Autavia vs Black Bay Chronograph

thingziliketoo

I know I may get biased opinions here but what are your thoughts? I also posted on Watchuseek

Why does the Tudor Black Bay Chronograph get loads of praise and the Tag Heuer Autavia doesn’t get the same appreciation in the watch community. I understand that some may not appreciate some designs of Tag Heuer’s past but have you seen some of Tudor’s as well in the 80’s - 00’s.

Both are column wheel chronographs with vertical clutches, excellent power reserves, similar sized stainless steel watches with aluminium bezels. The Tudor is COSC certified and carries a premium, the Autavia I own is within COSC and doesn’t carry a premium. We all know a discount can be negotiated.

I think the Tudor gets a bit of excessive praise just because of the association with Rolex and maybe the scarcity. Why does it’s slab side, blocky snowflake hands and awkward date get overlooked.

I know it’s just my opinion but the case, bracelet, integrated date and overall design of the Autavia so much more interesting and appealing.

I know I am biased but I am baffled why this watch and Tag aren’t getting more praise these days.

Photos for comparison courtesy of Monochrome and Calibre11

thingziliketoo

I agree with the 39mm being a good choice. To me the added size just feels better and proportionate. I bought my wife a 36mm Datejust and although this was the watch back in the day, I find it a bit small. Both the 39mm Carrera’s I have feel just a bit more fitting on wrist. The portions of the H02 makes it a pretty versatile movement. The dial spacing looks great from 39-45mm.
It would be awesome if it were as easy as loosing the rotor and making a manual wind for the collector community. A manual wind Carrera would be pretty nifty.

Jim Dollares

So once again our discussions conclude in:

The glassbox Carrera is perfect.

The Ice King is better than whatever you compare it with.

dtf

apart from the milky ring?

imagwai

You don't really notice it on the silver. Certainly not as much as you do on the black dial Fragment.

Aquagraph

Mspeedster

I like both very much.

I've looked at these two extensively and tried them both on, multiple times, in panda & reverse panda variations. The Autavia even more so, because it's been out for much longer. I've wanted both, yet I haven't bought either.

I feel the simple answer to your question is that Tudor has been on a roll and the watch community in general likes the brand. Rolex gives Tudor a "halo effect", but the Tudor designs and "value for the money" stand on their own. OTOH, the Autavia is a kind of niche watch. As Kappa pointed out, it appeals mainly to motor racing enthusiasts, and even amongst that group, only to those who appreciated the beauty of the original Rindt Autavia.

In my case, I'm not sure I could pick a winner. They're both different and I'd be quite happy with either if my wrists were larger. I've been very close to buying the H02 Autavia Viceroy on several occasions. But whenever I tried it on, its thickness is what held me back. Also, I kept thinking I can get an original Viceroy for less money. Similarly, as nice as the H02 Autavia is, I'd prefer an original Rindt from the 1960s.

I love the looks of the Black Bay Chrono, but it's also too thick and the lug to lug is longer than what I'd want for my wrist. A BB58 Chrono would be perfect.

I'm curious, what kind of feedback did you get from WUS?

imagwai

I have to confess, I was very disappointed with the size and heft of the Autavia release. I'd been a part of voting for the model, and been led to believe we were going to get something much more in keeping with the original in terms of size. I mean the whole campaign around it was aimed at vintage watch enthusiasts and we were voting for which model we'd like to see recreated. I didn't want a 100% clone, just something more in keeping with what we voted for. Who knows, maybe they gained sales by making it bigger, but it certainly alienated some of the market they were trying to capture.

imagwai

TAG have got one vintage 100% reissue spot on that most enthusiasts agree about. The original reissue Carreras from 1996. That was a true "reissue". Well alright, it's only 99% perfect. They forgot to put the word "Carrera" on the dial 🤦

dtf

Actually I don't follow hoodinkee, I was going on the comments and photos that @Hubert has posted of his glassboxes...

Mspeedster

I felt the same. This is what I voted for. If the re-edition's proportions had been closer, I think I would've bought one by now.


That missing 1% was a deal breaker for me. I want my Carrera to have Carrera on it. Similarly, the later versions that have Carrera but are branded TAG Heuer instead of Heuer don't sit right with me either. Hence my preference is for the current glassbox models.

Mspeedster

I felt the same. This is what I voted for. If the re-edition's proportions had been closer, I think I would've bought one by now.

Ara

Since we’re on the topic. This would’ve been 🥰

Albert-AMG

Yes, the Autavia Heuer 02 “Orange Boy” for Hodinkee (CBE2117) looks great with the tachy bezel 🥰

Albert-AMG

Yes, the Autavia Heuer 02 “Orange Boy” for Hodinkee (CBE2117) looks great with the tachy bezel 🥰