FEATURE: My Top Ten Formula 1s by Shane Paradis

 

As you can see from the banner above, this year we are celebrating forty years of the TAG Heuer Formula 1. I'd like to hope TAG Heuer themselves would do the same, but... we'll see. TAG usually reserve anniversaries for their 'Heuer' models, but the Formula 1 is enjoying a surge in popularity so it would be nice if they did acknowledge it this year. I mean, they celebrated 40 years of the Monaco and it was only in production for about 20 of those, hahaha.

So I thought, what better way to celebrate this very special birthday than to invite some fellow 'TAG Heuer Formula 1' enthusiasts to share their favourite models with us. Just like in 2024, with the Aquaracer's 20th anniversary, each month we'll have a 'Top Ten' and (assuming we get some kind of consensus and not just 110 different models) at the end of the year we can crown the top ten TH F1's ever.

First up we have Shane Paradis... and straight off the bat I have to say I don't think I would have predicted these particular references. I think this is going to be an interesting project!

10: WAZ2113.BA0875 Calibre 5 Automatic

One of the more toned-down versions of the modern F1 range, the WAZ2113 fits in my top ten because it has TAG’s charm, but has a more restrained appearance at first glance. This is what I would recommend to someone who is afraid of quartz movements but is seeking a somewhat affordable model from TAG Heuer. There IS hope for those who run in fear of the mighty quartz crystal, but the real ones know that a proper TAG Heuer F1 runs on a nice cheap quartz movement 😀

9: CAZ201E.FC6517 Calibre 16 Super Mario Limited Edition

Everyone hates this watch but I love it! I wouldn’t buy one… but I love it! I’m not usually a fan of limited editions because they usually just don’t capture enough of my interest, but the little details TAG added here were adorable, but the price was a bit more reasonable with the Calibre 16

8: WAZ211A.BA0875 Calibre 7 GMT

These get overshadowed (probably with good reason) by the Aquaracer GMT range, but I’ve always preferred the look of the F1 GMT range. The TH logo on the counter balance is such a great touch, but I wish the bezel rotated. The movement was still finished well if I remember correctly, and the GMT function was really fun, even if it was an office GMT.

7: WAZ111A.BA0875 Quartz Alarm

This model starts to lean into the TAG Heuer quirkiness that I know and love. Not only does this F1 have an alarm function, but the way TAG implemented the alarm with the sub-seconds dial, and the BIG DATE really tie it all together to offer a fun, and practical everyday tool watch.

6: CAZ201D.BA0633 Calibre 16 Senna Special Edition

The F1 case and bezel on the iconic “Link” bracelet honouring Senna needs to be on this list. There really isn’t much to say besides the fact that maybe all F1 and AR models should have this bracelet option. COME ON!!!

5: WAZ1010.BA0842 Quartz

I personally owned this model for too long before finally accepting that it was way too big for me. Deep down, I knew I couldn’t wear it but I pretended everything was fine for a few years until I just couldn’t ignore it anymore… if only I could pull this one off because it was a solid daily wearer, with a great quartz Ronda movement. My only gripe (besides the 43mm size, of course) was the clasp and bracelet which were complete poopoo junk garbage to put it nicely… and TAG thought a 21.5mm lug width was cute.

4: WBY1111.BA0042 Solar Quartz

Maybe it’s true that these new reissues aren’t as cool as the original models, but they were updated in a cool way, and adding a “Solargraph” movement makes the idea of having a quartz movement more digestible for its asking price.

3: CAH1113.BA0850 Quartz Chronograph

IIRC these were some of the last F1 models that still maintained their original iconic styling from the 80s. I remember wanting this watch when I was a teenager, but couldn’t shell out the $700 or whatever the MSRP was at the time.

2: 470.513 Quartz Chronograph

I love the earlier F1 quartz chronos the most because they had their most interesting movements. I’m a little rusty on the exact references, but I know there were some interesting movements in these earlier quartz chronos models, similar to how the 2000 series was around the same time, but not quite the same.

1: 371.513 Quartz 

The top of the list has to be the original lume dial model on bracelet. It’s hard to argue that that this particular model is the most iconic version of the entire range, and that dial ages so well with the old tritium lume these manufacturers used at the time.

The original F1 range looked like TAG’s response to SWATCH, and today they look more like TAG’s response to Breitling’s entry level models. The F1 has come a long since its release in the 1980s when it marked a pivotal point for the brand at the time. Here’s to another 40 years of the TAG Heuer Formula 1

Thanks Shane, you can find all the other 'Formula1@40' posts by clicking the link below.

VIDEO: Producer Michael Visits TAG Heuer in Las Vegas

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraphs and Calibre 16 Chronograph

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 31st October 2025

Due to the ridiculous number of watches released at the end of last year this has been delayed quite considerably, hence it might seem a bit out of date! 

So finally the last two of the original nine Formula 1 Solargraphs are here and it could perhaps be said that they saved the best for last. Right from the start I thought if I was going to buy any of these new models it was either going to be the white/red one or the black/yellow one (both of which I owned previously in their 35mm incarnation). Well the white/red one came out in September and it didn't prompt me to reach for my credit card and so far this one hasn't yet either. I definitely think it's one of the best of the nine, possibly even top two, and I appreciate that it has a black DLC steel case (which seems to imbue it with a touch more 'substance') but does it really cut it?

Unfortunately for me, no. And there are two main reasons for that, maybe three. Like all the other new Formula 1's, the applied hour markers look a bit weird to me, and more so where they are a contrasting colour to the dial. Then there's the weird case shape (which admittedly looks better in black, but looks even better where the case and strap are the same colour) and the large, highly polished crown, If only the crowns were black (at least on some of the models), it would make such a difference. And yes I know the original models had steel crowns but they weren't polished to a shine and they were absolutely tiny. But the real problem I have with this model in particular is the dial, which is most definitely grey rather than black. I assume this is due to it being a Solargraph, but regardless of whether that is the reason or not it does rather spoil the otherwise strong yellow/black theme.

Next we come to the last of the original nine F1 Solargraphs which was released for the 'Singapore GP' at the start of October. This one is cast in blue TH-Polylight, sports a lovely white dial with a blue ring detail, is limited to 3000 pieces worldwide and is rather unexpectedly my favourite of the original nine watches. Here the polished crown doesn't look quite so out of place, the hour markers and dial are the same colour so they look less weird and the case and strap are the same (rather purpley it must be said) blue, which helps hide that odd looking case edge. 

The other thing I think this one has going for it over the others is that it isn't a direct re-issue of a previous model so it feels like it has less 'baggage' and so I don't feel like I'm comparing it to a watch I previously owned. I still can't see me buying one, especially not at £1550 (although I notice TH Baker are offering 10% discount at the time of writing), but it's definitely my pick of the bunch.

Finally for today we come to the Formula 1 Calibre 16 which is now available on a titanium bracelet. It's fine, but it doesn't really set my heart on fire and I'd take the Senna version over this in a heartbeat (the Senna costs just £250 more and has a carbon bezel). Sure the practicality of a lightweight bracelet is always a bonus, but the dullish titanium makes the watch feel a bit 'dead'. I assume at some point they are going to bring these out in steel (at more reasonable prices) and it will be interesting to see how they look, but for now this one is just a bit 'meh'. 

And yes, like many others who have been extremely vocal about it, I still hate the word 'SPEED' on the bezel. 🤮

VIDEO: Putting the TAG back in TAG Heuer by Monochrome Watches

 

FEATURE: Keeping Track of Wrist Time (2025 Edition)

Happy New Year fellow TAG Heuer Enthusiasts and welcome to 2026. I am hopeful for a great year of new watches and interesting posts, but we'll have to wait and see I guess (...on both counts 🤣).

With the 'Crazy Year of Watch Buying' posts well and truly a thing of the past, it's time for my only truly self-indulgent post of the year... my annual 'Keeping Track of Wrist Time' update. So this year, like every year for the last several years I have kept a daily record of which watches I wear (usually one or two a day - one to work, one in the evening) and now I can present to you the results.

But first, it's time to quickly update you on the (fairly minimal) comings and goings of my collection. As you probably remember I have been slowly whittling away at my collection, trying to get it down to a sensible number. Twenty perhaps? Well, I'm still a way off that, but it is coming down and I have earmarked several pieces for sale in the near future, but we'll see if that actually comes about.

This year I sold two watches. First of all there was the two tone 2000 Exclusive quartz, which I must admit I really liked, but it just felt too small on me and then there was the 1500 GMT, both of which I'd owned for quite a number of years. I think I just about broke even on those, which is pretty good really, but I did buy them both quite well, which honestly is the main key to not losing money on watches.

As for purchases, there have been only two this year (so proud of myself for that, haha), firstly a blue dial Aquaracer Regatta Calibre S that Watchfinder were selling back in February that I got for a very good price and then much later in the year came the watch that I've been lusting after for the last five years, ever since I saw it in Selfridges 'Wonder Room'. 

I speak of course about the gloriously imperfect Carrera Dato 160. Imperfect, because the date at 12 is very silly (and as I suspected all along - most of the time hard to see), but I don't really care because the watch is otherwise utterly gorgeous. With it's perfect blue sunray dial, blinding white subdials and rehaut, and the cherry on the cake... the red chrono second hand.

(It's funny but the only Rolex I ever really wanted was a blue dial Yachtmaster with a red second hand, guess that's redundant now!)

So this is clearly my favourite watch now, right? Well... that's debatable. I still absolutely love my Grand Carrera Calibre 36 Caliper and those two would definitely be the first two I'd grab if my house was on fire (plus my H01 Skeleton, obviously), but as to which one I'd sell in an emergency, that's a tough call... especially since the Dato 160 is still firmly in the honeymoon phase.

Indeed given how late in the year I purchased the Dato 160 I didn't really expect it to come close to topping the chart (especially since the first month I was too scared to actually wear it - haha), not least because the GC Caliper is still in heavy rotation and because the Aquaracer Regatta had been on the wrist a LOT when I first got it, but it did pretty well... 

Such is the pull of the GC Caliper that I tend to resist wearing it because I know once I put it on it will probably stay on for at least 4 or 5 days, which isn't great when you have as many watches as I do. 

By contrast, the Regatta peaked early and tapered off to a kind of normal 'twice a month' wear rate after the initial buzz had worn off. I still really like it a lot and I don't regret buying it, but it's a kind of middling watch and actually, the one thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have button release clasp. It seems to surprise me every time and it's the only one of my three Calibre S watches that has an old-style fold-over clasp. 

That aside it's a good looking watch and the Regatta function is pretty cool, especially when the second hand starts moving anti-clockwise!

Anyway, I feel like that's enough waffle from me, let's get to the results... 

FEATURE: A Look Back at 2025 with Jim Dollare$

Editor's note, this was written over the course of a couple of weeks and things were released in the meantime so there may be some contradiction in comments! Also, fair warning, this article is typically rambling and may contain silliness, irreverence and general nonsense. You have been warned!

Rob: Hi Jim and welcome back to the TAG Heuer Enthusiast Blog, we've missed your unique insights into the crazy world of watches (and really you still owe us a couple of 'Buying Experience' posts, but I guess we'll let you off those now 😁).

Jim: Hey Rob, thanks for reaching out, I am excited to reflect on the year of 2025. For me this has been a big year in my personal life and I kind of feel bad for not keeping up with watch releases as I would have wanted during the year. Well, I have seen the new releases, but half are already forgotten! Perhaps it just means that half were forgettable?

Rob: Could be that, yes...

Jim: How about kicking off with some highlights? Tell me one watch that stood out to you and why, and perhaps I will tell you why you are wrong. I know without doubt what my 2025 favourites and highlights are.

FEATURE: The C.O.C.O. Council Watch of the Year 2025

 

Hello readers and welcome back to the most important post of the year; the results of the 'Council of Considered Opinion's Watch of the Year' vote (hereafter referred to as C.O.C.O.W.O.T.Y.)! 

As I said before, for the most part I haven't been overly enthused by this year's releases and it seems I'm not alone. I've noticed that the average scores have fallen again this year and I'm sure part of the reason for that is the rising prices. It's hard to really root for something and give it a big score if you don't really feel it's worth the money. As such you probably won't be surprised to learn that none of this year's watches managed to break into the 8s (albeit three watches did scramble their way to a top scoring 7.8/10). 

In the end only two of those three watches made it onto the podium and bizarrely the watch which finished in third place already had it's score revealed on the 24th! And as we will see soon, that score proved very important indeed!

We will of course come to that in good time, but first let's now take a look at the scores for the watches which scored at least a 7/10...

FEATURE: The TAG Heuer Releases of 2025

 

At the start of the year I confidently (some might say foolishly) stated that this year things would be different and that I would write more about older watches, do more feature posts and generally write less about every single new release. Well.... that didn't exactly pan out like I hoped did it? I did avoid writing about a number of new watches, but TAG Heuer released so many watches this year (and so many limited editions) that it became almost impossible to keep things to a sensible balance. 

So once again I will have to have a long hard think over Christmas about exactly how I'm going to manage the blog in 2026. If TAG Heuer are going to continue to release 80, 90, 100 watches a year then I need to find a way to include more of them without giving each one a 'First Impressions' post and score. It's just not sustainable, especially as next year I want to focus (at least a little) on the 40th birthday of the Formula 1 - and as it happens I already have plans for that.

Maybe next year I will do a 'release round up' every month or two (which was an idea I pondered last year), I don't know... but I will come back to this soon. For now it's time to focus on the work that's already been done and the watches that have already been released...

Generally speaking it's been a bit of a 'meh' year from my perspective and there's been very few watches that have really caught my attention. In fact the only watches that I would really like to own have all been Monacos and sadly all three of those are too expensive for me to consider at present. Ah well, there's always next year - thank God TAG Heuer keep on moving, at least you know there's always the possibility of something exciting just around the corner!

But if the watches of 2025 have been a little disappointing, the blog itself has gone from strength to strength. I know I can't really trust the page view statistics (1.46m views over the last 12 months... for a single brand blog?) but I have seen a dramatic increase in comments left, so I know that more and more people are visiting, and that's really nice to see. Honestly this blog is a lot of work to keep up to date, maintain and improve and there's so much more I'd like to do if only I had the time... so thank you all for your comments and I hope I've helped people where I could.

Okay let's take a look at the 2025 watches and as you probably guessed there were no new Autavias or Links again this year. Honestly I don't know why they don't just dump the existing Links in the outlets and knock it on the head (or start again?), it's getting a little bit embarrassing at this point!

As usual, I've given you the scores for most of the watches but I've held back the top scorers for the big reveal on the 27th when this year's 'Council of Considered Opinion's Watch of the Year' will be announced.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 'Australian' Limited Edition Chronograph

 

"Am I missing something?" asked my watch enthusiast (and COCO member) wife. "Is there supposed to be something here that I can't see, like a koala or a kangaroo or something?"

"Errr, no," I replied.

"Oh, so what's 'Australian' about this watch exactly?"

Here we go... I thought.

"Ah yes, well as it happens I can help you there, because I read an article about the watch on the Time & Tide website. So the design is basically a mash up of the vintage Ronnie Peterson Carrera and the Jo Siffert Autavia. The stripe on the dial is from the Carrera and the blue hands and black subdials are from the Autavia."

"Who are Ronnie Peterson and Jo Siffert?"

"They were Grand Prix drivers."

"Australian Grand Prix drivers?"

"Nope, Ronnie Peterson was Swedish and Jo Siffert was Swiss, they are both dead unfortunately. But when they were alive they were mates with Jack Heuer and Jo Siffert in particular used to buy watches from Jack and sell them to people in the pitlane, which helped create the bond between Heuer and F1."

"Okay... but what does that have to do with Australia?"

"I'm glad you asked, because again, according to the Time & Tide article this watch 'represents the bond of friendship'. And as everyone knows friendship is a big thing for Australians."

"I'm not really seeing the connection. Is friendship uniquely Australian?"

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 'Fragment' Limited Edition Chronograph

 

You know, some posts are a lot easier to write than others. This one I've already written twice and I'm still not happy with it... so here I am three hours before the publishing deadline trying yet again to finish it. Given how short of time I am, instead of tying myself in knots trying to be clever or sarcastic or whatever, I think instead I'm just going to be brutally honest. 

And okay, maybe a little sarcastic... (to be honest it's going to be hard not to be).

TLDR: I really don't like this watch. 

Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst watch I've ever seen, it's not even the worst TAG Heuer of 2025; that 'privilege' undoubtedly belongs to the godawful 'Osaka Expo' Carrera. But in a way it feels worse. Because while that watch is intrinsically flawed in its 'design', it at least feels kind of 'honest' in its 'execution'... whereas this one genuinely feels like a case of the Emperor's new clothes.

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Extreme Sports GMT Chrono & Lilac 36mm and 41mm Day/Date Carreras

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 31st October 2025

A few weeks ago I stopped in at the Meadowhall boutique on the way to a concert in Sheffield, it's always nice to visit as the staff are great and there's a surprising amount of pieces in there that you don't find in AD's or most other TAG Heuer boutiques that I've been in! Sometimes things show up ages after you've forgotten they've come out and sometimes they surprise you with something that you only found out about a few days beforehand. One such example being the new Carrera Extreme Sports GMT in green and black pictured below.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Extreme Sports Chronograph by Hourstriker

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph & Calibre 16 Chronograph 'Qatar GP' Limited Edition

The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix turned out to be rather 'dramatic' didn't it? And almost farcical in the way it set up Formula 1 for a three way finale in Abu Dhabi. Honestly, if this season was a film we'd all be tutting and saying it was 'far-fetched' wouldn't we? So perhaps it's only fitting that TAG Heuer released a pair of (slightly) 'dramatic' looking new Formula 1's in the days leading up to the race, following the pattern that's prevailed throughout the year of 'associating' new F1 Solargraphs with Grand Prix without going as far as explicitly naming them for the races. Maybe Liberty Media wanted even more money for that? 🤣

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera MEIA & UK Limited Edition Chronographs

 

As you may have noticed, I recently revamped the 'Part Number' index page with photo banners for each model instead of text. This not only makes the page look much nicer but is also easier to click on if you are viewing the blog on a phone (which I know a lot of you do). I also tidied up the text on the individual pages and increased the font size to make it easier to read. 

As I was doing this it occurred to me that I could write some posts about region specific 'Limited Editions' and the first one that I thought of was 'Middle East' L/Es. You might be surprised how many there have been, starting way back in the 1990s with a 'Saudi Arabian Equestrian Foundation' Formula 1 chronograph and most recently with these new glassbox Carreras. I will most likely post this in January, so look out for that, but for now let's investigate these new models further.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Rattrapante 'Air 1' Limited Edition

 

I'll admit I haven't exactly been complimentary about the previous Monaco Rattrapantes. Obviously I haven't seen one in person and it's entirely possible that they are one of those watches that just doesn't photograph well (much like the Grand Carrera), but until now I've found them spectacularly unappealing, despite several different colour combinations being released. But now TAG Heuer have given us this new $150,000 limited edition (30pcs) and if nothing else they've certainly improved it's kerb appeal.

But it's more than just a new colour combo (and black and gold is almost always a winner), because this one has been redesigned to mimic the look of an imaginary supercar, taking design cues from said car including all the grilles and shapes you'd expect to find on a Lamborghini cum Ferrari cum Aston Martin.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco & Carrera Extreme Sports 'Las Vegas' Limited Edition Chronographs

 

Believe it or not we're pretty much set for 'First Impressions' posts all the way up to Christmas now. As you can see from the TAG Heuer Enthusiast Gallery we still have a ton of new watches to look at and I keep hearing there's still more to come. Quite why they've decided to release like TWENTY watches in November and December is beyond me! Anyway, we'll do what we can, and if I have to post more frequently to get through them all then that's what I'll do. So long as the Council get their fingers out and send me their scores fast enough of course! 🤣

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Chinese Zodiac' Limited Edition Chronograph

I don't really understand these watches, or rather the release logic of these watches. Why did we have a 'Year of the Rat' Autavia for 2020, a 'Year of the Tiger' Carrera for 2022, a 'Year of the Rabbit' Carrera for 2023 and 'Year of the Dragon' Carreras (one steel and one solid gold) for 2024 but we missed out the Ox (2021, well okay, maybe Covid killed that one) and the Snake (2025)? 

In a way I can understand the Ox, because after all there's nothing sexy about an 'Ox', but then there's nothing particularly sexy about a rat either, and 2027 is the year of the goat (or sheep). I just can't imagine a Carrera with a goat on the back, can you? Oh I do hope they prove me wrong... a Carrera Tourbillon with a goat skull (and maybe a candle) on the back would probably sell well to affluent members of the Metal community at least. 🤣

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Las Vegas' Limited Edition Chronograph by Armbanduhren

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Porsche 1964' Limited Edition Chronosprint

 

Way back at the start of the year TAG Heuer dropped two new Porsche Chronosprint models celebrating some race where Porsche came 2nd (or 5th, depending on how you read it) which I found very difficult to understand honestly. These watches were very popular though and the gold version sold out very quickly (albeit only 11 were made... because '911') so I suppose it's no great surprise to see this slightly different take on the same model coming out now. And it's surely indicative of the level of demand that this new rose gold version is limited to a slightly more accessible sixty four pieces (because 1964, of course.... do keep up).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraphs by Brent Miller Time

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Senna' Quartz & Calibre 16 Chronographs

TAG Heuer Boutique / Milton Keynes, 10th November 2025

A few years ago I did a post about all the Ayrton Senna watches that TAG Heuer had produced, which included a poll of the C.O.C.O. and pronounced the Ayrton Senna designed (WH1114) 6000 Series the pick of the bunch. Since then we've seen last year's (oddly) predominantly blue tourbillon version... and now these slightly more accessible 'Formula 1' models (for those of us operating on slightly more real-world budgets). As luck would have it I visited the TAG Heuer boutique in Milton Keynes a few days ago and these two both happened to be in the store; as such this post is really not so much of a 'First Impression's' post for me, but since we all love to read what the Council's first impressions are I didn't want to skip to a full 'On the Wrist' post either.   

I must admit, despite the fact that I personally own a 'Senna' branded Formula 1 (the 2nd placed WAZ1014), every time I hear about a new watch coming out I roll my eyes. There's been so many of them (these are the twenty fourth and twenty fifth models in fact), which I suppose is quite incredible really and if nothing else illustrates the enduing power of the Senna brand. 

I know, I know... 'celebrity' endorsements are best treated with a degree of scepticism, but Ayrton did have a genuine connection to TAG Heuer, having driven for the McLaren F1 team (owned by then TAG Heuer shareholder Ron Dennis) and he continued to wear the brand even when he left to drive for Williams in the ill-fated 1994 season. Sure, if he'd lived and continued to drive for Williams it's possible that he could have switched to another watch brand (if say Williams had attracted a watch sponsor), but given that he did work with TAG Heuer to design the first 'Senna' 6000 Series, we can at least attribute a little more authenticity to the collaboration than say the ones with Chris Hemsworth, Bella Hadid or indeed Steve McQueen.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Full Collection Tour by Vintage Vega

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport I F1® 75th Anniversary Limited Edition

TAG Heuer are really doubling down on the Extreme Carreras aren't they? Clearly, someone, somewhere must be buying them... and so after the splendidly exotic 'Lucha Libre' limited edition launched a couple of weeks ago, we now have this 'F1 75 Anniversary' tourbillon. Oddly, my first thought was, doesn't it look like a Connected? And my second thought...? It looks way better than that terrible white ceramic Monaco Ratrapante with 'Lights Out and Away We Go' on the dial.

Surely there's no arguing with that, is there?

And yet, true to form the Council of Considered Opinion are laying into this one as well. It's funny, it seems that they are prepared to accept a certain amount of tomfoolery when it comes to Monacos; they might not really like it, but they'll let it slide a bit, but when it comes to Carreras... that's a different story. Because after all, Jack Heuer's original idea was to make a chronograph that was supremely legible on the wrist even when fishtailing through the Parabolica, and that's as relevant today as it was in 1963. Suuuuuuuuuuuure it is. 🤣

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List 2014/2015

 

FEATURE: Don't Trust AI to Tell You if a Watch is Genuine or Even If It Exists at All!

Quite regularly now I receive emails from people asking me to advise whether the watch they are thinking of purchasing is genuine or not. Of course I don't mind helping if I can, but honestly most of the time your best option is to join the THF forum and post the pictures there as there are much more fake-savvy people there who can advise you far better than I can. If a watch is obviously fake or it's an older model and I can be pretty sure it's pukka then I will give my opinion, but for anything recent, especially Formula 1 or Aquaracers, I generally can't say with any certainty.

However, when you get a watch like this 'TAG Heuer USA Air Force F-16 A/R Limited Edition' I don't really need to think too hard because this is clearly not a genuine TAG Heuer because this model simply doesn't exist!

But what if you don't know much about watches? Maybe you just think it looks cool? Some parts of it do look pretty cool I guess, if you like Breitlings... 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Max Verstappen Red Bull Champions' Limited Edition Quartz Chronograph

 

CAZ101AY.FC6591

A few weeks ago I got an email from a guy who told me that he was an ex employee of the Red Bull Formula1 Racing Team, he said he wasn't a watch enthusiast but he had received one of the 'Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Champions' watches and in researching what it might be worth he had discovered my blog and found it interesting reading my thoughts on his watch.

He said he had listed the watch on eBay for £3600, but perhaps unsurprisingly it did not sell and it was later relisted with a starting bid of £1025 and a buy it now price of £2800. Being that he wasn't into watches I tried to give him the best advice I could, but with a watch like this it's quite hard to advise on what he should expect because it's so difficult to assess.

First of all, who is likely to buy this watch? To me it's clear that it's probably more for a huge Max Verstappen fan than it is for a 'watch enthusiast'... much like the Alec Monopoly Formula 1s were, but this can work for and against you. A watch enthusiast is more likely to to be willing to pay 'thousands' for a wristwatch than a F1 fan who isn't really interested in wristwatches, but watch enthusiasts tend to be more invested in automatics than quartz pieces and with that rather clunky bezel this watch isn't exactly the best looking Formula 1 ever made either is it?

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 2000 Series Watch by You'reTerrific

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport Tourbillon 'Lucha Libre' Edition

 

Wow, well... this was unexpected (if four new Extreme Carrera skeletons in a row can be called 'unexpected') and rather refreshing if I'm truly honest. But look, I can tell you right now, before I even get the scores back from the 'Council of Conservative Opinions', that this is not going to score well. Why? Because look at it... it's wonderfully bonkers and colourful and fun and everything that watch collecting is supposed to be about, but actually isn't because what everyone actually wants is a boring, black dial, no date Submariner. There I said it! 🤣

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera CBK221F Chronograph by The 1916 Company

NEW RELEASES: TAG Heuer Aquaracer LE, Carrera Extreme and the New Balance Collaboration

 

There's been a flurry of new releases of late, some of which the Council of Considered Opinion are currently mulling over... however there are also some which aren't really 'C.O.C.O.' worthy, but which are still worth bringing to your attention... and so I hit on the idea of combining them into a 'New Releases' post.

So the first thing I want to talk about today is the collaboration with New Balance that launched a few days ago. These are pretty cool looking trainers, but my personal experience of ordering New Balance online was that they were way smaller and way narrower than expected, which was a shame because I did find some really cool designs but unfortunately I was a bit late to the party and they didn't have them in bigger sizes for me to reorder. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Extreme Sports Calibre TH20-02 Twin Time Chronograph

Hey did you hear there's a new TAG Heuer skeleton dial Twin Time available? Guess what colour it is? Go on guess. Bet you can't guess. You'll never guess in a million years. Is it teal green? Of course it is! Sigh... 

I really liked that new Shanghai limited edition Extreme Sports Carrera we looked at last time and this one is 'okay' too (certainly better than some of the Extreme Sports models we've seen), but we already have a teal themed 'Twin Time' Carrera, why do we need another one? Yeah okay the 41mm Carrera Twin Time is green and white and this one is green and black, which IS better, but it still isn't really that cool a combination of colours in my opinion. Okay, they wanted to change because the last one had been around forever and just making a new blue/black (or 'Batman') GMT/Twin Time wasn't really going to inspire owners to upgrade, but this is pretty meh from where I'm sitting and I'm so done with green now, and especially this bloody teal colour.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph by Maverick Watch Reviews

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Extreme Sports Calibre TH20-00 'Shanghai' Limited Edition Tourbillon

 

This year I've been fairly vocal about the fact that a lot of TAG Heuer's new releases are leaving me cold, but with the recent carbon Monaco and now this new ten piece limited edition for Shanghai I'd have to say things are looking up! Now, obviously both of these watches are out of my reach and it's also very unusual for me to find a tourbillon appealing, never mind an Extreme Sports Carrera... but it's nice to know that TAG Heuer can still excite me in unusual ways when they put their mind to it.

Now I get that this one is probably not going to be to everyone's taste, indeed when I was told that there was a new limited edition Extreme Sports Carrera that was red and blue (rather than red or blue) I imagined something fairly horrific. But that's because I (wrongly) assumed that the red and blue would be between the dial spokes like on the standard models. Thankfully the dial of this one has been kept black and grey and all the better for that, with the colours kept to a 'tasteful' band around the edge, the chrono second hand*, the crown and the tourbillon cage. 

*I hope the second hand red matches the red around the dial otherwise it will be minus at least one point for me!

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List 2013/2014

OWNED: TAG Heuer 4000 Series Quartz Watch

 

I last wrote about my white dial, quartz powered 4000 Series way back in 2023 so I guess it's high time for an update. Back then I had two almost identical 4000s in my collection, this WF1112 and the WF1111 which I had owned for several years before and which wasn't really in the greatest condition one way and another. Last time around I had just bought my green dial Calibre 5 Aquaracer and when I collected that I also picked up a brand new bracelet to replace the rather stretched one that the WF1112 came with (and which I had previously sold on eBay, wrongly thinking I could utilise the bracelet from the WF1111).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph Comparison by Brent Miller Time

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera and Monaco TH-Carbonspring Limited Editions

Hello dear reader! As you can see from the blog header above we are about to celebrate nine years of the TAG Heuer Enthusiast. Quite an achievement you might think, but as the late, great Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister once said when asked how he managed to keep Motorhead going for forty years, the key to keeping going is simple - don't stop. Wise words indeed. And as it happens, I may well be paying homage to the great man as you read this as I intend to visit Stoke on Trent this week to see the statue they've erected there for him. Not that most of you are Motorhead fans I'm sure, but my very first gig ever was Motorhead in 1983, so Lemmy will always have a special place in my heart. 

Anyway, you didn't come here to read about my teenage exploits did you? So let's turn our attention to the matter in hand, namely carbon hairsprings. Now, I'm sure some of you will remember about seven years ago TAG Heuer launched the Carrera Nanograph, a funky looking thing that was covered in hexagons and topped with lime green accents... I loved it, but unfortunately at £26000 it was definitely out of my reach (currently there's one on Watchfinder though for about half that, if you're interested).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera and Monaco TH-Carbonspring by Time & Tide Watches

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer Calibre 7 Limited Editions

Sure enough, and just as I predicted, the Carrera 'Astronomer' sent to the GPHG for appraisal wasn't a stand alone model and so now we have two more 'Astronomers' to add to the 2025 'Council of Considered Opinion: Watch of the Year' entry list. Unlike the initial piece though these two are limited editions (both made in runs of 500), but with one of them carrying quite a hefty price premium over the other... well, they don't call 'em precious metals for nothing you know!

VIDEO: The Watch that Saved Heuer by Vintage Watch Service