FEATURE: Coming Up on Seven Years of the TAG Heuer Enthusiast Blogspot

 

Hello friends, and thank you for continuing to visit my blog. This year has been a bit different for me, with my watch collecting coming to (pretty much) a screeching halt as I came to realise that simply buying more and more and more watches simply wasn't sustainable, or desirable. This caused a bit of a dip in momentum since I wasn't constantly getting new watches to talk about and this coincided with an absolute glut of releases from TAG Heuer which meant it felt like I was constantly having to write one 'First Impressions' post after another.

While I do want to continue to cover every new release (excluding the Connected) recently it seems like the blog has become a little bit too much of a 'billboard' for modern TAG Heuer. I mean of course it is, but I also want it to continue to be a place to celebrate the last 37 years and not just the last 6 months. While I'm not buying any more older models at the moment, I still own plenty and my enthusiasm for the 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s models has not dimmed.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Quartz Alarm Watch by Wristwatch Dave

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Solargraph' Blue Dial Quartz Watch

 

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If you're thinking that there's nothing particularly different about this blue dial version of TAG Heuer's solar powered 'Solargraph' Aquaracer, you'd be right; it's literally the same as the black dial steel version released a few months ago. Yet the render caused a few ripples of excitment, suggesting as it does a sexy 'metallic' blue dial, always a winner with a three hand Aquaracer.

Alas, seeing this in the flesh was something of a disappointment. The blue is not 'metallic' at all, indeed it's very flat and I wonder if this is a limitation imposed by the solar panel dial? It's a shame really because this render looks great - if only the watch actually looked the same. I thought the solar panel was underneath the dial and the 'gaps' in the dial were for the light to get to the panel, but maybe I have misunderstood?

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Red Dial' Calibre 5 Watch by Brent Miller Time

 

FEATURE: Why My 'Favourite' Watch Isn't My 'Best' Watch

 

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Allow me to draw a distinction between two of my watches; one of which I would consider my 'favourite' and one my 'best' watch. My favourite watch is, and probably always will be, my CAR2A1Z Carrera Heuer 01 Skeleton. This was the watch that really kicked off my watch collecting journey, not to mention this blog. I already owned two TAG Heuer watches before that, but it was not a hobby or a collection. The Heuer 01 changed that; as soon as I saw a photograph I wanted it - even though I didn't have a clue how much it was going to cost. After that it was all downhill as far as the bank balance was concerned, but on the upside think of all the joy my new found hobby brought me!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 2000 Series Watch Repair Tutorial by Watch Repair Channel

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer/Bamford Carrera 'Wes Lang' Heuer 02 Limited Edition Chronograph

 

While Bamford Watch Department's watches aren't considered 'canon' (and thus are not appraised by the Council of Considered Opinion or eligible for C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year inclusion) their major collaborations are worthy of reporting nonetheless. Last year they produced a fairly Godawful green Carrera (RUF/High Snobiety) that had me reaching for the sickbag, but I have to say this is much, much better!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Blue Dials Review by Swiss Watch Expo

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Blue Racing' Limited Edition Calibre 11 Chronograph

 

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Way back in May 2021 TAG Heuer launched their first titanium cased Calibre 11 Monaco (nicknamed the 'Titan') with what seemed like, at the time, quite an eye-watering price tag (if only we knew!). This was debuted at the Monaco Grand Prix (naturally) and World Champion in waiting Max Verstappen was presented with a special one-off 'Titan' that had the Monaco circuit printed on the display-back along with his race number of 33, and of course throughout that year Max could be seen regularly wearing the Titan on the podium.

I liked the Titan, although I couldn't really understand why a titanium cased Monaco would carry the 'Heuer' badge and the Calibre 11 movement; it seemed more logical to me that it would be powered by TAG Heuer's in-house Heuer 02 motor. But I guess the brand was of the opinion that the 'collectors' favour the crown on the left and so that's what we got. Fast forward to 2023 and there's a new 'Titan' in town, only this time it's a lot more colourful.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by Time & Tide

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Japanese MOP' Calibre 5 Limited Edition

 

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It's not that often these days that I come across an older TAG Heuer watch that I wasn't previously aware of, so to find this model on the Watchfinder website the other day was quite a pleasant surprise. I've seen black mother of pearl dial Carreras in men's sizes before (I tried on a Calibre 16 at Bicester Village years ago) and just recently we've seen a new limited edition 42mm Carrera with a MOP dial, again for the Japanese market - but I think this one is the nicest of the lot. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco V4 by Tick Tocking

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Ladies Quartz Watch

 

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I never thought I'd see the day when my wife would own a two-tone watch. Every time I bought one she said nice things but I could tell she didn't feel the same way about them that I did. Then maybe a year or two ago she started to soften a little bit, started dropping things into conversation like '...well, I don't have any gold watches...', things like that. And so the long, slow slide towards 'ownership' began. I'm sure you know how it goes.

Then a couple of weeks ago I caught her looking at two-tone watches again, this time on Est 1897 (now H&T). Now one of the great things about ladies watches is that they are much less likely to be fakes, and even less so in two tone, but still of course you should be careful. The watches she was looking at on Est 1897 however I had no concerns about as they were 8-10 years old and mostly rather dreary looking.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer by Ave Joe Watch Reviews

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Ladies 'Red Dial' Calibre 9 Watch

 

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TAG Heuer's recent green dial 30mm Aquaracer missed the mark with me, but more importantly my watch-enthusiast wife rather liked it. This time around she's a lot less convinced, and I have to say I agree. By comparison the green looks much the better of the two and like its 40mm counterpart the dial looks a rather peculiar shade of red and very wishy washy looking.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Classic by Birth Year Watches

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 Skeleton Chronograph

 

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Oxford Street, London 20th June 2023

When I wrote my 'First Impressions' post for the new skeleton-dial Monacos back in June it was hard not to lead with the prices TAG Heuer was asking for the first 'widely available' examples they had ever produced. Two months down the line and it feels like the buzz for these models has died pretty quickly, probably because we've got a new 'limited edition' Monaco in our faces already. 

I must admit I was hoping to see the black DLC/turquoise model, but of course the boutique only had the other two in stock, so that was perhaps getting me off on the wrong foot, but again I found myself rather alarmingly disinterested in the watch on my wrist - which is probably partly why it's taken so long for me to write this post.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by OnTheWrist

 

MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Right Heuer, Right Now by David Chalmers

 

Vintage Carreras and Monacos may hog the limelight, but to true afficionados of Heuer's motoring chronographs, the Autavia is hot property.

There's one question that divides music lovers into two related, but utterly separate camps: "Lennon or McCartney?" The infectious melodies of Paul versus the political lyrics and blues edge of John. When 550 musicians were recently asked this question in a survey, the results were surprising. Not because Paul thumped John, or vice versa, but because the answer, frequently, was Harrison. Long live the contrarians.

In the world of vintage Heuers, the equivalent question is "Carrera or Monaco?" The legend of these two chronographs is writ large, in no small part because of their revival in the late 1990s as faithful re-editions. The spirits of both iconic designs cast long shadows, which stretch from the past, arch over today and extend into the future. Both models form a core part of the TAG Heuer range today just as they did 45 years ago. The Carrera, launched in 1963, is the smaller and more classic of the two, with its clear circular dial in contrast to the '70s bright blue of the outrageous square Monaco.

When posed the Carrera or Monaco question, the answer for many Heuer collectors, and not just the contrarians, is "Autavia". Because while the Carrera and Monaco are today synonymous with motor racing, it's the Autavia that was, according to historical fact at least, the real deal, with the first Autavia used to time car races. It's the Autavia that came first and it's the Autavia that outlived its famous siblings, remaining in the catalogue right up to the bitter end of Heuer in 1985. The Autavia was the heart and soul of the Heuer range for more than 30 years, and yet today is almost forgotten by all but the loyal Heuer devotees.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Kirium T5 Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Ibiza' Limited Edition Calibre 5 Watch

 

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As you may or may not recall, at the tail end of 2021 (I think I actually covered it at the start of 2022 because I didn't find out about it straight away) TAG Heuer released a twenty piece limited edition 43mm Aquaracer 'Ibiza' edition, which was basically a blue dial Aquaracer with a black ceramic bezel instead of a blue one. It was a pretty small change, but it looked great... better than the normal one in my opinion, and it also came in a very funky box.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Is Back and Hunting Rolex and Omega! by Theo and Harris

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 'French' Limited Edition Chronograph

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Okay so this is the last in this ridiculous run of 'First Impressions' posts, but don't get too complacent because there's three more new releases currently being assessed by the tirelessly vigilant Council of Considered Opinion (those being the red/pink dial ladies Aquaracer, the blue dial Solargraph and of course the new limited edition Heuer Monaco that came out a few days ago).

So what do we have here then? Looks pretty sweet doesn't it? Yes, it's another one of those 42mm Carrera Chronographs with the white rehaut and (this time) subdials. Unfortunately it's only available to people living in France (I tried putting it in the basket on the TH website and changing my country and it took it right out again... ) and while it's sitting there right now I shouldn't imagine it will be for too much longer given that there are only 200 examples available.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 'Japanese Limited Edition' Chronograph

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Here we go again people, but thankfully we've nearly caught up with TAG Heuer's ridiculous release schedule and as of right this second I only have two more watches to tell you about. Well, two plus three more now I come to think about it!

So today I want to tell you about this new Japanese limited edition 42mm Carrera which you will no doubt have noticed comes with a mother of pearl dial. Yes really. And while you might think that's a little bit strange, believe it or not this is by no means the first time we've seen a mother of pearl dial on a modern Carrera. In fact, if you look back to 2004, TAG Heuer released two MOP dial Carreras (one with a diamond bezel) as part of their 40th Anniversary celebrations for the Carrera. 

Now I know what you're thinking... how can it have been '40 years' in 2004 when it's 60 years in 2023? Yeah, well... somehow everyone forgot what year the Carrera came out and they celebrated it a year late. I know, how does that even happen? 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Chronotempvs CC' Calibre Heuer 02 Limited Edition

 

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After a few lacklustre 'First Impressions' posts, it's actually rather nice to be able to bring you something overwhelmingly positive (with one small caveat). This, rather handsome looking Carrera, is a limited edition 42mm chronograph for the Chronotempvs Collector's Club - which is honestly something I know very little about. Their website says that they are '... a private watch collectors / enthusiasts / amateurs club which works hand in hand with some of the most important historic brands and independents that uphold the highest traditional horological values.'

I tried to find out more by clicking on the 'Membership' button, but it basically said 'We are full, go away!' Which is fine, because I doubt they'd have wanted me in their gang anyway... and besides, as Groucho Marx once famously said, 'I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.'

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Monaco Skeleton 'Rattrapante' Chronograph for Only Watch 2023

Fair play to TAG Heuer, when they commit to providing a 'unique' watch for the Only Watch charity auction (a biennial event to raise funds for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) they certainly don't muck about. No sir. For the 2021 auction we saw the first ever skeleton-dial carbon Monaco and this year they've pushed the boat out even further with the first ever TAG Heuer rattrapante (split time) chronograph, and in a 41mm skeleton-dialed, texturised titanium cased Monaco no less! 

Which is great, but while I whole-heartedly applaud the company for its charitable intentions; the effort expended and resulting technical achievement... I'm afraid I can't overlook the fact that the watch has one major Achilles heel. Umm, how can I put this delicately? Let's just say it has a 'face' only a mother could love - right? 

In fact, presented with yet another skeleton dial TAG Heuer that I don't like I'm actually starting to wonder if my belief that I like skeleton dial watches was solely based on the devilishly handsome Heuer 01 Carrera, because honestly I can't think of a single skeleton dial that's come out since that I've actually liked!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Solargraph' Quartz Watch

 
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Want a modern 40mm Aquaracer, but you don't want a Calibre 5 inside? Worried your watch snob friends will laugh at you if you buy a conventional battery powered quartz watch? Then the Aquaracer 'Solargraph' could be the answer to your dreams. Initially launched at last year's Watches & Wonders in a carbon case and then added in titanium this January, the Solargraph is now finally available in a conventional stainless steel case. 

And... again, despite this being a 'First Impressions' post this is a watch that I have already seen first hand in the TAG Heuer boutique on Oxford Street (back in June), so I struggle to understand why it is yet to make it onto the official TAG Heuer website. Especially as it is on all the main authorised dealer websites (Watches of Switzerland, Beaverbrooks, Chisolm Hunter, Banks Llyon, etc). Very odd that!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' Calibre TH20-06 Chronograph

 

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While of course it's refreshing to see any new TAG Heuer product garnering favourable comments in the wider watch community, the honest truth is that the new 39mm Carrera Glassboxes are by far my least favourite watches in the current TAG Heuer line-up (in fact I'm struggling to come up with much from the last 37 years I dislike more...). If anything these new so-called 'glassboxes' have made me realise how much better the older ones were than I ever gave them credit for. So, every cloud.... right?

But I realise that once again I am out of step with the the collective thinking and with that in mind I didn't really see the value in my writing a third post telling you why I don't like them. So instead I called on our good friend and devoted glassbox enthusiast Charlie M (also known as Imagwai on the THF Forum), to provide a much fairer and less antagonistic opinion.  

CHARLIE M: As someone who clearly favours both smaller and more traditional watches, I was delighted to be asked by Rob to put together my first impressions on Tag Heuer’s latest release, the 39mm Carrera Skipper. Tag have released a lot of new watches this year, but aside from the Carrera Panda, this was the one I was most looking forward to. Let’s take a closer look.

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Year of the Tiger' Limited Edition Heuer 02 Chronograph

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Yeah, yeah... I know what you're thinking and you're right, 2023 is indeed the 'Year of the Rabbit', hence the arrival of that bizarre 44mm Carrera with the 'hairy' dial at the end of last year. But, apparently... TAG Heuer intended to release a chrono version of their (rather cool I thought) Calibre 5 Carrera 'Year of the Tiger' last year, but for some reason it just wasn't ready. And since it takes 12 years to cycle through the various animals of the Chinese calendar putting it out now makes more sense than waiting until 2034!

Besides, does it really matter if you buy a 'Year' watch in that year? If you were born in the year of the tiger do you have to buy your 'Year of the Tiger' watch in a year of the tiger? Seems a pretty stupid prerequisite to me. So no, while the delay is a bit unfortunate releasing this now is perfectly fine by me.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Ladies 'Green Dial' Calibre 9 Watch

 

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Okay, here's the plan; starting today and for the next two weeks I will be posting a new 'First Impressions' post every other day, and then hopefully we will be in a reasonable state of up-to-date-ness. Unless TAG Heuer decide to release another six watches this month of course, which is entirely possible! 

So, let's start with this new take on the fumé dial 30mm Aquaracer, which is obviously meant to complement the incomparable WBP2115 that I bought a few months ago. Once again I have already seen this on my visit to the TAG Heuer boutique back in June and I have to say it didn't look quite as expected.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco 24 Calibre 36 Chronograph by WatchBox Reviews

 

OWNED: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Orange Dial' Quartz Watch

 

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TAG Heuer's relentless release schedule has really put pressure on my ability to post about things other than the latest releases (I'm posting this to give me some breathing space, expect 'First Impression's posts thick and fast from here on out), so with that in mind I am making a conscious effort to make time to write about older watches, especially the ones that I own. So with that said, today I'd like to focus on my orange dial Formula 1 quartz WAZ101A, which I bought in April 2021 (which I've just realised means that it's now out of warranty). 

Like all current Formula 1 models though, it is quite a big watch at 43mm, so it's not for everyone - but I think the logic goes that the generic Formula 1 customer is young and probably wants the world to know they have an expensive watch. I don't have a problem wearing larger watches, but I can see why people with smaller wrists might wish for a 40/41mm alternative. And while I can't really see why TAG Heuer couldn't offer a choice of identical watches in two (or even three sizes), my guess would be that if we could ask TAG Heuer they would tell us that of course they could make them, but the 43mm would outsell the smaller sizes to the point that it's not worth bothering. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'French Limited Edition' Heuer 02 Chronograph by 10ATM

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer's 2023 Releases (Jan/Jun)

 

Greetings dear readers, can you believe we're half way through this wonderful year already? And so of course it's time for a brief look back at our favourite Swiss watch brand's 2023 output so far. I'm not going to lie, it's been a very busy start and there are no less than FIVE June releases that haven't even been covered yet; as such I'm afraid I won't be including the ladies green dial Aquaracer, the steel Solargraph, the French limited edition Carrera, the 'Year of the Tiger' limited edition Chronograph or the Japanese limited edition mother of pearl dial Carreras in this round-up - but rest assured 'First Impressions' posts for all those are coming very soon!

In fact I might have to switch things up and fire out a few posts in double-quick time, because as it stands I'm scheduled to catch up on the June releases at the start of August, which is frankly ridiculous... (never mind the Monaco Rattrapante for Only Watch and the striking Chronotempvs Collectors Club Carrera which have both emerged in the last few days). 

Okay, with all that out of the way, let's crack on

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Sports 'Green' Heuer 02 Chronograph by Brent Miller Time

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Red Dial' Calibre 5 Watch

WBP2114.BA0627: Packed with Adrenaline!

As regular readers will know, it's only been a couple of months since I put down my own hard-earned money to buy the green dial version of this 40mm Calibre 5 Aquaracer... and so obviously, when you've committed to what you think is going to be this year's 'winner', the thought of another striking dial coming out so soon afterwards is a bit daunting, right? After all, no one wants to feel like they've backed the wrong horse, do they?

Troubling times indeed!

Until fairly recently (before the brutal collection-cull of early '23) I owned a rare-ish red dial 37mm three hand quartz S/EL that I liked quite a bit (the water damaged lume - not so much), so I'm certainly not against red watches per se - but there are very few out there and they are extremely hard to get right. I'll freely admit the TH website renders did NOT fill me with much optimism; was the watch red, or a dark pink... it seemed unclear and honestly either way I felt pretty confident that I wasn't going to be regretting my purchase. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco Alternatives by About Effing Time

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Gulf' Special Edition Quartz Chronograph

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Spitalfields, London 15th April 2023

This post has been kicked into the long grass more times than I care to mention, hence why I'm now writing about a watch I tried on in April (you can blame TAG Heuer's relentless release schedule for that... still lots more 'First Impressions' posts to come, I just can't keep up with them!) and yes, of course you could be forgiven for thinking that perhaps I wasn't excited enough to make this a priority? Well maybe there's a little bit of truth to that, but to be fair I wasn't disappointed by the new 43mm Gulf Formula 1 quartz chronograph either.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Chronographs - Monaco or Carrera? by Brent Miller Time

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List - July 2023

It's time for our twice yearly look at the current TAG Heuer range and how they are doing when it comes to pricing. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that there have been significant price increases (marked in red) across the board, with only the Superdiver* and two ladies Links staying the same price. The price increases are quite random, with the entry level quartz Aquaracers attracting a mere £50 increase, while the automatic models are up anywhere between £250 and £500! The Night Diver Aquaracer in particular has had a 15% increase since January...

One notable deletion is the orange dial Formula 1 WAZ101A, alongside the 41mm two tone, blue dial Aquaracer (although both of these are definitely still available in stores) and several skeleton dial Carreras.

Of course there have also been quite a few additions to the catalogue and these are marked in blue as usual.