FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Carrera Heuer 01 Air-K 2017 Limited Edition

Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori has been a TAG ambassador for quite a while now and he's amassed quite a few signature models along the way. First in 2013 came the 500M Aquaracer CAJ2113 which was limited to 300 pieces.

CAJ2113.FT6023

Then in 2014 came the 500M Aquaracer WAK2112, which again was limited to 300 pieces...

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In 2015 TAG released another 500M Aquaracer available on either a bracelet or a strap and this time limited to 400 pieces.

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2016 saw a major change, after three Aquaracers it was time for a model switch and so we got the rather dashing looking Calibre 5 Carrera (which I previously wrote about HERE). This one was once again limited to 400 pieces, and to me was the standout special edition so far.

WAR201F.BA0728

Now in 2017 TAG Heuer have released the latest Kei Nishikori watch and it is by far my favourite, indeed I think it's rather a shame that this is a limited edition piece made for the Japanese market because I think this is the best looking solid dial Heuer01 Carrera by a mile.

CAR201N.XXXXXX

I absolutely love the square detailing on the dial, I think it gives this watch a certain something that I have found lacking on all the non-skeleton Heuer01s which usually have an unfortunately blank looking dial. I suppose this is 'tennis themed' but I think it's rather a shame this won't become a more regular feature of the TAG range, because it looks fantastic!

Maybe some AP purists might scoff at the similarity to the Royal Oak, and it can't be denied that there is a visual connection between the two dials, but that aside, this is a spectacular choice of finish.

There are a fair few flashes of colour on the dial (including a red five minute marker and a green hand on the running seconds sub-dial) not to mention a red 'K' in place of the number '1' on the date wheel, which is a nice and unusual touch. The watch also comes with a yellow strap in addition to the standard black, which looks great and would turn this all-year rounder into a perfect summer watch.

Really, I can't think of a single thing to criticise here, some may not like the seemingly random mish-mash of colours used across the dial, but this has been a feature of the Nishikori watches and I think it looks a lot of fun. Like the CAU2012 I posted about the other day, I don't think this would be an 'only' watch, but as a piece for days when you want to have a little fun with your wrist time, I can't think of anything better.

You can read more about this watch and see some fantastic pictures on Calibre 11.

https://www.calibre11.com/tag-heuer-carrera-heuer-01-air-k5-nishikori-edition-car201n/

FEATURE: Common or Garden TAGs at Hilarious eBay Prices!

Like many people I suspect, usually when I look on eBay for watches I filter the results to see the cheapest watches first. After all, there's only so much I'm prepared to spend buying watches from Ebay, and generally speaking I see it more as a place to find bargains than somewhere to buy a tourbillon!

But for some reason yesterday I decided to search the dearest first, and I was surprised at some of the ludicrous prices some people have the balls to ask.

One that caught my eye immediately is a watch that I've looked at before, and that is the Formula One Calibre-S.

CAH7011.BA0860

You'll be deliriously happy to find out that 'InfiniteShopping' have two of these available for the frankly astonishing price of just £4375. Compare that with Joma Shop who show a list price of $1750 and were selling them for $1275...

Now admittedly, Joma Shop is out of stock, but come on. £4375 is a joke. Not to mention that if you buy in the UK you will have to pay import taxes! Thankfully 'InfiniteShopping' do offer 'free' shipping on this watch, perhaps even they didn't have the brass monkeys to push it any further?

I think this is a pretty cool model, but I'm sure if you really wanted one and you looked hard enough you could find one for a much fairer price than that.

Next up we have a women's Aquaracer with ten diamonds on the dial. No diamonds on the bezel mind, just the hour markers (excluding 12 and 3 where the date lives). At a guess I would imagine this would cost somewhere between £1700-1800, and indeed you can buy this very watch on Amazon.co.uk (via Chronostore) for just over £1000 (although admittedly you might want to read the reviews first!)

WAF1415.BA0824

But if that sounds a little cheap for you, then why not buy the exact same watch on eBay from '1771cohen' for a much more luxurious £4585.19?

Where are they getting these prices from? Is anybody actually paying them? Surely the quickest of searches would show up the fact that these people are severely taking the Michael...

Another one that stood out to me was this 500m Aquaracer, which 'Gioielleriacampus' are offering for £5211.64.

CAJ2180.FT6023

I think the reason this one stood out is because I've seen this many times in the outlets for less than £2200 (and as low as £1750 once in Cheshire Oaks), as it is 'Montredo' are offering this same watch for £2999 and pre-owned dealer Watchfinder are out of stock at present but they still show the full list price as £3450. It's not like this is some super-rare watch that demands a £1700 premium, so who is willing to pay this I just don't know.

Finally, our friends at 'InfiniteShopping' have another 'bargain' available... (2 available in fact!), that being the TAG Heuer Connected for the incredible price of only £4480.

SAR8A80.FT6045

Brown's Family Jewellers (based in Yorkshire) are offering this same piece for £1050, which is £50 lower than the full retail price of £1100.

I mean seriously, common sense tells me they can't be selling, and yet... you have to wonder? Maybe people who aren't familiar with watches and their values might just see an item and think 'I love it - I'm going to buy it', and maybe if they are so easily parted with their money then they deserve to be ripped off?

As for me I think I'll go back to searching 'cheapest first'...

OWNED: CAU2012 Formula One Calibre 16 Chronograph

 

CAU2012.FT6038

It took me about two years to track down one of these, and when it finally fell into my lap it was completely unexpected. I went to Bicester Village one Saturday with my wife, and while we were there she had been looking at an Ice Cream tub shaped handbag in Kate Spade. I think it was coming up to her birthday so I contrived to visit Bicester on the Monday during the day so I could pick one up for her without her knowing. 

At the same time, I wanted to go back to Bicester because on that Saturday I had seen the yellow dial Calibre S Aquaracer and despite trying it on, I had failed to purchase it and I was kicking myself a little, or I at least needed another look just to confirm my decision (or maybe not). Before I left work I was joking with my friend that I was going to come back with the Calibre S 'unless by some miracle that Orange F1 has arrived since Saturday'... You can imagine my utter astonishment when I walked in to find the CAU2012 sitting in the cabinet right next to the Calibre S!

CAF7013.FT8011

The Aquaracer was a staggering affordable £960 or thereabouts, which considering I've seen them on eBay pre-owned for £1400+ was a VERY good deal. But of course, once I clapped eyes on the Calibre 16 the Aquaracer went out of the window - which I must say is a bit of a shame, because of course thus far I've never seen it again... (and now I'd like to).

Initially I was super happy with my purchase, but it quickly became apparent that the clasp on the FT6038 rubber strap that comes (only) with this particular watch was going to be a problem. Just like the one on my everyday F1 the clasp irritated the hell out of my wrist and I had to look for an alternative.

Unfortunately it wasn't possible to source a different clasp for that strap, so in the end I had to go to a basic 22mm rubber strap, in this case the BT0717 was pretty much my only option if I wanted a TAG branded strap.

BT0717

I have to say I'm not crazy about the BT0717 strap. On the face of it it's the same design as the BT0714, just a couple of mm wider, but in reality it's so much thicker and more chunky. It's so much harder to put on and getting the tail of the strap into the retainers is a pain in the ass. I mean once it's on, it's solid... but it's a little bit too solid really and lacks any sort of finesse.

But as I say, there wasn't really a whole lot of options available to me, just lately I've been considering changing the strap to an aftermarket model, either a carbon-fibre effect one or a perforated leather type, but I'm still mulling that over at present.... we'll see.

I've had a bit of a funny relationship with this watch to be honest. I've had it just over six months and more than any of my other watches this is the one that I've blown hot and cold with. At one point I even investigated trying to sell it, but I changed my mind in the end. Without a doubt the whole strap thing has tainted my purchase slightly and the one other thing that I find a massive disappointment is the lume. There just isn't enough of it. Literally the only lume on the watch is the hands. No markers, no 12 O'Clock pip, absolutely nothing at all. If it's sitting on a bedside table then good luck telling the time, because you got nothing to go on.

To be honest it never even occurred to me to ask about the lume, in the store I was just so excited to finally see one of these I wasn't thinking quite straight, it wasn't until I got it home that I realised just how stingy the lume was. I get that it's a Formula One and not an Aquaracer, but this watch retails for £2500 which is a considerable chunk of money, for that I think it should be properly lumed up. I think I was especially disappointed because I was expecting the hour markers to be orange lume as well.

For some reason if I haven't worn this for a while I get a distorted memory of what this watch looks like and then the doubts start creeping in and I start thinking should I cash it in, but then I take it out of the box and it impresses me all over again. The picture at the top of this post is a very good representation of the watch, much better than any 'full frontal' picture I've seen. Some might find the orange stripes on the pushers a bit OTT, especially with the orange crown line as well, but I must admit I kinda like it. For sure this is the absolute maximum amount of colour I ever want to see on a watch, and I could easily live with a little less, but even so, this is a fun piece.

I must admit I find the crown a little bit fiddly to screw down and the movement itself feels quite 'agricultural' when winding, but having spoken to other people about the Calibre 16 movement it seems that it's not unusual. The back is a solid black with some nice detailing, which looks so much better than a steel back on a black case. But then the clasp on the original strap was silver. Why would you do that? You make a bespoke strap which only goes on this watch and then you cheap-out on the clasp - I don't get it. 

I don't mind the silver buckle on an old fashioned buckle/pin-style strap, but if you're going for the deployment route, then for Heaven's sake do it properly. I just think it looks cheap as hell...

Despite my issues with the lume and the clasp, I still like this watch a lot. I don't understand why I always get these negative feelings towards it when I don't wear it, and of all my watches this is probably the one I would most likely sell first (aside from my everyday F1), which is not to say that I'm likely to sell, just that I'm really un-likely to sell any of the other four.

This is definitely a fun watch and it surprises me how badly it seems to hold it's value, I was lucky to pick this up brand new for £1750 or so, and it's probably worth around £1500-1600 considering it's condition (strap is basically unworn) so I'm not losing a whole heap, but if you paid list then you're not doing so well. I guess some people will love the orange and some people will really hate it, personally I really like it but I wouldn't choose this as an 'only' watch. I consider this a watch I wear out in the day at the weekends mostly, a summer-fun kinda watch.

I guess the fact that I was looking for this for so long put a lot of expectation on it, and the lume thing definitely bugs me a lot, but I'm hopeful that a change of strap might give it a new lease of life. I'm certainly going to be looking into that soon.

FEATURE: To Buy or Not to Buy: That is the Question (The Tale of the WAY208C)

WAY208C.FC6383

Ever had that situation where you really want something, but it's hard to get and even then there's something about it that you wish was different and then it turns up at a decent price and even the thing that you didn't really like has been resolved... and yet you still can't quite commit to buy?

Well probably not, but that's exactly my experience today. I've been banging on about the WAY208C Calibre 5 Aquaracer ever since 'A Blog to Watch' did their review of it and took it off it's light brown nylon strap and put it on a black rubber Isofrane strap.

Doesn't that look great?

So a while back I managed to track one down to a jewellers in Derby and I was toying with the idea of going up there to see it. But in the end for some reason I didn't, I think partly because I wasn't sure what sort of rubber strap I could get for it (I'd prefer a TAG Heuer strap ideally), the new Aquaracers I could think of that were on rubber had a yellow back and I don't think that would go with the colour scheme. Of course there may be another non-yellow backed strap that will fit, but there's still that wretched cyclops magnifier to contend with.

So imagine my surprise when I came across a WAY208C on eBay today, seemingly in very good condition and one which has had the cyclops removed!

Looks so much better doesn't it?

So it seems like a slam dunk right? £1350 for a watch that's barely a year old and in good condition and with the cyclops already removed... it should be a no brainer. But for some reason, I'm still hesitant to commit to it.

Incidentally, the watch pictured comes with an extra strap, although why you'd buy a strap that looks a lot like the one it came on I'm not really sure. The picture shows the watch on the aftermarket strap, but there are pics of the original strap as well which looks pretty perfect.

I just can't quite work out what's holding me back. The guy has good feedback and the watch is apparently running at +6 secs a day in a watch winder which doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I'm just so tired of buying watches and then having to buy a separate strap because I either don't like or can't wear the strap it comes on. I mean, I've bought three watches now that I've had to change out and I'd really love to just get one as it is. And I'm struggling to understand why TAG haven't issued this watch with the choice of a rubber strap, it's an Aquaracer after all, a dive watch above all else, it seems like they've missed an obvious configuration.

On the one hand I'm thrilled that the cyclops has been removed but on the other it worries me. How was it done? Will it affect the warranty? What about resale? Hmm...

Also, I've started looking at some yellow dial Aquaracers again, you may remember I very nearly bought a yellow dial Aquaracer Calibre S, indeed I went to the Bicester outlet to buy that watch when I found the long sought after Formula One CAU2012 Calibre 16... and bought that instead.

CAF7013.FT8011

I still like that one, but I've also started to like the Chronotimer Aquaracer as well, which is also available in yellow.

CF1011.FT8011

These are both available on bracelets as well, and actually I'm open to that. I do think the black rubber goes well with the yellow dial, but at the same time I do have a lot of watches with rubber straps and only two bracelets.

The other sticking point, is that when I was in Cheshire Oaks the other day I clapped eyes on the black dial Monaco 24 again... now, I thought this was gone and believing that I very nearly bought the orange and grey version when it dipped below £5000 for a brief period (in the Bicester outlet anyway). I'm so glad I didn't because if I had and then I saw the black dial available again I would have been seriously pissed.

The problem is... my TAG fund currently stands at £1300, and while I could use other savings to secure it, I don't really want to do that (not to mention my wife thinks £5000 is too much to spend on a watch... she doesn't particularly like!) and while I am eBaying hard, it's going to take a while to get the required cash together and there's no guarantee at all that the black dial version will still be available.

The crazy thing is the Monaco 24 is a ridiculous deal in the outlets, it's a thousand pounds cheaper than Watchfinder are selling them for used! But still, you have to cut your cloth according to your means and this would be the most expensive watch I've bought by a HUGE margin, so I really can't just cast caution to the wind and jump in...

Well I could. I guess... but I'm not going to. Besides, I'm off to Bicester at the weekend, so who knows what goodies I might find?

VIDEO: Jean-Claude Biver Talks About the Past, Present & Future of the Watch Industry

SPOTLIGHT ON: Link Lady Diamond Star Haute-Couture Concept Watch

I haven't written an awful lot about ladies watches on this blog, largely because I suspect the majority of my readers are likely to be men and probably won't have much interest. But I have been meaning to write a post about my wife's three TAG watches (she also has an automatic skeletonized Oris) and while searching for pictures I came across this highly unusual piece.

At first I thought it was a fake, but a little further digging reveals that this watch was shown at Baselworld 2012, back when Cameron Diaz was a TAG Heuer ambassador.

It's hard to say whether it was ever commercially available, I'm tending to think not since there's not much evidence of it being sold on the internet, save for a lot of dodgy looking websites selling what appear to be copies. It's certainly a novel idea having the rotor for the automatic movement circling the case, decorated with stars, and if it wasn't ever sold it's a bit of a shame. (Incidentally, you might think the fact that it's called a 'concept' watch would be a clear indication, but yet the Monaco 24 'Gulf' watch is also described as a 'concept' and you can definitely buy that!).

On the other hand I can't quite get my head round the tiny dial and the proportions with the strap. I get that the main case is in proportion with the strap, but it's hard not to focus on the inner dial. Still it's always nice to see pictures of a previously unknown TAG.

The more I search the more it seems this was only ever a concept watch, the majority of articles on the internet seem to be either 'Pinterest' posts or dodgy looking shopping sites in Pakistan (pretty much exclusively Pakistan it seems), so it seems my wife will not be able to have one after all!

CELEBRATION: The TAG Heuer Enthusiast Blog is One Year Old!

Actually I'm a bit late with this post, a couple of weeks late to be exact... but still, in a way it seems like I've been doing this longer than a year already. Over the course of this weekend I took it upon myself to create a 'Post Archive' (see tab at the top) which meant typing out a list of each and every post (all 294 of them) and then creating a link for each one. Needless to say it's taken quite a long time to do this, at least 3 or 4 hours, but I think it's worth it. Blogs are great, but they really don't make it easy to go back and read everything from the start, so if you find a blog that's been going for a while it can be a lot of hassle to go back and most of the time you'd probably just not bother. With my archive I hope people will make the effort to go back and read my older posts and watch the old videos and of course it also makes it easier to find a particular post you might have seen before, or makes it easier to pinpoint old posts which are of interest to you in particular. I will probably update the archive at the start of each new month.

You might also notice I've created a new header for the blog, I was never really happy with the text on the previous one and I thought it was time for a change, so I swapped out the Carrera Heuer 01 for the Aquagraph... and I thought it was a bit of fun to slightly parody the 'Swiss Avant Garde since 1860' strapline as well.

Looking back over the old posts, as I have been doing (endlessly) this weekend, it strikes me how reserved I've been writing about my own watches. I think when I started the blog I didn't want to write all the posts about my own collection and so tried to ration it and now it seems that I've gone a year down the line and hardly written anything about some of them. Which is good in a way as it gives me something to go at going forward.

If you're wondering why the photo of the Formula One at the top of the page, it was just what I was wearing today and I decided to take a photo for my new Tumblr and to post on some forums. I'm trying to be a bit more active on watch forums in an effort to raise awareness of this blog, and I'm also trying to get a bit better at taking photographs with my limited equipment. If you click on this it's a pretty huge picture and you can get a really detailed look at the bezel, but not so much the dial because of the reflection perhaps...

Anyway, that's about it for today, my poor fingers are absolutely blogged out, so I'll see you in the next post.

A WONDERFUL SURPRISE GIFT: TAG Heuer Watch Travel Case

You may remember my recent post about my visit to Cheshire Oaks and my subsequent email to TAG about the excellent customer service I received from Joe. Well, first off I got an automated reply and then an email from someone thanking me and telling me they had forwarded my email to the relevant department. Truth be told I didn't really expect to hear much more, after all TAG Heuer is a big company, I just hoped that the message would get back to Joe's boss and of course to Joe himself. However, the very next day I got a very nice email thanking me for taking the time to write and telling me that Joe was very pleased with my email.

It further transpired that TAG were aware of my blog (and of course the Calibre 11 forum) and I was told that there was something in the post for me to thank me for my loyalty to the brand. I didn't really know what to expect, I thought maybe a cap, or a mug, I really didn't have a clue...?

The next day I got home to find a card from the post office saying they had something for me, but it was too late and so I had to wait another day to get my parcel. Inside I found a box wrapped up in TAG Heuer wrapping paper (secured with TAG branded tape!) and when I opened it I found a black box with the TAG Heuer logo on it. I still didn't have a clue what it was, so I opened it and found that they had sent me a very nice TAG Heuer travel case.

I really didn't expect anything like that, and I really love it. It's beautifully made and very clever in it's design. The watch cushion is held in place by four press-studs which disengage reasonably easily (but not too easily, obviously) to enable you to remove and fit the watch. Once refitted inside the watch is held very securely and I would have no concerns about using this to transport any of my watches. Indeed I will probably take this with me when I go to Geneva next year to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary.

I'm not entirely sure if this case is (or has ever been) commercially available, I've certainly never seen it for sale and since TAG seem to be discontinuing all their accessories I presume this won't be available for much longer either (?). If anything, this now really makes me want a TAG wallet, so I might have to take a trip to Bicester pretty soon and get myself one, and maybe a belt as well!

So I have to say a huge thanks to Carly at TAG Heuer for a lovely gift and for taking as interest in my little blog, it's very much appreciated.

TAG Heuer Enthusiast comes to Tumblr...

A bit late I know, but I've just started a Tumblr. Ostensibly it's going to be a promotional tool for my blogspot rather than anything of any great individual merit, but then again who doesn't like pictures of nice TAGs?

https://tagheuerenthusiast.tumblr.com/

FEATURE: The Quest to Find an S/EL

Of all the watches TAG Heuer have made over the last thirty years, one above all others seems uniquely divisive, I'm talking of course about the S/EL (Sports Elegance). For some this is the epitome of questionable taste, in particular the two tone versions (like the example pictured above), but while I agree those particular pieces are perhaps a little gauche, there is just something about the S/EL that makes me want one.

Whether it's that F1 connection, the S/EL was after all the watch of choice for the legendary Ayrton Senna, or simply a nostalgic desire for the 80s and those TAG sponsored Williams and McLarens, I simply don't know, but something draws me to them even though I'm not even sure I've ever actually seen one in the flesh.

The problem though, as I've learned over the last couple of years, is that when you start buying older pieces you have to be prepared for difficulties. Firstly, there's the sizes. I've looked at countless S/ELs on eBay only to get terribly excited until I read '34mm' diameter. I know watches just weren't as big back then, but the S/ELs seems particularly small, or maybe it's just that the larger ones are more coveted and so don't get sent to auction as much (and demand a significant premium when they do).

And secondly (for me particularly) I have a very oblong wrist shape and this means bracelets (and even some straps) can be troublesome for me. I never encountered this problem on any watch I'd owned before until I bought my first 2000 series and I just couldn't wear the bracelet at all because the curved folding clasp dug into my wrist. The same thing happened with my second 2000 and also both my Formula One pieces (although that was a slightly different problem) even though they sported rubber straps. And just the other day I tried on a 500m Aquaracer with a rubber strap and encountered the same problem - it's so frustrating!

So as you can imagine I am very wary now about buying anything without being able to try it on, but where can you try on an S/EL? I'm back to waiting for Watchfinder to get one in and then either having to go to London or having it sent to me to try.

Or so I thought. Recently I've been looking to buy one of these watches, or at least to try one on and satisfy my curiosity. Watchfinder had one or two limited edition versions with 'McLaren 1998' on the face, but they seem to have found themselves new homes and in frustration I turned back to eBay and found a couple of very nice pieces.

CG1114

First there was a lovely blue S/EL, a quartz powered chronograph with the model number CG1114, offered with a new movement at £795, and then from the same seller there was a CG1110-0, which is basically the same watch but with a black dial instead. This one was for sale for a slightly cheaper £775.

CG1110-0

Now part of me wanted to buy the blue one, if only because all my pieces are essentially black and I kind of promised myself that I should try and buy some pieces which expanded the collection into different looks without going to a different brand. So a blue dial fitted the bill perfectly, but then the reason I have so many black dial watches is because black looks great... and the green and red logo looks fantastic on a black dial. I loved my second 2000 series and I never would have sold it if it been a couple of mm larger across the case.

So I was getting a little bit excited, and I was at the point where I was definitely going to buy one of these watches, I just had to decided if it was going to be black or blue. But then the sensible part of me kicked in, and I remembered all the problems I've had with straps in the last couple of years, and then of course I started to get nervous. It's not all straps, I have no problem at all with the bracelet on my F1 Kirium, it's wonderful in fact. And the Aquagraph is also fine, save for it's complete lack of fine adjustment, but by and large I have no issue with the clasp.

So I noticed the seller offers 30 day refunds, but being a cautious sort I decided to approach the seller to confirm the details of their refund policy. I expected a warm reply but got a fairly blunt one, whereupon I tried to explain the reason why I was concerned that the clasp would cause me problems and was told that I should probably not buy this watch and buy one with a leather strap.

While that may be sound advice, I personally think the S/ELs with leather straps look pretty awful. It looks like such an afterthought, because to me the bracelet is such an integral part of the design that anything else looks 'wrong' and I must say the way TAG reworked the cases to accept a normal strap is horrendous!

I tried again to explain myself but I was pretty much told the seller had no interest in selling to me on a sale or return basis, and so reluctantly I have accepted that avenue is closed. It's a shame because that seller seems to have a very good record and seems to know what he's doing when it comes to refurbishing TAGs. He has a 100% record on over 2000 sales on eBay, and that's not to be sniffed at. But I have to say, customer service doesn't seem to be a strong point. I mean I would have known within minutes if the clasp was going to be an issue, I had no intention of keeping the watch for 30 days or even more than a couple of days before returning it, and I really wanted to buy it, but clearly the seller didn't want to know. They did suggest I find one to try on locally and that once I had satisfied myself that the clasp was okay they would be happy to supply me. But that's the problem, where do I get to 'try' one on exactly? And even if I could, I would have to be sure that it had the exact same bracelet.

I feel like I'm going around in circles with this, and so I'm pretty much resigned to waiting for Watchfinder to get something in or waiting for a jeweller somewhere to advertise one that I can go and see in a shop somewhere. I don't even mind a journey, I'll drive a couple or few hours if they've got something of interest, but the S/EL just doesn't seem to pop up all that much, at least not in the UK. Maybe they never sold as well in the UK as other places? A lot of them are a little bit gaudy, with spatterings of gold on a lot of models, and brightly coloured straps seemed to be de rigueur as well. 

So for now, I'm a little deflated, but I won't give up completely. An S/EL would be a welcome addition to my collection, but only if I can find the right model, in the right size, with the right bracelet... and of course as long as that bracelet doesn't have a clasp which rips my arm to pieces.

FEATURE: Dealer Clocks

If you've ever been into a TAG Heuer boutique or outlet store, then chances are you've seen a dealer clock on the wall and thought 'where can I get one of them'. When I was in the Cheshire Oaks store the other day one of the staff guys was telling us (I was with my wife at the time) how so many people ask if they are for sale, and now how there was a guy who constantly asks about the TAG Heuer doormat!

While TAG don't sell their wall clocks (such a shame!) a quick look on eBay will quickly show that there is a strong market for them whether they are genuine or not - and truthfully, how would we know? Clocks like this regularly sell for hundreds of pounds.

And it's easy to see why, genuine or not, they look fantastic. Sure, at the end of the day they are powered by a cheap as chips battery movement, but when they look this good - who cares? Many a time I've looked at these on eBay and thought about bidding, but never quite pulled the trigger. Why? Well... for one thing, there's always another one just around the corner, so for me the 'value' isn't really there. But I must admit it's getting harder and harder to resist, and I think this Christmas I might find a TAG clock under my tree.

To be honest I don't really understand why TAG Heuer don't sell them themselves, perhaps it's because they feel uncomfortable about selling a plastic wall clock, but on the other hand a lot of people clearly like them and judging by what goes on on eBay they are prepared to pay fairly serious money for them too.

I kinda hope this one's fake, because it's a little bit nasty looking.

But then I don't understand why JCB has canned all the TAG merchandise, the belts, the wallets, the glasses... just about the only thing you can buy now is a backpack. It seems crazy to me, people love the TAG logo, it's instantly recognizable even in it's newly revamped form and I personally love the branding on the rubber straps etc. Shouldn't the company be capitalizing on their brand? It seems backwards that the company has made the conscious decision to pull the brand back down to entry level status (ditching the haute horlogerie pieces like the Monaco V4 and the Mikrograph) but at the same time seems awfully shy about selling 'merchandise'.

Still I'm sure Jean Claude knows a lot more than I do about business, so I'll shut up now.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The Formula One Alec Monopoly Special Edition

Oh my trousers, they've only gone and given him another watch!

If nothing else Alec Monopoly is divisive, and the one 'brand ambassador' guaranteed to raise the heckles of the Calibre 11 forum members. Indeed, Mr Monopoly seems to be one thing the members can agree on and unite against.... and yet, seeing this on Facebook earlier I thoroughly expected to find a thread on the forum filled with bile outrage that this watch has been allowed to exist, but instead - well... give it time I guess, but at least in the first instance T.H.E. regular Jim Dollares started the thread with an almost positive (if slightly hesitant) post...

I must admit, I hated the first Alec Monopoly watch. Spraying paint over a diamond encrusted Carrera was completely jackassery of the finest order, but this makes much more sense. If you're going to do something 'fun' do it on a (relatively) cheap watch, not a $30,000 Carrera, and when I saw this the first thing that popped into my head was those Ingersoll Mickey Mouse watches, which is great because they are a fun watch too.

The lack of markings on the dial is a slight stumble for me, it would have been cool if Alec had painted them on the dial, and also the TAG logo too, although the logo on the back of the watch has been 'Monopolised'.

Failing that maybe an applied '12' might have made the dial look a little more 'complete' as to me although it is very busy, it looks as if there's something missing. But I really don't want to hate on this watch at all, I think it's great that TAG are prepared to put out fun pieces like this, even if it's not going to be to everyone's taste. I'm sure some fans of other brands will give this a withering look and dismiss it in the knowledge that 'their' wonderful brand would never make such a thing.

Well that may be true, but that brand will probably never do anything truly great or unique beyond tinkering with the colour accent on the second hand. I don't like this enough to buy it, but this watch makes me like TAG even more, because I love that they have the balls to make it. Too many watch brands have zero personality and are so conservative, of course this isn't going to be for everyone but I'd rather see this than a fanfare for yet another blue-dialed 300m dive watch with a slightly modified bezel...

I'm guessing this watch is going to be sold at somewhere around the £1200 mark, or maybe even slightly less. Not sure how it's value will hold up, I guess ultimately that will depend on how Alec's career pans out in the long run. But think how well some of the Swatch models have done over time, especially the ones connected to artists like Keith Haring. Not that I'm suggesting Monopoly will be in that league ever, but if this is made in limited quantities (as I suspect it will - although this is a special edition not a limited edition which presumably means they make it until it stops selling) I guess with it's unique dial it could well become quite collectible in the future.

Oh... there I was being nice and then Alec goes and does this. I feel like a disappointed parent!

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UPDATE: This watch is apparently an internet only purchase and is limited to 200 pieces. Price is a rather reasonable £1000, which means it could potentially be something of an investment if Alec becomes a household name, and even if he doesn't there's no other TAG that looks anything like this.

The TAG Heuer Enthusiast Gallery Blog

If you haven't already been, don't forget to visit my 'gallery' blog (just click on the Monaco 24HR in the side bar), here you'll find more than 1280 pictures of TAG Heuer models from the start until the current day. This is an ongoing project and is by no means complete and if you know of anything that is missing please help me by leaving a comment with any information you have (especially part numbers). When I started the gallery blog I had no idea what I was taking on, TAG have made a huge number of pieces over the last 30+ years and I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't even half way to having them all. I think David at Calibre 11 reckoned there were over 4,000 catalogue numbers that he knew of...

Pretty much every time I go looking I find something I've never seen before, just the other day I discovered a special edition 'Rugby World Cup' Aquaracer with an English Rose on the dial, of course eBay also throws up many new finds and I've also learned a lot from the Calibre 11 website and in particular the 'Limited Editions' thread on the forum too. Why not pay that a visit too?

FEATURE: 2000 Series I was Watching on eBay.

WE1111-R

I've been watching this 2000 Series on eBay for the past few days, mainly it must be said, because it had a very low starting price. When I found it it was going for about £120, and for that it looks pretty clean with a nice grey dial.

With my trip to Cheshire Oaks over the weekend I kind of forgot about it but this evening I happened to open my laptop and see it was finishing, indeed it had eight minutes to go and it was around about £134.

Thinking I might bid (and worry about the potential clasp problems later) I very quickly made a search for the part number to double check the diameter of the case. I did this earlier of course and got a measurement of 42mm. I must admit I was skeptical about that, but it was on Watchfinder so I presumed it must be right.

But I wanted to double check, and I presumed it was too late to email the seller to ask for confirmation. So I checked again and found three different sizes for this part number: 42mm, 35mm and 32mm. And two of those were Watchfinder!

Judging by the finger in that last picture it could be 42mm, but then again maybe not and I didn't want to risk it, because I've been through the whole 2000 Series size issues before and sold both the watches I bought. So in the end someone picked this watch up for the seemingly very nice price of £160.

Which may well be a bargain, but only (for me) if it was actually 42mm...

VIDEO: Carrera Calibre 5 Review by Watchuwant

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Monaco Quartz Watch

WAW131A.FC6177

Well, this one came right out of the blue. There I was minding my own business when up pops A Blog to Watch with an article on the new quartz powered TAG Heuer Monaco.

Wait, a what? When did this happen???

https://www.ablogtowatch.com/tag-heuer-monaco-quartz-watch/

This isn't the first time we've had a quartz Monaco, but it's been a while and I don't think anyone was really expecting this. But at the same time, should we be that surprised? JCB is clearly targeting the entry level market and as an entry level Monaco this makes total sense, after all for a while there it looked as if the only Monaco that was going to be available was the Calibre 11 blue dial model (costing £4650). Indeed Mr Biver even suggested in interviews that the Monaco should be a single watch collection.

But I never really bought that to be honest, TAG are too fond of specials and having just one colour dial (and that colour not being black) didn't really ring quite right to me. However, I never dreamed that would mean the brand putting out a battery powered version.

The new quartz Monaco retails for £1350, which should make it a good seller in the shops. When you put this up against some of the Formula Ones that share a price tag, it looks like a bit of a no brainer, but I do wonder if that will actually prove to be the case?

Does the younger market want a watch like this? I mean I'm intrigued because a Monaco has always been an obvious missing piece from my TAG collection. If I could secure the black dial Monaco 24 then that would be my preferred route to Monaco ownership, but financially this makes a lot of sense - especially if I can pick one up second hand.

See, for me, a Monaco is definitely not something I would wear daily, it would effectively be a 'dress' watch for me, and as such I don't really want to spend a fortune on it. So maybe this is a good compromise, forgoing the mechanical movement for an affordable piece that I can own and wear very occasionally, without tying up a lot of cash?

Admittedly I haven't seen this model yet, and it is 37mm which may prove to be too small. But square watches always wear larger than they actually measure, so I'm keeping an open mind and looking forward to getting the chance to slip it on the wrist. I don't know whether this has a deployment clasp or if it has a pin/buckle style strap, and if its the same deployment clasp as was used on the old Aquaracers then it may be a non starter anyway...

I must admit, at first glance I was unsure about the new TAG logo on that dial. I couldn't work out whether it looked right. Now of course there are some people who say the name 'TAG Heuer' should never feature on a Monaco dial... but in actual fact I think maybe the new logo modernises the watch a bit. It's definitely going to be interesting checking this one out I think!

ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer 500m Dive Watch

WAK2180.FT6027

Cheshire Oaks / 14th October 2017

Generally speaking, in my experience, while the quality of staff at the Cheshire Oaks has always been superior to that at the Bicester village outlet, it's usually the case that Bicester gets the best stock. However, having fairly recently visited the Bicester branch and been largely underwhelmed, it was nice to see some good stock on offer here today.

Notably, there was a carbon fibre cased Carrera along with several of the higher end Carrera models including the flyback Calibre 36 Racing and the stopwatch style Carrera CAR2C12. But what really caught my eye today was the WAK2180.FT6027 pictured above. I don't think I've ever seen one of these close up before and it really grabbed my attention. Not only is it a 500m diver with a helium escape valve, but it also comes with no hideous cyclops spoiling it's looks.

This watch is surprisingly slender for a 500m diver, and a little bit on the small side for me really. Well, truth be told it's 40.5mm in diamter which really is the bare minimum for me and being black it wears smaller. In fairness it didn't help that I was wearing my 45mm Heuer 01 Skeleton, and I think it would have been fine and I was really rather taken with it.

The problem started when I tried it on. It looked great, but within one minute I could tell it was digging in my wrist and when I took it off there was already a red mark. Now, you may remember my previous troubles with TAG Heuer's rubber straps with deployment clasps, but on first appearance this looked like it would be okay. TAG had resolved the terrible clasp that featured on my other two watches, but this time it was the folding part of the clasp that was digging in me. It seems my wrist is quite oblong in shape and the curve of the folding clasp was just too severe for the shape of my wrist (something the newer designs like on my Heuer 01 have done away with altogether) and so the tail end of it just curved straight into my wrist.

I've experienced exactly this problem before as it happens, on the 2000 models I bought from eBay and subsequently sold on, but I didn't expect this to happen again and makes me wonder if I'm ever going to be able to wear any of TAG's older models?

Still help was on hand... when I first asked to try the piece on the salesman (Joe) asked about my Heuer 01 and asked if I had any other watches. As I listed my collection, he suddenly asked if by any chance I had an account on Calibre 11*. Ah-ha! We had a good chuckle about that and my comments about the staff at Bicester and in particular the guy who tried to tell me the date on the Monaco 24 was the hour register for the chronograph!

He said the staff are not allowed to comment on the forums (which is fair enough and probably a good policy) and that they use the site to get information, in particular the 'Limited Editions' thread - which was interesting to hear. Nice to know in some small part we are providing assistance to those selling the watches we love.

Joe was excellent, if all the staff in the group were like him then I think TAG would be very happy indeed. Nothing was too much trouble, he offered to try fitting a different rubber strap they had in the store (it didn't fit in the end but the offer was there) and failing that he offered to source a pin and buckle style strap for me and to post it on to me free of charge.

Joe managed to find a very similar strap to the one the watch originally came on, but in the end I was very wary of buying something when I couldn't see it in it's finalised form. I must say, it seemed easy enough to get a replacement strap for my CAU2012, but while it fits and it's fine, the strap is bulkier than I'd like and a real struggle to get on and off.

With that disappointment in mind, I really didn't want to take that chance of being unhappy with another purchase again and decided to pass. I did try on the steel cased/bracelet version. And while that was okay, I didn't like the steel case as much as the black case, and more annoyingly without the pop of yellow on the second hand the watch looked rather dull in comparison.

WAK2110.BA0830

Both watches featured the ceramic bezel and while it may be scratchproof, I'm not so sure about it. Black ceramic looks like an absolute nightmare when it comes to finger marks, I can't imagine what a fully ceramic watch would be like - truly horrible to keep looking nice I should think.

Ever helpful, Joe said they could send the watch to Bicester if I changed my mind and that the offer of the free strap would stand. I actually felt quite bad that I couldn't buy a watch from the guy as he had been so helpful, but even saving about £500 off the list £1650 was a bit too much for me to chance on a purchase I wasn't sure I was going to be 100% satisfied with.

I must admit I am still a bit undecided about whether or not it was the right decision. I think if it had been the blue bezel limited edition boutique version I would have snapped it up and worried about the practicalities of the strap later, but unfortunately it wasn't.

WAK2181.FT6027

As I left I saw the black and silver Monaco 24 in the cabinet again, it's still gorgeous but it's still £5100 and that's a long way off for me. But you never know... 

*Obviously what he should have said was 'Are you Rob from 'tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com'? But since he was so helpful I'll let him off!