ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Chronograph

 

CAZ101AG.FC8304

Beaverbrooks / Derby, 17th July 2021

This was my first trip to a shopping centre in quite a while and typically it had to take place during a heatwave! In reality the stop off at the 'Derbion' was merely a timekiller before my wife and I visited the dreadfully dull 'Derby Museum and Art Gallery' but I was super keen to finally get a look at the 2021 Aquaracer and you've probably already read my largely positive reaction to that a couple of days ago.

Of course I was hoping to see more than just the Aquaracer, but looking down the list of new releases from TAG Heuer this year the one thing that pops up time and again is 'limited edition'... and by 'limited edition' what they really mean is 'you ain't gonna see this in your local jeweller matey!'

So I wasn't really expecting much and in fact I was actually rather surprised when I spied the CAZ101AG and CAZ101AH Formula 1 quartz chronographs in the window. In all honesty I had kind of forgotten about these watches, to me they were quickly rendered superfluous by the wonderful orange dial WAZ101A (which I now own) and while it would have been nice to have been pleasantly surprised by them in the flesh... unfortunately I feel like my initial reaction was spot on.

I elected to try on the CAZ101AG on the textile strap (they also had it in the window on the bracelet) which was interesting. I was surprised to find the strap was much softer and more pliable than the one that came on my Formula 1, which is a bit odd... perhaps this one has already been tried on by lots of people or maybe the store have 'softened' it up somehow to make it less off-putting?

As ever, the Formula 1 feels very comfortable on the wrist, despite it's 43mm size, but there's something just 'off' about the colour scheme of this one. While the pictures suggest a good contrast, in truth the lime isn't 'clean' enough or bright enough and the textured grey dial isn't dark enough to make the highlight colour pop so the two tones end up competing and almost clashing. Looking in the window at the orange version it's a bit better, but again the contrast isn't there, the orange is just too dark and muted. Ultimately, both are rather disappointing and neither can hold a candle to the gloriously orange WAZ101A.

CAZ101H,BA0842

Another thing I found really off-putting was the fact that the lime coloured 'tachymetre' text on the ceramic bezel of the CAZ101AG does not match the colouring on the dial. I think that would seriously annoy me and it's something I haven't noticed on any new TAG Heuer watches for a while, but it's the sort of thing that used to be commonplace a few years ago, especially when blue second hands were involved. Considering the rate TAG Heuer's prices are increasing I hope this isn't a sign that standards are slipping again.

Finally, I've never really liked the black crown and pushers that we find on these watches (and also the Gulf F1) and trying these on hasn't changed my mind on that front either. I guess it's not a deal breaker, but I'd much prefer if all three were silver to match the case, the black just looks a bit 'cheap' to me somehow. I think this stems from my ownership of a WAH1110 a few years ago, which I really liked, but I always thought the black crown and crown guards looked like plastic.

Leaving Beaverbrooks we turned the corner and found Ernest Jones, who didn't seem to stock any TAG Heuer watches but who did have the very attractive Breitling Endurance Pro super quartz pieces in the window. If I'd been alone I would have tried one on but my wife was already getting twitchy in the heat so I left it. Besides, our next stop was Hotel Chocolat (who, by the way, have discontinued their Caramarvellous slabs... the utter bastards) and then off to the 'Museum of Infinite Tedium and (not very much) Art Gallery'.