ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 5 Watch

WAZ2011.BA0842

Watches of Switzerland / London, 9th March 2019

Doing this blog, of course there's always a tendency to go for the more expensive and exciting watches, but sometimes it's nice to take stock and when I saw this simple, three handed Calibre 5 Formula 1 sitting in the display cabinet in Watches of Switzerland I thought, 'I should look at that'.

Priced at £1450, this is damn near the perfect starter watch for someone who wants a Swiss made, no frills, affordable wristwatch. The anthracite dial is lovely and makes the watch look much more expensive than it is, and the small flashes of red on the dial and the crown really give it that little bit of extra oomph it needs to stand out from the crowd.

I think if you wanted to buy just one watch (I mean that concept is a bit alien to me, but I understand that people do do that...) well this would be a good choice. It's smart enough to be worn with a suit, but sporty enough to wear casually. Also, I'm genuinely surprised that it's listed as being a 43mm because when I tried it on it didn't feel that big, I was thoroughly expecting it to be 41mm to be honest!

Sure, at this price you're not getting a ceramic bezel or a milled clasp, but you are getting a very classy looking dial and a watch that I don't think will date, making it a good long term bet for a single watch collection, or a great beater for the more experienced watch collector. I was genuinely surprised how nice it was on the wrist, and of course this watch is quite flexible as it would look great on a leather or rubber strap as well, again good for an only watch.

Like I said, it's always tempting to go for the big ticket pieces, but sometimes something a bit more down to Earth can be a pleasant surprise and this one certainly was. The only thing I would question is whether the batons are lumed, it looks like they are but Formula 1s have a habit of only having lume on the hands, so that's something to bear in mind. I have a feeling I did check that, but having tried on so many watches in one day I can't be sure, and while I've tried to get a solid answer on this, so far I've come up with nothing concrete.