TAG Heuer WV2116.FC6181

A classy variant of the Carrera Twin Time automatic watches, the 39mm TAG Heuer WV2116.FC6181 is presented in polished steel on Brown leather with a bright White dial. Of course, just like the rest of its variant, this professional looking timepiece that is designed to be an ideal companion for frequent travelers who demand reliability is fitted with the self-winding TAG’s Calibre 7 inside.


As a wrist accessory, this gent’s watch is stylish and versatile. It has just the right dimension to makes it looks good on any of wrist size, with an elegant style that is not to prim so that you can conveniently pairing it with not only formal attires, but also those that are more relaxed like what you used to wear when hanging out with friends. The color itself is quite "neutral" as well so that it would match seamlessly with anything, literally.

The TAG Heuer WV2116.FC6181 timepiece itself (and so does the Calibre 7 inside) is designed to be fairly rugged, by the use of enduring materials such as sapphire crystal as well as shock arbsorber mechanism, and it has a superb built construction that is watertight to 50 meters for practical sake. And speaking of functionality, you’d sure to appreciate its sophisticated offerings that are quite handy in many circumstance, which are a precise three hands, automatic date, and GMT complication that lets you to conveniently track a 2nd time zone on its flange in a handy 24-hour format.

A Closer Look at the Design

For men’s average wrist, this contemporary classic is considerably a mid-to-large size. Its sturdy case that is made of premium grade stainless steel and finished in high polish has a diameter of 39mm, and it is slim enough for a mechanical automatic at around 12mm thick --which goes without saying, making it fits easily with any kind of shirt’s cuffs. The caseback is noticeably tapers, so that there actually only an area that is slightly larger from its rounded sapphire display that comes in contact with the wrist, thus, making the watch also fits nicely for those with smaller wrist. Upfront, the mirror polished bezel is beveled, giving the watch another modern "touch" to appreciate. And, at the case’s right hand side, lays a pull-and-push crown with the brand’s hallmarking that is fluted to makes it easier to use.

Encased by the high gloss bezel, is another sapphire crystal that is compared to the sapphire display at the other side, this one is a tad bit thicker, has a slightly domed profile instead of flat, and is further enhanced with an anti-reflective coating. Right below, just like its steel on steel sibling, this TAG Heuer WV2116.FC6181’s dial is bright and looks clean in White, fashioned in modern minimalist style with a well balanced layout, and has no "unnecessary details". You could say that it is designed with a clear purpose in mind, a good read-ability, which account the need of night visibility as well by featuring fluorescent materials.

The dial features a legible date aperture at three, and it has several markings such as “CARRERA” and the brand’s emblem at the 12 o’clock position, “TWIN TIME” and “automatic” at the 6 o’clock position, and a tiny “SWISS MADE” below, all in transferred Black. The dial also comprises steely hour and minute hands with SuperLuminova fill and a slim central sweep seconds that point to the applied steely stick hour markers, complimented by painted Black minute markers and luminous dot over around the periphery. The luminous fourth hand for the GMT has an arrow head that is accented with Blue outlining to makes it easier to distinct, furthermore, the alternating dots and Arabic numeral 24-hour markers around the flange for the second time zone are also luminous as well.

The watch’s Brown bracelet is quite a pleasure as well. Made of genuine alligator leather, the strap is supple, fairly thick, and supportive enough to offers a decent counter-balance to the solid case’s weight, making the timepiece even more comfortable to wear. This bracelet that is stamped and decorated with tonal stitching details has a width that is tapers from 22mm to 19mm, and for an adjustable fitting, it comes equipped with a steel deployant folding clasp that features double push button safety for an extra security measures. And speaking of sizing, it can accommodates a range of 6 up to 8.25 inches wrist’s circumference.

TAG Heuer Calibre 7

Typical to the 39mm Carrera Twin Time, this TAG Heuer WV2116.FC6181 employs the Calibre 7, the watchmaker’s finely tuned self-winding movement that is both accurate and fairly rugged caliber, that is built (or personalized, to be exact) based on ETA 2892/A2 caliber.

Regarding specs, we do know that this personalized movement beats at 28,800 alterations per hour, and that it features a fairly shock and magnetism resistance at some degree. But, pardon us for making some assumption for the rest of its specs here. TAG’s literature made us to do so by only partly reveling this movement’s specification, and certainly, we don’t have enough "resource" to dissect the movement by ourselves. The watchmaker said that the Calibre 7 specs has "21 up to 25 jewels, depending on the execution", and regarding power reserve, they only said that it would be "between 42 to 46 hours". Being cautious, we’d prefer to assume the worst, that the 11½ lignes TAG Heuer Calibre 7 used in this watch is the 21 jewels, one with 42 hours of power reserve that is.

Well, it quite often when a watchmaker took an ETA base movement, and did nothing but a minor "adjustments", say, decorating only perhaps? They tend to be a tad bit penurious by not revealing its exact specs. Doesn’t that much matter, though, as basically, even the base ETA 2892 does already a good movement by itself. There is no "standard grade" for it, which means that TAG’s Calibre 7 that is built based on it could performs at least at the rate of an elaborate grade level, with an average rate of ±7 secs/day --which is quite a satisfactory for a mechanical automatic movement.

Thoughts and Pricing

Based on its pricing, you could say that this gent’s 39mm steel on leather White dial "three hands, GMT, and date" automatic timepiece is an entry level luxury, one with a good balance of price-quality ratio. The watch is stylish and versatile as an accessory, and it does work well with any men’s wrist, on either casual or formal dressing. In addition, being not too large, it would also looks good as well for women who are into a masculine flavored oversized wrist accessory. Not to mention its 50m water resistance.

The timepiece has no issue regarding read-ability thanks to the neat-and-balanced layout’s arrangement, florescent materials and sapphire. Furthermore, regarding the movement, we thought that by assuming for the worst, we left you with a possibility to expect that the movement is actually better than that. Regardless what of its grade actually might be, as far as we know, it is a fairly accurate and reliable one already.

Anyway, this TAG Heuer Carrera Twin Time WV2116.FC6181 is offered at an original manufacturer suggested retail price of $3,200.00, which is reasonable enough considering all of its quality offerings. Of course, being not a new release, you could expect to get it for less than its MSRP, say, maybe around 2 up to 2.5K.

Watch’s Specification

Brand:	TAG Heuer
Collection:	Carrera
Series:	Calibre 7 Twin Time
Model number:	WV2116.FC6181 Style: WV2116. Ref: WV2116.FC6181. also referred as WV2116FC6181
Watch style:	Gent, Casual Dress, Formal
Display type:	Analog
Movement:	Swiss automatic TAG Heuer Calibre 7. In house, a personalized caliber by TAG based on ETA 2892/A2. Swiss made, mechanical self-winding GMT automatic movement. Specs Function: Three hands, Second timezone, Automatic date w/ rapid date correction. Size: 11½‴ lignes (Ø 25.6 mm). 21 ~ 25 jewels. beats at 28.800 vph (4 Hz). provides ± 42 ~ 46 hours of power reserve. Shock resistant. Decoration "Côtes de Genève" pattern at the Oscillating mass; engraved "TAG Heuer", "Calibre 7", and "Swiss Made" with Gold tone fill. Some perlage finishing.
Functions:	Hour, Minutes, Seconds, 2nd Time Zone (GMT), Date
Dial:	White SuperLuminova filled Silver-tone hour and minute hands. Slim seconds hand. GMT hand with Blue outlined and luminescent filled arrow-head. Luminous, applied Silver-tone stick hour markers. printed Black markers around the outer rim. Date window at 3. Complimented with 24-hour markers around the flange (inner bezel) in White.
Window:	Sapphire Crystal scratch resistant, anti-reflective coated.
Case:	Stainless steel Round, Ø 39 mm, ± 12 mm thick. polished.
Bezel:	Stainless steel Stationary bezel. polished. GMT markers around the inner bezel.
Caseback:	See-through screwed stainless steel with sapphire display. engraved.
Crown:	Pull and push crown Stainless steel. fluted, logoed.
Bracelet:	Alligator / Crocodile leather Brown, textured pattern, decorated with tonal stitching, stamped. ± 22 mm ~ 19 mm wide. men’s standard, suitable with up to 8.25 inches wrist circumference.
Clasp:	Deployment hidden folding clasp with double push button safety, stamped.
Notable Features:	Calendar GMT (24 hour) Luminous hands and markers Transparent exhibition caseback
Water resistant:	50 m (5 ATM / 99 feet) daily wear, withstand splashes and light rain, but not suitable for prolonged contact with water.
Additional info:	-