SPOTLIGHT ON: The TAG Heuer Beaverbrooks '100th Birthday' Collection

CAZ101T.BA0842        CAZ101S.BA0842        CAZ101Z.BA0843

Back in February I wrote a post about the first in what turned out to be a collection of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Limited Editions made to celebrate jewellers 'Beaverbooks' 100th birthday. The resulting watches have turned out to be quite similar in theme, all being a combination of black and grey with one or more red hands.

The first watch in the collection was the aforementioned CAZ101T which I wrote about HERE.

CAZ101T.BA0842

Priced at £1450 and limited to 500 pieces, this is the simplest of the three designs with a plain black dial augmented with anthracite subdials, a red TAG Heuer logo and 'Tachymetre' text on the aluminium bezel insert, red detailing on the both pushers and the crown and also a red minute hand. As with all three of these watches, the cases are 43mm in diameter and powered by quartz movements.

CAZ101S.BA0842

Next up came the CAZ101S, which features an anthracite dial with black subdials. This one has a PVD coated aluminium bezel with no bezel insert, black pushers and crown and a white TAG Heuer logo with the obvious selling point being those red hands and subdial hands. Anthracite dial aside, this one is more your 'basic' Formula 1 chronograph and that's reflected in the price which for this model was £1200. The black date window looks a bit of place, ideally it should really have been anthracite to match the dial, or failing that maybe it would have been better if it had been white instead...? But then this is definitely the 'budget' model and this is the sort of corner that usually gets cut on budget pieces.

FT8027 Rubber Strap

You know, if I had one of these first two watches, I think the first thing I would do would be to order myself an FT8027 rubber strap (as featured on the Senna and Man Utd Formula 1 models), I think that would look pretty damned good with either of these and make the watches look even more unusual and unique. 

CAZ101Z.BA0843

Finally we come to the last model in the series, and the only one that is still available to buy on the Beaverbrooks website. This one is the most expensive of the group (£1750), due mainly to the use of ceramics in the bracelet and the bezel insert and although materially it's the 'best' of the three models in the series it's also perhaps the least exciting as well. Maybe it's because we've already had the one red hand, that to repeat that idea feels a bit like they couldn't think of something more interesting to do so they just did it again.

This one isn't limited to 500 pieces, or even 1000 pieces... this one is actually 'limited' to 1919 pieces, which is to say that it isn't really limited at all. Except that technically it is and apparently this one (like the other two models) is individually numbered on the caseback. Something tells me it's going to take them a while to shift 1919 of these, especially when they've already managed to unload 500 of each of the other two into the market. I can't really see anyone being bothered to collect the 'set' either, so I reckon these are a sure bet for the Beaverbrooks Christmas sale, if not this year then maybe next...!