When the red, green and yellow versions of this watch were released back in September 2022 I can honestly say I didn't like them very much.... and unfortunately when I got to see them in the flesh I liked them even less. There's just something about the dials that looks cheap and tacky, and to my eyes those colours don't sit well with the black subdials either. All round they were a total fail for me and they didn't score that well with the C.O.C.O. either, collectively scoring in the mid 5's (which I thought was quite generous honestly). But I did like the rubber straps and until I got the bracelet for my orange dial Formula 1 I was waiting on them making a black one so that I could buy it for that (which they still haven't as it goes...).
Last year the watches were refreshed with the standard Formula 1 bracelet, taking away the one positive aspect of the whole package and making them even less desirable in my book,. And now six months later we get a new version, this time in a deep blue hue. Reaction to this one seems to be more positive: I'm not sure whether it's because the blue works 'better' than the original colours (I think so) or whether it's benefitting from the renewed interest in the original Formula 1s thanks to the collaboration with American clothing company Kith. But either way, there definitely seems to be a more positive feeling about this one and it's no surprise to say it's reflected in the C.O.C.O. scores and comments.
For me, once again the rubber strap version is the clear winner here, in fact I'd go as far as to say it crushes the bracelet model, but it's still not a watch I would ever contemplate buying. But then watches like this aren't aimed at hardened collector types are they? This is the very definition of a 'mall' watch, designed to catch the eye of people who perhaps don't care that much about watches per se (or certainly not enough to join watch forums) and for that purpose I think this does its job well.
I realise I am way behind on the new releases, TAG Heuer are just flinging them out at the moment and there's no way I can keep up. Plus I'm still stuck decorating and I'm also a bit miffed that with so many releases I'm robbed of time to write 'Feature' posts about things other than new releases (which is the ones I really enjoy writing). I know I said this last year, but I think next year I will have to come up with a different format for the blog, perhaps one long monthly 'new release' post rather than every single watch getting it's own post. We'll see... for now let's find out just how much more the C.O.C.O. liked this new blue version over the old ones.
Bracelet 7/10, Rubber 7/10: "Looks great as an F1 with the black bezel, crown and pushers."
Bracelet 5/10, Rubber 5/10: "5 for me; lazy rehash of an existing Chrono, without putting any effort."
Bracelet 7/10, Rubber 7/10: "I like it, nice casual quartz racing chronograph."
Bracelet 8/10, Rubber 8.5/10: "Great watch! I will definitely see it in real life. Initially I prefer the plastic strap. Maybe a black one is better? Then the dial stands out better."
Bracelet 6/10, Rubber 6/10: "Well, hmm, this is just a standard design. It's ok. Nothing special about it."
Bracelet 5/10, Rubber 6/10: "Nothing really new here. Just another colour variation like the red, yellow and green before it. Except the sub-dials are in the same colour as the dial, whereas the others are black. The F1 is sorely in need of a new refresh. I'd love to see the next gen be retro inspired, like the KITH F1, but in 39mm and solar powered."
Bracelet 6.5/10, Rubber 7/10: "Not a fan of the bezel, and surprisingly prefer the strap to the bracelet, colours ok, so , 6.5 bracelet, 7/10 strap."
Bracelet 5/10, Rubber 5/10: "Nothing new."
Bracelet 7/10, Rubber 7/10: "I do like the dial much better than the last three versions, but I’m still not a fan of the bezel. my first reaction was - I wonder how many days it will be before we start seeing fakes of these showing up. I really do love the F1 range, so I’m going to rate them 7/10 for both."
Bracelet ?/10, Rubber ?/10: "I can't score this because it literally evokes no emotion or response."
Bracelet 6/10, Rubber 6/10: "I don’t have a problem with it - That's how far my emotions regarding it go…"
Bracelet 7/10, Rubber 7/10: "I like it much more than previous yellow/green/red versions."
Bracelet 6/10, Rubber 8/10: "Way better on the Rubber This actually looks more like a modern take on the original F1 to me."
Bracelet 8/10, Rubber 8/10: "Love blue and this works well."
Bracelet 6/10, Rubber 6/10: "Looks like a really nice shade of blue, 6/10 for both."
Bracelet 7/10, Rubber 7/10: "I am betting the blue dial looks far from vibrant blue in person. But if the dial looks as vibrant in real life and the render guy is not lying this time, my scores shall be 7 for the rubber and 7 for the bracelet."
No comments:
Post a Comment