2023 TAG Heuer Carrera 60th Anniversary (Panda - CBK221H)

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This is the one I've been waiting for.
Huge Congratulations to you Mate.
We've been waiting for this one for years.
We are exactly 100 pieces apart.
#PANDAmonium #PANDAmonium
Thank you so much Anthony! Fancy that, 100 numbers apart. Cool!
 
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Starting up the owners' list. ::rimshot::
1. @Anthony.R (Australia) #238
2. @abrod520 (USA)
3. @imagwai (UK) #334
4. @thingziliketoo (USA) #394
5. @Jemagloh (USA)
6. @Mspeedster (USA) #338

Will continue to update as others receive and post ownership of their 60th Anniversary Carreras.


Interesting that yours and Charlie's are only 4 apart and are in different countries.
I wonder what the lowest number we will see on the forum will be?
 
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Now that I've had a little more time with my watch, here's a few more initial impressions.

Although I thought I might have preferred the egg shell dial, to be more authentic, the silver sunray dial that's used is just awesome. Seeing it in person is quite different from the pictures. The way it reflects light and changes tone just can't be captured with a camera.

In person, I don't see the dark grey steel tone and deep sunray that comes out in some pics. The only time it looks that way to me is under bright sunlight, but still not as grey as some pics make it seem. With natural indoor lighting, the shade of silver is rather light and the sunray is very subtle. The dial also has quite a bit of warmth and cream tones to it that doesn't seem to translate well in pictures.

The rally strap is fantastic. But it's rather thick and I think will get more comfortable after break-in. Due to its thickness it's not that easy to thread through the loops. As others have suggested, I'll probably order a spare, as this watch will get lots of wrist time.

As for the sound test, not a huge difference to me. Yes it's a bit softer, but I couldn't really quantify how much softer. It does free spin less, but I've also noticed a more pronounced ratchet like winding sound.

All in all, I don't think I could be much happier! Knowing this watch is the very last glassbox vintage re-issue makes it even more special to me.
Edited:
 
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Interesting that yours and Charlie's are only 4 apart and are in different countries.
I wonder what the lowest number we will see on the forum will be?
Yeah I noticed how close my number is to @imagwai's too. Go figure?
 
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Now that I've had a little more time with my watch, here's a few more initial impressions.

Although I thought I might have preferred the egg shell dial, to be more authentic, the silver sunray dial that's used is just awesome. Seeing it in person is quite different from the pictures. The way it reflects light and changes tone just can't be captured with a camera.

In person, I don't see the dark grey steel tone and deep sunray that comes out in some pics. The only time it looks that way to me is under bright sunlight, but still not as grey as some pics make it seem. With natural indoor lighting, the shade of silver is rather light and the sunray is very subtle. The dial also has quite a bit of warmth and cream tones to it that doesn't seem to translate well in pictures.

The rally strap is fantastic. But it's rather thick and I think will get more comfortable after break-in. Due to its thickness it's not that easy to thread through the loops. As other have suggested, I'll probably order a spare, as this watch will get lots of wrist time.

As for the sound test, not a huge difference to me. Yes it's a bit softer, but I couldn't really quantify how much softer. It does free spin less, but I've also noticed a more pronounced ratchet like winding sound.

All in all, I don't think I could be much happier! Knowing this watch is the very last glassbox vintage re-issue makes it even more special to me.

I noticed the same as you in regards to the dial. I mentioned earlier here that it changes to literally 4 different colours.
Also I find the same issue with the strap being a little tricky to put on. I think we are too used to our Deployant clasps.

Great to hear you love it. Congrats again Mate.
 
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I compared the dial to the Monaco Titan and Historique today. I think the 60th Carrera and Historique have a lighter shade of silver sunray as compared to the Titan. All three are beautiful (I鈥檓 clearly biased anyway), but the 60th Carrera and Historique lean toward a lighter silver. The Titan seems a slightly darker to my eyes.
 
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I compared the dial to the Monaco Titan and Historique today. I think the 60th Carrera and Historique have a lighter shade of silver sunray as compared to the Titan. All three are beautiful (I鈥檓 clearly biased anyway), but the 60th Carrera and Historique lean toward a lighter silver. The Titan seems a slightly darker to my eyes.
Very interesting. So between the 60th and the Historique, which one is lighter? The Historique looks very light from what I recall. I'd love to see a pic of all 3 side by side.
 
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One thing I forgot to mention is the box.

As I thought, I believe the color chosen was meant to mimic the vintage watch boxes of the 60's. Such as my 60's tribute box, placed on top of the 60th's box in this pic.


It's a very cool box, it has some kind of new soft touch rubbery coating that feels quite nice. But I fear it may not hold up well after a decade or more and will degrade with time. Hope I'm wrong, only time will tell.
 
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A few quick shots showing differences in the dials, it鈥檚 subtle but it seems the 160th is more of a whiter shade of silver. Also a quick shot on the BOR.
 
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A few quick shots showing differences in the dials, it鈥檚 subtle but it seems the 160th is more of a whiter shade of silver. Also a quick shot on the BOR.
Thanks Dom, really appreciate the side by side shots. Looks great on the BoR! 馃憤

So they're not identical dials in color after all, just very similar. It's funny, but in real life, the 60th rarely looks as dark as it does in that third pic to my eyes.

Would you say the 160th also has the cream tones that the 60th dial has? That's also something I see in person that I can't pick up as much in pics on the 60th. I've never seen the 160th in person, so just curious.
 
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The 160th lives up to its name as the ice king, very white silver like. The Autavia鈥檚 silver dial has a bit of a champagne undertone in the right lighting. The 60th to me has a slightly darker underlying silver. So all three are just a bit different and have their own unique character.
 
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One thing I forgot to mention is the box.

As I thought, I believe the color chosen was meant to mimic the vintage watch boxes of the 60's. Such as my 60's tribute box, placed on top of the 60th's box in this pic.


It's a very cool box, it has some kind of new soft touch rubbery coating that feels quite nice. But I fear it may not hold up well after a decade or more and will degrade with time. Hope I'm wrong, only time will tell.

Let's not talk about the quality of the Tag heuer boxes. I have a few that are in a state of decomposition.. Scandalous, actually. Tutachamon's sarcophagus is in better condition!
 
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Let's not talk about the quality of the Tag heuer boxes. I have a few that are in a state of decomposition.. Scandalous, actually. Tutachamon's sarcophagus is in better condition!
Same for me. That's why I'm worried about this one. It's a special box, will be such a shame if it self destructs like others have over a long period of time. 馃檨
 
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A late delivery for me, but still made it in time for a happy #tHEUERsday!

I'm just starting to soak in this watch, but my initial impression is WOW!
In person, the dial is the best part. It doesn't look steel grey to my eyes, as it appears in some photos. It's just perfect for me!
Number 338 is now officially in the house. 馃榿
Congrats brobeans, that last photo is so perfect, it looks amazing seeing the dato and the panda next to each other
 
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Congrats brobeans, that last photo is so perfect, it looks amazing seeing the dato and the panda next to each other
Thank you my friend!
 
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A few quick shots showing differences in the dials, it鈥檚 subtle but it seems the 160th is more of a whiter shade of silver. Also a quick shot on the BOR.
Thanks for sharing some comparison shots. I just wonder, is the light really hitting the two pieces in the same angle and way? To me, the ice king can look like in all of those dials depending on light conditions and angle. I understand it is super tricky to get them under exact same light to take a photo though.


The 160th lives up to its name as the ice king, very white silver like. The Autavia鈥檚 silver dial has a bit of a champagne undertone in the right lighting. The 60th to me has a slightly darker underlying silver. So all three are just a bit different and have their own unique character.
I love how this panda party turned into a silver sexiness party
 
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Does the darkness of the subdials not impact on the perceived shade of the dial?
 
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A late delivery for me, but still made it in time for a happy #tHEUERsday!

I'm just starting to soak in this watch, but my initial impression is WOW!
In person, the dial is the best part. It doesn't look steel grey to my eyes, as it appears in some photos. It's just perfect for me!
Number 338 is now officially in the house. 馃榿
Congrats! Looks amazing next to the Dato.