OWNED: TAG Heuer Aquaracer WAY208C

WAY208C.FC6383

It sure took a long time for me to find a WAY208C to try on, and it wasn't for want of trying. I looked everywhere and I even manged to find one in a jewellers in Derby one time, but by the time I got there it had been sold. This was also the time when I realised that when websites (with shops) say they have an item 'in stock' they often mean 'we can order it in'. In fact I lost count of the times I was told 'we can order it in', even though I knew they couldn't because TAG Heuer simply didn't have any left...

The WAY208C was launched way back in 2016, alongside the WAY208A and the WAY208B. I was never really sold on the WAY208A (though to this day I've still never actually seen one), I quite liked the WAY208B, but when I did finally get to try one on I realised it wasn't for me. The WAY208C was always an instant winner though, from the moment I saw it on 'A Blog to Watch' on an Isofrane rubber strap. See, I really wasn't sure about that textile strap, which is why I wanted to see it before committing to purchase. After all, if I didn't like it what were my options?

Yeah there was the Isofrane solution, but I'm a bit of stickler for sticking to official straps and I couldn't work out for sure if there was a rubber strap that fitted this particular Aquaracer properly that didn't have a yellow backing. You see, it's a very dangerous (and expensive) game assuming that different watch straps will fit different watches... indeed there's a post coming about that which will make you shake your head in disbelief! Watch this space...

Eventually of course the shops stopped listing it as they began to realise the stock had dried up, and then it started appearing on eBay. Only one or two to start with (this was before the fakes started showing up!), there was even one that had had the cyclops removed, which definitely appealed to me... but again it was the same problem, I really didn't want to spend well over a grand on a watch I'd never seen, with a strap I might not like.

So, I wouldn't say I 'forgot' about it, because that's not true... but I put it to the back of mind and wrote it off as something that 'might turn up one day'. Albeit, it seemed like I wasn't the only person who had a thing for this watch, so inevitably if it did turn up I felt like there would be a certain amount of urgency required to secure it.

Unbelievably, almost a year ago now, I got wind of the new stock hitting Bicester Village and there it was. I couldn't believe it and I visited the store the next day to finally get a look at it on my wrist. To my surprise, I thought the textile strap looked fantastic... my only concern was that if it got grubby it would look a mess, so I ordered a rubber strap to fit it (there is indeed one without a yellow back, the FT6142) - but as yet I haven't tried swapping them over. Incidentally if you do require a replacement textile strap, they are not cheap. I can't remember exactly how much they are but last time I asked it was over £220...

The textile strap is a funny one, in some photos I saw it looked almost golden and in some it looked very brown - which is why I think I was so undecided about it. But the truth is in different lights it looks very different, but I like it all the same. So much so that as yet I still haven't actually taken the rubber strap out of it's polythene packet. I did 'photoshop' the WAY208C onto the rubber strap once (as part of my short-lived Rubber Strap Project) and it looked fantastic, and I'm sure I will do that at some point... but for now it's staying all original.

WAY208C.FT6142                      WAY208D.FT6142

I love this Aquaracer, the black PVD looks great and the grey complements it so well.. you wouldn't necessarily think that black, grey, sand and orange would work as a colour scheme - but it really does. They seem to have got those colours in just the right proportions and in just the right places to make it work. 

In truth I haven't worn it 'that' much over the year since I bought it; I don't tend to wear my automatic watches to work so that limits the wrist time available and having four automatics and two 'going out' quartz pieces means that I was never going to get bored of this one. I guess I really do need to get over that, because it means I have six watches that really aren't getting worn as much as they should and it's not as if I work in a gravel factory or something... (I actually sit at a desk most of the day).

Moans and niggles then... well, I have two really. The first one is the cyclops, it's absolutely rubbish. I don't like cyclopes at the best of times, but this one actually makes the date harder to read. In fact most of the time I tilt the watch so I can see the date window through the main glass as it's much easier to see, which is ridiculous. You can see why that eBay one with the cyclops removed had a certain appeal to me!

The other is the movement, or rather the 'winding action' of the movement. When you pull the crown out it doesn't have the positivity of the Heuer 01 or the Calibre 16 movements, instead it feels somewhat vague... and that extends to the crown positions as well, it never really feels like it's in quite the right place when you want to quick set the date and I've visited the Calibre 11 Forum enough to know that this isn't something unique to my watch, it's just that the Calibre 5 movement really isn't all it's cracked up to be. Which is a pity because there are an awful lot of nice watches in the TAG Heuer range that carry that movement and to be honest I'm slightly wary of buying another one (I would make an exception for that green dial Aquaracer though...).

As far as accuracy of the Calibre 5 movement goes, I can't really comment on that as I don't really wear any of my automatics for more than one evening at a time. I'm sure I have tested it for basic accuracy at some point and it was okay, but if you only wear a watch for short periods of time then whether it loses 2 seconds a day or gains 10 seconds a day is irrelevant as every time I come to wear it it has run down and needs resetting anyway.

While the Calibre 5 movement is a bit of a disappointment (let's not forget the whole Swiss Watch industry is built on 'mechanical excellence' and charges a pretty penny for it into the bargain...!), I have to say this is such a good looking watch that I have no regrets about buying it. On the other hand, if this watch was available with a quartz movement I would quite happily have bought that, in fact I think even if they were the same price I would have chosen the battery powered version! 

Quite a statement sure, but it's 100% true. 

Ultimately this watch is all about those stunning looks and for me it absolutely holds its own against any other Aquaracer out there. I do wish the textile strap wasn't quite so ridiculously expensive as it would make wearing it a lot less stressful and I really can't see the justification for the cost. I really should make the effort to put it on the rubber strap, but if I'm honest the thought of waving a strap tool in the direction of a PVD coated watch gives me the willies... and actually I'm not even sure I've got a tool that would do the job. That's something I need to correct as at some point I might just want to put my Aquagraph and my Calibre S Aquaracer back on their respective bracelets.

In conclusion then, it's a beautiful looking watch, but not one for those of a nervous disposition and hardly the 'rugged' dive watch you might be hoping for. But on a summer's day with shorts and a T-shirt, for the money it's hard to think of a cooler looking watch to wear.