FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Ice Blue' Calibre TH20-09 Limited Edition Tourbillon

By my reckoning this is TAG Heuer's eighth different tourbillon this year, and while technically this one is another 'limited edition'... at 250pcs it rather begs the question 'just how many £20,000 tourbillons can TAG Heuer actually hope to shift?' I mean, TAG Heuer's bread and butter business is commonly accepted to be in the £1500-6000 region, so it's surprising that the brand feel comfortable making so many pieces in this price bracket.

But to be fair they've certainly been on target more than they've been off this year, with the Swiss Alps limited edition, the Watches of Switzerland limited edition, the Singapore limited edition and the new Carrera Extreme Sports tourbillons all looking pretty good. This one is pretty nice too and that ice blue, sunray brushed dial is sure to find a lot of friends... though whether those friends have the required deep pockets to actually purchase is another matter.

Again, the tourbillon fouling the outer ring will surely be the main complaint, but again like with the Swiss Alps limited edition, with that outer ring being dark in colour the effect is thankfully minimized. I do like the blue stitching on the alligator strap, that really works, and there's no denying that it's a good looking watch, but I just can't get excited about tourbillons somehow... and given that the whole point of a tourbillon is to ensure greater accuracy I don't understand why only some of TAG Heuer's tourbillons are COSC certified.

For some reason this one is only showing on the Australian TAG Heuer website at present, though I highly doubt TAG Heuer are planning to sell 250 pieces in that one market... perhaps it will appear later in the year throughout the rest of the world? As it is, currently the price is shown as A$36,550 (£18,745). 

Okay, let's find out what the Council have to say about this one...

5.5/10: "Not cheap, but looks-wise, I think it's possibly the nicest TAG Heuer Tourbillion I've seen."

5.5/10: "For some reason I don't feel that the ice blue dial, lovely though it is, works very well with the tourbillon."

9/10: "I love the colour and the stitching on the strap."

7.5/10: "From the rendered pictures, this is lovely. That beautiful ice blue dial with the black sub dials, chrono hand and chapter ring give it a really nice smokey feel. This really pops and I like it a lot."

3/10: "I like the colour, not much else to be honest."

6/10: "Beautiful dial! It's just a shame that the tourbillon hangs in the chapter ring."

5/10: "While I still don't like the new glassbox design--regardless of size--nor do I care for a tourbillon, this one looks decent overall and the colour is nice."

8/10: "Although this one totally makes me think of a Kern Breitling, I can't help myself from drooling over that ice blue sexy dial. This is one of the best tourbillions yet from TAG in my opinion."

6/10: "This almost could have been a Bamford edition."

7/10: "I prefer the Swiss Alps and WOS versions, so half point less for this one. It’s a pity that it comes with the lazy 'ONE OF 250' and not properly numbered.😏"

6/10: "Nice colourway, tourbillon is still dumb."

4/10: "I dunno. Seems a little uninspired to me. And the light dial colour highlights the fact that the tourbillon hole eats into the rehaut…"

3/10: "My first impression hasn't changed. It's not good."

4.5/10: "Washed-out dial, basic minute track and very little lume. Seems like just a low-effort design for pumping out another limited edition."

7/10: "The blue looks good, but yes, the Tourbillon cuts the inner bezel. But somehow it appeals to me. Maybe because I like that colourscheme - Bamfordish conditioning?"

7.5/10: "I am betting the colour is very nice in person. A $25k Tag seems pricy but it is a tourbillion."

5/10: "5, lose the tourbillion and it’s a 7."

7/10: "If the pricing wasn’t so nuts for the tourbillon, 8."

5.5/10: "I don’t mind the dial on this! But it’s not something I would look at twice if I were shopping in an AD."

6/10: "Blue face n black at odds…"

6/10: "This shade of blue isn't my favourite. Much prefer the Swiss Alps over this one."