Probably the Calibre 11 forum member with the most similar (read: impeccable) taste to my own... is 'Snowy' from Japan. Our collections actually feature several of the same pieces and between us we have pretty much the entire 'plastic' Formula 1 range (aside from one or two pieces). So it's my pleasure to welcome Snowy to the TAG Heuer Enthusiast blog today and to find out a little bit more about his exciting collection.
Snowy is well known on the forum for his every expanding collection (and casual approach to dropping new pieces on is) and as you will see he also sent some fantastic photographs to illustrate this post.
Note the super cool Monaco 'Sixty Nine' lying in the foreground...
Hi Snowy, first of all, since this is your first time here I guess we should find out how you got interested in watches and TAG Heuer.
It's hard to remember what got me interested in watches, but one thing I can say is that before I can remember I was interested in cars I was interested in F1 racing, and it was sponsored by TAG Heuer.
Do you have a favourite piece in your collection?
I really worry about giving up a couple of favourite items in my collection; one is a Monaco 24 in blue, I'm very sympathetic to the number 24 because my birthday is the 24th and my wife's birthday is also the 24th. The other one is the vintage Monza model, it's a collaboration with 'RACING MATE'.
Both very cool pieces indeed!
Do you follow other watch brands or are you solely a TAG Heuer collector?
Other watch brands I have seen are Omega and Piaget, but I'm 99% committed to TAG Heuer. The greatest attraction of TAG Heuer for me is that it is "affordable luxury".
Do you know what your next purchase will be?
I don't have any particular watch I want to buy right now. But there are some watches I want. The Porsche collaboration model that is likely to be released soon may be eligible for purchase...
Do you have a money-no-object grail piece?
If I win the lottery and buy one thing, I would be very hesitant. The gold Jack Heuer ∞ is a recent candidate... but what I really want to buy are special models such as the Microgirder and Micropendulum. I'd like to go to Switzerland and buy it after careful consideration.
Have you ever sold a watch and regretted it?
Yes, I have some watches that I regret selling. I regret selling my first TAG Heuer watch, it was an Aquaracer Chronotimer CAF1010 and am still looking for a nice used one to replace it.
Ah yes, that's another watch we have in common... thankfully I still have mine.
Also, I regretted selling my Carrera 1887 Bullhead Jack Heuer limited edition, so I bought it again after 2 years. I bought a used one but the condition wasn't good so I spent $2000 to renew the case, bezel, sapphire glass, and leather strap.
Wow, that's a lot to spend on a refurb... still at least you have it back and in mint condition.
How do you feel about the TAG Heuer / Bamford tie up and were you a fan of the Bamford Aquaracer that was released at the tail end of 2020?
I was confused as to why Bamford chose the Aquaracer as the base, not the Carrera? But when I learned through the Web briefing that Bamford wanted to make a tool watch, I was very convinced why he chose the Aquaracer. However, I am not thinking of buying it right now.
Is there a TAG Heuer that you really dislike?
I don't really hate any watches so far, but I'm concerned that the Link series is disappearing and various watches are rising in price.
How do you feel about gold and two tone watches? Do you own any and do you / would you wear one?
I only have one two-tone watch with Gold. It is Sel's Sena model CG 1123. I sometimes wear it, but basically I keep it for display.
Last year we had a collection of five limited edition Monacos to celebrate the 50th Anniversary, did you like them and do you think that was the right way to celebrate 50 years, if not what would you have liked to have seen instead?
I think it was the right way to celebrate the 50 year anniversary. I was especially interested in the red dial model. However, I couldn't buy any of the 50 year anniversary models.
But as we can see below, Snowy does have the Monaco GP Classique and the ultra cool green limited edition 'Men's Club' model as well as his stunning Monaco 24.
And this year of course we had the 160th Anniversary, what did you make of the Datos and the two 39mm Carreras?
I actually didn't buy any of the models related to the 160 year anniversary. The Silver Dial felt plain... the Montreal was attractive, but I wanted it to be reproduced in another case instead of the 39 mm Carrera. Also, it was very disappointing that the pulse meter was omitted from the details.
As far as Dato is concerned, it is a cool watch on its own, but I wanted it to be a piece with a simple dial with a little more respect for its heritage. Because of this, I did not feel attracted to these 160 year anniversary models, so I did not purchase them.
So I wanted to talk to you a little bit about your classic Formula 1 collection. How did that start and which pieces are you looking to add to that?
For Classic F1, I'm not aiming for completion, but I might end up aiming for completion as I compete with you!
Haha, well you're already ahead of me...
The appeal of Classic F1 is its price. The price is only $100 -200, so it's very easy to collect. In my case, I am focusing on quality rather than quantity, so I am concentrating on collecting watches that are close to NOS... but sometimes broken watches are collected and repaired too...
I am currently looking for early models 381.513, 382.513, 386.513, 387.513 and 383.508. It takes a long time to collect them because we exclude the ones in bad condition because we don't want to buy them. The collection of models with a specially designed dial is also very appealing.
We spoke about the Van Halen Formula 1 recently, it's so bizarre that there only seems to be one piece out there - I wish we could establish the story behind that one. And you sent me a few more examples of classic F1s that I hadn't seen before, although they are not quite as rare. It's funny how often I find limited edition pieces for sale in Japan, why do you think TAG Heuer is so popular in Japan, especially older models like the Formula 1 and the 3000 Series?
I would like to buy one of Van Halen's Formula 1 if there are others. However, the price limit I can offer is $700, so it will be difficult to buy.
Japanese have a strong yearning for Europe and America. From the latter half of the 1980s to the first half of the 1990s, I think that purchasing and showing off Western brand products was one of the statuses. TAG Heuer's Formula 1, 3000, 2000 and Sel series sold for less than $3000 and were popular at the time because they were very affordable to Japanese and made in Switzerland. It was treated as a precious Swiss watch, and many beautiful watches are left in the used market.
Finally, I wanted to ask if you wear all your watches or are some of them just for the 'collection'? I am reading a book about 'luxury' goods at the moment and there is a chapter about the culture for the Japanese to 'collect' luxury products like Louis Vuitton to the point where they sleep surrounded by their collection. Do you have a little TAG Heuer 'shrine' in your house I wonder?
I think the display of a beautifully decorated collection is more correct than a shrine. I took some photos of it, but they are updated every day.
Well Snowy, it's been a pleasure to have you and I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us and share your amazing collection with us today. Hopefully we can do it again sometime.
