Hi everyone, Jim Dollares here! You might wonder why the TAG Heuer Enthusiast blog posts a Tudor 'Buying Experience' today? Well, this one is as much about the Aquaracer, as it is about the Tudor Black Bay 58...
Buying Experience: The Time I Almost Bought the Aquaracer!
Background
Going back four or five years when my obsession with watches started, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer was one of the watches I admired the most. I remember one of my first watch loves to be the WAY211B with its superb combination of blue and black, paired with a super comfortable and stylish strap. Since then the Aquaracer has always stuck in the back of my head and I knew that one day I would get one.
Fast forward to 2021 and I decided I was ready to pull the trigger on another watch and this time I was going to get myself a nice proper dive watch. I enjoyed summer but was missing a good piece to just wear and not worry about and I was now pretty sure that the sexy looking blue dial 41mm aluminum bezel Aquaracer (WBD2112) should be the one. I was also feeling a bit stressed since TAG Heuer had recently launched a new version of the Aquaracer and time was running out to get the one I truly wanted: the previous generation has always been the absolute best Aquaracer in my opinion and the thought of buying a pre-owned version with all the super fakes around now gives me nightmares!
Road Trip to the Big City
Being a man enjoying life in the countryside, I have to drive 2 hours to get to the closest TAG Heuer AD. I had the money set up and ready to be spent and in the car I could imagine myself driving back home, rocking the Aquaracer on my wrist.
In the afternoon, after finding a ridiculously expensive parking spot which cost me about £45 per hour, I arrived to the AD. The security guard did his regular “stare at me suspiciously to make me feel not welcome” thing and told me that I had to wait in line since there were already four customers in there. I was told it will probably be 20-30 minutes so maybe I would like to come back another time? After 2 hours in the car to get there, coming back was obviously not an option, so I waited.
I was finally let into the store and was welcomed by a very friendly woman asking how she could be of assistance. With a big smile on my face I told her that I wanted to see four different watches; the 41 mm Aquaracer with aluminum bezel, the Tudor Black Bay 58 (which I’ve been dreaming about for quite a while too), the Longines Heritage Sector Dial in silver and the IWC Spitfire in 39 mm. Unfortunately the IWC was not in stock but the first three were put on one of those fancy display trays and presented for me to admire and try on.
The Disappointment of Meeting Your Hero
I eagerly picked up the Aquaracer, held it in my hand, felt the bracelet and inspected the watch. This is where I was reminded about the exact same feeling I had the last time I tried one on, a couple of years back; the Aquaracer just doesn't feel like a premium product matching the £2 500 price tag. It took me maybe 10 seconds to conclude that if I would not have known the price or brand of this watch I would have estimated the price to be maybe £700. Spending a handful of years collecting and going full nerd on watches has helped me grow the perspective and experience to know what separates a good watch from a really good one. It did not help that the second watch I picked up to try was the Black Bay 58.
Something clicked right away. The Tudor had that familiar premium product, well built luxury feeling I am looking for in a £3000 Swiss made watch. It became very clear that the Aquaracer is not even in competition with the Tudor; despite the comparable prices they clearly play in two different leagues.
I knew then and there that the Tudor had to be mine, it blew me away. The emotions I felt reminded me of the experience last year when I finally got my wonderful and much loved Carrera CBK221B.
They Put Me On the Waiting List
Even though the AD had it to show me, I was not allowed to buy the watch I tried on. It was booked by another customer I was told. I felt the excitement quickly dying and asked how long I would have to wait? A sales rep sitting behind a desk gave me a smile saying that it will maybe be 6 months. He laughed and said “it will be a perfect Christmas gift for yourself right?”. I was not expecting this but I figured I must have the Tudor, I love it, I need it. The woman who was helping me smiled and said 'If you are lucky you might get it in a month or so, we get monthly deliveries from Tudor'. I paid the deposit and left the AD thinking that I better prepare myself for a long wait.
To my surprise I got a call the next month; my Black Bay 58 had arrived and was ready for pickup! It seems the major heat has cooled off a bit and these days you can quite easily pick one up. Lucky me!
Conclusion
It is funny, now when I look at photos and read articles about the Aquaracer, my heart wants one again. Some watches look better in person than in photos but not the Aquaracer. To me, the Aquaracer is a watch that shows its best in photos and look stunning on Instagram. But on the wrist it does not live up to the expectations. This realization does make me a bit sad because I really really wanted one. I still want one. Who knows, maybe one day. That new Night Diver looks cool, right?
I hope in the long term that TAG Heuer step up their game and improve the Aquaracer to make it a worthy luxury diver competing with the other big names in terms of build quality, movement and overall premium feeling. I hear that the new generation is better built and feels more luxurious and for me collecting watches is all about the 'feeling'. Time will tell if it lives up to my picky requirements and expectations...
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