SPOTLIGHT ON: GrandPrixWatches.com

 

I was recently contacted by Daniel from GrandPrixWatches.com about doing an interview for his website, which I was more than happy to do. Daniel has combined his passions to create GrandPrixWatches.com which he's billing as a 'Historical Resource for Formula 1 and Moto GP Watches'. I know some of you watch enthusiasts out there love the connection to F1 (in particular) so I'm sure you will find some interesting reading there.. there's certainly a lot of brands that I've never heard of before! 

Click the image at the top of the page to visit GRANDPRIXWATCHES.COM 

Or click the link below to read my interview.

https://www.grandprixwatches.com/2025/02/tag-heuer-enthusiast-interview-with-rob-aqua-g/

HISTORY: TAG Heuer Airline

Quite a short 'History' post for the Heuer/TAG Heuer Airline as there are only six watches in total. The Airline first appears in the 1985 (and penultimate) Heuer catalogue, with four models displayed. These appear again in the 1985-1986 catalogue and finally all six appear in the 1987-1988 catalogue (with TAG Heuer branded dials). 

I always liked the look of these, especially the cool black and gold version but once I realised that they were only available in mid-size (35mm) I reluctantly accepted that I was never going to own one. One thing I love about these is the wacky printed bracelets with the major cities and the time difference, I mean... talk about avant garde! 

Confusingly, only two of the original four Heuer models have 'GMT' bezels even though they all have GMT hands. So in the 1987-1988 catalogue TAG Heuer introduce 'GMT' versions of the watches that didn't have them before. These are then given a suffix 'GMT' which suggests all the others aren't... even though they are. 

All models are quartz powered.

1985 HEUER CATALOGUE 

895.313: 35mm, black 'Heuer' dial, GMT ins, steel case, plated bzl/crown, printed steel bracelet 

895.413: 35mm, gold 'Heuer' dial, GMT ins, steel case, plated bezel/crown, printed steel bracelet

895.513: 35mm, gold 'Heuer' dial, dive bezel ins, steel case, plated bzl/crown, two tone bracelet

896.513: 35mm, gold 'Heuer' dial, dive bezel ins, gold bezel, pvd case, two tone bracelet

1987-1988 TAG HEUER CATALOGUE

895.513GMT: 35mm, gold 'TH' dial, GMT ins, steel case, plated bezel/crown, two tone bracelet

896.513GMT: 35mm, gold 'TH' dial, GMT ins, pvd case, plated bezel/crown, two tone bracelet

896.513: 35mm, gold 'TH' dial, dive bezel ins, pvd case, plated bezel/crown, two tone bracelet

895.513: 35mm, god 'TH' dial, dive bezel ins, steel case, plated bezel/crown, two tone bracelet

895.413: 35mm, gold 'TH' dial, GMT bezel ins, steel case, plated bezel/crown, printed bracelet

895.313: 35mm, black 'TH' dial, GMT bezel ins, steel case, played bezel/crown, printed bracelet

You can check out all the other History of TAG Heuer posts by clicking on the banner below.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Limited Edition by Monochrome Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Purple Dial' Glassbox & Tourbillon Chronographs

As the owner of a beautiful 'plum-wine-purpley/red-never-quite-sure-what-to-call-it' Kirium I am very open to unusual dial colours like these, and honestly this is the first time I've looked at one of these 39mm glassbox Carreras and not dismissed it as irrelevant. In fact, I think I actually quite like this one...!

Believe me, no one is more surprised than me, but there's something about the elegant purple dial and the domed crystal; it just looks like it was meant to be. Moser-ish even. Sure it looks kinda 'feminine', but not so much that I wouldn't want to wear it. I mean, I wouldn't want to wear it because these 39mm Carreras are too small for my wrist, but for the first time I'm looking at this and actually thinking it would be cool if they made it in a bigger size.

Which of course they do, albeit with a great big hole in the dial and a £30,000 tourbillon spinning around in it. Ughh, no! I really do not like tourbillons and I especially do not like tourbillons in these glassbox cases. To me the tourbillon works better in those oversized modular-cased Carreras as introduced by Mr Jean Claude Biver back in 2016, these just look kinda ugly to me.. with that tourbillon cutting into the rehaut yet again. And it's even more galling when you look at the standard version and realise how good a plain 42mm could have looked if only they hadn't gone and done that to it. 

And then there's the price... £30,400 for a watch that would have cost £20,950 had it come out a few months ago. I honestly can't believe that none of the popular YouTubers have picked up on this, it seems like a scandal just waiting to be 'exposed'... but perhaps it's just a matter of time?

I have actually seen the standard purple glassbox in a TAG Heuer boutique, albeit I didn't try it on (no point really, I know it's way too small) but it did look nice in person and it's definitely my favourite 39mm glassbox to date. It still only scores a 7.5 from me, but that's significantly more than most of the others.

Okay, let's find out whether the Council of Considered Opinion shares my love for the purple dial (and my disdain for the tourbillon)...

Chrono 6/10, Tourbillon 5.5/10: "The tourbillon gets 5.5 because of the unjustifiable and scandalous price increase compared with previous steel (and also titanium) TH watches with same movement."

Chrono 8/10, Tourbillon 7/10: "Would have to see them in the metal. The strap is exactly the one I would choose for the latest Porsche Carrera steel version."

Chrono 8/10, Tourbillon 8/10: "I love this dial. I still don’t like tourbillon watches though."

Chrono 5/10, Tourbillon 3/10: "Would need to see the colour in the flesh, tourbillon gets 3/10 due to pricing."

Chrono 7.5, Tourbillon 5.5/10: "The standard model is really nice, even the tourbillon looks quite nice but the ridiculous and inexplicable price hike cost it points."

Chrono 5/10, Tourbillon 2/10: "As for the tourbillon, to be honest, it is really unacceptable that TAG  developed the watch at a low price and now we are selling it at a price that is extremely overpriced.

I doubt that the tourbillon will ever score higher than a 5 on any rating I give it in the future. I even wish they would stop selling them."

Chrono 7/10, Tourbillon 6/10: "Having seen these in person, they look rather nice. But I'm not into purple watches. Scores are based on looks alone. If I start to weigh price too heavily, many watches will get severely dinged."

Chrono 8/10, Tourbillon 6/10: "6/10 on the tourbillon, primarily due to the inflated price."

Chrono 6/10, Tourbillon 2/10: "6/10 for the standard model, would be a 9 if they got rid of that running second. 2/10 for the tourbillon, gets an extra point for the nice colourway."

Chrono 7.5/10, Tourbillon 4/10: "Love the standard glassbox in purple. Don't think it quite tops a Skipper, but it's close, and the second best colourway in this model imho. The tourbillon model is slightly uglier, slightly bigger and massively more expensive which make it a no in my book."

Chrono 4/10, Tourbillon 3/10: "These 'glassboxes' just get worse and worse.. I bet that purple looks black 90% of the times. If you lucky sometimes the sun hits the dial directly and you can see a weak hint of purple."

Chrono 4/10, Tourbillon 4/10: "The tourbillon would score higher because it doesn’t have the hideous running seconds, but the pricing is too batshit."

Chrono 5/10, Tourbillon 4/10: "I think they will look better in real life. I haven't seen one yet."

Chrono 6.5/10, Tourbillon 3/10: "Although I still do not like the new glassbox design or quasi subdial at 6, this one looks decent. But I just don’t like the look of tourbillons. Overpriced and not aesthetically pleasing (in my opinion)."  

Chrono 8.5/10, Tourbillon 6.5/10: "The dark purple is very attractive. Unfortunately, the nearly-$35K tourbillon is just ridiculously overpriced -- 6.5, because of the price."

Chrono 7/10, Tourbillon 7/10: "The standard glassbox is just a little too dark in person and the tourbillon price is unjustifiable."

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M by Bruce Williams

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer x Porsche Carrera Chronosprint Rallye

 

Before I start this post, I just want to apologize in advance to anyone who gets irritated by my use of the words Rally and Rallye... I tried to clarify which means what but it's very confusing. I figured maybe it's 'Rally Straps' but then I found loads of perforated straps called 'Rallye Straps'. Google AI suggests 'Rallye' indicates a motor race rather than a political 'Rally', but then elsewhere it's suggested that 'Rallye' is the plural of 'Rally' or indeed it might just be the French way of spelling 'Rally' (which obviously makes it sound much more luxurious). Anyway, sorry 'bout that...!

Believe it or not, someone on the THF Forum has already backed the Porsche Chronosprint Rallye for the '2025 COCO Watch of the Year'! Quite a statement when we're barely a third of the way through February... but let us not forget that the very first release of 2023 was the Carrera 60th Anniversary Panda, which absolutely annihilated the competition on its way to securing the crown.

But then the 'Panda' was always going to be a sure fire winner, which is precisely why it was the last of the old style 'glassbox' Carreras... and honestly why it was strange that it was one of the first new style 'glassbox' Carreras. After all, the watch industry very much operates on a policy of 'never quite give the people what they want because we might be able to sell them something else in the meantime'. 

Once you give them what they want, the theory goes, the customer is satisfied and will stop buying. Well, I don't know about that... most watch collectors will tend to find something 'else' they want regardless, but I suppose the principle is sound. 

Anyhoo... following on from my 'Top 10 TAG Heuer x Porsche' watch post a few weeks back, here we have two more to add to the collection... if they are in contention for the WOTY come December I wonder which one will come out on top, or will they split the vote allowing something else to sneak past like some sort of horological Kimi Raikkonnen. 🤣

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List 2019-2020

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer 2000 Series 244.006 Quartz Watch

It's funny, I don't really look at eBay very often these days, but every now and then I click on one of those emails they send you heralding '327 new TAG Heuers' and occasionally it throws up something interesting. Of course, every third listing is suspicious as all hell, but now that eBay are utilising the wonderful and totally infallible 'AI' to check listings I guess we can all sleep safe in our beds.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  

Sorry, I can't help it. Ebay is a complete joke and I would love to know exactly how 'AI' is checking the authenticity of listings? How is it programmed to do that? I mean, it's probably no more completely useless than a real person who doesn't know their arse from their elbow - but I guess they can now point to using 'AI' and everyone will be reassured. 

Jesus Christ. I'm glad my eBay days are largely behind me. But anyway...

VIDEO: How to Set the Time on a TAG Heuer F1 Kirium by OBR Horology

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16 Chronographs

 

Over the last few years it has become painfully obvious that TAG Heuer's 'Formula 1' range was starting to get a little tired. The current WAZ/CAZ case was introduced way back in 2015, and while there have been numerous updates and minor refreshes it really was starting to feel like it needed a proper overhaul. Last year's collaboration with the American clothing brand 'Kith' caused a whole lot of interest in the 'classic' Formula 1 and it feels like TAG Heuer have jumped at the opportunity to update with a new 'classic' 38mm three handed Solargraph expected at April's Watches & Wonders alongside this line up of Calibre 16 chronographs which was revealed about ten days ago.

While I did praise last year's Calibre 16 F1 chronographs as nice looking watches, the truth is they were incredibly safe and simply didn't have that certain something 'extra' to make them a 'must-buy' rather than another 'nice' watch in a sea of 'nice' watches. Thankfully it seems TAG Heuer have taken the plunge and produced something genuinely new here, which is absolutely to be applauded. After all the watch world is absolutely drowning in 'heritage' this and 'vintage' that and the Formula 1 was never supposed to be anything but fresh and forward looking. 

Yes, I know... the irony!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 Quartz Chronograph by Random Rob

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S Regatta Chronograph

 

While it's a noble endeavour of mine to try to turn my rather large collection of (mostly) cheaper TAG Heuers into a smaller collection of 'less cheaper' TAG Heuers, it does rather take the fun out of the experience. Sure I was a little slow to cotton on to the fact that watches are not inanimate objects and they are liable to break and need repairing, but sometimes I really miss those heady days of 2019-2022 when every other month brought at least one new Ebay bargain to my door. Sigh...

Now, having sold approximately half of my collection, I have used most of that money to buy some nicer watches like my Grand Carrera Caliper Calibre 36, my Grand Carrera Chronograph Calibre 17, my SLR Calibre S and my Aquaracer Solargraph and I don't regret doing that, however I still get the urge to buy 'something cheaper' now and again. Truthfully, spending big money* on watches is still not something I am really comfortable doing, and since I only really like one watch brand most of the things I end up looking at are usually variations of things I already own or things that are still a bit out of my comfort-zone price-wise, even when pre-owned.

*My idea of 'big money' being anything over £2000 honestly...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16 2025 Chronographs by Monochrome Watches

 

NB: The video states there are four new Calibre 16 Formula 1s, but actually there are five. There is also another DLC coated model with lime yellow highlights.

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Las Vegas' Monaco Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 30th November 2024 

Another fruitful visit to the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield on this November morning, not only did I get to try on this 'Las Vegas' Monaco and the Porsche 963 Extreme Sports Carrera, but I also got to handle the limited edition Hodinkee Carrera Seafarer. More on that another time though... today we will concentrate on this DLC coated Monaco, and well if you've tried on any recent black Monaco you'll have a good idea how this wears.

COMMENT MODERATION ACTIVATED!

Apologies for having to do this but I've had to activate 'Comment Moderation'. Thanks to AI and BOTS I'm getting a lot of spam comments which wouldn't matter so much, but Blogger insist I delete any comment that has a link in it. So it's going to be a lot easier for me to just moderate comments in future. This may cause a delay in your comment being published in some instances, but please keep them coming.

Rob / Aqua-G

SPOTLIGHT ON: Another Ridiculous eBay Fake!

Just a little post today in lieu of a video... I reported the above 'Monaco 24' to eBay on Thursday and as usual they 'looked into it' and reported back to me that they found nothing in the listing that contravened their guidelines. I mean.... come on. It's not even difficult to see, is it? TAG Heuer have never even made a white dial Monaco 24 and even if they had it sure as hell would never have looked anything like this.

The only silver lining here is that the watch has a starting price of £3000. So if someone is actually gullible enough to purchase this (and it now has a bid!), then presumably eBay's 'hands on' authenticity checks will intervene. I mean, fancy being an authenticity checker and opening a box with this inside. You'd p*ss yourself laughing wouldn't you?  

FEATURE: TAG Heuer x Porsche - The Collaboration Watches (2021-2024)

 

You know, it really doesn't seem five minutes since TAG Heuer announced they were teaming up with Porsche, and already we're four years into this partnership with ten references on the books! How did that happen? Oh well...never mind. The great thing is that because all these watches have been scored by the COCO council previously we have all the info we need to do a top ten countdown! 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer SLR Calibre S Laptimer by Luxury Works

 

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List (January 2025)

 

Sometimes luck just isn't on your side... as you'll know if you read my previous post, I managed to delete the Word document I use for these price lists so I had to type the whole thing out again and then just as I finished it someone told me the prices had gone up! So annoying. Anyway, it's done now!

Aside from the previously discussed price rises (massive rises in the RRPs of all the tourbillon models and up to 47% on some pieces!) the main points to note from this snapshot of the TAG Heuer collection are the deletion of the KITH Heuer Formula 1s, all of which are now sold out and the fact that the Monaco Rattrapante's have changed from being listed at £121,000 to being 'Price on Application'. My guess is no one was biting at that price and it's perhaps not surprising when you think what else you can buy for that kind of money.

Also, the entire Monaco range has remained static on price, which perhaps tells us something... and finally the Autavia has disappeared again. Will it return (and in what form)? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

New items are coloured red, price increases are blue, price decreases are green (never had that before!) and anything else is left black.

You can click on each page to get a larger view, or even better open each image in a new tab.

TO VIEW PREVIOUS PRICE LISTS CLICK HERE 

(OR VISIT THE PRICE LIST TAB)

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Blue Dial Aquaracers by Brent Miller Time

SPOTLIGHT ON: Latest Additions to the Bicester Village Stock List

 

It's been a little while since I did one of these posts, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of what is currently available from the Bicester Village outlet... apologies to readers from outside the UK as this is obviously a little irrelevant to you.

I really used to love visiting the Bicester outlet before the pandemic, it was always exciting to see what weird and wonderful new pieces had been found in Swiss cupboards and to chat with Even, Tom and Liam. I got to see so many cool limited editions on my various visits, Monaco 24's, mother of pearl dial Calibre 16 Carreras, even a shark dial Aquaracer! Sadly these days the stock is a little more generic, but there are still interesting things to be found... it's just that the good stuff tends to come and go rather quickly, so it's pot luck what you see when you get there.

I'm sure some of you are aware, but if you aren't already it is possible to request a link to the outlet's WhatsApp list which will keep you up to date with the latest stock. All you need to do is contact Evan at Bicester Village (01869 249008) and request to be put on the list, and don't worry if you don't live near Bicester or Cheshire Oaks as they can send watches anywhere in the UK.

As always, there is limited stock and some of the deals are better than others, but I know in the past I've picked up some very nice watches from Bicester (most recently my wife's black and gold ceramic Aquaracer WAY1355) at extremely reasonable prices. The great thing about buying direct from the brand is that you can be sure that you're getting a genuine product and of course you still get your 2 or 5 year warranty (depending on the movement).

Okay, let's take a look at a few of their current offerings... and this really is only a snapshot of what's available, when I last looked there were 97 different watches listed; so well worth a look I think!

FEATURE: The Era of the Affordable Tourbillon is OVER!

Welcome dear readers and, well... a bit of a last minute change to the scheduled programming today. By rights you should be reading about a very old Heuer 2000 Series I spotted on eBay the other day, but that's going to have to wait... because today we have something far more interesting to talk about.

As you probably know by now, every six months I trawl the UK TAG Heuer website and produce a price list which you can access HERE or by clicking on the 'Price Lists' tab at the top of the page. While it's mildly interesting to keep track of the prices, the real purpose of these 'price lists' is to provide a snapshot of what's available at any given time to future historians. I mean if someone had been doing this since 1986 my life would have been one whole hell of a lot easier these last eight years, I can tell you!

But I digress...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Green Dial Aquaracers by Brent Miller Time

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Porsche 963' Calibre TH20-00 Limited Edition Chronograph

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 30th November 2024 

Way back in September last year (IIRC) I visited the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall Centre only to find I'd missed the Carrera Extreme Sports Porsche 963 by a mere 48 hours. So I was pleasantly surprised to find it had come back into stock on my last visit... especially as we know it is limited to just 963 pieces worldwide. 

As I've mentioned previously, I find myself rather perturbed by this new Carrera line. On the face of it the daring, avant garde designs should be right up my alley, but somehow I find them a little hard to warm to. At least partly to blame are the strange looking rubber straps, with this faux integrated look that while admittedly practical, also feels very 'faux' indeed.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Skipper Chronograph by Harrison Elmore

FEATURE: Keeping Track of Wrist Time 2024

 

Happy New Year to all my readers! I hope you've all enjoyed the break (if you're lucky enough to get a break at Christmas of course) and you're ready to start another year of TAG Heuer enthusiasm with me?

So, obviously, it's that time again... where I reveal the REAL winners and losers of 2024. 🤣

I'm talking of course about which watches spent the most (and least) time on my wrist, and this year it's safe to say it was a bit of a walkover... 

FEATURE: The C.O.C.O. Council Watch of the Year 2024

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a good Christmas and now you're keen and eager to find out which of TAG Heuer's 2024 releases manage to snag the coveted 'C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year' award?

You know, when it comes to the 'Watch of the Year' I generally don't have much skin in the game. As regular readers will know I'm never really one to follow popular opinion, so my top pick is almost always an also ran... and sure enough once again my favourite watch of 2024 (the stunning, diamond bezel Carrera Sports - CBN2A12) was never going to make the final podium, but it did do better than I expected garnering a respectable =5th place.

So with that one firmly out of the picture, what else do we expect to be in the top three? 

Perhaps before we go any further, we should remind ourselves of our previous winners... starting in 2020 with the 160th Anniversary Silver Carrera...

FEATURE: The TAG Heuer Releases of 2024

 

Welcome, dear friends, to the fifth annual 'Council of Considered Opinion Watch of the Year'... or to keep it snappy, the COCO WOTY!

Now this year is actually quite exciting because unlike previous years (and especially last year when the 60th Anniversary Carrera Panda absolutely annihilated the opposition) we head into the final reckoning with a good spread of votes. Indeed, no less than 14 watches have picked up a 'First Place' vote and a total of 30 different watches have picked up a first, second or third. This is completely unheard of in the history of the competition and I guess proves either that TAG Heuer are making a wide range of watches that appeal to different people, or perhaps just that they didn't make that one killer watch this year that almost everyone wanted to own.

Personally I feel like this year has probably been the least exciting collection since I started my blog way back in 2016... and for a long time I thought it was just me. After all everywhere you look it seems people have finally stopped using TAG Heuer as the industry's whipping boy and with the new glassbox Carreras in particular YouTubers seem to be falling over themselves to declare 'TAG Heuer is back'. Similarly, TAG Heuer is featuring well in 'watch brand ranking videos' and even previous TAG Heuer bashers like Nico Leonard seem to have changed their minds about the brand. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph Two-Tone Watches

So here we are at last, the final 'First Impressions' post for 2024... and it's a two-fer! Believe it or not these two are numbers 80 and 81 in the 'C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year 2024' list, which if I remember correctly is six more than we had last year! Crazy. 

Anyway, it's been pretty clear this year that TAG Heuer are firmly embracing the 'Solargraph' movement with several new models appearing in 2024; including of course the recent 'Time & Tide' limited edition, the green dial and a whole bunch of 34mm pieces issued way back at the beginning of the year. I think it's a safe bet to say we'll continue to see more solar-powered watches joining the ranks in 2025. 

Indeed I can see a point in the not to distant future where the only old-school quartz pieces with replaceable batteries will be those rather long-in-the-tooth Formula 1s that have been around for about 8 years now. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Las Vegas' Limited Edition Tourbillon

 

Some watches are just hard to find information on, you know... and this is one of them. I have a couple of photos and even a part number but Google won't admit knowing anything about it! It's frustrating. I even double checked that this wasn't a leak and I'm not breaking any embargos, but I was assured it's definitely been released and is available to buy. I even visited TAG Heuer's US website, but to no avail. 

But still, we have these two pictures and from this we can glean that the watch is a 45mm tourbillon with carbon bezel and lugs, a red tourbillon and baton markers and a red strap that reminds me of the old Manchester United strap (it could be the same one but I don't have a part number so I can't be sure).

VIDEO: Or Lack Thereof...

You may have noticed that the videos have tailed off in recent weeks. I'm still scouring YouTube regularly for new videos but there just doesn't seem to be much being uploaded at the moment. I'm also a little tired of wading through all the pointless 'Shorts' videos that are not worth reposting and of course all the videos advertising obviously fake 'TAG Heuers'. 

Occasionally I leave a comment deriding their ridiculous claims and to their credit they often reply. Though lately that reply seems to be 'I never said it was genuine...', as if the fact that it has a TAG Heuer logo on the dial is irrelevant! The other day I left a comment that said 'Swiss Quality... NOT!' and the guy shot back with 'Swiss Quality Available!'... but one look at the bracelet was enough to know it was anything but.

I have a feeling this is perhaps a combination of a cooling in the watch market and the oncoming Christmas celebrations, but rest assured if I do find more TAG Heuer related videos that are worthwhile reposting then I will post them.

FEATURE: The Top 10 Aquaracers

Okay, so as you're probably aware by now 2024 is the 20th Anniversary of our beloved Aquaracer, and throughout the year I've welcomed eleven fans of the model to share their favourite models with us. We started with BP Smith way back on the 5th of January, last month it was my turn and now I'm back one more time to share with you the combined results and to crown the 'Ultimate Aquaracer'. 

But before I do, I'd like to take a moment to thank all the people who took part: BP Smith, Imagwai, Mrs Aquagraph, ThngzILikeToo, Shane Paradis, Jemagloh, Abrod 520, DTF, Rich T, Albert AMG and of course the patron saint of Aquaracers 'Jim Dollares'. Thanks to you all for your efforts, especially those of you who wrote your own commentary. 

If I had to single out one 'Top 10' as the most interesting, I think I'd have to go with Shane Paradis. Shane shared his selection with us back in March and uniquely chose six quartz pieces, not to mention his number one pick was completely out of left field... I mean I don't think anyone else even looked at the Calibre S regatta timers as a pick, never mind a winner. I also liked that he chose watches from varied eras of the Aquaracer and Shane was also the only person to include a watch with an alarm in his list! 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 'Manchester United' Complete Service by Montre De Luxe

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Las Vegas' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph

Launched to coincide with the holding of this year's Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix, this one allegedly took inspiration from the bright neon colours of that famously decadent city... but yet there is no mention of Las Vegas on the watch or the watch box, nor is it a limited edition or even a special edition, and it is freely available everywhere. 

Similarly there is no mention of 'Las Vegas' on its page on the TAG Heuer website; all of which leads me to believe that far from being a 'Las Vegas' Monaco, it was actually just a convenient 'short-term' marketing strategy.

But whatever, you can't blame em for trying to shift some units, and honestly I don't really think any one will remember that this was called the 'Las Vegas' Monaco in the future (especially since we know there was an actual 'Las Vegas' branded Carrera launched at the same event... more on that soon).

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Barbie' by Jim Dollares

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Red Bull' Limited Edition Quartz Chronograph

Berry's Jewellers / Nottingham, 12th November 2024

I recently spent a day in Nottingham and was very much looking forward to visiting the TAG Heuer boutique there. Last time I visited the town I had a nice chat with a guy called Brad and I got to try on a 160th Anniversary 'Montreal' Carrera that was still (rather unexpectedly) knocking about. I couldn't quite remember where the store was (Clumber Street it transpired) but when I eventually stumbled on its location it turned out that it had been closed down two months ago. 

I found this quite surprising at the time, but then again we know the watch market has softened considerably lately and so I guess when the lease comes up on these boutiques perhaps WOS/Goldsmiths have to think twice before recommitting to another long lease. I've always thought perhaps they got a bit carried away with all these single brand stores, was there really enough additional business to justify opening all these boutiques? 

Maybe a few here and there, but they seem to have been opening them willy-nilly over the last few years. I can see the logic of opening them in places like Meadowhall in Sheffield, a place with huge footfall, but I struggle to see the viability of opening one in Solihull (for example). I mean, yes there's probably lots of rich doctor types living nearby, but I'm sure they could have been served equally well by an AD.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Autavia CY2110 Chronograph by WatchCharter

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph 'Time & Tide' Limited Edition

 

There is a distinct possibility that what you are looking at here will, in a few short weeks, become the COCO Watch of the Year for 2024. Of course, it's not a foregone conclusion, because the TAG Heuer x Hodinkee Seafarer is bound to attract a decent number of votes, but based on the 'First Impression' scores, this is the watch to beat. Could it be true that after five years we finally get a proper, modern, TAG Heuer branded watch on the top step of the podium... and an Aquaracer (in this 20th anniversary year) at that?

Time will tell, but I will be keeping my fingers crossed for it because my personal 'Watch of the Year' (the diamond bezel Carrera CBN2A12) has zero chance of winning. Which, of course means I have a crisis of conscience to deal with - do I vote with my heart or with my head? Hmm... 

FEATURE: A Not So Crazy Couple of Years of Watch Buying...

Last year was the first year for several years where I didn't write a post recapping that year's purchases, mainly because I really didn't buy that much! This year, I have bought more than last year, but still not enough to call this post 'Another Crazy Year of Watch Buying' like the ones I wrote between 2019 and 2022... because those years genuinely were CRAZY and led to me at one point holding 61 TAG Heuers in my collection. 

That, of course, was ridiculous. But thankfully I saw the error of my ways and over the last two years I have managed to cut my collection in half. But I haven't just sold watches, of course I have bought a few more, generally selling cheaper pieces to fund higher priced models. For example my 15 piece classic Formula 1 collection raised more than enough to buy my green dial Calibre 5 Aquaracer and that wasn't all I sold....

I also dispensed with my grey 500M Aquaracer, my blue quartz Executive (which was a lovely watch, but at 35mm, and with no lugs at all, was way too small for my 7.1/2" wrist), my grey dial 4000, my blue dial 6000, my blue WAB series Aquaracer, my red dial S/EL, my copper dial S/EL, my white dial S/EL automatic, my blue dial 36mm Kirium, my Link Searacer, my gold 3000 Chronograph, my Coke bezel 2000 Sports, my black dial 2000 Exclusive Chronograph, my two-tone 3000, my blue dial 2000 Exclusive... and probably a few more that I've forgotten.

The funny thing is, while I didn't 'want' to sell any of them (I'd much rather have just keep all of them) I don't actually regret selling any of them either. I mean sure I occasionally see a photo of one of my old watches and think 'Oh yeah, that was nice', but I certainly don't want to buy it back or anything. The only watch I think I would ever buy again was the Calibre 8 GMT Grand Carrera that I bought and sold a few years back, but even then I'd probably go for a different dial colour.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Senna' Calibre TH20-09 Tourbillon Chronograph Limited Edition

 

Many many months ago, way back at the start of the year, Wei Koh (Revolution Watches) posted a video interview with (then) TAG Heuer CEO Julien Tornare. In this interview Wei touched on many things, but one of the key moments that left a lasting impression was when he asked about the 'Senna' watch. I haven't rewatched the interview, but for some reason the way I (and others, it must be said) perceived the response from Julien suggested something 'extra-special' was brewing.

This led to quite some debate amongst watch enthusiasts on the THF Forum because what could this 'something special' possibly be? The obvious answer was a 're-edition' of the classic 'Senna' S/EL, but a two tone ana-digi quartz watch on a brown leather strap, using a case that's been out of production for about a quarter of a century seemed like a long shot... at best.

You may remember I even wrote a POST about it...

But then the whole Kith thing happened and suddenly resurrecting an icon from the past didn't seem like such a stretch of credibility after all. Realistically though, I don't think anyone REALLY thought TAG Heuer were going to remake the watch we all associate with Ayrton, perhaps a more realistic thought was a reboot of the ailing Link model range with a new Senna watch to lead the way.