ROB: The end is nigh. The end of September that is, and by extension 2022! Yes, it won't be much longer before we're all huddled in coats, cursing the cold and selling watches to pay our fuel bills. But let's not dwell on such misery, because today we have our favourite Swede with us to look back at the year so far. Hello Jim, how are you doing?
2020 CBN2A1E Carrera Dato 45 160th Anniversary Limited Edition
JIM: What an excellent place to start! You know, wherever I look, all I see is positivity about this release. Podcasts, watch sites and youtube videos, all seem to agree that these three watches make so much sense. They look good, they look fun, they are relatively affordable considering that you get a TAG Heuer for less than 2k. This aint not Tissot or other cheap shitter after all, this is a luxury brand that people know and love. The only question I ask myself is why the F1 line has missed bright colours for such a long time? Without steering your opinion in a certain direction, on a scale from great fun to super mega awesomeness, how much do you like these?
JIM: Well isn't this awesome, good to be back! You know, I am quite good and doing my best to just enjoy life and maybe I shouldn't start off with giving everything away but you know that I have been very positive with TAG Heuer in the last year or so. Some killer releases to talk about indeed.
ROB: Great to have you back as always, so where shall we begin? Do you wanna pick something off the list or go straight to the new F1 Chronos?
Gratuitous shot of my WAV511J Grand Carrera Japanese Limited Edition Chronometer...
JIM: Well how about we start with your thoughts on this year overall and how you feel it compares to the last couple of years?
ROB: Okay then, well... it's been a funny year for me. Since I bought my beautiful blue Grand Carrera LE I've completely stopped buying watches and indeed sold some, so my head is in a slightly confused place when it comes to looking at new watches. Honestly there hasn't been anything that I've thought 'I have to have that', like say the orange F1 last year, but there's been lots of decent, good looking pieces... and a couple of nice pieces that I might have bought if they weren't so expensive (the Dark Lord Tribute springs to mind). I have to admit though I'm struggling to decide on a 'Watch of the Year' as yet, because it's not that obvious to me.
If we look back at the last couple of years I think overall there were more 'bangers', certainly more watches that I can see me picking up pre-owned in the future, for example the delicious and sexy CBN2A1E 160th Anniversary Dato 45 in blue and white, yumm!! I think that's where my focus is at the moment, albeit I'm not in a rush to blow my savings while the world is in such a state of turmoil.
And then I could think of several other pieces like the Bamford Aquaracer that stand out, whereas this year seems a little more 'run of the mill' with only a few LEs to spice things up. I don't know, maybe that's more about my headspace, I certainly haven't felt as deeply 'invested' in watches generally this year I don't think. What about you?
JIM: Well in a way I agree with you, there have been fewer obvious stand-outs this year compared to the two years before. But overall I feel that 2022 kind of cements the path that we've seen the line-up going under Frederic Arnault's leadership. The additions to the Aquaracer, Carrera and F1 collections further strenghten a portfolio that make a lot of sense. For the first time ever I can see myself actually buying the 39mm Carrera three hander as it now looks and feels like a luxury watch, it would be a splendid office watch for daily wear. The Aquaracer, as you know, is still an obsession of mine and the orange is one of the best releases this year in my opinion. And as much as I like the look of the previous generation, the current Aquaracers feels so much nicer in hand, an experience that more rightly reflects the price tag.
Sure, many in our collector circles don't like the current direction but I feel the complete opposite. Going back a couple years, I remember browsing through the TAG website realising there were hardly any watches I would like to own. Today this ain't no issue for sure, I can quickly count more than ten watches I would buy instantly if money was unlimited!
ROB: Yeah, it's good though, this is one thing I really like about TAG Heuer, that it doesn't stand still and just repeat itself to death. And okay so maybe 2022 isn't my favourite line up ever, but you know I will look in an old catalogue and see a 2006 Carrera and think 'Oooh, that's cool' you know. I tend to look at the 'catalogue' as a whole and there's plenty there for me to aim for, especially as I tend to buy my watches pre-owned anyway.
But anyway, we're here to talk about 2022, and since it's fresh in the memory, let's begin with those brand spanking new red, yellow and green Formula 1 quartz chronographs, I know you've really taken to these eh?
ROB: Everywhere you look.... except the THF Forum presumably! But yes, the mainstream media can always be relied upon to paint a positive picture, after all they're about as independent as a Governmental committee - haha! But, I have a theory about perhaps why the forum was so negative and that is that once we got a rumour going that there were going to be new 'colourful' Formula 1s, in their heads they convinced themselves that TAG was going to make 'Moonswatch' style re-issues of the original 80s F1s and clearly that wasn't on the cards. I mean, come on, we saw the renders for those way before anyone knew about the Moonswatch, and I think unfortunately that may have backfired a little bit.
But how much do I like them? That's a very good question, I like the idea of them and I'm hoping in the flesh they will look more 'premium' than the photos suggest. But I've never really liked the steel quartz chronos with the black crown and pushers, I've always thought it looked very cheap and nasty to be honest so that's not a good start. I'm also confused by the yellow dial, is it yellow, is it gold? I just don't know. I hope it's properly yellow, even metallic yellow, but if it looks gold then that might not work for me and I don't think it will work with the yellow strap. Also I don't get why it's so much more expensive than the standard black dial...
JIM: Well I gotta be honest with you. I did see these in the metal and I suspect you might not be a fan of the yellow. The dial has a sunray golden tone hue to it, doesn't match the strap at all. Don't get me wrong, the watch itself looks superb but I would have to put it on a black racing rubber for instance.
Can you guess where my mind goes when I think 'best TAG Heuer this year'?
ROB: Umm, is it the jade dial gold Singapore LE Carrera?
JIM: Not too far off actually! What if I told you it is the pink diamond dial 36mm Aquaracer? Crazy how my mind works huh. But yeah, I think that one is a killer release. Did I tell you I tried on the 36mm Aquaracer not long ago? Unfortunately it wore very tiny and the guy in the store had a good laugh seeing it on my wrist.
ROB: It's funny that you would say that, considering how many people keep trying to convince us that we should be going back to small watches... and that's a chunky watch into the bargain! It's kind of a pity that if you want a ceramic Aquaracer you can only choose between a watch that's too small or a watch that's maybe too big for you. I wonder if a 41mm ceramic is on the cards at some point?
JIM: Yes, it is a bloody shame about the Aquaracer sizes. But, on the other hand, at this point I have tried on the 43mm version probably ten times in different stores and I don't think it is too big for me.
ROB: See I find that super surprising because I have several 43mm Aquaracers and they are big watches, and I while I don't have a current generation Aquaracer I have tried them on and I didn't find them noticeably smaller than the older ones I have.
Speaking of BIG watches, let's address the Superdiver... this is one I have tried on and it's nice enough, but it didn't make me feel like I need to sell my car to buy it, you know what I mean. In fact I seem to feel the same way about a lot of new releases this year... everything's fine, but nothing is REALLY giving me wood.
JIM: I keep forgetting about that one! And for some reason, I have not seen it in any dealer here, which is a shame. But based on videos and reviews I have seen I feel kind of bland about it, looks well made and all but nothing that makes my heart beat. The crown guard is cool though right? Fun to see TAG innovating some and not only follow trends.
ROB: Yeah the crown guard is cool, and it was fun to play with in the shop.
JIM: Looking at the list of releases it does look a little ridiculous don't you think? Do all watch brands release this many SKU's every year?
ROB: I don't know... you know on the one hand it looks ridiculous, BUT, look back to the launch of the Grand Carrera, 39 watches in one year! Can you imagine TAG Heuer bringing out a new watch and dropping 39 references in one year? No chance. It's usually 3-4, maybe plus a 'special' one. And yeah, I mean I don't follow other watch brands closely, but looking at Watchville (which is closing unfortunately) everyday there were so many articles about so many watches, it feels to me like it's not TAG Heuer who are going OTT, it seems like the whole industry has release diarrhea, which is probably a result of social media and the fact that even the most interesting limited edition has a life of about ten days at best.
JIM: Yes you are probably right. In the long-term I think they are making a mistake feeding the market with constant news like this, the more models and special editions you make, the less special each one becomes.
ROB: Absolutely. Of course one that couldn't fail to catch people's attention was the red dial heritage Carrera. As an owner of the original silver 160 did that fill you with envy and regret or was it a bit too.... red?
JIM: Funny thing with that one, the colour makes it a totally different watch in my eyes. Doesn't compete with mine at all, I find the colour would be better suited for a more contemporary design like the current 42mm Carrera.
ROB: Yes, I agree... its a slightly odd choice. I don't dislike it but it seems slightly at odds with the classicism of the overall design. The purple Monaco seemed a lot more natural somehow, perhaps because the Monaco is an odd watch in thd first place.
JIM: I don't agree at all, the purple Monaco is a disaster that no one should ever have signed off on! If I had to choose between the two, I choose red glassbox. But if I was kid Arnault I would have made sure those two got cancelled, no doubt.
ROB: What.... oh really? Wow, but the one that really should have been cancelled was the 'Riviera Monaco' right?
JIM: Yes for sure, whenever there is too much bright colour involved TAG seem to mess up. Well not always, your orange F1 is killer. So is the 2022 orange Aquaracer. Watch of the year as many call it.
ROB: Pah, I don't think so. Surely the Vegas/Macau Carrera is in with a shout, no? ;)
JIM: No, I mean I liked that one a lot but it doesn't excite me like the orange Aquaracer does.
ROB: I guess we should also discuss the Dark Lord, since that seems to be Max Verstappen's defacto 2022 Championship watch...
JIM: Ah yes. Do you remember the good old days, before this piece was released and we talked about the upcoming Bling Lord? A female version of the Dark Lord, this time with rose gold, bling and shiny details. Funny how it turned out just like that. But people go on about how cool it is cause it is a remake of the Dark Lord. Is it though? Really? Even the black alligator strap shines brighter than a lady's diamond necklace. I am starting to wonder why you say I am so positive and like everything, this is obviously not true. I must just seem to choose to forget about the shitters I don't fall for.
So, if I held a machinegun pointed to your head and forced you to choose between the bling lord and the orange Aquaracer, which one would you go for?
ROB: The Bling Lord all day, I actually like it! I don't like the price much, but that's par for the course these days. I think TAG Heuer is getting further away from my pay grade every year - well, probably because my pay is utterly stagnant and has been for years, whereas the Monaco has gone from £4300 to £5800 seemingly in the blink of an eye! And then we have the Bling Lord; it seems the slightest touches of gold justify a £1500+ premium... but that said, with the watches we've seen this year I'd still have to hold it up as a potential Watch of the Year. And what, pray tell, do you have to say to that?
JIM: I find it interesting that someone as smart and friendly as you, can have such incorrect opinions sometimes. But I guess this is what keeps the watch addict hobby interesting.
ROB: Haha... yes, I suppose so. I mean, there are so many tasteless watches out there these days that it's a good job people don't all share the same taste. Do you remember when that Black Panther Royal Oak came out it was almost like... I don't think the watch world knew whether to laugh at it or what, and now it's become this ridiculous and 'cool' thing that people actually like. But look at it, it's fucking terrible!
What else do we have? Everyone was pretty keen on the steel bezel 40mm Aquaracers when they came out but they seem to have slipped out of the consciousness a little bit. Do you think that's fair to say?
JIM: If you ask me, the 40mm Aquaracers must be a total flop. What a disaster. First they released these amazingly upgraded 300m versions, nice action, ceramic bezels and a superb clasp. Why in the silver god's name would you follow that with releasing a shittier smaller version of the same thing? It not only looks like crap with those fume kind of dials, it also has no ceramic bezel options, plus they chose to put old fashioned clasps on these. Makes no sense at all. I am sure if they would have released the 300 in a 40mm it would be super popular. Have you seen many of these disaster watches in forums and social media? I have seen very few and every time I think "poor guy, why did he buy this shitter".
ROB: Umm, no that's a good point, I haven't. I have seen them in the stores a few times and tried the blue fume dial one on though and it was okay. I can't get past the steel bezel though. I don't mind that it's steel, but it seems too wide and flat. I mean, this is the closest thing we've ever had to a modern 3000 Series so I should absolutely love it, but I just don't. The fume dials look great with diamonds on the ladies versions though, I will give them that.
JIM: Yes and then we are back to asking why TAG Heuer insists on making some of the best Aquaracer versions only for ladies in tiny sizes.
ROB: You mean the pink and teal ones...
JIM: Yes for sure. And the light metallicy blue one! There was this long Hodinkee 'ad' on youtube the other day, A Week On The Wrist' I think they call those 'ads' and I remember this dead looking ghost guy talked about how amazing the 40mm Aquaracer is. He said so many things that are simply not true.
ROB: What did he say?
JIM: He said things like this being a good daily wearer, that it was like the essence of what TAG Heuer is all about, some sneaky wording about micro adjustment holes on the clasp making it sound like it has an adjustable clasp. The overall content was very positive about the watch, which obviously makes no sense.
ROB: Hahaha. Well, yes, I'm afraid you can't expect an unbiased critical opinion (or any kind of opinion actually) from anyone who has a vested interest in selling a product, which is why it's good we can have these chats without fear of losing our dealership!
Well Jim, I think we've covered just about everything we really need to, let's hope there's some interesting pieces still to come before the big vote at Christmas... thanks for stopping by, always a pleasure to have you.
JIM: Adios bromigo!
And that concludes this particular chat. As I said at the start we missed the recent Mariokart and the Porsche releases, but I'd say there's a good chance Jim and I will do another chat in December to follow up on the rest of the year's releases, so look out for that.
PART TWO OF THIS CHAT CAN BE FOUND HERE!
Cant get enough of Jim Dollares? Click the links below for more:
My Love Affair with the Heuer Carrera 160th Anniversary LE:
Watches and Wonders 2022:
Tudor Black Bay 58 Buying Experience:
Is Trying on Expensive Watches a Good Idea?
First Impressions of the Hodinkee Dato 45:
Feature - Gulf Watches
Five Years of TAG Heuer and Red Bull Racing:
Carrera 160th Anniversary Buying Experience:
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