Smoke on the Water: TAG Heuer goes deep purple with its latest Carrera Chronographs
Zach Blass- TAG Heuer drops two new Carrera Chronograph watches with smokey purple dials at LVMH Watch Week 2025.
- The Carrera Chronograph Purple is not a limited edition. Price: US$6,650.
- The Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Purple is limited to 200 pieces. Price: US$34,850.
“Why purple,” I asked Antoine Pin, the newly appointed CEO of TAG Heuer, and he replied, “Why not?” It is a fair response, but fortunately, he elaborated that TAG Heuer, in its more colourful expressions, is always taking inspiration from the automotive world – in this instance, the colour finish found on both race cars and even civilian cars. (That said, we have seen this shade of purple before on a Monaco.) I am ultimately fixating on the dials of these two new Carrera Chronograph Purple watches because this is where the novel elements begin and end with both of these new releases, with the remaining aspects of each watch identical to their standard Glassbox-era predecessors. However, as a known fan of colourful Carrera Chronographs, I happily welcome an uncommon shade entering the mix.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Purple CBS2219.FC6607
Like previous Glassbox Carrera Chronographs, its 100-metre water-resistant stainless steel case measures 39mm in diameter, 13.68mm thick, and 46mm lug-to-lug – a very wearable size for a wide spectrum of wrists. Its dial, however, mixes things up not only by introducing purple in the collection but also in the dial finish. It deviates from its more colourful siblings like the sunburst-finished teal editions that were uniform in colour with a smokey sunburst purple, a gradient that plays into the pseudo-panda style of its colour-contrasting chronograph counters and the outer perimeter that hosts the minutes and tachymeter scales. It also makes executing a dial-blending date window easier for TAG Heuer, the disc peering through a framed aperture at the 6′ position rendered in white-on-black to blend into the inner bezel scales (sparing TAG Heuer the expense having to fabricate a purple disc).
Brand | TAG Heuer |
Model | Carrera Chronograph |
Reference | CBS2219.FC6607 |
Case Dimensions | 39mm (D) x 13.68mm (T) x 46mm (LTL) |
Case Material | Stainless steel |
Water Resistance | 100 metres |
Crystal(s) | Domed sapphire crystal, sapphire caseback |
Dial | Smokey purple |
Strap | Perforated black calfskin leather strap, steel folding clasp |
Movement | TH20-00, in-house, automatic |
Power Reserve | 80 hours |
Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, chronograph |
Availability | Now |
Price | US$6,650 |
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Purple Limited Edition CBS5017.FC6605
In exchange for an additional 3mm in diameter to the case, less than a millimetre in additional thickness, but a 2.6mm increase lug-to-lug and removal of a small seconds indication, you receive a tourbillon complication. The in-house automatic TH20-09, based upon the 80-hour in-house automatic TH20-00 inside of the Carrera Chronograph, understandably has less endurance, delivering a 65-hour power reserve. For a tourbillon, though, to be near-weekend proof in stamina is not all that common. Also uncommon is a name-brand tourbillon watch that is priced at US$34,850. Swiss tourbillons are typically much, much more expensive – well into the six-figures.
I am aware that both the US$34,850 price of the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon and the US$6,650 price of the Carrera Chronograph cannot be described as affordable, but I think both, in the context of the luxury watch market, are certainly very competitively priced. That being said, I am unsure when TAG Heuer decided to bump the cost of its Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon up from its original price of US$24,050 – which I had once quoted in my best tourbillon watches buying guide built only six months ago in June (and for my own sanity, confirmed in other media outlets’ coverage of the watch). That is a significant jump in price when the design framework, finish, and calibre have not changed.
Brand | TAG Heuer |
Model | Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon |
Reference | CBS5017.FC6605 |
Case Dimensions | 42mm (D) x 14.33mm (T) x 48.6mm (LTL) |
Case Material | Stainless steel |
Water Resistance | 100 metres |
Crystal(s) | Domed sapphire crystal, sapphire caseback |
Dial | Smokey purple |
Strap | Perforated black calfskin leather strap, steel folding clasp |
Movement | TH20-09, in-house, automatic |
Power Reserve | 65 hours |
Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph, tourbillon |
Availability | Now, Limited to 200 pcs. |
Price | US$34,850 |