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How do you define a Carrera?
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SteveP
·You know, as I expose myself to more pre 1985 models, it's confusing to come across something like the 510.511 Carrera...
The Heuer Carrera certainly went through the changes during it's run and all/most of the pre-TAGs are still perceived as successes. It seems people acknowledge and accept the later Heuer models-late '70s to mid-80s even though they are a far cry from the originals; not just the Carreras, look at the Autavias as the same can easily be seen. Neither model tries to recreate nor necessarily draw from the originals though other than in name. That said, yes-were some up in arms about the C-case Carrera when released in the late '60s? Should they have been? As has been said, perhaps not as the Carrera was not the icon it is today.
Agree with the points made on the lugs-they are but one recognisable feature of the original Carrera but not the only. I think as soon as anyone tries to 'recreate' a known and loved piece but with modern interpretations, it's going to come under criticism. Maybe it should be left well alone-what's in the past is in the past. But at the end of the day, it's always a commercial decision and if a business thinks they can make money from a name, they'll do so surely...
(Am I still on topic? I think so...😵💫)
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Aquagraph
·I can't help but feel a 'lack of Jack' had something to do with this.
The Heuer Carrera certainly went through the changes during it's run and all/most of the pre-TAGs are still perceived as successes. It seems people acknowledge and accept the later Heuer models-late '70s to mid-80s even though they are a far cry from the originals; not just the Carreras, look at the Autavias as the same can easily be seen. Neither model tries to recreate nor necessarily draw from the originals though other than in name. That said, yes-were some up in arms about the C-case Carrera when released in the late '60s? Should they have been? As has been said, perhaps not as the Carrera was not the icon it is today.
Agree with the points made on the lugs-they are but one recognisable feature of the original Carrera but not the only. I think as soon as anyone tries to 'recreate' a known and loved piece but with modern interpretations, it's going to come under criticism. Maybe it should be left well alone-what's in the past is in the past. But at the end of the day, it's always a commercial decision and if a business thinks they can make money from a name, they'll do so surely...
(Am I still on topic? I think so...😵💫)
You're probably right. If 36mm was still a fashionable size for a man's watch I guess it would be a lot easier to recreate something that would be what the Heuer fans want. I wonder how many 36mm Carreras they would actually sell if they tried to make one now?
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kappa_md
·Even my wife’s watch right now is 38mm and she thinks it’s small for her either 😲
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SteveP
·Well that's the thing. While the Heuer fans would love a 36mm Carrera, how many of us are there? Not enough to sustain a whole line....and that's why it always comes down to business....
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imagwai
·Well that's the thing. While the Heuer fans would love a 36mm Carrera, how many of us are there? Not enough to sustain a whole line....and that's why it always comes down to business....
This might be going against what you would expect from me, but if TAG were to produce two identical "reissue" Carreras today - one in 36mm and one in 39mm, I'd probably choose the 39mm. Or would I? Hmmm...
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Aquagraph
·TAG obviously sold a shed load of the 36mm Reissue Carreras back in the 1990s, though - there are quite a few of them about today. But I guess that was before "reissues" had become so common and the trend for wearing hockey pucks hadn't yet come to the fore.
Easy to make 36mm watches when your current watches are 37mm...
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Yago
·Yeah my wife's 36mm 1000 basically looks like a sub on her wrist. It's awesome
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Yago
·Maybe it should be left well alone-what's in the past is in the past.
36mm watches for men can only be retro limited edition stuff for the purists. The 39mm Carrera is a fine size, doesn't need to be bigger. Case could be slimmer. I don't need the H02, although it handles great.
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abrod520
·Cool, so we can all agree that it was actually Heuer and we can stop all this 'TAG' ruined the Carrera nonsense.
Big difference between the Carreras that Heuer made and the ones that TAG's been making lately, though. Every Heuer Carrera was readable at a glance; most of these latest TAG models have none of that ethos and are instead an absolute mess
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Aquagraph
·Funny though, because scrolling down the current website, the least legible watch of all is the CBK221B that everyone thinks is marvelous!
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kappa_md
·Funny though, because scrolling down the current website, the least legible watch of all is the CBK221B that everyone thinks is marvelous!
Yes it’s super marvelous alright! 👍 Isn’t that right @Jim Dollares ? 😉
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imagwai
·Funny though, because scrolling down the current website, the least legible watch of all is the CBK221B that everyone thinks is marvelous!
Where it falls down a little is the seconds track being hidden by the glassbox when viewed straight on, meaning you have to read off at an angle.
It's certainly not cluterred or messy, though. Elegant and simple are words that spring more readily to mind.
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abrod520
·Funny though, because scrolling down the current website, the least legible watch of all is the CBK221B that everyone thinks is marvelous!
And you'll note that I mentioned that in the year-end voting as a particular failure, though it's not that bad and I'm just happy to have most of the other beautiful elements back.
And thank god the "current website" no longer includes the H01s or skeletonized H02s.
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Calibre11
·And you'll note that I mentioned that in the year-end voting as a particular failure, though it's not that bad and I'm just happy to have most of the other beautiful elements back.
And thank god the "current website" no longer includes the H01s or skeletonized H02s.
I'd say by next year there'll be four branches to the Carrera family tree:
- Carrera Sport Heuer 02 44mm
- Carrera Elegant Heuer 02 42mm
- Carrera Calibre 5 watch 41mm
- Occasional Heuer-branded re-edition
That's far more coherent range than we've had for a long time