California’s westward-facing coastline stretches over 1,300 incredibly varied kilometers, ranging from smooth, sandy beaches in the south, to dramatic, wind-swept swathes of unforgiving territory in the far north where jagged walls of rock and teal ocean have been in rhythmic collision since the beginning of time. Three-quarters of the way up the coast from San Diego and a little over an hour’s drive from San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate bridge sits one such terminus — the windiest known point on the West Coast, which lies at the southern end of a long, undulating farm road lined with rolling green pastures. To the north, a tunnel of cypress trees punctuate the horizon, their outstretched branches disfigured by the wind’s unending might.
Somewhere between and shielded from such winds behind the massive glass canopy of a Tesla Model X, I am racing towards the edge of the earth, replica TAG Heuer Carrera Sport Chronograph on the wrist. It’s my favorite juxtaposition of old and new — of stubborn landscapes and disruptors of the natural order, and for a watch that seems to finally be hitting its stride, just felt right. The Carrera is a storied name in timekeeping that, for the better part of the last decade, has been poised for greatness but feels as though it had yet to find its moment in a singular cohesive design — perhaps until now.
The replica TAG Heuer of 2024 and beyond has not come about by accident. If the brand feels more calculated in its approach, and far more comfortable in its own skin, that’s because it should. The stylistic vision behind this generation’s more surgical redesign is Guy Bove, TAG Heuer’s Creative Director. The name ought to sound familiar to industry insiders who’ll remember a successful career arc in design for IWC and Chopard, then as the visual architect for Breitling’s triumphant postmodern exodus from the Schneider era. In addition to his work on the modern Autavia re-launch, Bove’s singular focus with the Carrera refresh has been to bring the line back to the purity of its 1960s editions while retaining the sportiness and attention to detail that has defined its most modern references.
A photographer himself, Bove admits to designing his watches around how their surfaces interact with light, ensuring that the final product is as much a joy to behold on the wrist as it is to photograph, and the Carrera Sport is a testament to this. Increased in size from 43mm to 44mm, this newest Carrera generation retains the chiseled exterior of its many predecessors, though Bove ensured that its overall wearability was improved through the use of a thinner case footprint and shorter lugs. Make no mistake — it’s as strong an identity as the Carrera’s ever had, but one that leaves a far more refined, and markedly more mature, impression — a photogenic, fully realized specimen after many years of iterative executions.
As the history books have been written, English sea captain Sir Francis Drake is credited with making Europe’s first contact with the California coast in June of 1579 when he landed his ship Golden Hind on what is now known as Drake’s Bay during the explorer’s pioneering circumnavigation of the globe. Guarding the western edge of Drake’s Bay is the Point Reyes Lighthouse, a blip now displayed on the Tesla’s oversized touchscreen. Built in 1870 atop a rocky outcropping overlooking the Pacific, the lighthouse has spent the better part of the last century steering ships through the perennial fog and away from the peninsula’s treacherous northern point, ensuring safe passage through to the waters of San Francisco Bay. The maritime history here is as palpable as the very color of the sea – varying tones of turquoise and indigo so rich, they can be felt in your bones.