Hello everyone, it's Christmas Eve again and we're into the final countdown for the 2023 C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year award. As usual I will be revealing the Council's scores for everything bar the top ten performers, but before I do I would like to pause and take a moment to thank all the members of the Council of Considered Opinion for their valuable contributions this year. It's one thing for me to sit here and proclaim my preferences, but quite another to get 26 others to regularly score and comment on each new release as it happens. So thank you to all of you in supporting me on this continuing journey of discovery and for helping to make The TAG Heuer Enthusiast the best TAG Heuer blog on the internet.
Well, pretty much the only one actually. But still...
I would also like to thank anyone who contacted me or who posted about new releases on the THF Forum. I believe (hope) we have managed to snag every release of 2023 (though given I only recently found out about two that came out six months ago I can't swear to it) and that is only possible because people all over the world have given me/us a heads up. Without this help I don't know if we'd even know of the existence of the Monaco Boutique Monaco, the Hawaiian Aquaracer or the Year of the Tiger Carrera chronograph. So thank you, and please if you see something you think we've missed drop a comment below a post or better still come join the THF Forum and shout about it.
Well, I guess we all have a pretty good idea of what's going to win the coveted C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year award, and with that in mind I've decided that this year we will announce a winner, a second place and a third place. As before this will be decided by (separate) votes rather than the scores, and of course on Wednesday I will also publish the C.O.C.O. ratings for the top ten watches of 2023, until then here's a round up of the year.
NB - As this post will serve as something of a historical record of 2023, I've decided to add the current list prices at the end of each line.
FORMULA 1
A rather lacklustre year for the Formula 1 with just two genuinely new models (the Gulf and Indy 500 releases) and a re-release for the underwhelming 'Gucci' Formula 1s, now on steel bracelets. The Gulf was actually pretty cool, albeit breaking the £2000 threshold must be challenging for sales. The Indy 500 I've seen several times at the Oxford Street TAG Heuer boutique and never once have I felt compelled to try it on.
If the rumours are true then 2024 will bring something a bit more exciting in the Formula 1 range, but this year really has been a bit of a damp squib for the model.
CAZ101AM.BA0842 (5.4/10): Yellow/Gold Dial 43mm Quartz Chronograph - £1750
CAZ101AN.BA0842 (5.4/10): Red Dial 43mm Quartz Chronograph - £1750
CAZ101AP.BA0842 (5.4/10): Green Dial 43mm Quartz Chronograph - £1750
CAZ101AT.BA0842 (6.5/10): Gulf Dial 43mm Quartz Chronograph - £2050
CAZ101AU.BA0842 (5.6/10): Indy 500 Dial 43mm Quartz Chronograph - £2250
AUTAVIA
Very little going on with the Autavia this year either, just one solitary release in fact; that being a black dial, steel cased version of the Heuer 02 flyback Chronograph released last year. It's okay, but I'd choose the coated version with the green lume any day of the week.
MONACO
One of the big news stories of this year of course was the 'first' skeletonised Monacos to hit the market. I mean, if we ignore the other skeletonised Monacos that have come before then I guess so. Let's say it's the first time skeletonised Monacos have been available to people who don't own their own yacht. And, well... I have to admit they are quite cool, in particular the black coated turquoise-lumed model, but holy-moly the premium they charged for these over the standard models was a bit of a shock.
Also on the pricey side were the 'Racing Blue' and 'Night Driver' Monacos, albeit both were much better in the flesh than the photos suggested. Then there was the piece unique made for 'Only Watch 2023' (about which perhaps the least said the better), another skeletonised model with a rattrapante complication (a first for TAG Heuer). I can't honestly say I liked it all that much, but the textured titanium case was pretty cool.
We also had the 'Monaco Boutique' Monaco, a limited edition of 50 pieces in titanium with gold subdials, and lastly the two rehashed CAW211C's that were the 'Las Vegas Grand Prix' and 'China/SKP' limited editions. Again, the least said about those the better.
CBL2182.FT6235 (6.0/10): Blue Skeleton Dial 39mm Automatic Chronograph - £9350
CBL2184.FT6236 (6.5/10): Turquoise Skeleton 39mm Automatic Chronograph - £9800
CBL2183.FT6236 (6.2/10): Grey Skeleton Dial 39mm Automatic Chronograph - £9350
CAW211AC.FC6550 (6.5/10): Silver Dial, 39mm Automatic Chronograph - £7150 (approx)
CAW211AD.FCXXXX (5.1/10): Silver Dial 39mm Automatic Chronograph - $9500
CAW218D.EB0321 (5.3/10): Blue/Gold dial, 39mm Automatic Chronograph - €11,000
CAW218C.FC6548 (6.8/10): Racing Blue 39mm Automatic Chronograph L/E - £8050
CBL2181.FC6515 (7.3/10): Night Driver 39mm Automatic Chronograph L/E - £8300ONLY WATCH (5.3/10): Skeleton Dial 41mm Rattrapante Chronograph P/U - £Auction
AQUARACER
Another solid year for our favourite dive watch.... albeit the 'Aquaracer' can no longer actually be termed a 'dive watch' in every instance because a dive watch needs a lumed pip on the bezel, something the steel bezel 200M variants no longer have. Despite this, perhaps because the chances of me ever going diving (or indeed ever going diving wearing a £2500 watch on my wrist) being pretty much zero, I elected to buy one of the green dialled WBP2115s.
But that wasn't the only cool Aquaracer to emerge this year, we also had the new two-tone models which looked absolutely terrible in photographs and renders but absolutely killer in person, a stunning turquoise dialled 36mm (which my wife absolutely loves, but can't buy because her wrists are just too small) and the super-fun Hawaii limited edition with bright yellow hands and a dark blue bezel.
Elsewhere the Solargraph range expanded to four models in total with the release of a titanium piece alongside blue and a black dialled steel models. I quite liked the titanium version but for me the original carbon bezel was unbeatable and I eventually bought a pre-owned model just a few weeks ago.
Perhaps one of the best limited edition releases of 2023 though was the 'Watches of Switzerland' Aquaracer, a kind of toned-down 'Tribute to 844' with a titanium case and bracelet. Very nice indeed that one, albeit at £4100 quite a chunk to lay down on an Aquaracer. Sadly the other 'Watches of Switzerland' Aquaracers (30mm in pink and caramel) weren't quite as successful, in particular the 'caramel' which scored very badly with the Council of Considered Opinion.
CR5090.FN6001 (5.6/10): Skeleton Dial 42mm Carbon Auto Flyback Chrono - £11750
CBN201F.EB0356 (7.3/10): Team Ikuzawa 42mm Automatic Chronograph L/E - £5250
WBP1180.BF0000 (7.5/10): Black Dial 40mm Titanium Solargraph - £2700
WBP1113.BA0000 (6.2/10): Blue Dial 40mm Solargraph - £1950
WBP1114.BA0000 (6.5/10): Black Dial 40mm Solargraph - £1950
WBP5150.FT6199 (6.5/10): Black Dial 40mm Solid Gold Automatic Watch - £16050
WBP2151.FT6199 (6.4/10): Black Dial 40mm Gold Bezel Automatic Watch - £4400
WBP2451.FT6200 (5.7/10): Black Dial 30mm Gold Bezel Automatic Watch - £4100
WBP5152.FT6210 (6.5/10): Blue Dial 40mm Solid Gold Automatic Watch - £16050
WBP2150.FT6210 (6.5/10): Blue Dial 40mm Gold Bezel Automatic Watch - £4400
WBP2450.FT6215 (5.8/10): Blue Dial 30mm Gold Bezel Automatic Watch - £4100
WBP2114.BA0627 (5.8/10): Red Dial 40mm Automatic Watch - £2500
WBP2115.BA0627 (7.5/10): Green Dial 40mm Automatic Watch - £2500
WBP208D.BF0631 (6.4/10): Black Dial 40mm Titanium Automatic Watch L/E - £4100
WBP2415.BA0622 (5.4/10): Green Dial 30mm Automatic Watch - £2950
WBP2414.BA0622 (4.3/10): Red Dial 30mm Automatic Watch - £2950
WBP1418.BA0622 (4.7/10): Mother of Pearl Dial 30mm Quartz Watch - £1850
WBP231K.BA0618 (6.3/10): Turquoise Dial 36mm Automatic Watch - £3300
WBP231G.FT6234 (5.5/10): Ibiza Edition 36mm Automatic Watch L/E - £N/A
WBP231G.BA0618 (5.9/10): Teal Dial 36mm Automatic Watch - £3150
CBP1113.BA0627 (5.7/10): Blue Dial 40mm Quartz Chronograph - £2300
WBP2416.BA0622 (5.2/10): Strawberry Pink Dial 30mm Automatic Watch L/E - £3050
WBP2417.BA0622 (4.1/10): Caramel Dial 30mm Automatic Watch L/E - £3050
CBP1110.BA0627 (5.3/10): Black Dial 40mm Quartz Chronograph - £2300
CBP1111.BA0627 (5.3/10): Silver Dial 40mm Quartz Chronograph - £2300
CBP1112.BA0627 (5.5/10): Ice Blue Dial 40mm Quartz Chronograph - £2300
WBP201G.BA0632 (6.0/10): Silver Dial 43mm Automatic Watch L/E - £N/A
MONZA
Without a doubt the craziest release of 2023 was this skeleton dialled, carbon cased Monza (which first appeared last year on Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner's wrist). On release I don't think anyone knew quite what to make of it and it still feels a bit like a 'did that actually happen' moment all these months later. I still haven't seen one anywhere, and who knows if I ever will. A truly bizarre watch, with some truly bizarre design choices - unlikely to garner enough support to challenge for the the Watch of the Year standings but it definitely has its fans. I wasn't one of them until the other day when I saw a great photo of the watch on the THF forum, certainly notched my score up by a point or two.
CARRERA
2023 of course was the 'Year of the Carrera', what with it being 60 years since its launch way back in 1963. Truth be told, pretty much every year is the year of the Carrera, there's always more Carreras than anything else, but who knows maybe with next year being the 20th anniversary of the Aquaracer we'll see a sudden glut of those? I doubt it, in fact I doubt TAG Heuer will be shouting about 20 years of the Aquaracer, just as they never shouted about 30 years of the Formula 1 in 2016. But never mind, I shall endeavour to celebrate the Aquaracer throughout 2024 with multiple posts and hopefully the help of my Aquaracer obsessed Swedish buddy Jim Dolares.
But leaving that aside... lets concentrate on the Carrera for the moment and of course we start with the watch that is literally everybody's favourite 2023 release (I mean, obviously not mine... but pretty much everybody else's) the 60th Anniversary Heuer Carrera Glassbox Panda. This was the last of the 'proper' glassbox re-issues, but no sooner had TAG Heuer released it than they started talking about new TAG Heuer branded glassbox Carreras, which by the end of the year had been hailed by all and sundry as the saviour of the brand. Personally, I don't like the 39mm models at all, and in particular the reverse Panda that (again) everyone else loves. Odd then that it didn't score in the top ten watches of 2023, and only received one 'podium' place vote from the COCO!
The new 'gender-fluid' 36mm Carreras (all of which looked ostensibly feminine to me) caused a few ripples when they were released at Watches and Wonders, but for me it's the 42mm chronographs that have really shone this year, in particular the 'French' and 'Chronotempvs' limited editions, but also the blue and black dial pieces with the orange/red swoosh around the dial. I don't think those two have proven particularly popular with paying customers to be honest, but I liked them all the same.
But my absolute favourite Carrera of 2023 and quite possibly my favourite TAG Heuer of the year is the Porsche 'Orange Lave' 44mm Special Edition. This was one watch I was seriously thinking about buying for a few weeks, and had it not been for the fact that I don't own a Porsche, nor particularly care for the brand, it might have been my final 'big' watch purchase. Alas it wasn't to be, but every time I see one I get a little pang of regret. It really is a stunning looking watch and unlike some watches actually looks worth every penny of its £6150 asking price.
CBK221H.FC8317 (8.7/10): Panda Dial 39mm Glassbox Automatic Chrono L/E - £6100
CBN2A1M.FC6526 (6.7/10): Porsche Racing 44mm Automatic Chrono S/E - £6150
CBN2A1N.BA0643 (5.9/10): Green Dial 44mm Automatic Chrono - £5600
CBN2A1N.FT6238 (5.2/10): Green Dial 44mm Automatic Chrono - £5400
CBN201A.FC6539 (5.3/10): Year of the Tiger 42mm Automatic Chrono L/E - JP¥742,500
CBN201B.FC6541 (8.0/10): French Edition 42mm Automatic Chrono L/E - £6300
CBN201C.FC6542 (6.7/10): Black Dial 42mm Automatic Chronograph - £5000
CBN201D.FC6543 (6.5/10): Blue Dial 42mm Automatic Chronograph - £5000
CBN201G.FC6520 (7.6/10): Chronotempvs 42mm Automatic Chronograph L/E - £5250
CBN201E.BA0642 (5.4/10): Japanese Edition 42mm Auto Chrono L/E - JP¥ 830.500
CBN201E.FC6544 (5.1/10): Japanese Edition 42mm Auto Chrono L/E - JP¥ 803,000
CBN2046.FC8320 (5.4/10): Harrods Edition 42mm Auto Chrono L/E - £19950
CBS2210.FC6534 (6.8/10): Rev Panda Dial 39mm Automatic Chronograph - £5600
CBS2212.FC6535 (6.6/10): Blue Dial 39mm Automatic Chronograph - £5600
CBS2213.FN6002 (7.2/10): Skipper Edition 39mm Automatic Chronograph - £5900
CBS5010.FC6543 (6.3/10): Blue Dial 42mm Automatic Tourbillon - £19950
CBN5A91.XXXXXX (3.5/10): Plasma 44mm Automatic Tourbillon - CHF500,000
CAR5A8AH.FC6531 (4.9/10): Chinese Edition 45mm Automatic Tourbillon - £N/A
WBN2015.EB0283 (4.6/10): KSA Edition 41mm Automatic Watch L/E - £N/A
WBN2310.BA0001 (5.9/10): Silver Dial 36mm Automatic Watch - £2750
WBN2311.BA0001 (6.1/10): Blue Dial 36mm Automatic Watch - £2750
WBN2312.BA0001 (5.9/10): Green Dial 36mm Automatic Watch - £2750
WBN2313.BA0001 (6.6/10): Pink Dial 36mm Automatic Watch - £2750
WBN2340.BC0005 (6.5/10): Plasma 36mm Automatic Watch - N/A
WBN2451.BD0567 (5.1/10): Full Diamond Set 29mm Automatic Watch - £47000
WBN231A.BA0001 (5.2/10): Powder Pink Dial 36mm Automatic Watch - £3950
WBN231B.BA0001 (5.6/10): Hammered Dial 36mm Automatic Watch - £4150
CBS2011.FC6529 (7.5/10): Porsche Chronosprint 42mm Auto Chronograph S/E - £8050
CBS2040.FC8318 (7.3/10): Porsche Chronosprint 42mm Auto Chronograph S/E - £20550
CBS2240.FC8319 (6.8/10): Gold Panda Dial 39mm Automatic Chronograph - £18750
CBN201H.FC6553 (6.3/10): Year of the Dragon 42mm Automatic Chrono L/E - £5500
CBN2048.FC8323 (5.5/10): Year of the Dragon 42mm Automatic Chrono L/E - £19650
Okay, well there we have it, and I don't really think I'm giving anything away when I say that the WOTY 'podium' is going to be made up of three of the following watches... but you might be surprised when you see the scores and the podium because one watch in particular garnered a lot of votes despite not scoring as well as might have been expected... can you guess which one I'm talking about?
CAR5A8AJ.FC6415 (5.2/10): U.A.E. Edition 45mm Automatic Tourbillon - £22000
WBP2115 Aquaracer Green Dial
WBP1180 Aquaracer 'Solargraph' Titanium
CBL2181 Monaco Night Driver Limited Edition
CBK221H Carrera Panda Glassbox Limited Edition
CBN201B Carrera French Limited Edition
CBN201F Carrera Ikuzawa Limited Edition
CBN201G Carrera 'Chronotempvs' Limited Edition
CBS2011 Carrera x Porsche Chronosprint (Steel)
CBS2040 Carrera x Porsche Chronosprint (Rose Gold)
CBS2213 Carrera 'Skipper' Glassbox
Make sure to come back on the 27th to find out the full results and in the meantime have a great Christmas everyone!
Rob / Aqua-G
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