CAL2113.FC6536
TAG Heuer Boutique / Cheshire Oaks, 15th June 2019
Living where I do (in the Midlands) I obviously get to go to Bicester Village a lot more often than I go to Cheshire Oaks, but for me Cheshire Oaks as a whole is a better day out. There's a lot more shops that I can shop in for a start, and as a rule of thumb I generally spend five hours there before I come home. On this visit I was quite pleased to see that Karl Lagerfeld has popped up there (not literally) having disappeared from Bicester pretty quickly, and my wife was very happy to get a resin KARL bag at an outlet price. Sadly, TAG Heuer at Cheshire Oaks never seems to be quite as exciting as the Bicester store, it seems a lot smaller (maybe not in square feet, but certainly in cabinet space), but there's usually something in there to interest me and so it was this time, with two Monacos catching my beady eye.
Long time readers may remember that many moons ago I visited Cheshire Oaks and was very interested in a black coated 500M Aquaracer, but I couldn't get on with the rubber strap (the deployment irritated my wrist within seconds) but I was so impressed with the guy who served me and the lengths he went to try and resolve the problem that I emailed TAG Heuer and received a thank you email (and subsequently a superb watch travel case) from his manager Carly. I knew Carly worked at the store sometimes, but every time I'd been in since then I hadn't seen any ladies in the shop, so it was really nice to finally meet her at last and put a face to the name.
The first of the two Monacos I tried on was the CAL2113.FC6536, which utilises the Monaco 24 case but contains the much more affordable Calibre 12 movement. I must admit I'm not a fan of some of the watches that use this case like the Monaco LS which unfortunately for me kind of has the aura of an eBay fake about it's dial, but this I definitely appreciate. Actually, just looking at a picture of the Monaco LS bracelet, it looks distinctly like the one fitted to the 'Grand Monaco' prototype I photographed at the factory last September...
I've always liked the Monaco 24s themselves, but the dials are quite busy, this seems much simpler and more elegant, and less divisive I would imagine. One of the reasons I never bought a 24 (besides the sizeable financial outlay) was the feeling that I might go off it. It's a watch I felt I would be head over heels in love with one minute and regret purchasing the next, but this one just seems that much more approachable.
I'm not crazy about the crown if I'm completely honest, or the strange 'pedal' like pieces around the pushers, but I could certainly live with them for the sake of the case and the dial. The leather and woven nylon strap is really nice as well, I'm not sure what the difference is but it seems like a slightly nicer version of those nylon straps fitted to the current Aquaracer range. Maybe there is no difference, but it certainly suits the watch extremely well and I like the fact that the watch doesn't have a normal leather strap and it certainly adds to the modern feel of the piece.
It just seems like a very well designed watch, and I love that it has a modern appearance to go with the case. I've never been a fan of retro watches and that's always been a major barrier to Monaco ownership for me, hence my liking of the 24 range and also the Gulf models and some special editions like the Japan only green version. The CAL2113 seems to have just enough red highlighting on the dial to make it look sporty as well, although again I could have lived without the red line around the crown, but that's a minor niggle really.
Sadly my TAG fund is at an all time low having bought four pieces in the last month or so, and since there is only apparently one of these available I'm sure by the time I have the funds in place it will be long gone (assuming it hasn't been sold since Saturday of course). I know the one Bicester had didn't last five minutes so if you're keen then I suggest acting quickly. This one is on offer at £3920 which is £1680 off it's list price of £5600, quite a saving for a stunning timepiece and notably £530 cheaper than the pre-owned one Watchfinder are currrently selling! I'm sure whoever bags this is going to be a very happy customer indeed!
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