SPOTLIGHT ON: A Quick Look at the New Releases from Watches and Wonders 2022

 

Rest assured there will be individual 'First Impressions' posts for all the new TAG Heuer watches once I've had a bit more time to digest the finer details (and of course complete with the usual insights and scores from the COCO Council), but today I thought I would just give a very brief overview of the TAG Heuer Watches & Wonders 2022 releases, plus one rather surprising Rolex...!

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GALLERY: TAG Heuer Kirium Quartz Chronograph

 

VIDEO: Servicing a TAG Heuer Carrera CV2110-0 by Your Watch

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer 2000 Series Regatta Chronograph

 

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Ever since I got interested in watches I've always gravitated towards the unusual pieces, the ones a lot of people might find 'interesting' but not necessarily things they'd actually want for themselves. One perfect example of this is the oh-so 'Avant Garde' Microtimer, and another would be the various 'Regatta' chronographs that TAG Heuer have put out over the years. 

Now you might think that would mean a wealth of cheap as chips watches all for me, but of course these types of watches are produced in smaller quantities, making them difficult to find and not as cheap as you might imagine. Take this 2000 Series CK111R Quartz Regatta Chronograph for example, I think I've only come across this model 2 or 3 times in the last few years with the price generally falling somewhere between £750 and £1000.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 Watch

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 Day/Date by Brent L Miller Time

FEATURE: My Top Five Brown Dial TAG Heuer Watches

 
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Okay, let's be honest, TAG Heuer doesn't exactly have an endless supply of brown dial watches from which to compile a top 5... and even though I managed to cobble together a list of about twenty five individual references there was lots of repetition with the same watch featured on a bracelet and one or two different coloured straps. But ultimately I have come up with a reasonable list of watches that while I probably wouldn't actually buy myself with my own money, I certainly wouldn't object to wearing if given to me as a present. 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S Quartz Chronograph

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M Review by Wrist Advisor

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T 'Dubai Boutique' Limited Edition

 

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As you may or may not know, TAG Heuer recently opened a new flagship boutique in Dubai and to celebrate they not only projected TAG related images all over the enormous Burj Khalifa skyscraper (click HERE for video) but also released this limited edition 45mm tourbillon in the colours of the UAE flag. 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 1500 Series GMT Quartz Watch

 

VIDEO: Heuer Monza 40th Anniversary Calibre 17 Chronograph by Escapement24

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Autavia 60th Anniversary Heuer 02 Flyback Chronograph

 
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TAG Heuer Boutique / Beaverbrooks, Milton Keynes, 5th March 2022

I'll be the first to admit that when this TAG Heuer Autavia 60th Anniversary Flyback Chronograph was announced at the start of the year it didn't exactly get me hot under the collar. I mean I liked it, but I can't honestly say that it 'excited' me to any great degree. In fact if anything it rather confused me because I had thought the Autavia chronograph was a thing of the past and the model was now firmly established as a three handed 'Pilot' watch. Bringing back the Autavia chronograph once again seemed like muddying waters that were just starting to clear, no?

But having now had the opportunity to see the CBE511C in person and also to get it around my wrist, I can honestly say that this might just be my favourite Autavia yet. Yes, at last there is an Autavia (and a readily available, production model at that) which can take the fight to the Calibre 11 limited edition and finally put to bed my regret at not buying one of those back in 2017.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Watch

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Senna' Special Edition Quartz Chronograph by Edgar the Jeweler

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Red Bull' 2022 Quartz Chronograph

 

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Beaverbrook, Milton Keynes, 5th March 2022

If you ever find yourself in the MK Centre be sure to take yourself along to the TAG Heuer boutique positioned on one of the less travelled 'crossways' (and also accessible via the Beaverbrooks store on the main thoroughfare). It's not a huge store but when I visited it had a pretty decent selection of pieces, including a good sprinkling of new releases and both versions of the new Formula 1 Red Bull Special Edition.

I actually saw the rubber strap version of this watch in a jeweller's window about a week after it was released, but it took me a few more weeks to actually get it on the wrist and to be honest I probably wouldn't have tried both on but for the fact that when I asked to see it I didn't specify which one I wanted and Louise (who was excellent by the way) pulled out the bracelet version first...

GALLERY: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Chronograph

 

VIDEO: The TAG Heuer Aquaracer 200 Collection by Time & Tide

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Riviera' Monte Carlo Boutique Heuer 02 Limited Edition

 

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No, your eyes do not deceive you. What you see above is indeed a Monaco Heuer 02 with a semi-skeletonised dial in (something akin to) Tiffany blue! Who would have put money on that? Certainly not I, but here it is in all its... glory? 

Well I'm sure the COCO Council will have plenty to say about that, but in the meantime (and before you get too excited about this new arrival) it's worth pointing out that just 30 pieces of this very unusual Monaco have been produced and the only place you can buy one is the TAG Heuer boutique in Monte Carlo. Ah, there had to be a catch didn't there?

GALLERY: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Chronograph

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 200 Professional by Fresh Faces

HISTORY: TAG Heuer Autavia (2003 / 2017-)

 

The modern Autavia has had a bit of a troubled life, being resurrected in 2003 but failing to find traction and disappearing almost immediately. It wasn't until 2017 until the Autavia name was seen again, and this time (with a bit of Mr Biver magic) it managed to stick around a little longer. Even then, once the world had got used to the Autavia TAG Heuer decided (once again) to use the name on a watch that bore no resemblance to anything that had gone before and rather predictably it didn't go down all that well with the 'enthusiasts', which is a shame because the three handed pilot Autavia is actually quite a nice watch. Now, as I'm writing this in January 2022 we've just seen a further expansion of the Autavia line with two flyback chronographs and a GMT, once again resurrecting the Autavia as a chronograph... what's next? I have no idea... probably a 50mm carbon Autavia on a calfskin Bund!

Right, brief history lesson over, let's have a look at what's gone on...

Note, all Autavia watches are automatic (no quartz pieces)

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Classic Quartz Watch

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 7 GMT by WatchBox Studios

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Bamford Special Edition' Calibre 5 Watch

 
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TAG Heuer Boutique / Beaverbrooks, MK Centre, Milton Keynes, 5th March 2022

Hard to believe we're already into March 2022, and believe it or not this was my first proper visit to a jeweller since last October! The upside of this prolonged hiatus of course was that there were multiple new watches to try on and if you already follow me on Instagram (tag.heuer.enthusiast) you'll know that the other watches I tried on were the blue fumé dial Aquaracer 200 Professional, the 2022 Red Bull Formula 1 quartz chronograph and the all black Autavia Heuer 02 Flyback Chronograph. Those other three watches will of course get their own posts in time, but for today we are concentrating on this very cool Bamford limited edition Aquaracer. 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 Titanium Chronograph

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Autavia Line Up 2022 by Time & Tide

 

OWNED: TAG Heuer 2000 Series Multigraph Quartz Chronograph

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As you probably know if you are a regular reader, my first ever TAG Heuer watch was the F1 Kirium. Bizarrely what really appealed to me way back in 2004 was not that the watch contained a multitude of digital functions, but the simplicity and modern style of the dial when the digital display was turned off altogether. So naturally this watch held a similar allure for me, but for a long time I couldn't find one at a 'sensible price'. And by a 'sensible price', I mean kinda cheap.

Y'see, I was always conflicted about pumping hard earned cash into one of these because I already had the F1 Kirium. Did I really need another watch that was basically 'the same', albeit aesthetically different? Probably not. But I still wanted one and every so often I would find one for sale and start weighing up the pro's and cons, with one of the cons being that I wasn't sure if I would get on with the clasp on the BA0331 bracelet.

VIDEO: 22 Year Review - The Iconic TAG Heuer 2000 Automatic Diver by Design Review

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Quartz Watch

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer 2000 Sports 'Disney Dial' Quartz Watch

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A few weeks ago I got very excited when I found a really nice 'Coke' bezel 2000 Sports on eBay at a great price for sale on eBay in the UK. However my excitement was short lived as I quickly realised the watch was a WM1212 (midsize) rather than a WM1112 (mens) - truth be told I didn't even know they made the Sports 2000s in midsize, so that lead to more items being added to the TAG Heuer Enthusiast Gallery Blog (ladies sizes too!). Slightly dejected I posted a note on the Calibre 11 forum asking should anyone come across a WM1112 for sale, would they please let me know. 

Well it didn't take all that long for me to get a message (thank you HoltzPlatz) linking to one for sale on eBay (US) for a reasonable price... albeit the listing said the seller 'may not post to the UK'. And of course the watch had one 'extra' feature that I wasn't expecting, nor did I have previous knowledge of!