One of the big stories in watches over the last few years has been the evolution of TAG Heuer into a brand that is just a little more enthusiast minded than you might have given them credit for five or ten years ago. There’s always been a cult around the brand, of course, particularly when it comes to their historic vintage chronographs, but they had been tagged as a bit of a “mall brand” by some in recent years, and it’s been interesting to see how they’ve gradually worked their way out of that position. A big part of it has to do with the launch of the “Glassbox” Carreras back in 2023, which introduced a dramatic domed crystal paired with a curved dial for a look that played right into the hands of the vintage Heuer obsessed. The dials were clean and classic as well, and the sizing was a perfectly medium 39mm in diameter. This year, for LVMH Watch Week, TAG Heuer expands the Glassbox line with a selection of new chronographs in a slightly larger case, giving enthusiasts with larger wrists or who just might prefer a more contemporary vibe a solid option in this particular collection.
The case now measures 41mm in diameter, 47.8mm from lug to lug, and 14.17mm tall (so, the same height as the 39mm version). Two millimeters, as watch enthusiasts know, is going to make a significant difference in how a watch like this wears and appears on the wrist, so if you found yourself trying on the 39mm version and thinking it lacked a certain presence, the larger version would, in theory, resolve that at least somewhat. The fact that the case is still relatively thin (remember that the domed crystal is going to exaggerate the measurement a little – these watches never wore bulky for me) is also a huge plus. It’s worth pointing out that at 41mm we’re now well outside the historical average for the Carrera, with most sought after vintage examples coming in at around 36mm. This Glassbox, more than any other, will read as a fully contemporary watch.
The new Carreras are available in three dial variants at launch: blue, teal, and black. The black, seen here in our photos, has attractive red accents, and a circular brushed finish. Hands and hour markers on all three dials are rhodium plated and faceted. You’ll also notice that unlike the smaller 39mm versions of this watch issued over the last two years, the new 41mm Carrera has ditched the date display.
These new Carreras run on the same Calibre TH20-01 that the previous editions used, modified of course to remove the date. This is a solid chronograph caliber with a healthy 80 hour power reserve running at 4 Hz. The watches are mounted to a matching stainless steel bracelet with seven rows of links and a butterfly clasp with a push-button release.
This, to me, feels like a mass market play by TAG that will probably be quite successful even if it doesn’t get enthusiasts genuinely excited like the more modest sized releases did over the past two years. This, though, is what the biggest watch brands are great at: providing options for as many people as possible to enter the brand’s ecosystem, and not holding onto dogmatic views about what a Carrera (or any watch) can or can’t be. There will also, I’m sure, be many future iterations, limited editions, and so forth that will allow TAG to play with the format a bit.
The new 41mm Glassbox Carreras carry a retail price of $7,950 and are available now. TAG Heuer
