Tuesday 31 January 2023
Monday 30 January 2023
FEATURE: On the Comments...
Being a bit of a luddite, somehow I have managed to turn off notifications for comments and I can't seem to turn them back on again... so I no longer get an email when someone leaves a comment. This is a bit of a pain really as I forget to check and so if people ask questions it means they don't get an answer as quickly as I'd like. If you have left a comment or a question recently, I can only apologise for the delay in responding, I will attempt to get the notifications turned back on to avoid this happening in the future.
Yesterday I was checking out the recent comments and one in particular caught my eye, it was posted on the 'History of the 6000 Series' and read as follows:
Anonymous26 December 2022 at 21:55
The 6000 1/10th Chronograph Professional 200 Meters, BF BD S.S. quartz CH 1113.BA0675-M0A couldn’t have been in the 2000 Catalogue as you show on this site, because my dad bought me this watch when I was 9 years old on Nov 4th 1997 for $1,647.47 cash, no tax.
Sunday 29 January 2023
OWNED: TAG Heuer Kirium Quartz Watch
WL1116.FC6113
These days it seems like I only get around to writing 'Owned' posts about watches as they are heading out of the door to their new owners, and sadly this one is no different. Yes, the WL1116.FC6113 is the latest watch to get its marching orders from my collection, lasting only just over two years since I bought it in September 2020.
When it arrived it looked fantastic, but the blue leather strap had clearly seen better days and I ordered one from TAG Heuer direct (via Bicester Village). I can't remember the exact price but I think it was roundabout £90, maybe £115... something like that anyway.
Saturday 28 January 2023
Thursday 26 January 2023
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monza Carbon Heuer 02 Flyback Chronograph
CR5090.FN6001
Well this is different, isn't it? But is it good different? Or bad different? I'm pretty sure if you ask people who like the 'classic' Monzas you're probably not going to get the most positive responses, and that's rather borne out in the comments at the foot of the page... but does that matter? Because clearly this is not aimed at someone who cherishes their Calibre 36 gold cased Monza, but rather a (possibly) younger customer who wants their own take on the Monza, but with a modern slant and more on-trend materials.
And so was born the carbon Monza, a slightly curious choice to be fair, but I suppose they'd already done the carbon Monaco with George Bamford back in 2017 and what better way to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the Monza? It is somewhat perverse that TAG Heuer wish to be edgy and avant garde, but they choose to do it with a watch case that was born in the 1960s, but that's the watch industry for you - new cases and model names are death to sales, so this is what we get instead.
Wednesday 25 January 2023
Monday 23 January 2023
INSTRUCTIONS: TAG Heuer Microtimer
Following on from the 'History of the Microtimer' post yesterday, as promised, for anyone who might need them, here are the instructions. And, in case you missed it, here's a link to the 'History of the Microtimer':
Sunday 22 January 2023
HISTORY: TAG Heuer Microtimer (2002-2008)
The story of the Microtimer really begins in 2002, with the release of its almost identical predecessor the Micrograph F1. I must admit I had never heard of the Micrograph being referred to as the 'Micrograph F1' until I looked in the 2004 TAG Heuer catalogue, but it kinda makes sense. At the time the Formula One range had been discontinued and the company were utilising their branding relationship with Bernie Ecclestone's 'Formula One' in different ways, here and also with the partly digital 'F1 Kirium' (both watches having 'Official Timekeeper of the FIA F1 World Championship' engravings on the backplate).
The main difference between the Micrograph and the Microtimer is that the Micrograph was only accurate to two decimal places or 1/100th of second, whereas the Microtimer is a 1/1000th of a second chronograph, and also the Micrograph was a numbered limited edition of 999 pieces whereas the Microtimer was a regular part of the line up.
There is little point in consulting the catalogues here as I usually do, as only one version of the Microtimer appears throughout the lifespan, the negative dial CS111C. However, there were a few variations (very few), with a positive display version also available and then both with diamond edges.
Finally, it seems there was one other version, though whether it was an actual 'production' model or a watch modified at a customer's request is unclear. This is the CS111E-0 which features additional diamonds on the watch case. Funky!
Saturday 21 January 2023
Thursday 19 January 2023
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Ladies Diamond/Rose Gold Automatic Watch
WBN2451.BD0567
If you are a regular reader you will know that every six months I scour the TAG Heuer website and produce a price list of the available models (you can access these via the 'Price Lists' tab at the top of the page or by clicking HERE). While the prices themselves are of marginal interest, the main purpose of this is to provide a snapshot of what models were available at any given time for any future historians frustrated by the transient nature of a website which only displays what is for sale today.
In the process of this analysis I came across a new watch that I hadn't seen before. Given that (at the time of writing) it is the 5th of January it's possible that this was actually added sometime towards the end of last year, but as it is for the purposes of the COCO Council and the 'Watch Of The Year' we are going to have to consider it a 2023 release. Not that I imagine for one second that this (almost) completely iced out 29mm Calibre 9 Carrera is in with a shout at the 2023 WOTY, ho no.
Wednesday 18 January 2023
Monday 16 January 2023
ON THE WRIST: Heuer Carrera 'Heritage Panda' Heuer 02 Limited Edition Chronograph (by Charlie M/Imagwai)
CBK221H.FC8317
As you probably know by now, in the normal course of events when TAG Heuer release a new watch I generally post a 'First Impressions' post based on whatever pictures and videos I can find followed by an 'On the Wrist' post later when I've had a chance to get hands on with the product. Of course with all these super limited editions of late it's not been possible to do this because they never make it to the boutiques. But thankfully on this occasion we can kill two birds with one silvery stone as our most recent journalistic recruit 'Charlie M (aka Imagwai)' has actually bought the latest Carrera Panda and as such is superbly placed to give us his 'First Impressions' & 'On the Wrist' all wrapped up in one splendid post...
Saturday 14 January 2023
VIDEO: LVMH Watch Week Interview with Frederic Arnault by Wei Koh for Revolution Watch
If you haven't already seen this video it is well worth watching. Frederic confirms that the latest 'Panda' Heritage Carrera is the last of the so called glassbox Carreras and basically reveals that in 2023 TAG Heuer will introduce a standard 39mm chronograph Carrera to their range. Interesting stuff!
Thursday 12 January 2023
PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List (Jan 2023)
The time has arrived once again for us to document the contents of the TAG Heuer website, and by extension the prices on offer in January 2023. While an imperfect method, bi-yearly 'price lists' are the best way I can think of currently to archive the TAG Heuer output, especially since so much of the product is special or limited edition stock that wouldn't feature in a catalogue.
Quite a few Aquaracers have disappeared since last July, with most of the WAY and CAY ranges now being replaced by WBP models. Aside from that, the main changes are in the Carrera section with quite a lot of new entries there and also a few Formula 1's (including those very brightly coloured ones).
As normal, price rises are indicated in red (that's pretty much everything) and new items are coloured blue.
Tuesday 10 January 2023
Sunday 8 January 2023
FEATURE: TAG Heuer's 'Senna' Branded Watches
True F1 legends are few and far between. While that statement may seem a little odd at first glance, if you think about it, it's not that wide of the mark. Some supposed 'legends' don't last much beyond their tenure in the sport, and most start to fade as the population ages and starts to forget. Or some, like Sebastian Vettel, unfortunately end up in a situation where their early domination peters out until people start to wonder just how exactly he managed to win four WDCs in a row and was it in fact just the fact that they were driving the best car?
Then there's drivers like Fernando Alonso, who despite not winning as many titles as he really deserved, still command huge respect and a huge salary too, because he always gives it everything.
And then there's Ayrton Senna. A driver who (the older) current F1 drivers grew up watching and often still revere as 'the best', if nothing else for but his relentless competitiveness and desire to dominate everyone that stood between him and the titles he believed were his and his alone.
One thing's for sure, Ayrton would absolutely hate modern F1, as someone who wanted to attack every lap like it was for pole, he would have been disgusted at the idea of only having three engines to last a season and having to back off so as not to put too much stress on the mechanicals.
When you think about it like that it's easy to understand why we will never see another 'Senna'. Modern F1 just isn't built like that. In fact, if anything, Senna's arch nemesis Alain Prost would likely be the poster boy for the current era, a man who somehow managed to compete with Senna driving (in his own words) only as fast as absolutely necessary to win the race.
Friday 6 January 2023
Wednesday 4 January 2023
FEATURE: Keeping Track of Wrist Time 2022
Happy New Year everyone, and welcome to 2023. We start the year with everybody's favourite post... 'Keeping Track of Wrist Time' (I jest of course, it doesn't get any more self-indulgent than this!), in which I reveal which watches I wore the most (and least) during the year of our Lord Jean Claude Biver 2022.
I know, it's a LOT, just keep calm and we'll get through this together! Haha.
Now if you've already read my 'Another Crazy Year of Watch Buying' post that went up a few days ago, you'll know that there's been a fair bit of coming and going this year. Actually a lot more going than coming... which is a good thing, because looking back it's clear that I had (and still have, truthfully) far too many watches to actually wear them all. In fact I'd be somewhat surprised if I'd worn my Microtimer more than 25 times since I bought it back in 2017. And given it cost me £85 for a new battery last year, that isn't a good ratio!
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