ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Aston Martin Quartz Special Edition

CAZ101P.FC8245

Michael Jones / Northampton, 26th June 2018

When I saw the first pictures of this Aston Martin Special Edition I was quite taken aback and thought there was a very strong possibility that this was a watch I would want in my collection. As more pictures emerged my enthusiasm was tempered slightly as it became clear that perhaps the yellow wasn't quite as in your face as it first seemed, and so I was very keen to finally see this in person and find out what it really looked like on the wrist.

One thing the picture above completely fails to convey is that this watch is almost 'Phantom' like, far from having shiny indexes everything is black and grey, which is probably a deliberate choice to make the yellow pop - and to a degree this does work. But it does mean this isn't the most legible of watches, and while the yellow does pop nicely, there's not a lot of it really so if you're hoping for a real eye-catcher you might be a little disappointed.

Case in point, when I walked up to Michael Jones' window and scanned the watches looking for the 'bright yellow' F1 (figuring it would stand out a mile) I actually didn't notice it at first, and it wasn't until I'd had a good look at a Link Chronograph with a blue dial that I even noticed the CAZ101P! Indeed the yellow stitching on the strap is more eye catching than the dial, which does seem rather muted in comparison.

The strap is very nice, I really love the yellow stitching and the patterned leather is very stylish, especially with the shape moulded into it. It does kind of bring to mind a car seat or something and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Aston Martin's interior was the inspiration for that. It comes fitted with a standard pin and buckle clasp, which is fair enough at this price point (£1350), but there is one major gripe - like the Gulf F1 I tried on the other day the strap is ridiculously short.

I do have a big wrist (7.3/4") but even so, not wanting to really pull hard on the strap in the shop I had to settle for using the second to last hole on the strap and the (very) pointed end of the strap barely reached under the retaining loops, that is really not going to work for me and even the salesman was rather surprised when he saw it on my wrist.

I've been hearing about people having this problem with Monacos of late and having to order a longer strap, which I think is a bit off if they are having to pay for it. I would hope that the dealer would supply the longer strap in the price, but I'm not sure if that is happening and I'm not sure if the Aston Martn or Gulf straps are available in longer lengths, and since they are a big part of the look of the watches in question that could be an issue. Personally I'd order a bracelet for the Gulf but the Aston Martin really needs the yellow stitched strap to carry off the complete look.

Incidentally, the retainers on this strap look much more substantial than the ones on the Gulf F1 which is good, because they ones on the Gulf look positively feeble. And the salesman in Michael Jones disagrees with our man in Ernest Jones, he thinks the odd blue strap on the Gulf is synthetic suede, which probably makes more sense to be honest.

If TAG are making their straps shorter as standard now I wonder how long it will be before they start reducing the length of the bracelets? I don't really understand why this is suddenly happening, I could imagine a shorter strap being preferable in the (very) important Asian markets, but over here in the West we're all getting fatter so we need a decent strap please!

At this price the bezel is obviously aluminium, and to be honest I didn't really notice it so much when I was trying the watch on, much like the dial it's kind of 'phantomy', but I like that they added the 'Aston Martin Racing' text. I also like that the watch has silver pushers and crown, even though the black ones would have looked much better on this watch than they do on the Gulf F1. For me the silver pushers definitely lend more class, whereas black ones bring to mind the older, cheaper F1s of old (like the one I sold a few months ago).

The backplate is uncluttered and tidy, with the expected Aston Martin and TAG logos in place of the usual chequered flag pattern.

Oh yes, the logo... tagheuerenthusiast superfan 'Jim Dollares' recently posted on the Calibre 11 forum that he's come to realise that he hates the logo on the dial and that every time he sees it it makes him want to punch someone in the face! Quite an extreme reaction I'm sure you'll agree, especially as it's nowhere near as 'bright' as you think it's going to be.

Personally I don't really have a problem with it, I don't love it, but I don't hate it either - it's just kind of there, and while I must admit I was concerned about the idea of having a 'branded' watch dial, it doesn't seem to bother me in the slightest. I think it's preferable to the 'Indy 500' branded dials for example.

To be honest I'm slightly confused about why the new Aston Martin racing car is this bright yellow colour, it seems somewhat at odds with AM's image which is usually all about style and a rather gentrified look. As far as I can remember I don't think I've ever seen an Aston that wasn't black, silver dark blue or dark green... maybe they've been hanging around Red Bull too long?

Overall this watch is quite classy looking, and while that is generally a good thing... in a way I'm kind of disappointed. I was hoping the yellow was going to be a lot more 'neon' (like the car it represents) and the watch a lot more 'fun'. It sounds a bit mad to criticize a watch for being too classy and I guess it will appeal to a lot of people, but for me if I want to wear something classy I'm not really going to wear a Formula 1 when I've got a Grand Carrera in my watch box. When I think of TAG Heuer F1's I think of a more relaxed, fun watch.. but to be fair this is probably the 'smartest' looking TAG Heuer you can buy for the money, which is a plus point for a lot of people.

While I won't be buying one anytime soon, I think this one would probably feature in my top five Formula 1's of all time (if not then certainly top ten - file that under future posts!). Like the Gulf I reviewed a couple of days ago, the watch looks smaller than 43mm, perhaps partly because it's a quartz and thus the case is a bit thinner than you might expect. It sits nicely on the wrist and again I'm sure it will sell well, but for me it's not really what I want from an F1 and in any case the strap length is a definite problem for anyone with a wrist over 7.1/2".