ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Watches of Switzerland' Calibre 5 Limited Edition

 

WBP208D.BF0631

WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND / Regent Street, London, 5th September 2023

With just over ten weeks remaining of 2023, it seems timely to remind ourselves that last year a 'Watches of Switzerland' limited edition Carrera 'Panda' (CBN2018) managed to snag the much coveted 'C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year' for 2022 - joining previous winners the CBK221B Silver 160th Carrera and the CBK221D Dato 45 at the top of the C.O.C.O. tree. 

Now, obviously I'm not for a moment suggesting that this 'Watches of Switzerland' limited edition Aquaracer is about to repeat that feat, because frankly we all know there's only one watch in the running this year... the CBK221H 39mm Glassbox Panda. The watch that not only heralded the start of TAG Heuer's 60th Anniversary celebrations for the Carrera of course, but also the one most likely to blame for the six-eight months it took W.O.S. to sell a measly 250 pieces of what was and remains a very nice watch!

Honestly I still think TAG Heuer well and truly stitched W.O.S. up there, releasing a 42mm Panda when they knew there was a more desirable 39mm one coming (and let's not pretend we didn't know about it too). But hey, it's water under the bridge now... and as far as I know the W.O.S. Panda is now sold out - so all's well that ends well.

When I saw the first photo of this one though I didn't like it at all. The overall design was fine, pleasant even... but the fauxtina looked positively brown and I was not impressed! I'm pleased to report then that in the flesh the fauxtina is actually much subtler than I thought and in fact you can add this to that very short list of watches where I don't hate it. 

Also, I feared this watch was going to be trying to carry off some 'retro-heritage' nonsense, what with the fauxtina and the red triangle on the bezel. I'm sure I wasn't the only one whose first thought was 'Aaah, it's the Aquaracer Black Bay 43', but in reality, and despite the creamy lume this doesn't feel remotely 'heritage', in fact it feels quite modern and if anything brings to mind the Tudor Pelagos LHD. 

To my surprise it seems the price of the Pelagos LHD has rocketed lately (indeed it seems to have jumped up about £800 since I last noticed!) so this one is still a tad cheaper even with it's £4100 price tag. To me that seems rather a hike over the regular models but I must admit the titanium case and bracelet do make for a very light and wearable Aquaracer, and looks wise this is right up there with the silver dial as the pick of the 43mm ceramic bezel models.

Yes, I would definitely say that seeing this one in real life has greatly improved my opinion of it and I actually see the appeal of the cream lume with this colour scheme. Bright white could have been too jarring and while they could just as easily have used off-white I guess this gives it a 'point of difference' and perhaps makes it a viable alternative for those who either missed out on the 'Tribute to 844' Aquaracer or wanted that one on a bracelet.

Like I said, the WBP208D isn't going to be crowned 'Watch of the Year' by the Council of Considered Opinion' come the year end, it won't even be getting my vote (that'll probably be the 'Porsche Racing Orange' Carrera) but I'll definitely be giving it an 8.5/10 in the year-end reckoning, and I think it will probably amass a solid score from the rest of the council too.