WAH1110.FT6024
I purchased this watch (from Fine Time Watches) at the beginning of August 2016, so at the time of writing I've owned this particular piece for about ten weeks. As I said in my Buying Experience post (link below) the photographs didn't do the condition of this watch justice as it arrived looking almost like new.
I should say right off the bat that I didn't buy this (primarily) on looks, I wanted a TAG I could wear every day and not get stressed about it getting marked. So the criteria was first and foremost 'price', not that I would have bought something I thought hideous just because it was cheap, but at the same time setting a low price limits you on what is available and that was a trade off I was willing to accept.
To be honest, when trawling eBay for cheap TAGs it's easy to get depressed rather quickly. There's an awful lot of beat up looking (usually orange or red faced) Formula Ones with crown guards missing and half the bezel worn away like it's been dragged down the road in a motorcycle accident. And they aren't all that cheap either, plenty of scratched up examples around the £600 mark...
So I was chuffed to bits with this for £450. Not only does it look like new, save for a few minor marks on the bezel, I actually think it's one of the nicest looking Formula Ones I've seen (certainly of its era). I presume the price reflects the fact that it's a basic three hander with no chronograph function, but I don't really mind that. For work it's most important function is probably the date first, the time second... and that will do for me.
When it first arrived I was blown away by the condition (largely because the photos appeared to show light wear on the bezel) but I was undecided about the face. I liked it, but I wasn't crazy about it. However, the first time I saw the lume I really started to warm to it.
The lume is absolutely fantastic and indeed legibility all round is spot on. You can't really go wrong with white hands on a black dial and with the huge white numbers and a red second hand, this ticks a lot of boxes regarding style and function.
As I've worn the watch, I've come to really love it and feel like I definitely made the right choice (regardless of price). There was a short period where I felt like I wanted to keep this in the box and not let it get scratched up, but I told myself that I had to wear it every day because that was the purpose of buying it. And I have, I've been good and it's standing up to daily wear extremely well. To be honest I don't think it looks much different to when I received it and the glass is immaculate.
The TAG Heuer printing on the side of the case is intact too, which is good. I'm not sure actually whether a lot of the examples you see on eBay where it looks like some of the text has worn away, is actually accurate or not. If you hold the watch and turn it the black text does disappear because it's quite deeply etched, but if you look at it straight on it's perfect.
When I first got the watch I did think the date aperture was in an odd place (4:30) but I've got used to it now and it doesn't bother me at all. I also really like the white TAG logo on the face, I think it looks much better in white on this particular model than it would in green and red.
In fact I don't have a bad word to say about this watch, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for the strap, or rather the buckle. The strap itself is very nice, quite a thick rubber with nice fluted details and TAG Heuer branding, but the clasp is horrendous, absolute garbage. After two weeks struggling I ordered a replacement buckle style strap because I couldn't put up with the rash on my wrist anymore.
Below are a couple of links to further posts about this watch and the replacement strap I purchased.
Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment