ON THE WRIST: Heuer Monaco 'Racing Green' Calibre 11 Limited Edition Chronograph

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / 28th September 2024, Meadowhall, Sheffield

At the tail end of last year I was lucky enough to get hands-on with the previous 'Racing Blue' Monaco and I really quite liked it. Sure it had the wrong logo on it and the crown is on the silly side of the case, which I don't like, will never like and can't understand why other people think that's how it 'should' be... but regardless, it was a nice watch. 🤣

So when TAG Heuer launched a new version, similarly limited to 1000 pieces, I thought 'Okay - this looks pretty good and I like the green'. However when I looked a little closer... it started to lose its appeal a little bit, not least because the green subdials were actually a little bit tealy, and worse still the strap didn't match all that well.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Oracle Red Bull Racing' Limited Edition Quartz Chronograph

 

Way back in 2021 our good friend Jim Dollares wrote a post for this blog celebrating five years of Red Bull and TAG Heuer's collaboration. I can't believe it's that long ago already... and of course in the meantime there's been several more watches, so maybe that post needs an update Jim? 

Now, with Max Verstappen on the cusp of his fourth consecutive World Driver's Championship, it's time for the latest addition to this little collection (I wonder if anyone actually owns them all, that would be a cool set) and once again it's a 43mm Formula 1 quartz chronograph. 

BUYING EXERIENCE: TAG Heuer FT6051 White Rubber Strap

CAR2A1Z.FT6051

TAG Heuer Boutique / 28th September 2024, Meadowhall, Sheffield

Some of you will probably remember that the original 45mm Carrera Heuer 01 Skeleton (CAR2A1Z) was at first available in just one format: red dial highlights and a black rubber strap. This was later expanded to include a white rubber strap and indeed a red rubber strap. There was also a 'Blue Touch' edition which featured blue dial highlights and a blue rubber strap, that was pretty nice too... but by the time that arrived I'd already bought mine and I don't have any regrets about that.

It's perhaps a little surprising that TAG Heuer didn't play around more with this, as we saw some future possibilities at the launch event (yellow, orange and lime green models were on show but none of them made it into production - booo!). But still, if you own a CAR2A1Z you can of course order a white or red (or blue I guess) strap for it, and that's exactly what I decided to do after 8 years of ownership!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer x Time & Tide Aquaracer 'Sundowner' Solar Quartz Limited Edition by Time & Tide

 

FEATURE: My Top Ten Aquaracers

So finally it's my turn! I've been waiting all year to share with you my personal top ten and with so much time to deliberate inevitably the final positions have been shifted around time and time again. No joke, I think at least four or five different watches have been in pole position at different times throughout the year and I'm actually dreading having to finalize my choices because I know damn well they're going to change by tomorrow morning. Gah! 

Now obviously, having owned more than a few Aquaracers over the last few years, my list is going to feature my own watches quite heavily... well I guess that's only natural since I sought out the ones I really liked, so that's what you're going to get (plus one or two that slipped through my fingers). So I'm afraid my list isn't perhaps as unpredictable as I'd really like it to be. I did actually contemplate discounting my watches entirely, but that wouldn't really work either... so what I'll probably just do is add some 'honourable mentions' at the end instead.

It's been noticeable that many of the previous guests have chosen a lot of watches from the very recent past, and while I too have a couple of recent pieces included in my list I think I have selected fairly evenly across the Aquaracer's history, certainly from each decade of the model's production span. That's not to say I am right and they are wrong of course - many people believe the current Aquaracers are the best the brand has ever produced, but I am more of a 'historian' I suppose and I like quirky watches so that's probably why.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Japan 24' Calibre TH20-00 Limited Edition

 

It's always interesting to see watches that are released in specific markets like this one, even if sometimes it's hard to grasp the relevance of the accompanying marketing. Case in point is this new 'Japanese' limited edition 42mm Carrera chronograph. Seeing the '24' up there on the dial you might immediately assume that this model is connected to motor racing somehow, even more so given the obvious similarities with last year's 'Team Ikuzawa' release.

FEATURE: TAG Heuer Monaco 50th Anniversary Limited Editions

Hard to believe, but it's been five years since the final '50th Anniversary' Monaco was released back in late October 2019. So I thought, maybe now would be a good time to take a moment to take a look back at this five piece collection and remind ourselves how it came about and also invite the Council of Considered Opinion to share their thoughts and (since 2019 was pre-C.O.C.O.) score the watches for inclusion in the final totals list. 

So clearly, even before we got to 2019 we knew that it was the 50th anniversary of the Monaco (glossing over the fact that it was out of production for quite a large portion of that of course) and it was expected that there would be some sort of special watch, much as there had been for the 40th anniversary. But it was quite a surprise when TAG Heuer announced that there would actually be 5 different watches released throughout 2019, each celebrating a different decade (again glossing over the fact that there never was an 80s Monaco of any description, nor late 70s or early to mid 90s come to that!).

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monza 'Carbon' Special Edition Chronograph

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / 28th September 2024, Meadowhall, Sheffield

It's kinda funny, this one has been around for so long that when I clocked it in the display case in the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall centre, I honestly didn't even think about whether I had ever seen it or tried it on or not. I was just like... 'Oh there's the carbon Monza'... and it wasn't until the (always fabulous) Maxine asked me if I'd seen it before that the penny finally dropped. I mean it's been at least two years since the Monza CR5090 first appeared on (Red Bull Racing boss) Christian Horner's wrist, so it just feels very familiar, even though before today I'd never actually come across one in person. 

Thinking about it it's been quite a number of years since I had any kind of Monza on the wrist and I'd kinda forgotten quite how big a 42mm 'square' watch really is. I think even from this photo you can tell that it's quite a lump of watch and it sits quite high too. But with its carbon case and nylon strap, of course it's anything but heavy. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 36mm Calibre 7 with Diamond Hour Markers

 

One of the more unexpected success stories of recent times seems to have been the pink 36mm Carrera (otherwise known as 'The Barbie'). This model has found favour with men and women alike despite it's diminutive size and indeed our Swedish correspondent Jim Dollares has recently taken delivery of one himself (Buying Experience for that incoming...). 

Ever since the launch Jim was waiting to see if TAG Heuer brought the watch out in a larger size, say 39mm, but eventually he started to worry that the 36mm might be discontinued and he took the plunge. Literally one day after he picked up his new watch TAG Heuer released the same watch with diamond hour markers - which, while annoying for Jim, probably means they aren't about to release it in 39mm.

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

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / 28th September 2024, Meadowhall, Sheffield

While I've never been particularly enamoured of all those fusty old 'Heuer' watches that vintage enthusiasts get super excited about, even I have to admit that 2023's Carrera Skipper was an eye-catching release and easily the best of the modern 39mm 'Glassbox' range. So I was interested to see the watch housed in an 18k rose gold case - especially since on paper the gold should work wonderfully with the strong blue dial. Would it look super classy though? Or douchebaggy? After all, blue and gold is nice combination, but a tricky one to get just right, especially when there are other colours on the dial to consider.