It's a fair question I suppose, after all, we're all used to being able to see everything immediately now so people don't like being kept in the dark, which is a shame really as the novelty of 'mystery' and 'expectation' is becoming a lost art. Gone are the days you could create interest by not letting people see something, now immediacy is everything and it's all about bragging rights and who got the pictures published first. Being a bit older myself, I remember when you had to wait for lots of things... and the problem with everything being immediate is that it seems to be forgotten just as quickly.
So why are the photos out there in the first place if the watches haven't been announced yet? Well, it makes sense if you think about. So someone visits a dealer and expresses an interest in the green Monaco released last week, maybe they like it, maybe they don't, either way doesn't it make sense to pull the guy aside and say 'Hey look, I shouldn't show you this but here's the other four that are coming out, what do you think of those? Do you want me to put you on the list?' or maybe the dealer has a list of regular customers who he knows might be interested, he contacts them and lets them know that next time they come in he has something to show them (of course he can't email them the pictures, so the customer comes to the store - probably within a few days).
Actually one thing that absolutely amazed me was that somebody on the Calibre 11 forum received their CAW211V on the day it was announced, or possibly the day after, I can't recall - but it was definitely within 24 hours. So clearly this person got to see the pictures at their AD well in advance! And with only 169 pieces of each model, it makes sense to give regular customers a heads up in advance, rather than risking disappointment and an irritated repeat customer.
Also, journalists need to be ready, so trusted websites and magazines will be given advance notice - on the understanding that they keep to the embargo date: which is why people like Ariel Adams make Baselworld videos and tell you that he's seen things that he can't talk about 'yet'. And obviously, people like that will stick to the rules because if they don't then they risk losing their advance notice privileges.
So yes I can see why the photos are out there, and yes I went out of my way to find them because I wanted to see them myself (and yes I get the irony given what I said earlier). But while I guess there's no reason I can't re-post the pictures*, I think it would be unfair of me to post them here because it undermines the whole idea of staged releases. Besides, TAG Heuer were kind enough to allow me a visit to their museum and factory and I have a pretty good relationship with them so far, and I don't want to create any unnecessary negativity with them.
*Although it's possible TAG Heuer might ask me to remove them.
So if you really want to see them, they're not that hard to find. But personally I would recommend waiting, for one thing I bet the real thing looks better than the pictures I've seen, and isn't it more fun for everyone to discover these things together? Also I kinda feel rather deflated now, not because of the watches themselves (one of the remaining four is very nice indeed - even my wife was quite excited by it!) but because every time TAG Heuer announce the next 50th Anniversary Monaco it won't have the same impact for me, which is a shame.
So do what you want, but know this: you can't unsee them once you've seen them!
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