FIRST QUARTER ROUND UP: New Pieces (Jan/Mar)

 

By this time next week we'll be knee deep in Watches & Wonders and presumably we'll know for sure whether or not those slightly odd looking, left hand crown, TAG Heuer branded Monaco clocks they keep putting up in the Grand Prix paddocks were a massive (hiding in plain sight) leak or just a weird way of advertising a watch that doesn't actually exist. My feeling is (and has been for some time) that it is the former, because why on Earth would you do that otherwise?

Well, soon the truth will be known and doubtless there will be tons of other new models released that need looking at too. But as I have said many times before I simply cannot keep spending all my time looking at new watches and ignoring the rich and varied history of the brand, so I will be very selective about which ones are featured and given C.O.C.O. 'First Impressions' scores... otherwise we'll be reading about nothing else until June!

But obviously I still want to make sure everything is covered, so to combat this overload of 'new release' posts I've decided to do quarterly round ups (rather than just one 'half-year' one) to keep you up to speed. So with that said, let's start by looking at the watches that we haven't previously spoken about...

Firstly, I have to tell you that this one actually came out in the dying days of December 2025, but it was too late to be included in the '2025 COCO Watch of the Year' poll so I'm including it here. First impression for me was that it was much nicer than the limited edition 'Silverstone GP' F1 that came out earlier last year. Switching the dial ring from green to black conveniently negates the problem of colour matching, but also just looks 'better', and the orange second hand really pops against that white dial. However when I saw it in person that rich green bezel looked washed out (again) and I still don't like the case shape or the mottled finish to the steel. 

Next up we have the two tone 41mm day/date Carrera that was launched at LVMH Watch Week back in January. The dial looks silver here, which is slightly misleading. The TAG Heuer website tells me it's actually 'beige' and in person it definitely has a 'warmth' to it that works with the bezel. I'm not going to rag on TAG Heuer for the price of this watch because it has a gold bezel and one ounce of gold now costs almost as much as one ounce of printer ink so what can they do? I did actually cover this one in an 'On the Wrist' post HERE. For me it's just not that interesting, honestly.

Finally we have this new Aquaracer Solargraph, which is clearly taking inspiration from 2024's C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year, the 'Time & Tide' limited edition and is itself a limited edition of 300 pieces for the UK market. Where the 'T&T' Aquaracer was cast in titanium and came on a green textile strap, this one is just normal stainless steel (with a super impractical polished centre link bracelet for you desk divers) but still manages to look quite classy and elegant and is easily my pick out of these three and definitely in my top two for 2026 so far.

There have been two other watches released in the first quarter of the year, but they are already in the process of being scored and a 'First Impressions' post about those will follow very soon, so for now it's just nine pieces in total. 

Which one is your favourite so far?

FORMULA 1

Just the one Solargraph so far, and that was actually released in December... not a very promising start for the Formula 1's 40th anniversary year is it? I wonder if they will actually present a 40th birthday watch for the model at Watches & Wonders? If they do, my money is on a titanium cased Solargraph with a carbon effect dial that costs about £4000. Or maybe a solar chronograph... or a combination of those things? No idea, honestly - I'm just pulling ideas out my ass here, and that seems kind of logical. Think Kirium Ti5. They already stole the grooved strap idea from that one hey... 

WBY111E.BA0042: 38mm Solargraph

AQUARACER

Again, just one piece released so far and one of only two limited editions we've seen this year (well, there are four actually as the other two watches I mentioned are limited edition Carreras). I don't really know what to expect from Watches & Wonders for the Aquaracer, except we did see some blurry images in a 'Time & Tide' video a few weeks back which appeared to show a black Aquaracer with an orange ring around the dial. That definitely sounds interesting, but only if it's 42mm not 36mm.

WBP1119.BA0000: 40mm Solargraph (300 piece UK limited edition)

MONACO

No new Monacos so far this year (no Links, Monzas or Autavias either of course, but you probably weren't expecting any), but I'm pretty sure we'll be getting at least one at Watches & Wonders, so watch this space.

CARRERA

Seven Carreras so far (nine if we include the two LEs that are 'in progress') which seems par for the course these days, but then since the Carrera name has been completely abused and now means literally anything that isn't a dive watch (from a 27mm ladies three hander to a 45mm skeleton tourbillon) why bother with other names? To be fair, it's not just TAG Heuer doing this, in fact most brands seem to be doing the same thing and the watch enthusiasts aren't helping matters with their attitude to anything 'new' being generally 'dismissive'. So there you go, more Carreras... and six glassboxes (you lucky people). 

CBS2113.BA0053: 41mm Glassbox Automatic Chronograph 

CBS2114.BA0053: 41mm Glassbox Automatic Chronograph

CBS2115.BA0053: 41mm Glassbox Automatic Chronograph

CBS2016.EB0430: 42mm Seafarer Automatic Chronograph

WDA2150.BA0043: 41mm Automatic Day/Date

CDD2180.FT8120: 42mm Glassbox Automatic Rattrapante Chronograph

CBS221G.FC8367: 39mm Automatic Chronograph (Wempe Limited Edition)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS POSTS

CARRERA GLASSBOX WEMPE LIMITED EDITION

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2026/04/first-impressions-tag-heuer-carrera.html

CARRERA GLASSBOX 'RATTRAPANTE' CHRONOGRAPH

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2026/03/first-impressions-tag-heuer-carrera.html

CARRERA GLASSBOX 'SEAFARER' CHRONOGRAPH 

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2026/02/first-impressions-tag-heuer-carrera_01614624660.html

CARRERA GLASSBOX 41MM CHRONOGRAPHS

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2026/02/first-impressions-tag-heuer-carrera.html

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 'Mastering Time' Book... Hard Pass by Hobby of Hours

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Wempe' Limited Edition Chronograph

One of the nicer Carreras of recent times has to have been the 'Swiss Alps' tourbillon that came out in a limited run of fifty pieces back in 2024. Despite being hampered by being a 'glassbox' this one fared rather well with the 'Council of Considered Opinion', scoring a creditable 6.5 on release (falling slightly to a 6.3 at the end of the year) and to me it was a no brainer that the blue/silver 'panda' would return at some point... and hopefully without the dirty great hole in the dial needed for the tourbillon. 

And sure enough, here it is (kind of), albeit once again in a limited run of fifty for the German luxury watch retailer 'Wempe'. Which seems a little odd to me, because surely it's easier to sell 50x 39mm chronographs than 50x tourbillons, no?*

*And no, it's not just 50x watches in Germany because I am reliably informed that Wempe operates in the US too.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' by Random Rob

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Glassbox' Rattrapante Chronograph

I guess this was inevitable wasn't it? Having engineered a new Rattrapante movement for the Monaco a couple of years ago it was an obvious move to slide it into a Carrera case at some point and here it is. Are you excited? Does it make your balls tingle? What if I tell you that it costs in excess of £100,000? No, I don't understand why either... but we'll gloss over that, because what's the point of moaning about it. It wouldn't make any difference if it was half that, I still couldn't afford to buy it and given there's no real reason a split seconds chronograph should cost this kind of money given that you can get them for a fraction of the cost from other manufacturers, we have to kind of treat these watches as TAG Heuer's 'Richard Mille' models. Strategically overpriced to appeal to the kind of people that will only buy a watch if they know other people can't afford them...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 6000 Series Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer 2000 Searacer Velcro Strap

 

Years ago I managed to get hold of a leaflet for the 2000 Searacer, which showed that the watch could be purchased either on a bracelet or on a black sailcloth strap, but also that there was a red velcro strap available which came in a pouch with a strap changing tool. I remember a long time ago I enquired about the black sailcloth strap and being told that it had been discontinued. I don't think I ever asked about the red velcro strap as I thought that there was zero chance of that still being available...

But then a few weeks ago a new forum member at TH Forums contacted me and told me that she had ordered a 2000 Searacer from Japan and that she had already got hold of the red velcro strap for it directly from TAG Heuer. Interesting!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Ladies Link by Birth Year Watches

 

FEATURE: My Top Ten Formula 1s by Daniel Lo

Welcome to the latest in our series celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the TAG Heuer Formula 1. Last year Daniel interviewed me for his website 'grandprixwatches.com', so when I came up with the idea of doing this 'Top Ten Formula 1s' thing, and seeing that Daniel is a rabid Formula 1 fan, who better to ask to join in than him? 

So without further ado, it's over to you Daniel... and don't forget you can find all the 'Formula1@40' posts by clicking on the banner at the foot of this post. 

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List 2011/2012

 

NOT BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Link Calibre S Chronograph

Considering how many watches I've owned over the last ten years (70+ all of which have been TAG Heuers) it's perhaps somewhat remarkable that I've only ever owned one Link. I mean, that's one more than the number of Autavias I've owned... or Monacos... or Monzas, Silverstones, Airlines, Titaniums, 1000 Series or indeed Connecteds. But given how freely available affordable quartz Links are (and have been) on eBay since I got into the hobby it still feels a little odd that I've only owned one. 

That was a Link Searacer that I searched high and low for and eventually found for a bargain price on the H&T website, having dropped from £995 to £750 and finally to £495 (IIRC) when I finally snapped it up. It was an odd watch, which is probably what I liked about it, but for some reason I never really 'loved' it. It was rather bulky somehow and the lack of micro adjustment bothered me as the bracelet was always too tight or too lose and while sometimes I liked its dial, sometimes the weird layout looked kinda ugly. I eventually parted with it for around the same price as I paid for it... so perhaps it wasn't that great of a bargain after all!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 1500 Series Quartz by Birth Year Watches

 

INSTRUCTIONS: TAG Heuer 2000 CK111R Searacer

Recently I was talking to someone about the CK111R they had just bought and offered to send them a scan of my booklet, only to find when I dug it out that it was only printed in Japanese! This made some sense as I imported the watch from Japan a few years ago and since I had already owned the Link Searacer I didn't need to use the manual myself. So while I'm sure I would have looked at it when I opened it, I never needed to refer to it so I forgot all about it.

I tried looking for a copy online, but to no avail (though I did at least find out that the movement is a modified version of the ETA 251.262 called the 251.262R). 

Using my booklet for another watch which contains the normal 251.262 and my knowledge of using the Link and 2000 Series Searacers, I have compiled these notes which I hope will prove helpful to someone in the future, since this another one of those watches which must be very confusing if you don't have a manual!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'David Guetta' Special Edition Quartz GMT by The 1916 Watch Company Reviews

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer 41mm Carreras, F1 Solargraph and Day/Date Carrera

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 23rd January 2026

Another visit to my favourite TAG Heuer boutique and, well... as we'll see in a moment it was 'interesting' but hardly what I'd call 'exciting'. And honestly, it was a bit of a turning point for me perhaps. Because standing in that boutique with about £20,000 of watches on the desk in front of me it really made me question (once again) the point of this blog. As I've said before, I am not a rich man. I now own half a (struggling) business but I'm not remotely rich, in fact I'd probably be better off working for someone else. 

So honestly, the chances of me buying a glassbox Carrera for £6700 are quite literally ZERO. I wouldn't buy any watch for £6700. I wouldn't buy a watch for more than £5000 at the absolute max (not unless my financial situation vastly improved) and the most I have ever spent on a watch to date is £3300. Sure I could sell my entire collection and I would be able to buy three or four watches at £6700, but today it feels to me like what you're getting for that money is what TAG Heuer basically consider a run of the mill Carrera chronograph.

Well no, I guess the run of the mill Carrera chronograph would be the Calibre 16, but even so if I was parting with the best part of £7000 I would want to feel like I was picking up something 'special', and sadly I just don't feel that way about these. At the same time, I've recently been speaking to someone who lives in America, who was excited to tell me about the limited edition 'Caribbean' watches she'd been hunting down and it really made me think about how much fun I used to get from this hobby when it was more about chasing old F1s and 90s S/ELs...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 2083 1/1000min Stopwatch by Birth Year Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Seafarer'

 

Predictably, when TAG Heuer launched their black dial limited edition Seafarer in 2024, I wasn't much of a fan. Aside from the 'retro' aesthetic, it looked way too blingy and the 'Tide' button looked way too big to me. Also, at 42mm it didn't really seem to make a lot of sense, given that it was most likely aimed at trying to attract attention from vintage Heuer enthusiasts (who naturally prefer 'vintage' sizing). Perhaps that's why it's still available to this day, despite being a limited edition collaboration with Hodinkee? And that also tells you something pertinent about Hodinkee's 'pulling power' in the mid 2020s... 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Classic Formula 1 Restoration by Watch Fanatic

 

FEATURE: My Top Ten Formula 1s by The Highwayman

Today, we are joined by the newest member of the Council of Considered Opinion 'Dave The Highwayman', for the second of our '40 Years of the Formula 1' celebratory posts. Dave is the newest member of the C.O.C.O. and a valuable addition given his thoughtful and insightful comments, so I'm interested to see what his top ten Formula 1s might be...

DTH: When Rob asked me to write a piece about my top ten F1's, I really had to delve into the memory bank. Trying to recall what I thought of them at the time, and importantly, what I was actually wearing in the second half of the 80's.

I remember the original F1 watches very well, I was not however a customer at the time. In truth, they really didn't appeal to me. I was...and still am a man entirely untouched by fashion trends! One could argue I was very much the target market, I was young, I had a little money and I was into motorsport. They just didn't hit my spot though, I wore a suit for work and wanted a “serious” business-like daily watch. 

I chose to wear a well used 70's steel Omega Geneve. That watch was actually my first “deal”, bought for £50 from a colleague and later sold back to the same guy for a £100. I still feel slightly bad about that one.. The F1's were quirky, small, colourful and in my mind at the time.. something of a novelty, throwaway item. I looked at them but didn't seriously consider buying one.

I did however buy an example of the totally forgotten Avia “Turbo” for weekends. In black and red,it matched my black XR3i with red bumper inserts.. Ahh, those were the days, before the inevitable, crushing disappointment of adult life set in !

Looking back, that Avia was clearly intended as a cheaper F1 alternative, aimed squarely at the same market. Multiple bright colours, racing stripes and “Turbo” printed on the rubber strap. They also shared the same ETA movement as the F1 for about a quarter of the price, nothing changes does it..

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Astronomer' Limited Edition by Random Rob

CATALOGUES: Heuer Catalogue (1985/1986)

You can now access a HUGE library of TAG Heuer / Heuer catalogues direct on the blog by clicking the 'CATALOGUES' tab at the top (in the drop down menu on a phone/tablet) or clicking the link at the bottom of this page.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Circuit Board and Battery Replacement by Solim BD

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 41mm Glassbox Chronographs

 

As you probably know by now, I'm not a huge fan of the second generation of glassbox Carreras, especially the 39mm ones which look tiny on my 7.5" wrist. I actually don't mind some of the 42mm models and it's a shame they don't offer the purple dial, for example, in the larger case as that one is rather nice. So it's not that I'm completely 'anti-glassbox' and I do have some 37mm watches in my collection (so it's not purely the size). I think it's a combination of the diameter, the glass dome and the thin 'not-a-bezel' visible under the crystal conspiring to make it feel a bit dinky and a wee bit feminine (honestly). 

But perhaps I'm not the only one with reservations? Perhaps TAG Heuer themselves realise that maybe they went a little bit small, because at LVMH Watch Week they released three new glassbox chronographs in a larger (41mm) diameter. Yay, for common sense!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Extreme Sport Calibre TH20-02 'Twin Time' Chronograph by The 1916 Company

 

FEATURE: CEO Antoine Pin Leaves TAG Heuer

Antoine Pin

Aside from being the 40th anniversary of the Formula 1 this year, it's also the 10th anniversary of the TAG Heuer Enthusiast Blogspot. Can you believe I've been doing this for ten years already? And in that time how many CEOs do you think TAG Heuer has had? Well if you guessed five, well done. First we had Jean Claude Biver (2014-2018), then Stephan Bianchi (2019-2020), Frederic Arnault (2020-2023), Julien Tornare (2024) and finally Antoine Pin (2024-25/26). Which means TAG Heuer heads into 'LVMH Watch Week 2026' without a CEO.

Prior to this Jean Christophe Babin ran the company from 2000 until 2013 and then Stéphane Linder briefly took over until Jean Claude Biver was persuaded to sprinkle some of that famous 'Biver' magic on the brand. I guess I am biased since I really fell in love with TAG Heuer when Mr Biver was in control (I even named one of my cats 'Mr Biver' believe it or not) but I've never really felt any of the gentleman that followed him really spoke to me the way he did.

But then Mr Biver is one of a kind. A giant of the Swiss watch industry, who has the success (and personal wealth) behind him to forge his own path. I somehow doubt Mr Biver was looking over his shoulder the whole time he was in control of TAG Heuer.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at LVMH Watch Week by Time & Tide Watches

 

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List (January 2026)

 

It's time for another look at the TAG Heuer website and how the prices have changed over the last six months. Almost nothing has left the catalogue since July, in fact the only watches that have disappeared from the website are the Goodwood Festival of Speed Carrera, the stainless 'Year of the Dragon' Carrera and the Aquaracer Superdiver (which can currently be had at a rather tasty discount from the Bicester Village outlet).

There has been a price rise (as usual these are marked in blue) and while it's never welcome it doesn't seem to have been as horrendous as I was led to believe it was going to be. In fact it's pretty similar to what we've seen in recent times with increases of between £50 and £200 on most references. I did chuckle to myself when I saw that TAG Heuer had added another £900 to the tourbillons... you know, the ones that went up £9000 last year. The bizarre thing there is that the pre-owned market for TH tourbillons doesn't seem to have risen at all and you can find these £30k+ watches for around £11k, which doesn't seem very sustainable.

There was one watch which actually dropped by £100, I don't know if it was a mistake or what, but I've marked it in green.

Items marked in red are new since the last price list I did back in July. Most of these are genuinely new items, but there are a few random older models that have reappeared on the website for some reason. 

Interestingly, the Monaco range seems to have emerged fairly unscathed, with most of the prices staying the same. Perhaps the thought of pushing those DLC coated skeletons over the £10,000 threshold gave them pause for thought? Oddly though the basic blue dial Heuer 02 Monaco increased by £250 on the bracelet (and £300 on the strap, work that out!) while the black dial versions remained the same. Interesting.

As one of the longest standing models in the catalogue the 'Steve McQueen' Monaco has long been a barometer for pricing, and here again we see another £200 added to the price. This doesn't really surprise me to be honest, since the majority of watch collectors who want to buy a Monaco gravitate towards the left hand crown 'Heuer' branded version... and what's another £200 when you're spending this kind of money? 🤣  

Anyway, that's this job done for another six months... enjoy! And if you want more price lists then click the 'Price Lists' tab at the top of the page or click on the banner at the bottom of this post.

If you click on the pages they should open up larger, if you still can't read them I suggest opening them in a new tab.

VIDEO: Heuer Autavia 'Viceroy' Calibre Heuer 02 Limited Edition Chronograph by The 1916 Watch Company Reviews

 

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!

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?

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.

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