SPOTLIGHT ON: Ladies TAG Heuer 1000 Series Watch

980.028N

Now that my wife's collection is growing nicely, I can tell she's fighting the urge to buy watches left right and centre. I found this one on eBay for just £159 yesterday, but with only 34 minutes left to go. I actually showed it to my wife because I expected her to screw up her nose like she usually does with anything two-tone, but to my absolute surprise she looked at it and said, "Well, that's... actually quite nice!". You could have knocked me down with a feather...

Ultimately my wife didn't want to rush into another purchase after already spending £270 on an Alter Ego (she's not quite as profligate as me... yet!) so she passed, but I'm looking out to see if it gets relisted all the same.

It may not be fashionable to admit it, but I kinda like the older black and gold TAGs. You may remember I talked about a black and gold S/EL the other day, and if that had been a full bracelet instead of a leather strap I think I would have been hard pressed to restrain myself...

But there is a degree of 'patina' when you buy these older watches, which you have to be prepared for. The gold on the bezel looks great (as do the hands I notice), but the bracelet and clasp look a little rough. I'm not very well versed in the care and upkeep of gold, so I'm not sure what could be done to restore the pristine look, but given that TAG's 80s watches are notoriously thin on the gold plating, you wouldn't want to be rubbing it too hard I don't think.

When you're collecting watches, it's classic pieces like this that can give you something fresh in the collection without breaking the bank. For us chaps there is the hurdle that watches from the 80s tended to be a good bit smaller back then, but while women's sizes may have increased too, most women wouldn't turn up their nose at a smaller piece the way a lot of men do. Honestly, I wish I could wear 35mm because there would be a lot out there for me, but at 17 Stone and with a 7.3/4" wrist - I really can't.

I'm sure if I look through the catalogues there'll be a man-size(ish) version of this, but you can bet your bottom dollar that if you can find one it won't be available for £169... which is annoying - but for the discerning lady watch collector it really is a buyers market (at least from what I've seen). I wouldn't be surprised if this watch doesn't re-appear on eBay* sometime soon and I wouldn't be surprised if my wife snaps it up either. She's definitely got the bug now...

I think a lot could depend on how well the Alter Ego bracelet goes, if it comes back looking better than she hoped I think that will give her a lot of confidence going forward that she can buy watches pre-owned and get them looking nice again without spending a fortune. We shall see...

*The watch has indeed been relisted at the same selling price.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Womens-TAG-HEUER-1000-Quartz-Watch-28mm-Black-Dial-Date-WR-200M-/253769936185?oid=253752412943