Let's be honest, this year's 'Watches and Wonders' was all about the Formula 1 for TAG Heuer. Sure they released a 10 piece limited edition Monaco that barely anyone can afford, even if they actually wanted a white ceramic cased rattrapante that looks like a fight in a candy store... but all eyes were on the worst kept secret in modern watch history, and rightly so.
But while everyone was looking the other way TAG Heuer quietly released a bevy of new 41mm day/date Carreras that while honestly not inspiring that much reaction from me are, of course, still worthy of inspection by the Council. It's a funny thing, the 41mm day/date Carrera, it's kind of seen as a 'lesser' Carrera because historically a Carrera 'should be' a chronograph. Mind you, the same people that say this also generally say at 41mm it's too big and should be 39mm, but... whatever.
I've always been semi interested in a 41mm three hand Carrera, but I've never seriously considered actually putting my hand in pocket for one. The closest I ever came was last year when I had the opportunity to buy a blue dial GMT for way under £2000. In the end I decided against it, I'm just not sure it's really for me... but even so I think one day I will get some kind of 41mm Carrera day/date on a bracelet and maybe even a two-tone; it's definitely a watch that's missing in my collection.
It doesn't really seem that long since the WBN series Carreras replaced the long-in-the-tooth WAR Carreras (it's actually less than three years!) but the difference this time around is that TAG Heuer have upgraded these watches with their own TH31-02 calibre (...actually made by Sellita) which has an 80 hour power reserve and qualifies for a three year warranty extension (so five in total) when you register your watch on the TAG Heuer website.
Personally 'in-house' movements don't move me much, but a five year warranty is definitely a positive. On the downside the price increase from the old model is £450, but really did you expect anything different?
I have to say, the renders don't exactly fill me with desire and the photos I've seen seem even less appealing, but as ever I'm going to reserve judgment until I can actually see these in the flesh. It may just be that these watches don't photograph well and boutique lighting is notoriously harsh? But I will chance my arm and say that I think I'm probably going to like the basic black and blue dials the best, because the red looks ghastly, the orange hand on the sporty model looks weird and that teal green GMT looks like a bad Seiko Alpinist!
I know I've already covered it previously in its own post, but while the two tone bracelet on the black dial is potentially the best looking of the bunch, the price difference is just laughable. Effectively the bracelet, which really just has some small rose gold parts, adds £3500 to the asking price. I mean, seriously - I feel for the people in the stores tasked with selling these. I know one thing, that one is going to depreciate faster than the rest, because there is no way the pre-owned market will sustain a watch like this starting at £7350.
Okay, well I think I've summoned all the enthusiasm I can for these, so it's time to turn them over to the Council of Considered Opinion. I see the two tone model has come off worst here, and I'm sure that's not unconnected to the insane premium the bracelet has added.... personally on the strength of these pictures I think maybe I preferred the previous generation so maybe I will look out at Bicester Village or on Watchfinder and see what comes up.
Average score 7.7/10: "I really like WDA2110, I think it would look good on a bracelet. I'd give all the day/dates 8/10 but the GMT only a 6/10, the colour combination doesn’t work well in my opinion."
Average score 5.0/10: "All are a middle of the road. Three-hander line extensions of classic chronographs are never really interesting"
Average score 6.8/10: "These are all nice but are overshadowed by the F1 Solargraph's release. When I went to see the new F1 Solargraph, the sales guy brought these all out, I had zero interest in most of them. The red dial and twin time were the only two that mildly caught my attention."
Average score 6.9/10: "TAG Heuer chose not to make their own calibre so the price is a bit lower, but I feel like it should be sold in the $3000 range."
Average score 6.8/10: "Classic models that are always a safe choice… except for the GMT version, which I don’t like much 😏. OTH I love WDA2110 which is .playing with Gulf colours and a nice rally strap
👍🏼."
Average score 7.2/10: "Nice update to the range. Not the most exciting, but they are just meant to sit under the radar as a solid dress style watch. That’s no criticism, as they certainly achieve their goal of being solid."
Average score 4.8/10: "The upcharge for the two-tone bracelet is A-B-S-U-R-D."
Average score 6.6/10: "The black dial looks better with the two tone bracelet, but the price difference is a joke. I really like the colour and design of the GMT though."
Average score 6.3/10: "I like them. I do prefer a leather strap. Then they can be combined with more colours. I would have preferred the two-tone with a different colour. This is very black. Twin-time is messy. Too much text and numbers on the dial."
Average score 7.7/10: "I love the gold but not the price, nicest in person is the leather and the GMT."
Average score 5.2/10: "All the day/dates get a 5 (meaning well made, fine standard, average TAG Heuer watch) while the GMT gets an extra point for the new dial design."
Average score 3.7/10: "Pretty uninspired if you ask me. And 41mm is way too big for a simple 3-hand watch like this. I think the best looking is the plain black with gold markers on steel, then the blue. I quite like the blue accents on the WDA2110 but the orange/red second hand ruins it.
Average score 7.2/10: "I've seen the live picture of it. Wow I like it, especially the blue dial."
Average score 7.9/10: "In general, really nice designs. The basic blue and black models get 8.5/10 since I really like these colourways. The two tone version gets 7.5/10, I'm just disappointed that the price is nearly doubled because of a few partial-gold links. The GMT gets 7/10, I like the new twin-time design, but the teal just doesn't work for it."
Average score 7.3/10: "I’ve always loved the time and date models! WDA2110: I love the pop of orange on the black dial. Very clean. The two black and gold versions: 7/10 as I’m not much of a fan of rose gold. Or plating… the blue dial isn't my favourite, but also not the worst out of the bunch. The red one (5/10) absolutely not. I hate red dials and I strongly dislike gradient dials. Seems like a new trend, and gives me Timex/Casio vibes. Poorly executed gradient dials all around for TAG in 2025. As for the GMT I'll give it 8/10, I love the look of it but that complication doesn’t do much for me otherwise. I’d prefer a blue dial to green."
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