Thursday, February 18, 2016

About TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 Watches

Since its re-introduction in 1996, the Carrera has become TAG Heuer’s most successful model. The first watches were very similar to the original, but in 2004 their design was updated with a wide, black tachymeter track. In 2008, a new line extension, called Grand Carrera, was added.

The replica TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 is a return to a simpler form. Its designers omitted the tachymeter track and graduation markers on the dial and placed them instead, like its predecessor’s, on the inner flange. Otherwise, the hands, markers and understated ripple pattern on the chronograph counters recall the original. The silver rings for the minute and hour counters, first seen on the black-dialed 2002 model, have become a characteristic feature of the Carrera. One change: the date is now placed within the hour counter at 6 o’clock. The design is not as distinctive as one would like for a watch of this status; it probably won’t turn heads from far away. The small-seconds subdial at 9 o’clock has four cross-hair markers with the horizontal lines replaced by the words “Cal. 1887.”

The exclusive movement in the new TAG Heuer Carrera, Calibre 1887, has an interesting back-story. The brand obtained the rights to a complete and finished movement from Seiko and now produces it with a few minor technical changes and several design modifications. (TAG Heuer’s initial claim that it was a manufacture movement initially drew some criticism from watch industry insiders.) Caliber 1887 is based on Seiko’s Caliber 6S78, which debuted in 1998 and has been used mostly in the Japanese brand’s high-end Credor mechanical watches, available only in Japan.

No comments:

Post a Comment