinking with the diamond bezel. 3/10 for me. I love the rest, but they ruined it with the bezel. They replaced the tachy with tacky. This watch ruined my day!"

5.5/10: "When I first saw this I really wasn't sure I liked it at all but I've very quickly warmed to it.

The black dial with the red chrono hand really work well together and the diamond bezel which I was too sure about at first is actually quite nice!"

1/10: "Not sure who this is for. Not for me..."

6/10: "44mm? Why?"

9/10: "I am not a fan of diamonds on a watch generally, but this actually looks great. Not a modern glass box, check. Nice case design, check. Properly sized, check. Great colour scheme, check. Diamond bezel, but not automatically diamond indices, check. Everything going for it. WOTY for me, if I don’t give it to the Blue AR GMT on rubber."

2/10: "Essentially a Carrera Sport in 44 mm with red accents plus diamonds? Not a cohesive release in my opinion."