CAZ201E.FC6517 CAZ5080.FC6517
Oh Lord. Where to begin with this pair? Okay, cards on the table here... I think I played a Super Mario game once about five years ago at a New Years Eve party, and that is pretty much my experience of the admittedly very popular gaming franchise. As such, I really have zero investment in this, I'm solely viewing this from the perspective of a watch enthusiast and not a Mario fanboi. Which is probably not ideal and in fact I posted on the 'THF Forum' asking if anyone wanted to write a guest 'First Impressions' post for these because I felt it might be better written by someone who understood where TAG Heuer were coming from with these watches. Alas, no one volunteered, so I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and do it myself... though I can't honestly say I'm looking forward to it.
So firstly we have the more affordable option (don't worry we'll talk about the prices soon enough), this being a Calibre 16 Formula 1 chronograph rendered in fairly generic TAG Heuer style (chequered dial / red and black colour scheme etc etc) and garnished with a soupçon of 'Mario' elements. On the crown we have a big red M (a little bit tacky, but okay it won't be visible when it's on the wrist), on the backplate we have an engraving of Super Mario in his kart and on the dial we have a little Mario sitting in the running seconds dial. Oh, and some of the dates on the date-wheel have been replaced with 'characters' from the game, which is fun. Then there's a very bold 'MarioKart' logo on the polished ceramic bezel, and a Mario 'M' on the clasp of the bespoke calfskin strap.
To be honest, I can't quite decide whether it's too subtle or tacky as hell! Honestly, I think the little Mario in the running seconds looks so out of place and strange that it needs more elements to back it up and stop it looking weird. Easy for me to say, sure... TAG Heuer were clearly treading a difficult line when deciding how much was appropriate and how much was too much here, but ultimately I'm left feeling like if you took these little gimmicky details off the watch you'd have quite a nice looking (but largely unremarkable) Formula 1. Indeed, I could see this watch as the perfect base for the next Ayrton Senna model, just switch out the logos and pop a Link bracelet on and there you go. Expect this next Summer - haha. (Will be damned funny if that comes true!).
Then we have the Tourbillon. Yes the Tourbillon. I know. Jesus Christ, what the actual f*ck? First of all, we should say that this is no ordinary Formula 1 as the 45mm case is made of titanium, inside of which sits TAG Heuer's in-house Heuer 02T movement. As I'm sure you remember this isn't the first time TAG Heuer have fitted a Heuer 02 into a Formula 1 case (that went down a couple of years ago with the limited edition 'Fragment' Formula 1 designed by Hiroshi Fujiwara), but this is certainly the first time they've gone all the way and fitted a HO2T into their supposedly 'entry level' watch model.
The dial is skeletonised and highlighted in red (again... TAG Heuer really love red and black don't they, but are those colours particularly Marioesque?) and the tourbillon features three Mario characters, which I'm sure is delightful to the Mariofosi, but to me just looks pretty ridiculous. Again we have the MarioKart logo on the bezel and the 'M' on the clasp and on the back we have a display back with a cool rotor which features more Mario characters. This one looks a lot more unique in its execution and again its something I could imagine as a cool looking piece sans the cartoon characters loitering on the tourbillon cage.
So when I heard that TAG Heuer had decided to make a Formula 1 Tourbillon, I thought 'Wow, that's crazy... but I guess it makes sense in a way because it will allow them to keep the price down'. How wrong could I be? Well, I could not have been more wrong, because this Formula 1 Tourbillon costs an eyebrow-raising £2000 more than the blue dial Carrera Tourbillon (which is also made of titanium by the way and comes on a bracelet!) and an eye-watering £4500 more than a full ceramic Carrera Tourbillon on a rubber/alligator strap!
That's one hell of a premium to pay for the SuperMario branding and kinda reinforces to me that these watches are not really aimed at watch enthusiasts at all, because frankly watch enthusiasts would know that this doesn't make sense on any level. No, these are squarely aimed at affluent Mario fans who wouldn't know their tourbillon from their mechaquartz and who see these as the ultimate geek out and/or potential 'investment' pieces. Admittedly the Calibre 16 isn't quite as ridiculous, it carries a mere £300 premium over the latest 'Senna' branded Calibre 16 Formula 1... but I guess TAG Heuer are having to pay for the collaboration somehow, after all what exactly is Nintendo getting out of this collaboration other than a bit of publicity?
Well, as I said at the beginning of this post these watches clearly aren't aimed at me, and they sure don't appeal to me, so let's turn them over to the 'Council of Considered Opinion' who it seems are a lot more in-tune with the subject matter...
CAZ5080.FC6517 (Tourbillon): 5.9/10
"I didn't play Mario kart, but love Mario galaxy. If I had a lot of spare change I would buy the Cal. 16 instantly. Those collaborations might get a lot of new people to recognize the brand. The pricing of the tourbillon is a bit steep."
"5/10 for the Calibre 16. Date wheel is fun, the rest is meh. It’s still a badly designed F1 case. 2/10 for that other thing. Yikes that’s ugly. Also you can have a lot more blingy wristbait at Hublot for that kinda money."
"Neither watch is for me but I do think they are a fun release. It seems that Tag Heuer is targeting a younger audience and from the response, it appears to be working. What it does to the image of the brand only time will tell. The Formula watches of the past were colourful, fun and affordable. This release and the red, yellow, green ones look like an attempt at colourful and fun. The price on this Cal16 and Tourbillion are far from affordable. I feel they are targeting 90's kids hype culture and it may pay off. Secondary prices will show if its a hit."
"Neither for me, and feel the F1 could've been done so much better and funnier. The tourby - why? Again way above my thought process. Surely these are far too expensive for the audience that they are going for? Calibre 16 - 6 (I like elements but price brings the score down) Tourbillon - 4 (looks nice, but just seems pointless)."
"I don't know whether its nostalgia or what, I just like this collaboration watch."
"I enjoyed Mario Kart when I was much younger, and I like seeing this collaboration (even though these are not for me). For the initial collaboration on the mechanical side of things, the Formula 1 line is the perfect avenue. The date window on the Calibre 16 is a clever and cool touch, but I would have enjoyed seeing a bit more references to the characters and aspects of the game on the dials of both models. I’m not the target buyer for the tourbillon, and I think the price for the Calibre 16 is too steep of an upcharge."
"I played the new Mario Kart 8 tracks last night, love me some good ol Mario Kart. I consulted my son on these and our scoring is: Mario tourbillion: 10 bananas out of 10. Mushroom datewheel: 8 bananas out of 10."
"Price of the Tourbillon is very high if we compare it with the Carrera Tourbillon, but I like the idea to put a Tourbillon inside a Formula 1 case, the “entry level” model in TAG Heuer. It has a titanium case (is it maybe the first titanium Formula 1?), so it’s a very special watch. It’s a 8/10 for me, and not higher because of the price. I also like the Calibre 16 version, not so special and limited (3000 vs 250 pcs) as the Tourbi and made in steel, but with a more similar price to other Calibre 16 steel models. It’s a 7/10 for me."
"Gentlemen, Sweden is changing its scoring. After much consideration and more hours behind the Nintendo video games, our scores are as follow: Tourbillion Mario Kart: 9 bananas of 10. Mushroom and stars as a date: 10 bananas of 10. May the Princess never again be kidnapped by the bowser psychopath, god bless the mushroom kingdom!"
"I think these are ridiculous, but I love thar they made them. 7 for both."
"Ignoring the fact a Mario Kart tie-up doesn't really grab me. The Calibre 16 is dull. Aside from a couple of Mario touches, it looks exactly like the sort of watch TAG would normally produce. The tourbillon is much more interesting, with some nice features (love the date wheel), but who is paying £25k for a TAG F1?"
"Overpriced, too big and just not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, I have a hunch these will sell well for TAG Heuer."
"Not for me, never tried the game, seem they could have done a better job going by some of the comments by users, they'll sell but could do more numbers by better pricing?"
"Don't care for Mario, so the appeal is lost on me. That said, I think they went too bland with these. They could have gone crazy with the straps and colors (especially on the F1). Instead they are so subtle that they tend to get lost, unless you're a Mario super fan."
"I don't understand a tourbillon F1 - take TH's cheapest watch base and put the most expensive complication in it! They are both a 5 for me since they aren't deeply offensive but nor do they remotely pique my interest."
"I think the Cal 16 is all right, agree it's a bit underwhelming especially for the huge price premium over the standard model. The Tourbillon looks excellent and is quite fun, but so ridiculous it won't sell."
"Well I did not expect this... but actually, it sort of works for me aesthetically. The Calibre 16 Chrono - 7/10. It's not too out there and I feel they could have gone a bit more crazy with this one. Still fun touches with the date and the sub dial. Strap is great too! The Heuer 02 Tourbillon - 7.5 out of 10. This is better and very much more playful compared to the standard F1. If your gonna do a Mario Kart watch, you gotta go for it and I feel this does it justice in my opinion. Neither watch is for me, but surprisingly, I like them given how horrified I was when I first heard about them."
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