TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold Watch Review
The new TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold joins a bevy of new Carrera models, released by the firm in 2023 as it celebrates the 60th anniversary of its iconic model. Mark McArthur-Christie, wordsmith extraordinaire, Heuer 2447S owner and chronograph obsessive shares his thoughts on this latest creation from the Swiss avant-garde brand.
TAG Heuer watch
Just down the Tamega valley from the town of Amarante, between a vineyard and the river on the steeply sloped banks, is a tiny granite-block house. It’s so unspoilt you need to nip to an outhouse to use the facilities, such as they are. If you fancy the bright lights, there’s a brick and breezeblock café just up the track where you can practice your Portuguese with the local vinicultores (they’ll laugh at your Duolingo pronunciation as they correct it for you). You can simultaneously drink in a vat-drawn carafe of their good stuff and the view right across to the east bank, just below Almas, as it’s lit up by the setting sun.
You’ll also need to be handy with an oil lamp, happy to live without electricity and eschew a phone signal. It’s heaven.
TAG Heuer Carrera – a busy year
I hope TAG Heuer will be funding at least a month there, all expenses (inc. wine) paid, for the Carrera’s brand manager. They deserve it after this year of anniversary celebrations. Hats off to anyone who can organise the launches for what must have been 4,577 different new Carrera models in the space of 12 months and stay sane.
It’s been a cracker of a year, too. We’ve had the Skipper, the Jack Heuer 88th birthday in gold, the 160-year anniversary in stainless, the 2447S recreation (as an original 2447S owner, I’m a fan), the Panda… They really do deserve that holiday. Just saying.
Now, as the grand finale, we get a successor to the top-of-the-tree, the ref. 1158CHN in gold. We’ve already told the story of how 1960s Ferrari racers would snag an 1158CH from Heuer, and this is the nearest we’re going to get to a modern edition.
TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold – a watch in its own right
It’s worth pointing out that, even though TAG Heuer has featured it alongside the 1158CH on its launch material, this is no recreation, nor a homage. It’s a watch in its own right. Yes, there are similarities but there are plenty of differences too.
TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold dial
For a start, the 1158 is a simple, two-register chronograph. You get hours and minutes on subdials, plus chrono seconds from the centre of the dial. The new watch is… well, it’s a sort of two-and-a-half register chrono with central seconds. There’s an hour counter at 9, a minute totaliser that runs to 30 minutes at 3 and what you could call a running seconds ‘area’ at 6, just by the date.
It’s more of a ghost dial than a subdial, simply because it uses only printed 5-second marks rather than a full dial. This, however, is bang-on true to the spirit of Mr Heuer. That’s because running seconds is not a chronograph function, it’s a simple time function. As such, the running seconds gets a different level of prominence from the chrono indicators. In this case, all the chrono functions are picked out in black; black background subdials and a black lacquered centre chrono seconds. That stops any confusion and lets you tell the elapsed time as easily as the time itself.
When it comes to the rest of the dial, if it moves, it’s gold-plated and/or filled with Super LumiNova. If it doesn’t move, it’s probably brushed and gold-plated. Those chrono subdials stand out thanks not only to their black snailed backgrounds but also because of their matte finish and concentric rings.
TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold case
The 1158CH, because it ran the wonderful Buren cal.11 or 12 movement, had the crown and pushers on opposite sides of the case. That’s actually a tough act to follow because, although it makes the watch a pain to wind if you’re right-handed, it balances the case visually. But we’d trade the ease of winding for a lack of visual balance. It makes far more sense to have pushers and winders where you can get at them. Unless you’re left-handed, in which case you won’t be as sanguine. The case, though, is only 1 mm more than the 1960s watch at 39 mm in diameter. And where you’d be constantly fretting about getting your 1158 damp, the TAG Heuer’s modern waterproofing will happily let it get a proper 100 m soaking without bother.
TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold – calibre TH20-00
Talking of movements, the new TAG Heuer uses the calibre TH20-00. If you want an idea of how far movement design and manufacture has come since the 1960s, this would be a good place to start. The movements Heuer used in the 1960s were groundbreaking as well as beautiful – some of the first automatic chronographs. That makes them very special indeed. But watch tech has moved on. For an automotive equivalent, you’d need something like a 1965 Ferrari 330 GT Series I to turn in a 6-second 0-60 time in the 1960s. Most cars measured their 0-60s in minutes. Today, a Honda Civic will come in faster with a lot less fuss and fragility. OK, so who wouldn’t take the Ferrari over the Honda, but time brings huge improvements.
The calibre TH20-00 ticks all the right serious chronograph boxes; vertical clutch, column wheel, 28,000 vph (4 Hz) and a whopping 80-hour power reserve from a single barrel. It winds both ways too, so it’s easier to fully energise the mainspring without expending too much energy. Although if you’re struggling to move enough to wind an automatic, you may have bigger problems to worry about.
TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold – surprisingly discreet
We’ve talked about the design of the case, but the material adds a different dimension. It’s hard to make a case in gold without it being a bit, well, bling. But TAG Heuer has done it here. Although it has used 18K solid gold to make the case, caseback, crown and pushers, this isn’t a watch that screams ‘look at me’ too loudly. Sure, you might want to wear your Casio to London nowadays, but this is a watch that’ll not attract the wrong sort of attention. At the risk of stating the obvious, it helps that it’s mostly brushed, so it’s not too shiny.
Rather than a modern re-edition of a Gay Frères 18K yellow gold bracelet, this new watch comes with a black perforated calfskin leather strap and an 18K gold pin buckle. That will, at least, stop temporarily impoverished racers from flogging the bracelet and keeping the watch.
TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold – closing thoughts
As a bit of a traditionalist and a romantic, it would be easy to claim that a modern watch like this isn’t as good as the original. But the argument doesn’t stack up. Of course, the 1158CH carries a reek of high-octane glamour and risk as well as a groundbreaking movement. But, from any objective measure, this new TAG Heuer is a superb bit of kit in its own right without any of that. And who’s to say that in 60 years’ time people won’t be looking back on it with similar fondness? It’s a fitting end to a cracking good year for TAG Heuer. And it really is time someone got a holiday.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Chronograph Gold
- Reference: CBS2240.FC8319
- Case: 18K 3N solid yellow gold, diameter 39 mm, height 13.9 mm, water resistance 10 ATM (100 metres), sapphire crystal to front, exhibition caseback.
- Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph
- Movement: Calibre TH20-00 automatic, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), 33 jewels, power reserve 80 hours
- Strap: perforated black calfskin leather strap with fine brushed 18K 3N yellow gold pin buckle
- Price: £18,750 (RRP as of 13.11.2023)