VIDEO: TAG Heuer x Kith Ruins F1 Re-isse by Britt Pierce

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre TH81-00 'Rattrapante' Split Seconds Chronograph

 

Okay, hands up who else spat out their coffee when they read that the latest Monaco from TAG Heuer had a price tag of from* £121,000? I mean, we knew something was coming based off last year's 'Only Watch' Monaco Rattrapante so it wasn't exactly a 'surprise' (especially as TAG Heuer had been dropping hints left, right and centre), but I don't think anyone was really prepared for the jaw-dropping price tag the brand attached to this new model... even when you take into account the £3000 premium TAG are already charging for their current skeletonised Monacos over the solid dial variants.

*Depending on the level of customisation required, in case you were wondering....

I mean, had I been asked to guess the price I might have plucked £25,000-30,000 out of the air (especially since before this I wasn't terribly au fait with what the going rate for a rattrapante was), but I would never in my wildest estimates have gone over £100,000! And I wasn't alone, both 'A Blog to Watch' and (ex Watchfinder 'hands' guy) Andrew Morgan absolutely ridiculed the brand in their 'Watches & Wonders' YouTube round ups (though with their combined knowledge and industry savvy they should perhaps have been a little more 'informed'). 

But initially I too did not get it, especially when rattrapante chronographs are readily available from other brands such as Breitling at under £10,000 and from 'better' brands like IWC for not that much more. So there has to be more to it, doesn't there. It can't simply be that TAG Heuer are applying a Monaco premium the likes of which we've never seen before just because? 

Well yes, of course there is... 

Honestly, you could make the same argument about plenty of other watches, couldn't you? I mean, how can a three hand AP cost in excess of £40,000 when a Calibre 5 Carrera can be had for less than £3000? Well obviously because you're not comparing apples with apples, and so it is the case here when trying to compare with the Breitling and the IWC. They simply aren't in the same ballpark.

Perhaps the best way to put things into perspective is to look at which other watches use the Vaucher VMF6710 on which the Calibre TH81-00 is based. First we have the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Chronor Anniversaire, then the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Split Seconds Chronograph and perhaps most tellingly the Richard Mille RM65-01. 

All of these watches cost more than the Monaco Rattrapante.

But don't go thinking that TAG Heuer just bought the movement off the shelf and dropped it into this Monaco because after watching Revolution's recent video it became clear that they did quite a lot of design work on it themselves, including a new baseplate, bridges and remanufacturing the movement in grade 5 titanium.

And they didn't just throw this into a standard Monaco case either, in fact TAG Heuer have created a case specifically for this model using four slabs of sapphire glass and a titanium frame to achieve the avant garde look of the watch. All very clever (and pretty spectacular when it comes to being able to see the impressive movement I'm sure) and it's true that a split seconds is something of a glaring omission in the TAG Heuer catalogue given their illustrious racing heritage. 

Actually it's quite strange when you think of the amazing machines TAG Heuer created in the 2000s and 2010s, pieces like the V4 Monaco and the Flying 1000 (to name just two) that they never did produce some kind of split seconds chrono. But then those pieces were genuine attempts to move horology forward, whereas the rattrapante is actually something that has been around for a very long time, (you can easily find Heuer rattrapante stopwatches for sale on sites like eBay for a few hundred pounds).

Okay so leaving aside the price, which is obviously easier said than done... this is clearly aimed at a certain kind of buyer, with a certain kind of wealth - and perhaps more importantly, this is also intended as a kind of 'halo' product, designed to raise the brand's standing in the watch community in the same way that previous haute horlogerie pieces did ten to fifteen years ago. 

Why does this matter? Because for better or worse TAG Heuer (like seemingly every other Swiss watch brand who isn't Tissot) wants to be perceived as proper luxury now (with prices to match), rather than the 'entry-level' luxury that Jean Claude Biver espoused when he was in charge a few years ago. Of course that's a tough move to make and there are many hurdles the brand will need to navigate to get there... assuming they don't decide to reposition themselves yet again of course. 

Will it work? Possibly, but given some of the reactions we've seen from the watch media I mentioned earlier, I'd say they need to do a much better job of explaining exactly what it is they are selling. Perhaps they could start by updating the product pages on their notoriously sparing website to give some indication of why the watch is actually priced as it is rather than just dumping it on there and inviting incredulous eye rolling from casual visitors who probably see it simply as TAG Heuer taking the p*ss!

Again.

Okay, I've given TAG Heuer their due. Honestly it's pointless laughing and saying you can buy another watch with the same complication for a tenth of the price because you could say exactly the same about a Patek Philippe tourbillon, (because - ironically - TAG Heuer). But I hope we're all smart enough to know that that is a reductive argument that only ends when someone says something patently truthful like 'everything more expensive than a Casio F91 is overpriced'. 

So what is the problem exactly? 

Well for one thing, as Andrew Morgan so inelegantly put it 'TAG Heuer is the brand of choice for airport lounges and best-man wedding gifts'. A bit harsh admittedly, but you get the picture. A brand that sells watches for under £2000 is always going to struggle when it suddenly starts trying to make super-watches for the prices you expect to pay for complicated watches from the Holy Trinity.

Now, I would be the first to pipe up and say, yes but Patek, Vacheron and AP don't make anything that look like this, but unfortunately using the CWB2181/2182's looks as an argument for why you should buy it instead of an elegant watch from one of the Swiss masters is just asking for trouble... isn't it? 

But what if we instead consider the watch as an affordable alternative to a Richard Mille? Then it starts to make sense, right? Well, maybe. Except the Richard Mille will probably keep or increase it's value over time. 

As I mentioned earlier, we saw the blueprint for this design last year when TAG Heuer announced their contribution to the ill-fated 'Only Watch 2023' charity auction. As such, while normally I would qualify my comments with the caveat that 'maybe we just need some time to get used to this new look' the truth is we've already had six months to get used to it.

Okay, once you've got over the initial shock it's not completely terrible looking. Yes the bottom subdial is a bit odd and definitely looks disturbingly like a mouth; but that I can get over. What I cannot, and never will get over is the worst subdials in the history of subdials. I mean, what the hell were they thinking there? It's like an optical illusion; they honestly look like they are sliding down the dial with the hands at the top and the awful text at the bottom. I actually thought they were oblong shaped at first, until I saw a head on shot. I'm sorry but I just can't find anything positive to say about them and as I've said a million times or more essentially I am a watch enthusiast that is driven first and foremost by aesthetics.

So the design of the watch is, let's say challenging, but can we at least all agree that the black/red model is least heinous of the two? I mean, at least the subdials are harder to see on that one and thus slightly less offensive to the eyes? The blue one (homage to the SMQ, of course because it absolutely cannot just be blue for no reason) literally makes my eyes hurt. 

I can only put it down to the people working on this being so focussed on the micro-details of the watch that no one stood back and took in the whole thing.

And yet, the people who have actually seen it and held it say it is amazing. So is this actually one of those watches that genuinely need to be seen in person to appreciate? I mean anything is possible, right? TAG Heuer generally make good looking watches so how can it possibly be as bad as it seems? 

I will say, in all fairness, that the watch looks slightly better in the Revolution video than it does in the computer generated renders you see on the website. This of course is nothing new, TAG Heuer's renders are notoriously bad and often make half decent watches look like absolute dogs. 

But how many of us will ever get to be in the same room as one of these, let alone hold it or strap it on the wrist? Not many for sure, which rather undermines its effectiveness as a halo product if it doesn't come across well in photographs and videos. After all, I'm not exactly hearing a chorus of 'it's too expensive... but it looks amazing' from the council. 

 

Ultimately though, I feel like this is a precarious move from TAG Heuer. I was thinking earlier that if your brand is considered to be 'reaching' when you try to sell a £10,000 watch (like the skeleton Monaco) then perhaps a £121,000 uber watch isn't the best move. Unfortunately the general reaction in the wider watch world seems to be one of utter incredulity and I couldn't help but think how different the reaction would be if say Omega had released this watch. That seems to be TAG Heuer's first hurdle that they need to navigate, getting people to actually listen and understand what they've done, rather than simply spluttering and moving on to the next thing.

I'm sure TAG Heuer don't expect to sell more than a handful of these and the underlying idea is clearly to lift perception of their more mainstream offerings; whether that will work or not I'm not sure, at the moment it seems to be backfiring a little - so they really need to strongly explain why this watch is priced as it is. Unfortunately, living in this social media led world where the finer details are often lost and first impressions are hard to shift, it may be an uphill climb from here... especially when less than ten years ago the brand aggressively repositioned themselves as 'affordable luxury' with the Heuer 01 Carrera Skeletons launched at just a tad over £4000!

It's perhaps telling that the man who was responsible for that repositioning (Mr Jean Claude Biver, the man who made Omega and Blancpain what they are today) is considered an absolute GENIUS in the watch world. Perhaps they should stop and consider how much they really want to mess with his vision for the brand? 

--- --- ---

Right, that was a LOT longer than I anticipated, so let's stop this now and turn it over to the Council of Considered Opinion. Apologies in advance to anyone from TAG Heuer who happen to be reading this. 

 

Red 7.5/10, Blue 6/10: "I'll give TAG Heuer an "A" for effort, but the end result is something less. It seems those who have seen it in person are dazzled by the watch, but this magic aura doesn't shine through to me in pictures or video. So these are best scores I can give for now."

Red 8/10, Blue 8/10: "I would never buy one, but I like when TAG shows some technical skills that they absolutely do have."

Red 4/10, Blue 5/10: "I like them. But if I'm paying £121k for a watch, I want the blue dial with a black case please. Absolutely ridiculous pricing and I suspect these watches only exist to pull up the rest of the brand. Very few are actually going to be sold. Unfortunately I have to take the price into account whilst scoring..."

Red 2/10, Blue 2/10: "Bloated and too busy. And laughably priced, for a titanium case rattrapante when IWC offers many flavours of them in ceramic or ceratanium for about 15k US. And they look way better."

Red 6/10, Blue 5/10: "8/10 for the tech, which is its most important trait, but the design is its Achilles heel, once you notice the face; it's hard to unsee."

Red 4/10, Blue 3.5/10: "At first I thought I quite liked these Monacos; it was something different with the added rattrapante complication. However on closer inspection it's a bit of a mess. It's a shame but it's not great and for £121,000.00 I would want a lot more watch than is on offer here, it's just too much! The dial is messy and not very legible, more so on this blue version. An extra point for both for the case back which is actually quite nice and well done. However, that is hidden when on my wrist and it doesn't justify the ridiculous price or change my opinion on these Monacos. The red and black version is the best out of the two but its not saying much."

Red 2/10, Blue 2/10: "Just pure ugly."

Red 4.5/10, Blue 5.5/10: "These are a fail compared with the Monaco 24, IMO and fail on the partial skeletonisation compared to the Carrera MP4-12C. Also, I'm not sure what is going on with the left hand side of the case, opposite the crown, but it looks like some sort of carbuncle. Nice complication though. Tough to score to be honest, but the blue gets it over the red this time."

Red 1/10, Blue 2/10: "Aesthetically unpleasant; ridiculously absurd prices; bloated size. Subdial at 6:00 looks utterly stupid. My apologies for my blunt response on these."

Red 4/10, Blue 4/10: "I like a skeleton watch in general and these look ok (although I can’t unsee Deadpool), but the price is laughable."

Red 5/10, Blue 4/10: "Initial score is a 5 for black 4 for blue. My score may change at the end of the year as I learn more about these. They seem pretty steep in price for just the rattrapante added."

Red 7/10, Blue 8/10: "I don't think you can really read the time on this, lol. And that saggy eyes look on the blue. Jeez. And the price, O M G!!!! But well, this is haute horlogerie, it has it's price. Well. It's a flyback in a Monaco, a new movement. It has its cost to develop of course. I guess, TH has to make a statement here to get its respect from the filthy rich."

Red 2.6/10, Blue 2.1/10: "The black gets a strong 2,6. The blue gets a weak 2,1."

Red 9/10, Blue 8/10: "I kinda like it. I think this is modern Monaco with anti shock (it not's like it wasn't done before but...). It just looks modernly Monaco in my opinion."

Red 5.5/10, Blue 4.5/10: "I’m too ignorant to pronounce myself on the R&D effort for the complication (or rather: I haven’t read through the heated discussion in the corresponding thread yet). So judging from a almost purely aesthetic point of view - and liking it less than last years skeletonized versions: Deadpool: 5.5, Avatar: 4.5. I feel in THE PRESENT day & age TH has just no business doing such pieces anymore..."

Red 3/10, Blue 2/10: "The Time & Tide (other YouTube influencers are available) video shows an interesting caseback which I did enjoy. That’s where my positivity ends though. Red gets 3/10, Blue gets a droopy 2/10."

Red 5/10, Blue 4/10: "I see a hidden face with an open mouth in the dial. And he doesn't look happy!"

Red 8/10, Blue 7/10: "Both are like last year ONLY WATCH Monaco Rattrapante but with different colours. I gave 7.5 to that one and I prefer the red, so it’s a 8/10. The blue is odd, in Munch 😱 style..."

Red 0/10, Blue 0/10: "I will never buy these watches and I don't think it's worth buying. It's a high-functioning model called the 36000rpm Rattrapante, but even so, I can't find any more outstanding elements than the Pendulum or V4. I think the Monaco 24 is more organized in terms of design and is cool, including shock absorbers."

Red 5.5/10, Blue 5.5/10: "8/10 on being different, 3/10 visually - I can’t unsee the sad clown face in both."

Red 6/10, Blue 4/10: "Well I could get used to it, but a busy face, colours ok, price dependent. The blue one is less endearing than the other one, doesn’t do it for me."

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders by Monochrome Watches

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 36mm Calibre 7 Automatic Ladies Watches

 

It's always hard to write about new ladies pieces because they regularly elicit the exact same responses from the C.O.C.O.: ('Isn't this already in the catalogue', 'No more diamonds', 'Urgh, Mother of Pearl', etc, etc), but actually TAG Heuer are quick to point out that these 36mm Carreras should not be considered solely 'ladies' pieces because they can just as easily be worn by a man or a woman. Well, technically that's true. But until I see a guy wearing one of these I think I'll stick to my old fashioned ways and call these 'womens' watches thanks very much. The blue, green and pink 36mm Carreras yes, okay maybe you can make an argument for those, but these.. really?

The other reason it's hard to write about new ladies pieces like these is because like the council I feel like I've seen them before, because basically I have (well two out of the three anyway.. in one form or another). That's because these are the quintessential 'standard' ladies pieces featuring Mother of Pearl dials, diamonds and two tone bracelets and/or cases. Well clearly TAG Heuer know what their lady customers want and they continue to supply it, nothing wrong with that. And anyone who argues this isn't actually what women want, I'd suggest is deluding themselves. True, not all women like gold and diamonds, but clearly an awful lot of them do.

Key feature on these new Carreras is the clever placement of the diamonds around the rehaut rather than on the bezel, a superb idea which protects the diamonds from wear and tear (and damage) and also has the added advantage of keeping them clean and sparkly. I'm intrigued to see the rose gold dial version (something that is actually quite novel admittedly) as I suspect the render is doing it no favours at all, the other two however I'm pretty sure that what you see on the website is gonna be pretty accurate and exactly what you'd expect.

Predictably the Council has little to say on these, but let's check out a few comments anyway..

Gold Dial 7/10, MOP Dial 7/10, Double Diamonds 7/10: "I like them, sporty and a bit of bling. Nice ladies watch."

Gold Dial 2/10, MOP Dial 3/10, Double Diamonds 1/10: "I feel like I've seen them all before. Diamonds, two-tone, mother of pearl - all the things ladies love, right? Absolutely zero imagination, however."

Gold Dial 8/10, MOP Dial 7/10, Double Diamonds 7/10: "The gold dial one is a strong 8/10, main thing lowering the score is the lazy date. $200 micro brands colour match their date discs, why can't a luxury brand charging thousands do the same? Embarrassing. The other two get a 7 each."

Gold Dial 2/10, MOP Dial 2/10, Double Diamonds 2/10: "Powder box colors... and indeed, those frame window dates look very 'dated'."

Gold Dial: 3/10, MOP Dial: 2/10, Double Diamonds 1/10: "Showed these to my wife and she just laughed and said she could have written down the headline elements of these, as they’re pretty much the same every time."

Gold Dial 4/10, MOP Dial 7/10, Double Diamonds 7/10: "I like the contrast of the mother of pearl/gold, the diamond ring is a bit much but overall they seem quite elegant."

Gold Dial 3/10: "Not for me, or the boss, not pleasing colours." MOP Dial 4/10: "Better but the hands need to be better defined against the face colour to match the markers (may be picture though)." Double Diamonds 3/10: "Don’t do diamonds on watches."

Gold Dial 5/10: "I’m not a fans of that tone of rose gold." MOP Dial 3/10: "I’m not a fan of diamonds. Double Diamonds 3/10: "Still not a fan of diamonds."

Gold Dial 4/10: "It's fine. Its nothing exciting but I'm sure it'll do well, just a bit plain besides the gold." MOP Dial 4.5/10: "It's nice. The diamond rehaut is a nice touch and adds some nice interest along with the mother of pear dial but I prefer the two tone version with the diamond markers." Double Diamonds 5/10: "My favourite of the 3 'Ladies' watches. Its like they mixed the other two together and came out with this which is great in my opinion. It works very well al together. That said, i know it has a lot of diamonds and gold but the price is a tad on the high side."

VIDEO: Interview with Julien Tornare (GMT Watch Club Limited Edition) by World Tempus

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Twin Time 'GMT Watch Club' Limited Edition

 

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We're still only part way through the 'Watches & Wonders' releases, but for reasons far too tedious too explain (let's call it 'technical reasons') today we will be looking at something else. But don't worry, I'm still going to cover the 36mm 'unisex' Carreras, the Calibre 16 F1 Chronos and of course the Monaco Rattrapantes. I'm sure you're looking forward to that one... 

Okay, so this one is quite a special watch that's limited to just 24 pieces. Yes, you read that right, just 24 of these are available, which the 'Fine-Watch-Club' website claims is the smallest batch of 'limited editions' TAG Heuer has ever made. This isn't actually true, because off the top of my head I can think of at least two models made in much smaller runs (Jimmy Butler Carrera tourbillon - 5pcs and the LE Carbon Bullhead - 10pcs). But whatever... 

It doesn't alter the fact that this is an interesting take on the current WBN201A, swapping the blue dial for what they are calling a 'bronze' dial. This combined with the half white GMT ring and in particular the blue second hand and blue tipped GMT hand combine to create quite a bold statement. 

The watch is made to celebrate the 24th anniversary of 'GMT Magazine (hence 24 pieces), and it's quite cool that the watch can wear the logo of the magazine slap bang in the middle of the dial without it looking overly out of place; since of course the watch is a 'GMT' or 'Twin Time' as TAG Heuer prefer to call it. Some might find the logo a tad too bold and attention grabbing, but then again this is supposed to be about celebrating the magazine, so I think it is okay. I mean, if it was printed in white then that definitely would have been a bit OTT, but as it is, it's fine. 

At the time of writing the watch is still available to purchase for the sum of 3990CHF, which is perhaps somewhat surprising given the extremely limited quantity. But to be honest the website isn't doing itself any favours, featuring as it does, just two very poor quality photographs alongside the usual not particularly reliable renders. 

With so few of these around we'd be very lucky to experience one of these in person, but from what I can see here it's definitely one of 2024's better releases so far; let's find out if the council agree with me...

9/10: "This is actually pretty interesting! I really like the blue accents. The chapter ring going from cream to brown reminds me of a macchiato. I’ll call it the coffee dial. 9/10 for me. I love it!"

5/10: "I don't know if the colour scheme is a reference to something. But it's not very appealing to me."

7/10: "The blue seconds hand, although part of their colour scheme, just doesn’t work for me. Everything else is a nice look to me."

5/10: "I quite like the colour scheme. Reminds me a bit of a Grand Seiko although not quite as good."

7/10: "Could be better in real life."

7.5/10: "I normally wouldn't be into brown and blue, but somehow this quirky combo works on this watch. In the sunlight, the dial looks more like champaign brown and gives me a '70s vibe."

6/10: "Not for me, but I can see the appeal."

3/10: "Not a fan. I find it bland. Blue hand looks like it shouldn't exist in this watch."

7/10: "Bit brown."

8/10: "This is a very strong proposition from TAG Heuer. Lovely colours and I could see myself rocking this bad boy. Strong 8 from me."

8/10: "Yeah, I like this too and genuinely think it will look even better in real world photos, given the usual poor renders TH put out. Plus it’s got a proper case and not one hidden by stupid shaped glass. ;)."

7/10: "I like this one!"

4.5/10: "I've mulling this one over and whilst I quite like the colour scheme, that bolded 'GMT' text just irks me. It's just, so....., bold and it stands out and therefore takes over the dial. Reluctantly, I can only go 4.5/10 but without the GMT text, I'm thinking closer to 7."

7/10: "I wouldn't easily opt for a brown/bronze watch. But I think this copy is still a good success. Beautiful appearance and a bit mysterious. Partly because of the blue accents. So well done."

3/10: "Looks awful in my book."

4/10: "I think these should have a separate category, since a 24-piece limited edition isn't really something most of us will encounter. That said I'd call it a 4, the colours aren't too interesting and using the same copper/brown for the bezel as the dial doesn't do it any favours."

7/10: "I like it, and they say is ‘24 numbered pieces', so I guess it is not the lazy ‘One of 24'"

6/10: "I would have scored a bit higher if they had utilized additional blue accents (like they have done in the past with the Zenith model), but I recognize that could be difficult with a non-chronograph timepiece and a simpler dial layout."

4/10: "A bit underwhelming in my opinion."

9/10: "Greatest colour combinations."

VIDEO: Inside the TAG Heuer Manufacture by Wristcheck

 

HISTORY: TAG Heuer Carrera Part Five (2022-2024)

 

At the tail end of 2023 TAG Heuer announced that Julien Tornare would move from Zenith (also in the LVMH group) to take over as CEO. Previous CEO Frédéric Arnault meanwhile would become 'Head of Watches' for the LVMH group with his remit covering brands such as TAG Heuer, Zenith, Hublot, Louis Vuitton and Bulgari.

2022 WATCHES

2022 was a strange year, as we were still living with the aftershocks of the pandemic. The watch industry was bubbling though, fuelled by people working from home for the first time (and thus saving commuting fees) and unable to go on holiday. This fuelled a luxury watch bubble which wouldn't burst until the beginning of 2024 when prices for super desirable pieces like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Rolex Daytona fell sharply.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco Split Seconds by Watches TV

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Skipper Solid Rose Gold Calibre TH20-06 Chronograph

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For most people the 'Skipper' dial version of TAG Heuer's 39mm glassbox Carrera has been the runaway winner, and even I must admit it does have a certain charm about it. So what better way for TAG Heuer to capitalise on this success than to issue a new version in a solid 5N rose-gold case? 

What? Yes, more solid gold watches from TAG Heuer. Has no one told them about the cost of living crisis or that the watch bubble has burst? I guess the people this is aimed at don't have such every day worries as mortgages to contend with and can probably find the requisite £18,750 simply by fishing a hand down the back of their Fritz Hansen sofa. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Panda by Monochrome Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz 'Indy 500' Special Edition

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At some point I should probably write a post about the many Indy 500 watches TAG Heuer have produced, but for now let's concentrate on this brand new model released last week at Watches & Wonders 2024. TAG Heuer have been pretty consistently releasing Indy 500 watches for the last few years, some of them really nice and some of them not so much. From the renders this one looks to be one of the better ones, perhaps bested only by the CAZ101AD released in 2020 with its black case, asphalt dial and red brick stripe.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders 2024 by Revolution Watch

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Panda' Glassbox Calibre TH20-00 Chonrograph

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Okay then, here we go with the first of the new watches released at Watches & Wonders... and I thought I might as well start with the one most people will have the most interest in, since a) it's a Carrera Panda, and b) it doesn't cost £120,000. Oh don't you worry, we'll get to those new Monacos eventually... but probably not anytime soon as there's a lot to digest there and I feel like I haven't really understood all the intricate details, like why it costs more than my house did in 2003!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer's 2024 Watches & Wonders Releases by Time & Tide

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 'Kuwait' Limited Edition

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As I'm writing this, on Sunday the 7th of April, we're just days away from the opening of Watches & Wonders 2024... and knowing that most likely I am going to be asking a lot of the Council of Considered Opinion over the next few days I thought rather than asking them to give their 'First Impressions' score for this one, I would just keep this simple.

VIDEO: Is the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Any Good? by Teddy Baldasserre

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Dato 'Green' Calibre TH20-07

TAG Heuer Boutique / Milton Keynes, 18th March 2024

I think I've been pretty clear on my feelings about the 2021 Hodinkee Dato and the 2023 39mm glassbox Carreras in general come to that... and I was also less than enthusiastic when I wrote my 'First Impressions' post for this new teal dial version back in February. So honestly I was all ready to hate this even before I got it on the wrist. But... and this just shows that I am nothing less than professional at all times, I was somewhat shocked to find that I actually liked this one a little more than I thought I would.

Now don't get the wrong idea, I didn't feel like the scales had dropped from my eyes or anything, but in the flesh it certainly looked better than expected. The thing is my expectations were low. Very low. I actually gave it 3/10 when I gave my 'First Impressions' score, so there was a lot of room for improvement and even now I don't think I would give it more than a generous 5, but still it's not the disaster I thought it was and that's something.

BUYING EXPERIENCE: Cartier Pasha Quartz Watch

 

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While my wife Rose does have a pretty healthy selection of TAG Heuer watches that she's collected over the years, she hasn't been quite as loyal to the brand as I have. Over the years she's picked up a skeleton-dial Oris Atelier and an Omega Constellation quartz (both of which are right up there amongst her favourites) and now she's expanded this betrayal to include her very first Cartier. 

For a while she had been looking at a number of blue mother of pearl dial 'Links' on Watchfinder but couldn't quite decide if they would ever look as good in real life as they did in the pictures (my guess is not). Prior to that she had been looking at some nice looking Dior watches on the same site, but gave up on them when she realised how small they were...  and then she started looking at Cartier. I must admit I was quite surprised at this because she's never been one for Art Deco and she hates Roman numerals on watch dials (which most Cartiers of course have). 

OWNED: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Chronotimer' Quartz Chronograph

 

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Hard to believe but I've now had my CAF1010 'Chronotimer' for six years. I wouldn't say it only seems like yesterday that I drove to Sheffield to pick it up, but I still remember the experience quite vividly and I particularly remember driving home down the M1 and being distracted by the sunlight reflecting off the polished hour markers, hands and the digital display frame. 

The watch was purchased pre-owned from 'Parkers' and came with a slightly tatty but complete set of boxes. along with the booklet, warranty card and a service card from TAG Heuer and a bracelet that was just long enough for my 7.1/2" wrist. I originally found the watch listed on Ebay for £995 but later found the watch on Parkers own website for £945 (due to them not having to pay eBay fees).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Tourbillon by Black Tag Watches

 

FEATURE: My Top Ten Aquaracers by Albert AMG

Hello Aquaracer fans, today we have another 'Top 10 Aquaracers' post for you, but unfortunately this month's guest Albert-AMG hasn't provided any text with his selections so to prevent this post being just a bunch of pictures I will step in and provide my own thoughts on his choices. 

ON THE FACE: TAG Heuer 'Flex' and 'Pro-Shield' Sunglasses

TAG Heuer Boutique / Stratford, London 21st March 2024

It must be said that the reaction to TAG Heuer revisiting their sunglasses range has not been entirely positive in the watch community... it seems that TAG making shades again somehow means that they will not be taken seriously as a watch company - don't ask me how that works because I don't understand it. No Rolex don't make shades, but they don't need to. I don't see the connection. Are Mont Blanc not taken seriously as a pen maker because they make watches... and fragrances? 

To be honest  I'm more surprised that companies like TAG Heuer haven't started making fragrances yet, since they have plenty of contacts in the LVMH group they could tap and fragrances are even more profitable than watches. Besides, I already own a pair of TAG Heuer shades and I like them a lot, so I was keen to see what the company would come out with.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 1000 Series 'Lume Dial' Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

FEATURE: Red Bull Racing Factory Visit

 

Now look, I know what you're thinking.... lucky old Rob got to go to the Red Bull factory as a guest of TAG Heuer or Red Bull or some other generous benefactor... isn't life just cushty as a super-famous and important watch influencer? Well, no... haha,  you couldn't be more wrong. Because in actual fact I got to go to the Red Bull factory today because my amazing wife bought me/us (the outrageously expensive) tickets for Valentine's Day. 

Yes indeed, my wife is awesome!

And so on the morning of the 18th of March we headed off to Milton Keynes for a few hours of bumbling around the MK centre. Annoyingly the Goldsmiths was shut for refurbishment, but at least the TAG Heuer boutique was open and they had both the watches we were interested in seeing in stock - namely the green dial Dato and the new 'Polar Blue' Solargraph. I will write about these separately (because I desperately need content and Watches & Wonders is still so, so far away), but the TL:DR is that the Solargraph was disappointing while the Dato wasn't actually as bad as I expected it to be. Go figure...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Link Chronometer by Birth Year Watches

HISTORY: TAG Heuer Carrera Part Four (2019-2021)

 

Due to serious health issues, the legendary Jean Claude Biver stepped down as CEO of TAG Heuer making way for Stephane Bianchi, although he in turn would make way for Frederic Arnault less than two years later. Frederic would stay in the position for four years, eventually being promoted to CEO of LVMH Watches. 

2019-2020 CATALOGUE & DEALER CATALOGUE

2019 saw the introduction of the Heuer 02 movement in a big way, including a limited edition 'Nanograph' which featured a silicon hairspring.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Pink/Green 36mm by Perth Watch Girl

 

FEATURE: Maybe Don't Try This at Home...

Long term readers will know that over the last few years I have bought and sold a huge number of 'classic' Formula 1s, indeed at one point I had fifteen of them and was homing in on 'completion'. But then I realised that I didn't actually want twenty 30 year old watches sitting on my shelf lining up to expire on me and so I decided to sell a few. And then a few more. And then once I started selling them I just couldn't stop until I had only one left - the very first one I got. 

I guess I could have saved myself a lot of hassle and just kept that one in the first place, but as usual I got carried away, over-stimulated by all the bright colours... until I realised that the only one that didn't look silly on my 7.1/2" wrist was the all black one with red highlights. Isn't that just typical?

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Dato' Calibre TH20-02 by Chisolm Hunter

 

FEATURE: EBAY: No Fakes. No Fraud. No Doubt?

With adverts like the one above eBay is doing its best to convince us that their site is a super-safe place to buy watches. Of course, when it comes down to it only watches above the value of £1500 are actually sent for verification/certification - but to the casual observer who's not paying too much attention to the finer details eBay is depicted as a safe marketplace, which is... convenient. While I applaud eBay taking some kind of action, we've already seen people receiving watches with warranty cards that don't match their watches so I guess the question is do we trust the super-duper eBay authentication service? And if we're supposed to trust them to spot the super fakes of 2024 then presumably it should have no trouble spotting a really bad fake on their site, right? 

Apparently not. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Peach Dial' Calibre 7 Automatic by Brent Miller Time

FEATURE: C.O.C.O. Meet Up London 2023

Way back in 2022 our Swedish friend Jim Dollares announced that he planned to visit London and wanted to arrange a THF forum meet-up. Despite a tiny ripple of enthusiasm in the forum this ultimately came to nothing and ultimately we decided on Jim and I meeting in London with Charlie (Imagwai) joining us in the evening for dinner. But once the date was set it transpired that this wouldn't be possible due to child care commitments and the intervention of British Rail... instead Charlie said we were welcome to visit him in his opulent Kent abode in the evening, so that's what we did.

Yes I already mentioned British Rail, and British Rail were quite a big part of this story one way or another. Put simply, there was a rail strike, which meant if we were gonna make this work then we needed to take the trains as much out of the equation as possible. So, I decided the smart thing to do would be to drive to Charlie's, get the train to London and back, and then drive home (Jim was staying overnight with Charlie before heading back to the airport). This eventually turned into ‘drive to Orpington’ since the limited train service available served that station better than Charlie's local station, albeit the last train back was still a ridiculously early 6:05pm!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Year of the Dragon' Limited Edition Chronograph by The Watch Village

 

HISTORY: TAG Heuer Titanium (1984-1988)

The 'Titanium' was a very short lived and very '1980s' watch (both literally and figuratively). It first appeared in the 1984 Heuer catalogue and had its last appearance in the 1987/88 TAG Heuer catalogue. As such it is another one of those odd watches that can be had with either a 'Heuer' or 'TAG Heuer' branded dial and there's a good chance that even if you get a TAG Heuer dial the backplate and clasp might well still be stamped with the old 'Heuer' logo... that's just how it was in the 1980s kids!

I find some of the 'Titanium' designs appealing, but others markedly less so. I actually remember looking longingly at a 220.206 on eBay for quite some time, to the point where I went to the trouble of enquiring if TAG Heuer had any spare links should I need to extend the bracelet. Unfortunately the response I got was that they wouldn't sell links for watches of that age and it would have to be returned to them to be 'worked on'. As you might imagine, hearing that I thought better of it and turned my attention to something else. A shame really as the 220.206 is a cool looking watch and would have been a nice addition to my collection... but no way was I putting myself in that position. 

Okay, well clearly this isn't going to be another super-long 'History of' post because there are only eight models in total (and only eleven variants of those). Needless to say I'm still working on the rest of the Carrera posts and they will be along in good time. 

VIDEO:TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by WatchBox Reviews

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'OneLife Rally' Limited Edition Quartz Chronograph

CAZ101AM.FT8054*

Occasionally TAG Heuer will make 'special order' models for special clients, generally organizations or charities; these tend to be standard models that have been modded with a logo either on the dial or the backplate. This one popped up on the TAG Heuer forum (I think it was spotted on Instagram) and it's basically a stock CAZ101AM that has been customized with a 'OneLife Rally' engraving on the side of the case and on the backplate.  

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Reverse Panda Glassbox TH20-00 by Gullie

 

FEATURE: My Top Ten Aquaracers by Shane Paradis

 

As you know, this year we are celebrating 20 years of the magnificent Aquaracer and today I'm pleased to welcome the newest addition to our 'Council of Considered Opinion' - Shane Paradis. Shane is an American with a refreshingly positive attitude to quartz and older TAG Heuer models in general, which leads to some interesting and dare I say it 'unexpected' choices in his personal list of  'Top 10 Aquaracers'. He's also the first person not to include any of my Aquaracers in his Top 10, but I won't hold that against him. Honestly!

VIDEO: The Outstanding Revival of the TAG Heuer Carrera BY ID Guy