ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Two Tone/Blue Dial Calibre 5 Watch

 

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 18th June 2022 

It's a fact that you can never really judge any watch from pictures or video alone and I have lost count of the number of watches that I have changed my opinion of (either for the better or worse) on actual physical acquaintance. If only we all had access to all the watches our favourite brands released rather than a select few over and above the run of the mill models found in shop windows.

And if you live in a third world country like, oooh... Sweden, yes I appreciate that living in the UK we are actually pretty lucky with what we can get our hands on! :)

VIDEO: Which TAG Heuer Chronograph? by Brent Miller Time

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Elegant 'Watches of Switzerland Exclusive' L/E Chronograph

 

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For as long as I can remember, the THF Forum has been absolutely crying out for a Heritage Carrera with a panda dial... and while this isn't quite that just yet, it does offer the best option we've seen for some time and as such this model has jumped to the head of the queue when it comes to discussing the C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year. 

And there was me thinking the gold panda had it in the bag - at least until I realised I had made a mistake with the scoring and it dropped from an 8.8 to 7.8! 

Actually, let's be fully transparent; I didn't realise I had made a mistake, one of the C.O.C.O. members questioned the score based on the scores included in the comments on that post. And while I explained that not every scorer leaves a comment so that isn't the full score sheet (my score isn't quoted either incidentally) it did make me question myself and so I got out of bed (at 1AM! Seriously!) and went and checked my calculations. 

Going forward I am thinking of including the full scores so everyone can check that I'm not diddling it to please myself, but it's tricky because some C.O.C.O. members are a bit slow delivering their scores and I often have to go back and amend the results a few days later.

Anyway, let's get on to the watch...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Japenese' Limited Edition Heuer 02 Chronograph by The Watch Village

 

THIS WATCH IS CURRENTLY INCLUDED IN THE WATCH VILLAGE'S BLACK FRIDAY SALE

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 'Porsche Gold' Limited Edition Chronograph

 
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TAG Heuer Boutique, Sheffield, 12th November 2022

It's always a pleasure to visit Meadowhall's splendid TAG Heuer boutique, but in all honesty I wasn't really expecting to find much in the way of 'new stock' to look at. After all, it's not that long since I visited the Milton Keynes boutique and tried on the new F1s; but I was (perhaps naively) hopeful of finding a Solargraph in store (which turned out to be a non starter without a deposit). 

However it transpired that not one but two unexpected watches were lurking in the cabinets - well I say lurking; as usual one of them was right at the front of the store and I had walked straight past it on my way in! 

The first was the 'Year of the Rabbit' Carrera which I posted about a few days ago and the second was the red/gold limited edition 'Porsche Carrera', something I didn't honestly think I would ever see, and certainly not north of the Oxford Street boutique!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer x MarioKart - First Thoughts by Watches with Dennis

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 Gold Chronograph

 

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A slightly perturbing release this one, and as you will read in the C.O.C.O. comments below there is some considerable confusion about whether this is intended to be a JH90 (to celebrate Jack Heuer's 90th birthday) or not. Unlike the JH88 released in 2020, this has no reference to Jack, no engraving on the back or signature on the back of the strap, indeed this isn't even a limited edition! And while TAG Heuer have issued photos of Jack wearing the watch, and declared the piece 'crafted to celebrate our honorary chairman', truth be told he doesn't look overly enthusiastic about it... 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Museum Tour with Nicholas Biebuyck

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Year of the Rabbit' Limited Edition Heuer 02 Chronograph

 

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With new releases, what usually happens is that we see renders, then photos on release day from website like Monochrome and A Blog to Watch, and then, if we're lucky, a few weeks later (assuming we're not talking about a limited edition or even worse a region specific limited edition) we might get to see them in a store or failing that a TAG Heuer boutique. 

So generally speaking I write a 'First Impressions' post (including the scores and opinions of the C.O.C.O. Council) right after release and then an 'On the Wrist' post a few weeks later once (if) I've actually got to see it in person. But once in a blue moon I get to see a new watch right away, and in this case before I'd even written my 'First Impressions' post, such was the case with the 'Year of the the Rabbit' Carrera.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer x Mario Kart Unboxing and Hands On Review by John P Watches

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer SLR for Mercedes Benz Calibre S Lap Timer Chronograph

 

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I don't know how many times I have seen a CAG7010 at TAG Heuer's Bicester Village store, but up to about 2019 it seemed like something of a constant fixture during my regular visits. I must have tried it on a few times too, and even a year or so ago (the last time I saw an SLR in store) it was the white dial version of this same watch, actually now I come to think of it I don't think I've ever seen an automatic version of the SLR for sale there, only ever the Calibre S version. 

Of course, being something of a contrarian I've long admired the watch, seduced by it's obnoxiously brutalist bracelet and complex quartz movement, but never quite enough to pull the trigger; especially since even at outlet discounted prices these watches were still pretty pricey (£2500-2800... IIRC).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 'Aston Martin' Special Edition Chronograph by The Watch Village

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Polychrome' Dial Heuer 02T Limited Edition Chronograph

 

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Well if there's one thing that's certain, it's that TAG Heuer's releases are never 'boring'; you might not like them all, but there's no way anyone could predict everything they come out with and to be honest this was one of the things that first interested me about the company and one of the things that has kept me interested so long. I could never write a blog like this about Rolex, pretending to be excited about a 1mm change in case diameter and slightly thicker lugs.

And so now, at the tail end of 2022 we come to this rather surprising release, which is... yet another tourbillon! They seem to be spitting them out left right and centre nowadays, which surprises me somewhat given the £19,500 price tag, but I guess there's still a lot of wealthy people out there with plenty of cash for these sorts of watches. And in actual fact this particular piece is limited to 'just' 150pcs...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Porsche 2.7' Limited Editions by Time & Tide

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 17 Chronograph

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Well, this has been a long time coming. My first hands-on experience with the CAV511A came way back in 2017 when I tried on a pre-owned piece in the Michael Jones store in Northampton. At the time the watch was priced at £2700 and while I gave it considerable thought, I eventually made the absolute school-boy error of buying a cheaper (GMT) version which I ended up only keeping for a year and then traded in against a couple of quartz pieces (one of which I only kept for a year!). It was a bad decision which kept on going wrong and this ultimately (and unfortunately) put me off Grand Carrera ownership for some considerable time...

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 4000 Restoration by Nekkid Watchmaker

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Ladies Automatic Watches

 
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Okay, I get it.... these aren't the most exciting watches you've ever seen. And you would be forgiven for thinking that surely TAG Heuer already had a diamond bezel, mother of pearl, diamond hour marker ladies Carrera in the range, and they surely have in the past. But just like the Calibre 16 Carreras issued earlier this year, the brand does update old models as and when it sees fit. Obviously it doesn't shout about watches like this because there isn't much to shout about, they are pretty much like for like save for small design details and to be honest most people probably wouldn't even notice the difference.

NOTICE: TAG Heuer Sale at Watchfinder

 

I feel like I should have put this up a couple of days ago really, but just in case anyone hasn't noticed Watchfinder are currently have a brand specific sale on TAG Heuer watches, I got £300 off my latest purchase so it's well worth a look if you haven't already.

Again, I'm not affiliated with Watchfinder and I am not paid to promote their website.

https://www.watchfinder.co.uk/promo/brand-sale-22

VIDEO: Heuer Calculator Review by Jimmy Split 77

 

FEATURE: A Look Back at TAG Heuer 2022 So Far - Part 1 (featuring Jim Dollares)

 

Once again it's time for a sit-down chat with our Swedish correspondent Jim '4 gold teeth' Dollares, and this time we decided to discuss the year so far. This chat was done a few weeks ago so unfortunately we didn't cover the recent Mario or Porsche releases, but still there was plenty to discuss.

ROB: The end is nigh. The end of September that is, and by extension 2022! Yes, it won't be much longer before we're all huddled in coats, cursing the cold and selling watches to pay our fuel bills. But let's not dwell on such misery, because today we have our favourite Swede with us to look back at the year so far. Hello Jim, how are you doing?

JIM: Well isn't this awesome, good to be back! You know, I am quite good and doing my best to just enjoy life and maybe I shouldn't start off with giving everything away but you know that I have been very positive with TAG Heuer in the last year or so. Some killer releases to talk about indeed.

ROB: Great to have you back as always, so where shall we begin? Do you wanna pick something off the list or go straight to the new F1 Chronos?

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Link Blue V White Dial Comparison by Brent Miller Time