I last wrote about my white dial, quartz powered 4000 Series way back in 2023 so I guess it's high time for an update. Back then I had two almost identical 4000s in my collection, this WF1112 and the WF1111 which I had owned for several years before and which wasn't really in the greatest condition one way and another. Last time around I had just bought my green dial Calibre 5 Aquaracer and when I collected that I also picked up a brand new bracelet to replace the rather stretched one that the WF1112 came with (and which I had previously sold on eBay, wrongly thinking I could utilise the bracelet from the WF1111).
In between times I had bought a couple of original 'sharkskin' straps from TAG Heuer (one green and one blue) which looked quite nice with the white dial, but which ultimately left me craving a nice bracelet. In the end I got the bracelet and sold the two straps because I knew I wouldn't go back to them and honestly I haven't wanted to take this one off the bracelet for a second. The problem with the straps is that when you remove the bracelet and the end links you get this protrusion at the top of the case and it looks really crappy. But I must admit I did quite like sporting that very 1990s 'Ellesse' look for a while there... 🤣
The watch itself has worked perfectly since I got it, but recently when I pulled the crown out I noticed there was a problem with the thread. If I had to change the date or the time, when I tried to screw it down the crown would get stuck half way in and I would have to unscrew it and try again. Sometimes it would go on the second attempt, but the last time I did it I had to do it eight or nine times before it went all the way down smoothly.
It was a bit weird, almost like a twin thread where one of the threads was damaged but one was fine and it confused me that once you got it to go it was as smooth as anything. I made a point of never forcing the crown, and while it wasn't a major issue, since how often do you actually undo the crown on a quartz - 7 or 8 times a year, at one point I was considering selling it and obviously I either needed to sell it as faulty or get it fixed first.
So a week or so ago I sent the watch to my local watchmaker who replaced the tube and now it's perfect again. I'm actually over the thought of selling, but I may reconsider at some point in the future. It feels like pre-owned TAG Heuer prices are not in a good place right now and since I'm into this watch for about £600 all told, I think I'd rather keep it than take a loss on it. Besides, I've already divested myself of the grey dial 4000 and so this is the only one I have, and it's a pretty nice one too.
The dial is mint and the hand set was replaced before I got it so they're in great condition too. The bracelet is only a couple of years old and the case is also pretty much unmarked. Most important of all the TAG Heuer logo still has all its red and green paint, something that is not so easy to repair once it's lost. Sure I know it's a bit dated looking, perhaps even more than watches like the S/EL and definitely more so than the Kirium, but it has its own special charm.
I kinda like that the 4000 Series was just a 'watch', there was no chronograph, no special or limited editions to speak of (just a non-catalogue dark blue dial which is hard to find) but you could choose between quartz or automatic movements and a multitude of straps were available and because most of the dials were white, grey, gold or champagne you could pretty much mix and match as you pleased.
If you'd like to know more about the 4000 Series, please click the banner below which will take you to the 'History of the 4000 Series' page.
