FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Beaverbrooks Limited Edition

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Are you in the market for an entry level TAG Heuer, but want something a little more exclusive? Well then perhaps Beaverbrooks can tempt you with this, their new 'limited edition' Formula 1 quartz chronograph, a watch that only 499 other people will own and just £1450 on the wrist. Not a bad opening gambit I suppose, so long as you're on board with the quirky 'one red hand' aesthetic...

Personally I can't quite decide if I like this or not. I mean, as a rule if you take a (nominally) black dial TAG Heuer and spatter it with some red highlights, well... you can't really go too far wrong. But I don't particularly like the red logo and I'm not entirely sure about that minute hand... and I think red on the crown and both pushers is a little bit too much.

But we should remember that this is the Formula 1 range, and this is where TAG should push the boundaries of taste a little (see also the Alec Monpoly F1, which works so much better than the Carrera variant), and actually when you take a step back and view the product as a whole - it somehow works.

When I first clapped eyes on this one I immediately thought back to the CAP2113 limited edition Aquaracer, it has a similar (if slightly less in your face) punch of colour which will probably divide opinion right down the middle, because after all not everyone is going to like this watch. There have been other watches with one coloured hand, but they are usually dive watches and it's usually sold as a 'practical' feature (underwater visibility and all that), but this isn't a dive watch, despite it's 200m water rating and there's no 'backstory' to explain the novelty element...

So really, what you're left with is a pretty run of the mill Formula 1 chrono, with one red hand. Which is fine... but what are you going to say when people ask you why? Watch people love a novelty, but it needs a justification. Am I ever going to use the Helium release valve on my Aquagraph? Hell no, I don't even get it wet, but that's not the point is it? 

But then again, do we need a reason why there's a limited edition green Monaco for the Japanese market? Maybe we should all just chill out and take it as a bit of harmless fun? Given the price range this watch is aimed at I think we can cut it some slack, although I do wonder how long it will take to sell 500 of these if I'm honest... I'm guessing we're going to be seeing these in the windows for a little while. Still, at least it's obvious what it is... the major jewellery stores have in the past had some pretty run of the mill 'exclusive' models, so I guess we should applaud Beaverbrooks for pushing the envelope a little. Can't really see one ending up in my watch cabinet though...