Thursday 4 October 2018

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Red Dial Watch

WG111C

It's not until you stop and think about it, or until you are confronted by a photograph like the one above, that you realise that you really don't see that many red dial watches. And actually even when you do they aren't always all that nice... *cough* WAH1112 *cough* CAH1112 *cough*! So it's nice to see this S/EL popping up on eBay to remind us that there are some red-dial TAGs out there that are worth looking at, even if they might take some getting used to...

My wife liked this straight off the bat, but it's taken me a few days to decide about it. I think it's just a bit of a shock to see such a strong red dial on a watch and it's fair to say it threw me off a little, but once I got used to it I must admit I do kinda like it.


S/ELs on eBay seem to fall into two distinct camps, there's the beautifully preserved/restored ones like this one which command £500-£1000+, and then there's the scratched to hell ones that go for £2-300. It's always nice to see a beautifully presented S/EL like this one, and it makes me all the more determined to get one into my collection soon. I don't think it will be this one though, because while I do like it, I really want a chronograph and preferably one of the larger cased ones.


That red really is something isn't it, and I'm sure it's not going to be to everyone's taste. But it does kind of make you wonder why red is such an unusual colour for a watch dial, even more unusual than yellow - which seems kind of strange really. But then until recently blue wasn't quite the thing that is now, so maybe at some point red will have it's day in the sun...?


This particular watch is 38mm in diameter and is being sold at a 'buy it now' price of £675 on eBay by SwissWristWatches (whose watches always look incredible, though I've never bought from them so I can't personally vouch for them), annoyingly there's no mention of bracelet length, and even as I write this I'm tempted to contact them to see if it would fit my 'larger than average' 7.3/4" wrist... hmm.


Restrain yourself Robert, this isn't the one for you, you're just being seduced by it's lusciousness and that hypnotic red dial! Don't mind me - I always get like this when I come across an S/EL in this kind of condition, it's an itch that definitely needs to be scratched in the very near future (and if Watchfinder weren't so tardy at taking things off their site I might already have scratched it, but that's by the by).

On the whole, I still think the red dial is a bit much. I like it, but am I going to like it in three months? I'm not really sure... I do like the fact that it's completely different to anything I have in my collection already, that is a definite plus point, but is it too much? I certainly haven't regretted buying my yellow Calibre S Aquaracer, so I wouldn't rule it out completely, but then I'd still really prefer a chrono if possible, probably a black dial one if I'm honest.

Still I'm sure this one will find a buyer sooner or later as someone's bound to fall in love with it... I think in all honesty if I bought it, I think I'd find it hard to wear it and risk marking that immaculate bracelet, which maybe isn't the best start to owning a watch...!

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