Happy New Year to all my readers! I hope you've all enjoyed the break (if you're lucky enough to get a break at Christmas of course) and you're ready to start another year of TAG Heuer enthusiasm with me?
So, obviously, it's that time again... where I reveal the REAL winners and losers of 2024. 🤣
I'm talking of course about which watches spent the most (and least) time on my wrist, and this year it's safe to say it was a bit of a walkover...
#1 GRAND CARRERA Calibre 36 Caliper Chronograph (New Entry)
You might think it was a no brainer that one of my two new for 2024 watches would get the top spot, but it doesn't always follow. Considering this one didn't enter the collection until late Summer and then it had to go back for 6 or 7 weeks to be repaired, it's safe to say it's been in heavy rotation ever since; indeed one month I wore it almost every day! This wears great on this rubber strap, feeling much lighter and smaller than the Calibre 17 that was my favourite last year. Kinda makes me wonder why on Earth I will ever need to buy another watch... but I'm sure that feeling won't last forever.
#2 GRAND CARRERA Calibre 17 Chronograph (Last Year #1)
Last year's winner is this year's second place, though I'm willing to bet it picked up most of its wrist action before the Caliper arrived. This chronograph is in a precarious position right now I'd say, not that I'm looking to divest myself of it, but I can imagine it struggling to get on the wrist much next year with the Calibre 36 always an option. It's still a cool watch, but it does feel big and heavy by comparison.
#3 AQUARACER Calibre 5 'Green Dial' Watch (Last Year #4)
#4 AQUARACER 'Chronotimer' Quartz Chronograph (Last Year #3)
Dropping from 3rd to 4th this year, albeit worn one more time, the Chronotimer could easily make a case for being my favourite Aquaracer of all time. It's so easy to wear, despite its size and again the polished hands and baton markers give this a real quality appearance. I'm sure this will feature strongly again next year as I never get tired of wearing this one.
#5 AQUARACER Calibre 5 Watch (Last Year #33)
A marked improvement in wearage this year, which has less to do with me liking it more than me making an effort to overcome my obsession with keeping this one in showroom condition. I mean what's the point, really. Not that I'm looking to mess it up, but I could drop dead tomorrow and it will be sold on only for someone else to wear it. This was the watch I chose as my ultimate Aquaracer, so I might as well enjoy it while I can, right?
#6 GRAND CARRERA Calibre 6 Japanese Limited Edition (Last Year #2)
Of course, one watch going up means something else gotta come down... and the Calibre 6 GC has borne the brunt of that this year. I do like this one, but it's a funny watch. Depending on my mood I either find it avant garde and cool, or occasionally a bit ugly... undoubtedly this has also suffered from the arrival of the Caliper and struggled to compete for my 'Grand' attentions. Maybe when the novelty wears off this one will pick up again.
#7= KIRIUM Quartz Chronograph 'Plum Dial' (Last Year #22)
Another watch that I was obsessed with keeping minty, but this year has finally got its fair share of wrist time. I wanted one of these for so long that when I found one (in NOS condition) I struggled to actually wear it. But no more... and for sure that highly polished bezel is already showing marks, but what can you do? These Kiriums are so comfortable to wear, once the bracelet warms up you almost forget it's there.
#7= AQUARACER Solar Quartz 'Solargraph' (Last Year #20)
Comparing to last year is a bit of a misnomer as I didn't get this until very late in 2023, but this one hasn't been worn as much as I expected. This is partly because the strap was cut just a little too short and I didn't want to buy a new one (especially when I knew I was going to be losing a lot of weight this year) and partly because it's DLC coated and that scares the bejeezus out of me! The strap fits perfectly now, but the watch is still coated and it still feels a bit tiddly on the wrist. Mostly I just take photos of it, hahaha.
#7= AQUARACER 500M Quartz Watch (New Entry)
I always wanted the orange dial 500M Aquaracer, but having had the light grey dial version in my collection for a long, long time I never thought I would, until one day I saw this on eBay. I got it quite cheap and managed to sell my grey dial for slightly more so it effectively cost me nothing and I love it. These watches are big, heavy and bulky so not something you maybe want to wear day in day out, but a great watch for the Summer and short sleeves.
#10 AQUARACER Calibre S Quartz Chronograph (Last Year #10)
The Calibre S Aquaracer clings on in the top 10 for another year, and that's no great surprise really. This has always been one of my favourite watches and it's a lovely piece to wear. It's colourful enough for summer, but thin enough to wear with a long sleeve and sits well on a bracelet or a rubber strap (though these days it tends to stay on the bracelet most of the time). I believe the yellow dial Calibre S was only made for one year, which explains why the value tends to remain pretty steady around the £1000 mark and it's appropriate that in this 20th anniversary year of the Aquaracer all six of my Aquaracers made it into this top ten!
As for the rest, well below you can see the full statistics, and it's worth pointing out that the four at the bottom of the chart (all marked with a single asterisk) are watches that left the collection during the year. There were just two new additions (marked with two asterisks) both of which made the top ten.
It's funny how things rise and fall, the watches that came 5th, 6th, 7th , 8th and 9th last year all failed to make the top 10 this year while three watches that were nowhere near the top ten in 2023 made an entry this year. I can't help thinking the Aquaracer has been very much in mind this year, so perhaps next year things will be different. I still think the Caliper will be hard to beat for the top spot though, that's an awesome watch and I'm so glad I managed to find one without a damaged dial in the end.
Aquaracer for the win
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