ON THE WRIST: Carrera Calibre 16 Black Titanium Chrono

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Ernest Jones / Manchester 10th March 2017

I'd almost forgotten about this one, and then looking in the window of Ernest Jones in the Trafford Centre on Friday morning... there it was, standing out like a sore thumb with it's brown leather strap and striking dial. I must admit, if anything I was expecting to find the new Mancester United watches in the Trafford Centre, but I didn't see either of them, I'm guessing they haven't quite been released yet...

The most surprising thing for me with this one is that it looks smaller than I expected. This seems to be a thing with black watches, it seems to knock a millimetre or more of the perceived case size. It wasn't even like I was wearing a big watch when I went in, I was wearing my trusty Formula One WAH1110-0, which is only 40mm in diameter, but this still struck me as smaller than anticipated once it was on the wrist.

The sales-lady was keen to point out the 'vintage' aesthetic, but I'm afraid I really don't see it. To me, the only thing that is particularly 'vintage' about this is the brown leather strap, which is you know I abhor. I do really like this one as it is something 'different', but that strap would have to go. It would be interesting to know what options are available to switch out the strap and keep the black coated buckle (which is fine and looks just like a smaller version of the one on the Heuer 01 Carrera incidentally). Some kind of black leather would look good, but I'm really thinking tyre tread rubber all the way, definitely worth thinking about.

I'm not saying the brown strap doesn't work, it does - although it's actually quite an odd match. In this instance it's just personal taste. I have it and the person who put them together doesn't - HAHAHAHA!

But seriously, this is a nice watch. The dial is so striking and looks fantastic. Legibility is optimal over pretty much any other Carrera I can think of and the black treatment on the movement looks pretty cool too (although I'm not entirely sure why they did that really). I've always liked the Carreras with the 'minute' markings on the dial, but often they are mirrored finish and seem to reflect only dark surfaces and so disappear into the dial, but here the beige lume stands out well, and is probably a nicer option than a pure white would have been (for example check out the difference between a standard Tudor Pelagos and the LHD version).

I really like this one, and it makes me think that TAG have some good ideas for the future (something the Manchester United watches cast doubt upon), but at £3800 it seems a little steep for me to buy, especially when I know I'm going to want to spend another £150 or so on a replacement strap. Having said that, this could be a nice second hand purchase in a few years, or maybe one day in the distant future if it could turn up at the outlets with a hefty discount it may be worth a punt.

As a matter of interest, I just checked on Iconic Watches website (where I bought my Heuer 01) and they are only offering £200 discount on this one at the moment, which seems rather low considering I got my Carrera Skeleton for £3200.

ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer Chronograph Calibre 16 Black Phantom

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Ernest Jones / Manchester 12th November 2016

I've been interested in trying out this watch since I tried on the Limited Edition 41mm three hand version in Chester in October. At 41mm and with a black case it felt somewhat small on my wrist though this could be because I was wearing my 45mm Heuer 01 when I went in to the shop and the other watch I tried on in that particular shop was a 43mm Aquaracer.

This (non limited) chronograph version is 43mm and pretty thick with it. It kind of reminds me of my Aquagraph in shape and bulk, but as it is coated titanium it is nothing like as hefty. Some might prefer the lighter watch, but I do like my Aquagraph, you certainly know you've got it on! 

Unfortunately for me, I think the simplicity of the smaller black phantom works better with the blacked out aesthetic and they don't make that in a 43mm case. Also as I've mentioned before I'm really not a fan of these nylon straps, but that would be easily remedied. The real deal breaker for me was the cyclops though, the more I see these Aquaracers with them the more I hate them. I think the TAG cyclops is particularly nasty as they have a ridge around the edge rather than blending into the main glass which just looks shoddy to me. 

To be fair it's not like I've tried on a whole bunch of other brands with cyclops on the glass, so I don't have much data to compare, but I've never noticed that ridge on a Rolex (for example), but maybe that's one of the compromises you accept for the less expensive watch? Or maybe it is there and I've just never noticed it? Whichever, the cyclops really bugs me, and I don't feel that this watch (or any watch) really needs one. It seems at odds with the whole 'Phantom' feel, and the date really isn't that small anyway. 

My other slight gripe, was that the markers and hands on the 41mm version seemed to catch the light more, though I am at a complete loss to understand why that should be. I can only assume the difference in lighting in different shops. But whatever the reason, it certainly made this 'on the wrist' experience a bit of a damp squib.

Perhaps it didn't help that while I was trying this on my eyes were being drawn to the Carrera Senna that was on the counter in front of me (see separate review), but even so I feel rather disappointed as I quite liked the idea of a phantom watch in my collection. I even contemplated asking if it would be possible to purchase separately a non-cyclops glass to fit the 41mm (if I could get over the size - which I think I could because it's no smaller than my Formula One). 

Ah well, I suppose the purpose of these 'on the wrist' visits is to help separate the wheat from the chaff and find out which watches really ring my bell, and so I don't consider it a wasted opportunity as I now know that cyclops's are definitely something of a red flag for me. 

http://www.tagheuer.co.uk/int-en/luxury-watches/aquaracer/aquaracer-ladies-300m-calibre-16-automatic-chronograph-black-phantom-43-mm-black-steel-bracelet

ON THE WRIST: Carrera Calibre 16 Chronograph Senna Special Edition

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Ernest Jones / Manchester 12th November 2016

Finally got to try this one on a trip to the Trafford Centre at the weekend. As we know, I'm now a fan of the tyre tread rubber straps (after my initial skepticism) so that was a good start, and the buckle is the push button type (not unlike the Heuer 01), so again all good there. 

The watch itself is a good size, perhaps wearing slightly smaller than you might think from a 44mm watch, but again this may be something to do with the black case. The pushers are nice and the overall impression is good, I'm not completely sold on the wizzy red bits on the 12 O Clock subdial, I think that may be a touch of red too much - and I don't say that lightly, I love watches with red on, but this looks a little bit naff in my opinion.

The back of the watch is solid (no glass case back here unfortunately), with a large Senna 'S' in red. This being a 'Special' edition rather than a 'Limited' edition there's no numbering to make you feel that little extra specialness of being one of only so many people in the world to own this watch, I know it's a little thing, and often meaningless (especially when we're talking thousands of pieces), but still.

My problem is this, wearing this watch for a few minutes brought to mind another watch that is also black with red flashes, is a limited edition and is also much cooler and only another £50. So it is with regret that I must remove this watch from my list of possible next purchases because it simply doesn't make sense to pay £3950 for this, when for £4000 I could have a 40th Anniversary Monza on my wrist.

Yes I hate the strap, and it's going to cost me another £150 to change that, but I think that makes a lot more sense to me than this one, and I'm damned sure it'll hold it's value better as well. That being said, if this was to turn up in the boutique with a sub £3000 price tag on it than I might reconsider, but even then I think to be honest this doesn't actually stand a value comparison with that 2012 Monaco Grand Prix Carrera I saw the other week.

Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice watch. But it seems a lot of money for what it is, especially when you consider that £4000 also gets you a Carrera Heuer 01 like the one I already have.