BUYING EXPERIENCE: BT0702 Strap for 2000 Series (WK1110)

As detailed in the previous post, I really struggled with the bracelet on my 2000 Series WK1110 and decided to purchase a rubber strap. As with everything these days, my first port of call was the internet and with some difficulty I managed to find some available at widely varying prices (£90 - £300), though whether they were all genuine TAG Heuer products is open to question.

In the end I elected to buy from an AD and rang Goldsmiths in Leicester. The price was £140, but at least I knew I wasn't buying some Chinese knock off that was going to give me a rash up to my elbow. A few weeks later I received a call and went to pick up my strap. The guy in the shop took my watch away and then came back with it on the most hideous strap I've ever seen in my life and one which clearly did not belong on the WK1110, nor did it fit. Not only that but the strap was covered in a sort of white powder which I presume was where the strap had reacted with something, or was just so old that it was oxidizing.

Frankly, while it was a little bit annoying that they had ordered in a BT0207 strap rather than a BT0702 by mistake, it was far more annoying that the guy thought it looked fine and that he was happy to present a strap in such a poor state to me and charge me £140 for it. In the event I didn't need to address the issue of the condition, because it was the wrong strap anyway. He didn't look too happy when I told him that either!

Thankfully when the correct strap did finally arrive it was without blemish and fitted perfectly and looked fantastic. Sure it was expensive, but the branding on both pieces of the strap and the clasp really made it look the business.

OWNED: 2000 Series Quartz Watch (WK1110)

Following the sale of my WE1210-R to my friend, I moved on to another eBay purchase for a daily beater. As I have only recently sold this on eBay I still have the photos I used in my listing, which is handy. 

This one was a bit more expensive, I think I paid about £350 for it, which I thought wasn't bad considering the condition and the fact that it came with all the boxes and paperwork. The WK1110 measured 38mm which (at least to start with) satisfied my need for a larger watch.

Although the face was slightly larger, right from the start I struggled with the bracelet. I bought extra links off eBay, but it seemed no matter what I did I could not get it comfortable on my wrist. The clasp always seemed to dig in to me, almost as though it was curved to fit a smaller wrist. I don't know if that is true, I don't think it is, but that's how it seemed at the time. After a few weeks of struggle I saw a photo on the Calibre 11 forum where someone had purchased an aftermarket TAG strap and I thought it made a huge (and very positive) difference to the appearance of the watch and decided to get one myself. Thus began a very frustrating experience with Goldsmiths which I will write about in another post.

Once I'd got the rubber strap my feelings towards the watch really changed, on the rubber it was comfortable and looked so much better. Actually that's probably a bit unfair, I really liked the look of the bracelet and I wish I could have made it fit properly, but obviously the frustration of never being able to wear it comfortably takes it's toll.

The watch had a gorgeous black face and I often found myself looking at it and constantly wiping the flawless sapphire crystal. Admittedly like the WE1210-R age (and size) was a factor when it came to the lume performance, although to be fair I have been somewhat spoiled by the Aquagraph which shines like a beacon (at least for a short while), The bezel still functioned correctly, albeit there was a small amount of play (something which I really noticed when I bought my F1 as a replacement which is rock solid).

I really loved the way the strap fitted, filling in all the gaps between the lugs. It's obvious that this strap was made for this watch, although at £140 the price was somewhat eye-watering! I thought it was worth it though, as it made the watch look a million dollars and made (for me) an almost unwearable watch as comfortable as could be.

I kept the watch about a year and never had a problem with it, the battery never needed changing while I had it and it seemed to keep time extremely well. I did genuinely think it was a very handsome watch, but over time I started to feel it was a little small for me still. This probably wasn't helped by the fact that I started to lust after the 45mm Carrera Heuer 01, and so every time I went into a jewellers to try that on I would put my WK1110 back on and think it looked rather feeble.

And so ultimately I decided to sell the watch, I still loved it but the size issue became more and more of a problem for me and so it had to go. I managed to sell for £375, and so I guess the watch cost me about £115 over the time I had it.