NOT BUYING: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Classic Quartz Watch

375.513

After buying my red/white and black/yellow resin cased Formula 1s off eBay for less than £200 a piece, I came across a Japanese seller (Spirit*Age) who, amongst many other TAG Heuer listings, had two separate auctions listed for this black/green steel cased model. One was missing it's strap and had a starting price of about £140, while the other came complete with boxes and papers, but had a starting price of £180.

Having just ordered a yellow strap for my 380.513, I was in the position of having a spare black strap available to me, so I set my sights on the (I presumed) less popular 'no strap' option. Unfortunately, the other auction finished first... but as it, rather surprisingly, ended without a bid and was immediately relisted I found myself in the ideal position of having it as a back up. 

I bet you can guess the rest of this story, but I'll tell you anyway...

So half an hour before the 'no strap' auction was due to finish there was a sudden flurry of activity (10 bids in fact) which pushed the watch up to nigh on the starting price for the piece with a strap. Well it didn't make sense for me to get involved and push it up even higher, especially when there was another option on the table - so I grumpily watched someone purchase that one and then endured the five day wait to bid on the other one.

With painful inevitability, a day before that one was due to finish it suddenly started attracting interest and by the time it finished it was up around £250, which was more than I wanted to pay, especially as there was a £25 postage charge plus potential import duties from Japan to the UK. Aaaaargh!

And then, just to top it all off... the (potentially spare) black strap on my 380.513 snapped anyway!

How I laughed... 

On reflection, the one with the strap was the much better option, especially as it came complete with an original round, plastic TAG Heuer box, and I do rather wish I'd thrown my hat into the ring there when I had the chance. It also looks in better condition, but at the same time that 'new-looking' bezel should really have green numbers on it, not white.

Still, knowing that I 'could' have purchased the full set for £180 the week previous leaves something of a bitter taste in the mouth...!