TAG Heuer has released a new three-way collaboration and a sequel of sorts in their new Carrera Chronograph made in partnership with Team Ikuzawa with a design assist from Bamford. Team Ikuzawa is a legendary Japanese motorsport team founded by driver Tetsu Ikuzawa and continues today under the stewardship of his daughter Mai Ikuzawa as an all encompassing motorsport, design, fashion, and luxury brand. And Bamford is, of course, Bamford, founded by George Bamford and well known for being a pioneer in high end luxury watch modding and now making watches under their own name, and frequently collaborating as a design partner for the likes of G-SHOCK, Zenith, and countless others.
The new Carrera Chronograph x Team Ikuzawa release seen here follows a 2023 Carrera release with a similar look, but offered on the prior Carrera platform. Here, all parties involved benefit from the new Glassbox case design, which includes a 39mm case and a gorgeous vintage style “glassbox” crystal that accentuates and magnifies the dial’s perimeter and offers a ton of visual interest at odd angles. We’ve covered these watches pretty extensively and are big fans of the case proportions and the approach TAG Heuer is taking here. They seem to please both the mass market and the enthusiast crowd, which is a vanishingly rare trick for a large brand like TAG Heuer to pull off.
For this release, TAG, Team Ikuzawa, and Bamford have leaned into the red and white colorway most associated with the Ikuzawa brand. The white Clous de Paris dial is accented with red Team Ikuzawa and TAG branding at 6 and 12 respectively. The 30 minute counter at 3:00 has a blunt red sector-like design, and complements a more austere running seconds at the 9:00 position. A date window at 6:00 has red numerals, and everything is encircled by a black minutes track at the dial’s perimeter. The hands also have a red base. The overall impression is one of white with little splashes or red here and there.
The watch runs on the TH20-10 movement, which has an 80 hour power reserve. It’s visible through the exhibition caseback, which also has a large “Team Ikuzawa” logo running across the glass. This is usually a decision that really riles up enthusiasts, who understandably want an unobstructed view of the movement through the crystal that is meant to give you…a view of the movement. I’m personally much less picky about these things and think that for a collaborative release like this, it’s kind of the whole point to have branding everywhere, and particularly in a watch related to motorsport, where the aesthetics of branding are part of the visual language, it seems completely logical.
The watch ships on matching stainless steel, seven row bracelet as well as an additional white and red strap. It’s a limited edition of 150 pieces with a retail price of $10,500. TAG Heuer
