ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph

 

Watches of Switzerland / Canary Wharf, London

I haven't really been to any major towns since the new Formula 1 Solargraphs launched a few weeks ago, so I haven't had a chance to try one on until today's visit to Canary Wharf in the financial district of London. I visited on a Saturday afternoon and initially there was no one free so I went next door and sampled the delights of Laderach chocolate. It was pleasant enough, but it reminded me of the 'Swiss Chocolate' you get in Marks & Spencer, nice enough but not worth £10.50 per 100g! 

Sample consumed, I returned to Watches of Switzerland to find the store empty and two salesman vying for my attention. Incidentally, before we go any further regular readers will probably remember that I tried on the new black/blue Calibre 16 Formula 1 chronograph a few weeks ago and I said I wanted to see the black/green version because on the website it looked green in one picture and yellow in another.

Well, I didn't try it on, but Watches of Switzerland had it in the window and it definitely looks green. It's not as bright a green as I would like it to be though, I was kinda hoping it was going to remind me more of those glorious PVD coated Aquaracer 500M models with the green lume, but it's a little more subdued. Still nice and I'm glad it's green not yellow... and I'm not completely opposed to the idea of maybe getting one in the future (once someone else has taken the depreciation). But honestly it would be a lot cheaper to get one of those black/green Aquaracers!

But anyway, back to the WBY1111...

The first thing I have to say is that was heavier than I expected. I don't know if that's because I never actually owned a classic Formula 1 on a bracelet, or simply because the watch is larger than the 80s models, It wasn't 'heavy' as such, just solid feeling - which I think is a good thing and it certainly felt heavier than the Kith I saw on a bracelet last year, so I guess it must be the increase in size plus maybe the movement could be slightly heavier and the bracelet feels a bit more chunky.

The dial is a little 'off'' white, but it's okay (not the most exciting colour scheme in my opinion, it looks a bit 'entry level' to me) and the bezel looks satisfyingly correct. I didn't notice the hands looking too small in person so maybe that's just something you notice when you take pictures (they look too small in my picture I think) or maybe I just didn't look at it long enough to start noticing these details.

At 38mm the watch is a reasonable size on my 7.5" wrist, it certainly feels more wearable than the original F1s and I'm not sure how much bigger they could make it and still retain the 'feeling' of the classic models. I think if it was 40mm the dial would start to look a little too large and empty, as it is I think the bezel seems thinner overall than the originals (relative to the dial) so perhaps a larger model could have a thicker bezel to compensate slightly?

What I didn't really like was the shape of the case in the lugs area (I'm hoping this looks better in the darker models that are coming and the red polymer) and also the finish on the steel. It's similar to the Kith Heuer's last year, a sort of glossy matt - which I realise makes zero sense... I guess you need to see it in person to understand. Not keen on that, although admittedly the 80/90s watches had a somewhat similar finish.

Lastly the polished crown. Yeah, I don't like it against this steel case. I think it will be less off-putting against the coated and/or poly-light cases that are coming, but since there is no other polishing on the watch it definitely looks a bit out of place. 

Overall then, not bad, but I'm not remotely moved to buy this one. It will be interesting to see how I feel when the red one comes out in September.

Well that concludes this 'On the Wrist' post, but before we go I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has visited the blog over the last eight years and helped get us to 1.5 million views. It's only about eight months since we hit 1M views (back in August 2024) so you can see the blog's popularity has really rocketed in the last year or two, indeed March was the biggest month yet with over 83,000 views! Quite incredible for a blog that only posts about one watch brand I think.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders 2025 by Time & Tide

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer 41mm Day/Date Carreras & GMT

 

Let's be honest, this year's 'Watches and Wonders' was all about the Formula 1 for TAG Heuer. Sure they released a 10 piece limited edition Monaco that barely anyone can afford, even if they actually wanted a white ceramic cased rattrapante that looks like a fight in a candy store... but all eyes were on the worst kept secret in modern watch history, and rightly so.

But while everyone was looking the other way TAG Heuer quietly released a bevy of new 41mm day/date Carreras that while honestly not inspiring that much reaction from me are, of course, still worthy of inspection by the Council. It's a funny thing, the 41mm day/date Carrera, it's kind of seen as a 'lesser' Carrera because historically a Carrera 'should be' a chronograph. Mind you, the same people that say this also generally say at 41mm it's too big and should be 39mm, but... whatever. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph by Bruce Williams

 

FEATURE: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraphs - Pricing

Seems like everybody has an opinion about the pricing of these new Formula 1 Solargraph models, and frankly some of it is plain unrealistic. Unfortunately for TAG Heuer the MoonSwatch set a very low bar when it came to pricing, but at the same time the quality was pretty dismal and when people actually got hands on with them even they were deemed to be 'over-priced'.

Before the new Formula 1s were announced people were talking ridiculous figures, I saw £300 banded about which was a complete joke, no way was TAG Heuer ever going to be selling a Formula 1 of any description for £300. But, said the dolts, at £300 TAG Heuer will clear up, they will sell millions... 

I'm not so sure about that, honestly. The MoonSwatch was a phenomenon, the chances of repeating its success were slim and more likely TAG Heuer would be left with egg on their face and a lot of unsold stock, meanwhile the watches they did sell would likely make very little (if any - bearing in mind selling at scale would definitely involve selling through third parties) profit and that's hardly the business model the Swiss luxury brands aspire to, is it?  

Let's not forget, the MoonSwatch was not an Omega, it was a Swatch. It piggybacked on Omega's popularity sure, and that's what made it such a phenomenon. If TAG owned a 'Swatch' of their own they could pull the same stunt, although I doubt even that would have the same impact (just look at the Blancpain Swatch).

And besides, you may not have noticed but in recent times TAG Heuer have started hiding their 'cheaper' watches at the back of their boutiques, as if they are something to be ashamed of. I can't see them wanting to put £300 watches in their windows, but anyway £300 is completely ludicrous, so let's park that right now.

Adrian Barker recently made a video in which he said that TAG Heuer messed up the pricing and they should have been £600. I disagree. For sure if they were £600 I would already have bought one, but for TAG to achieve that kind of price they would likely have to sell 5 times as many just to make the same profit. Why would you do that? If you're not taking the MoonSwatch route and going so cheap that people would literally wear them for a year and throw them away when the pushers inevitably break off, then there's no point going half way.

 

Yes, I had hoped these would be a bit cheaper, but given that they have the Solargraph movements and therefore there's no need to worry about the battery for 15 years, I think they are priced just about acceptably. And yes, some of them do have polymer cases and bezels, but some of them have black DLC cases, and those are only £100 more, which is a bit of a bargain when you look at pretty much any other black DLC TAG Heuer versus the same model in plain stainless steel.

And look, how could TAG Heuer ever sell a Formula 1 that was less than £1000? In a way I'm amazed they even brought them back at all, given that WIS have been beating TAG Heuer up for making 'cheap plastic watches' for the last forty years... but bringing them back at a lowball price would have made all their other watches look ridiculously overpriced.

Honestly if you want a £300 Formula 1 then I suggest you head to Ebay, there are plenty of them available, but just know that you're buying a 30-35 year old watch and sooner or later it's probably going to need repairing, and if you can't do it yourself you'll probably find it cheaper to throw it away and buy another one. As for me, well I was thinking about buying one of the new red ones, but given I have to wait until September for it to come out I already feel like I've lost interest... so in a way I agree that they messed up the launch, not by pricing them too high, but by not having all nine models ready to go when the buzz hit.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders 2025 by Monochrome Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Rattrapante 'Formula 1 75th Anniversary' Limited Edition

 

When TAG Heuer launched the Monaco Rattrapante last year the media was all over it, meanwhile in the real world all I heard was people grumbling and throwing out comments like... why would I pay £121,000 for that when I could buy an IWC Rattrapante for a tenth of the price. Well, you have to admit it's a good question. After all, the rattrapante complication is nothing genuinely new in the watch world and while the construction of the Monaco may be impressive and high tech, it let itself down in one incredibly important respect. Yes kids, the truth is it's ugly as all hell.

This (alongside the astronomically high asking price) was reflected in the end of year scoring and the Council of Considered Opinion eventually handed the pair of them an embarrassing 4.4/10 (blue) and 4.7/10 (red) respectively, making them the second and third least liked Monacos since the C.O.C.O. began back in 2020 (only the truly hideous Monaco Riviera rated worse!).

VIDEO: Heuer Autavia 7763C by Birth Year Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Watches (Limited Editions)

Okay. The first thing I wanna say is... why? Why are six of the nine 'launch' models limited editions? I don't get it. In fact, it kinda annoys me. When I saw that they were going to redo the black and yellow model I was immediately drawn to that because if anything that's one of the classic 35mm F1s that I regret selling slightly. However, now I see it's a limited edition and I'm like... why? Granted it's not that limited, but the fact that it is means that I will have to negotiate watch industry bullshit if I want one and the chances are that if I don't make up my mind pretty much immediately there's a risk that I won't get a second chance.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders 2025 by Revolution Watch

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph (Standard Models)

As many of you probably know, up until a couple of years ago I had a collection of fifteen of the original 1980s/1990s Formula 1 watches that I eventually decided to sell because a) I developed a taste for Grand Carreras and I needed cash to buy them, b) I felt they were too small for my wrist and c) I was concerned that they were getting old and would cost more to repair than they might be worth. 

Then, having divested myself of all but one (my original 383.513), TAG Heuer teamed up with Kith to produce the KITH Heuer watches and seeing the prices of mint originals rocket, I decided to cash out on that last remaining one, leaving me with no originals for the first time in six years! 

But then it wasn't long before we started hearing rumours about new, larger F1s and then a few months later there was talk of solar movements and now here we are in April 2025 with nine new models announced, albeit only two are actually 'available' straight away with six of the remaining pieces being 'limited editions' that will be released to coincide with certain Grand Prix races throughout the year.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer's 2025 W&W Releases by The Watch Society

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera Panamericana Rallye Limited Edition Tourbillon

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 15th March 2025

When I walked into the Meadowhall boutique a couple of weeks ago it never for one second entered my head that they might have the TAG Heuer x Porsche Carrera Panamerican Rallye Tourbillon in stock. Not for one second! With only 255 pieces worldwide, I figured this would much more likely be found in the flagship Oxford Street store down in London, but after looking at the new blue dial Solargraph I turned around and there it was. Crikey!

I suppose given my surprise I should have been more excited, but honestly I wasn't actually that fussed. Nevertheless I decided I ought to at least have a look and see how it felt to wear a £30,000 Porsche tourbillon on the wrist and, well... yeah. It's okay I guess.

My feelings about the glassbox Carrera are well established by now (which is probably not good for me, because I can imagine there's going to be plenty more of the bloody things and probably starting tomorrow on the first day of Watches & Wonders 2025), at least this one is in the 42mm case so it doesn't look like a child's toy on my 7.1/2" wrist.

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer's New £3500 Bracelet...

 

Well Watches & Wonders has arrived, and with it an absolute avalanche of new TAG Heuer releases (18 in total, can you believe that?) and understandably most of the attention has fallen on the new 38mm Formula 1 Solargraphs, but there were other releases... a bevvy of new 'in-house' Carrera Day/Dates, a rather odd looking teal-dialed Carrera GMT and a very limited edition white ceramic Monaco Rattrapante (which you almost certainly won't be able to afford even if you really wanted one).

As usual, we'll be getting to all these in due course (the Council of Considered Opinion has already begun musing over the non-limited edition Formula 1s), but something caught my eye while perusing the new releases on the TAG Heuer website. 

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List 2016/2017

BUYING EXPERIENCE: Wrist Envy Sailcloth Strap

 

You probably haven't noticed (because why would you), but I am not a fan of aftermarket straps. I know a lot of people are, they see a new release and they can't wait to buy it and switch it out onto ten different straps... (all of which look absolutely terrible to me - especially those suede looking things with the sideways stitches near the lugs, 🤮), but that ain't me. 

No, I tend to think the manufacturers know best and even on the rare occasions when they don't I still think it's best to stick with other straps from the same product/model range, hence I bought the black rubber strap for my Aquaracer WAY208C from TAG Heuer and of course it fits and fills the lugs perfectly.

So with all that said, why on Earth am I talking to you about an aftermarket strap I bought from 'Wrist Envy'? Well, it's a long story... and that story tarts way back in 2019, when I spied this CV2A80 Carrera Calibre 16 in TAG Heuer's Bicester Outlet store.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Midsize Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph & Formula 1 Calibre 16 Chronograph

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 15th March 2025

Just a brief visit to the TAG Heuer boutique today as there really wasn't much new that I hadn't already seen (we're in the calm before the storm period right now, with Watches and Wonders just a week away), but I was interested to see the latest addition to the 40mm Aquaracer Solargraph range with its 'Ice Blue' dial and titanium case and bracelet.

When I first clapped eyes on this latest model it immediately brought to mind the quartz chronograph version that came out back in January 2023. But having seen them side by side I can confidently say that while the chrono version had a definite lilac tint to it, the new version is much more of a pure blue colour (and all the better for it, honestly).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Superdiver Calibre TH30-00 by The 1916 Company

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Kirium Chronometer

Well I guess this had an air of inevitability about it didn't it? Delighted as I was with my last purchase (my Aquaracer Regatta Calibre S, way back in... January) it clearly also reignited a desire in me to finally pick up that WL511A Kirium chronometer I've wanted for I don't know how long. But of course, I couldn't find one and the ones I did find with 'SOLD' on them seemed to go for more than I really wanted to pay... considering, you know, I already have three Kiriums. So, deeply disappointed, I saved my eBay search and waited for the email. 

Well I didn't have to wait long, just a week or two passed and then there it was, looking mighty fine and starting cheap at £199, which would have been awesome, but highly unlikely. So I debated... should I place a bid at £199 to stop anyone using the £400 'BUY IT NOW' feature, or should I just buy it now myself?

VIDEO: TAG Heuer x Porsche Carrera Chronosprint Rallye Limited Edition by Doug FNJ

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer x Porsche Carrera Chronosprint Rallye

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / Milton Keynes, 1st February 2025

On the same day that I got to try on the first three new Formula 1 Calibre 16 Chronographs, I was also able to get my hands on this recent limited edition Porsche Carrera Chronosprint Rallye. Limited to 911 pieces (because, Porsche) and coming in at a hefty £8950 this one costs a notable £900 more than the original (unlimited) Porsche Chronosprint.

Oddly, despite 'knowing' that this is a 42mm model, I still had to check with the guy in the boutique because it just doesn't look it. Once I put it against one of the 39mm models in the case I could see the difference, but even with a bracelet this watch wears nothing like a 42mm. I'm not crazy about the bracelet actually, it looks like a slightly melted version of the old Grand Carrera bracelet and just like those it has no micro adjustment, which is a shame in a watch at this price point. Saying that I've never had a problem with my Grand Carreras just using the half links, so it's probably not a massive dealbreaker. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16 Chronographs by Time & Tide

 

INSTRUCTIONS: TAG Heuer Golf Battery Change

This may sound a little silly, but I've been dreading the day when my Golf needed a battery change... because not only does it have four tiny screws holding down the square caseback, but I was also concerned that once the screws were removed and the backplate was removed, what would happen with the buttons that hold the folding parts of the watch together? Would they just ping out and I'd be left with a mess of parts in a bag to take to my local watch repairman?

Well thankfully no. As you can see they are still held firmly in place, which is logical... but then you can't always assume everything will be okay with watches just because it makes sense in your head. The only problem I actually encountered was that I had never come across a 315 battery before (very thin that one) so it wasn't one I had in stock. I was also slightly confused about the lack of a gasket, but then the watch is only rated to 50M, in other words 'not very waterproof'. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera H01 & H02 Rose Gold Stunners by Swiss Watch Expo

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraphs

TAG Heuer continue to roll out their Aquaracer Solargraphs with two new pieces, a dusky pink 34mm and an 'Ice Blue' 40mm. You may remember that TAG Heuer released an 'Ice Blue' quartz chronograph a couple of years ago (actually I thought they had been discontinued, but the mid-blue and ice blue versions are still available on the TH website; oddly it was the silver and black dial models that were deleted) and this looks like the sun-powered, three handed version of that. 

From the pictures we've seen so far though, this looks like it might be the first coloured-dial Solargraph that actually looks better than it's non-solar equivalent. The chronograph had a definite lilac edge to it in person, whereas this looks like more of a pure blue. I hope so anyway, I guess we'll have to wait until it hits the stores to be sure. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox Panda by Bruce Williams

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronographs

 

TAG Heuer Boutique, Milton Keynes 1st February 2025

As I've said before, one of the things I truly love about TAG Heuer is that periodically they re-invent their products, which keeps things fresh and exciting... but doesn't always work for you. So it was with a little apprehension that I headed into the TAG Heuer boutique to try on the brand new Calibre 16 Formula 1 chronographs. After all, this was a big change in design and while I liked the photos I saw, we're all aware by now that the only way to 'know for sure' is to get them on the wrist.

I didn't honestly expect the Milton Keynes boutique to have all five models, and indeed neither the blue or the lime green/yellow (we really can't be sure yet) were available. In fact it seems like both of those watches are 'coming soon' and I was told that the blue one will only be sold in the UK via Beaverbrooks and Beaverbrooks owned TAG Heuer boutiques, while the yellow/lime green one will only be sold by Goldsmith/WOS/WOS owned TAG Heuer boutiques. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Bright Black Edition Smartwatch by A Blog ToWatch

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: Watches of Switzerland Exclusive Formula 1s

Hard to believe but back in 2016 TAG Heuer launched the first Max Verstappen limited edition Formula 1 chronograph to celebrate the Dutchman's very first win. Kinda crazy when you think about that, eh, it's almost like they KNEW he was going to be the next Lewis Hamilton. I mean who the hell gets a watch to celebrate their first win? Their first WDC maybe... but for whatever reason (could it be Max's huge and vociferous Dutch fanbase?) TAG Heuer decided a run of 500 would be a good way to turn a quick buck and as far as I can tell they pretty much never saw the inside of a shop window.

Since 2019 (at least) TAG Heuer have been selling the CAZ1014 paired with the bright orange FT8028 strap that came on Max's CAZ101B and more recently I noticed they've also been selling the WAZ1010 on that same strap too. Maybe they've been selling it for a while and I just haven't come across it, but that's not really important because everything I've said so far is only to serve as preamble to (and to slightly pad out, let's be honest) what promises to be quite a short post... 

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List 2018/2019

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer x Hodinkee Carrera 'Seafarer' Calibre TH20-00 Limited Edition Chronograph

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 30th November 2024 

I'll be completely honest... when the Hodinkee Seafarer was announced I didn't want to like it. 'Here we go,' I thought, another bloody vintage-inspired Carrera that's guaranteed to find favour with the Council of Considered Opinion... and a dead cert for the Watch of the Year! 

And yet, to my immense surprise, it turned out not to be as popular with the Council as I presumed it would and as we all now know the Seafarer ultimately lost out to the 'Time & Tide' Limited Edition Aquaracer. Praise be; finally a WOTY that wasn't a Carrera... and a solar quartz at that!

I know. As the organiser I really should be more 'neutral' shouldn't I? And I can't pretend I wasn't happy when the Time & Tide Aquaracer took the crown, but clearly my influence has little to no effect, you only have to look at the previous years' results to see that!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 6000 Series Copper Dial Chronometer by Birth Year Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Diamond Dial Carreras

And so we come to the final four watches that were released at the '2025 LVMH Watch Week'. We've already looked at the five new Formula 1 Calibre 16 chronographs, the latest iterations of the Porsche Chronosprint glassbox and most recently the purple glass box chronograph and tourbillon, so now it's the turn of these four, umm... Carreras.

Now, some time ago I gave the illustrious 'Council' the choice to opt 'in' or 'out' of voting on women's watches, because I noticed that some members routinely gave everything a four (unless it was truly heinous) and I just thought it was better to give them the option to 'ignore' them rather than drag the scores down because they just weren't interested.

But the problem is you see, with women's watches getting bigger, and men's watches getting smaller, it's getting harder and harder to define what is a man's watch and what is a woman's watch. In the past it was clear; 27mm with diamonds and a mother of pearl dial, clearly for ladies... 43mm with a rubber strap that looks like a tyre tread; clearly for men. Simples!

SPOTLIGHT ON: GrandPrixWatches.com

 

I was recently contacted by Daniel from GrandPrixWatches.com about doing an interview for his website, which I was more than happy to do. Daniel has combined his passions to create GrandPrixWatches.com which he's billing as a 'Historical Resource for Formula 1 and Moto GP Watches'. I know some of you watch enthusiasts out there love the connection to F1 (in particular) so I'm sure you will find some interesting reading there.. there's certainly a lot of brands that I've never heard of before! 

Click the image at the top of the page to visit GRANDPRIXWATCHES.COM 

Or click the link below to read my interview.

https://www.grandprixwatches.com/2025/02/tag-heuer-enthusiast-interview-with-rob-aqua-g/

HISTORY: TAG Heuer Airline

Quite a short 'History' post for the Heuer/TAG Heuer Airline as there are only six watches in total. The Airline first appears in the 1985 (and penultimate) Heuer catalogue, with four models displayed. These appear again in the 1985-1986 catalogue and finally all six appear in the 1987-1988 catalogue (with TAG Heuer branded dials). 

I always liked the look of these, especially the cool black and gold version but once I realised that they were only available in mid-size (35mm) I reluctantly accepted that I was never going to own one. One thing I love about these is the wacky printed bracelets with the major cities and the time difference, I mean... talk about avant garde! 

Confusingly, only two of the original four Heuer models have 'GMT' bezels even though they all have GMT hands. So in the 1987-1988 catalogue TAG Heuer introduce 'GMT' versions of the watches that didn't have them before. These are then given a suffix 'GMT' which suggests all the others aren't... even though they are. 

All models are quartz powered.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Limited Edition by Monochrome Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Purple Dial' Glassbox & Tourbillon Chronographs

As the owner of a beautiful 'plum-wine-purpley/red-never-quite-sure-what-to-call-it' Kirium I am very open to unusual dial colours like these, and honestly this is the first time I've looked at one of these 39mm glassbox Carreras and not dismissed it as irrelevant. In fact, I think I actually quite like this one...!

Believe me, no one is more surprised than me, but there's something about the elegant purple dial and the domed crystal; it just looks like it was meant to be. Moser-ish even. Sure it looks kinda 'feminine', but not so much that I wouldn't want to wear it. I mean, I wouldn't want to wear it because these 39mm Carreras are too small for my wrist, but for the first time I'm looking at this and actually thinking it would be cool if they made it in a bigger size.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M by Bruce Williams

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer x Porsche Carrera Chronosprint Rallye

 

Before I start this post, I just want to apologize in advance to anyone who gets irritated by my use of the words Rally and Rallye... I tried to clarify which means what but it's very confusing. I figured maybe it's 'Rally Straps' but then I found loads of perforated straps called 'Rallye Straps'. Google AI suggests 'Rallye' indicates a motor race rather than a political 'Rally', but then elsewhere it's suggested that 'Rallye' is the plural of 'Rally' or indeed it might just be the French way of spelling 'Rally' (which obviously makes it sound much more luxurious). Anyway, sorry 'bout that...!

Believe it or not, someone on the THF Forum has already backed the Porsche Chronosprint Rallye for the '2025 COCO Watch of the Year'! Quite a statement when we're barely a third of the way through February... but let us not forget that the very first release of 2023 was the Carrera 60th Anniversary Panda, which absolutely annihilated the competition on its way to securing the crown.

But then the 'Panda' was always going to be a sure fire winner, which is precisely why it was the last of the old style 'glassbox' Carreras... and honestly why it was strange that it was one of the first new style 'glassbox' Carreras. After all, the watch industry very much operates on a policy of 'never quite give the people what they want because we might be able to sell them something else in the meantime'. 

Once you give them what they want, the theory goes, the customer is satisfied and will stop buying. Well, I don't know about that... most watch collectors will tend to find something 'else' they want regardless, but I suppose the principle is sound. 

Anyhoo... following on from my 'Top 10 TAG Heuer x Porsche' watch post a few weeks back, here we have two more to add to the collection... if they are in contention for the WOTY come December I wonder which one will come out on top, or will they split the vote allowing something else to sneak past like some sort of horological Kimi Raikkonnen. 🤣

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List 2019-2020

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer 2000 Series 244.006 Quartz Watch

It's funny, I don't really look at eBay very often these days, but every now and then I click on one of those emails they send you heralding '327 new TAG Heuers' and occasionally it throws up something interesting. Of course, every third listing is suspicious as all hell, but now that eBay are utilising the wonderful and totally infallible 'AI' to check listings I guess we can all sleep safe in our beds.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  

Sorry, I can't help it. Ebay is a complete joke and I would love to know exactly how 'AI' is checking the authenticity of listings? How is it programmed to do that? I mean, it's probably no more completely useless than a real person who doesn't know their arse from their elbow - but I guess they can now point to using 'AI' and everyone will be reassured. 

Jesus Christ. I'm glad my eBay days are largely behind me. But anyway...

VIDEO: How to Set the Time on a TAG Heuer F1 Kirium by OBR Horology

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16 Chronographs

 

Over the last few years it has become painfully obvious that TAG Heuer's 'Formula 1' range was starting to get a little tired. The current WAZ/CAZ case was introduced way back in 2015, and while there have been numerous updates and minor refreshes it really was starting to feel like it needed a proper overhaul. Last year's collaboration with the American clothing brand 'Kith' caused a whole lot of interest in the 'classic' Formula 1 and it feels like TAG Heuer have jumped at the opportunity to update with a new 'classic' 38mm three handed Solargraph expected at April's Watches & Wonders alongside this line up of Calibre 16 chronographs which was revealed about ten days ago.

While I did praise last year's Calibre 16 F1 chronographs as nice looking watches, the truth is they were incredibly safe and simply didn't have that certain something 'extra' to make them a 'must-buy' rather than another 'nice' watch in a sea of 'nice' watches. Thankfully it seems TAG Heuer have taken the plunge and produced something genuinely new here, which is absolutely to be applauded. After all the watch world is absolutely drowning in 'heritage' this and 'vintage' that and the Formula 1 was never supposed to be anything but fresh and forward looking. 

Yes, I know... the irony!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 Quartz Chronograph by Random Rob

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S Regatta Chronograph

 

While it's a noble endeavour of mine to try to turn my rather large collection of (mostly) cheaper TAG Heuers into a smaller collection of 'less cheaper' TAG Heuers, it does rather take the fun out of the experience. Sure I was a little slow to cotton on to the fact that watches are not inanimate objects and they are liable to break and need repairing, but sometimes I really miss those heady days of 2019-2022 when every other month brought at least one new Ebay bargain to my door. Sigh...

Now, having sold approximately half of my collection, I have used most of that money to buy some nicer watches like my Grand Carrera Caliper Calibre 36, my Grand Carrera Chronograph Calibre 17, my SLR Calibre S and my Aquaracer Solargraph and I don't regret doing that, however I still get the urge to buy 'something cheaper' now and again. Truthfully, spending big money* on watches is still not something I am really comfortable doing, and since I only really like one watch brand most of the things I end up looking at are usually variations of things I already own or things that are still a bit out of my comfort-zone price-wise, even when pre-owned.

*My idea of 'big money' being anything over £2000 honestly...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16 2025 Chronographs by Monochrome Watches

 

NB: The video states there are four new Calibre 16 Formula 1s, but actually there are five. There is also another DLC coated model with lime yellow highlights.

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Las Vegas' Monaco Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 30th November 2024 

Another fruitful visit to the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield on this November morning, not only did I get to try on this 'Las Vegas' Monaco and the Porsche 963 Extreme Sports Carrera, but I also got to handle the limited edition Hodinkee Carrera Seafarer. More on that another time though... today we will concentrate on this DLC coated Monaco, and well if you've tried on any recent black Monaco you'll have a good idea how this wears.

COMMENT MODERATION ACTIVATED!

Apologies for having to do this but I've had to activate 'Comment Moderation'. Thanks to AI and BOTS I'm getting a lot of spam comments which wouldn't matter so much, but Blogger insist I delete any comment that has a link in it. So it's going to be a lot easier for me to just moderate comments in future. This may cause a delay in your comment being published in some instances, but please keep them coming.

Rob / Aqua-G

SPOTLIGHT ON: Another Ridiculous eBay Fake!

Just a little post today in lieu of a video... I reported the above 'Monaco 24' to eBay on Thursday and as usual they 'looked into it' and reported back to me that they found nothing in the listing that contravened their guidelines. I mean.... come on. It's not even difficult to see, is it? TAG Heuer have never even made a white dial Monaco 24 and even if they had it sure as hell would never have looked anything like this.

The only silver lining here is that the watch has a starting price of £3000. So if someone is actually gullible enough to purchase this (and it now has a bid!), then presumably eBay's 'hands on' authenticity checks will intervene. I mean, fancy being an authenticity checker and opening a box with this inside. You'd p*ss yourself laughing wouldn't you?  

FEATURE: TAG Heuer x Porsche - The Collaboration Watches (2021-2024)

 

You know, it really doesn't seem five minutes since TAG Heuer announced they were teaming up with Porsche, and already we're four years into this partnership with ten references on the books! How did that happen? Oh well...never mind. The great thing is that because all these watches have been scored by the COCO council previously we have all the info we need to do a top ten countdown! 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer SLR Calibre S Laptimer by Luxury Works

 

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List (January 2025)

 

Sometimes luck just isn't on your side... as you'll know if you read my previous post, I managed to delete the Word document I use for these price lists so I had to type the whole thing out again and then just as I finished it someone told me the prices had gone up! So annoying. Anyway, it's done now!

Aside from the previously discussed price rises (massive rises in the RRPs of all the tourbillon models and up to 47% on some pieces!) the main points to note from this snapshot of the TAG Heuer collection are the deletion of the KITH Heuer Formula 1s, all of which are now sold out and the fact that the Monaco Rattrapante's have changed from being listed at £121,000 to being 'Price on Application'. My guess is no one was biting at that price and it's perhaps not surprising when you think what else you can buy for that kind of money.

Also, the entire Monaco range has remained static on price, which perhaps tells us something... and finally the Autavia has disappeared again. Will it return (and in what form)? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

New items are coloured red, price increases are blue, price decreases are green (never had that before!) and anything else is left black.

You can click on each page to get a larger view, or even better open each image in a new tab.

TO VIEW PREVIOUS PRICE LISTS CLICK HERE 

(OR VISIT THE PRICE LIST TAB)

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Blue Dial Aquaracers by Brent Miller Time

SPOTLIGHT ON: Latest Additions to the Bicester Village Stock List

 

It's been a little while since I did one of these posts, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of what is currently available from the Bicester Village outlet... apologies to readers from outside the UK as this is obviously a little irrelevant to you.

I really used to love visiting the Bicester outlet before the pandemic, it was always exciting to see what weird and wonderful new pieces had been found in Swiss cupboards and to chat with Even, Tom and Liam. I got to see so many cool limited editions on my various visits, Monaco 24's, mother of pearl dial Calibre 16 Carreras, even a shark dial Aquaracer! Sadly these days the stock is a little more generic, but there are still interesting things to be found... it's just that the good stuff tends to come and go rather quickly, so it's pot luck what you see when you get there.

I'm sure some of you are aware, but if you aren't already it is possible to request a link to the outlet's WhatsApp list which will keep you up to date with the latest stock. All you need to do is contact Evan at Bicester Village (01869 249008) and request to be put on the list, and don't worry if you don't live near Bicester or Cheshire Oaks as they can send watches anywhere in the UK.

As always, there is limited stock and some of the deals are better than others, but I know in the past I've picked up some very nice watches from Bicester (most recently my wife's black and gold ceramic Aquaracer WAY1355) at extremely reasonable prices. The great thing about buying direct from the brand is that you can be sure that you're getting a genuine product and of course you still get your 2 or 5 year warranty (depending on the movement).

Okay, let's take a look at a few of their current offerings... and this really is only a snapshot of what's available, when I last looked there were 97 different watches listed; so well worth a look I think!

FEATURE: The Era of the Affordable Tourbillon is OVER!

Welcome dear readers and, well... a bit of a last minute change to the scheduled programming today. By rights you should be reading about a very old Heuer 2000 Series I spotted on eBay the other day, but that's going to have to wait... because today we have something far more interesting to talk about.

As you probably know by now, every six months I trawl the UK TAG Heuer website and produce a price list which you can access HERE or by clicking on the 'Price Lists' tab at the top of the page. While it's mildly interesting to keep track of the prices, the real purpose of these 'price lists' is to provide a snapshot of what's available at any given time to future historians. I mean if someone had been doing this since 1986 my life would have been one whole hell of a lot easier these last eight years, I can tell you!

But I digress...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Green Dial Aquaracers by Brent Miller Time

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Porsche 963' Calibre TH20-00 Limited Edition Chronograph

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 30th November 2024 

Way back in September last year (IIRC) I visited the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall Centre only to find I'd missed the Carrera Extreme Sports Porsche 963 by a mere 48 hours. So I was pleasantly surprised to find it had come back into stock on my last visit... especially as we know it is limited to just 963 pieces worldwide. 

As I've mentioned previously, I find myself rather perturbed by this new Carrera line. On the face of it the daring, avant garde designs should be right up my alley, but somehow I find them a little hard to warm to. At least partly to blame are the strange looking rubber straps, with this faux integrated look that while admittedly practical, also feels very 'faux' indeed.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Skipper Chronograph by Harrison Elmore

FEATURE: Keeping Track of Wrist Time 2024

 

Happy New Year to all my readers! I hope you've all enjoyed the break (if you're lucky enough to get a break at Christmas of course) and you're ready to start another year of TAG Heuer enthusiasm with me?

So, obviously, it's that time again... where I reveal the REAL winners and losers of 2024. 🤣

I'm talking of course about which watches spent the most (and least) time on my wrist, and this year it's safe to say it was a bit of a walkover...