New Book re the Carrera -- "The Race Never Stops"

[Mspeedster]

It has CAR2A1T in 2016, is that it? If not, what's the ref no?

Prior to 2023, the lists seem more complete.

 

[Aquagraph]

Yeah that's it.

 

[Anthony.]

Mspeedster

It has CAR2A1T in 2016, is that it? If not, what's the ref no?

Prior to 2023, the lists seem more complete.

Yep that's the one. Thanks.

 

[kappa_md]

I agree with proofreading more But overall, commendable and grateful for this

If you are a fan of the Heuer/TAG Heuer Carrera, a fan of the Porsche Carrera or just a fan of TAG Heuer in general, this latest book is a sure MUST

BTW, I also have this coffee table book The Watch which is published by Abrams, the same publisher of the Carrera book

 

[McBeardy]

kappa_md

I agree with proofreading more But overall, commendable and grateful for this

If you are a fan of the Heuer/TAG Heuer Carrera, a fan of the Porsche Carrera or just a fan of TAG Heuer in general, this latest book is a sure MUST

BTW, I also have this coffee table book The Watch which is published by Abrams, the same publisher of the Carrera book

Have that version for a few years. Must revisit it ago. Currently going through the last 2 Esquire Big Watch book of the year.

 

[SmithSJ]

Also looking forward to seeing the book. Amazon quoted a delivery last Thurs in Ireland then on the day sent an email saying it was delayed a week more.

 

[Y Cymro]

Opened mine for a quick look before a proper read later in the week and was disappointed to find a print error on page 00.09. Does anyone else have this blank oval - should it be just text or an image with text overlayed?

Also, should there be loads of blank pages and small paragraphs of text in an arty-farty way, or do I have images missing. Throughout the book, I see many pages with not much on them.

And silver text on red pages is a bloody nightmare for me to read. A bit like silver hands on a silver dial, I have to move the page around to find the reading sweet spot.

 

[Mspeedster]

Y Cymro

Opened mine for a quick look before a proper read later in the week and was disappointed to find a print error on page 00.09. Does anyone else have this blank oval - should it be just text or an image with text overlayed?

Also, should there be loads of blank pages and small paragraphs of text in an arty-farty way, or do I have images missing. Throughout the book, I see many pages with not much on them.

And silver text on red pages is a bloody nightmare for me to read. A bit like silver hands on a silver dial, I have to move the page around to find the reading sweet spot.

The blank oval is a printing mistake. It should just be text.

The blank space on the red pages is how it is. Yup, silver on red is not the best choice. The tiny font for the photo captions is even harder to read. Ironic, as a hallmark of the Carrera is readability.

 

[Y Cymro]

Mspeedster

The blank oval is a printing mistake. It should just be text.

Thanks for your reply. Perhaps it’ll be worth a fortune in future LOL. Back to Amazon it goes.

 

[kappa_md]

Mspeedster

The blank space on the red pages is how it is. Yup, silver is not the best choice. The tiny font for the photo captions is even harder to read. Ironic, as a hallmark of the Carrera is readability.

At first, I thought this decision to be an unusual design take on legibility but since this is a coffee table book, probably the purpose was not purely to read but to experience something different? After all, text size is small and just occupies mostly a quarter of the page. If the silver/grey font was more silvery gloss perhaps? And if you will notice, the red pages were not glossy (only meant for the high resolution pictures) so the effect of this red background/silver-grey font was far more apparent. Cost cutting issue perhaps?

Silver/Grey font on a red background scored low in terms of color contrast

 

[Aquagraph]

Mspeedster

The blank oval is a printing mistake. It should just be text.

The blank space on the red pages is how it is. Yup, silver on red is not the best choice. The tiny font for the photo captions is even harder to read. Ironic, as a hallmark of the Carrera is readability.

And suddenly the idea of keeping a 'sealed copy' sounds like a terrible idea.

 

[Jeff Stein]

I am confident that TAG Heuer was not attempting to include every Carrera that had ever been produced. There are obvious omissions among both the vintage Heuers and the modern TAG Heuers. One can make the case that just because a watch was assigned a SKU or reference number, it does not necessarily belong in this "Ultimate Record".

Perhaps the phrases "Ultimate Record" and "catalogue raisonne" suggest that it would be a complete database, but at some point you have to ask yourself whether TAG Heuer really wanted to illustrate every Carrera that had ever been made. How many of the 28 mm white / MOP do you really want to include in the book?

The book includes around 530 Carreras . . . my current list includes over 600 . . . I'll still applaud the database in the book as a great contribution to the collectors' community (and I'll forgive the occasional typo as being inherent in the editorial process).

Jeff

 

[Mspeedster]

Jeff Stein

The book includes around 530 Carreras . . . my current list includes over 600 . . . I'll still applaud the database in the book as a great contribution to the collectors' community (and I'll forgive the occasional typo as being inherent in the editorial process).

I applaud the book as well. Kudos to you and everyone involved who made it happen. Certainly creating such a reference list of Carreras was no easy task and the few mistakes are understandable.

However, while experts like yourself can spot them and shrug them off, as you know better, there are many readers who will likely take everything as "gospel". Because it came from TAG Heuer, it must be correct.

It's just like when @Aquagraph insisted that the Carrera must've been released in 1964, because he saw the 40th anniversary model in the 2004 catalog. Even though I told him it was a mistake, which was corrected with the 50th anniversary release in 2013.

 

[Aquagraph]

Oh silly me. But to be fair it wasn't the 40th anniversary model in the 2004 catalogue, it was the 40th anniversary catalogue which said 1964-2004 on it. Fool that I am I figured TH would know when the Carrera was released.

 

[Aquagraph]

Anyway, I agree with Jeff. Only a complete idiot would compile a list of every single Carrera, including all the ladies 28mm MOP dials.

Mind you, I take it we have collectively agreed to ignore the Carrera 'Connected', right?
https://www.gadgets360.com/wearable...carrera-connected-smartwatch-next-week-763085

 

[Aquagraph]

I don't love the red pages with the text in the corners, what is that all about?

Personally I would have been happy with just a complete history of dials and straps, and without all the history - but I understand why it's there.

 

[kappa_md]

Aquagraph

Mind you, I take it we have collectively agreed to ignore the Carrera 'Connected', right?

Back in 2018 (5 years ago) on the 55th Anniversary of the TAG Heuer Carrera book “Ahead of its Time”, the TAG Heuer Carrera Connected took the spotlight


I’m not sure, but I think the decision now is to remove the name Carrera in the TAG Heuer Connected timepieces since it doesn’t mention Carrera anymore in the TAG Heuer website

 

[Mspeedster]

Aquagraph

Oh silly me. But to be fair it wasn't the 40th anniversary model in the 2004 catalogue, it was the 40th anniversary catalogue which said 1964-2004 on it. Fool that I am I figured TH would know when the Carrera was released.

Which was perfectly understandable. That's why I feel these little mistakes are regrettable. As it takes away a bit of credibility from the Ultimate Record.

E.g.
When I first saw these 2 images of what looks like nearly identical versions of the 1153 S panda, I thought the 2nd one was a 39mm Cal 15 variant that I wasn't familiar with. I took the image & specs on face value, figuring TH would know.


It wasn't until I also noticed this image of what I believe is the 1553 S Cal 15 (erroneously called 1153, Cal 12), that I realized the two images should probably be swapped.


I'm certainly no super expert on vintage, so @Jeff Stein (or others) please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[kappa_md]

40th Anniversary of the TAG Heuer Carrera
(2004 released, but corrected to be 2003, signed by JH)

50th Anniversary of the TAG Heuer Carrera
(2013, uses Calibre 1887 in bullhead configuration, designed by JH himself)

60th Anniversary of the TAG Heuer Carrera
(2023, limited to 600 pcs, panda dial, true & faithful to the 2447SN)

 

[Aquagraph]

These are Carreras though, no?