Some time last year I was talking to a sales rep in the Milton Keynes TAG Heuer boutique and he told me (in that way that you can pretty much tell that what he was saying is 'the official company line') that the brand just make watches in different sizes and anyone can wear them regardless of sex. That's fine, of course. But these new pastel 38mm Formula 1s are quite 'feminine' looking and historically TAG Heuer mostly made their pastel Formula 1s in the 28mm 'ladies' size... so the temptation to brand these new Formula 1s 'ladies' watches is strong.
But with a diameter of 38mm, they are rather large for a lot of ladies and, by the bye, I can't help think that the fact that they've released this collection in these colours now rather puts the kybosh on any hope that maybe TAG Heuer were planning to release a smaller version of the F1 Solargraph any time soon... because if they were, you'd think they would have kept these colourways back for that wouldn't you?
So it's quite difficult to look at these objectively, because I'm not sure if they are supposed to appeal to me or if I should look at them as 'ladies' pieces? I mean I've covered plenty of 'ladies' pieces before and my wife has lots of beautiful watches that I can admire while knowing that they wouldn't suit me.
But actually regardless of that, I gotta be honest, from the renders and photos I've seen online, these colourways don't appeal to me at all. The pale 'pink' one looks very beige to me and the blue/pink with the (too small) diamond hour markers looks distinctly 'My Little Pony'*. In fact the only one that makes any kind of impression on me is the pale blue, which reminds me a little of the 388.513 I used to own a few years back (or perhaps more accurately my wife's 363.508 classic F1).
*Actually, I don't dislike it, if I was a ten year old girl I'm sure I would love it! But of course we're not allowed to say that.
I always wanted that watch, and I eventually managed to find myself a excellent example, but I hardly ever wore it and ultimately sold it to finance more 'horologically substantial' purchases. I never really felt comfortable wearing it somehow; those classic F1s always looked a bit small on my huge, manly wrist and while I was happy wearing black or red examples the more colourful ones just looked a bit toy-like on me. I'm sure in 38mm the blue would look much better, but I certainly wouldn't choose it over many of the F1 Solargraphs we've already seen already.
The aquamarine ring is perhaps a nod to the original ladies 'baby blue' F1?
Since there is at least a 'suggestion' that these might be aimed at some women I thought I would ask my (C.O.C.O. member) wife what she thought:
"The white and the pink ones are hideous," she said. "But I like the other three, especially the green dial one with the diamonds."
For the record she gave the cream one 1/10, the pink 2/10, the green 8/10 and the other two 7.5/10... but then went on a rant about why are TAG Heuer making women's watches in 38mm, since there's no way she would be able to wear any of them.
Fortunately my wife already has a goodly collection of classic 28mm F1s that do suit her wrist, but clearly she won't be adding one of these new ones to her collection. Maybe a 32mm F1 for the smaller wristed person might not be the worst idea in the world?
To be honest I never liked the original cream F1, nor the God awful Kith version that briefly sat at the bottom of the C.O.C.O. table (it's still almost at the bottom, and rightly so!) and I can't honestly say I particularly like this one ether (although looking at it in the photo above, I'm not sure I like it any less than the 'dirty' pink one to be honest...).
Interestingly two people on the THF forum have already bought the (not very) pink one (both gentlemen as far as I know) and the general consensus over there was positive, so I'm expecting a good score for that one at least from the Council.
It will be interesting to see these in person as I feel like they simply must look better in real life, but for now I can only score on what's in front of me so I'm going pretty low.
Let's find out what the Council have to say this week...
Cream 6/10, Blue-Pink 4/10, Pale Blue 7/10, Pink 4/10, Green 5/10: "On the diamond models, the diamond is too small, looks a bit odd."
Cream 1/10, Blue-Pink 7.5/10, Pale Blue 7.5/10, Pink 2/10, Green 8/10: "Might be the pictures distorting the colours (let's hope they're better IRL) but the beige and pink are dreadful. The blue/pink dial is cool and I like the other two, the pale green is unusual but I think it works well with the bracelet and the diamonds. Sadly though at 38mm these are far too big for my wrist, why are TAG making ladies watches so damn large?"
Cream 2/10, Blue-Pink 1/10, Pale Blue 1/10, Pink 1/10, Green 1/10: "Just no."
Cream 4/10, Blue Pink 5.5/10, Pale Blue 4.5/10, Pink 4.5/10, Green 5/10: "Sorry, but I just don't get these... I like the F1's overall but these pastel colours are not doing it for me and not to mention the diamonds!! That said the Blue/Pink one with the diamonds is the best of a bad bunch."
Cream 6/10, Blue-Pink 3/10, Pale Blue 6/10, Pink 6/10, Green 3/10: "Oh gross! I kinda hate them all."
Cream 5/10, Blue-Pink 5/10, Pale Blue 5/10, Pink 5/10, Green 5/10: "These are just very drab and blah -- they look like they've been left out in the sun too long and faded."
Cream 6/10, Blue-Pink 6/10, Pale Blue 6/10, Pink 6/10, Green 6/10: "Don't know the durability of that material in a very long run to be honest."
Cream 6.5/10, Blue-Pink 7.5/10, Pale Blue 6.5/10, Pink 6.5/10, Green 7.5/10: "The purple and green shades are nice. These definitely have a feminine flair. I hope they do well for TAG Heuer and they continue to give us more variety."
Cream 2/10. Blue-Pink 6/10, Pale Blue 7/10, Pink 2/10, Green 3/10: "Pink and beige = YUCK!"
Cream 5/10, Blue-Pink 4/10, Pale Blue 5.5/10, Pink 5/10, Green 4/10: "Hmmm, all very pastel but rather chalky washed out pastel. I don't mind the teal/blue,that looks ok. I don't like diamond markers and like them even less on a Solargraph. Aimed mainly at the ladies I imagine, questionable whether they hit the mark."
Cream 7/10, Blue-Pink 7/10, Pale Blue 7/10, Pink 7/10, Green 7/10: "It’s probably a logical consequence of these F1s to produce a second series, like in the 1980s. It also suggests that the first reissue sold quite well. The pastel-coloured F1s are quite poppy too. Personally, I clearly prefer the more intense colours."
Cream 6/10, Blue-Pink 5/10, Pale Blue 7/10, Pink 6/10, Green 5.5/10: "These colours are not for me. But after seeing them in person, my impression became more favourable."
Cream 4/10, Blue-Pink 4/10, Pale Blue 4/10, Pink 4/10, Green 4/10: "Nah. 4/10 across the board."
Cream 7/10, Blue-Pink 4/10, Pale Blue 8/10, Pink 7.5/10, Green 4.5/10: "Diamonds on a Solargraph F1? 😏"
Cream 6/10, Blue-Pink 4/10, Pale Blue 6.5/10, Pink 6.5/10, Green 4.5/10: "I wait for the next batch."
Cream 8/10, Blue-Pink 4/10, Pale Blue 8/10, Pink 6/10, Green 5/10: "These are sooooo much better in person, although why put diamonds in a totally casual watch? I love the green but should have been available on a rubber strap."
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