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TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village, 19th April 2021
I realise that most of you will probably have no idea what I'm talking about here, but in 2019 I suffered through the entire 23rd season of the US reality TV show 'The Bachelor'. This epic waste of time followed a buff, cheesy grinned 'All American' Football player called Colton Underwood as he went on his personal (doomed) quest to find luuurve and ultimately a 'wife'. Spoiler, it didn't work out; though oddly Colton did end up with a restraining order served by one of the contestants. Go figure!
For those of you not entirely au-fait with the show, The Bachelor is semi-contractually obliged to end with a proposal, they even have a designated jeweller called Neil Lane who pops up at the end to offer the lead a selection of engagement rings to choose from; so the pressure was on right from the start and Colton was ill equipped to handle it (in more ways than one). At the time Colton's big 'secret' was that he was a virgin, but it turned out he had a much bigger secret which finally emerged just a few weeks ago (and which didn't exactly come as a massive surprise to be completely honest)!
If these opening paragraphs give the impression that Colton was in some way interesting and intriguing, please be assured that this could not be further from the truth. Colton's season of 'The Bachelor' was dismally dull and people only continued watching to find out why he jumped over a very high fence. No really, that was the teaser trailer every single week! So dull was this season that the only thing I can actually remember about it was that throughout the show Colton was wearing a blue dial watch with what looked like a diamond bezel.
I kept trying to catch a glimpse of his watch and eventually came to the conclusion that it was a TAG Heuer Link, something that became abundantly clear during the penultimate episode when poor Colton spent an inordinate amount of time with his head in his hands... giving the camera long, lingering shots of the watch as Colton sobbed into his palms as he tried to wrap his head around who he really wanted to date (host Chris Harrison perhaps?). A cynic might even venture that TAG Heuer paid for this apparently gratuitous product placement, but who knows?
Let's just say that The Bachelorette (which is produced by the same company) certainly wasn't above this sort of thing. A previous season in 2017 included a trip to Switzerland and more importantly a slightly clunky visit to the Breitling boutique in Geneva where one lucky contestant (the eventual 'winner' strangely enough) was gifted a Breitling Navitimer. Needless to say he wore this on his wrist throughout the rest of the season, prompting other contestants to comment on it and thus sowing the seed that a Breitling Navitimer is a good engagement present in the minds of millions of impressionable American women. Go Breitling!
Of course, the TAG Heuer Link has a long and varied history prior to its 'starring role' in Colton's season of The Bachelor (beginning life as the S/EL in the late 1980s) but the current range, while essentially 'pleasant' to look at, just doesn't seem to have grabbed the world's attention. It's all very nice and the bracelet is very pretty, but to put it simply - no one really cares. Which is a shame, but that's how it is. In fact, such is the apparent level of disinterest in the Link range as a whole that I keep expecting it to be revamped (again) or discontinued completely, but for now at least it seems like TAG Heuer are soldiering on with the current pieces.
I actually think this model with the diamond bezel is one of the most attractive of the present pieces. Often diamond bezels can look like an afterthought, but here it seems very integrated into the design and it looks fantastic against the stunning blue dial. That said, I've never liked the crown on these Links, it seems a bit of a peculiar shape and looks out of place with the rest of the overall look. Also, while the bracelet is beautifully finished I've always thought the larger links at the end are a touch too big for their own good. I don't know why that is, maybe it's the way they join the case with that chunky central link? I'm not sure, but it seems at odds with the watch's otherwise classy and dressy demeanour.
I get that the diamond bezel is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I must admit I like it. I wouldn't mind adding at least one diamond bezel to my collection at some point and right now I would say that this is probably at the top of my 'diamond bezel wants list'.
What, you don't have a 'diamond bezel wants list'... what kind of watch enthusiast are you anyway?
It seems that the opportunity for this watch to earn itself a nickname ('The Colton') has long since passed and Colton himself seems to have moved on to wearing a Rolex, of course. But still, from most angles this is a great looking watch, with or without diamonds and one that you can pick up right now from the TAG Heuer Bicester Village Outlet at a whopping 40% discount; which means that rather than paying £5250 you'll be picking this up for just £3150...
Who knows what the future holds for the Link range, maybe it will survive, maybe it won't. Maybe it will even become a ladies only model? But then if it does, what would replace it? Is there even a mass market for dressy men's watches anymore? It seems a shame if not, but then saying that I feel like one of those annoying people who moan about a particular shop closing and then concedes that they haven't bought anything there for twenty years.
Who exactly is the modern Link customer? I've been on the Calibre 11 for five years and I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've seen someone post a wrist shot or even bring it up in conversation. Still, I've never been one to follow the herd - maybe I should start saving?
Contact TAG Heuer Bicester Village on (01869) 249008 to check stock or arrange a UK delivery.
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