Tag Heuer Carrera Date 36mm or Grand Seiko SBGX261?

[puma1552]

Interesting comparison combo. I need a new everyday "beater" watch. The workhorse that carelessly gets thrown in the basket with my wallet and keys; the workhorse that gets worn while having my 2 year old son pull on my wrist; the workhorse that gets worn while carrying lumber through Home Depot; the workhorse that gets worn when my wife drags me to an outdoor art fair for 6 hours in 95 degree heat for hours of massive sweating. Resale means nothing, because the value is going to $0 no matter what.

I've had my eye on a Grand Seiko SBGX261, which as some of you know is a quartz watch. I actually prefer quartz for the everyday watch so I don't have to deal with setting it. But then I just realized Tag now has a proper 36mm Carerra, albeit automatic.

GS (also comes in silvery/champagne, but would go with black):



Carrera:







I haven't seen either in person yet.

For the GS, the dial is really nice (love the GS font too), the movement is one of the best quartz movements out there, I like that it's quartz so I can always just grab it and go even if I haven't left the house for a few days, it's cheaper ($2300 vs. $3200 MSRP), and arguably a better watch nerd brand. Less important, my wife and son are Japanese and I used to live in Japan so it's kinda nice to have a Japanese watch in the collection and to have a "beater" watch still be from a nice watch nerd brand. However, the bracelet seems to be lower quality than the rest of the watch (from what I've read) and you have to wonder if GS is hearing the calls for a step change in bracelet quality across the line up - would hate to miss out on that if next year GS was like "Ok, we are stepping up our bracelet quality" but there's no evidence that's happening AFAIK. I also don't find the case shape as nice, and it is a bit larger watch than my DJ, which I don't love.

For the Tag, the case shape is gorgeous and the size seems just right. The bracelet looks on par with the rest of the watch and seems nicer than the GS (neither have micro adjust but I don't care, I wear my watches slightly loose so I don't need it). It's an ETA movement, which some people will snub their nose at, but ETA movements are reliable...but it's not quartz, so I still have to wind it occasionally (newer Calibre 7 movement with 56 hour PR); not the end of the world, but not ideal. It's more expensive though at $3200, and I'm not sure any of the dials/indices color options really work for me. Green is the best to me, but green and gold for everyday? Bold move considering my DJs are silver and black. Don't really care for the tiny marks all around the rehaut, but it isn't a deal breaker. Arguably more money for a "worse" brand, but that doesn't bother me. I wanted to really limit myself to the GS price range since this is going to be used and abused, but I can go to the ~$3k range for the Tag, but no more...any more and I may as well just wear my DJs every day as we're starting to spend enough that we're defeating the purpose of buying a supposed "beater".

Thoughts on these?

[Cru Jones]

For me, the GS without a second’s hesitation. A much more refined and interesting watch, IMHO. Also less expensive and has a personal connection to your family.

[kunlun]

I would look at a Citizen, they do work and their hardened titanium is perfect for this.

Sinn is another option.

[puma1552]

Checked both out at the store. Only had the GS in the champagne/silverish color unfortunately, and the Tags in silver/green which I guess one of those would be the play for that watch.

The GS is unsurprisingly nicer in person than in photos, which I already knew would be the case. The case shape is nicer than it appears in photos and the 37mm dial wears about the same as my 36mm DJs, which is nice. But man, that bracelet...aside from being really plain on that particular model compared to some of the nicer ones on the more expensive models, it's soooo chunky...both thick and wide without the taper, and the half links aren't doing it any favors in the looks department, should you need to keep those for a good fit. Build quality is fine, it's just...kinda plain and the design decisions are what they are. I also looked at a much more expensive SBGW297 which was nicer in every way, but still, the bracelet is...just ok. I don't even really care about the lack of micro adjust or the clasp, I just want it to be elegantly tapered and maybe a little nicer design...some shorter links would be welcome too for smaller wrists. I also wish they made more 36ish mm watches...so many of their catalog is still 40mm, though I know that's starting to change a bit.

Based on this, I think the right play for me with a GS is to either wait until they make a step change in bracelet quality to better match the dials/cases, or just look at GS as a strap watch brand and spend a bit more and buy/make a really, really nice dress watch from them. I don't really need a dress watch on a strap at this point in life though, updating my daily beater on a bracelet is more critical.



Then went over to the Tag Heuer counter, tried both green and silver, they were both nice enough for the task at hand. Really nice size and wear like my DJs as expected, clasp and bracelet are perfectly adequate, and just a decent overall package for an everyday watch. Clasp quality and tactile feel is about the same as the GS - no complaints on either. While affordable, it's a lot of money for what it is though at $3200 MSRP given the brand reputation and the fact it's using a SW300 movement (at least it's not an SW200 though?). Feels like it should be trading for more like $2500 at most. I wish they had just a black dial with silver hands/indices, or hell I'd settle for black with the current gold indices. The silver doesn't blow my skirt up, so I guess the play would be green, but again, green is a weird choice for every day. Good looking watch overall though, maybe they'll release new colors at W&W.





I didn't come away feeling either was a slam dunk, but I also liked both watches perfectly fine and either one will do the job, but the GS bracelet would probably bother me and feel like something I want to eventually dump and upgrade as soon as GS finally updates it - it doesn't feel like a 20 year watch because I am sure GS is going to make a step change on the bracelets in that timeframe. I've looked high and low at everything on the market and quite frankly there's a billion options in the $2k - $3k range while also not a lot that I like, lol. If I had to pick one today, I'd probably just grab one of the Tags and be done with it. Sheepish confession I'm mildly ashamed of: for years as a younger guy I wanted a 39mm Carrera Calibre 5 when I first was kinda getting into watches. Now they have a better fitting 36mm...

[DCheeta]

I prefer the GS, but always you must follow your heart. Don’t EVER be ashamed of buying watches that you love, even if the watch collecting sheep don’t like them. For you it sounds like the Tag might be the way to go.

Also, there’s nothing wrong with a SW300 or SW200. They’re incredible, solid, reliable movements that can be regulated to COSC specs and are easily and inexpensively serviced. For an everyday watch, that’s more important than having a movement that you can call “in-house.”

[Guppydriver]

Originally Posted by puma1552

I actually prefer quartz for the everyday watch so I don't have to deal with setting it. But then I just realized Tag now has a proper 36mm Carerra, albeit automatic.

I found this interesting, because I’m the exact opposite. For me the automatic makes the best everyday watch precisely because it wont need setting (or a battery) by virtue of using everyday. I think the Quartz is best as the occasional grabber as it never needs setting.


I think TAG is very underrated and makes some great watches, they would be my pick. (I already own a GS).

[puma1552]

Originally Posted by Guppydriver

I found this interesting, because I’m the exact opposite. For me the automatic makes the best everyday watch precisely because it wont need setting (or a battery) by virtue of using everyday. I think the Quartz is best as the occasional grabber as it never needs setting.


I think TAG is very underrated and makes some great watches, they would be my pick. (I already own a GS).

Well, thing is I only grab a watch when I leave the house and I work from home so it's not uncommon for me to not leave the house for a couple days at a time, at which point I'd be borderline needing to wind an automatic/manual. I should've clarified that. I mean an automatic certainly isn't a dealbreaker though.

I also looked at a 36mm Tudor 1926, which offers a lot for $2100 such as a screw down crown, etc., but it almost seems too similar to my DJs...and the endlinks have a similar look to a vintage Jubilee, which I don't particularly care for designwise. Might take another look, but only a 38 hour power reserve is definitely a drag for my situation. The Tudor is a lot of watch for the money though and has a lot going for it outside of the PR.

[puma1552]

Well, I went back and looked again, but ignored the SBGX261/263 as I ruled those out due to the bracelet being a very chunky 19mm without any special finishing on it.

The Tag is still fine, but geez, now I think I want a GS SBGW297/299, probably the white one...I looked at this the other day but not in too much detail as I had written it off due to the $5600 MSRP and what I'm looking to achieve with this watch, but kept thinking about it. But I also didn't realize the bracelet is 18mm which makes more of a difference than you would think in not feeling chunky at all. Not to mention the dial and the really nice 36.5 mm 44GS case. It's a manual wind (9S64) which isn't ideal, but it's at least a 72 hour PR.

They'll move 10% on it, putting it at $5500 out the door after tax...feel like there should be more room to move on it though.





Sorry for the rotated pic but I'm posting from my phone.

[g2brits]

GS is my vote all day. Just a more sophisticated piece in my opinion.