ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph

 

Watches of Switzerland / Canary Wharf, London

I haven't really been to any major towns since the new Formula 1 Solargraphs launched a few weeks ago, so I haven't had a chance to try one on until today's visit to Canary Wharf in the financial district of London. I visited on a Saturday afternoon and initially there was no one free so I went next door and sampled the delights of Laderach chocolate. It was pleasant enough, but it reminded me of the 'Swiss Chocolate' you get in Marks & Spencer, nice enough but not worth £10.50 per 100g! 

Sample consumed, I returned to Watches of Switzerland to find the store empty and two salesman vying for my attention. Incidentally, before we go any further regular readers will probably remember that I tried on the new black/blue Calibre 16 Formula 1 chronograph a few weeks ago and I said I wanted to see the black/green version because on the website it looked green in one picture and yellow in another.

Well, I didn't try it on, but Watches of Switzerland had it in the window and it definitely looks green. It's not as bright a green as I would like it to be though, I was kinda hoping it was going to remind me more of those glorious PVD coated Aquaracer 500M models with the green lume, but it's a little more subdued. Still nice and I'm glad it's green not yellow... and I'm not completely opposed to the idea of maybe getting one in the future (once someone else has taken the depreciation). But honestly it would be a lot cheaper to get one of those black/green Aquaracers!

But anyway, back to the WBY1111...

The first thing I have to say is that was heavier than I expected. I don't know if that's because I never actually owned a classic Formula 1 on a bracelet, or simply because the watch is larger than the 80s models, It wasn't 'heavy' as such, just solid feeling - which I think is a good thing and it certainly felt heavier than the Kith I saw on a bracelet last year, so I guess it must be the increase in size plus maybe the movement could be slightly heavier and the bracelet feels a bit more chunky.

The dial is a little 'off'' white, but it's okay (not the most exciting colour scheme in my opinion, it looks a bit 'entry level' to me) and the bezel looks satisfyingly correct. I didn't notice the hands looking too small in person so maybe that's just something you notice when you take pictures (they look too small in my picture I think) or maybe I just didn't look at it long enough to start noticing these details.

At 38mm the watch is a reasonable size on my 7.5" wrist, it certainly feels more wearable than the original F1s and I'm not sure how much bigger they could make it and still retain the 'feeling' of the classic models. I think if it was 40mm the dial would start to look a little too large and empty, as it is I think the bezel seems thinner overall than the originals (relative to the dial) so perhaps a larger model could have a thicker bezel to compensate slightly?

What I didn't really like was the shape of the case in the lugs area (I'm hoping this looks better in the darker models that are coming and the red polymer) and also the finish on the steel. It's similar to the Kith Heuer's last year, a sort of glossy matt - which I realise makes zero sense... I guess you need to see it in person to understand. Not keen on that, although admittedly the 80/90s watches had a somewhat similar finish.

Lastly the polished crown. Yeah, I don't like it against this steel case. I think it will be less off-putting against the coated and/or poly-light cases that are coming, but since there is no other polishing on the watch it definitely looks a bit out of place. 

Overall then, not bad, but I'm not remotely moved to buy this one. It will be interesting to see how I feel when the red one comes out in September.

Well that concludes this 'On the Wrist' post, but before we go I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has visited the blog over the last eight years and helped get us to 1.5 million views. It's only about eight months since we hit 1M views (back in August 2024) so you can see the blog's popularity has really rocketed in the last year or two, indeed March was the biggest month yet with over 83,000 views! Quite incredible for a blog that only posts about one watch brand I think.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders 2025 by Time & Tide

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer 41mm Day/Date Carreras & GMT

 

Let's be honest, this year's 'Watches and Wonders' was all about the Formula 1 for TAG Heuer. Sure they released a 10 piece limited edition Monaco that barely anyone can afford, even if they actually wanted a white ceramic cased rattrapante that looks like a fight in a candy store... but all eyes were on the worst kept secret in modern watch history, and rightly so.

But while everyone was looking the other way TAG Heuer quietly released a bevy of new 41mm day/date Carreras that while honestly not inspiring that much reaction from me are, of course, still worthy of inspection by the Council. It's a funny thing, the 41mm day/date Carrera, it's kind of seen as a 'lesser' Carrera because historically a Carrera 'should be' a chronograph. Mind you, the same people that say this also generally say at 41mm it's too big and should be 39mm, but... whatever. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph by Bruce Williams

 

FEATURE: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraphs - Pricing

Seems like everybody has an opinion about the pricing of these new Formula 1 Solargraph models, and frankly some of it is plain unrealistic. Unfortunately for TAG Heuer the MoonSwatch set a very low bar when it came to pricing, but at the same time the quality was pretty dismal and when people actually got hands on with them even they were deemed to be 'over-priced'.

Before the new Formula 1s were announced people were talking ridiculous figures, I saw £300 banded about which was a complete joke, no way was TAG Heuer ever going to be selling a Formula 1 of any description for £300. But, said the dolts, at £300 TAG Heuer will clear up, they will sell millions... 

I'm not so sure about that, honestly. The MoonSwatch was a phenomenon, the chances of repeating its success were slim and more likely TAG Heuer would be left with egg on their face and a lot of unsold stock, meanwhile the watches they did sell would likely make very little (if any - bearing in mind selling at scale would definitely involve selling through third parties) profit and that's hardly the business model the Swiss luxury brands aspire to, is it?  

Let's not forget, the MoonSwatch was not an Omega, it was a Swatch. It piggybacked on Omega's popularity sure, and that's what made it such a phenomenon. If TAG owned a 'Swatch' of their own they could pull the same stunt, although I doubt even that would have the same impact (just look at the Blancpain Swatch).

And besides, you may not have noticed but in recent times TAG Heuer have started hiding their 'cheaper' watches at the back of their boutiques, as if they are something to be ashamed of. I can't see them wanting to put £300 watches in their windows, but anyway £300 is completely ludicrous, so let's park that right now.

Adrian Barker recently made a video in which he said that TAG Heuer messed up the pricing and they should have been £600. I disagree. For sure if they were £600 I would already have bought one, but for TAG to achieve that kind of price they would likely have to sell 5 times as many just to make the same profit. Why would you do that? If you're not taking the MoonSwatch route and going so cheap that people would literally wear them for a year and throw them away when the pushers inevitably break off, then there's no point going half way.

 

Yes, I had hoped these would be a bit cheaper, but given that they have the Solargraph movements and therefore there's no need to worry about the battery for 15 years, I think they are priced just about acceptably. And yes, some of them do have polymer cases and bezels, but some of them have black DLC cases, and those are only £100 more, which is a bit of a bargain when you look at pretty much any other black DLC TAG Heuer versus the same model in plain stainless steel.

And look, how could TAG Heuer ever sell a Formula 1 that was less than £1000? In a way I'm amazed they even brought them back at all, given that WIS have been beating TAG Heuer up for making 'cheap plastic watches' for the last forty years... but bringing them back at a lowball price would have made all their other watches look ridiculously overpriced.

Honestly if you want a £300 Formula 1 then I suggest you head to Ebay, there are plenty of them available, but just know that you're buying a 30-35 year old watch and sooner or later it's probably going to need repairing, and if you can't do it yourself you'll probably find it cheaper to throw it away and buy another one. As for me, well I was thinking about buying one of the new red ones, but given I have to wait until September for it to come out I already feel like I've lost interest... so in a way I agree that they messed up the launch, not by pricing them too high, but by not having all nine models ready to go when the buzz hit.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders 2025 by Monochrome Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Rattrapante 'Formula 1 75th Anniversary' Limited Edition

 

When TAG Heuer launched the Monaco Rattrapante last year the media was all over it, meanwhile in the real world all I heard was people grumbling and throwing out comments like... why would I pay £121,000 for that when I could buy an IWC Rattrapante for a tenth of the price. Well, you have to admit it's a good question. After all, the rattrapante complication is nothing genuinely new in the watch world and while the construction of the Monaco may be impressive and high tech, it let itself down in one incredibly important respect. Yes kids, the truth is it's ugly as all hell.

This (alongside the astronomically high asking price) was reflected in the end of year scoring and the Council of Considered Opinion eventually handed the pair of them an embarrassing 4.4/10 (blue) and 4.7/10 (red) respectively, making them the second and third least liked Monacos since the C.O.C.O. began back in 2020 (only the truly hideous Monaco Riviera rated worse!).

VIDEO: Heuer Autavia 7763C by Birth Year Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Watches (Limited Editions)

Okay. The first thing I wanna say is... why? Why are six of the nine 'launch' models limited editions? I don't get it. In fact, it kinda annoys me. When I saw that they were going to redo the black and yellow model I was immediately drawn to that because if anything that's one of the classic 35mm F1s that I regret selling slightly. However, now I see it's a limited edition and I'm like... why? Granted it's not that limited, but the fact that it is means that I will have to negotiate watch industry bullshit if I want one and the chances are that if I don't make up my mind pretty much immediately there's a risk that I won't get a second chance.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders 2025 by Revolution Watch

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph (Standard Models)

As many of you probably know, up until a couple of years ago I had a collection of fifteen of the original 1980s/1990s Formula 1 watches that I eventually decided to sell because a) I developed a taste for Grand Carreras and I needed cash to buy them, b) I felt they were too small for my wrist and c) I was concerned that they were getting old and would cost more to repair than they might be worth. 

Then, having divested myself of all but one (my original 383.513), TAG Heuer teamed up with Kith to produce the KITH Heuer watches and seeing the prices of mint originals rocket, I decided to cash out on that last remaining one, leaving me with no originals for the first time in six years! 

But then it wasn't long before we started hearing rumours about new, larger F1s and then a few months later there was talk of solar movements and now here we are in April 2025 with nine new models announced, albeit only two are actually 'available' straight away with six of the remaining pieces being 'limited editions' that will be released to coincide with certain Grand Prix races throughout the year.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer's 2025 W&W Releases by The Watch Society

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Panamericana Rallye Limited Edition Tourbillon

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 15th March 2025

When I walked into the Meadowhall boutique a couple of weeks ago it never for one second entered my head that they might have the TAG Heuer x Porsche Carrera Panamerican Rallye Tourbillon in stock. Not for one second! With only 255 pieces worldwide, I figured this would much more likely be found in the flagship Oxford Street store down in London, but after looking at the new blue dial Solargraph I turned around and there it was. Crikey!

I suppose given my surprise I should have been more excited, but honestly I wasn't actually that fussed. Nevertheless I decided I ought to at least have a look and see how it felt to wear a £30,000 Porsche tourbillon on the wrist and, well... yeah. It's okay I guess.

My feelings about the glassbox Carrera are well established by now (which is probably not good for me, because I can imagine there's going to be plenty more of the bloody things and probably starting tomorrow on the first day of Watches & Wonders 2025), at least this one is in the 42mm case so it doesn't look like a child's toy on my 7.1/2" wrist.

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer's New £3500 Bracelet...

 

Well Watches & Wonders has arrived, and with it an absolute avalanche of new TAG Heuer releases (18 in total, can you believe that?) and understandably most of the attention has fallen on the new 38mm Formula 1 Solargraphs, but there were other releases... a bevvy of new 'in-house' Carrera Day/Dates, a rather odd looking teal-dialed Carrera GMT and a very limited edition white ceramic Monaco Rattrapante (which you almost certainly won't be able to afford even if you really wanted one).

As usual, we'll be getting to all these in due course (the Council of Considered Opinion has already begun musing over the non-limited edition Formula 1s), but something caught my eye while perusing the new releases on the TAG Heuer website.