Link Lady Diamond Star Haute Couture Concept Watch
In the 'olden days' (and by that I mean the 80s and 90s) ladies TAG Heuer watches were basically variations on men's models... or perhaps you could say that watches were available in a variety of sizes. This was certainly the case for models such as the 3000 Series which were available in four different sizes ranging from ladies, to boys, to midsize, to full size men's. Can you imagine TAG Heuer (or indeed anyone) offering four sizes of one pretty much identical watch today? And of course the irony is that back then full size generally meant 37/38mm (with 40mm considered 'Jumbo') so the sizes might be 25mm / 28mm / 33mm / 37mm - which is why you must be very careful buying older pieces on eBay. if you don't want to end up with a dinky version of that 3000 you thought you were getting cheap!
The 3000 Series from the 1987 catalogue - available in four sizes!
Of course there were some variations, right from the start of the TAG Heuer era the original resin case 'ladies' Formula 1s were offered in some colours that were only for men and some only for women (these were mostly pinks and whites) and there may have been some odd strap colours which were only available for women's models in ranges such as the 6000 Series, but generally speaking it wasn't until the LVMH era that ladies finally got a TAG Heuer that wasn't also available in a gentleman's size.
Allegedly there were prototypes of the Alter Ego made for men, but these never came to market (a tragedy, I would love one of those) and thus began the era of the ladies TAG Heuer watch.
Ladies Alter Ego Quartz Watch with Diamond Bezel
The Alter Ego was a very modern looking design and survived just six years (1999-2004) before it was discontinued. While this was the only specific ladies range at the time, LVMH also made their smaller sized pieces more feminine, offering pink and pale blue dials along with mother of pearl in whites and pinks in the 2000 Exclusive, Link and Aquaracer ranges. Diamonds also started to appear on dials and bezels as LVMH started to take TAG Heuer upmarket, just take a look at their early 00s catalogues and you can tell they were really pushing the 'luxury' element of the brand at this time with a considerable number of solid gold pieces available.
White Ceramic, Steel and Diamond Ladies Quartz Formula 1
As the 00s wore on the Golf appeared and became available in pink (same size though, just pink) and the 37mm Monaco also arrived and subsequently sprouted diamonds and python skin straps, technically these were 'unisex' but the white mother of pearl dial and diamonds model was most likely aimed at women (though I would definitely wear it). The Formula 1 also started to appear with pink and white dials and more diamonds on the bezel than was really necessary, these also featured the use of ceramics but were still based on the same case as the men's models and the Carrera wasn't immune either...
TAG Heuer Carrera 'Cara Delevingne' Special Edition
But it wasn't until the 2013/2014 catalogue that a specific 'ladies' range was made available again, this time the 'Link Lady' which utilises a variation of the 'S' link bracelet but has it's own unique case shape. The poster girl for this watch was American superstar actress Cameron Diaz and they even made a special Haute Couture version for her and also offered a special Cameron Diaz 'set' which included a ring and necklace for sale to the public.
Cameron Diaz Link Lady Trilogy Set
This line didn't last very long though, it's last catalogue appearance was in the 2014-2015 edition and for sure it was discontinued by the time the revamped Link line came out (whereupon the men's and ladies ranges reverted to being variations of each other) in 2016. I must say it surprised me how short a life span this model had given the endless number of pieces that have been available in the Bicester Village outlet over the years. One such piece was bought by my wife, a beautiful guilloché dial in purple made for the Chinese market...
WAT1418.BA0954
Will we ever see another 'lady' specific watch range from TAG Heuer? I doubt it somehow, I think they will continue to offer Aquaracers, Links and Carreras with diamond bezels and mother of pearl dials, and it will be interesting to see what replaces the ladies Formula 1 range which was taken down from the TAG Heuer website recently. But since women have started to wear watches in bigger and bigger sizes, and indeed watches that were never intended for ladies to wear (Date Justs / Daytonas, etc) perhaps the idea of a specific 'ladies' line has had its day?
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