FEATURE: My Top 5 Gold and Copper Coloured Dial TAG Heuer Watches

 

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You may be surprised to learn that there have been quite a number of gold dial TAG Heuer watches over the last 35 years, including some featured on 2000 and 3000 Series pieces that were carried over from the dying days of the Heuer Watch Co. But as is now customary I've decided to open this piece with a watch that doesn't actually make it in to the top five; partly because it's not quite good enough, partly because I don't want to spoil the surprise of what is in the top five and partly because I'm not 100% sure it is actually gold coloured. 

Right enough it looks gold here, but looking at other images it appears much, much lighter, almost sand like in appearance, which would make sense since this is a watch made to commemorate the Baja 1000 (a race which takes place in the desert). I've also seen the watch dial described as 'beige' in a listing (mind you another listed it as grey so that's hardly conclusive), but either way it didn't make it, so let's take a look at what did...

Oh and before you get your hopes up, I've excluded the Ronnie Peterson solid gold Carrera on the grounds that: a) it's a piece unique so not something most of us can aspire to owning, and b) I can't be doing with that 'Milanese' bracelet.... sorry, I know - I'm absolute scum.

#5: 2000 Series (966.006) Quartz Watch

Our first entry is one of those aforementioned carry over pieces from the Heuer days, and a fine looking little watch it is too! I'm a sucker for anything black and gold, but it's harder to find a black and gold watch with a gold face than you might imagine. This one would look great on my wrist but finding one with a bracelet that hadn't lost at least some of its 'black' is bound to be a challenge.

It was a toss up between this and the copper dial S/EL (WG111D) as to which got the final place in this list, but I gave this 2000 Series the nod because it's a little more flamboyant and a little more interesting than just a rather plain S/EL with a copper dial... although I'd gratefully welcome either into my collection!

#4. Executive (915.413) Quartz Watch

Another 'transitional' piece, the Executive was available with either Heuer or TAG Heuer on the dial depending on the year of manufacture. I wrote about a blue dial Executive a few days ago and unfortunately the same problem I had with that one applies here too - namely that it was only available in two sizes: midsize (34mm) and ladies. It's a real shame as I would love a non-chronograph Executive, but unfortunately that's the only way to get a full-size piece... not that they're exactly 'abundant' you understand!

#3. Kirium (WL5113) Automatic Chronometer Certified Watch

A piece I've long had my eye on, but one I'm yet to find one in good condition at a reasonable price. Yes it's a chronometer and yes the dial is obviously harder to find than the regular blue or black pieces, but I still don't think prices north of £1000 are realistic. The chronometer Kiriums only come in 36mm as well which is a little on the small side, but since my blue dial WL1116 is also 36mm I at least know it's wearable. The problem is there are so many other Kiriums I'd like to own that I'm not sure this one will ever quite make it to the top of the list and into my collection. Nice though...

#2. 3000 Series (237.406) Quartz Chronograph

Obviously I've chosen this particular model because I've recently purchased it, but I could just as easily have picked the automatic version (137.406) or the three hander (937.406). This was another carry over from the Heuer days and this watch can be had with either logo on the dial and also (rarely) in a gold bezel variation (237.406G or 937.406SG). I prefer the black bezel version myself, I think it gives a good bit of contrast and frames the rather wonderful dial nicely. I also think if I was going to have a fully gold watch then I'd prefer it to actually be made of solid gold rather than just gold plated (as this is), which leads me rather neatly to...

#1. 6000 Series (WH5140.BG0675) Chronometer Watch

This one, which genuinely is made of solid 18k yellow gold. These can also be had in a a variety of dial colours including white, green or blue and I think if I was given a free choice I might choose green as it is absolutely stunning - but if you're going to go gold you can't really go wrong if you go all gold. I actually got to try on a white dial solid gold 6000 a couple of years ago and it was everything I'd hoped it would be (and heavy into the bargain), the gold really accentuates the intricacies of the complex bracelet and it also really suits the overall rather 'regal' design elements of the 6000 Series. 

Obviously though, you're not going to pick one of these up for a few hundred quid. Prices start at around £6-7000 for the white dial version and go up to £9000+ for the green and blue. The problem is once you get to those sort of prices you are opening up a world of attractive options, so you need to be really focused to take one of these home. 

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SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Kirium Chronometer

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I spotted this watch on eBay a couple of days ago and it rather piqued my interest... bidding was just over £200 when I first spotted it and it eventually climbed to £310, which seems rather inexpensive for a chronometer certified automatic with a nice blue dial don't you think? Is that a note of regret you can detect in my voice? Well, yes I think it could be... but the truth is I also spotted something else at the same time, something I've been looking for for a long time and something which ended after this auction, so I needed to keep my powder dry for that... more on that anon.

But let's not get distracted by that, what we have here is a rather attractive Kirium chronometer with a stylish blue dial. Condition is hard to determine, it looks quite scratched but I've learned from experience that it's often difficult to be sure about polished watches from photographs as they can often look much worse in pictures than they actually turn out to be. I'd say that although the bezel does look quite scratched here it would probably not be all that noticeable on the wrist, and I would certainly think it was worth taking a chance on.

Kiriums do seem to be one of those watches that were bought to be worn daily, and many have led hard lives. I noticed in one of the pictures something of a scuff on the lower right hand lug, but again it's probably nothing to get too worked up about and something that could probably be minimised with a bit of judicious polishing.

My main concern when assessing this though is the movement. This watch is probably around twenty years old and who knows if it has ever been serviced. Chronometer certified is all well and good if it's been looked after but here's a prime example of a watch that's potentially going to cost more than it's worth if it needs servicing. Which is a shame because it's a very nice looking Kirium and I would liked to have added a third Kirium to my collection, but maybe it's for the best that I never got involved in the bidding.

To be fair, the seller says it works well and it comes complete with spare links, so somebody probably got a lovely watch at a very fair price... maybe I'm too cautious when it comes to buying automatics pre-owned? But then again, the whole point of the watch is that it's a chronometer, so if it's not running to that spec then wouldn't that annoy you? I think it would me...