ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Link Calibre 17 Chronograph

CBC2112.BA0603

Michael Jones / Northampton, 26th June 2018

Came across this one by accident when hunting down the Aston Martin F1, and the first thing to say about it is that because of the way it was displayed in the window I couldn't see the price and had forgotten how much it was, so I was slightly surprised when I picked up the watch and saw the label which said £3650 (although I've also seen it for £3900 on Ernest Jones website, so I assume it must have gone up recently?). I did know that was the price, but I had forgotten, and for some reason it always surprises me when I see Links that cost this kind of money because I just don't associate the range with those kind of prices.

Leaving that aside, I have to say that the dial is very attractive. The one I tried on had a lovely blue sunburst dial (the watch is also available in black) and while there has been much made of the cluttered text in the lower sub-dial, in person I really didn't see it as a problem. It's a shame they've made the date window white, I guess it helps make it legible, but I can't help thinking it would have looked nicer if it had been matched to the dial colour (as indeed it was on the prototype of the black dial, but not the blue, oddly...).

The bracelet is very luxurious and tapers sharply down to the butterfly clasp which provides a clean look, there's no denying the bracelet is very nicely made and definitely gives this watch a certain X-factor. The bracelet was slightly too big for my 7.3/4" wrist, but as far as I can tell it seemed very smooth and comfortable. My only gripe with the bracelet is that it looks too wide where it joins the watch itself, indeed it actually makes the dial look rather undersized. This isn't helped by the seemingly oversized pushers and crown which also seem to give the impression of a too-small dial and take up an unusual amount of the right hand side of the case. I get that it's part of the whole integrated bracelet thing, but I can't help thinking it looks like they've fitted a bracelet for a 43/45mm case to a 41mm watch, because despite being a chronograph this watch is only 41mm (the same as the three handed version), which perhaps explains why the dial does looks slightly crowded.

Still, like everything, it's just a case of getting used to a 'different' design I guess. It is a very stylish and luxurious looking piece and the dial colour in particular is very attractive. I think if I was in the market I might tend to go for the three handed version, which is more like £2400 and doesn't suffer from the cramped dial.

WBC2112.BA0603

The other nice thing about the three handed version of course is that the date is able to be positioned at the 3 position which looks neater and actually looks a bit smaller into the bargain, which personally I prefer, especially with the white background.

All in all, while I like the bracelet and I like the watch, I'm on the fence about the combination. It seems a bit strange that they've made the chronograph a 41mm (and I've checked this in several places) when it's standard TAG practice to make three-handers 41mm and chronographs 43mm, I really do think that another 2mm would have given the dial a bit of breathing space and made it a bit less cluttered.

That aside it's clearly a quality product and it really looks and feels the business. I definitely think I'd take the blue dial over the black (although I haven't seen the black in person) as it just seems to give the watch something extra, but I don't think I'd pay nigh on £4000 for it if I'm completely honest.