ON THE WRIST: Monaco 24 Calibre 36 Chronograph

CAL5113.FC6329

TAG Heuer Outlet / Bicester Village 4th February 2017

Strangely I don't seem to have written a post about trying this watch on even though I know I've tried it on at least three times in the last six months or so. How very odd. Sure, I have mentioned it more than a few times on this blog, but a search brings up no dedicated posts.

This watch is class, it just made everything else in the shop look second grade. Which it should, after all this is a watch which costs nearly £11,000 in an AD. I absolutely love the Monaco 24 case, and I really don't think I will ever settle for a normal Monaco, this is just too much nicer to do that and be genuinely happy. The strap is simple, subtle and the watch is darker than it looks in the picture above. On the wrist it has enormous presence and wears bigger than it's 40.5mm size. The dial is perfect, in fact I think I prefer it to the Gulf concept version because it's more adaptable and less obviously 'shouty'.

This watch is stunning, just stunning. And it gives me something of a dilemma. In a way I almost hoped that trying it on again today might sew a few seeds of doubt, or maybe even turn me off it altogether, but alas getting on the wrist only made me want it more. Even my wife (who isn't entirely on board with the idea of spending over £6000 on one watch, even if it represents a colossal £4500+ saving on the list price) confessed that she can see why I'm slightly obsessed with it. But still, it is an enormous amount of money for a watch and is making me wonder where I should go with my collecting now.

My article on eBay got me thinking that maybe I should explore the second hand market a bit more and try and pick up some pre-owned TAGs, but also today I tried on a Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Extreme, which was very cool and 'only' £2500 (albeit reduced from £3800 or something).

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to widen my collection to include other brands...? (Insert sharp intake of breath here). I mean I don't know much about Maurice Lacroix to be honest, but it was a cool watch, and I have to say their nylon strap is WAY better than the one TAG are fitting to the Aquaracer.

Also today my wife picked up an Oris Atelier Skeleton with a 70 diamond bezel for £1740, which is absolutely stunning and again this gave me slight pause for thought... after all, I am ambivalent about a lot of TAGs watches and while I do like the purity of a single make collection, maybe there are bargains to be had out there from makes whose watches don't hold their value quite as well as TAG?

Far from providing answers, today has opened up a whole new can of questions. Before it was just, do I really want to buy the Monaco 24 or not, and now it's a whole lot more confusing!

ON THE WRIST: Grand Carrera Calibre 17 Chronograph

CAV518K.FC6268

TAG Heuer Outlet / Bicester Village 4th February 2017

Without a shadow of a doubt the second nicest watch I tried on today, this one was priced at just under £4000 if I remember correctly, which represents a good £1300 saving on the original sale price. Indeed the outlet was groaning under the weight of Grand Carreras on offer today, with at least seven or eight different models represented, including the yellow and red 'caliper' models and the red caliper with the rubber strap (CAV5185.FT6020).

I definitely appreciate this one and for £4000 I would definitely choose this over both the Heuer Monza 40th Anniversary* and the Senna Carrera with the tyre-tread strap. It's very light and not too big on the wrist, despite being 43mm. My only real concern was that the strap was already starting to show signs of wear, still with this kind of discount you can't really moan too much can you?

I did start thinking, well you could replace the strap with a FT6020 (assuming you can get one), but then part of the appeal is the orange stitching on the leather strap. Still I assume you can purchase replacement FC6268 straps as well (hopefully?).

I think the non-caliper Grand Carrera is better looking overall than the 'caliper' version, although I do like the yellow version with the caliper, it's a tough call, or it would be if the caliper's weren't another thousand pounds even in the outlet. And once we're up to £5,000 then it's getting difficult to justify anything that isn't a Monaco 24.

*Saw a Monza 40th the other day and it wasn't as nice as I remember it. Was rather shocked how little white was on the dial and how biege the lume looked... 

ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer Calibre S Fernando Alonso Limited Edition

CAF7113.BA0803

TAG Heuer Outlet / Bicester Village 4th February 2017

I didn't realise until today that this was available on a bracelet, I'd only previously seen it on a rubber strap. I have to say, and this will surprise no-one, that I much prefer the look of this on the rubber. It must be said that the bracelet was scratched so that didn't exactly make me warm to it, and again (like the Link) the clasp was horrible and tinny. 

The watch itself is quite nice. I've been interested to try a Calibre S because I rather like the yellow version (CAF7013.FT8011), and indeed there were two different yellow Aquaracers in the store today, but of course not the one I am interested in. Typical. Still I figured it would be worth a look, even though I now realise that this has a different case...

For those of you that don't know, the Calibre S system is a quartz hybrid movement which uses the main hour/minute hands as a chronograph. So when you press the crown in the hands reset themselves to 12 and you press the pushers to start and stop as normal. The half dials at the bottom measure 10ths and 100ths of a second (when you stop the chrono they jump to give a reading) and I believe they also indicate the date.

The lady in the shop pressed the crown and handed the watch to me, and I pressed the top pusher to start the chrono. However, for some reason the second hand hand set to 12, and then the watch started doing all sorts of crazy things which no amount of pressing pushers and the crown would resolve. Between us we concluded that this was one watch which definitely requires the user to read the manual!

It was a bit of a shame, because I love the idea of it and it looks great when the hands move and reset themselves when you finish using the chrono, but.... well, it either didn't work properly or neither of us knew how to use it. 

If I remember correctly this was on sale at £1900, which seemed a little high really. The movement is cool, but the case is a bit characterless, hardly representative of the fiery Spaniard it celebrates. This watch must be nine years old as well, since it was issued when Alonso was partnering Hamilton at McLaren (Hamilton has his own version).

I'm getting a sense of deja-vu here, probably because I've actually already done a post about this watch which you can read here - SPOTLIGHT ON: Aquaracer Fernando Alonso

ON THE WRIST: Link Quartz Chronograph

CJ1110.BA0576

TAG Heuer Outlet / Bicester Village, 4th March 2017

This was the first thing that caught my eye on walking into the TAG outlet today and my first impression was that it looked rather nice. I think it was about £1425 or something like that, which is about a £500 saving on new. 

The watch looks nice enough, although on closer inspection the dial wasn't all that... exciting, somehow. The bracelet is quite comfortable, which I've heard before but this was my first try with a Link (as far as I remember), but the clasp is horrible. I think it's the same as the one I tried on a Calibre 16 Formula One a couple of months back. A horrible, tinny thing that has no place anywhere near a £2000 watch.

The disappointments mounted up, and kept coming. I tried the chronograph and the pushers felt cheap and nasty and all in all left me feeling thoroughly underwhelmed. It didn't look all that on the wrist either, it looked like a £1200 watch maybe, I certainly wouldn't pay £1400 and I definitely wouldn't dream of paying £1900. Very disappointing indeed.

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuers on eBay

My forays onto eBay usually end in disappointment, after all there's only so many pages of Formula One's that look like they've been involved in a motorbike accident you can look at before you give it up as a bad job. But I have bought three TAG's from eBay, and so far so good. One of them was too small for me (but that wasn't the seller's fault) one of them I kept for a good while before deciding that it too was too small and sold it on, and one I didn't actually buy from eBay, because I found the seller's own website and saved myself £50 in the process!

So I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find loads of interesting items being offered for sale on the world's favourite auction site... obviously I can't say if they are good deals or not, that's up to you to decide, neither can I vouch for any of the sellers, but it is interesting to see what's about. So here's a selection of items for your perusal (with links to sales in-case you are interested).

WAK2181.FT6027 Click picture to visit eBay sale.

#1. First up is a real treasure, with only 100 pieces made and sold exclusively through TAG's own boutiques this is a real rarity at a reasonable price. This one is offered for $1699, but the seller is open to offers. If you are in the market for a nice blue Aquaracer and you'd like something a bit 'special' you could do a lot worse than this one.

S99.306C Click picture to vist eBay sale

#2. Offered at a very reasonable £449 and described as mint NOS condition, this S/EL will surely find a bidder. Not too keen on the leather strap myself, but the watch itself is beautiful. I do like the S/ELs but the bracelet is a bit of a stumbling block for me as I can't quite decide if I like them or not. The Link is an option of course, but they look rather dull in comparison... 

WM1112 Click the picture to visit the eBay sale

#3. The WM112 is not a watch I know anything about, but it's certainly a looker. This one is currently offered for the princely sum of £450. Not sure if that's good or not, but it certainly looks stylish. Comes complete with box and papers and a new battery.

WK111A-0 Click picture to visit the eBay sale

#4. Here's a watch I would love to own, and I seriously thought about it at one point, but this one is exactly the same size as the 2000 I sold (and indeed that is the rubber strap I bought for mine) and therefore a little bit too small for me. Such a shame as this is a gorgeous watch, and very reminiscent of my Formula One Kirium. These don't come cheap compared to most 2000s, but even so with box and papers and in seemingly excellent condition this looks a good buy at £550.

A Calibre 11 forumite has also let me know that he is selling one of these too... CLICK HERE

WA1211 Click the picture to visit the eBay sale

#5. I would dearly love a classic Formula One, but again these are just too small for me. When I see examples like this it guts me all over again, because for £350 I would buy this in a heartbeat. But a 34mm watch would look pathetic on me, such a pity. This is being offered by a seller who obviously sells a lot of TAGs and this one has had a lot or replacement parts, including the glass, bezel, dial and strap. Nice!

CL1110.BA0700 Click the picture to visit eBay sale

#6. This watch (or maybe one similar) is one that I nearly bought many years ago, but never went through with it. I fancied this is as an everyday option so that I could save my F1 Kirium for best, but it was still the thick end of £1000 (this was in the mid 00's) and so I never pulled the trigger. 

This particular piece is being offered by Watchfinder, which should give some level of reassurance. I think Watchfinder are basically using eBay to offload watches that aren't really up to their very high standards, and indeed this one needs a replacement clasp and hasn't been cleaned since last use. At £300 it could be a bit of a bargain, but I would wonder why Watchfinder haven't restored it and sold it as normal...?

CA1213 Click the picture to visit the eBay sale

#7. What a beauty, and for once this is one classic Formula One that isn't completely out of the question. This one measures 39mm which makes it just about acceptable for those of us with a thicker wrist. However, this one is being offered at £645, and for that sort of money a critical eye is necessary. Two things immediately raise an eyebrow, firstly what is going on with the date window, and secondly, how is the case and bracelet in such good condition when the bezel looks like it's been through the wars? I don't think I would be buying this one somehow...

974.006 Click on the picture to visit the eBay sale

#8. Just to be clear, this isn't listed as a 974.006, but I've had a look through the 1991 catalogue and that's what it appears to be. Not much info available (but several pictures) but is described as being in 'great working condition'. This comes in a TAG box (certainly not the original one though) and is offered at £350 (open to offers). I rather like this one, but I suspect the bracelet/clasp might not agree with me.

WG1120-0 Click the picture to visit the eBay sale

#9. Another S/EL, with a full bracelet this time. I think this two-tone look isn't going to appeal to everyone, but if it does this appears to be a nice example, if somewhat small at 34mm...

Described as "excellant" (sic) with a few small scratches on the caseback, this one is £420 (open to offers) and the seller has 100% feedback (on 353 transactions). One thing though, the seller has kept their feedback private which to me is worthy of some degree of suspicion.

TAG Heuer Link phone Click the picture to visit the eBay sale

#10. I thought I'd finish with something a little different and off the wall. This mobile phone cost somewhere between £4,300 and £16,350 (according to this article in the Telegraph in 2011) and is being offered for sale for £400. Absolutely zero information offered, except that it's 'immaculate'. It may well be, but will anybody actually buy it? I doubt it somehow.

Well I hoped you enjoyed this article, and please remember I cannot vouch for any of these sellers. Be careful and if you are in any doubt you can always request help in the Calibre11 forum.

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Cookies!

Dunno who made these, but great job! 

THE RUBBER STRAP PROJECT: #7 (2447SN.FT6042)

Heuer 2447SN + FT6042

Technically this wouldn't work because the strap is 22mm and the watch is 18mm but... I did it anyway.

https://forums.calibre11.com/threads/tag-heuer-photo-gallery-share-your-photos.19268/page-65

SPOTLIGHT ON: Formula One Quartz Watch

WAH1115.BA0858

Here's a watch I've never seen before, until I just came across it while browsing on eBay. I didn't notice at first but this is obviously a close relative of my own Formula One (WAH1110-0) with a very similar dial configuration, except this has a carbon fibre effect dial (which isn't that easy to see in the picture above).

The bezel is actually highly polished (again you can't really see that in picture above), which I'm in two minds about. It looks quite good, but it seems to make it hard to see the markings on the bezel, although perhaps when you see it in the flesh it may be different?

This picture is from the eBay sale I found (link at the bottom of the page) and shows quite well the difference I am describing. I think I would prefer it if the steel was of a matt, brushed finish rather than the high polish. I can't help thinking it would be a scratch magnet. The one above is being sold by a pawn broker and is described as 'barely-worn'. The asking price of £575 sounds quite reasonable, given some of the rubbish you see on eBay. When I was looking for my F1 there were so many battered and bruised F1's that were being sold for £600+, although I was very lucky and secured mine for £450.

Obviously I can't vouch for the seller, although they have decent feedback, but I think if I was still in the market for an F1 I would certainly consider this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Barely-Worn-TAG-Heuer-Formula-One-WAH1115-BA0858-70765-/371851116473?hash=item56940dbfb9:g:gPYAAOSw5cNYjI-c

SPOTLIGHT ON: 1000 Series Full Lume Dial Quartz Diver

980.113N

Looking through the old TAG Heuer catalogues, it's amazing how many different models there were available in the early days of the brand. Some of them have aged better than others, although some of the gaudiest models have a certain perverse appeal.

The 980.113N is more of a classic piece, with it's 'Submariner' style and very cool fully-lumed dial, this is an old TAG (well Heuer really) that I would be happy to wear. At least I would if it was a bit bigger. 37mm is a tad too small for my 7" wrist, There is a larger version called the 980.032 but as you can see from the picture below, it's not simpler a larger version of the same watch, the case is bigger and changes the style of the watch as it protrudes out further than the bezel.

980.032

I don't find the 980.032 as appealing really, the changes to the case take it away slightly from the 'Submariner' look, which is a shame. Also a shame is that there is a black version called the 980.031 which is very cool (I believe this is the watch worn by Timothy Dalton in the James Bond film 'The Living Daylights'), but again I suspect this is also 37mm in diameter.

980.031

What a pity, because that is a great looking watch, and I love the black bracelet as well. I wonder how well the black coating has stood up to nigh on thirty years of wear though, and if there was a mint condition piece I bet it would cost a pretty penny!

980.113

As you can see from the pictures above a lot of these watches can be found with either Heuer or TAG Heuer logos since these watches came from the very early days of the TAG Heuer brand, it's quite interesting looking through the old catalogues and you can find scans of them on Calibre11. Not all the watches are as nice as these though, there's some genuinely horrific pieces like the 'Tri-Star' range and an awful lot of black and gold bracelets, and even a combination of the two which will probably hurt your eyes... but even then, you might still kinda like it, in a twisted kind of way.

TAG HEUER CATALOGUE SCANS ON CALIBRE11

https://www.calibre11.com/catalogues/

VIDEO: What Your Watch Says About You, with Archie Luxury

An overview of TAG Heuer by arch f*ckwit Archie Luxury, who thinks that TAG have no horological value whatsoever...

No value whatsoever...

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Autavia Heuer 02 Chronograph

CBE2110.FC8226                         CBE2110.BA0867

Before I begin, apologies for the lack of posts this week, I've been working on something with a friend and it's taking a little while to come together. Hopefully we can get it done and it will be posted here soon. Anyway, without further ado...

This is a re-written review of the new Autavia since I was unhappy with it (and I wasn't the only one - apparently).

--- --- --- --- ---

Without a doubt the Heuer Autavia is one of the most hotly anticipated watches of 2017 and no doubt it will garner lavish praise from all corners for it's retro looks, 60's style and general awesomeness. But you know what, I think it's a huge disappointment.

When the Autavia was first announced I imagined a modern interpretation of the watch, along the lines of the Monza 40th Anniversary. At the time I didn't actually know that the Autavia had resurfaced about a decade ago (very briefly) and when I saw it I loved the dial (but hated the case), so when I learned that the new Autavia would come in a round case I was quite intrigued.

One of the three '2006' Autavia Models

Sadly the new Autavia dial shares little with the 2006 re-issue, which from my point of view is a shame, although I believe there are some special versions coming out later on which might be a little more alluring.

Admittedly I haven't actually seen one in the flesh, but that watch looks all kind of dull to me. The bezel just looks really wrong somehow, I don't know if it's because the numbers are too big and basic looking, or whether it's missing the Submariner style markings between the twelve and three... but whatever it is it doesn't work for me. The dial is unexciting, but not actively irritating. It's a black 3-6-9 dial with silver sub dials, fairly standard stuff... but that bezel.

Maybe the 42mm dia is too big for a watch of this style, after all if everything was a bit smaller the bezel would be thinner and the numbers smaller. Maybe it would help, maybe not, but as it is it's really rubbing me up the wrong way.

While the Autavia comes with a black aluminium (not modern ceramic as was expected) bezel, the watch does come fitted with the latest in-house Heuer 02 movement (and a glass caseback to show it off), which I'm not sure anyone really expected.

I know there's great excitement about the grains of rice bracelet on the forums, but again, it does nothing for me. The tan strap is almost as ghastly as the bezel, maybe a retro-style rubber strap would work (one of those with the big oblong holes in, I don't know what they are called)... obviously a modern rubber strap would look a bit silly, or maybe just a perforated black leather strap would look better?

Retro Rubber Strap

Okay, let's stop for a minute and take stock. This watch plainly isn't for me, but there are plenty of other retro TAGs and Heuers that aren't for me either that I can still appreciate for their aesthetics. For example the CV5111.FC6335 below.

Even though its not aimed at me and even though I'm never going to buy one, I can still look at this and appreciate it's class and beautiful dial.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Autavia doesn't seem to bring anything exciting to the table. It's not a cheap watch and yet it doesn't look like a luxury item. Price is expected to be £4000 or thereabouts... which I guess is fair considering the movement inside the watch. Even so, at that price I'd take the Monza 40th Anniversary without a second's hesitation. And that for me is the rub, the Monza is such a cool watch that this has completely failed to match up to it and yet it costs the same money.

There may be a buzz about the Autavia but is this (launch) model going to set pulses racing enough to tempt people to part with their money? I'm not so sure it will.

That said, having just had a quick scan of eBay, original Heuer Autavias demand almost as much, so maybe if you don't want the hassle of a period watch and all the potential pitfalls and problems that it can bring (especially if you don't know what you're getting into) then maybe this will prove a hit after all?

Even so, I still think they could do with a more exciting 'Special Edition' asap.


READ MORE ABOUT THE HEUER AUTAVIA HERE ON CALIBRE 11
http://www.calibre11.com/first-look-2017-tag-heuer-autavia-heuer-02-chronograph/

SPOTLIGHT ON: 6000 Series Gold Automatic

WH5144.FC6065

You would be forgiven for thinking that this is a woman's watch (indeed I went to the trouble of going back and checking because I couldn't quite believe it either) but this is in fact a full size man's watch. Not even a mid-size unisex watch,,, not only that but this watch was being sold just 20 years ago!

I'm not a fan of the 6000 series watches anyway, to me it's a Kiriumish bezel with a very pretentious and rather unnecessarily ostentatious case, and in gold it looks even more OTT. But add in the 'purple/violet' strap (it's not blue, though it may appear at first to be so, it is listed in the catalogue as purple/violet') and matching face and this has got 'as worn by the Prince Regent in Blackadder III' written all over it.

I mean 'Lawks a Lordy' this is some kind of statement watch we're talking about here. And there's plenty more where this came from as well, a glance through the catalogue shows all sorts of rather tasteless 6000 series, with bits of gold here there and everywhere. All of which makes you wonder how they managed to go from this to the F1 Kirium which I own in just a few short years.

It's night and day in terms of class. What I find hard to believe is that people were actually buying watches like that in the late 90s. I mean, we all know the 80s was a decade of crass decadence and if that watch came from the late 80s it would make a whole lot more sense. Perhaps it's no coincidence that the takeover of TAG by LVMH came in 1999?

Case diameter looks to be somewhere in the high 30mm range, possibly even 40mm, but I can't get a definitive reading on that. An eBay search turned up surprisingly few gold 6000 series, with prices ranging from £600 to a diamond encrusted bezel version approaching £4000. Can't help thinking that no amount of diamonds are going to persuade anybody to shell out £4000 for that when for that money they could get a very nice new TAG Heuer!

FEATURE: My Next Purchase

As the months pass and my savings grow, I'm getting ever nearer to being in the position to buy my next TAG Heuer, but I'm still very undecided about what to get next. As those of you who have read my Personal Top Ten Tag Heuers post will know, I really love the Monaco 24s, but they are about £6-7000 in the outlets (if you can find one) and about the same price pre-owned, and that's a lot of money for me to spend on a watch. Obviously the list prices would put them completely out of the question (£9000+)... again, if you could even find one in an AD. In a way that would make my decision easier!

CAL5113.FC6329     CAL5111.FC6299     CAL5112.FC6298     CAL5110.FC6265

It's a toss up between the CAL5113 and the CAL5110 for me, the other two are probably too far behind to even contemplate justifying their price tag, I've seen and tried on all four of these watches in the TAG outlets at Bicester and Cheshire Oaks over the last few years, but common sense dictates they aren't going to keep turning up forever.

The CAL5113 seems the more available, there was one in store at Bicester Village last time I was there, but I'm not sure if there was a mark on the glass or not. If I was buying it I would want that sorting out straight away, I can imagine a new glass would probably be £150 or more...

The Monaco (standard or 24) is the obvious missing piece from my collection, but I still want one that I really love. I'm not just going to spend £3-7000 on a watch because I need it to make my collection complete. I've gotten over my music completism and I'm not about to start down the same route with watches. I really can't afford to anyway.

So, my options are one of those two Monaco 24s, a normal Monaco, a more 'classic' Carrera or Grand Carrera, or some cheaper possibilities like an Aquaracer or another Formula One. But I would like at least one more 'luxury' piece before I start buying everyday watches, and I've got a chunk of money in the bank that makes a good starting point for a higher end piece but would be pretty much wiped out if I bought something like an automatic Aquaracer right now.

And then of course there's always the worry that as soon as I buy something, TAG will announce something awesome. But then that's always a risk, so I guess all I can do is wait until Baselworld is done and dusted and see how the land lies. After all the really big change was the new style Carrera and I imagine we're going to see a lot of variations on that theme (and unless something is really incredible I don't really want another similar item when I'm on a limited budget).

So as you can imagine I've been looking at the Monacos a lot recently and to be completely honest there's not too many that are my kind of thing. The classic blue dial 'Steve McQueen' type of Monaco is a nice looking watch but it's just not my style. What I really want then is something like the Singapore Grand Prix limited edition or the Gulf limited edition, both of which are going to cost more than I'm probably willing to pay.

CAW2117.FC6271                      CW211A.FC6228

I guess the problem is that I want a cool looking Monaco, but if I'm not buying a 24 then I don't want to pay anywhere near what one costs, because say I could get the CW211A for £4000, well to me that's not a good compromise, I might as well save the other £2000 and get what I really want (whereas if it was say £2800, then that's a good compromise I think), the trouble is that comes back to spending £6000 on a watch, which is pretty crazy for me (my last car cost £4300!)

So then I think maybe a Grand Carrera, but again the ones I really like are £5000+ even in the outlets, so again I might as well get a Monaco 24 for not that much more. So as you can see I'm pretty much going around in circles here.

CAF7013.FT8011                 CAH7011.BA0860

These two are also possible purchases, indeed I could pretty much pick these up now, but I haven't actually seen either of them, and I think I would regret blowing my fund on two everyday watches when I could have built on it for a greater goal.

CV2A1F.FT6033

The other thing I had my eye on which is only slightly more than where my fund currently stands is a Carrera Monaco Grand Prix Limited Edition. I've seen this in Cheshire Oaks a few months ago for less than £3000, and I was tempted at the time, but didn't pull the trigger. I think if it's still there next time I go I will probably buy, that strap really has got my name all over it! But then again...

THE RUBBER STRAP PROJECT: #6 (CW211A.FT6024)

CW211A + FT6024

THE RUBBER STRAP PROJECT: #5 (WAY101B.FT6068)

WAY101B + FT6068

FEATURE: TAG Heuer and the Affordable Tourbillon

It's a year since TAG Heuer launched their 'low-priced' tourbillon range and now there are several versions of the Carrera Heuer 02T available including a phantom and also a couple of rose gold pieces. Prices range from about £12,000 for the titanium model to about £18,000 for the rose gold/gold bezel version, which is a lot of money for a TAG Heuer, but not for a tourbillon. Considering that the cheapest model available before the Carrera Heuer 02T was a Raymond Weil costing nearly £30,000... you can see that TAG have really shocked the market and stolen huge market share in the process.

Indeed, TAG Heuer are now intending to increase production from 700 in 2016 up to 2000 in 2017, which is a statement of intent if nothing else. But this poses a couple of questions, a) what are they going to do with them all, and b) why have TAG done this in the first place?

Let's take the second question first...

Jean Claude Biver shocked the watch world when he announced that TAG would make a (relatively) affordable tourbillon, drawing outrage from some manufacturers who were appalled that their golden egg was being 'prostituted' by a high street brand. Of course no one is trying to suggest that a machine made TAG Heuer tourbillon is of the same quality as a hand crafted Patek Philippe, but if nothing else it has proven that there is a market for tourbillons among people who either don't want to or can't afford to pay the prices charged by the more rarefied manufactures.

But it is interesting that JCB chose to go this route only briefly after cancelling a lot of TAG Heuer's 'haute horlogerie' pieces, claiming that TAG Heuer should operate in the £1-5000 price bracket. Indeed, he gave the impression of a tiered system throughout the LVMH with TAG operating in the lower bands, Zenith taking the £9000+ price range and Hublot taking the higher end price bands.

So why not give the affordable tourbillon to Zenith, after all the TAG Heuer tourbillon is selling right in their price bracket?

I can see two reasons for this, firstly Zenith is not a well known brand. Sure people know the El Primero movement (as used in the TAG Heuer Monaco 24) but Zenith is not a brand at the forefront of most peoples mind. True the affordable tourbillon could have been used as a springboard to relaunch Zenith to the high street, but it was a gamble that could have backfired (and besides, Zenith already had a tourbillon in their range).

Secondly, as with any industrial process there must be an economy of scale at work and it's safe to assume that a TAG Heuer tourbillon would sell more pieces than a Zenith, simply because it's much more likely to get into the stores in the first place. Think how many shops stock TAG Heuer watches and think how many stock Zenith... so it's safe to assume that if the numbers had to be scaled back to what they thought Zenith could shift it would probably put the price up. Also you have to take into account that the 'affordable' tourbillon would still have to fit into Zenith's pricing structure, for instance it would be ridiculous to price a Zenith tourbillon less than £20,000 and besides, that wouldn't have had nearly the market impact of a £12,000 TAG Heuer tourbillon.

TAG Heuer Monaco V4 Tourbillon

As to why, well I guess JCB saw the affordable tourbillon as a better option than TAG making high end pieces (like the Monaco V4 and V4T) that would sell in very small quantities and really do very little to promote TAG's abilities except among serious watch fanatics. The beauty of the affordable tourbillon is that not only does it stick two fingers up at all those who question TAG Heuer's horological capabilities (and given their achievement over the years we really should be beyond this nonsense by now, but old habits die hard I suppose!) but it also produces a product that can actually be seen, touched and sold in significant numbers out in the marketplace. I mean have you ever actually seen a Monaco V4 or a Mikrograph?

So what will TAG Heuer do with all these additional tourbillons they are intending to certify? Well I suppose it's safe to assume TAG intend to ramp up production of their current range and perhaps add a few more variations on the familiar theme, but wouldn't it be nice to see some new ranges being announced?

I'm not sure of the technical challenges it would pose, but I would love to see TAG launch a tourbillon Monaco 24, like the one I've mocked up below.

Doesn't that look fantastic? It would certainly tick two of my boxes in one hit: Monaco and a Tourbillon, all in one watch. Also I can imagine they might eventually incorporate a tourbillon into a traditional Carrera watch, assuming they can make it fit with the sizing. 

Well I guess we shall have to wait and see, for the moment I guess I'll just have to dream of a tourbillon Monaco and hope Mr Biver is on the same page...

READ MORE ABOUT THE HEUER O2T ON CALIBRE 11

http://www.calibre11.com/in-depth-review-tag-heuer-carrera-heuer-02t-tourbillon/

THE RUBBER STRAP PROJECT: #4 (CV2A80.FT6007)

CV2A80 + FT6007

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Manchester United Special Editions

A couple of photos have appeared from Geneva showing Manchester United special editions, firstly we have a Carrera Heuer 01, which if I'm being entirely honest, would be okay if it wasn't for the devil on the 9 O'Clock sub dial....I mean the red hands and markers would be enough surely? I guess tasteful doesn't cut it. Still, the strap looks great. I would certainly consider getting that strap for my own Heuer 01. The strap is also available in red, which is not so good...

Then we have a new Formula One, which is.... well, not exactly gorgeous.

Maybe it looks better in the flesh? It would need to... then again it has a cool strap. I do wonder if we should be seeing these yet. These two and the Red Bull Carrera Drive Timer have all 'leaked' but with no official announcement from TAG Heuer themselves. 

Ariel Adams (of A Blog to Watch) said he had seen lots of TAGs which he's not allowed to talk about yet, so I wonder if someone is going to be getting their privileges cut off sometime soon?

THE RUBBER STRAP PROJECT: #3 (WAY208B.FT6068)

WAY208B + FT6068

Leaving aside the cyclops, the thing I don't like about this watch is the blue nylon strap. This look so much better, although unfortunately this strap has a yellow back which is visible from the side, which would rather spoil the look. Still it looks great head-on.

SPOTLIGHT ON: 6000 Series McLaren F1 Quartz

WH5214.FC6031

In the early 90's McLaren launched the ultimate supercar, the revolutionary 'F1'. Built without engineering or financial compromise, the finished car was the fastest road car available (top speed somewhere between 230-245mph depending on who you believe!) and cost upwards of £500,000. The car was produced in very small numbers, in total there were 106 of which only 64 were road cars (the others being prototypes and racing versions).

At the time, TAG Heuer were a sponsor of McLaren Formula One and the boss of McLaren (Ron Dennis) was also a shareholder in TAG Heuer, so it made sense for TAG to manufacture a special 'personalized' watch, given to the owners of the supercar (along with a set of specially made golfclubs).

However, the watch at the top of this page is not this watch. For some reason, possibly lack of demand for the brilliant but hugely expensive McLaren F1, TAG made and issued (but seemingly did not sell) some 'non-personalized' pieces of the same watch. In the picture below you can see the 'owners' watch which has printed on the dial the chassis number of the car to which it belongs, obviously this is missing on the non-owner watches. Actually, not only that but the 'McLaren Cars' text is replaced by 'Chronometer - Officially Certified'.

Additionally, if this photo below is correct there is no mention of McLaren on the back plate of the watch either, meaning the only reference left to the McLaren F1 is the 'F1 V12' text on the bottom edge of the front of the case.

Seemingly none of the car owners have decided to sell their personalized watches, possibly because if you have a car that is now worth several million pounds, then selling a watch for a couple of thousand pounds doesn't really interest you, especially as I suppose it might fetch less than it might devalue the car not having it...? 

A few non-owner watches have been sold, I've found one that sold on eBay for £1176 in 2011, which doesn't seem that much really considering it was unworn and is one of the rarest TAG Heuers out there. Perhaps the somewhat dated styling and not terribly attractive strap worked against it? Personally I'm not that taken with this watch, or the 6000 series in general, that case is very ostentatious and just seems at odds with what a TAG Heuer ought really to be.