Friday, 31 March 2023
Wednesday, 29 March 2023
FEATURE: TAG Heuer Watches Are Now 'Gender Fluid'!
TRIGGER WARNING: Cameron Diaz wears the two-tone Aquarcacer... with diamonds!
The 21st century is a confused and confusing place...
Believe it or not, in the old days, TAG Heuer never used to make models that were designed 'specifically' for women. Indeed, I believe the first watch they actually made that fit that bill was the Alter Ego series (which had no male counterpart), and this was also the first production TAG Heuer that ever had diamonds on it, or at least the first one with a diamond bezel.
Prior to the Alter Ego what TAG Heuer used to do was to make watches that looked pretty much the same, but in a range of sizes (generally 37mm to 25mm in three or four steps). This can be seen throughout the history of TAG Heuer with watches such as the S/EL, the Kirium, the 2000, 3000 and 6000 - all essentially the same, albeit perhaps the smaller sizes would have more colourful dials and/or straps.
Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Sunday, 26 March 2023
ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Autavia Heuer 02 Flyback Chronograph
CBE511A.FC8279
TAG Heuer Boutique / Touchwood Centre, Solihull, 20th March 2023
TAG Heuer boutiques seem to be popping up everywhere now, I'd love to know how many they actually have in the UK, considering a few years ago there was about three. Of course most of these new ones are not run by TAG Heuer themselves but by Goldsmiths/Watches of Switzerland, which doesn't affect the customer much apart from if you are looking to access some of the limited editions that come and go in the blink of an eye.
Saturday, 25 March 2023
Thursday, 23 March 2023
MAGAZINE FEATURE: TAG Heuer's Monaco 69 and Microtimer Concept Watches by Theodore Diehl
When the first quartz-controlled wristwatches appeared on the market many years ago they were exceptionally expensive, often costing much more than a regular mechanical Swiss watch. After a short time the prices dropped as the technology matured. After the initial shock passed, the industry was quite pleased with the quartz development since the vast number of quartz-based calibres that were being offered made it child's play for designers to create a boundless series of shapes and forms to fit every taste. Quartz wristwatches, or at least those without specialised functions, became low-priced fashion items, and many people bought several of them in various shapes and colours to match their favourite clothes or even their mood. The rest is history.
After the revival of the mechanical watch industry, the separation of the quartz and mechanical worlds was fairly strictly adhered to. Major houses did offer quartz watches for the few customers who requested them, but almost under a cloak of secrecy. Quartz wristwatches were often not even mentioned in catalogues for fear of diluting mechanical watch brands' PR image. Not any longer, however it is a more or less public knowledge that companies such as Rolex (working together with the Swatch group) and even firms such as Patek Philippe are spending large sums on the future development of of electronic wristwatches or hybrid mechanical/electronic calibres (these products might not even be released during our lifetimes, but, for established brands, looking 50 years ahead with R&D is not uncommon).
Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Monday, 20 March 2023
ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph Watches
WBP1112.FT6199 WBP1180.BF0000
TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 28th January 2023
Since I started this blog nearly seven years ago, I've tried on hundreds of watches... but it's relatively unusual for me to be sitting in a boutique with a watch on my wrist trying to decide whether to buy it or not. More often than not I'm trying the watch on so that I can write about it, irrespective of whether it is something I genuinely think I might buy, and while I do feel a little bad for 'wasting' the salesperson's time, who knows if my post might influence someone to visit a boutique (maybe even that boutique) and lead to a sale down the line. Besides, the whole point of having stores is so that you can visit and assess the watches and see if they are right for you, by putting them on your own wrist - which is really the only way to know for sure.
The store I probably visit the most is the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping centre, which is ironic since it's nowhere near where I live (there's actually a TAG Heuer boutique in the town closest to where I live, but I have never visited it and I haven't actually been into that town for over three years!) I really like going to the Meadowhall store because the staff are great, especially Maxine who was showing me the Solargraphs - and some other things - today), and they never make you feel pressured or rushed, which is why when I find the right new TAG Heuer for me that's where I will be buying it from.
Sunday, 19 March 2023
Friday, 17 March 2023
FEATURE: Was the Moonswatch 'Mission to Moonshine' Really a Complete Disaster?
Like many of you I'm sure, I watch a fair number of YouTube 'watch channels' and while they do serve a purpose - whiling away a tedious dinner break for example, the older I get the more irritating I find them. Most recently my irritation has come in the form of the mock outrage directed at the Swatch 'Mission to Moonshine'.
As I'm sure you know, unless you have been living under a rock this last few weeks, Swatch recently released a new version of one of their plastic 'Speedmasters' with a gold plated chronograph second hand, which unfortunately did not live up to the 'hype' created before the release... and so people, they got MAD about it.
Thursday, 16 March 2023
Tuesday, 14 March 2023
MAGAZINE FEATURE: TAG Heuer - Reinventing the Wheel by James Gurney
Reinventing the Wheel
Of all the strange and wonderful developments watchmaking has thrown up over the past few years, TAG Heuer's V4 is undoubtedly one of the most radical. The industry has seen almost everything from novel materials being used in the manufacture of hairsprings and escape wheels to the basic architecture being exploded and re-assembled, but everyone has always left untouched the basic idea of power being transmitted through toothed wheels. Everyone, that is, except TAG Heuer.
Although watchmakers have always had to be wary of the way gear wheels mesh and recognise the need to balance precision against the freedom required to stop gears locking up, better answers have been sought in the wheels themselves and, for example, the profile of the gear teeth. Even when TAG Heuer began looking for a project that would cement and support their growing reputation for more 'horologically legitimate' watches, there was no plan to rethink this fundamental of watchmaking. As Stephane Linder, product director at TAG Heuer said 'We wanted to get back our reputation for innovation'.
Monday, 13 March 2023
Saturday, 11 March 2023
FEATURE: Hodinkee Says 'Bring Back the Original TAG Heuer Formula 1'
I'm sure it was no coincidence, but three days before Swatch unveiled their latest riff on the plastic Omega Speedmaster the great and omnipresent 'Hodinkee' posted an article proposing the rebirth of the original TAG Heuer Formula 1. Yes really. But would that actually be such a good idea? In all honesty I am not remotely convinced.
Let's think back to the mid 1980s for a moment. Swatch was killing it, Heuer was (sorry to say it) dying on its arse. This is when popular fables tell you the big bad TAG corporation swooped in and undid all Uncle Jack's good work. In truth, TAG saved and re-invented the company, and key to this success story was the introduction of the resin bodied Formula 1.
Friday, 10 March 2023
Wednesday, 8 March 2023
FEATURE: The Joy of Switching Out Straps
Visit any watch forum and you will always find a thread where people are discussing which straps they are wearing on their watches, where they came from, how much they cost and which exotic animals were killed in the process. No word of a lie, someone on the THF Forum has watch straps made of giraffe and hippo leather - I can't even with that. But who am I to cast aspersions, do I not own a pair of brightly coloured sharkskin straps for my 4000 Series? Why yes I do... and here they are.
Tuesday, 7 March 2023
Sunday, 5 March 2023
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 'Turquoise Dial' Ladies Watch
WBP231K.BA0618
When the 36mm Aquaracer was launched (in silver, black and navy blue) a couple of years ago it was (quietly) hailed as a victory for the small wristed who found the 43mm Aquaracer just too damned big to wear. But subsequently (and initially if you were cognisant of the fact that the wave dial pattern has only ever been available on ladies watches) it became apparent that while 36mm may indeed be a nominally 'unisex' size, in truth TAG Heuer definitely view this a ladies watch. Of course there's nothing to stop anyone wearing pink, teal or torquoise dials with diamond hour markers, but let's be real, for the vast majority of the population this is a ladies watch. Besides which, it is in the ladies section of the TAG Heuer website (...but then so are the Solargraphs, go figure).
Saturday, 4 March 2023
Thursday, 2 March 2023
ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T Chronograph
CAR5A5U.FC6377
TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 28th January 2023
It's not everyday one runs into a Heuer 02 Tourbillon Carrera and it's even less common to run into one with solid rose gold lugs that cost a staggering £1000 each! Indeed I was very lucky to see this one at all as this particular watch wasn't on 'general display' but was residing in the safe and awaiting collection by its lucky new owner. Needless to say I was extra, extra, extra careful handling it, especially as it wasn't wrapped in plastic (not that I am ever anything less than extremely careful when trying on watches you understand, wrapped or not)!
I always liked the old Heuer 01 with gold lugs, but at £7000 odd it was always a bit out of my price range, especially since I already had the original Heuer 01 skeleton. But still every so often I would come across one and lust after it for a while until the memory faded. I must admit I've never really felt the same about the Heuer 02 skeleton as I do about the Heuer 01, which is mainly due to the dial layout. I know a lot of people value symmetry, but to me the H02 layout always left a lot of awkward, empty space at the top of the dial and as you can see this CAR5A5U is no exception.