OWNED: TAG Heuer Paraphernalia

It's a terrible affliction I know, but I can't resist scouring eBay for anything with the TAG logo on it. Whether it's display units that I don't have room for, 'Garage Signs' that are clearly printed to order, pens which may or may not be genuine, press kits, sunglasses, bags, hats, memory sticks, watch stands, display trays, coats, umbrellas, spare links for bracelets I don't own... or just things that are plainly 'a load of old tut' as Lord Alan of Sugar might say... I'm a sucker for anything with that red and green (or white or black) logo on it. I sometimes think it's a blessing that I live in such a small house, if I lived in my old house I think I would have TAG Heuer paraphernalia everywhere!

I think the first piece of TAG 'stuff' I bought, was a wall clock. This must have been 10-15 years ago when eBay was less discerning (*cough*) about what was sold on the site (though given the amount of times I've reported fake stuff and it doesn't get taken down, one might say that they aren't exactly as 'on the ball' as they'd like to think).

I think it cost me about £15, and is clearly a £2.99 wall clock from Argos with a TAG sticker stuck on the dial, but I must admit when I got it I loved it and it's still going. These days it lives in my garage, where it ticks merrily away, giving me BST all day long (I never seem to get around to changing it).

Obviously if there was a genuine TAG wall clock available, I'd be first in the queue (see also my post about eBay's trade in TAG Dealer clocks...)

I also bought some stickers, which were pretty good (in fact... cards on the table I bought some 'new' TAG logo stickers yesterday) and which I used to make my lap top look rather swish and F1-ish!

At about the same time I also bought some patches, which weren't quite as good and I've never actually used. I think perhaps the fact that they are so obviously 'cheap and nasty and just plain fake-looking' means they'll probably live in my cupboard until one day they get thrown out (probably when I shuffle off this mortal coil). Again, cheap as chips, and don't they look it...

(Actually, I can't find my patch, but this is pretty representative)

I guess overall I've not been too bad as far as actual 'buying' goes, but my 'watch list' is generally full of TAG-tut. This last item is actually sort of quite cool... although again it lives in the cupboard, because, well, what the hell are you actually supposed to do with it?

That's right, it's a block of wood with the TAG Heuer logo carved into it, or perhaps routed into it. I remember it was pretty cheap, less than a tenner, and was sold as a watch mat, or a place to lay your watch when you aren't wearing it. I can honestly say I have never laid any of my watches on it - because obviously they live in the boxes in the watch cupboard. But it's still kind of nice to have, even though it's somewhat pointless.

Of course these days you can get your own 'tut' printed, there are any number of companies quite willing to print you coasters, t-shirts, canvasses, or mugs as one-offs... and none of them seem particularly bothered about copyright. Which is dangerous for a TAG nut like me. I think the wife would let me away with a TAG mug, but she'd probably draw the line at table mats. :)

One thing I am surprised about though, is that in all my years of eBay scouring, I've never yet seen a proper dealer catalogue. Plenty of catalogues sure (and I own more than a few of those), but not the bigger ones with all the dealer info in. Maybe one will turn up eventually...