29 July 2014 | TAG Heuer , 30 minutes on the wrist , Baselworld 2014

30 minutes on the wrist

The TAG Heuer Carrera Drive Timer

If the Carrera logo was not clearly visible, the crown at 10 might just look like any helium escape valve on the case since, from a distance, that red lettering on the dial easily reads “Diver”, and might be misleading. If you, meanwhile, take a look at its strap and its case, you can than see that the TAG Heuer Carrera Drive Timer is a 100% Carrera.

This is the first impression I got, four months ago, when I came across the TAG Heuer Carrera Drive Timer for the very first time and that’s the same I have now, maybe for this TAG Heuer is not well know to the general public as well as not widely advertised. For most devoted fans out there of TAG Heuer , as you probably know, Carrera is associated with “chronograph”.

As with the Monaco, anyway, this statement proves to be accurate as the automatic three hands timepiece adds nothing to the allure of the legendary chronograph; it is not with the Carrera collection for its “non chrono” timepieces feature a clear identity and, in comparison to the Chrono Carreras, makes it a more consistent collection. The TAG Heuer Carrera Drive Timer, for instance, is the only automatic three hands Carrera in the lineup, to feature a dial with Arabic numerals.

The crown at 10 o’ clock activates an inner graduated rotating bezel which lets you measure the next 60 minutes; once you have aligned the red triangle to the minute hand, while the crown at 3 is being used, as usual, to set hour and date. A Grade 2 Carbide Titanium 43mm wide case, plus red accents here and there on the dial and the inner leather “rally” strap, create a somewhat magical mix.

The end result is that the TAG Heuer Carrera Drive Timer looks like a classic aviator light tech timepiece with highly luminescent Arabic numerals and an on the wrist appeal that has no match in the Carrera’s line up. The secret is perhaps in its 43mm case width, just a couple of mm more and it would have looked like a TCM Orienteering (which this TAG Heuer reminds me of to be honest).

If compared to the latter, the TAG Heuer has an additional racing touch thanks to the perforated strap where they applied a folding buckle but not, unfortunately, the same TAG Heuer logo you may find for example on a Monaco Caliber 36. As well as on the Caliber 5 winding rotor, would be nice to see a 1887 in-house movement design like rotor. Not only these two details would help with empowering this collection’s “family feeling” but, moreover, could enhance buyer’s perception of having got just an inexpensive but not less refined that an in-house powered, TAG Heuer. For more info please visit www.tagheuer.com

Gaetano C./Raffaella R. @Horbiter - Watches & Luxury

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