As you probably know by now, I'm not a huge fan of the second generation of glassbox Carreras, especially the 39mm ones which look tiny on my 7.5" wrist. I actually don't mind some of the 42mm models and it's a shame they don't offer the purple dial, for example, in the larger case as that one is rather nice. So it's not that I'm completely 'anti-glassbox' and I do have some 37mm watches in my collection (so it's not purely the size). I think it's a combination of the diameter, the glass dome and the thin 'not-a-bezel' visible under the crystal conspiring to make it feel a bit dinky and a wee bit feminine (honestly).
But perhaps I'm not the only one with reservations? Perhaps TAG Heuer themselves realise that maybe they went a little bit small, because at LVMH Watch Week they released three new glassbox chronographs in a larger (41mm) diameter. Yay, for common sense!
For the launch there are three colourways, green, blue and black (with red accents). All three come on TAG Heuer's new 'beads of rice' bracelet, which I have to say I think is quite cool. I was never a fan of the vintage version, but this modern interpretation actually works really well and avoids the slightly garish appearance of the original. I know it's wildly popular with Heuer fans, but I've never really understood why. They claim to love the simplicity of the original chronographs but also love this blingy bracelet; it makes zero sense to me.
Anyhoo, the other notable thing about this new release is that it has no date. Which, in this case is definitely a positive because it simplifies the dials nicely and removes the need to cut a hole in the bottom subdial; which even though it is a bit messy is still a better option than placing it behind the chrono hand at 12 o clock!
Going solely from the render the black looks like the most exciting of the three, with red hands and a sinister crimson glow emanating from around the outer edge of the crystal. From what I gather they've achieved this by painting a red line around the the edge of the case where the case and lens meet and the reflection casts this red glow onto the underside of the glass. It's quite clever, but I'm intrigued to see it in person before I make my mind up about it fully.
Okay, it's time to turn these over to the Council of Considered Opinion for the first time in 2026. Let's see if the Christmas break has made them any less mean spirited?
Blue 8/10, Black 9/10, Green 8/10: "I've seen the live picture and they are all good in my opinion."
Blue 5/10, Black 5/10, Green 5/10: "Good move to leave off the date, I still think these new glassboxes would look ten times better if the outer ring were white like on the originals. The price means it's a non-starter though. Design-wise 7/10, at this price 5/10."
Blue 5/10. Black 1/10, Green 5/10: "Hmm, well, I can't score these too highly as a) I'd prefer a date, and b) I'd prefer them in 39mm rather than 41. Bracelet is nice, though. Blue and green are nice colours. The black and red is a bit turd."
Blue 8/10, Black 8/10, Green 7/10: "The dials look so much cleaner without a date window, as God intended. Amen. Now they just need to make a 36mm version and I’ll be in serious trouble."
Blue 8/10, Black 8.5/10, Green 8/10: "I agree, removing the date complication is a great move.
I love that these are 41mm; this is my preferred size. The 39mm is too small and the 42 is a bit too large. Overall, I would love to see more variants, including a true heritage glassbox in 41mm."
Blue 6/10, Black 7/10, Green 7/10: "Regarding size, my personal preference is 39mm, but that's only because Asians tend to have slimmer wrists. For everyone else, 40-41mm would likely be the best size. A date display is less desirable as it detracts from the clean look, and it avoids the slight jolt when starting the watch after it's stopped. The only downside is the price increase."
Blue 6/10, Black 5.5/10, Green 6.5/10: "I normally prefer blue over green, but in this case, I like the green dial better. The black dial loses half a point for the weird milky red ring around the edge of the crystal."
Blue 7/10, Black 8/10, Green 7/10: "Solid Carreras. The red bezel ring is cool."
Blue 6.5/10, Black 6.5/10, Green 6.5/10: "These all look ok. I'm a little torn over the date/non date. Aesthetically, these look crisper and more purposeful. The date at 12 is a bit unsatisfactory. Then again, when I wear a non date chrono I miss the date way more than I expect to. The renders sort of minimise the glassbox effect, I might not like these as much in real life shots. No great preference on the colourways, they all look nice enough and 41mm is wearable for most. Not massively exciting, but solid releases, I'll go 6.5 across the board."
Blue 8/10, Black 8/10, Green 8/10: "8/10 for all three - can't wait to see these in person, I quite like the blue."
Blue 6.5/10, Black 6.5/10, Green 6/10: "So… more new glassboxes 😏 The black one would be a 7/10 without that red ring under the bezel."
Blue 5/10, Black 5/10, Green 4/10: "The good: dials are nice (but have basically been done before) and proper subdial at 6:00 (which is symmetric with the other subdials). The bad: current gen glassbox design just does not work for me. The ugly: the ABSURD price. The questionable: if the current gen glassbox is supposed to get rid of the milky ring, then why are they adding a red ring?"
Blue 5/10, Black 6/10, Green 3/10: "These look less gash than the 39s so far, plus I’m a big fan of no date. The black is the least bad new glassbox that I can remember."
Blue 7.5/10, Black 8/10, Green 7.5/10: "Nice designs, and the red ring at the base of the black one's crystal is a very sharp accent."
Blue 4.5/10, Black 4.5/10, Green 4.5/10: "Much prefer contrasting colours on chrono dials, not bad nothing new/exciting, like a date on my watch."
Blue 7.5/10, Black 7/10, Green 7/10: "I am pretty positive about those new 41mm Carrera's. Yes, I have to see the 'red bezel line' in real life first, but I like the red details."
