WN5141.BG0351
It's top five time again folks and this time it's the turn of the 2000 Exclusive series that was part of the TAG Heuer range from 1999 - 2009. I'm sure most of you will remember my 'History of the 2000 Exclusive' post from November 2020... and if not what a 'treat' is in store for you when you get to the bottom of the page!
To be fair there aren't a vast number of 2000 Exclusives to choose from (about 75 including the ladies models), but I thought it made sense to separate them out from the 2000 Series to make it easier to choose when I get around to listing my top five pieces from that particular subset of TAG Heuer watches. There's also a lot of repetition in the range to, so for example you will get a black dial watch in two sizes (ladies and men's), and then a men's chrono and a men's automatic chrono... so while 75 seems a lot, it soon boils down to a whole lot less than it at first appears.
The 2000 Exclusive came at a time when the new owners (LVMH) were trying to push the brand upmarket and you can see that with details like the 'Clous de Paris' dials on some of the watches. Holding them you can definitely tell that they are well made and the bracelets are leagues above the 2000 Series, in fact I would say the 2000 Exclusive has to be one of the best bracelets TAG Heuer has ever made. It is beautiful to look at and extremely comfortable to wear too; in fact TAG Heuer only sold the 2000 Exclusive on bracelets, there were no leather, textile or rubber options offered on any models.
I should declare my interest and the fact that I own two of the five pieces I have listed. I doubt I shall ever own a solid gold 2000 Exclusive, but I should very much like to get my hands on either a blue or silver 'Clous de Paris' dial piece at some point...
#5. WN111A.BA0332 / WN1115.BA0332 'Teal Dial'
#4. WN1153.BB0341 'Two Tone / Silver Dial'
This is the first one of these that I actually own and it was also my first ever two-tone watch (possibly also my first silver dial watch too...). I really hate taking pictures of this one because without fail they always look bad. In person this watch looks great, in pictures it looks weird, the gold looks tarnished and scratched, but in reality it's in very good order. One thing I particularly like about this model is the small, alternate gold centre links in the bracelet which add a bit of bling without going overboard.
#3. WN1112.BA0311 'Blue Dial'
This is the other one of the five which I own and again it's a bit of a nightmare to photograph. The highly polished bezel is a scratch magnet for sure, but it's not as bad as it usually appears through the camera lens. The dial though is the most gorgeous shade of blue, rivalling the Kirium for the 'best blue dial in my collection' award.
#2. CN2112.BA0361 'Blue Clous de Paris Dial'
While this one doesn't have quite the same stunning sunburst blue that my WN1112 does, this ramps up the luxury with it's wonderful tapisserie dial; these are more commonly found adorning the highly desirable (and very expensive) Audemars Piguet Royal Oak models and here they are reserved only for the automatic chronograph models. If you crave an uninterrupted pattern dial, there is at least one 2000 Series with a similar dial in a three hand variant.
#1. WN5140.BG0351 'Solid Gold / Silver Guilloche Dial'
Maybe it's a little predictable to pick this beautiful solid gold 2000 Exclusive for the number one spot*, but without a doubt, given free reign to pick one I would undoubtedly choose this stunning piece. However, I know it would never actually make it onto my wrist and I would probably keep it in a locked box and only touch it whilst wearing white silk gloves. Which renders it somewhat pointless I guess...
One of these is showing on a UK jewellers website (albeit out of stock) for a pre-owned price of £7500 and at that price it's not only a non-starter but realistically if you had that kind of money available you would really have to consider what else you could pick up instead. But then this is always the problem when it comes to looking at solid gold pieces; even when they are out of fashion (and I think it's fair to see this watch is not exactly 'on trend') the price is kept high by the sheer weight of precious metal in the watch and bracelet.
*At least I didn't pick the full-on diamond bezel and hour markers WN5141 at the top of the page...
History of the 'TAG Heuer 2000 Exclusive 1999-2009'
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