Wednesday, 19 August 2020
Tuesday, 18 August 2020
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T 'Aston Martin' Limited Edition
CAR5A8E.FT6181
Browsing the TAG Heuer website today I came across this limited edition piece in the Carrera section (and only the Carrera section, it didn't show up under general watches for some reason - I'll leave a link at the bottom of the page). Carrera tourbillons have become slightly ten-a-penny of late, in fact I've kind of stopped noticing them such has been the prevalence of releases. But this one caught my eye, I mean... how could it not?
Black and gold is a colour combination I find very appealing and even more so when the gold is limited to the dial and rotor. In fact the only gold not safely under glass here is on the backplate, where you will find the text 'Aston Martin Edition' and '1 of 150'. The bezel and lugs are forged carbon, while the case is black PVD coated titanium. I must say I love the font they have chosen for the bezel, that is daaamned sexy!
When you look closely you will see that the dial is actually a dark brown (granted the top picture does not show that well at all), which kind of explains why this watch is fitted with a brown leather strap.* While I would be more than happy with a simple black/gold colour como, I think this works quite well and gives a nice background for the rose gold detailing. The only thing I'm not 100% sure about is the Aston Martin badge being placed above the TAG Heuer shield. I get that it fits better that way around but having two logos on top of each other looks a bit busy for me. That said, I don't have a better suggestion for placing either logo, but Hubert at Calibre 11 does (HERE)
*Not just any leather strap mind you, this is calfskin leather as used by Aston Martin themselves!
The watch is powered by a COSC certified tourbillon chronometer version of the in-house Heuer 02 movement, which boasts a 65 hour power reserve. Naturally, all of this does not come cheap... and I'm afraid not many of us will be finding this in our stockings on December the 25th! List price is currently £21,800 (which puts it way out of my price range) and means it's competing with the likes of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore and the Rolex Daytona, a pretty tough fight to pick even if it is a very nice watch and a Swiss made tourbillon into the bargain.
Strangely the TAG Heuer website shows this piece as being 'Out of Stock', but I'm more than sure this can't be true. It's either a pre-order or a mistake and prospective buyers would be advised to enquire with your local AD, who I'm sure will be more than happy to hear from you!
https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/timepieces/collections/tag-heuer-carrera/45-mm-calibre-heuer-02-tourbillon/CAR5A8E.FT6181.html
https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/timepieces/collections/tag-heuer-carrera/45-mm-calibre-heuer-02-tourbillon/CAR5A8E.FT6181.html
Monday, 17 August 2020
Sunday, 16 August 2020
HISTORY: TAG Heuer Formula 1 (Part Three: 2004-2007)
You will notice that henceforth the dials of the Formula 1 models actually read 'TAG Heuer Formula 1' rather than just 'Formula 1', this was apparently a compromise worked out with Bernie Ecclestone. Normally I'm guessing he would have just slapped an injunction on the use of the branding, but since TAG Heuer had previously used it and been a big money sponsor in Formula 1 (and remain so to this day) he decided to cut them some slack.
This generation of watches were available in three sizes
2004 CATALOGUE
The 2004 catalogue is less than comprehensive, showing only four Formula 1 watches in total; 2 chronographs and two three-handers, as yet there are no women's watches displayed. Again it's unclear whether the watches were launched in stages or if this was merely supposed to represent a 'selection' from the range. Unfortunately the Formula 1 watches do look a little out of place in this catalogue next to pieces like the futuristic Microtimer and the solid gold 2000 Exclusives...
CAC1110.BT0705: 40mm, black/silver dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
CAC1111.BA0850: 40mm, white/black dial, black bezel on a bracelet
CAC1111.BT0705: 40mm, white/black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1111.BT0705: 40mm, white dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1113.BA0850: 40mm, red dial, black bezel on a bracelet
WAC1113.BT0705: 40mm, red dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
2005 CATALOGUE
By the time the 2005 catalogue came along, things had expanded significantly. Not only had the ladies watches been added into the mix, but also the first analog-digi Formula 1 and an Indy 500 edition as well.
CAC1112.BT0705: 40mm, red/silver dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1110.BA0850: 40mm, black dial, black bezel on a bracelet
WAC1110.BT0705: 40mm, black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1112.BA0850: 40mm, blue dial, black bezel on a bracelet
WAC1112.BT0705: 40mm, blue dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1210.BA0851: 35.5mm, black dial, black bezel on a bracelet
WAC1210:BT0707: 35.5mm, black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1211.BA0851: 35.5mm, white dial, black bezel on a bracelet
WAC1211.BT0707: 35.5mm, white dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1215.BC0840: 37mm, white dial, diamond bezel on a white strap
WAC1216.BC0841: 37mm, pink dial, diamond bezel on a pink strap
CAC111D.BT0705: 40mm, ani-digi dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
2006 / 2007 CATALOGUE
Remarkably, the 2006/2007 catalogue features more ladies pieces than men's... and every single one of them has a diamond encrusted bezel. I'm not a big fan of this era of the Formula 1 and I have to say these diamond bezel are the bottom of the barrel. Where the rest of the catalogue still seems quite 'high end' these new F1s really do scream 'entry level' and it doesn't help that the Aquaracer range has started encroaching into the Formula 1's 'chronograph' territory.
The blue dial WAC1112 appears to have been discontinued by this point and the 'mid-size' WAC1210 and WAC1211 have also disappeared from the catalogue as well. There is a new 'Alarm' model (WAC111A) but most of the changes are increased strap options for the ladies pieces (which accounts for the great number of selections available).
WAC1214.BT0711: 37mm, black dial, diamond bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1214.FC6218: 37mm, black dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (folding clasp)
WAC1214.BC0843: 37mm, black dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (pin buckle)
WAC1215.BT0711: 37mm, white dial, diamond bezel on a black rubber strap
WAC1215.FC6219: 37mm, white dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (folding clasp)
WAC1215.BC0844: 37mm, white dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (pin buckle)
WAC1216.FC6220: 37mm, pink MOP dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (folding clasp)
WAC1216.BC0845: 37mm, pink MOP dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (pin buckle)
WAC1217.FC6221: 37mm, brown MOP dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (folding clasp)
WAC1217.BC0846: 37mm, brown MOP dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (pin buckle)
WAC1218.BA0852: 37mm, anthracite dial, diamond bezel on a bracelet
WAC1218.FC6222: 37mm, anthracite dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (folding clasp)
WAC1218.BC0847: 37mm, anthracite dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (pin buckle)
WAC1219.BA0852: 37mm, burgundy sunray dial, diamond bezel on a bracelet
WAC1219.FC6223: 37mm, burgundy sunray dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (folding clasp)
WAC1219.BC0848: 37mm, burgundy sunray dial, diamond bezel on a nizza strap (pin buckle)
WAC111A.BA0850: 41mm, black dial, silver bezel, alarm function, on a steel bracelet
WATCHES NOT FEATURED IN CATALOGUES
The watches below are from this era, but for whatever reason were not shown in the catalogues at the time.
WAC1113.BA0850: 40mm, red dial, black bezel on a steel bracelet
WAC1113.BT0706: 40mm, red dial, black bezel on a red rubber strap
WAC1213.BA0851: 35.5mm, orange dial, black bezel on a steel bracelet
WAC1213.BT0708: 35.5mm, orange dial, black bezel on an orange rubber strap
WAC1111.BA0850: 40mm, white 'Olympic' dial, black bezel, steel case/bracelet (S/E)
Saturday, 15 August 2020
Friday, 14 August 2020
NOT BUYING: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Classic Quartz Watch
375.513
After buying my red/white and black/yellow resin cased Formula 1s off eBay for less than £200 a piece, I came across a Japanese seller (Spirit*Age) who, amongst many other TAG Heuer listings, had two separate auctions listed for this black/green steel cased model. One was missing it's strap and had a starting price of about £140, while the other came complete with boxes and papers, but had a starting price of £180.
Having just ordered a yellow strap for my 380.513, I was in the position of having a spare black strap available to me, so I set my sights on the (I presumed) less popular 'no strap' option. Unfortunately, the other auction finished first... but as it, rather surprisingly, ended without a bid and was immediately relisted I found myself in the ideal position of having it as a back up.
I bet you can guess the rest of this story, but I'll tell you anyway...
So half an hour before the 'no strap' auction was due to finish there was a sudden flurry of activity (10 bids in fact) which pushed the watch up to nigh on the starting price for the piece with a strap. Well it didn't make sense for me to get involved and push it up even higher, especially when there was another option on the table - so I grumpily watched someone purchase that one and then endured the five day wait to bid on the other one.
With painful inevitability, a day before that one was due to finish it suddenly started attracting interest and by the time it finished it was up around £250, which was more than I wanted to pay, especially as there was a £25 postage charge plus potential import duties from Japan to the UK. Aaaaargh!
And then, just to top it all off... the (potentially spare) black strap on my 380.513 snapped anyway!
How I laughed...
On reflection, the one with the strap was the much better option, especially as it came complete with an original round, plastic TAG Heuer box, and I do rather wish I'd thrown my hat into the ring there when I had the chance. It also looks in better condition, but at the same time that 'new-looking' bezel should really have green numbers on it, not white.
Still, knowing that I 'could' have purchased the full set for £180 the week previous leaves something of a bitter taste in the mouth...!
Thursday, 13 August 2020
Wednesday, 12 August 2020
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Indy 500' Quartz Limited Edition
CAZ101AD.FT8024
TAG Heuer have been celebrating the Indy 500 for quite a while now and Googling 'TAG Heuer Indy 500' brings up quite a selection of special editions to mull over. Last year we had both a quartz Formula 1 and a Calibre 16 Carrera (both of which recently turned up at Bicester Village, making way for the new piece no doubt), and here once again we have a 43mm quartz Formula 1 chronograph sporting the famous 'IMS' logo in the '6' position subdial. As far as I know there's no Carrera model this time and if there was I very much doubt they would have released them separately.
It's an interesting one this one, because when I first saw the render for this I thought it looked a bit of a mess to be honest, and then when I saw it in better quality I thought it looked better than I thought and when you blow it up and look at it really closely it looks even better. For example, the subdials have a nice circular texturing to them that isn't immediately apparent in low res pictures and the black part of the dial is made to look like asphalt. The brickwork too has been nicely done although I would maybe have preferred something a little less 'realistic', maybe just the mortar pattern in white or red perhaps? Still, the brick pattern is an important part of the scheme, symbolising the part of the Indianapolis track which was left bare when they asphalted the rest of the surface.
It's quite a busy dial and I can't help thinking those red splashes in the subdials are perhaps a flourish too much, and for me personally I really have a problem with the winged 'Indy' logo. Unfortunately it's not a very convenient shape to fit on a watch dial, anywhere other then where the TAG Heuer logo inevitably goes. It never looks like it really fits when they place it inside a subdial, and here again it looks rather crammed in. I get there's not much they can do about it, the logo is the logo after all, but it jars all the same.
I actually think that if you took that logo away and removed the red flashes from the subdials it would be an improvement. I do like the red 'Indy 500' text on the ceramic bezel and the black DLC case looks great. I also quite like the rubber strap it comes on, the FT8024, although I do think it's better suited to use with steel cases as it looks a little grey next to the black case here.
I think I can confidently say that this is my favourite of all of the TAG Heuer 'Indy 500' special editions, but to be honest none of the previous models have really grabbed my attention, so it's slightly hollow praise. It's interesting to see that this one is a numbered limited edition, rather than the more open ended 'Special Editions' we have had in the past. Of course, assuming the race goes back to it's normal May date next year they'll only have nine months to shift these rather than usual twelve... so perhaps it's just as well.
The CAZ201AD is limited to 1500 pieces and costs £1750.
Tuesday, 11 August 2020
Monday, 10 August 2020
BUYING EXPERIENCE: Omega Orbis Constellation Series Star Quartz Watch
123.15.24.60.03.001
Several years ago I was looking in Michael Jones window in Northampton and I spied a black dial Omega Constellation with stars on the dial and a diamond bezel. I duly reported this find to my wife, but IIRC the price tag was somewhere around the £5000 mark so this particular avenue remained unexplored. A few years later my wife came across a quartz version in a shop in Milton Keynes, she loved it but it was still around the £3000 mark and as it happened the bracelet had a nasty scratch in it which rather put her off the idea.
A couple of days ago she sent me an email with a link to the Watchfinder site, where she had found a pre-owned model in excellent condition for £1875. Unlike the one she tried on before this one had a stunning blue dial and I could tell she was revving herself up to buy it, but was hesitating slightly because in these uncertain times it's still a lot of money to be spending on a luxury item.
But because this was pretty much her grail watch, I thought she should definitely buy it as if she didn't and it sold to someone else, she would always regret it. So the next morning I emailed my previous contact at Watchfinder and asked if there was any movement available on the price. He fired back an email with a link offering me the watch for £1650, and that was decision well and truly made! A £225 discount just like that, gotta be worth asking the question.
As ever Watchfinder were on the ball and we received a phone call an hour or so later to our home address, double checking our information was correct, the watch was dispatched that day and arrived the next morning. Unfortunately it didn't have the original box and papers with it, but they did send it in a very nice 'Watchfinder' box, which is as good as any of the watch boxes I've ever had - so full marks there.
My wife hadn't realised that the watch didn't have a second hand until she got it, which is always slightly perturbing as it's hard to tell if it's working or not. I think that's probably a good thing though as less is definitely more on this one and I'm glad it doesn't have a date as it's unnecessary, especially on a star spattered 24mm dial (the larger 27mm version does actually have a date incidentally).
This particular model turned out to be a special edition for 'Orbis' eye doctors, with some of the sale proceeds going to fund their work. It's approximately six years old and is no longer available, but the original list price seems to have been around about £3500, so £1650 looks like an excellent price considering that it's only just out of warranty and looks mint (there is one very small scratch on the bracelet, but that's all).
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not exactly an Omega fan, I visited one of the London boutiques last year and while it was a very nice experience and the staff could not have been more helpful, I found the watches unappealing and in the case of the Speedmaster particularly, incredibly underwhelming.
This watch is spectacular though, the blue dial is fantastic and the 18K white gold stars really sparkle against it. In fact I think it looks much nicer than the black dial did, so I'm glad she hung on for this one - even though it was more by accident than design.
Sunday, 9 August 2020
Saturday, 8 August 2020
SPOTLIGHT ON: Corum Admiral's Cup Challenger 40 Automatic Regatta Watch
01.0025
You may remember a few weeks ago I bought a selection of 'International Watch' magazines, that originated from the mid 1990s. Reading one today I came across an article about Corum, and for some reason it got me thinking... for all the time I spend on eBay looking for TAG Heuer watches and memorabilia, I can barely ever remember searching for other brands of watches, except maybe Breitling, but not in the last couple of years (and certainly not now they've gone down the 'we're just so damn retro it hurts' route).
So who knows, maybe there's a world of pre-owned watches out there from brands that are not so well known and which might not hold their value that well? Maybe my blinkered vision means I'm missing out on a veritable bounty of watches, perhaps some Girard Perregaux divers for next to nothing... or perhaps a Ulysse Nardin for the price of an Aquaracer?
Well probably not, but I did search for Corum... and to be completely truthful, most of what came up was pretty awful. I know they are famous for those dreadful bubble watches, but a lot of their other stuff isn't much better. But then my eye settled on this (above) and I was rather shocked by it. Finally a Corum that I actually liked!
Now the diamond bezel might give the game away, because in fact this is technically a 'ladies' watch. But... crucially, it is 40mm in diameter, so to my mind that is at the very least something that could be considered 'Unisex'! I mean come on, with that protruding crown and those brutalist crown guards, this thing is going to measure 45-46mm surely!
They also make it in black, with a chronograph, which is a bit less feminine admittedly... and the flags look rather cool in monochrome, but still I think I prefer the white version. But okay, maybe it is a bit girly... (can't even buy it for my wife as it's way too big for her tiny wrists, she can only just cope with 36mm!), and of course there are 'Admiral's Cup' models for men. Here's one below, the only problem is it's 50mm in diameter!
Why on Earth does it need to be so big - that's ludicrous. I mean, I don't like it much anyway, although the strap looks quite cool. Kinda reminds me of the Oris rubber straps, the ones that come on the Aquis... but no way can this thing be 5mm bigger than my Heuer 01, that just isn't going to work.
They do however, make a rather cool watch called the 'Deep Hull 1000', which as you can probably guess from the name is manly to the max. It looks (at least to me at any rate) like an Aquagraph that has been redesigned by a Terminator T-800, and then given twice the water resistance - hence the 1000 in the name. This is a beast of a watch and yet again the sizing is the wrong side of ridiculous.
If I remember correctly the Aquagraph is 42mm in diameter, but this thing is 48mm, and will you look at the size of that crown, that thing would give Richard Mille nightmares! Part of me quite likes it though, but I know on wrist it would almost certainly look completely over the top.
List price on one of these is nigh on £8000, but as I suspected you can pick one up from Chrono 24 fairly easily for around about £3k. I think at £8000 it looks expensive, but at £3000 it's looking like a very credible and very cool alternative to a 500M Aquaracer, or indeed the Aquagraph!
Corum certainly are a very hit and miss brand, and I really can't see me succumbing to their offerings any time soon, but it just shows that once in a while perhaps it's worth taking the blinkers off to see what else is out there - even if it's only to assure yourself that you were happy as you were in the first place!
Friday, 7 August 2020
Thursday, 6 August 2020
HISTORY: The TAG Heuer Formula 1 (Part Two: 1997-1999)
The Formula 1 seems to have stuttered to a halt by 1996, with that year's catalogue showing only two (first generation) watches, and the 1997 catalogue showing about the same, albeit of a new design. But the range did get it's own bespoke catalogue in 1998 which shows the new range in all its colourful glory. The resin case was well and truly gone as were the three handed and ladies models and the watches had now increased in size to 37mm.
TAG Heuer introduced a new rubber strap for the second generation of Formula 1 watches, the BT0700.
1997 CATALOGUE
The 1997 catalogue showed just three Formula 1 models, with revamped versions of the CA1210 (blue dial) and CA1211 (black dial) alongside a brand new orange dial chronograph (CA1214).
CA1210.BT0700: Blue/black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
CA1211.BA0493: Black dial, black bezel on a bracelet
CA1211.BT0700: Black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
CA1214.BA0493: Orange/black dial, black bezel on a bracelet
CA1214.BT0700: Orange/black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
1998 FORMULA 1 CHRONOGRAPHS CATALOGUE
It's unclear whether the range was launched in stages or all at once, but the yellow, red and white dial versions do not appear in an official catalogue until 1998, although the CA1212 white dial had already been in the line-up previously in its original incarnation (as featured in the 1994/1995 SELECTION CATALOGUE discussed in part one).
CA1212.BA0493: White/black dial, black bezel on a bracelet
CA1212.BT0700: White/black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
CA1213.BA0493: Yellow/black dial, black bezel on a bracelet
CA1213.BT0700: Yellow/black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
CA1215.BA0493: Red/black dial, black bezel on a bracelet
CA1215:BT0700: Red/black dial, black bezel on a black rubber strap
It does seem slightly curious that TAG Heuer kept the part numbers for the black, blue and white dials given the drastic redesigns made to the dial... but I suppose the company viewed it as a straight swap with no overlap.
1999 CATALOGUE
The 1999 catalogue features only the black, white and orange dial versions of the watch and it's clear that the range is being downplayed. Having bought the company, LVMH now decided to try and take the brand upmarket and figured that the 'entry level' Formula 1 range with its gaudy colouring was not sending the right message. Consequently the range was dropped and would not re-appear until 2004.
Those colourful dials remain a hit with buyers to this day though, with the yellow dial in particular attracting something of a premium on the pre-owned market.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)