FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Night Driver' Limited Edition Calibre Heuer 02 Chronograph

 

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You know when you buy a new printer and you have to print a sheet of paper out with all these grey squares on... and then you have to squint at it and work out which one has the thinnest white line down the middle? Well, I'm sad to say that was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the first picture of this new limited edition Monaco. But then I saw a different picture and it looked completely different, and then I saw another picture and it looked completely different again.... all of which makes appraising this without hands on experience rather difficult.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' TH20-00 Chronograph by Worn & Wound

INSTRUCTIONS: TAG Heuer Calibre S Laptimer (SLR & Carrera)

While not overly exciting for most of you, this post is sure to make someone's day at some point in the future. The Calibre S Laptimer is the most complicated watch I own and makes the standard Calibre S look like child's play in comparison. Trying to work out how to use it without a manual could drive someone insane, .

I have been meaning to make a video showing you what the Laptimer can do, and sooner or later I will. But I'll probably need to brush up on the instructions myself first! 🤣

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Sports 'Porsche' Heuer 02 Limited Edition Chronograph by WatchBox Reviews

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Porsche Chronosprint' Calibre TH20-08 Chronograph

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If you've been around for more than a couple of years you will probably remember TAG Heuer's previous motorsport collaboration with Aston Martin. That was a bit light on product with only a Formula 1, a  couple of Heuer 01 Carreras (one of which was only available if you bought a specific Aston Martin) and a Heuer 02T Tourbillon emerging before the companies went their separate ways. If I remember correctly this was because Aston Martin stopped sponsoring the Red Bull Formula 1 team, which paved the way for a new love-in with Porsche (who TAG Heuer were already working with in Formula E). 

Of course, Red Bull Racing now seem to be getting in to bed with Ford, so it remains to be seen what happens to the Porsche tie-in in the next few years. Regardless, the TAG Heuer/Porsche collaboration has already produced more watches than the TAG/AM partnership ever did, with these two representing watches number six and seven to date.

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Chronograph vs Breitling Endurance Pro Superquartz Chronograph by Brent Miller Time

 

ON THE WRIST: Ulysse Nardin Diver X 44 Limited Edition Automatic Watch

 

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Watches of Switzerland Boutique / Regent Street, London 23rd Sept 2023

I've only ever tried on one Ulysse Nardin before as far as I can remember, that was also here in the Regent Street branch of Watches of Switzerland and a good few years ago to boot. In fact, despite visiting this store many times this was the first time I ever managed to get up to the top floor - where UN's boutique is now situated, alongside the Patek Phillipe store and a selection of pre-owned watches.

Well I say 'watches', mostly it was just 'Rolex'... perhaps unsurprisingly. There were a few other things, including a steel Nautilus for nearly £100,000 and a solid gold version of the same for nigh on £140,000. Neither of which I can get overly excited about if I'm honest. The Nautilus doesn't have anything like the presence of the Royal Oak (even though it's a bit passe to like it these days), and paying 2.5x list for a watch that starts at £35,000 is hilarious.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 1000 Series Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton Heuer 02 Chronograph

 
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TAG Heuer Boutique / Leicester, 7th September 2023

I know what you're thinking, and yes I did already try on a Monaco skeleton when I visited the Oxford Street boutique way back in June. But at that time they only had the 'standard' models in stock and what I was really interested to see was the funky black and turquoise model. As luck would have it, I finally managed to find one when I made my very first visit to the (not so) new TAG Heuer boutique in Leicester.

As is typical for these 'partner' boutiques that are tacked onto the side of a larger jewellery store, this isn't the biggest boutique - certainly nothing like the ones in Sheffield or Oxford Street, but it still had a good selection of watches to look at and the lady that served me and my wife (Raisa) was very friendly and welcoming.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Night Diver' Heuer 02 Chrono by Time & Tide

INSTRUCTIONS: TAG Heuer 1/10th Second Quartz Chronographs (Various 90s/00s Models)

While I appreciate that for most of you this will be irrelevant, someone visited the TAG Heuer Forums asking for this manual as they couldn't figure out what was going on with their watch. Since I was scanning it I thought I might as well post it here as well. This manual is for various 90s and 00s models including the Kirium, 2000 and S/EL quartz chronographs.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Gulf and Red Bull Special Editions by AMJ Watches

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph

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I know that as a rule I am generally out of step with the watch community at large, but even I am flummoxed by the turnaround in opinion that's been brought on by the release of the new glassbox Carreras. To me these watches are inferior to the previous iterations, damned strange looking AND feel even smaller on the wrist than the old models even though they are in fact the same 39mm size.

And yet every time I go to YouTube I see video after video praising TAG Heuer to the skies for these new watches, even Teddy Baldassarre (who rarely even ever talks about TAG Heuer) recently posted a video praising the company for the direction it's heading since Frederic Arnault took over.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by Hodinkee

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Grand Carrera 'Caliper' Calibre 36 Chronograph

 

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Watchfinder & Co Boutique / Avery Row, London, 5th September 2023

Still smarting from the missed opportunity that was the H&T £1700 Grand Carrera Caliper, my attention returned to the steel CAV5115 and more specifically the one on offer on the Watchfinder website. Price wise this one was a much more realistic £3850, but... and it's a big but, it had some problems. Firstly the bezel has some marks, which is not a massive deal and in all honesty may be a good thing since I am more likely to actually wear it if I don't start with a 'perfect' watch.

Second of all, the red stripe is missing from around the left hand crown that operates the timing 'Caliper'. This I don't really understand since I assumed this red was paint, so how it's fallen off is a mystery to me. For me this isn't a massive issue either and again is something that could be rectified (presumably) relatively easily. Also I think there should be a small rubber o-ring around the crown, but I bet most of those disappear sooner or later - that one I really wasn't worried about at all. 

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Special Edition by Time & Tide

 

FEATURE: Trying (and Failing) to Buy a Ridiculously Cheap Grand Carrera Calibre 36 Chronograph

 
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A few weeks ago I noticed that EST1897 (now called H&T) had a CAV5185 Grand Carrera Caliper in black PVD on their site priced around the £2500 mark. I remember looking at it and thinking 'that's quite cool, but I don't know if I want another black PVD watch'. Which, in hindsight was very, very stupid on my part. 

Why? Because that price was exceptionally cheap for a PVD coated, titanium cased Grand Carrera 'Caliper' with a Calibre 36 (or as it's otherwise known Zenith 'El Primero') movement inside. But I foolishly left it and didn't think about it again until a couple of weeks later when I got an email from H&T inviting me to peruse their wonderful sale, which featured (amongst other brands) over 600 TAG Heuer watches, all of which were substantially reduced.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Fragment' Heuer 02 Chronograph by WatchBox Studios

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Jamie Carragher 23 Foundation' Calibre 6 Limited Edition Watch

 

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You may remember a couple of weeks ago I managed to turn up a watch that I hadn't seen before and commented how unusual this is these days after years of extensive research. But of course there are always more oddities to uncover and today we have another truly obscure piece to talk about.

I won't pretend to know anything about football past about 1981; my last in-person experience was watching Leicester City defeat Manchester United during one of Leicester's brief forays into Divison One (as it was then called, now the Premier League). So I'm afraid Jamie Carragher, whose career spanned about 17 years between 1996 and 2013 was never on my radar. Until now of course.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by Monochrome Watches