CAZ101AM.FT8054 CAZ101AN.FT8055 CAZ101AP.FT8056
Colourful watches have definitely been a 'thing' of late, and any maunfacturer offering up a steady diet of black, blue, white and silver/grey dials is at risk of looking like a complete dinosaur. Not that this is a major problem for TAG Heuer who have always experimented with colours, just look at their recent releases: Aquaracer and F1s in orange dials, Monaco in green and purple dials, Heritage Carrera in red and teal dials... and if we look back a little further you've had two different red/silver Monacos and a green Calibre 16 Formula 1. On the other hand we've also had the utterly hideous 'Tiffany Blueish' Monaco Riviera, which is the perfect example of how TAG Heuer's colour choices don't always hit the mark... thank God there's only 30 of those monstrosities out there!
But I digress, we're here today to have a look at TAG Heuer's newest quartz chronograph offerings, which I am referring to as the 'Stoplight' collection - simply because I can't think of a better name and someone on the TAG Heuer Forum used it, hence I shamelessly stole it without a second thought - HA!
I say new, but in truth these watches aren't really 'new' at all - the black dial version of this watch has been around in one form or another for about seven years, the only real changes are the funky dials and indeed a much nicer, funkier rubber strap. Like these or not, you can't deny there's a lot of 'funkiness' going on here...
I must admit, my initial reaction to these watches was to post a 'puking' emoji on the aforementioned TAG Heuer Forum. I do somewhat regret that as over the last couple of days these watches have grown on me to the point where I no longer hate them and I can now look at them without feeling nauseous. Huge praise, I'm sure you'll agree... but no, what happened was that the first pictures I saw were renders which really were hideous, so I went into this release expecting them to be awful - and the first picture I came across seemed to confirm my expectations.
But subsequently I have seen more natural photos which suggest that my initial reaction was somewhat overly negative. It seems the red is actually okay, and the yellow might well be the pick of the bunch, although in some photos it has an odd tendency to look gold - which wouldn't matter so much if it didn't have a distinctly yellow strap. At the moment I'm counting the yellow as my favourite with the red a safe second.
Lagging far behind though, I'm afraid, is the green dial variant. Wow, is it Christmas already? I dunno, that shiny metallic green mixed with red and white puts me in a distinctly 'festive' mood and unfortunately the only thing I really like about Christmas is Christmas cake. Not good. And honestly, can I just point out one simple change that would have made this watch look 100% bettah. It's those red rings around the subdials, if they had been white this watch would have looked a whole lot better. I still think it would be the runt of the litter, but it might only be 1/2 a point behind instead of 2!
The elephant in the room of course is the price and as I already said earlier in this post, these are basically colour variations on the basic black-dialed CAZ1010 Formula 1, which on a perforated black rubber strap costs £1250. These on the other hand cost £1550. Now okay, the new rubber strap looks much, much nicer.. but does a colourful dial and a nicer band really justify a £300 price hike? Not too sure, but I will say these models don't have the same 'absolute bottom of the chronograph range aura that the black model bears. Would I take one of these over last year's less than fondly remembered grey/lime or grey/orange F1s though? Probably not...
As ever, I recommend seeing these with your own eyes before making a final judgement, the pictures tell such a conflicting story that I don't feel they can be relied upon to give a fair impression of the watch. I've heard they are already in store, with at least one member of the THF forum already claiming to have seen them.
Of course, like all the watches released this year (over 50 of them already, can you believe it?) these three Formula 1s will be re-assessed at Christmas ready for the 'COCO Watch of the Year' announcement on the 27th of Dec. Until then, let's find out what the Council's first impressions are...
CAZ101AM.FT8054 (Yellow) : 5.9/10
CAZ101AN.FT8055 (Red) : 5.5/10
CAZ1010AP.FT8056 (Green) : 5.2/10
"Not as bad as I first thought but in all honesty, I just don't lkke them. They look cheap, which wouldn't have been an issue if they weren't so expensive!! Red = 4.5, Yellow = 5, Green = 3.5"
"This looks nice. But are they still gonna release entry level quartz chronograph when the Moonswatch is already saturating the market? Still an OK watch. 6/10 from me."
"I really like the bright colours and brushed sunray dials. Interestingly, in the description for the red version, TAG Heuer states, "Building of[f] the collection’s legacy but racing to the future[.]" I think such a description is more applicable to the 2021 orange Formula 1 (WAZ101A) which is a fantastic looking Formula 1. These seem to be going for a retro vibe with the black PVD bezel rather than "racing to the future." I also would prefer them to be offered on a steel bracelet or a black rubber strap as the matching colour straps are a little too much for me. As they are, my score is a 4/10. If they were red/green/yellow versions similar to the 2021 orange Formula 1, the score would be much higher."
"It’s difficult to vote these three F1s without seeing them IRL, but I would give a 6/10 to the yellow one, and a 5/10 to the red and the green. Points would be 7/10 and 6/10 if the price were not £300 higher than the existing F1 with black dial on black rubber rally strap… a price increase of 24% very difficult to justify."
"These F1's are sporty, colourful, fun, cheap and a great addition to the TAG Heuer catalogue. The perfect watch for a guy in his early 20's who just got his first job. I am really liking the direction TAG has taken during the last 1,5 years and the number of TAGs on my wishlist is growing. I'm giving the yellow one a 9 and the other two 7 apiece."
"TAG Heuer makes spectacular dials. The bright colours are reminiscent of the OG TAG Heuer Formula 1 watches. I just hope they remain affordable. Red 7.5 (Ferrari) Green 7 (Aston Martin)
Yellow (???) Dark Blue for Red Bull?"
"Looking at the renders, I think the one that I like the most is the yellow one. Although I still think it is a lost opportunity to reuse an existing model, instead of introducing a new design. 6.5/10 for me for all three."
"These all sit at 5/10 for me. I just don't care enough about them to decide whether they look good or bad within the context of the F1 range because I'm not a fan of the F1 range in the first place."
"I'm not a fan of the F1 range either but I think this captures the fun of the originals much better than the plain run of recent models has. I'm still not a quartz fan (though I do not fault TAG for offering it in quartz) so 6/10 from me."
"43mm is too big, especially for something this bold and colourful! Otherwise, I quite like the idea. Green and Red OK. Yellow is a bit sickly. Wish they had done a blue. 6/10."
"43mm maybe a bit big, not sure if I want glaring /garish colours(shit, getting old) need to see in my hand, priced a little steep, 5/10. Might revisit when see them in my hand."
"I’m in a good mood so 4 for green and red. 4,5 for yellow. Awful watches, just awful. Omega and Breitling are pissing themselves."
"Ho hum, doesn't feel like much effort went into these. I'll be nice and give an extra half point for TAG Heuer trying to recapture the spirit of the original Formula 1. But I feel it's a day late and a dollar short. Just imagine if TAG had done a re-issue of the original, in a slightly larger size (e.g. 38mm), with upgraded materials yet true to the original plastic look, and priced at under $1000 USD. They'd probably sell like hotcakes. 5.5/10"
"Well, the orange F1 looks much better. I don't know why. Maybe the darker hands and marker boundaries. Or maybe the subdials, which always look a bit odd on the F1. BUT... They are respectful to the tradition of the F1: Bold, colourful, cheeky, sportive, a bit crazy. So let the purists turn up their nose about these watches. I give each of them a good 7 points!"
"Fit for purpose which is entry level, “I bought a Tag!!” newbies to the luxury ;) watch market.
Bright, in your face, relatable to F1 and I especially like how the Crown spins around and makes the noise of a tyre gun. Wish I had that on all my Tags. 5 - 5 - 5. I’ll leave you to guess which score goes to which colour."
"I was hoping for a more basic three-handler model. I would like a more reasonable price because I want a simpler specification. I give all models 7 points with high expectations."
"A flat 4 across the board for me. Where’s the blue one?"
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