WAH1113.FT6025 WAH1116.FT6024 WAH1110.FT6024
Buying a watch on price could be a recipe for disaster, but that's exactly what I did when I bought my WAH1110.FT6024. I wanted a TAG Heuer I could wear every day, a watch I liked but didn't covet enough to be too afraid to wear it to work. And so I looked around and spotted a Formula One quartz for just £450, and (strap aside) I couldn't have been happier with it. Indeed there was a brief moment in time where I wanted to put it in the cabinet with the others, because it was in such good condition when it arrived (better than anticipated). But I was strong, and I've worn it everyday for months now and it still looks just as good as the day it arrived.
It was only after I bought my watch that I found out there were two other versions of (essentially) the same watch, the WAH1113 which has a khaki dial and strap, and the WAH1116 which is the same as mine but with orange numerals and hands rather than white (and red).
Mine is definitely the most 'regular' looking of the three, but given the choice would I swap? Well the first thing to mention is that they all have the same rubber strap with the same crappy clasp, and while the WAH1110 and the WAH1116 strap could be swapped out for the BT0714 buckle-type strap, doing that on the WAH1113 is a bit pointless as the BT0714 strap isn't available in khaki.
But for the purposes of this post we'll ignore that (I think there is a different clasp available to fit the FT6024/FT6025 strap anyway, so it's not a completely unsurmountable problem) and focus on the aesthetics of each watch.
WAH1113.FT6025
Starting with the WAH1113, I'm still undecided as to how I feel about this one. On first look it was kinda 'Oh wow, that's cool', but the more I look at it the more I'm unsure. It's almost as though I'm looking for the 'Action Man' logo on the dial, which isn't really what you want in a watch that costs nigh on £1000. The colour makes it look a little 'plasticy' somehow, like a toy, not a luxury watch. So while I like it as a novelty, I certainly wouldn't swap my WAH1110 for it.
That said the white looks really good against the khaki dial, and if you were a military type, or if you favour a military aesthetic, then this could be just the watch for you. It's just not me somehow.
WAH1116.FT6024
I must admit, on first sight I did have a pang of disappointment that there was a watch just like mine but with a more colourful dial. I mean that's a pretty unusual dial right there, how many TAG Heuer's can you name that look anything like that? I'm a sucker for colours on a watch (the yellow hands sold me on the Aquagraph for heaven's sake) and this looks really cool. But is it too much orange? Seeing the way the (small amount of) white and orange works together on the dial, I would like to see this watch but with a more equal colour combination, perhaps the minute track in white, or maybe a white second hand? Just something to tone it down a touch, without killing the impact completely.
WAH1110.FT6024
In the end, I have to say, though I do really like the orange version, I think of the three I would choose the one I've actually got. Indeed, though I bought it on price initially, I don't think of this as a 'beater' watch, I think of this as an equal part of my collection and even though I do wear it everyday, if it got damaged I would definitely be on the lookout for a direct replacement. The red text and second hand are the perfect splash of colour on an otherwise monochrome dial, and though the numerals look slightly odd at first (placed inside the minute track), once you get used to them this watch looks pretty damn good, and the lume is killer.
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