Today, we are joined by the newest member of the Council of Considered Opinion 'Dave The Highwayman', for the second of our '40 Years of the Formula 1' celebratory posts. Dave is the newest member of the C.O.C.O. and a valuable addition given his thoughtful and insightful comments, so I'm interested to see what his top ten Formula 1s might be...
DTH: When Rob asked me to write a piece about my top ten F1's, I really had to delve into the memory bank. Trying to recall what I thought of them at the time, and importantly, what I was actually wearing in the second half of the 80's.
I remember the original F1 watches very well, I was not however a customer at the time. In truth, they really didn't appeal to me. I was...and still am a man entirely untouched by fashion trends! One could argue I was very much the target market, I was young, I had a little money and I was into motorsport. They just didn't hit my spot though, I wore a suit for work and wanted a “serious” business-like daily watch.
I chose to wear a well used 70's steel Omega Geneve. That watch was actually my first “deal”, bought for £50 from a colleague and later sold back to the same guy for a £100. I still feel slightly bad about that one.. The F1's were quirky, small, colourful and in my mind at the time.. something of a novelty, throwaway item. I looked at them but didn't seriously consider buying one.
I did however buy an example of the totally forgotten Avia “Turbo” for weekends. In black and red,it matched my black XR3i with red bumper inserts.. Ahh, those were the days, before the inevitable, crushing disappointment of adult life set in !
Looking back, that Avia was clearly intended as a cheaper F1 alternative, aimed squarely at the same market. Multiple bright colours, racing stripes and “Turbo” printed on the rubber strap. They also shared the same ETA movement as the F1 for about a quarter of the price, nothing changes does it..
Only very much later in life did I appreciate just what an innovative, well designed and cool watch the F1 really was though. Far from being “throwaway”, they are very well built, the numbers still in use a testament to that.
Sadly, the credit for that now goes to Tag Heuer as they were released post takeover. In fact, the F1 was very much a Heuer project, the design and much of the execution carried out before the buyout. I think the fact that these watches always carried a Heuer signed crown is a fitting tribute to their heritage. I wonder if Heuer could have survived without the merger given the subsequent success of the F1 range, perhaps....we will never know.
I was reintroduced to the F1 in a rather circuitous fashion. At some point during my watch dealing career, I bought a Tag Heuer 1500. I didn't know it was full lume until I wore it one night. I was rather stunned to see the whole dial light up.. it was a genuine WOW moment.
A search for other models with this wondrous and mystical feature led me back to the original F1, but I was still unsure. I still felt it was too small and too much of a novelty watch.
I was wrong, when I did eventually bite the bullet and buy one, I fell in love with it immediately. I am blessed with a slim wrist,35mm is fine on me. It also helps that the bracelet is a man sized 18mm width, 16mm would make the whole watch look too small.
The first gen watches have that undefinable trait we call “character”. It's a watch that quite simply makes me smile, it's cute, but a genuine diver, it's quirky and friendly, but it's cool and it's tough. I love the full lume, I delight in that unique and tactile plastic on plastic bezel action. If the first gen F1 was a car it would be an original Mini, appealing to men, women, kids, rich and poor alike for different reasons.
It's timeless, it still looks fresh and it's a truly great piece of design. So with all that said..my winner won't come as a surprise! First place for me... it's the 371.513 / WA1211, otherwise known as the Full Lume.
Second position goes to another original 3 hand F1, the 376.513
I love the black and yellow colourway on this one. I don't currently own one, something I will put right at some point in time. Being a bracelet guy I'm really limited to the steel case F1's,this is a shame as I like the fibre cased models but I'm less keen on the rubber straps.
Third place, controversial perhaps...the 471.513
So why I have chosen a dodgy chronograph that wasn't really a chronograph for a podium position? The answer is it was actually the first F1 I owned, in fact it was the first Tag Heuer I owned. These watches were an abject failure really and no.. mine didn't work properly. The movement was “interesting” to put it kindly, built by Roventa Henex using two batteries and a separate chrono module atop an ETA base.
Unusual in that the centre hand was running seconds and the chrono seconds were on a subdial. Rumour has it that when they went in for repair they were tossed in the bin! So does it deserve a podium on merit, no not at all, but it has a place in my heart and that's what watch collecting is all about. At some time I will try and find another with problems and fix it, some would say I'm a masochist..
Fourth place is an altogether more sensible chronograph. the CA1210.BA0493
Although looking very similar to the 471.513, these later F1 chronographs used a proper ETA 251.264 movement. Reliable and a much better watch, it would be on the podium if it were about common sense and not emotion. I used to own one of these as well and I do regret selling it, I would like to find another.
Fifth place.. goes to the 385.513/085* (Eunos Special Edition)
So I'm contradicting my earlier comments here with a fibre cased F1 on a rubber strap, why..? Simply because I own a Japanese import Mazda Eunos and its the only watch as far as I know to have Eunos on the dial. I do need to find one of these, doesn't every enthusiast want a watch connected to their car in some way?
Sixth place goes to the CAC111B.BA0850 or Indy 500 F1.
Not an obvious choice, but I quite like these. They don't seem terribly popular now and look a little dated. Many for sale seem to have had a hard life with paint loss on the bezel etc. They are relatively cheap and pretty good value I think. I've come close to buying one a few times but never hit the button.
Seventh spot.. Goes to the WAH1013.BA0860
No other reason than it's a decent looking watch and it has GULF on the dial, everyone needs a GULF watch don't they?
Eighth ..goes the way of the WBY1111.BA0042
I am still not wholly convinced by the Solargraph, but if I had to opt for one this would be it and it's
worthy of a top ten spot. I wish the hour hand didn't look odd, I wish it was full lume, even if that meant normal quartz. I have concerns about the longevity of the movement too. In general, I wish it was just an upsized WA1211 with the same balance and proportions but we can't have everything!
Ninth.. goes to the CBZ2084.FT8097
I had to have a PVD watch in my top ten and this is my pick, good looking watch. I don't like “Speed” on the bezel, but I'll forgive that as I love the blue more than I hate the 'Speed'.
Tenth goes to the WAZ221A.BA0875 Batman GMT
It's just a really good looking watch, what more is there to say !
My top picks are vintage heavy as you might expect. I think the first gen three-handers and the second gen chrono's are the watches that made the range what it is and the reason for it's longevity. Looking through the huge number of models over the years, it's apparent just how important the F1 in all it's many guises has been to Tag Heuer.
Every upper mid tier brand needs a strong entry level range, long may the F1 continue to serve that purpose. Congratulations on 40 years !
Thanks Dave, that was a very enjoyable read and don't forget wherever you see the 'Formula1@40' banner you can click on it to see all the available posts.
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