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Instagram @ thingziliketoo

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 1000 Series 844/5 Automatic Watch by Thingz I Like Too

Instagram @ thingziliketoo

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 1000 Series 844/5 Automatic Watch by Thingz I Like Too

Instagram @ thingziliketoo

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SPOTLIGHT ON: Suspicious Number of Excellent Condition TAG Heuer 1000 Divers on Ebay

Browsing eBay lately I've noticed a suspiciously high number of excellent condition 1000 Series TAG Heuer divers. The one above seems an overly bright red, which is a red flag, but they also seem to be coming in blue, black and two tone.

I would be very wary of buying any of these watches to be honest, however attractive they might be.

These all seem to be coming from Germany and Austria, and seem to be selling, which is not surprising because the prices are way lower than you'd expect. Most of these are starting around £200, which given that we know a 'genuine' red 1000 sold for over £1000 not that long ago, is pretty odd!

It makes sense for a fake-maker to take a basic model and produce different colour versions of the same basic watch, that is after all what the watch makers themselves do, but it does help the buyer spot the pattern when there's so many on eBay at once. I wonder then, are the buyers being duped or are they knowingly buying fakes because they think they look nice and they are cheap?

VIDEO: Underappreciated Greats of Watchmaking: The 1980s by Armand the Watch Guy (featuring TAG Heuer Dive Watches)

TAG Heuer element starts at 14:28

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 1000 Series Quartz Full Lume Dial Divers Watch

SPOTLIGHT ON: Ladies TAG Heuer 1000 Series Watch

980.028N

Now that my wife's collection is growing nicely, I can tell she's fighting the urge to buy watches left right and centre. I found this one on eBay for just £159 yesterday, but with only 34 minutes left to go. I actually showed it to my wife because I expected her to screw up her nose like she usually does with anything two-tone, but to my absolute surprise she looked at it and said, "Well, that's... actually quite nice!". You could have knocked me down with a feather...

Ultimately my wife didn't want to rush into another purchase after already spending £270 on an Alter Ego (she's not quite as profligate as me... yet!) so she passed, but I'm looking out to see if it gets relisted all the same.

It may not be fashionable to admit it, but I kinda like the older black and gold TAGs. You may remember I talked about a black and gold S/EL the other day, and if that had been a full bracelet instead of a leather strap I think I would have been hard pressed to restrain myself...

But there is a degree of 'patina' when you buy these older watches, which you have to be prepared for. The gold on the bezel looks great (as do the hands I notice), but the bracelet and clasp look a little rough. I'm not very well versed in the care and upkeep of gold, so I'm not sure what could be done to restore the pristine look, but given that TAG's 80s watches are notoriously thin on the gold plating, you wouldn't want to be rubbing it too hard I don't think.

When you're collecting watches, it's classic pieces like this that can give you something fresh in the collection without breaking the bank. For us chaps there is the hurdle that watches from the 80s tended to be a good bit smaller back then, but while women's sizes may have increased too, most women wouldn't turn up their nose at a smaller piece the way a lot of men do. Honestly, I wish I could wear 35mm because there would be a lot out there for me, but at 17 Stone and with a 7.3/4" wrist - I really can't.

I'm sure if I look through the catalogues there'll be a man-size(ish) version of this, but you can bet your bottom dollar that if you can find one it won't be available for £169... which is annoying - but for the discerning lady watch collector it really is a buyers market (at least from what I've seen). I wouldn't be surprised if this watch doesn't re-appear on eBay* sometime soon and I wouldn't be surprised if my wife snaps it up either. She's definitely got the bug now...

I think a lot could depend on how well the Alter Ego bracelet goes, if it comes back looking better than she hoped I think that will give her a lot of confidence going forward that she can buy watches pre-owned and get them looking nice again without spending a fortune. We shall see...

*The watch has indeed been relisted at the same selling price.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Womens-TAG-HEUER-1000-Quartz-Watch-28mm-Black-Dial-Date-WR-200M-/253769936185?oid=253752412943

SPOTLIGHT ON: An Instagram Worth Looking at if You Like 1000 Series Divers

980.913N

You may remember THIS POST where I wrote about an eBay sale for this gorgeous red dial 1000 Series. Well the new owner left me a message thanking me for the post and inviting me to view his Instagram page, which features some great pictures of 1000 Series Heuers and TAG Heuers. 

I've just noticed that the 'damage' to the top left lug seen in the eBay pictures is gone, so maybe it was just a reflection then?

I get the feeling Jose is slightly obsessed, but still, it's a pretty impressive collection! :)

INSTAGRAM - Batmandeslolar

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer 1000 Series Diver 980.913N

980.913N

Way back when I started my gallery blog, I spent many an hour trawling through websites and catalogues trying to find as many TAGs as possible, and one which caught my eye at the time was this beautiful red bezel, red dial 1000 Series diver. 

Not that I've been seriously looking, but I've not come across one of these since, until a week or so ago when one came up on eBay. All these photographs are from the listing for that watch which eventually sold for a tidy £800. 

I contacted the owner (Terry) because there was no mention of size, and I was really hoping it would be at least 40mm... Terry kindly sent me a couple of pictures of the watch next to a rule, but these only confirmed my fears that the watch was a little on the small side for my 7.75" wrist. It looks to be about 36mm to me, much too small for me unfortunately. 38mm really is my absolute limit. I must admit I was a little bit gutted.

Overall the watch looks in great condition, but there are a couple of places where there is some wear, the most noticeable of these being just above the bezel on the top left lug. I think I could have got over that if the watch had been 40mm, but sadly it seems like this is one of those watches I will have to admire from afar.

Terry owned the watch from new, he bought it in August 1991 from Mappin & Webb in Selfridges, London. The watch was sold with the original boxes, booklets and the receipt. It also came with the full original bracelet (including spare links) and Terry says the watch has never been touched save for battery changes (done by TAG stockists, and while he worked in London, at Harrods).

The watch also came with a 95 page TAG Heuer catalogue from the period which showed the watch, which is always a nice thing to have. Terry said he had considered selling the catalogue separately, and I kind of wished he had because I would definitely have been interested in that, but in the end he decided to include it in the watch sale, which is fair enough I guess.

I never asked Terry how much he originally paid for the watch, I notice he photographed the receipt but framed it so the price wasn't visible. Thinking about it, it's entirely possible that he might have owned the watch for 26 years and then sold the watch for more than he paid for it, if so what a result!

But at the same time I think £800 is a result for the buyer too, as they are getting a rare and beautiful early TAG Heuer 200m diver for less than the price of a modern Formula One quartz. 

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