ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer Calibre 5 Two Tone Watch

WAK2121.BB0835

TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village, 27th July 2018

Ever since Liam (at Bicester) introduced me to the Grand Carrera GMT with the diamond bezel, I've found myself becoming less snooty about diamonds, gold and two-tone watches... indeed I've rather taken to the Aquaracer 500M Calibre 5 with the 18K solid gold bezel of late, although I'm still a little confused about when I would wear a dive watch with a gold bezel.

That aside, I'm definitely more open to the possibility of something gold being added to my collection, although the main problem there is that by their very nature, gold watches tend to be expensive. Two tone is probably the route I'll take because full gold watches are a bit too much visually and to be honest there aren't that many full gold TAGs to choose from anyway.

This watch caught my eye in part due to it's very reasonable price tag, £1855 in the outlet, so I'm guessing a list price around the £2500 mark - which for an Aquaracer Calibre 5 with gold on is about right. I must admit I didn't get the same feeling I got from the Calibre 5 500M Aquaracer with the gold bezel, I'm not sure why... these things are intangible I guess. Maybe it's the gold dial which doesn't feel quite right to me? It's a little wishy-washy, especially when you've got that strong black bezel as a frame. I think a gold bezel works better somehow... I think it might have been okay if the markers were black, but as it is, the dial's just a sea of gold! Not that anyone's going to take it diving, but how this can qualify as a diver is anyone's guess really, I mean legibility is definitely not it's strongest asset.

But still, even with that said, it's still a nice looking watch, and that ceramic bezel should stay looking nice way after your standard aluminium inserts has faded and scratched - although bear in mind it will forever be covered in fingerprints, that's just the way it is...

So then, this is definitely not the gold watch for me, but the more I think about it the more I definitely want to add at least one gold piece to my collection. It's an instant point of difference, but my main issue is cost, and more to the point cost vs usage... because I'm honestly not sure how often I will wear a gold watch. At one point I did consider one of those 'Eduard Heuer Golden Hours' watches, until I saw the prices they go for!

Realistically, I'm thinking sub £1000 and more than likely quartz, so I will just have to see what comes along...