As promised, here is the second 'quarterly' round up. As it's a bit late I've included July releases in it too, well honestly I included everything I knew about and only when I finished I realised that I should have stopped at the end of Jun. Oh well, never mind.... there's certainly a lot more to talk about this time than last time anyway!
I'm undecided at the moment but I may switch to monthly release reports as from August to keep it a little more up to date.
FORMULA 1
Okay, let's begin by looking at the latest Formula 1s, and the first thing you'll probably notice is that all nine of them are limited editions. Which is a bit silly really, but to be honest given the numbers produced of some of these it's probably best to just ignore that because it's probably no different than a lot of standard models (I believe my orange dial F1 was originally supposed to be a limited edition of 4000pcs but when it came out it was just a standard model. I could quite believe there are 4000 of them though).
We've already looked at most of these, but the Gulf and Goodwood chronographs are new and also that bright orange F1 solargraph has literally just come out (actually maybe not even out, it was discovered on the GPGH website, just like the Astronomer last year - still haven't seen one of those in person!).
As someone who used to own the classic version of that watch I must say it does tweak the old nipples slightly, but I can't help wondering if all those oranges will match (strap, second hand, dial ring and bezel), my gut says they won't and I bet the strap doesn't burn your retinas like the old one did either (but I bet it's a lot nicer on the wrist, these new rubber straps are bloody lush compared to the old ones).
The Gulf Chrono I'm not so sure about, again I haven't seen one in person yet (actually haven't been to a boutique for a while) and it may be better in the flesh. But in pictures it looks a bit messy and it could really have done with some more lume on those hands, it looks like it's really hard to read the time
The Goodwood chronograph looks nice enough, but it looks a bit underwhelming given the amount of work they put into last year's Carrera, which looked truly unique and unusual.
WBY111C.BA0042: 38mm Solargraph (1500 piece limited edition)
WBY111B.BA0042: 38mm Solargraph (1000 piece limited edition)
WBY111H.FT8128: 38mm Solargraph (1500 piece limited edition)
CAZ201K.BA0876: 44mm Calibre 16 (Goodwood Limited Edition 500pcs)
CBZ208B.BF0009: 44mm Calibre 16 (Gulf Special Edition 1000pcs)
WBY111G,BA0042: 38mm Solargraph (Indy 500 Limited Edition 1110pcs)
WBY1164.FT8114: 38mm Solargraph (Limited Edition 3500pcs)
WBY1165.FT8115: 38mm Solargraph (Limited Edition 2500pcs)
AQUARACER
Again most of these have been spoken about previously, the only one that hasn't is perhaps the most interesting of the lot. The red dial one you can see in the middle there is the 'Horobox' limited edition and is one of just fifty pieces. I think that is pretty nice, much better than that dreadful red fumé Aquaracer they made previously. But that 'jewel' red wave dial will, I'm sure, be divisive.
WBP141E.BA0049: 28mm Solargraph, blue dial with diamonds
WBP141G.BA0049: 28mm Solargraph, black dial with diamonds
WBP141H.BA0049: 28mm Solargraph, mother of pearl dial with diamonds
WBP141J.BA0049: 28mm Solargraph, Mother of Pearl dial, diamond bezel/hour markers
WBP1326.BB0004: 34mm Solargraph, Mother of Pearl dial, two tone with diamonds
WBP1422.BB0006: 28mm Solargraph, Mother of Pearl dial, two tone with diamonds
WBP5119.BA0013: 42mm Calibre TH31-00 COSC (Horobox LE 50pcs)
WBP1190.BZ0003: 40mm Solargraph, black dial, gold indices, titanium case/bracelet
WBP5183.BF0010: 42mm Calibre TH30-00 COSC, Superdiver LE 1500pcs
WBP5182.BF0010: 42mm Calibre TH30-00 COSC, Superdiver LE 1500pcs
WBP1117.BA0047: 40mm Solargraph, blue dial, steel case, bezel and bracelet
WBP1118.BA0047: 40mm Solargraph, green dial, steel case, bezel and bracelet
MONACO
Perhaps the most controversial release of 2026 is the CDW2181 (such a memorable, snappy part number for an important watch) or the new 'Steve McQueen'. TAG Heuer finally gave the Monaco lover a squarer, more authentically shaped case and an in-house (left hand crown) movement... but then slapped a TAG Heuer logo on it. While I can understand TAG Heuer wanting to kill the Heuer name and just be 'TAG Heuer' they've messed about so much over the years and in eighteen months (when they get another CEO) they'll probably change their mind again, so whatever.
We also saw the clever new 'Evergraph' which replaces half the parts in the movement with a piece of silicon but then costs twice as much, which is 'progress' I guess, and finally we had the Speed 12, which the C.O.C.O. has already scored so I will probably do a stand alone post about that sometime soon.
CDW2150.FC8360: 39mm Calibre TH20-11, black dial, two tone titanium case, leather strap
CDW2181.FC8360: 39mm Calibre TH20-11, blue dial, titanium case, leather strap
CDW2180.FC8360: 39mm, Calibre TH20-11, green dial, titanium case, leather strap
CEW5180.FT8122: 40mm Evergraph, skeleton dial, DLC titanium case, textile strap
WDW2180.FT8133: 40mm Speed 12, skeleton/piston dial, titanium case, textile case
CARRERA
A real bunch of weird Carreras here. The Japanese 'Cherry Blossom' watches have already been covered (as has the Miami GP tourbillon, sort of) but the rest are pretty new. Pick of the bunch is probably the limited edition 'Thailand' Dato (which at first glance looks like it's wearing the strap from the Porsche America Tourbillon, but of course it wouldn't fit as the cases are different sizes). That blue dial is really stunning and the yellow and silver highlights on the watch and strap really work.
The 'Sand' limited edition looks a bit dull in this render but photographs suggest it might look rather nice in person, but the Australian tourbillon, I really can't see that looking any better, honestly and the Korean special edition is kinda meh too. Reminds me of endless similar WAS Carreras I used to see clogging up the shelves at Bicester Village back in the day, but if you like Longines then at least TAG Heuer finally has something for you, I guess.
Finally we have the USA 250th Anniversary watches, which are reasonably tasteful all things considered. But I think those stars around the bezel not lining up would bug me, what a shame there aren't sixty states, that would have been so much tidier!
CBS221H.FC8366: 39mm, Calibre TH20-00 (Sand Limited Edition 500pcs)
CBS221K.FC8368: 39mm, Calibre TH20-07 (Thailand Limited Edition 90pcs)
CBS501C.FC6626: 42mm, Calibre TH20-09 COSC (Australian LE 19pcs)
CBU5088.EB0432: 45mm, skeleton dial tourbillon (Miami GP Limited Edition 30pcs)
WBN231H.BA0001: 36mm, Calibre 7 (USA 250th Anniversary Limited Edition 50pcs)
CBN201R.BA0642: 42mm Calibre TH20-00 (USA 250th Anniversary Limited Edition 250pcs)
WBN231F.BA0001: 36mm Calibre 5 (Japanese Limited Edition 150pcs)
WDA2116.BA0043: 41mm Calibre TH31-02 (Japanese Limited Edition 200pcs)
WBN2019.BA0640: 41mm Calibre 5, white dial (Korean Special Edition)
Okay, that's it from me today. Now that it's cooled down a little and I'm actually able to wear a watch again I feel a little more positive about things, so hopefully the blog won't get too stagnant and I'll try to keep the posts coming as often as I can.
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