Amazing as it may be, up until now my collecting has been slightly less than focused... I've tended to go with whatever catches my eye and what's available, rather than having a structured approach to building a collection. So I thought it was high time I sat down and made an actual list, because while I don't have any watches in my collection that I don't want or like anymore, there are definitely others that I like and want more and I don't want to add another ten watches and still be in the same position. So with that in mind I will be adding a new page to the blog, where I will add (and possibly occasionally subtract) watches that I would like to own. That page isn't ready yet, but when it is it will appear as a tab underneath the header image.
In the meantime, here are my top ten 'Watch Wants'. This doesn't necessarily mean that these will be the next ten watches I will buy, but they're certainly at the top end of my list at this very moment. Can't say the order is particularly important, but I'll number them anyway because lists are fun:
#1 TAG Heuer Aquaracer Camouflage
I hate the strap on this watch, which is probably why I haven't bought it yet... because I absolutely love the dial. You may have seen my post a couple of weeks ago where I photoshopped a rubber strap onto this one, which is a reasonable compromise, but still not really ideal and it has to be said this one is slightly overshadowed by the WAY208C. But the WAY208C is a hard watch to find, I've still never seen one and they rarely seem to come up for sale, so this may well end up in my collection first...
#2 TAG Heuer Formula 1 Red Bull Edition
I'm not overly fussed about Red Bull Racing one way or the other, I tend to favour whoever isn't winning as a rule... but as far as this watch goes it's a massive hit. The colour scheme is fantastic and the fact that they put the Red Bull logo on the back rather than on the dial is a big, big plus. This one is fairly easy to find on the pre-owned market, although the savings aren't that great at present as it's obviously a very popular model.
#3 TAG Heuer Aquaracer 500M Leonardo di Caprio Edition
I'm not actually fixated on the Leonardo di Caprio model, the standard blue dial 500M would be just as good. I really love my quartz grey dial 500M, so I'd really like to add a Calibre 5 variant with a different dial colour. I could even go for the black case / rose gold bezel model on the rubber strap but that would be quite a bold choice. I seem to be picking a lot of blue dials so far...
#4 TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 Drive Timer
I don't regret buying my Carrera Heuer 01, but if I'd known this was going to come out eventually I probably would have hung on. I really like the Arabic numerals and the strap looks fantastic with the red stitching. I really need to investigate getting a strap like this for my Heuer 01. I've said that about a hundred times I know, maybe one day I will actually get around to it! Utterly gorgeous as it is, this is one of those watches that is a tough one to buy because it's quite a lot of money and might not that money be better spent on something else? Like the Carbon Carrera perhaps? (I've left that watch out for the moment as I want to present ten watches that are at least somewhat affordable...)
#5 TAG Heuer Pilot Watch (Blue)
I saw one of these in the TAG Heuer museum when I visited last year and it really is a stunning watch. There's an immaculate example for sale in the UK but the price is pretty high, even so I am tempted to take a drive up to Lancashire at some point and try it on because this has been a constant itch for me for quite a while now. I'm not really into Navitimers particularly, but this one really appeals to me, even though I know I will never use any of that gubbins around the bezel. Right, keep saving and see if it's still available I guess - unless a cheaper one comes along in the meantime?
#6 TAG Heuer Link Searacer
I actually bought one of these a few weeks ago, but when it arrived it had issues with the movement. I was really disappointed that it had to go back, but also quite disappointed in the condition. I wasn't disappointed in the watch though, it was very cool indeed - I mean, completely useless as far as the complication goes, but... you know. Cool. I guess it was one of those times when the price was too good to be true, which is a shame, but I'm definitely open to trying again.
#7 TAG Heuer Aquaracer WAY208C
I've been after this watch ever since I first clapped eyes on it, and still I've been unable to find one to try on. I remember when it was launched 'A Blog to Watch' took it off the silly nylon strap and put it on a black rubber Isofrane strap and it looked incredible. I did see one of these on eBay which had had the cyclops removed, which at the time seemed like a bit of a bonus - but in hindsight probably wasn't a good idea. I can't tell you how many times I've thought I've found one in stock, only to be told that it's not in stock and they can enquire about delivery. And for some reason it's still on TAG Heuer's website even though it's been sold out for about a year or more!
#8 TAG Heuer Formula 1 Senna
Tom, the manager of the Bicester store has one of these and it really is a stunner. Not only does it look way better (and more expensive) than any other Formula 1 I can think of, but it also has the Link bracelet, which is probably a good chunk of the reason why it looks so good. This is one I definitely want to get hold off, especially now I've seen how good the lume on this piece is. But, like the Red Bull Formula 1, the prices are holding up extremely well, so it might be a while before I can add this particular piece.
#9 TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5
The perfect alternative to the Rolex 'Polar' Explorer, and yours for a fraction of the price. I really like how different this is, but the cheaper quartz version just doesn't cut it for me. The hour markers and dial are both preferable on the Calibre 5 version, and the auto is also 2mm bigger at 43mm as well. Not sure how well the value on this will hold up, it might be a little bit Marmite to some people, I'm hoping it will drop enough that I can pick it up pre-owned for a reasonable price sooner or later.
#10 TAG Heuer Grand Carrera Chronograph
This is undoubtedly the piece I'm most nervous about. Having bought and sold a Calibre 8 GMT Grand Carrera in the last year I'm reluctant to add this to the list, but every time I've tried this on I've really liked it and I think the big problem with the GMT was that I compromised what I really wanted and regretted my decision. Ideally I'd like this blue dial variant, but it's a limited edition of 300 so I'll probably end up with a black dial. The brown dial is nice too, but when it comes to this one I want to limit the potential for error as much as possible!
So there we have it, no doubt by next week there'll be several other watches in the places of some of these, but that's why you shouldn't rush into buying watches (unless you have to, obviously). I originally included a Monaco in this list, but I swapped it out in the end because I'm just not totally sold on the Monaco and you can't really get one (or certainly not the one I picked) for a bargain price, so I can't see me buying one unless I win a lot of money somehow...
I will add my 'Watch Wants' page soon.
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