TAG Heuer Adds Some 1980s Japanese Swagger to the Carrera Chronograph

Team Ikuzawa began as a racing team in 1981, founded by famed Japanese driver Tetsu Ikuzawa. Under the guidance of his daughter Mai, it has grown into a global brand that spans motorsports, design, fashion and art.

No watch brand can match Team Ikuzawa’s deep auto racing roots like TAG Heuer, and with celebrated horological tinkerer George Bamford reprising his role as co-designer, the two brands have reunited for a second reinterpretation of the iconic Carrera Chronograph.

TAG Heuer

Team Ikuzawa and TAG Heuer first came together in 2023 for a limited-edition release based on Jack Heuer’s original Carrera Chronograph, decorated in the team’s racing livery. This time, the kindred brands are tackling the newer, much-celebrated Carrera ‘Glassbox’ Chronograph.

It features the standard 39mm stainless steel case with twisted lugs, a polished finish and piston pushers, accented with a red lacquered stripe around the crown.

TAG Heuer

Under the signature domed “glassbox” sapphire crystal is a dial that blends Team Ikuzawa’s design ethos with a deep-cut Heuer timepiece not worn on the wrist.

Hitting the Roadmaster

When George Bamford and Mai Ikuzawa got together to design their second TAG Heuer collaboration, they turned to the Heuer Roadmaster dash-mounted stopwatch for inspiration. An obscurity to the watch community, it is an iconic timekeeping device among vintage motorsports enthusiasts.

TAG Heuer

The Carrera Chronograph Team Ikuzawa dial draws on elements from later-model Roadmasters produced during the 1980s, including the printed white ruler scale on the black raised flange, the printed black 60-second track on the outer rim of the white dial and the vibrant lacquered red chronograph seconds hand.

However, the most distinctive nod to the Roadmaster is the stylized 30-minute totalizer dial at 3:00. The segmented track with circled numbers comes directly from Heuer’s vintage racing instrument.

TAG Heuer

Meanwhile, the bicompax dial with a date window at 6:00 remains true to Mr. Heuer’s iconic chronograph design. Just as on the original, it notably lacks a running seconds function, prioritizing two totalizers and leaving dial real estate for sponsors and partnerships.

Team Ikuzawa’s logo fittingly occupies that reserved space just above 6:00. Like the Carrera logo below 12:00, it is printed in red on a flat rectangle, raised above the Clous de Paris-textured dial, which reminds me of certain 1980s Seiko 5 Sports references.

TAG Heuer

This uncommon dial layout comes courtesy of the TAG Heuer Caliber TH20-10 automatic movement. It features a column wheel, vertical clutch and bi-directional rotor, beats at 4Hz, and provides an impressive 80-hour power reserve.

The modestly finished movement is visible through a sapphire caseback with the Team Ikuzawa logo printed in red and the Bamford Watch Dept. logo printed in white.

Kitted out

Along with the Carrera’s standard seven-link stainless-steel quick-release bracelet with a folding clasp, this collaboration includes two additional straps. There is a two-piece white textile strap with double red stripes and a white leather perforated racing strap with red side stitching. Both fasten with signed stainless steel deployant clasps.

TAG Heuer

On top of that, the watch comes with a black leather watch roll, red travel bag and three key chains, all packaged in a red lacquered steel toolbox based on those used by race team mechanics for decades.

Availability and pricing

TAG Heuer is no stranger to collaborations, and the ‘Glassbox’ Carrera has become the preferred medium for obvious reasons. But this one stands out to me, not just because of how objectively gorgeous it is, but because it feels like one Jack Heuer would have set up himself.

It also features one of the coolest themed, decorative watch boxes I’ve ever seen.

The only problem with the Carrera Chronograph Team Ikuzawa is that, even if you can spare the $10,500 to buy one, it is limited to just 250 pieces worldwide and can only be purchased from select TAG Heuer boutiques.

TAG Heuer

TAG heuer Carrera Chronograph Team Ikuzawa

Specs

Case Size	39mm
Movement	TAG Heuer Caliber TH20-10 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

• $10,500 at TAG Heuer

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