FEATURE: My Top Five Two Tone TAG Heuer Watches

 

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It's been a little while since my last 'TOP 5' post and... honestly these do tend to come out when I don't have anything else ready and I need something quick and easy. Unfortunately I don't have part three of the Carrera History ready yet, I'm waiting on some people writing their TOP 10 Aquaracer posts and we're all waiting on TAG Heuer showing us what they've got for 2024, so in the meantime I'm afraid this is what you get. But still, that doesn't mean it can't be fun... right? 

'Two-Tone' watches aren't for everyone - that's a fact, but they do seem to be enjoying something of a resurgence of late, since you can get at least some of the glorious feeling of being 'rich' without having to splurge £16-20,000 for a fully gold case. Additionally now that solid gold watches are so INSANELY expensive (can you imagine how much a solid gold watch on a solid gold bracelet would be now?) the stigma of being a 'poor-man's option' has largely dissipated. Nowhere its this more perfectly illustrated  than by the current solid-gold-bezel-insert Aquaracers which give you 90% of the feeling of full gold for a quarter of the price. More on those in a moment.

I've owned quite a few two-tone TAG Heuers over the last few years, but currently I am back to just two; my WN1153 2000 Exclusive and my CG1120 S/EL Chrono. The S/EL is plated, but still in excellent condition which rather gives the lie to the idea that 90s TAG plating was half a micron thick. The WN1153 though does actually have a solid gold bezel, which is nice because considering I paid about £450 for it five years ago I wonder how much that watch would cost in today's market? I've seen them on the market in the £700s recently and I did briefly consider selling mine to finance a nice silver dial quartz two-tone Aquaracer the other day, but eventually decided that would be a backwards step since the bezel on that one was plated and... yeah, I already got SIX Aquaracers!

Okay, before we begin, I should say that I decided to include watches that were black and gold in my shortlist as well as plain steel and gold, because they are still essentially 'two-tone' and because there aren't enough watches to make a credible Top 5 just for those in the future. 

Right then, off we go...

#5 - 6000 Series CH1151.BD0678 Quartz Chronograph

It was very difficult to pick a fifth place because it could of been one of about five, however in the end I decided to pick this lovely looking 6000 Series over a Link that looked a lot like the S/EL below and the silver dial Aquaracer I mentioned earlier. Green and gold is a classic combination and this is just about the only TAG Heuer watch that I can think of that combines the two. Never actually seen one in real life so hard to say for sure if that green dial is exactly how I'd want it, but the dark tone seems to work brilliantly against the polished gold plating and brushed steel case. 

#4 - S/EL CG1120.BB0424 Quartz Chronograph 

The only watch I've owned that made it into my top five and the last two-tone watch I would ever consider selling honestly. I know that to many this is the epitome of bad 90s TAG Heuer and to those people I say.... SHUT THE HELL UP! This is the perfect S/EL for me, in fact if I had to choose I would keep this over my black-dial steel CG1110.

#3 - Aquaracer 500M WAJ2182.FT6015 Calibre 5 Automatic

I can't even tell you the number of times I thought about buying this when it was available in the Bicester Village outlet. Suffice to say there's something very special about this one and that mesmerising chunk of gold wrapped around the dial. My only reservation was always the slightly strange choice of the orange second hand... but that remains a minor distraction, and this is one I still keep coming back to and thinking about adding to my collection even now. 

#2 - Aquaracer WBP2150.FT6210 Calibre 5 Automatic

When these current generation two-tone Aquaracers were announced I feared for them. In photos they looked absolutely awful, but in person it was a totally different story. I absolutely love the combination of the solid gold bezel and the blue rubber strap, but at £4400 I really can't justify the addition of yet another Aquaracer to my collection. A shame as the beautiful blue fumé dial finishes this one off perfectly. 

#1 - Grand Carrera CAV518C.FT6018 'Tourneau Limited Edition'

In case you hadn't noticed, I love me the Grand Carrera chrono and while I am a big fan of my black dial steel CAV511A if I could switch it out there's only two I'd entertain; the blue dial 300pce Japanese Limited edition (CAV511F) or more likely this fabulous 100pce limited edition sold exclusively through American retailer Tourneau. With it's perforated rubber strap this definitely reminds me somewhat of the awesome black and gold skeleton dial Heuer 01 Carrera, another watch I often gazed at in the Oxford Street boutique. Just look at those côtes de genève subdial surrounds... WOW! 

Do you love two-tone as much as I do? What are your favourite two-tone TAG Heuers? Please leave a comment below...