FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Ultra Green' Chronograph

CAZ2016.FC6473

Green watches.... flavour of the month you know, so much so that TAG Heuer's gorgeous new green Aquaracer has already been and gone. Yep, that's right, if like me you were waiting for it to hit your local UK store in the mistaken belief that you had all the time in the world to pick it up, well I have some bad news for you: it's already too late! But let's not dwell on that since I've already bitched and whined at length in my 'Buying Experience' post for the ladies green Aquaracer which you can read HERE if you haven't already...

So, what then can TAG Heuer offer you right now if you're determined to furnish yourself with a green dialed watch? Well, options are pretty limited, in fact very limited... unless you can find yourself a green Aquaracer somewhere, or one of the older watches I talked about in my 'green TAG Heuer watches' post (HERE). Currently you have the stylish (but not terribly green) Khaki quartz Aquaracer, the Autavia Isograph (although that is currently unavailable pending re-release next year sans its ground breaking hairspring) and now this new Formula 1 Calibre 16 chronograph, which as is fast becoming the norm, was leaked months ago on a certain Czech website but which has only just found it's way onto TAGHeuer.com.

Now I must admit I'm not the biggest fan of the Calibre 16 Formula 1s. Indeed it wasn't so long ago that Mr Biver assured us that the Formula 1 would be 'entry-level' quartz only in future, a move which seemed entirely reasonable and logical at the time, but somehow the range refuses to die. It doesn't really make sense to me because you're paying for a mechanical movement sure, but you're getting the finish you would expect on a less expensive watch. Which isn't to say the finish is 'bad', just not really in step with the price you're paying (this CAZ2016 lists at £2300).

This one though at least has an 'angle', a 'unique selling point' with that green dial and bezel... but it looks pretty dark, doesn't it? It's certainly a completely different approach to that of the bright and shiny Aquaracer... I guess they could sell it as almost 'British Racing Green' if they pleased. And though my first reaction to it was a bit indifferent... you know, the more I look at this picture (because this render is literally all we have) the more I kinda like it. As ever though, this Calibre 16 automatic Formula 1 is a sizeable 44mm, which means it's certainly not for everyone. 

On the positive side, the white 'tachymetre' on the sandblasted and polished aluminium bezel looks great and the strap looks perfectly chosen for this watch with the subtle green stitching completing the look nicely. Not sure how I feel about the black rings around the sub-dials or the black hour markers though. The TAG Heuer website claim those black hour markers are lumed, but I wouldn't take that as read, and if they are lumed I suspect they won't be much use. 

I think the best we can say at this point is that this one has 'potential' and leave it at that. I have a feeling it could look fantastic close-up, especially if the dial plays with the light the way I hope it will, but equally it could go the other way and disappoint us massively. Hopefully this green dial release will actually make it to the shop windows so that we can go take a look for ourselves...!