: I was at a dealer, trying on various watches,
: and decided to try on a Tag Carrera
: automatic watch on a leather band (drilled).

: I really liked the simple elegance of the
: watch- and the synthetic crystal is
: beautiful. I also thought the clasp made a
: nice compromise- the beauty of the leather,
: without the clasp function of a metal band.

: Here is my question- does the automatic
: movement justify the cost of this watch- is
: this is a quality watch? While I am willing
: to pay for a nice piece (I looked at some
: Rolexs as well), I don't want to pay just
: for the "Tag" brand.

: thanks for your input!

: Al

Al, I'm going to only comment on the chronograph model you indicated as it's the only one I know anything about. It's a classically designed piece save for the movement and the date dial. TAG-Heuer started making these models when Swatch Group cut TAG off of the Lemania 1873 movements which they had been using in the 1964 Carrera Re-Edition models. I am personally very fond of the Lemania 1873 movement (and hence the Re-Edition models) and of course the original Valjoux 72 based original models made by Heuer (before TAG entered the picture) in the 1960's.

I'm not especially fond of the ETA/Dubois-Depraz module chronograph used in the model of chronograph you have indicated. By all accounts it's a pretty reliable chronograph, but it has a chronograph module piggybacked on top of a regular three hand and date watch movement. And I've heard several accounts that the Chronograph module is nigh impossible for many watchmakers to service, meaning if a problem occurs the entire module (at a cost of $150-200 for the parts) would have to be replaced. But the combined total is pretty reliable so that's not an often occurrence.

If you have the interest and motivation you might want to seek out the earlier Lemania 1873 based manual wind version of the Carrera, they typically go for $1,000-1,500 on eBay when they are listed (fairly uncommonly these days though). You might like them even more than the model's you've been looking at.

Otherwise the current Carrera is an ok chronograph, nothing particularly special or bad.

Hope this helps!

Chuck