WBP2115.BA0627
After three solid years of frantic watch collecting, it's still something of a shock to me that in 2023 I have only bought but one solitary watch. One. Uno. Unbelievable! For a moment I thought I'd bought two, but it turns out that I bought my SLR Calibre S Laptimer in November 2022... so no, it's just one. At the same time, my collection has halved to 'just' 31 pieces, which I know is still a stupidly large number, and yet it looks kinda small compared to what it was. Which it is...
As I've said several times on the blog this year, things started to change last year when I picked up my utterly gorgeous Grand Carreras, the Japanese limited edition blue dial Calibre 6 and the black dial Calibre 17 chronograph. These watches showed me the difference between good watches and great watches, and in the process turned me right off collecting plastic quartz watches from the 80s. Which was a shame as at the time I already had 16 of them. Oh yes.
At the same time I had actually collected most of what I wanted to collect, so it was bound to slow down anyway. Plus I was getting a bit disheartened by the quality of the watches I was receiving from my eBay scavenging, and so the decision was made to consolidate, sell and only buy better quality pieces going forward. Of course, better quality pieces cost more money. Much more money, and I'm not exactly rich. So it was bound to seriously affect my purchasing, but even I was surprised at just how drastic the change has been.
I picked up the WBP2115 back in April from the Sheffield TAG Heuer boutique, which is my most visited boutique in the UK even though it's quite a long way from where I live, and to be honest I still haven't decided how much I like it. It's not a case of whether I like it or not, because I do like it, but how much is still in question. Which isn't the greatest feeling given it cost me the full asking price of £2500!
Y'see I already own several Aquaracers and really I love all of them, so it's up against some TOUGH competition. First of all there's the black PVD coated titanium WAY208C which I bought from Bicester Village (after a very long search in 2019), then there's my yellow dial Calibre S CAF7103 which I bought from Watchfinder back in 2018. That is probably my favourite Aquaracer of all, but there's also the stunningly cool Chronotimer CAF1010 which I also bought in 2018, this time from Parkers in Sheffield.
Oh yeah, and there's my grey dial quartz 500M WAJ1111 which is yet another 2018 purchase, and another watch that I wouldn't even consider selling unless I absolutely had to. Damn, this new model really is up against it... which perhaps explains why I feel like it hasn't really won me over yet. Don't get me wrong, I will probably give it an 8.5 or a 9 in the end of year polling, but these other watches are 9s and 9.5s all round (well certainly the WAY208C, CAF7013 and CAF1010 are.. the WAJ1111 is great but not quite on the same level).
So why did I buy it? Well, partly because I've never got over missing out on the previous green dial / steel bezel Aquaracer back in 2019. I kept asking about it, but most of the ADs I went into said they wouldn't be getting it and then Oxford Street apparently got two of them (which sold straight away) and that was it. Meanwhile they were spotted here there and everywhere in other countries, even Jim Dolares said he saw one in a store in Sweden. Yes, that HUGE TAG Heuer market, Sweden!!!
Now of course you can find them pre-owned everywhere, but something tells me that for every genuine green dial WAY2015 Aquaracer on sale there's at least three or four fakes, so I'm not even going there. So when I found out that this new one was coming out I resolved to buy it immediately lest it disappeared like the other one. Which of course it hasn't. Typical.
Not that I regret buying it. That would be unfair, because it is a nice watch with a beautiful dial. There's just something about these new Aquaracers that feels off to me. Firstly, the bezel, which was my gripe right from the start and which I still haven't really warmed to. It just looks weird. It's too flat and I miss the lumps and bumps found on the previous versions. It hasn't as yet proved to be the scratch magnet I thought it would be and I definitely don't dislike it as much as I used to, but that could be because I haven't actually worn it that much and I guess you get used to anything eventually.
Another odd thing about the bezel is that it always looks wonky, particularly at the bottom. But it looks wonky both sides and I've come to the conclusion this an illusion created by the bevelling. It's not a massive deal, but it is a bit irritating. Don't get me wrong, I don't want TAG Heuer to stay the same, I love that they are a brand who come out with new things and aren't afraid to redesign their watches, but inevitably sometimes you like them more than what came before and sometimes you don't. And this time I don't. But I'm getting there. I will admit that the new Aquaracers feel better made than the old models, though the clasp still feels a bit jangly... and while we're on the subject of the clasp, here's where this Aquaracer really lets itself down.
There are two major problems with the clasp. First can someone tell me why the 43mm and 36mm models get an adjustable clasp and the 40mm models still come with the old style three holes system? Why. Why is that TAG? What possible justification can there be? And secondly which moron thought it would be a good idea to polish the centre section of the clasp? I mean you might as well just send it out scratched. I've barely worn mine, and mostly under a sleeve, and yet it already looks like I've had an accident on a motorbike.
Ridiculous, frankly... and a big part of why this watch cannot be scored more than a nine no matter how beautiful that green dial is. And it is truly beautiful, though intensely frustrating to photograph - since you either get a black dial and no reflections or a green dial and a load of whatever is around you. Grrr. Mind you, even when you do manage to snag a bit of colour in your shot it still doesn't really capture the majesty of that stunning green fumé.
The lume is okay, but not as long lasting as I'd imagined. I'm not too sure that I like having the minute hand a different colour either, it seems a bit gimmicky, especially as lacking a lume pip on the bezel this can't even be called a dive watch. Sure it still has a 200M water resistance rating, but it's an outdoor/adventure watch now. Which is kind of stupid considering it's called an AQUAracer.
Honestly this doesn't really feel like a tool watch anyway, especially with the new fumé dials, and even more especially with this elegant dark green face. This could quite easily be worn with a smart suit (as evidenced by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson recently) and, perhaps unlike the more recently released red dial variant this could easily be someone's 'only' watch.
This is my smallest Aquaracer, all the others are 43mm, but it never feels small on the wrist. Perhaps because it is a bit more 'elegant' and a bit less 'purposeful' it feels more appropriate in a slightly smaller size. With that in mind, maybe, just maybe I was lucky to miss out on the first green Aquaracer.
Maybe...
So sure, yes, this is probably my fourth favourite of my five Aquaracers, but I still like it a lot. And I'd say it was probably the best or at least second best of the current range (the silver dial ceramic bezel is my other favourite). So all in all I would have to say it was a good purchase, albeit at £2500 it feels like it's stretching any kind of definition of value for money.
The movement we know is not befitting of a watch in this price range and should not be hand-wound under any circumstances (mine goes in the winder when I want to wear it and I strongly advise you to do the same with any Selitta SW200 or ETA 2824 powered watches), the clasp is pretty tinny and the decision to polish the centre is ridiculous... but the dial is gorgeous and thankfully it also has a black date wheel, which is a big plus as the edge of the dial is mostly black most of the time.
And, astonishingly... despite the known flaws of the Calibre 5 movement, mine is currently performing at a staggering, chronometer-like rate of -0/+1 second per day. Which is a nice surprise.
I wonder what other colours there are left to add to the Aquaracer range, maybe a purple 40mm and a yellow 43mm with a black bezel? Who knows... so far I'm largely in the dark about what is coming in 2024 so it will be exciting to see what emerges.
They see me Aquaracin'
ReplyDelete