TAG HEUER ENTHUSIAST: March 2020

Tuesday, 31 March 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Tristar Quartz Watch

954.406

If you ever find yourself on the TV game show 'Pointless' and you get asked to name a TAG Heuer model range that nobody remembers, you really could do an awful lot worse than to answer 'Tristar'. As names go it's not one of the most 'evocative' TAG Heuer have ever used, indeed it doesn't really evoke much in the way of anything does it? Unlike Monaco or Monza (or even Aquaracer) it's a perfect example of literally 'doing what it says on the tin' as this watch has not one, not two, but (wait for it) three stars on the bezel. Well, actually that's not strictly true... there are actually twelve stars on the bezel, but clearly they are arranged in four groups of three, so I guess we'll let them off there...

The Tristar range first appears in the 1987 TAG Heuer catalogue (it's listed in the 2000 section as a 'special' in fact), but it's a natural extension of what was going on at the tail end of the 'Heuer' years and I could well believe it was already in development before the takeover occurred; have a look at the 3000s from around the mid 80s and you'll see what I mean. Not unlike the 3000s, the Tristar isn't a thing of 'conventional' beauty, but oddly I kinda like it for all it's 80s kitsch. There's something intrinsically 'Soviet' about this one; for sure it's the stars... but even those lines around the bezel have something of the old 'CCCP' about them.

The Tristar range came in four basic configurations; black and gold with a black dial, black and gold with a white dial (those two are definitely not going to be to everyone's liking!), standard 'two-tone' with a blue dial and this version which matches a 'two-tone' bracelet and case with a champagne dial.

Kudos to TAG Heuer, they've given the watch a matching champagne date wheel, but those hands look a little on the slender side to me. They're long enough, but rather too delicate for such a brutalist bezel don't you think?

I'm slightly surprised to read that this model is 40mm in diameter and I do rather wonder if they haven't included the crown in that measurement. Back in the 1980s 37mm / 38mm was more the standard, more's the pity as I'd love a 41mm black and gold 3000 for example!

I actually really like the old 1980s watches with the black and gold finishes, but I'm yet to see one that's in good condition. 80s black PVD isn't the hardiest of coatings and watches that are pushing 35 years old and which have been worn generally look a bit of a mess, what I really need is a NOS piece... albeit I'm sure one of those would cost a pretty penny!

Speaking of which, this watch is exactly that, a 'new-old-stock' piece complete with hang-tag and box (no pics of the box though...) in 'as-new' condition. I found this one on eBay.it, and it's currently offered at 636 Euros (reduced from it's original price of 795 Euros).

I think this is the kind of watch that deserves a decent price, but one that needs to find the right buyer. Obviously, this isn't going to appeal to a lot of people and many wouldn't want this at any price, but someone will and I reckon they'll probably get something close to that price if they wait long enough. If it genuinely is 40mm I wouldn't mind it myself, but whether I like it enough to part with my savings in these rather uncertain times... I don't think so, unfortunately.

If by some random chance you might be the right person to take it off the seller's hands, here's the link to the sale: https://www.ebay.it/c/719611885

Monday, 30 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 2000 Series Multigraph Quartz Chronograph

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 Review by Random Rob

Sunday, 29 March 2020

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 Carbon Collection / Rose Gold Limited Edition

CBG2052.FT6143

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 16th November 2019

Anyone who's ever written a number of reviews knows that the easiest ones to write are the ones where you either strongly like or dislike the item in question, it's the ones in between that are hard because they don't stir you one way or another. But there is a different type of 'difficult' review and this is one of those... I don't know how many times I've written this review (it's at least 4 though), which is probably why it still hasn't seen the light of day four and a half months later. Still, here it goes - if nothing else at least it will be out of the way!

As you can probably imagine, I like nothing more than visiting a TAG Heuer boutique, well... maybe visiting Hotel Chocolat, which is just a few doors down here at the Meadowhall Shopping Centre. Obviously it's a whole lot cheaper in there and they often give you free chocolates to nibble on while you potter around the store drooling at all the goodies on display. I jest of course, but I've never knowingly left a Hotel Chocolat empty handed, that's all I'm saying...

The Sheffield store is actually owned and run by Watches of Switzerland, and this franchising seems to be the way things are going as I believe there's quite a few new boutiques opening now that are off-shoots of high street jewellers. On the surface you wouldn't know any different; inside it's very much like the Oxford Street store, although a bit smaller and with a bit less choice. You see, not all boutiques are equal and it pays to be aware that while the name over the door is 'TAG Heuer' the range of watches available only extends as far as those which Watches of Switzerland have signed up to stock... oh and also, if you bring your watch back here under warranty apparently you'll be asked to pay £35 to insure the watch's safe return to the service centre... which I wouldn't be very impressed with to be honest!

Anyway, I've always had a (not so) secret penchant for the old CAR2A5A rose gold and black Heuer 01 Carrera, so on paper at least this new one looked right up my street and I was excited to spot it in the store. This one is part of TAG Heuer's 'Carbon Carrera Collection' and indeed when these watches were launched I picked this as my favourite of the three on offer (based on the pictures). Since I posted that post I've seen the other two watches and taken rather a shine to the CBG2017 (bottom left) which has some blue detailing on the dial and carbon lugs to match the bezel. In fact I would go as far as to say that if there's any watch in the current TAG Heuer line-up that could potentially part me from four months wages, this is probably it.

So what then of the rose gold lugged version?

Well, in essence, from a distance, in pictures and from a way away, this Carbon Carrera looks pretty good. But get it out of the cabinet and something goes awry. I've noticed on some of these 43mm Carreras that the straps seem out of proportion with the head, and that's also the case here. But this wasn't an issue on the CBG2017 so what gives?

Partly I think it's the gold lugs, the CBG2017 has black (carbon) lugs so the bracelet and lugs meld into one, but here it only serves to accentuate the impression that the strap is too wide for the head. Take the picture above, at first glance the watch looks great, but the longer you look at it the more the bezel looks too small, see how far around the bezel the lugs seem to reach?

And the other problem for me seems to be those gold subdial rings, again on the CBG2017 the majority of the dial is black (save the bottom subdial ring which is blue) and this helps the watch look cohesive, but here those gold rings seem to jump forward like two bug eyes and to me at least detracts from the overall aesthetic. I also think they might have added just a little bit too much red as well, the CAR2A5A was a lot more sparing with it and it looked a lot better in my opinion.

Admittedly the carbon bezel is a cool addition to the watch, but I still can't help feeling that I prefer the Heuer 01 layout with the 6, 9, 12 subdials. I know I'm probably in the minority with that view, but I've just never taken to the Heuer 02, at least not on the skeletonized models.

It's actually very confusing and frustrating to have two very different opinions about one watch, but it just goes to show that seeing pictures and videos on the internet is no substitute for going to the store and seeing it for yourself. Some of the photos I've seen do give me the same feeling that it's not quite in proportion, but it still looks better in the pictures than it did wrapped around my wrist.

List price on this one is £7950, which puts it up against some stiff competition like the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 (for example), but honestly this really was quite a let down for me and as the CAR2A5A is now available pre-owned for less than £5000 I think if I was genuinely in the market for a black and gold TAG Heuer then that is where my money would be heading.

Saturday, 28 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Quartz Watch

Friday, 27 March 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON: Three Unusual and Rare Limited Edition TAG Heuers

CN1118

Researching the archives for missing models to add to my big list of numbers is certainly throwing up some oddities that even I hadn't come across before, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to share three very rare TAG Heuers with you.

First we have the James Tomkins Limited Edition 2000 Exclusive pictured above. James is an Australian rower who has won seven world championships and three Olympic gold medals and is Austalia's most awarded oarsman. I'm guessing this was probably released around 2000 or thereabouts, at least judging by the engraving on the back which celebrates James' achievements up until 1999... but unfortunately James 'only' won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics so it could have been released slightly later and they didn't bother to mention that...?

If you thought the 50th Anniversary Monacos were rare (with just 169 of each model made) then this will really blow you away because this really is one of the rarest TAG Heuers ever made, just thirty of this limited edition model were produced and (presumably) it was only available in Australia.

I think they did a pretty nice job on it too, with James' signature on one side of the silver dial and 'World Champion Rower' on the other. It's understated, but it's enough and the backplate engraving is neat without being over the top.

WH5114-2

Our next limited edition comes in the shape of this handsome 6000 Series on an black alligator strap, the dial featuring the name 'Luis Figo', who I must admit I was completely ignorant of before today. I presumed he might be a racing driver from South America perhaps, possibly someone who raced against the great Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s and 60s... but no, apparently he is a retired Portuguese footballer who played throughout the 90s and eventually retired in 2009.

Indeed, Luis Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo was heralded as one of the greatest players of his generation and when he retired he held the record for the most international caps for Portugal (127), though this has since been taken by Cristiano Ronaldo (who also has his own TAG Heuer watch of course, the CR7). Anyway, he must have been pretty special because Real Madrid paid Barcelona 62M Euros for him in 2000!

The dial features Figo's signature and if you notice a red no '7'. I can't say I'm keen on the lower numbers on the dial being upside down, I think that's a curious design choice though I don't think it was something specific to this model. This piece was made in slightly higher numbers than the James Tomkins model, with 150 being produced, and again I would imagine it would be hard to find one of these outside of Portugal or Spain.

CAR2C14.FC6327

Lastly we come to this Japanese only Carrera, launched to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Heuer wristwatch chronograph in 1914... it's a bit of an obscure anniversary that one, and I'm not quite sure why it was only celebrated in Japan. Also, Longines released their first chronograph a year earlier in 1913, so it's slightly strange because watch companies kinda like to celebrate things they do first, not a year after somebody else...

So it's a bit of an odd one this, and that goes for the design as well. I imagine those Arabic markers were chosen because they look 'classic' but to my mind they don't really fit on a watch which is clearly as modern in design as this one is. The Calibre 1887 movement is also a tad on the small side for the 45mm case size as well and whereas in some of the other bullhead models the dial is split to rather cleverly hide this, here with a flat dial it's all too apparent, especially since they've gone with bright white subdials. Eeeek!

I'm definitely not feeling this one I'm afraid, but if you are the good news is that there were 200 of these made, so it's the most 'available' of these three, but again, whether you'll be able to find one outside of Japan, who knows...

Of the three I think I'd probably plump for the Luis Figo first and then the James Tomkins, as for the 100th Anniversary Carrera... well I think I'd leave that well alone.

Thursday, 26 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Watch

Wednesday, 25 March 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Alarm Watch

WAU111D.FT6024

Obviously while I'm working on my 'BIG LIST' I'm viewing hundreds of watches a day, but one that caught my eye was this quartz Alarm Formula 1. There have been lots of alarm F1s over the years, but I don't think I'd noticed that they had made a black PVD model before - and one with a grand date no less!

I really like the boldness of the design here, the white contrasts superbly against the black dial and bezel and makes me pine for my old WAH1110 somewhat. This piece looks the same size as that dear departed watch, but apparently it's 1.5mm bigger, which just makes me like it all the more, because at 40.5mm I always felt the WAH1110 was just a little on the small side.

I like how they've created the impression of a chronograph by putting the alarm and the running seconds in symmetrically positioned subdials, that's pretty smart thinking. This in turn has left plenty of room at the base of the dial for the grand date (with colour matched date wheels) and the 'TAG Heuer Formula 1' text in bright white.

Again they've played it smart keeping almost everything on the dial white, including the TAG Heuer logo itself: this makes the watch very legible and also makes the small flashes of red on the alarm hands really pop too.

I really like the design of these FT6024 rubber straps, but if I was to buy this watch I would do it in the knowledge that I'd have to buy a replacement because the clasps on these are evil and they rip your wrist to shreds in minutes. It's a real shame, but at least there is a quick simple and relatively affordable fix in the shape of the BT0714 rubber strap which also features a ribbed design with the TAG Heuer logo and critically a pin and buckle fastening.

All in all this one looks really smart, but tracking one down looks slightly challenging. There's a couple of them available on eBay; one from America that is £850 and one from Japan which is slightly more expensive at £1015. Amazon will sell you a new one for about £1400 - but it's from a third party seller (as everything seems to be on Amazon these days) so I would be ultra-cautious about that, particularly as the seller has an 84% rating, which doesn't sound terribly promising to me!

Tuesday, 24 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 2000 Exclusive Quartz Watch

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 Review by All Things Random

Monday, 23 March 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 'Maui' Limited Edition

WAF2012.BA0818

Yes, another 'Island' based limited edition TAG Heuer Aquaracer, but not a new one this time, in fact I'd estimate this was perhaps about 10 years old judging by the bezel design. Some of you may remember an 'On the Wrist' post from about 18 months ago where I tried on a Carrera Calibre 16 at Bicester Village that had a beautiful black mother of pearl dial. Seeing these photographs took me straight back to that watch, which really was quite stunning although it looked rather smaller than it's 'official' 41mm size on the wrist.

Like that Carrera, this automatic Aquaracer is also a numbered limited edition, 700 pieces this time though rather than the 300 of the CV201P-0, and this one also celebrates the island of Maui, which unlike Amami Oshima I have at least heard of and I could probably have a good stab at pointing it out on a map because of course it's part of Hawaii!

I do like the back plate engravings TAG Heuer put on these 'island' watches, it must be a great reminder of a holiday and if I was ever on a cruise ship somewhere like that I reckon I'd find it hard to resist buying one myself. But the dial is the real hook here, albeit I'm not sure if I'd prefer the 'Maui' branding to be just a little bit more subtle... especially that big white whale tail. And while I'm being critical, I'm not sure there's really enough room for the day/date complication on this dial, it does look just a little bit crammed in there, don't you think?

Black mother of pearl is a rather underused material in the watch world, there have been some ladies Aquaracers of late, which look really nice, but to find a black mother of pearl watch for a guy is quite unusual. I really liked it on that Carrera and I like it here too, but I'm not sure I'd want it as my only watch... still, I guess as a reminder of an exotic holiday location it more than fits the bill.

Pre-owned prices seem to hover between $1300-$1600 for these watches, but there really doesn't seem to be that many for sale. Actually I've just found a Japanese website which had one for sale, and it describes this piece as a '10th Anniversary Diving Edition', unfortunately that's all the information I can glean on this one.

Sunday, 22 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquagraph Calibre 60 Chronograph

Saturday, 21 March 2020

NEW PAGE: TAG Heuer Part Number List Menu

No doubt some of you will be aware of the 'TAG Heuer Enthusiast Gallery Blog', but it has been an immense source of frustration to me since I created it because the search facility is very unreliable and the label search is hard to find (initially) and not very user friendly once you do.

So a while ago I decided I wanted to create an index of TAG Heuer part numbers and link each one to the relevant page on the Gallery blog, thus making something useful out of something which was difficult to use and never generated the interest I'd hoped given the enormous amount of work that went into it. After some thought I decided that rather than list everything in one big alpha-numerical list I would split the codes by 'model' so that all the Carreras / Aquaracers / Autavias, etc were together.

This list is still a long way from being complete, but I have started to add the ladies watches and I'm now in the process of scouring my catalogues for more missing models to add to the list. This will be a long term, ongoing project that will never have an end, and I'm fine with that.

I also decided to put notes next to models which were unusual or noteworthy (for example limited editions) and this makes for quite some interesting viewing.

I will also add some 'pre-formulated' searches at the bottom of the list which will allow you to browse all the model groups, and eventually I may add labels to all the entries so that I can add even more searches such as dial colours.

Please be aware that this list has been and continues to be an enormous amount of work and while I am trying my best to ensure accuracy between model numbers and pictures I wouldn't use this to authenticate models you are looking to buy. I simply don't have enough time to ensure that kind of accuracy and if you do find something you think is potentially 'wrong', plrase leave a comment.

Similarly if you think you have identified a model which is missing, please leave a comment pointing me in the right direction - but as yet I haven't broached the subject of the Connected and as I said I have only added a small number of women's watches, both of these are now in the pipeline and I expect them to be added in the next week or two.

You can access the new page by clicking on the tab at the top of this page... or by clicking this link:

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/p/120.html

I hope you all enjoy browsing the list as much as I enjoyed compiling it!

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Amami Oshima' Limited Edition

WBD2117.BA0928

While researching the 'One Piece' Aquaracer limited edition box set I wrote about the other day, I somehow managed to stumble onto an article about this new 'Amami Oshima' Aquaracer which is due to be released in the next few days. Truthfully I had never heard of 'Amami Oshima' but it's clear from the dial that this is another Aquaracer destined to be sold in a holiday destination and on cruise ships, and there's nothing wrong with that in my book. Indeed, I was most taken with a 'Hawaii' Aquaracer I saw in Bicester Village a few months back which featured an island and a turtle on the dial and a cool palm tree engraving on the back (unfortunately I can't find a picture of the back of this watch at present).

So, according to Google, 'Amami Oshima' is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyushu and Okinawa, and is one of the Satsunan islands. It covers about 700 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 73,000 people. The island is of volcanic origin and as such is very lush, the climate is described as 'humid and subtropical' and it's main industries are agriculture, fishing and the distillation of Shochu, which is a spirit made from rice. The other main economical activity of the island is tourism - hence this Aquaracer.

The WBD2117 is 41mm in diameter, so it's the smaller of the two current Aquaracer cases and it houses the regular Calibre 5 automatic movement. This model is limited to 500 pieces and will cost 280,500Yen. There is also a ladies version...

WBD1417.BA0741

This is much the same as the men's variant, but smaller at 27mm in diameter and rather than an automatic movement this one carries a quartz module. Again this is limited to 500 pieces and is priced at 170,500Yen.

I guess there's not too much more to add, perhaps I should do a post about the various 'Island' themed watches TAG Heuer have released over the years, as there are quite a few of them now.

Friday, 20 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 3000 Series Quartz Watch

Thursday, 19 March 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 'Manchester United Triple' Limited Edition

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The last time I was in the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield I caught sight of a Manchester United branded Carrera Heuer 01 and noted that the badge looked a bit more tastefully executed than normal; what I didn't realise at the time was that I was looking at the new 99 piece limited edition Carrera made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Manchester United achieving the 'triple crown' in 1999! Truthfully, I was not aware that such a thing existed, which rather makes me wonder... if I, as someone who spends literally hours a day making it my business to know, then how did I not discover this? Is it some kind of secret watch that only certain people get to hear about? Bah! :-/

Anyway, if like me your interest in football ceased when you discovered cars, girls and rock music... the 'Triple Crown' is not unlike what Fernando Alonso is trying to achieve by winning the F1 World Championship, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500, except with football. So basically it means they won 'The Premier League', 'The F.A.Cup' and 'The UEFA Champions League'; in the process becoming the only English football club ever to do so. Pretty impressive I'm sure you would agree?

It's a nice looking watch too, which isn't something I've been able to say about all the Manchester United branded watches that TAG Heuer have made over the last few years... that red strap would look pretty rad on my own Heuer 01 I'm sure, and as I noted earlier the logo is finally rendered in a way where it doesn't look completely out of place and generally obnoxious. I'm not having a go at TAG Heuer here, Manchester United's logo is not, I'm afraid, a thing of beauty as far as I'm concerned and I consider it something of an achievement that they've made it look this good here.

The back is nicely done as well, although as ever I fail to see the point of putting display backs on watches if you're going to print all over them, you might just as well give it a normal caseback and knock £50 off the price. As you can see from the image above, the watches are marked 1 of 99 rather than individually numbered, which is the way things are done these days, whether you like it or not. I guess it doesn't really matter, but it does take the fun out of it slightly as some people like to get meaningful or low numbers, but then I guess it does mean that nobody has to have number 86...

The CAR2A1AC is a full sized Heuer 01 at 45mm and as such it won't be to everyone's taste, but I surely love the feel of mine on the wrist and the design of the strap really helps minimise the 'oversizeness' of the watch, it helps enormously that the lugs blend into the strap without a step as it makes the overall feel very cohesive, very similar to a Microtimer actually,which is also a big watch that wears exceptionally well on the wrist due to a very wide strap.

Oddly, both Goldsmiths and Mappin and Webb are listing the regular 'Red Devil' Carreras under this part number, the Mappin and Webb listing even stating it is limited to 99 pieces - surely some confusion there then? I think they are mixing this model up with the CAR2A1J.FC6416, which has a red devil logo and red baton markers on the dial instead of the full, gold Manchester United logo.

It's a nice watch then, with black gold hands, a 50 hour power reserve and I presume a ceramic bezel (though I cannot seem to be able to confirm this), even so it seems to be quite a chunk dearer than a regular Carrera Heuer 01 at £5395. Also, I can't quite get my head around the concept of celebrating a 'Triple Crown' victory that happened at the tail end of the last century... I mean, I can't imagine TAG Heuer releasing a watch to celebrate Mika Hakkinen's 1998 and 1999 back to back F1 World Championships... or let's imagine they had jumped from McLaren to Williams instead of Red Bull, could you honestly see them celebrating that teams domination of F1 during the early to mid 90s? It seems a bit odd really, and unfortunately highlights the teams rather less than stellar record since the departure of Alex Ferguson.

All that said, this is definitely my pick of all the Manchester United branded TAG Heuers released thus far, hopefully they will only get better from here.

Wednesday, 18 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Kirium Quartz Chronograph

Tuesday, 17 March 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Aquaracer One Piece Box Set

WAY218C.FC6364 WAY218D.FC6364

You may remember I did a post about this watch before and you'll probably recognize it as I used it for the banner link to my Gallery Blog as well. But what I didn't know at the time was that while there were 1000 pieces made and sold as the WAY218C with all 9 characters* on the backplate there was also a set of 100 'box sets' made which came with 9 backplates, each depicting one of the nine 'One Piece' characters.

*Just to confuse things further, according to this article if you pre-ordered your 'One Piece' Aquaracer WAY218C, you could choose which character appeared on your watch's back-plate!

According to Wikipedia: 'One Piece' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997, and has been collected into 95 tankōbon volumes. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy whose body gained the properties of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit. With his crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy explores the Grand Line in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as "One Piece" in order to become the next King of the Pirates.

I'm a bit confused by the idea of selling a watch with different backplates as that rather suggests that you can swap them over as you please. You could, but presumably not until the 2 year warranty has expired... then again - I somehow doubt these are genuinely intended to be used and are much more likely to be kept in the box, not least because using the backs would devalue them. 'Tis a strange world we live in indeed!

The 'Treasure Box' looks pretty cool though I must say, kinda like something I would expect from Omega! Although what exactly you would do with it is anyone's guess.

It's great that TAG Heuer don't take themselves too seriously to indulge in these Special Edition watches, I have no idea about 'One Piece', but I've always thought this watch looked rather interesting and this series must have quite a following if they are prepared to make 100 of these box sets. No idea what the original list price on these was I'm afraid, but this one is currently on eBay for $6999

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323881435763

I'm currently working hard on a new 'page' for this blog where I am listing every TAG Heuer part number I can find and linking it to an image. This is not a quick job, we are talking several thousand links... but work is advancing steadily and I hope to have it (mostly) done in a few weeks time. I am also highlighting any unusual models (such as this one for example) and where possible providing details of the number of pieces produced. I will also use this page to provide some pre-made searches of my 'Gallery' blog as I know all too well that the search facility is unreliable and the label tool is awkward to use. More to follow on this soon...

Monday, 16 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Microtimer

VIDEO: The 2020 TAG Heuer Connected Generation 3 by Time and Tide

Sunday, 15 March 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Ladies Quartz with Diamonds

WAY1395.BH0716

TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village 21st February 2020

I am very blessed to have a wife who shares my love of watches; sure she doesn't care about part numbers like I do, she doesn't spend way more time than is probably healthy looking at watches on the internet each day... and so far her collection numbers less than half of mine (still an impressive ten pieces), but she doesn't roll her eyes every time I send her a photo of a watch either, so it's a win/win for me!

Perhaps because she is so engaged I look at ladies watches with a lot more interest than a lot of guys and while I am never going to be able to wear most of these watches (I would totally wear that white and diamond Monaco though) I can still appreciate a beautiful timepiece just the same. On a recent visit to the TAG Heuer outlet at Bicester Village this stunning Aquaracer caught my attention and I had to get a closer look.

I really like the black polished ceramic Aquaracers and this one is truly exceptional. The finish is more like black chrome rather than simply a 'shiny' ceramic; it has a translucent quality to it that the photographs don't really do justice to and it really does look incredibly beautiful.

You probably won't notice at first but the diamonds are set into a polished steel bezel, in truth this is probably because it's a lot easier to set diamonds into steel than ceramic but they could have PVD coated it instead if they'd wanted to, but it looks great like this and I actually think it helps the design as sometimes when you see these diamond bezel Aquaracer's the diamond setting is broken up by the black over-riders, but here because they are silver it flows a lot better.

This WAY139S Aquaracer is quartz powered and measures 35mm across the face (which is about the same as a classic 'resin' Formula 1 as it happens), it's too small for me of course, but if they made this in a 39mm say, I would happily wear it! The only thing I don't like about this watch is the butterfly clasp on the bracelet, but I'm told once you get used to it they aren't so bad.

List price on this one was originally £3095, but Bicester Village currently has this for £2165. You know, getting your wife interested in watches makes your life a whole lot easier, so this could be a good investment, or a sweetener when you want to pick up that Monaco you've been after maybe? :)

Saturday, 14 March 2020

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 2000 Exclusive Quartz Watch

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Targa Florio by Edinburgh Watch Company

Friday, 13 March 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON: New Arrivals at TAG Heuer Bicester Village

Phone the store on 01869 249008

It's been a while since the last decent influx of new stock at Bicester Village, but today we have sixteen new pieces for you, including the very latest Connected models which have just recently been discontinued. Also we have quite a rare Formula 1 model and a numbered 'limited edition' Aquaracer previously available only through the jeweller 'Ernest Jones'.