WAH121E.BA0861
TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village, 15th April 2019
Again, not quite an 'On the Wrist' post, but more of an 'In the Hand' one... this is something you aren't going to see everyday, because this particular Formula 1 Quartz Ceramic is limited to just 150 pieces for the Singaporean market. Granted, you may wonder what exactly sets it apart from all the other ceramic F1 quartz models out there, because there are an awful lot of them that look quite similar. Well, this one has heat treated (black) diamonds around the outside of the bezel. I'd never heard of that before and so I had a quick Google and while I assumed that it meant the heat treatment turned the diamonds black, now I'm not so sure...
It seems that black diamonds are a naturally occurring (if rare) stone, and that heat treatment can turn a normal diamond different colours, but I can't see anywhere that says you can turn a white diamond black just with heat treatment, so I really don't know how these started out. It seems to me though that if you're going to have diamonds then have diamonds, because most people will assume if you have black stones in your watch/jewellery that they aren't diamonds... I mean, they kinda look like dark Sapphires to me.
It's interesting that you can change the colours of diamonds with heat treatment though. I heard rainbow bezels are the next big thing and if that's true then there has to be a cheaper way of doing it than the way (for example) Rolex currently do it, painstakingly hunting through and colour grading diamonds until they find enough stones... no wonder they charge so much money for them! Actually the chap I spoke to in Harrods earlier this year told me that TAG Heuer are making a rainbow bezel for a future Harrods limited edition, but I'm not sure if that's true or not... I guess we'll find out sooner or later.
Personally, I don't have a problem with the black diamonds, but I've never really liked the way TAG Heuer do these F1s with the stones stuck onto the outer edges of the bezel, it looks a bit 'after-market', like a car that's had a boot spoiler from Halfords tacked on as an afterthought. I actually think the plain white non-diamond ceramic black ceramics look great and represent an excellent, more affordable (and actually better looking to my eyes) alternative to the iconic Chanel J12
This limited edition is currently available at the Bicester outlet for £1470 (reduced from £2100) and if you like the look but not the black diamonds, they also have several variations including pink or violet stones as well. I'm not entirely sure about those, they do look a tiny bit 'My Little Pony' to me... but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder and they're not really aimed at me. I guess if I had a daughter I might buy one for her...
For a subtler look, Bicester can also offer you some black ceramics, which are very classy - my wife has one with diamond hour markers and that is a beautiful watch for sure. I've tried to get her excited about the white ceramics but she doesn't seem to care for them at all...
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