I guess this was inevitable wasn't it? Having engineered a new Rattrapante movement for the Monaco a couple of years ago it was an obvious move to slide it into a Carrera case at some point and here it is. Are you excited? Does it make your balls tingle? What if I tell you that it costs in excess of £100,000? No, I don't understand why either... but we'll gloss over that, because what's the point of moaning about it. It wouldn't make any difference if it was half that, I still couldn't afford to buy it and given there's no real reason a split seconds chronograph should cost this kind of money given that you can get them for a fraction of the cost from other manufacturers, we have to kind of treat these watches as TAG Heuer's 'Richard Mille' models. Strategically overpriced to appeal to the kind of people that will only buy a watch if they know other people can't afford them...
Actually, perhaps Richard Mille is a bad comparison because it seems like this is actually TAG Heuer's 'budget' option for those who can't quite stretch to the Monaco. I mean it's still over £100,000 but it's not as expensive as the Monaco (with it's admittedly cool and very avant garde case construction).
Leaving that aside then, does the watch appeal to me aesthetically? On first glance I must admit there was a modicum of interest, but looking at it now (on the Monochrome website) I honestly can't say that it does. Admittedly I'm not as enthused by skeleton movements as I used to be (though I still love my Heuer 01 Carrera), these days I'd much prefer a nice sunray dial or something... but even so this one doesn't look particularly attractive, like say a Zenith Defy skeleton (at a fraction of the price). As one of the comments below says, it doesn't so much look 'skeletonised' as 'unfinished', and that bezel under the glass idea still makes no sense to me whatsoever.
To be fair, there's clearly a lot more gone into this than your standard glassbox models, the finishing is of a far higher standard than normal and the 350 component movement has titanium bridges for 'reduced weight'. Which is all well and good, but primarily I'm attracted to watches that look nice, and this one really doesn't tickle my fancy... so unfortunately I can only give it a 5/10 I'm afraid.
I can't help thinking this has to look better in person though, like the Monaco Rattrapantes apparently do, pity that I'll probably never get to find out... and I don't really imagine we'll get too much positivity from the Council for this 42mm skeleton dial Carrera either, but you never know.
5/10: "I don't hate it and there's something about it that I quite like, but it looks more unfinished than skeleton."
1/10: "Doesn't work for me, it's just not a good looking watch. Nowhere near as good as the Monaco."
8.5/10: "I rate this one... Still not affordable for a peasant like me but I guess I can dream."
2/10: "They should fire the CEO for allowing this to be released. Oh wait, they already did."
4/10: "A big improvement over the Munch Monaco, and it’s less horrible than most of the rest of the glassbox range!"
2/10: "Aesthetically, it’s marginally better than the rattrapante Monacos, and price is once again bonkers."
4.5/10: "I have mixed feelings about this Carrera Rattrapante. On the one hand, I feel the Rattrapante Monaco is an epic fail. It's the ugliest Monaco at the most ludicrous price. OTOH, this Carrera is a good looking watch in comparison and priced about $40k less. But for a watch priced over $100k, it just doesn't look special enough. At least with the Monaco, it's so outrageous, that it screams look at me. If spending this kind of money, I'd rather get something like the 2013 Carrera Mikro-Tourbillon-S 100. But honestly, I'd much rather get a 2026 Porsche Carrera if we're talking $100K+ Carreras over any TAG Heuer Carrera past or present. 😉"
7/10: "I like the tech and the design."
4.5/10: "For a skeleton, it is quite subdued. Not that bad. Price technical, Bad.. Not my cup of tea."
6/10: "Nice design, and well-executed in the glassbox case. However, it loses a point for the astronomical price."
5/10: "The price is a joke. I don't generally like the new glassboxes, and this one wouldn't be among my favourites, so I can only give it a 5/10."
3/10: "£100,000+ would buy me a very nice perpetual calender watch so TH wouldnt get an ounce of interest. Poor colour separation, price make it 3/10."
0/10: "Hard to think of any other watch I wouldn't want more than this for the ridiculous price."
5/10: "I don’t hate it, and I do appreciate the added complexity. My first impressions are a very “meh” 5/10. I’d hate to see what a service costs on one of these out of warranty…"
6/10: "Points deducted for the eye watering price. Overall, I'd pick the Monaco version over this."
6/10: "This is the Carrera version of the Monaco Split-Second, isn't it? I know it has a special movement inside, but I feel like it needs a bit more visual flair to make it truly stand out."
1/10: "No idea who these are aimed at to be honest."
7/10: "I don't think I'd ever buy a skeleton. I can appreciate the intricacies and they are interesting to look at as a curiosity, just not my taste. It's well executed though and retains legibility, it scores points for not being a bling fest too. Affordable? Nope.."
7/10: "Ignoring the eye-watering price, my score is 7."
5/10: "What a design—there’s simply nothing racier than this!!! With this design, TAG Heuer has once again outdone itself! But the price even more so. In my view, neither the split-seconds chronograph nor an in-house movement or anything else justifies this price. To make a statement and with a heavy heart I’m giving it only 3 out of 10 points!
Edit: Okay, I’ve done some more research and realized that a lot of handcraftsmanship goes into these watches and that the finishing is supposed to be exceptional. I can understand from a strategic point of view that TAG Heuer wants a slice of the haute horlogerie pie. However, in that case the watch would also need to be promoted accordingly, with much greater emphasis on the elaborate, hand-finished details. Based on these considerations, I am revising my rating to 5/10. Should TAG Heuer be able to convince me that the watch truly meets haute horlogerie standards not only in terms of price, I would reserve the right to give it a higher rating at the end of the year (keyword: WOTY)."
No comments:
Post a Comment