Hands-On The Latest Addition To The TAG Heuer Glassbox Adds A Panda Dial And Bracelet To The Carrera

The new Carrera Glassbox (ref. CBS2216.BA0041) uses the same stainless steel case we saw in last year's black and blue dial models measuring 39 x 13.86mm (46mm lug-to-lug). As I've mentioned, the lugs feel a bit short, but this also means it's compact on the wrist. The dial is a sunray silver with black subdials, and there are red accents on the hands, chrono hand tip, and minute track. 

Inside the Carrera Glassbox is the manufacture caliber TH20-00. It's an impressive, automatic chronograph movement that beats at 4 Hz and has an 80-hour power reserve. Even with the new bracelet, the movement's specs are pretty much unmatched at this price. The TH20-00 is the next generation of the caliber Heuer 02, the in-house movement TAG introduced in 2017. It has a column wheel and vertical clutch mechanism, exactly what you'd ask of a luxury, in-house chronograph caliber. The caliber is visible through the sapphire caseback. The industrial finishing isn't much to look at, but it's always fun to see a column wheel, basically the on-off switch for the chronograph mechanism, in action.

I've written and talked at length about how the Glassbox feels on my wrist so I won't belabor points I've made before: compact, wearable, with this sloped dial that, over the course of wearing one for a week, went from weird to downright compelling. 

Last year, TAG Heuer introduced a blue and black dial Glassbox and it was pretty easy to categorize the two: blue = modern, black = heritage-inspired. But this year's panda rises above the blue and black because it does a better job of blending the two. It takes the vintage inspiration of the 7753SN panda, but introduces just a few more modern cues. While I'm still not sure about the phantom running seconds and cutout date at 6 o'clock, the red accents work for me. 

The Glassbox's weirdest feature is probably its concave dial, which slopes upwards to fill in the tall sapphire crystal. But this new version puts the tachymeter in black, giving the visual effect of breaking up that slope. I think it's a great design choice and makes the dial more successful than either of last year's models.

The bracelet is a simple three-link that's fully brushed. The folding clasp is polished and has double-trigger push buttons to open it. It's comfortable, articulates around the wrist nicely, and has full and half links that should make it easy enough to find a decent fit. It's the same bracelet design we see on the three-hand Carrera Dates.

The Carrera deserves a good bracelet. So many vintage Heuer Carreras were delivered on beautiful Gay Freres bracelets, it felt a bit incomplete that the option wasn't at least offered in the catalog. While I think the look of the three-link bracelet works just fine for the Glassbox, I would've loved to see TAG really lean into the heritage of those GF bracelets to come up with something new for what's become its flagship Carrera chronograph. 

That said, TAG Heuer has said the retail of the new panda Carrera on bracelet will be CHF 6,500, which should only be a touch over the $6,450 (CHF $6,300) MSRP on a strap. It's not an innovative new bracelet, but TAG Heuer also isn't upcharging you like it is. 

With the addition of a new heritage-inspired dial and a bracelet, TAG Heuer seems to be showing us its commitment to making the Carrera Glassbox something of a flagship for the brand. It's a strong forward step for the collection, and I'm excited to see what's next. 

The TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox (ref. CBS2216.BA0041) measures 39 x 13.86mm (46mm lug-to-lug) and is water resistant to 100 meters. Delivered on a three-link stainless steel bracelet. MSRP CHF 6,500.