OWNED: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Chronograph

CA1212-1

Another 'Owned' post written on the eve of departure I'm afraid, this one was never a big hit with me and once I had dispensed with my CAF1112 Aquaracer the spotlight fell on this as being the next weakest in the pack. It's a funny thing, when you collect watches and you get to the point where you have more than is perhaps 'reasonable', you can't help but start looking at which ones should probably be let go; indeed I briefly listed another one of my watches on eBay the other day but thought better of it and took my listing down after a few hours. That one might still go back up, but if it does I will want a good price for it otherwise I will keep it.

This Formula 1 though, you may remember when I bought it I said I had compromised on the dial colour because I didn't want to pay silly money for a yellow/red/blue dial, and if so you may be thinking that that is the reason why I'm now letting it go. I really don't think it is, because I do like this white dial, what I don't like is the size and the case shape and how small it looks on my wrist. I have other watches that are the same size which I am perfectly happy to wear and even some smaller (like my 'classic' resin Formula 1) but for some reason this one didn't look right on me.

Because of that, of course I rarely wore it... especially when I have many other watches to choose from and so it had to go. But I don't regret owning it, yes I lost a bit of money on it, but I now have hands on experience of this generation of Formula 1 and besides you have to accept that watch ownership is always a journey of discovery and you never really know how you feel about a piece until you've owned it a while and worn it at your leisure.

Aside from the size and the 'button-like' case I didn't really have any issues with this watch at all. The bracelet and clasp were generally comfortable (if functional), the bezel was in very good condition for it's age, except that it was missing the lume pip; it could well have been a replacement bezel of course, although the watch was in good condition overall.

The best part of this watch for me is the dial, I very much liked the dial even though I cheaped out and went for the basic white version... but then that proved a great background colour for the red and green TAG Heuer logo. The red detailing on the dial is another boon, especially on the running seconds counter (which is divided into three sectors; red, black and grey) but also the three chronograph hands. I'm not crazy about the 'triangular' hands on the chronograph subdials, but they aren't a major distraction.

There's a subtle texturing to the middle circle of the dial, which is often described on sites like eBay as a 'Carbon Fibre' dial. It isn't, but it does give a certain finesse to the dial that is missing on the older CA1212-RO version (which has the Mercedes hands and all black sub-dials). Speaking of hands, these are fantastically legible, with a bold black outline that stands out brilliantly against the white dial, and the lume ensures the hands are also plainly visible against the subdials.

CA1212-RO

Less visible, indeed you might not have even noticed, are the lumed Arabic numerals around the edge of the dial. These are subtle to say the least, and on my nigh on 30 year old example the Tritium lume was very weak indeed, but then to expect anything else would be foolish. It's a shame they didn't outline them just a little bit more as they do look good, it's just hard to see them.

I'm not sure how I feel about the black date window, the contrast fits in with the overall colour scheme but it does highlight it's slightly awkward '4:30' positioning, which is a bit of a shame. Indeed, looking at the CA1212-RO it's interesting to see how this could have been improved simply by straightening up the window... but again, for me that wasn't a deciding factor, it was 100% the size and case shape and how it looked on the wrist.

I have to say, it's been a few months since I started writing this post and I haven't for a second regretted my decision, which tells me that it was obviously the right one for me. It's a shame though because I always wanted a classic F1 chrono in my collection... maybe I'll try again one day?