Sunday Morning Showdown: TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Vs. Tudor Black Bay Chrono

Welcome to another Sunday Morning Showdown! Today, we return to our regular program after last week’s battle between two rather elegant and dressy chronographs. This week, we put the TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox up against Tudor’s Black Bay Chrono. Both are vintage-inspired, automatic chronographs with a modern twist, and above all, they’re stainless steel sports watches — a theme we thoroughly enjoy in our showdowns.

The Tudor Black Bay Chrono was introduced in 2021. It’s available with a panda or reverse-panda dial. For this match, we’ll focus on the silvery panda dial, which is most similar to the dial on one of the newest additions to TAG Heuer‘s Carrera Glassbox collection. Get ready to vote, and let’s see who takes the golden medal for best panda-dial chronograph this week.

Last week, on Sunday Morning Showdown…

But before RJ and Daan start defending their candidates, let’s look at what happened last week. As said, it was a battle between watches of a different caliber, both in terms of looks and price. The Cartier Tortue Monopoussoir and the Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronograph Rattrapante are both true works of art. This really showed in the comments as people expressed their respect for either opponent. However, the Tortue’s more balanced design results in a more visually pleasing watch. Some people thought the designers at Parmigiani took it a bit too far on the Toric. That’s probably why the Cartier took the win with a visually pleasing 69% of the votes. All right, let’s go back to this week’s opponents: Take it away, Daan!

Daan: Tudor Black Bay Chrono

Usually, I start my defense by naming a few shortcomings on the contender’s side. However, I must say I’m a big fan of TAG’s Carrera Glassbox models. The quirky date window at the much-debated 12 o’clock position is something I enjoy on the reverse panda model. But the panda doesn’t quite measure up. The Black Bay is also the more authentic panda with its true black-on-white dial (as opposed to the TAG’s more silver tone). But other than those beauty flaws, I can’t find too much else to criticize. I was pretty surprised when I looked up the watch on TAG Heuer’s official website. Its price, of €6,550, is on the steep side. You get a solid and well-finished watch for that money, but the Tudor Black Bay Chrono might be the better deal here at almost €1,000 less (€5,670).

Regarding quality, I don’t think you’ll get an inferior watch if you opt for the Black Bay. Specs-wise, these watches are also very similar. They both feature an automatic chronograph movement with a column wheel and a vertical clutch. The Carrera Glassbox offers 80 hours of power reserve, and the Tudor 70. With its screw-down pushers, the Black Bay offers a water resistance rating of 200m. That’s double the 100m rating on the Carrera. In any case, you won’t have to be careful with either of these when you’re near the water. So then, it all comes down to looks, how they wear on the wrist, and how they make you feel. These are all ways of saying personal preference.

Something different

I appreciate the modernized look of the Carrera Glassbox with that concave shape on the edge of the dial.  However, to me, the TAG Heuer Carrera is very much on the same street as the Omega Speedmaster Professional. It’s an elegant and vintage-inspired chronograph. That said, I feel the Speedmaster is still the absolute winner in this category (despite the difference in price). The Black Bay Chrono has a more daring design and a more imposing appearance. In the end, it’s this chunky tool-watch feel that sets it apart.

Maybe it’s because the designers combined the original dive watch design with a racing-chrono-inspired theme. The result is that a chronograph looks very muscular and capable while maintaining its elegant edge. I think that’s exactly why Tudor’s Black Bay collection is so popular and the key to why I really like this chronograph. The snowflake hands are often subject to debate, but I’m a fan.

Shape does matter

Finally, these two automatic chronographs differ significantly in size. It might not even be the actual dimensions themselves that differ that much, but in combination with the different shapes, they result in a very different feel on the wrist. The Tudor has a 41mm diameter, whereas the TAG Heuer comes in at 39mm. The lug-to-lug distance is also bigger on the Tudor at just under 50mm, in contrast to the TAG Heuer’s 46mm measurement. In terms of thickness, these watches are pretty similar. The Tudor is a bit thicker at 14.4mm, but the TAG Heuer is also almost 14mm thick.

So yes, the Tudor Black Bay Chrono is the bigger watch. But what might even be more important in terms of wrist presence is its shape. With those slab sides, the Black Bay Chrono stands taller on your wrist. It also comes with a broader lug spacing of 22mm. This means the bracelet starts wider and makes it more prominent, especially with those faux rivets on the side. The Carrera Glassbox, on the other hand, has a slimmer-looking mid-case, and its lug width is closer to 20mm. So, depending on your taste, you can choose between the more muscular Black Bay Chrono or the sleeker Carrera Glassbox. Personally, I’ll take this rugged Tudor over the Glassbox any day.

RJ: TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox

I love it when Daan does most of the work on listing the specifications of the watches. It just means I don’t have to do it myself. I find it more and more tedious to talk about specs these days. In fact, I’ve recently begun to consider them less when looking at watches that I like. The quality of the watch and its movement must be good, of course. Still, I am not interested in whether one has 10 hours more power reserve than the other or whether it’s in-house or a proprietary movement, exceptions aside (especially in the high-end segment). But I get it.

In this article, we compare the Tudor Black Bay Chrono with the TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox. Both are panda dial chronographs. So, broadly speaking, there are only so many aesthetic differences. So it stands to reason that we must list the specifications. But before Daan gets to the specs, he mentions the price. The Tudor is €1,000 cheaper than the TAG. If you like the TAG much more, would you still go with the Tudor based solely on that thousand-euro difference? Probably not! And that’s because there’s more to it than price and specifications.

Killer looks

First and foremost I want to tackle the question of which watch is more appealing to me. As you might have guessed already it’s the TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox, by a country mile. The Tudor looks and feels clunky (despite its modest size of 41mm in diameter). The sub-dials remind me of Clarence, the cross-eyed lion from Daktari. In my opinion, the Glassbox has a more elegant design and simply sits better on the wrist. Whereas the Tudor borrows bits and pieces from the brand’s back catalog (and that of Rolex), the TAG Heuer is built upon a long history of beautiful, classy, and sleek-looking chronographs from the Carrera collection.

Heritage matters

Besides the aesthetics of a watch, I also love it when there’s some solid storytelling behind it. As I already mentioned, the Tudor is simply riffing on old references. But the TAG Heuer Glassbox pays tribute to a long and iconic line of Carrera models. The Tudor chronograph doesn’t tell a story. It’s a watch that seems clinically designed, based on some bits and pieces from the past and present. Don’t get me wrong, there are some Tudor watches with stories to tell. Based on the Monte Carlo from back in the day, the discontinued Tudor Heritage Chrono is a watch with some history and charm. It’s also not lost on me that the younger generation has a different attitude towards this brand. But still, to me, Tudor’s past relationship with Rolex will always be in the back of my mind. When it comes to the Black Bay Chrono, it just doesn’t strike me as having a strong heritage or strong storytelling tied to it, which leaves me a bit cold.

A classic reinvented

The Glassbox is heavily inspired by Heuer models from the past. The reference goes back to the very early Carrera models from 1963. This watch, therefore, has deep roots tied to the company’s story with Jack Heuer, who was so deeply involved with the development of the collection. Rather than pushing out another re-edition (nothing wrong with that, by the way), TAG Heuer developed these new models that combine the classic looks of the Carrera with the modern twist of the Glassbox construction.

Giving these models their name, a large domed sapphire crystal covers the watch’s domed and scalloped tachymeter and index-studded minute track construction. The two contrasting sub-dials are correctly positioned to avoid the “Clarence the cross-eyed lion” effect. The subdial at 6 o’clock is almost hidden, but the contrasting small hand makes it clear something is happening (namely, the fact that the watch is still running). The date aperture at six is unnecessary, but I am also not against a date on a watch. At least it is positioned at the more symmetrical and eye-pleasing 6 o’clock position.

Image courtesy of Shuck The Oyster

This particular version of the Carrera Glassbox is based on the Heuer ref. 7753 SN, and these two letters stand for silver and noir (black). In the 1960s, Heuer used the panda and reverse panda combinations for many of its Carrera models. The Carrera story is such a key element of the TAG Heuer brand that it’s undoubtedly the most iconic chronograph in its collection. And the Glassbox is an incredible tribute to that.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox: old-school cool

Ultimately, what’s most important is what kind of feeling (or sensation) a watch gives you when it’s on your wrist. Nothing else matters as much when it comes to picking the right watch (unless you’re looking for one with a specific functional purpose in mind). And when we’re talking about the Tudor Black Bay Chrono and TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox, none of us are realistically timing laps at the track with them. So there’s really no specific purpose other than the fact that a watch should look good, offer great quality, and have an interesting story to tell. And it’s in all those aspects (especially the latter) that the Carrera Glassbox has the upper hand.

Now you’ve heard what we each have to say, be sure to cast your vote below!