So, as I said on Thursday, the 'Council of Considered Opinion' is made up of 20 members (including myself) and we all voted on the watches released in 2020. The directions I gave stipulated that the watches should be graded from 1 to 5 with 1 being the weakest and 5 being the strongest. Some members gave some watches scores of '0' and in one case '-1', but since the scoring was supposed to be from '1-5' I have rounded all those up to '1's. In all honesty, it doesn't really make much difference as most of the watches affected were way down the order anyway.
The second directive was that each member should pick one watch from the list as their 'Watch of the Year' (WOTY). You might wonder why I did that, since the combined scores would produce a winner in a very fair and equal way. That is true, but at the same time I realised that some people would want to give more than one watch a score of '5', so this was a way to give people a vote 'above' that and one which wouldn't be affected by other people 'scoring down' that watch. Also, as became apparent when the scores started to come back to me, some people scored the watches lower than others. Indeed, one person actually gave their 'WOTY' a '4', so you can see where that could affect the overall score and potentially the overall outcome.
I also decided that where a range of watches was picked I would combine any votes within the group for the WOTY. Very specifically this applied to the Dato Carreras, the Elegant Carreras and the Sports Carreras. I wanted people to score them separately because they might for example very much like the green dial Sports Carrera but not the black dial. But as for the WOTY vote, it felt unfair for the choice of dial colour to split the vote. I did not apply this to the Silver 160th and Montreal Carrera though as they are distinctly different watches rather than two identical watches with a different dial colour. In the end though, this only applied to the Elegant Carrera, where two of the four models picked up votes.
So, on Thursday I revealed the top five watches in the popular voting and now, finally I can show you the complete list of all the watches with their combined totals. It was actually a pretty close fight for the top spot and at one point it could have been any one of four watches that won, but in the end the CBK221B eased away from the pack and came out on top with an average score of 4.4 out of 5.
It's actually quite surprising to me that only four watches managed to avoid scoring a low score of '1' from somebody (although we can blame Abrod520 for a lot of that!), and every single watch bar one managed a four or a five, even the (fairly universally derided) ladies Links. It just goes to show how opinions vary, and suggests that the members of the COCO are not all of one mind (which, let's be honest, would be quite dull).
So what do you reckon, did the Silver 160th Anniversary Carrera take both wins or did something else swoop in and take the glory in the vote that really matters? Well, no... to tell you the truth it became pretty clear pretty early on that the Carrera was going to take this decisively. And as you can see in the chart below, it was an absolute rout! I was hoping my personal pick (the Bamford Aquaracer) would put up a good fight, but the votes for the CBK221B just kept on coming... in the end taking 35% of the vote!
(For the record, the anthracite dial Elegant Carrera picked up two WOTY votes and the silver/gold dial version got one.)
Perhaps the biggest surprise here is that despite finishing second overall in the popular vote, the Jack Heuer '88' Carrera didn't garner a single 'WOTY' vote from anyone. I really didn't expect that, especially when you look at some of the watches that did...
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So there we have it, but before you sink back into the sofa and chow down on some more leftover stuffing and sausages.... one of the members of the council actually took it upon themselves to write some notes of their own and I thought you would enjoy reading them as much as I did, so here we go, over to you Abrod520...
AQUARACER
The Aquaracer line-up continues to be a mix of:
-Rolex Submariner style rip-offs (blue/gold two-tone, "Batman" GMT);
-countless, meaningless "limited editions" like the Amami Oshima watch;
-Garbage quartz watches that cost 2-4 times what most microbrands are now offering that are better-finished and mechanical
-and some actual decent ideas here and there.
This year's releases tended a bit more towards the interesting, with the tortoiseshell options finally representing some originality in the core line-up plus some handsome regular variants in the steel bezel/brown dial and green/green models. The Qatar GMT is handsome enough even if that too, has been done elsewhere before. But the real news here is the Bamford of course, which is a really fun, really unique expression with a new case material to boot. I personally have a soft spot for titanium divers and really want one, but the nearly $4000 US they're charging for this is way way too much given the crappy movement.
CARRERA
Ah, the Carrera. TAG's desperate need to make the Carrera all things to all people continues, and so we endure yet another year of this identity crisis. The design philosophy behind the original Carrera that led to its instant success and enduring status as an icon, was that the watch would be sporty yet elegant; elegant yet sporty. It was described as a watch that could be worn while racing, but equally at home in the boardroom. So how do TAG interpret that nowadays? Why, separate it out into two lines of course! A sporty line, and an elegant line. This is such a monumentally stupid idea one is left to wonder what the hell is going on over there.
Individually, then: There are a few interesting models in the MOP and coffee dial versions. TAG has done MOP in the past, but it's always been a stark white; this coloured pearl is much more original and is genuinely well done - at least in renders. And the Bamford coffee dial is novel, if not necessarily something I'm personally interested in wearing.
The H02 Dato LEs get a 2 for effort - a rare quality in TAG's watches these days. The execution doesn't work but the date at 12 is unusual and has a fun throwback to the early date-function Carrera.
The Montreal and the gold Jack Heuer both get higher scores for nice design features, though the Montreal colourway doesn't belong in the Carrera case in my opinion and the JH88 is just a bit too messy overall. TAG seems to know this which is why they printed '88' on the dial, so they can rope in a few extra customers interested in Chinese numerology. (Unfortunately the number '88' has some very horrifying negative connotations, but it's typical TAG to half-ass these things).
FORMULA 1
The Formula 1 line does not interest me in the least, but it has a raison d'etre and I get that. But why not go back to basics and use this product line to offer cheap, colourful and fun entry-level 3-handers again? Leave the automatic calibers and the sunburst-metallic dials to the next step up in the Aquaracer, and lower the price below $1000 for the 3-handers. Like so many people, my first nice watch was a Formula 1 and I did not care that it had a matte dial and quartz movement. I enjoyed it. And guess what my next watch was? A Monaco chronograph.
I'm geeked about the idea of the H02 in the Formula 1 case, though. In my opinion, this should be the Autavia line rather than some limp-di... erm, limp-wristed "pilot's" watch that looks like every other microbrand offering. I don't like the Fragment style of "let's take a TAG and make it look like a $200 Movado" but it was a nifty step to go all out with the top movement in the F1 and I really hope to see more options.
LADIES LINK
In my opinion these aren't quite worth considering since they are solely commercial offerings, not meant to actually interest anyone but rather to be given as gifts most likely. I don't even mean this in a derogatory way - but I'd be surprised if anyone voted for them much beyond a 1.
Which is too bad - the 'Sundial' design is actually quite nice. There are actually quite a few more women watch enthusiasts out there than we might realize from product offerings like these; if TAG had any balls they'd make it without the silly diamonds and with an automatic movement. (And I do mean that in a derogatory way.)
MONACO
The Heuer-02 Monacos each get a 1 with extra emphasis for unimaginative expression. Make them 3-registers or 2-registers. Don't half-ass both into one shitty model. I'd give them zeros if I could.
WATCH OF THE YEAR
Without even a shadow of a doubt the watch of the year is the silver Carrera 160, CBK211B. Not only is it TAG's best of the year though - it's perhaps the best watch released this year, by anyone.
And TAG, as usual, bungled it up! One of the key elements that made the original 2447 Carrera such an amazing design was that there was no chronograph track on the dial - it was left to the tension ring. This allowed for a very clean, elegant dial that did not sacrifice sporty at-a-glance readability for the exact minute, or for the chronograph. Unfortunately, TAG's shoddy crystal design blocks the tension ring from visibility except under not-insubstantial viewing angles, and removes this important element from the experience.
And I don't care one bit! Because wearing this watch is a true joy.
One of TAG's unheralded specialties is their skill with sunburst-metallic dials - I truly believe they're really one of the best out there at this - and the dial on this Carrera is so spectacularly, mesmerizingly beautiful. The fonts are spot-on. The restraint from putting any "HEUER 02" text on the dial is truly commendable. The case is reasonably slim for a modern automatic chronograph. Even the package with the mini travel case and loupe is truly excellent, higher quality than I've seen on some much more expensive watches.
I honestly think that while the front side of the watch is all Heuer, the caseback and movement should have been branded TAG Heuer. They should be absolutely proud of this one.
I pre-ordered mine after a leak the day before the announcement, and paid full retail plus tax for this - something I almost never do for any new watch (and categorically not for a TAG!). I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Well done, TAG!
Ah well, at least he finished on a positive note! Thank you Abrod520 that was most entertaining, I look forward to hearing more from you next year, and actually Abrod520 and I would like to hear more from the members of the council on the Calibre 11 forum. Abrod520 suggested I start a thread there where you could discuss your decision making and perhaps his rather strident comments as well....
Here's the link:
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