ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16 Senna Edition

CAZ2017.BA0647

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 16th November 2019

This was a watch I was hoping to see in the Oxford Street boutique but was conspicuous by its absence; fortunately I found it in the Meadowhall branch just a few days later.

There's no shortage of Senna themed TAG Heuers for the Formula 1 enthusiast to get excited over, with prices ranging from under £1000 for a pre-owned quartz model to £17,000+ for the latest tribute tourbillons. So something for everyone; but honestly you have to go some way to beat the black dialed CAZ1015.BA0883 which combines quartz affordability with a Link bracelet that immediately improves both comfort and it's visual appeal.

This latest model takes that watch's general aesthetic and builds on it with additional red detailing, an anthracite dial and of course an automatic Calibre 16 movement. This, naturally, has an impact on the price, meaning this new model is listing at £2650 which seems fairly reasonable all things considered. 

As I said in my 'First Impressions' post a few days ago, I'm still slightly confused by the choice to have the chronograph minutes subdial black and the running seconds and chronograph hours white, but maybe it's good sometimes to choose a less obvious layout for a change. It certainly draws the eye and that might not be a bad thing in a jewellers window full of 'average' looking watches.

What really surprised me about this watch is just how heavy it is. Admittedly I was wearing a titanium Aquaracer on a textile strap when I tried it on, but even so.... this isn't a watch you're going to forget you've got on. That doesn't bother me personally; I have a couple of big, heavy 500M Aquaracers that could be used as a weapon in a dire emergency, but if you prefer something lighter it might be an issue. Then again, if you prefer something lighter you probably wouldn't be looking at a 44mm x 16mm watch like this one!

Confusingly, the TAG Heuer website makes no mention of the ceramic bezel, which caused me to question my own memory... thankfully a quick look at the Steffans website re-assured me that I wasn't going mad and this does indeed feature a ceramic insert on the fixed steel bezel. Actually that's not the first time I've had to fact check the TAG Heuer website recently, maybe someone needs to pay a bit more attention to what they are doing?

In conclusion, this is a hefty piece of wrist wear and I'm sure that alone will put some people off; but if you can take the size (and weight) of the CAZ2017 it's a very smart looking watch. There is a LOT of red on here though, which is likely to be somewhat divisive (think of it as a subtler 'Max Verstappen') and I think, even though I like colour detailing on watches, at this price I'd prefer something a little less 'in your face'.

For me the CAZ1015 remains the Senna of choice, although I do have a soft spot for the WAZ1014 (yeah, the one with the big red stripe down the dial....oh, the hypocrisy!), but this is a fine watch in its own right and I'm sure that lovely anthracite dial will draw many an admiring glance from potential customers.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

SPOTLIGHT ON: My Top TAG Heuer Picks from the Watchfinder Black Friday Sale

Oh yes, it's Black Friday again... something I generally avoid at all costs, while completely forgetting that actually it might be a good time to look for watch bargains. Consequently I've spent all my money for this year and so I'm high and dry, but since you might not be broke, I thought I'd show you my top picks from the Watchfinder Black Friday Sale, and damn... yes that is my new Carrera for £1675!

This link will take you directly to the TAG Heuer portion of the sale, other brands are available.

https://www.watchfinder.co.uk/promo/Black-Friday-Sale-2019?q=camp_29112019&filterBrands=Tag+Heuer&orderby=BestMatch

VIDEO: Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 Review by Chrono 24

SPOTLIGHT ON: New Arrivals at the TAG Heuer Bicester Village Outlet

CALL THE BICESTER STORE ON 01869 249008

Just three pieces to show you this time, but again some incredible savings to be had here. I'd forgotten TAG Heuer had even made the brown bezel skeleton Carrera Heuer 01s, in fact I'm pretty sure I've never actually seen one! And that diamond bezel model is actually pretty cool, especially for under four grand!

Also, there is an extra 10% discount on regular discounted prices for Black Friday (does not apply to these watches or the solid dial Heuer 01s as they are already on extra discount).

CAR201P.BA0766

List Price £7795

Bicester Village Price £3800

CAR201U.BA0766

List Price £4400

Bicester Village Price £2155

CAR201U.FC6405

List Price £4400

Bicester Village Price £2155

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Beaverbrooks Limited Edition #3

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 Chronograph Watches

CAR201Z.BA0714   CAR201W.FT6095   CAR201W.FT6122  CAR208Z.BF0719

TAG Heuer Outlet / Bicester Village, 19th September 2019

And so the Heuer 01 era draws to a close... I was pretty surprised when I heard that the Heuer 01s were coming to Bicester, but I suppose it was inevitable. With hundreds of watch combinations on the market, TAG Heuer didn't really need both the Heuer 01s and 02s competing for the same sales, especially when the 02 has the more symmetrically pleasing dial and carries the added heft of being genuinely 'in house' (but let's not open that particular can of 'tuna' yet again, eh?).

CAR201Z.BA0714

List Price £4250*

Bicester Village Price £2975*

I must admit, as the owner of an original Heuer 01 Skeleton dial on a rubber strap, I didn't much care for the solid dial variants when they came out. They just looked inherently 'wrong' to me, though I couldn't really put my finger on why. And then they dropped the sizes from 45mm to 43mm and that didn't appeal to me either, perhaps because it made a thick watch look even thicker and also because the nearest equivalent to mine had silver pushers and a non PVD steel case and no red line around it.

CAR208Z.BF0719

List Price £4750*

Bicester Village Price £3325*

Surprising then how much I liked these watches once I had them on the wrist, and how much my opinion has changed about the solid dial versions of these watches. This may in part be due to my recent acquisition of a 'proper' Carrera, which has meant that I've got used to those thick subdial rings (that I used to really dislike) but also perhaps it's a case of familiarity and the (old) new Carreras finally winning me over. Perhaps it's a bit like when a band release an album you don't like as much as their old ones and then when they release a new one you like even less you suddenly decide you kinda like the previous one more than you thought? That happens to me quite a lot actually.... by the time the Heuer 02s hit the outlet I'll probably be completely on board. :)

CAR201W.FT6122

List Price £4250*

Bicester Village Price £2975*

Bicester Village had four watches in stock when I tried these on, albeit two of them are the same watch 'head' on two different coloured straps. The CAR201W and CAR208Z variants have anthracite dials, while the CAR201Z has a black dial. I must say I preferred the anthracite, but the black is nice enough... just a bit more 'regular'. I preferred the watch on a strap and in particular I preferred the FT6095 (grey) strap. Unfortunately you can't see the straps too well in my photographs, but to my eyes the grey certainly sat better with the dial and bezel than the brown.

CAR201W.FT6095

List Price £4250*

Bicester Village Price £2975*

*The prices shown above are the prices at the time of my visit, since then the prices have changed significantly with the watches now being available at a much higher discount. The titanium CAR208Z is now £2205 (albeit on a rubber strap, not a bracelet), while the other three pieces have dropped to £2085. To be honest if you are in the market for a Heuer 01 Carrera I would take advantage of this while it lasts, because you could wear them for a year or two and sell them pre-owned for more than that!

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 2000 Exclusive Quartz Watch

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Chronograph

CAC1112.BA0850

Michael Jones / Northampton, 28th October 2019

When people talk about TAG Heuer 'losing their way' in the 00s, I'd like to think this is the kind of watch they are referring to. Back in December 2018 I wrote a 'Spotlight On' post about this watch (which I had forgotten about), but now I've had the 'pleasure' of trying it on; has it changed my mind? Well, no... if anything I loathe it even more than before.

Supposedly this watch is 41mm, but I find that a little bit hard to believe, maybe it's because the bezel is smaller than the case and the case is then extended by those (awful) bumpers on the sides, but if I had to guess I would say it was more like 39/40mm. Which wouldn't be a major problem if the watch was in any way attractive (which it isn't).

I mean, where do you start with this thing? I guess you start with the most obviously offensive element and work down, and that would be those red bumpers. Who on Earth thought they were a good idea? Not only are they easily damaged (and apparently not replaceable according to a fellow Calibre 11 forum member who tried to repair his mangled Formula 1!) but they are seriously ugly.

The dial is busier and more crowded than the M25 at rush hour with the '3' and '9' Arabic markers compromised by the subdials, and it's got that horrible, shiny 00s bezel... honestly, I'm really struggling to find one positive thing to say about this watch, it's got to be one of the nastiest looking watches that TAG Heuer have ever made.

Also available on a dreadful rubber strap...

But then again, no doubt this will sell (maybe not for the £695 asking price, but it will sell eventually) and no one could accuse it of being boring... and I guess the bracelet is okay. Yeah really, that's the best thing I can come up with here, the bracelet! 

When you think of all the nice looking watches you could buy with £695, why would you choose this? If you want red, I bought a red dial S/EL for half as much just a few days ago... and if you're looking at this and thinking 'Oooh, I want one of those', well I don't know what to tell you.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Kirium Quartz Watch

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aqaracer Watch Battery Replacement by Ijan Sempoi

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Green' Quartz Limited Edition

WAZ1017.BA0842

If you live outside of Zurich, you could be forgiven for not being completely au fait with the name 'Christian Uhren Schmuck'; I must admit I didn't have a clue and assumed he was a footballer or other sportsman... but no, in the tradition of Ernest Jones and Beaverbrooks, what you are looking at here is another anniversary watch for a jeweller. 

Limited to just 150 pieces and priced at CHF1350 (£1050) this is the third green men's watch we've seen released this year and from this render it looks like it broadly follows the pattern set by the recent Calibre 16 F1. As I wrote a few days ago though, that watch has a serious mismatch between dial and bezel that wasn't shown in the render, so with that in mind I can't help but be slightly sceptical about the colours shown here. The render appears to show a tone more akin to the 'dial' of the Calibre 16, rather than the moss green of that watch's bezel, and I think that's a good choice as the moss green is a bit.... well, 'mossy' for my tastes.

This looks more like 'Jolly Rancher' Green (if that means anything to anyone?) and that orange second hand looks great against it, also notice there are some more orange details at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions. Can't help but think they should have gone for a plain white TAG Heuer logo though; I've said this before on red dialled watches, it never looks quite right to put a coloured badge on the same coloured background.

So this watch is made to celebrate 'Christian Uhren Schmuck's' 35th Anniversary, and admittedly I don't know anything about this company, they could be a registered charity for all I know, or donate all their profits to good causes and environmental charities... but this passage on their website made me snort slightly derisively.

'With a limited edition of just 150, the TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Green' Edition is one of the most exclusive watches of its time. It is a reflection of the current situation in the world and sets a clear sign of sustainability with it's uniquely green appearance.'

Where to begin with that?

1. It's limited sure, but is it really 'one of the most exclusive watches of its time'?

2. Its 'uniquely' green appearance.... (we'll come back to this in just a moment).

3. I'm sorry, but you don't get to bleat about 'sustainability' just because your watch is 'green'!

If you buy an 'Oris Aquis Clean Ocean' you are donating money to charities dedicated to addressing environmental issues and you also get a box made of litter recovered from the sea!

If you buy an 'Oris Great Barrier Reef ' you are donating money to the planting activities of the 'Reef Restoration Foundation'.

In the face of that, you can't just make a flavour of the month 'green' dial watch and blurt out 'because... the environment'!

Incidentally, on this last point, as this watch is only available from Christian Uhren Schmuck and doesn't appear on the TAG Heuer website, I think it's only fair to pin the blame for this nonsense entirely on the jeweller themselves.

Speaking of which, this Maurice Lacroix Aikon also appears on the CUS website; again it is a limited edition of 150 pieces and seems to be exclusive to the jeweller, but this one is not described as 'uniquely green' (because two uniquely green watches would be preposterous!) and nor is it described as a 'sign of sustainability'. Which just goes to show, you get what you pay for in this world, and if you want that extra 'something' you need to spring that extra CHF360 for the 43mm TAG Heuer. :)

On the other hand, if you wanted a green dial Aquaracer and couldn't find one, that Maurice Lacroix sure has some similarities in the dial at a much more affordable price, so that looks mighty competitive right there (assuming you're not hung up on the whole Calibre 5 thing).

Okay, all joking aside, I think both of these watches are actually quite good looking pieces, I just hope the bezel and the dial on the Formula 1 match this time... because that Calibre 16 is a bit of a dog's dinner. Absolutely zero chances of seeing either of these I'm guessing, unless they still have them when I visit Zurich at the end of next year...

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Kirium Quartz Chronograph

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 Day/Date Unboxing and Review by The Watch Source

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Watch

WG111C

You might remember a few months ago I managed to pick up a ladies S/EL for my wife, which is a lovely little watch with a gorgeous red dial; needless to say seeing it on her wrist made me want one of my own, but the only one I could find was on eBay for £799 and I wasn't prepared to pay anything like that for one. So when another one popped up on eBay last week with a starting price of £350 I was immediately interested. Admittedly the condition wasn't comparable; the previous one had an immaculate bezel and dial, whereas this one has some light marks to the bezel and some patina to the lume, but the price difference was huge... assuming of course that I could get it for a sensible price.

I did a 'Spotlight On' post on the WG111C last October, and in it I pretty much said the same thing; that I couldn't justify spending £675 on one and that I'd rather get a chronograph instead. Fast forward thirteen months and I now have two S/EL quartz chronographs (CG1110 and CG1120), so finally it was time to get this one in the bag.

Picture from the eBay listing

The listing ended at 7:00PM on Monday night, so I did the usual thing of biding my time, fully expecting someone else to bid on it. With thirty seconds to go I entered my bid and watched the seconds ticking by, my finger hovering over the 'submit' button. I can't remember what my bid was but it was around about the £500 mark I think... I got a twitchy finger and submitted my bid a few seconds earlier than I wanted to, but it didn't matter as seemingly I was the only bidder. And so the red S/EL was mine for just £350 + £8.90 postage!

Oops, left the crown out for the photo...!

Of course, anyone who has purchased a watch from eBay knows that you should never count your chickens and so it was the usual 48hr wait to find out if I'd bagged a bargain, or picked a dud.. at least I didn't have the usual 'chronograph in the post' hassle to stress over this time! The watch arrived on Wednesday morning and I'm pleased to say it works perfectly. Not only that, but the seller had obviously been slightly cautious with their sizing; they claimed the watch would fit a 7.1/2" wrist (mine is 7.3/4") so I was slightly nervous about that, partly because my wife's S/EL had to be sent away for two weeks to have links taken out of it because our local watchmaker couldn't do it and partly because I knew I'd have to source another link... which isn't a massive problem, eBay can offer plenty of them, but it would mean a wait to wear the watch and more expense (probably another £50-60).

I took the risk because as far as I could see from the photographs this watch had one less link than my CG1110, but my CG1110 is all the way up on the micro-adjustment (which is at least one link's worth) so logic would suggest this one should fit. Thankfully I was bang on and the watch fitted my wrist straight out of the box. :)

The three hander S/EL is about the same overall diameter as the chronograph (certainly within 1mm), but the bezel is 2-3mm smaller and the case a few millimeters thinner, so it does wear slightly smaller. The lume is a little tarnished, but still retains a reasonable amount of charge for a watch of this age, while the rest of the dial and crystal look perfect. There's a few light marks on the bezel and clasp but nothing to get upset about and the date changes crisply. I've just noticed that the bezel doesn't turn... I'm not sure if that's because it's gnarled up or if someone's fixed it in place somehow, but if that's the only thing wrong with it, I'm happy with that. Better a fixed bezel than a spinning one I always say!

So there we are, overall I'm extremely happy with my latest acquisition, but now I'm wondering about getting a green dial WG1119 to match...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 Review by Alex Fleck

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5

WAY201M.FC6474

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 16th November 2019

Another watch leaked by a certain Czech website some time ago, and even now that it's in the stores pictures of it are hard to come by... this is a 'boutique only' piece that is limited to 250 pieces and I must say, on paper this one shouldn't really work, but close up it really does. 

Despite that, there were gasps of incredulity from the Calibre 11 forum when this one was released... What on Earth are they thinking putting an alligator strap on a 300M dive watch? A fair argument indeed, but as someone who barely likes washing his hands wearing a 500M diver with a bracelet, it perhaps make more sense to me than some people.

My scepticism was more rooted in the mix of grey dial and brown strap, but getting it on the wrist put paid to that. I'm not the biggest fan of brown straps full stop, so for a watch like this to win me over it must be doing something right, and here the very small gold details on the dial tie the colour scheme together. There's a black gold second hand and also some very small gold markers around the outside of the hour markers; barely noticeable really but just enough to add a touch of 'something'.

I also really like the matt grey ceramic bezel, which is very tactile.. almost like stone in appearance, and on reflection maybe limiting the gold to the second hand rather than all the hour markers and hands might be a good decision.

I'm sure some people would say they like the watch but they don't like it on this strap, and there's nothing to stop you changing it of course. But to what? If we're sticking with alligator straps then grey would be a bit too tonal, and black might risk making the watch look a bit washed out. I think brown is actually a decent choice, but personally I would probably get one of those fluted rubber TAG Heuer straps that fills the lugs; yes it won't look as smart, but rubber is never as dark as black leather and I think it would fit well with the overall scheme, after all TAG Heuer have form for mixing gold and rubber (think 500M Aquaracers and Grand Carreras), besides... you have to look really hard at that second hand to see that it's gold if I'm completely honest!

So overall I'm onboard, but I couldn't really see me adding this to my collection at this price (£2450), especially with so many other competing distractions flying around. Still, it was interesting to have a look and satisfy my curiosity.

SPOTLIGHT ON: The TAG Heuer Beaverbrooks '100th Birthday' Collection

CAZ101T.BA0842        CAZ101S.BA0842        CAZ101Z.BA0843

Back in February I wrote a post about the first in what turned out to be a collection of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Limited Editions made to celebrate jewellers 'Beaverbooks' 100th birthday. The resulting watches have turned out to be quite similar in theme, all being a combination of black and grey with one or more red hands.

The first watch in the collection was the aforementioned CAZ101T which I wrote about HERE.

CAZ101T.BA0842

Priced at £1450 and limited to 500 pieces, this is the simplest of the three designs with a plain black dial augmented with anthracite subdials, a red TAG Heuer logo and 'Tachymetre' text on the aluminium bezel insert, red detailing on the both pushers and the crown and also a red minute hand. As with all three of these watches, the cases are 43mm in diameter and powered by quartz movements.

CAZ101S.BA0842

Next up came the CAZ101S, which features an anthracite dial with black subdials. This one has a PVD coated aluminium bezel with no bezel insert, black pushers and crown and a white TAG Heuer logo with the obvious selling point being those red hands and subdial hands. Anthracite dial aside, this one is more your 'basic' Formula 1 chronograph and that's reflected in the price which for this model was £1200. The black date window looks a bit of place, ideally it should really have been anthracite to match the dial, or failing that maybe it would have been better if it had been white instead...? But then this is definitely the 'budget' model and this is the sort of corner that usually gets cut on budget pieces.

FT8027 Rubber Strap

You know, if I had one of these first two watches, I think the first thing I would do would be to order myself an FT8027 rubber strap (as featured on the Senna and Man Utd Formula 1 models), I think that would look pretty damned good with either of these and make the watches look even more unusual and unique. 

CAZ101Z.BA0843

Finally we come to the last model in the series, and the only one that is still available to buy on the Beaverbrooks website. This one is the most expensive of the group (£1750), due mainly to the use of ceramics in the bracelet and the bezel insert and although materially it's the 'best' of the three models in the series it's also perhaps the least exciting as well. Maybe it's because we've already had the one red hand, that to repeat that idea feels a bit like they couldn't think of something more interesting to do so they just did it again.

This one isn't limited to 500 pieces, or even 1000 pieces... this one is actually 'limited' to 1919 pieces, which is to say that it isn't really limited at all. Except that technically it is and apparently this one (like the other two models) is individually numbered on the caseback. Something tells me it's going to take them a while to shift 1919 of these, especially when they've already managed to unload 500 of each of the other two into the market. I can't really see anyone being bothered to collect the 'set' either, so I reckon these are a sure bet for the Beaverbrooks Christmas sale, if not this year then maybe next...!

SPOTLIGHT ON: New Arrivals at TAG Heuer Bicester Village Outlet

CALL THE BICESTER STORE ON 01869 249008

At last we have a delivery of new stock to post about, seems an awfully long time since September's delivery doesn't it? As far as I know this is the first time the Monza 40th Anniversary has shown up in the outlets and that Carrera Calibre 16 is a nice one too, don't think either of those will hang around for long... so if you're interested best not dither too long!

Monza Calibre 17 - CR2080.FC6375

LIST PRICE £4350

BICESTER VILLAGE PRICE £3045

AQUARACER Calibre 5 - WAY201D.BA0927

LIST PRICE £2350

BICESTER VILLAGE PRICE £1645

LINK Quartz - WBC1350.BA0600

LIST PRICE £1900

BICESTER VILLAGE PRICE £1330

AQUARACER Quartz - WBD1413.BA0741

LIST PRICE £2600

BICESTER VILLAGE PRICE £1820

CARRERA Quartz - WBG1313.FT6117

LIST PRICE £1600

BICESTER VILLAGE PRICE £1120

CARRERA Calibre 5 - WAR215A.FC6181

LIST PRICE £2850

BCESTER VILLAGE PRICE £1995

CARRERA Calibre 16 - CV2A83.FC6393

LIST PRICE £4295

BICESTER VILLAGE PRICE £2975