TAG Heuer Outlet / Cheshire Oaks, 9th November 2019
Situated about 20 miles south-west of Manchester and about 5 miles to the north of Chester, Cheshire Oaks is to my mind the best designer outlet in the UK. I know that the Bicester Village outlet is now the biggest tourist attraction in the country (having recently taken that plaudit away from Buckingham Palace!), and yes the TAG Heuer boutique in Bicester Village is absolutely the best one to visit (because they have the best stock), but overall Cheshire Oaks wins hands down. This is obviously a matter of personal taste, but for me there is so much of Bicester Village that is of no interest to me, that really I would probably shop in less than 10 of the stores there... on the other hand I spent four hours in Cheshire Oaks this morning and that is the shortest time I have ever spent there.
It depends what you are looking for obviously, but I personally (along with my wife) have no desire to visit Gucci, Prada, Ralph Lauren or Armani, but we do enjoy visiting Lindt, Lulu Guinness, Nike, Kurt Geiger, Karl Lagerfeld, Hotel Chocolat, Dune, Sole Trader, Jigsaw and Oakley. Bicester Village is undoubtedly the 'higher-end' outlet, it's just a shame there isn't a bit more variety... maybe they could build an annexe somewhere behind a hedge for the people who don't want a £4000 handbag? I guess the thing is that Bicester Village is mainly aimed at well heeled tourists who visit it 'once' rather than locals visiting over and over, and from that point of view it makes a lot of sense, I just wished I lived a bit nearer Cheshire Oaks because for me it's a 2hr plus drive...
Anyway, it is what it is and obviously I always make a point of looking in at the TAG Heuer store, even though I have never bought anything there... not a single thing. I did come close once, but the honest truth is that all the best stock goes to Bicester and that's just the way it is. But still there are good things to see, because Bicester can only take so much of each piece, and so we have the recently discontinued Heuer 01 Carrera (solid dial), a good selection of Grand Carreras in different colour schemes and even a yellow/black Grand Carrera Caliper.
Also on display was a watch that's well known to me, the orange/black Calibre 16 Formula 1 CAU2012 that I bought from Bicester Village back in 2017 (that one doesn't pop up that often so maybe Cheshire Oaks does get some golden nuggets?) alongside quite a good selection of two-tone Carreras and even a solid gold Carrera if I remember correctly. There's also at least one Bullhead Carrera, a selection of ladies Links and Formula 1s but only a very limited number of (500M) Aquaracers. No Monacos at all that I could see (they obviously sold that lovely Calibre 12 Monaco in the 24 case I tried on last time I was up there) and only a sprinkling of accessories and jackets.
CV201AB.BA0794
I suppose if I didn't visit Bicester Village every month or so it would be more exciting, but I guess I'm a little jaded. I did try on one watch though, a Carrera Calibre 16 Limited Edition that I posted a video review of from 'I Review Watches' back in 2018.
http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2018/05/video-tag-heuer-carrera-juan-manuel.html
Actually I'm not 100% sure if it is a limited edition, a special edition or just a 'novelty piece' since I can't actually seem to find out much about the watch at all; but it's certainly quite an unusual looking model with it's slate grey dial accented by two red rings around the subdials at the 12 and 6 positions.
On the wrist it wears relatively 'small' and I'm surprised to see it listed everywhere I've looked as a 42mm. I really don't think that is correct, I was wearing my 43mm Carrera today and it looked much smaller than that, I would hesitate to say it was more than 41mm. I've just checked three more websites and they all say it's 42mm, but I really struggle to believe it (and just for the record the black mother of pearl model I tried on last July was 41mm, and in that review I also said it felt more like a 39mm, so...).
It's 16-17mm thick too, which makes it quite a thick watch for it's size, but it doesn't feel top heavy (although it's hard to say for sure without having the bracelet properly sized) and the 5 section brushed steel bracelet is lifted by some small polished inserts inbetween the wider links and is finished off with a 'Grand Carrera' style clasp; actually the bracelet looks a little darker than your usual steel bracelet and you could potentially be forgiven for thinking it was titanium.
This is a very smart looking watch, and a good choice for someone who wanted a watch that would suit every occasion without being dull; those red rings give a sporty angle to an otherwise fairly dressy piece without shouting from the rooftops and undermining its all round wearability. Unfortunately I didn't catch the price, or the prices of anything in the store, but generally the standard outlet discount is 30-35% and if you'd like to find out more about this or any other watch I've mentioned then you can contact the store on 0151 356 3298.
No comments:
Post a Comment