WAY1112.BA0928
TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village, 24th January 2020
My first visit to Bicester Village since the decade turned to the '20s' and the stock remains largely unchanged from when I visited in December. January isn't a great time for Bicester Village in general I don't think, since the Christmas rush has been and gone and not too many people are looking to spend time shopping for luxury items. This caught my eye though, a nice simple everyday kinda Aquaracer with a pleasing blue dial.
If you wanted to design a 'mass-appeal' watch you couldn't really do much better than this. It's comfortably sized at 40.5mm (and you really can tell the difference from those big 43mm Aquaracers, believe me), and manages to walk the thin line between simple and uncluttered without falling into 'bland' territory.
Admittedly this probably isn't a watch that I'd buy, but this kind of watch isn't really aimed at the collector type. This is the kind of watch the big boys (Ernest Jones, Goldsmiths, etc) love to fill their windows with because it's attractive (that blue dial is sure to snag it some admiring glances), unfussy and best of all great value.
It's not the kind of watch that it's easy to wax lyrical about, it's largely a case here of what you see is what you get. A split dial with a simply textured outer ring and a smooth centre piece, lumed 'baton' hour markers with a triangular marker at the '12' position, a contrasting date and 300M of water resistance on a stainless steel bracelet with a rotating dive bezel. It really is as simple as that.
But sometimes less can be more and on the wrist this one definitely has a certain appeal. Personally it is a little too simple for me, I'd probably choose a chronograph even though it will cost more and I'll never use it... but this will make a great everyday watch for someone who perhaps wants to move up to a Swiss made watch but doesn't want to break the bank. It makes a nice affordable alternative to the AP Royal Oak as well, I'm sure it's no accident that the bezel looks the way it does...
List price for this piece is £1295, but here at Bicester Village you can pick this up with a two-year warranty for just £905; which means you can have this on your wrist for a good chunk less than an entry-level Formula 1!
TAG Heuer Bicester Village 01869 249008
Watch iReviewWatches video on this watch HERE
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