SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Kirium 'Paddock Club' Quartz Watches

CL1184.FT6002  &  WL131K.BA0709

The watch world is a funny old place, largely obsessed with 'rarity' and 'value' and yet while brands like Omega pump out 'limited edition' after 'limited edition' with the numbers in the thousands it is still possible to find super rare watches from big-name Swiss brands at 'cheap as chips' prices.

For example, if I told you that the quartz powered Kirium chronograph pictured above with its 'carbon' dial was a limited edition of just ten (yes 1-0) pieces, how much do you think you'd have to pay to own one? 

£1000? 

Nope...

£800?

Nope...

Well surely not less than £600?

In fact, one of these recently sold for just £450 on eBay. Which is insanely cheap... even without it's limited status I would have thought it would have fetched at least that. I mean okay, the Kirium isn't everyone's cup of tea and the 'late 90s' F1 tyre strap is a bit kookie, but even so.... ten pieces! That's like 'Richard Mille' levels of exclusive.

Damn I would have bought it without a second thought for that money, I mean how many mass-market brand watches can you even think of that are made in such small quantities? 

And I have to wonder whether these watches were even made to be sold, or were they made as presents for esteemed members of the 'Paddock Club' (a posh name for the ultimate hospitality package for the fabulously wealthy who attend the travelling circus that is Formula 1, sipping champagne and munching canapes either at vast personal expense or as guests of the teams).

Either way you couldn't get a much more exclusive piece of Formula 1 memorabilia for the money.

As for the silver dialled ladies version, I can't pin down the quantity made, but I would be surprised if it was much more than ten and one was recently for sale on the notoriously expensive 'Watchfinder' website for just £595. Unsurprisingly perhaps, it has gone now! 

Crazy prices for such rare pieces of TAG Heuer / F1 history, but it just goes to show that rarity in and of itself does not a good investment make!

I must admit, after my recent encounter with an FT6002 strap I don't think I'd be overly keen on that, but it could easily be swapped out for a bracelet or the plainer FT6001 rubber strap instead, and the ladies version looks very stylish with its silver dial and pink highlighted font.

Regardless of what it actually says on the dial, there are very few TAG Heuer pieces made in such small quantities and the opportunity to own them is rarer still. Most of the recent examples I can think of have been 'Avant Garde' takes on the Carrera Heuer 02T tourbillon and as such large sums of money has been required to join the club. Its rather nice to think that ultra rare pieces can still be had for very reasonable sums of money, but keep it to yourself, eh!