Last year was the first year for several years where I didn't write a post recapping that year's purchases, mainly because I really didn't buy that much! This year, I have bought more than last year, but still not enough to call this post 'Another Crazy Year of Watch Buying' like the ones I wrote between 2019 and 2022... because those years genuinely were CRAZY and led to me at one point holding 61 TAG Heuers in my collection.
That, of course, was ridiculous. But thankfully I saw the error of my ways and over the last two years I have managed to cut my collection in half. But I haven't just sold watches, of course I have bought a few more, generally selling cheaper pieces to fund higher priced models. For example my 15 piece classic Formula 1 collection raised more than enough to buy my green dial Calibre 5 Aquaracer and that wasn't all I sold....
I also dispensed with my grey 500M Aquaracer, my blue quartz Executive (which was a lovely watch, but at 35mm, and with no lugs at all, was way too small for my 7.1/2" wrist), my grey dial 4000, my blue dial 6000, my blue WAB series Aquaracer, my red dial S/EL, my copper dial S/EL, my white dial S/EL automatic, my blue dial 36mm Kirium, my Link Searacer, my gold 3000 Chronograph, my Coke bezel 2000 Sports, my black dial 2000 Exclusive Chronograph, my two-tone 3000, my blue dial 2000 Exclusive... and probably a few more that I've forgotten.
The funny thing is, while I didn't 'want' to sell any of them (I'd much rather have just keep all of them) I don't actually regret selling any of them either. I mean sure I occasionally see a photo of one of my old watches and think 'Oh yeah, that was nice', but I certainly don't want to buy it back or anything. The only watch I think I would ever buy again was the Calibre 8 GMT Grand Carrera that I bought and sold a few years back, but even then I'd probably go for a different dial colour.
WAV5113.BA0901 (Brown Dial)
I think there comes a point where you realise that you can only physically wear so many watches, and while you might want to own one of every model line TAG Heuer ever made (as I did), it's probably better not to unless you have unlimited funds and perhaps a desire to become a watchmaker! Also, I'm slightly ashamed to admit, once I started buying nicer watches like the Grand Carreras, I kinda started wondering why I would want to waste valuable wrist-time on cheap, 'plastic' quartz watches....
So yes, my name is Rob and I may have become a tiny bit of a watch snob. Eek!
But that being said, if I ever actually win the Euro Lottery you can be sure I will buy back every watch I ever owned, hundreds more I never owned in the first place and my millionaire-mansion will have a whole wing dedicated to my own private TAG Heuer museum! Fingers crossed for that!🤣
Anyway, what's done is done, so let's turn back the clock to 2023 and look at what I bought last year, and then we can do a recap of 2024.
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In total, there were only three (+1) purchases during 2023, and only two of those were my doing! First of all in June I bought the long sought after 'Green Aquaracer', which came from the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall centre. This was a bit of a slow burn really. I bought it because I didn't want to miss out on another green Aquaracer, but I didn't really fall in love with it for at least six months after I bought it. As you saw back in November, this one featured highly in my 'Top 10 Aquaracers' selection (although ultimately it didn't win) and I love the dial. It's not perfect by any means though, the polished centre on the clasp drives me insane and it could be a little bigger, but still a low 9/10 kinda watch.
BUYING EXPERIENCE POST:
OWNED POST:
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Next up (in August) came this two tone Aquaracer, which I bought on behalf of my wife. This one came from Watchfinder and didn't last more than a few weeks before she decided she was never going to fall in love with it. It was an expensive mistake and we eventually sold it back to Watchfinder; not my first choice admittedly, but the proliferation of 'new' fakes on eBay made selling it there even less tenable. Ultimately it was an expensive mis-step, but there was no point keeping it.
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Penultimately in 2023, I bought a Solargraph! I wasn't looking to buy one really, I'd sat in the TAG Heuer boutique for an age trying to convince myself I wanted to pay £2500 for this 40mm solarquartz Aquaracer earlier in the year, and hadn't managed to do it. But when this one appeared on Watchfinder for £1600 I decided to pull the trigger. Don't get me wrong, I like it a lot, but... I do wish it was a bit bigger. The green Aquaracer is okay in 40mm because it's steel, but a black 40mm watch looks kinda small on my wrist, especially when my other black Aquaracer is 43mm. I'm still trying to get used to it now, with mixed results. Sometimes I feel like it's okay, but sometimes it annoys me. It's a shame because it looks fantastic and I love the lumed carbon bezel. But to be completely honest, sometimes I wonder if I should have bought the titanium one instead (which I've also seen since for a similar price).
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At the end of the year I finally bit the bullet and bought a BA0842 bracelet for my WAZ101A Formula 1. I never did get anywhere trying to wear it on the painfully uncomfortable original strap and though the perforated TAG Heuer rubber strap I bought for it was adequate, it was never any more than that. The bracelet was worth every penny and turned the orange dial F1 into the watch it should have been all along.
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Okay, so moving on to 2024...
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While I've tried to keep my wife on the straight and narrow she keeps veering off brand, first with Oris, then Omega and now Cartier! And while I can't condone that sort of behaviour, I must admit that all three non-TAG Heuer watches she owns are pretty damn sweet. This one is very stylish and you can't deny there's just something top-drawer about Cartier. I'll probably never own one myself but I do like them, and the caboche in the crown is the perfect finishing touch.
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After my wife's bad experience owning the two tone Aquaracer, I very much doubted she would ever own another gold watch. But then one day I spotted this on the Bicester Village Whatsapp list. I reminded her that she had tried it on years ago and liked it, but at the time she felt 35mm was too big. In the meantime though she had contemplated a 36mm Carrera, and this time around she decided it was okay, even for her tiny wrists. Being black helps to shrink it a little I think, and it looks amazing. I just wish they made this watch in a size I could wear, because I would definitely buy one.
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I didn't buy my first watch of 2024 until May, and even then it was only really because I couldn't resist the price! I was in two minds about buying another orange watch, and in two minds about buying another WAJ series Aquaracer. But I'd always wanted the orange one and the price was very appealing. In the end I decided to sell my grey dial WAJ, and while I lost money on it compared to the price I paid, I got more than the orange one cost so I actually managed to swap one for the other and made a profit!
BUYING EXPERIENCE POST:
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It was a long road to get to the point of actually owning a Grand Carrera Caliper, and if you are going to read any of these 'Buying Experience' posts I would say this is the one to go for. This watch is absolutely gorgeous and currently hogging my wrist like nothing else. To me this is the absolute pinnacle of everything that TAG Heuer stands for and even at 44mm it's totally wearable. Honestly one of only two watches that I own that I could score as 10/10.
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Speaking of which , here is the other one... and finally for 2024, I never really thought I would buy a white rubber strap for my cherished CAR2A1Z Carrera Skeleton, but one day I did and I haven't looked back!
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So there you go, like I said, not exactly a CRAZY two year buying list (compared to the previous few years), but at the same time not insignificant either. Right now I am super happy with my Grand Carrera Caliper and I don't really feel the need to buy anything else, and even if I did I feel like I want to sell to buy in future. I've already sunk way too much money into this hobby and it really needs to stop now. But as we know, the watch market is pretty soft right now, so selling isn't a great option... and there is (of course) one more TAG Heuer I would really like to own. So if that turns up at the right price, well.. I guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it. 🤣
Solid purchases 👌🏻
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