FEATURE My Top Five Silver Dial TAG Heuer Watches

 

I am not, it must be said, a massive fan of the silver dialled watch. I can appreciate the possibilities of a silver themed piece as a 'strap monster' since literally any colour strap can be attached, but since I can't see every single silver dialled watch on every single strap it's not a criteria I can judge very easily. For me, a silver dial either needs a texture, a colour highlight, a dial feature or a contrasting bezel to work. Failing that, it could be 'sold' on a striking strap... which might be enough to get it on my shortlist, but it's probably not going to propel it into my top five.

Which is why you won't find the Carrera CBK221B 'Silver' 160th Anniversary piece on this list; it's a silver dial (with the dreaded fauxtina lume no less!) with a stainless steel case and meets none of the criteria I've outlined above. For sure it is a 'strap monster', since it is the very epitome of a 'blank canvas', but for me that simply doesn't cut the mustard here.

Sorry Jim, does that mean I have to renounce my membership of the Church of Silver Dials and send my T-shirt back?

Before I start, it's worth mentioning that I have been quite restrictive with my selections; I have not included any silver 'mother of pearl' dials, anthracite dials or 'granite' dials (as found in the 1500 Series) and for the most part I've also disqualified any dials which can be perceived to be white (with one notable exception)...

Despite a couple making the shortlist, none of the silver dial watches I own made it into the top five, albeit I do own one of them in a black dial variant.

#5. CN2110 2000 Exclusive / WAF111T Aquaracer

I couldn't decide between these two and since they have some major similarities I thought I would include them as a two-for-one deal. Both dials feature beautiful 'Clous de Paris' finishing, with the Aquaracer adding a (slightly cartoony) shark for good measure. Part of me thinks the rather 'classier' 2000 Exclusive should win out, but I do like the shark and the fact that it is a 'limited edition' (as pointed out on the dial) in this case for the Malpello Foundation which works to protect sharks around the island of Malpello (off Columbia).  

#4. WAP201X.BA0830 Swiss Limited Edition Aquaracer

The men's version of the watch I gave to my wife for our 25th Wedding Anniversary... I would love to get hold of one of these, but I'm not holding my breath. There seems to be a few variations on this theme, but I think I like this one the best. The red Swiss cross provides that little splash of colour and the names of Swiss towns and cities on the dial is genius.

#3. CV5111.FC6365 Heuer Carrera Calibre 17 (JH81)

Whooah! Nobody was expecting me to put a Heuer Carrera in this list I'm quite sure, but I like to confound expectations now and again. I picked this one because the silver is the perfect background for the blue chapter ring and subdials, while the red second hand and Heuer logo really give this one that extra 'zing' I'm looking for. And, at 41mm it's also a decent size too!

#2. CT1118.BA0550 Link Searacer 'Oracle Racing' Limited Edition

One that for a long while I believed was a white dial due to its propensity to appear white in photographs, indeed I was quite surprised when I realised it was in fact silver. I kind of wish it was white because then I think it could be even cooler, but still... the red quadrant on the left hand side of the dial really makes this one, perfectly illustrating what I was saying earlier about silver dials needing 'something' to make them truly interesting. This is the one watch in the group that I own (in the black dial) although it is not a limited edition and it doesn't have the red flash, more's the pity...

#1. CAW218B.FC6496 Monaco 'Titan' Calibre 11 Chronograph 

Though I wasn't crazy on release about the red 'twelve' hour marker (and I'm still not) even that slight flaw cannot detract from what is a truly epic silver dial. The sunburst effect is so pronounced and clear that this watch looks absolutely amazing in photographs and probably even better in the flesh. The black subdials give the necessary contrast while the orangey-red second hand provides that pop of colour that lifts the whole thing. While I probably prefer the Searacer overall, I decided to give the top spot to the Titan because this is a watch that shines because of its silver dial rather than in spite of it.

So there's my TOP 5, but I thought it only fair to invite the Jim 'Pastor of the Church of the Silver Dials' Dolare$ to offer his own take on this and here's what he came up with...

 

#1. Heuer 160th Anniversary Silver Heritage Carrera (CBK221B)

#2. Heuer Carrera Calibre 6 (WV5111)

#3. Heuer Autavia JH85 Heuer 02 (CBE2111)

#4. Heuer Carrera Automatic (WV2112)

#5. TAG Heuer Carrera Automatic (CV2011)

Predictably a completely different set of watches, though I must admit I did have the CBE2111 on my shortlist. Clearly Jim was never going to pick anything but the CBK221B for the top spot, but I'm glad to see he did manage to squeeze one 'TAG Heuer' branded piece onto his five tiered podium!

For more 'TOP 5' entertainment, please be invited to the 'TOP FIVES' menu... which you can access either by clicking on the tab at the top of the page or the link below:

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/p/top-fives.html