FEATURE: Why Does TAG Heuer Get so Much Hate?

It seems that some people never tire of talking trash about TAG Heuer, be it internet forumites, vloggers, and in some cases even other watch companies! To be honest I shouldn't let it bother me but it's so hard not to get annoyed by it. Usually when you read the comments under these kinds of videos you tend to get the same three opinions..

1) I've get three TAG Heuers and I love them
2) TAGs are overpriced shit, buy an Omega.
3) TAG is awful but Heuers are awesome.

I don't know whether I find 2 or 3 more tiresome to be honest, Omegas are hardly offering a great value for money product in comparison to TAG and frankly anyone who believes that Heuer are better than TAG Heuer with no distinction is probably just parroting what they've heard elsewhere or buying into the hype that's fuelling the rise in Heuer prices. How long before some awful looking 80s models with cross head screws holding the bezel on start going through the roof I wonder?

The funny thing is that people like 'The Time Teller' openly admit that they've never owned a TAG, but seemingly 'everyone they know' has had one and they all had problems. How likely is that, really? Are his friends that stupid that they all bought the same watch brand knowing their friends had issues? I doubt it. It smacks to me of someone who at the start of their 'career' read somewhere that TAG suck and assumed that opinion as their own with nothing to back it up, then when challenged on it, admitted that they'd never actually owned one.. but added as a caveat that they 'know someone' who had and had a dreadful experience with it, and so the bullshit feeds and grows.

Then we have C H Moser, who recently published a humourous video for a 'Swiss Icons' watch, with at least some of the barbs being aimed at TAG Heuer. Strangely Moser withdraw the watch and the video campaign (the one off watch was designed to be sold at auction with the proceeds donated to a watchmaking fund) and put out a press release claiming their message had been 'misunderstood'.

(Fair's fair though, this is actually quite funny)

The people who shout the loudest about TAG being awful tend to fall into two categories, those who push Omega/Rolex and those who point out that you can get the same/better quality from smaller brands like Fortis for half the price.

Personally I have no experience of Fortis whatsoever, I've never seen one let alone held one, so I am not truly able to agree or disagree with this. However, the fact is, a good percentage of the value of a TAG goes into marketing, it's obvious. So you have to make a choice, you probably can get a watch of a similar quality for less money, but it won't be a TAG. And part of what you are paying for is the branding. If you don't think it's worth the premium then fair enough, but that's a choice you make. Buy your Fortis chronograph, it's probably great, but don't expect the man on the street to know the difference between that and a watch that looks like it but costs £150 from Argos. Maybe that matters to you, maybe it doesn't... or maybe you just prefer the design of the TAG, again you have to make the choice to pay or not to pay, it's really up to you.

It seems to me that there are plenty of other watch companies who make watches that are overpriced, but for some reason TAG is always the target. I do wonder if it isn't a case of visibility though, after all TAG are one of the most visible watch brands out there AND they are firmly aimed at the entry level end of the market, which is a formula for hate if ever there was one. What better way for the 'learned' watch enthusiast to confirm their new-found 'cognoscenti' status than to dis the watch that (potentially) got them in to Swiss watches in the first place. To me, it's a bit like someone getting into extreme metal via Slipknot and then wanting to disassociate themselves from that band because they're 'too popular, too mainstream', despite the fact that to 95% of the population they are a bloody racket! I mean, if I had a pound for every time I read 'I used to like TAG Heuer until I learned about watches and then I lost interest in them', I'd have more than enough to buy myself a TAG Heuer strap. Possibly.

So anyway, I think the thing is, I don't honestly think this is ever going to change. The watch snobs need a whipping boy and TAG Heuer for reasons that probably stem from the gaudy watches and the name change in the 80s are stuck with it and that's the way it's going to be. And don't they love it... any possible chance to besmirch TAGs name is jumped upon, with people eager to make videos showing 'quality issues' with Grand Carreras, never mind that the watch is in fact 'fake'. Well I'm sorry but I can't see that it's TAG's fault if forgers don't make their watches to the appropriate standards and that you're too dumb to know when you've got a fake on your hands.

Like I said, I try not to get angry but it's not always easy to refrain from the odd acidic retort here and there... not that they probably take a blind bit of notice!