VIDEO: Which Orange Diver - Breitling V TAG Heuer by Brent Miller Time

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 2021 Collection by World Tempus

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 v Rolex Submariner 124060 Lume Comparison and Review by RG Videos

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Quartz Review by Random Rob

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 Watch

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M Crown and Tube Replacement

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M Review by iReviewWatches

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M Review by iReviewWatches

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M with Full Lume Dial

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Steffans, Northampton / 15th May 2018

Wes at Steffans is a very nice man, twice in the last two weeks I've been in there and asked him to put links into bracelets for me and twice he's refused payment. He doesn't know I'm blogging about him either, so I'm very impressed. Of course this is how service should be, but I've been charged in Goldsmiths before now - not that I object, in fact if I want a service then I should pay for it, especially if I haven't bought the watch there, which is why I offered to pay, but Wes wouldn't take my money, so thumbs up to Wes at Steffans.

Now, on to the watch. I saw a photo of this at Baselworld and it caught my attention, but the photo didn't show the true extent of the lume. In the photo the lume appeared two different colours, but what it didn't show was that the entire dial is actually lumed.

And indeed the bezel, which I don't think we've seen on a TAG before, at least not recently.

The dial is interesting, because despite appearing white in the pictures it is definitely a light silver colour (which may be to do with the lume?), at first I was slightly disappointed about that but on reflection it maybe softens the monochrome scheme a little bit. 

The watch is 43mm in diameter, but it's quite thin and with the black case playing its usual tricks you could be forgiven for thinking it was 41mm. The strap wasn't sized for me, so I'm a little nervous of the deployment clasp as it looks like being the kind that I usually have trouble with. The strap itself is very smart though, and I imagine it will be fine for everyone else.

Interestingly, Wes told me that when he was at Baselworld he was shown a picture of a prototype which came on the the black nylon strap similar to the one on the Phantom Aquaracer from a couple of years ago. I can imagine that probably looked quite good as well...

Price for this one is £1700, which is definitely on the higher side for a non-bracelet Aquaracer, but I'm sure that dial is going to sell it and I imagine this is going to be one of those novelties that doesn't stick around too long. So if you want one it might be wise to get your money out sooner rather than later, and avoid having to buy a scratched pre-owned piece.

I don't think I will be buying though, I really like it, but I'm wary of that clasp and in all honesty I've spent rather a lot of money on watches already this year and I don't think I can justify another one just yet.

FEATURE: Water Resistance...

A few weeks ago I was watching a video on the Theo and Harris You Tube channel, I don't know if you are familiar with Christian and his channel but he's a young guy who seems to have quickly made a business for himself selling vintage watches.... so far, so good. Vintage isn't my thing, but his channel is still okay in parts because he doesn't stick exclusively to vintage, for instance today he did a pretty good job of ripping Breitling's new Navitimer 8 to shreds, and deservedly so it has to be said.

However, in the video I watched a few weeks ago he was talking about water resistance and made it perfectly clear that he had no idea how water resistance ratings on watches worked. I can't remember exactly what he said but it was something along the lines of 30M is fine because I'm never going deeper than that. Which is worrying from a man selling watches, is it not?

I left Christian a comment (as did other people, unsurprisingly) and he responded saying he felt very silly and he went on to address his folly in a video he made about water resistance and how the ratings work. To be fair, the ratings are bloody stupid and are wide open to misinterpretation, especially for the average Joe whose interest in wrist watches doesn't extend much beyond needing to know the time.

So, while I appreciate that most of you will already know this, for the benefit of any that aren't aware, a 50M rating DOES NOT mean you can take it to a depth of 50M. The problem is 'pressure', you could theoretically place that watch in a tank and fill the tank very carefully to a depth of 50M, but if you move the watch in the tank you increase the pressure and the watch will most likely leak.

Essentially, it goes like this:

30M or 3atm: Suitable for everyday use, splash/rain resistant. Not suitable for showering, bathing, swimming, snorkeling, water-related work, fishing or diving.

50M or 5atm: Suitable for swimming, white water rafting and fishing. Not suitable for diving and snorkeling.

100M or 10atm: Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and water sports. Not suitable for diving.

200M or 20atm: Suitable for professional marine activity, serious surface water sports and skin diving. Not suitable for deep water diving

500M+ or 50atm+: Suitable for deep water diving.

So if you've got a lovely new Carrera with a display caseback and it says 100M water resistant on the back, you can go swimming in it, but you can't dive with it, this is because diving and moving in the water in general increases pressure on the seals.

And the other thing to bear in mind is that if you want to maintain your water resistance rating you should have your watch tested annually because the seals can dry out and fail. It is also important to note that chlorine, bathing products, some cosmetics and heat cycles can all play a part in degrading the seals in your watch.

But of course, even if you follow all these rules, there's still always the possibility of human error. Some watches, like my Aquagraph (above) have visible warnings to help you avoid costly mistakes, here the crown has a yellow (or sometimes orange) band that becomes visible from the front side of the watch when the crown is unscrewed.

But not every diver has this and if you really want to be safe then you need something like the latest Rolex Submariners which have a triple-lock system which keeps the water out even if the crown is unscrewed. Providing, of course, that it's been serviced properly...

SPOTLIGHT ON: Aquaracer Automatic Chronograph CAF2113

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It's amazing how you can stumble onto things on eBay that you've never seen (or perhaps) noticed before. I was searching for the elusive CAF7103 just now and happened upon someone selling this watch in unworn condition for under £1000. This seems something of a bargain given that it's an automatic (though I don't know which calibre it uses - I'm guessing Calibre 16 given the dial layout).

It's funny that I haven't noticed it in a way because usually my attention is grabbed by anything with a colourful second hand and this one has not one but three orange hands. The case is 41mm (so a little smaller than my recently purchased Chronotimer), but that's still a decent size and it does have a lovely dial.

I really like that it doesn't have a cyclops as well, that's definitely a bonus as far as I'm concerned, and indeed if I wasn't pretty much stuck on getting that CAF7013 Aquaracer then I might have been tempted by this.

A quirky little feature I've noticed is the N.E.S.W. markings on the bezel, I don't know how much use that would really be, but it looks quite cool and to be honest at first glance it just looks like a tachymetre. 

I must say that now I've finally got an Aquaracer, I'm quite enamoured of the case and I particularly like these ones with the black bezel inserts. I've seen lots of pictures of these before and they definitely live up to their promise, to be honest I think I prefer them to the newer Aquaracer models, they seem to convey a more luxurious feel somehow.

I'll post the link to the eBay sale below, as always I can't vouch for the seller and I have no connection with them. But it looks a great deal for somebody (just not me at the present time!).

CAF2113 ON EBAY

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Aquaracer Quartz 300M Khaki

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TAG seem intent on blowing their veritable load pre-Basel this year, first we had the twelve new Heuer02 Carreras and now we have a new quartz powered 300M Aquaracer which is available in 'some' countries and also as a pre-sale online.

Presumably this is a 'Special' edition, rather than a 'Limited' edition like the Khaki Calibre 5 released last year (alongside the camouflage Calibre 5) and while the render above isn't terribly engaging, the photograph below makes it look a lot more interesting.

I'm not sure, but this 43mm Aquaracer could be the first quartz model to feature a cyclops. I'm sure the red, blue and black models released last year didn't have the dreaded goggle eyed date window, but there's probably something really obvious that I'm overlooking.

I do think the dial on this one is a great improvement on the Calibre 5 Khaki, for one thing at certain angles the TAG logo completely disappeared on that one leaving what looked like a huge piece of empty dial. Also the bezel on this one looks rather classy with what appears to be gold markings, but I'm not sure whether they might look a little more 'green/gold' in the flesh.

As usual though, we have the horrible and massive silver retaining bars on the NATO strap, which is a shame, because otherwise the strap looks quite nice and fits in with the overall scheme very nicely.

FEATURE: Another Trip to London in Search of Watches!

My first stop on the watch tour today in London was at Selfridges 'Wonder Room', lot's of desirable stuff in here... including an Audemars Piguet Ceramic Concept watch (about £190,000 I think), plus some nice Roger Dubuis tourbillons, lots of Hublots, Corums (not so sure about these), and of course TAG Heuers.

I was pretty surprised by some things I saw in there to be honest, including a diamond bezel Connected of all things, and the camouflage Aquaracer, which I am kind of intrigued by and decided to try on.

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Selfridges / London 8th July 2017

This was my first chance to try on the new camouflage Aquaracer 300M and I must say it does have a certain something about it. Albeit, the strap is horrible. I get the idea, tying into the dial pattern, but it really doesn't look that good and the strap (despite the thin material) seems oddly bulky with the awful chrome strap retainers sticking out all over the place.

One good thing about the dial design is that the cyclops seems less noticeable on this watch than most others, in fact I like the dial design quite a lot and I think this would look great with a plain black rubber strap (as would most Aquaracers, obviously). I like the finishing on the case too, very smart indeed. But one thing that was a little disappointing perhaps was the 'brightness' of the dial, it seemed a bit muted, I was hoping it would be a bit more in your face if I'm honest, but then I guess it is supposed to be camouflage after all.

So leaving aside the issue of the cyclops... yet again I'm faced with the prospect of buying a watch and then having to fork out for a replacement strap. And this one isn't a cheap watch either, it's £2200 for a three hander with a Calibre 5 movement. And, crucially, one which I think will not hold it's value terribly well. I think this is one to stalk on the second hand market for sure, along with the 'sand' coloured 2016 Aquaracer perhaps.

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Speaking of other Aquaracers... over the road in Goldsmiths they had one of the three hand Aquaracer phantom limited editions on offer for about £1750. It doesn't appear on the Goldsmiths website so I'm assuming it's an offer unique to that particular store.

Back to Selfridges, and there were some interesting new TAG Heuers on display. This was my first chance to catch sight of the new Autavia, which actually looks better than the pictures, albeit not my taste. I really can't see what all the fuss is about with this watch, the size looks absolutely fine, it doesn't look overly big at all. With it's old school aesthetic, it really does stick out in the display actually and doesn't look like anything else on offer, so perhaps it's as well it has got the Heuer name on the dial!

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Also in the cabinet, were a pair of Carrera tourbillons, one of which had a diamond bezel. The standard version looks pretty cool and comes on a very nice leather on rubber strap (I presume) and costs a very reasonable £12,600 or thereabouts. Not sure on the price of the diamond bezel version, but it looked pretty ridiculous anyway to be honest, although not as completely silly as the Connected with the diamond bezel, I mean really!

After Selfridges I took a wander down Bond Street, where I came across a pretty incredible shop window containing a pretty wild selection of watches. I'm not sure what the place was called, but in the window they had Richard Milles, Hublots, Ressences, several Urwerk models (including a diamond encrusted ladies model), quite a few Greubel Forseys and a couple of different versions of the MB&F Horological Machine. Pretty exclusive stuff!

The highlight of Bond Street for me though was Charbonel et Walker, if you haven't had a Milk Sea Salt Billionaires Shortbread Truffle then your life is incomplete (although be warned, the price tag is as high end as the location suggests - cheaper in John Lewis actually £12.50 for a box of 8).

But leaving that aside, the watch highlight of Bond Street for me was the Breitling boutique, and more specifically trying on the new black dial Avenger Hurricane 45mm, easily my favourite Breitling ever.

When the original Avenger Hurricane came out it was 50mm and featured a 24hr dial. I think a lot of people looked at it and thought 'I'd prefer a 12hr dial, but the 24hr dial is a novelty so I can live with that... what I can't live with is the size', and so, inevitably one might suggest, Breitling have seen sense and released the watch in a smaller 45mm size with a 12hr dial in a choice of yellow or black faces.

When you see the 45mm and the 50mm together in the case it is hilarious how different 5mm can look, it's like night and day. In all honesty I can't help but think those 50mm versions are going to be sitting there for a long time, because very few people are going to choose the bigger version now that there's a sensible size option on offer. For me the black dial is the definite winner here, I like yellow touches on a dial and a yellow dial can work on a 'cheaper' watch, but for me, looking at these two the black dial definitely gives the impression of being more expensive. And this is an expensive watch, there are strap options which drops the price about £100 (basic strap without the yellow rubber back) but both these watches are basically £7,000.

The strap is very cool, the only bad thing is that you have to cut it to fit, but it does have a slider system in the clasp to allow quite a good bit of movement, more than sufficient to cope with all but the most exuberant of weight gains (in which case you might want to think about the 50mm). As with most Breitlings there's an engraved solid caseback, but it does contain the new in-house Breitling 01 movement.

The Avenger Hurricane certainly didn't disappoint on the wrist, it's made of something called Breitlight, which even the staff in the shop couldn't completely explain, but it's a lightweight compound of some sort. I was a little worried it would be too light and feel plasticy, but it doesn't at all. It's not unduly light, it feels like a smaller steel watch would I thought, and also (perhaps crucially) it doesn't wear like a 45mm either.

My TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 is 45mm and that's a big watch on the wrist, my limit really, so I was a bit dubious about the Avenger and suspected that even in a 45mm version it would look and feel too big. Sadly, not at all. In fact to me it felt more like a 44mm, which means instead of being able to dismiss it out of hand I now have to live with the fact that I really want one, which is a bit annoying as I don't have £7,000 lying around.

Well as I've always said, there's always a 'BUT' with a Breitling, usually it's the dial, or the case, or the silly wonky strap links... but in this case the only 'BUT' is the price, so... the question is can I live with an Aquaracer with a cyclops, or not?

After lunch I headed over to the Design Museum to see 'Cartier in Motion' which is not only a bloody good exhibition, but it's FREE as well. The exhibition is about Cartier's interaction with people like Alberto Santos-Dumont and Gustave Eiffel, and features a considerable quantity of Cartier watches and clocks. If you are in the Kensington area before the end of July I thoroughly recommend a visit.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Aquaracer Chronotimer Quartz

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I've just watched the video review by Breitling Source (see lower down the page) and I thought I would write a little bit about this particular watch.

This model obviously comes from the same family as the yellow dial Calibre S model that I was nearly tempted by not so long ago, with the same split bezel (which I think I like, but I'm not quite sure). This is the sort of watch I can imagine turning up in the TAG outlet's like Bicester Village, it's about the right age and would probably be a great bargain for someone.

Failing that a little research shows that you can pick one like this up from Watchfinder for just under £1000. That sounds a little steep to me, I wouldn't imagine this cost as much as the Calibre S models originally, though I could be wrong. I think £900 second hand would probably be a bit more realistic, but then again I suppose you're paying for Watchfinder's guarantees etc.

Having said that, a quick look at eBay shows a range of £750 to £3500! Would anybody seriously pay £3500 for one of these? That's a chunk of money, I didn't pay that for my Heuer 01.

This watch was available on either a bracelet or a black rubber strap, and while I think the yellow dial version looks much better on the rubber, this one probably looks better on the bracelet. One thing I would say if you do plump for the rubber, is that if and when you need to replace it, expect it to be a little more than your standard F1 straps, since in my experience the straps with ends designed to fit snuggly into (and fill) the space between the lugs are unexpectedly pricey (the strap for my 2000 series was over £100 for example, whereas the strap for my F1 was £45).

Having watched the video I get the impression that the internals of this watch might not be too dissimilar to the workings of the Formula One Kirium, given the layout of the digital elements on the dial. While I'm not usually a massive fan of analog-digi watches, this one is okay. My one complaint would be that the watch has been designed (like the F1 Kirium) so that you can turn off the digital elements, leaving the dial black, except of course here they've framed the lower display with a slightly tacky silver bead. I think this was a mistake. It doesn't look that great and if it wasn't there the watch would so much cooler when the digital was turned off. 

The more I look at the watch and think about that the more it annoys me. This watch could have been so much better, just with that silver bead omitted. And that's the sort of detail failure that perhaps explains why TAG watches from this era (2008) aren't especially well loved. Indeed, even though I kind of liked the yellow dial Calibre S, there was something about it that wasn't quite right and I ultimately passed it over for a different watch.

Honestly if this watch came up at a good price I might have been tempted, but now that I've noticed that frame it's really put me off. I think it makes the dial look rather crowded as well, especially as it comes so close to the date. It's a bit of a shame really.

That aside the dial is quite nice, I like the contrast of the white markings on the black dial, and if you've watched the video you will know that they are lumed and the watch also has a back light. The white TAG logo also looks great (as on the F1 Kirium) and was definitely a good choice.

All in all it's a bit of a workaday TAG Heuer, that you could probably pick up easy enough if you wanted one, personally I don't think I've ever used the chrono on my F1 Kirium, and while the chronograph on an automatic is a nice looking thing to have even if you don't use it, the intrusive nature of this one begs the question will you actually use it? If not, then maybe this isn't the watch for you.

ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer Calibre 16 Chronograph

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Beaverbrooks / Leicester 27th December 2016

I'd pretty much forgotten about trying this one on, it was just after Christmas so the finer details are a little hazy, but still. If I remember correctly I tried three Aquaracers on at the same time, and this was the most expensive. Rightly so of course as I think the other two were quartz movements. This was also the most substantial and according to TAG Heuer's website this has a list price of £2750.

To be honest I didn't remember that it was that much, I thought it was in the low £2000s, and I don't remember it being on sale or anything. Would I spend £2750 on this watch though? I don't know that I would. This is largely because I don't think of the Aquaracer as being a particularly luxurious watch, perhaps because you can get something which looks similar for a lot less with a quartz movement.

Leaving that aside, it's a nice looking watch and sports a ceramic bezel and a 300M water resistance (sure TAG do make some 500M models, but from what I understand hardly anyone goes deeper than 40M so this should be more than adequate for most people's needs and let's be honest, who wears a £3000 watch to dive in?). The movement is the Calibre 16, which is the same movement I have just purchased in my Formula One CAU2012 and one which I find unusually 'mechanical' feeling. Kind of reminds me of winding an old clock, much less refined than either the Heuer 01 or the Calibre 60 (in the Aquagraph), but still presumably a solid and reliable calibre.

I seem to remember the lume on this was pretty good, as most Aquaracers tend to be, and the small amount of yellow text on the dial and seconds hand is a nice accent. I'm not sure if the 'slatted' dial adds a lot here, I think it's more effective on a plain dial three hander, but it's not doing any harm.

Looking at this watch, I can't help but make comparisons with my Aquagraph. Leaving aside the fact that the Aquagraph is a 500M diver, there are distinct similarities in appearance. Both have black chrono dials with yellow accents (albeit the Aquagraph has a steel bezel) and both come on similar steel bracelets. So some might imagine this as a modern alternative, but I can hand on heart say there is no way I would trade my Aquagraph for this.

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Inflation adjusted, this Aquaracer is cheaper, but you can pick up a clean Aquagraph for about £1300 and I think you're getting a more interesting watch. True, it's much more of a tool watch and this Aquaracer is much more capable as an all-rounder and suitable as an 'only' watch, but for me the Aquagraph is just so much cooler. For a start you can use the chronograph underwater, I know I never will, but I could and I think the rubber pushers look great. Also the Aquagraph is smaller in dia, but more chunky and tank-like, it means business and weighs a ton, it's loaded with personality that this new Aquaracer just doesn't possess. 

Still, you could argue of course that were TAG to launch the Aquagraph today, it would probably cost more like £4000, in which case it's probably unfair to make a direct comparison. 

ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer Calibre S Fernando Alonso Limited Edition

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TAG Heuer Outlet / Bicester Village 4th February 2017

I didn't realise until today that this was available on a bracelet, I'd only previously seen it on a rubber strap. I have to say, and this will surprise no-one, that I much prefer the look of this on the rubber. It must be said that the bracelet was scratched so that didn't exactly make me warm to it, and again (like the Link) the clasp was horrible and tinny. 

The watch itself is quite nice. I've been interested to try a Calibre S because I rather like the yellow version (CAF7013.FT8011), and indeed there were two different yellow Aquaracers in the store today, but of course not the one I am interested in. Typical. Still I figured it would be worth a look, even though I now realise that this has a different case...

For those of you that don't know, the Calibre S system is a quartz hybrid movement which uses the main hour/minute hands as a chronograph. So when you press the crown in the hands reset themselves to 12 and you press the pushers to start and stop as normal. The half dials at the bottom measure 10ths and 100ths of a second (when you stop the chrono they jump to give a reading) and I believe they also indicate the date.

The lady in the shop pressed the crown and handed the watch to me, and I pressed the top pusher to start the chrono. However, for some reason the second hand hand set to 12, and then the watch started doing all sorts of crazy things which no amount of pressing pushers and the crown would resolve. Between us we concluded that this was one watch which definitely requires the user to read the manual!

It was a bit of a shame, because I love the idea of it and it looks great when the hands move and reset themselves when you finish using the chrono, but.... well, it either didn't work properly or neither of us knew how to use it. 

If I remember correctly this was on sale at £1900, which seemed a little high really. The movement is cool, but the case is a bit characterless, hardly representative of the fiery Spaniard it celebrates. This watch must be nine years old as well, since it was issued when Alonso was partnering Hamilton at McLaren (Hamilton has his own version).

I'm getting a sense of deja-vu here, probably because I've actually already done a post about this watch which you can read here - SPOTLIGHT ON: Aquaracer Fernando Alonso

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Aquaracer Quartz Watch

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It must say something about the success of the Tudor Black Bay that upon seeing this new Aquaracer for the first time one is compelled to think... "Ah, the Aquaracer Black Bay!", this despite the only real similarity being the black dial and red bezel. Because while Tudor's offering is very much a 'classic' style watch (coming complete with a distressed* leather strap - 'shudder') this new quartz watch from TAG Heuer looks very modern indeed.

It's a pretty simple watch, but the red bezel makes it look rather tasty and highlights the unusual twelve sided bezel that the Aquaracers are sporting these days. Like most Aquaracers I bet this will look great on a black rubber band, I hope they make it with the fluted strap that the yellow Aquaracers are currently being sold on, preferably with a red backing, that would be pretty neat.

Most exciting of all though, as far as I'm concerned is that this watch doesn't appear to have a cyclops. I hate cyclopes** and it's great that this watch doesn't have one (or doesn't appear to at any rate - it's not always clear cut), but I would really like to be able to buy an automatic without one. 

And that's my main problem with this watch really, it looks great, but it's a quartz, so I probably wouldn't buy one. No doubt it will appear in an automatic version later on, but what's the betting part of the 'upgrade' is a wacking great, goggly-eyed date bubble?

I'm guessing the price will be around the £1200 mark, which will make it a great value watch, and in a few years I can well imagine picking one of these up at the outlets for about £900, which would be even better.

Apparently the watch is also going to be available with a blue bezel/black dial, and an all black combination as well.

* It's not so much distressed as completely knackered looking, but there you go... why doesn't anybody make a 'distressed' bracelet? Is it perhaps because everyone would say 'It's not distressed, it's knackered' by any chance?

**Cyclopes is the plural of cyclops - I looked it up!

Read more about this and other new TAGs at Calibre 11

http://www.calibre11.com/2017-tag-heuer-geneva-watch-launches/

ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer Quartz 1/10 Second Chronograph

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Beaverbrooks / Leicester 27th December 2016

Looking in Beaverbrooks window yesterday it was actually quite hard to summon the enthusiasm to try anything on. A sea of steel bracelets with black/grey faces, with nary a coloured dial in sight. Take away the Heuer01 skeleton and things I've tried on before (a sole blue dialed Monaco) and there wasn't a lot to get excited about. 

So I picked this quartz Aquaracer, mainly because it was blue and found it nice enough, but not nice enough to get my money out. The first thing I noticed was how light it felt, it's a good sized watch but it doesn't have the heft you'd imagine. The second thing I noticed was the bracelet pulling the hairs out of my arms (an immediate red flag), but of course there is always a rubber strap version to fall back on if needs be (or if not then one can always purchase a rubber strap).

As it was quartz, the watch was going and I tried the pushers. I'm not sure what was going on with it, to be honest. It only seemed to count the 1/10ths of a second for the first minute and then it stopped. Also the pushers didn't function in the way I expected, with the subdial hands moving to random positions on each push. In the end I managed to reset it, if I'd been more serious about buying the watch I would have asked the salesgirl to explain the function.... it was almost as if it kept going when you stopped it and then jumped to the next time when you pressed the bottom pusher again.

The blue bezel is enamel rather than ceramic (so they told me) and it looks very nice with the steel case and bracelet, it certainly looks a bit more exciting than the black version which sat next to it in the window, that one looks too much like my Aquagraph. The clasp was okay, with a diving extension and not much in the way of micro adjustment. I asked if the holes were for adjustment and she said yes, but I'm not 100% sure they are, they may be the retaining holes for the diving extension like on the Aquagraph. Speaking of the Aquagraph, this is also 43mm but looks bigger than the Aquagraph, I think that watch has a smaller glass and is definitely a good bit thicker (which gives the illusion of being smaller).

I don't know whether I am a partucularly thuggish looking type, but I noticed that when the salesgirl fetched the watch out of the window she was talking to this tall guy who kept casting suspicious glances my way. Eventually he made his way to where I was sitting and when he noticed I was holding the Heuer 01 I had just taken off, his whole demeanour changed and he flipped into sales mode. It doesn't really bother me, I just find it rather hilarious. I suppose they do have to be careful, and on the whole I find Beaverbrooks staff to be agreeable and much better than those in Goldsmiths (or the Leicester Goldsmiths anyway!)

ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer Chronograph Calibre 16 Black Phantom

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Ernest Jones / Manchester 12th November 2016

I've been interested in trying out this watch since I tried on the Limited Edition 41mm three hand version in Chester in October. At 41mm and with a black case it felt somewhat small on my wrist though this could be because I was wearing my 45mm Heuer 01 when I went in to the shop and the other watch I tried on in that particular shop was a 43mm Aquaracer.

This (non limited) chronograph version is 43mm and pretty thick with it. It kind of reminds me of my Aquagraph in shape and bulk, but as it is coated titanium it is nothing like as hefty. Some might prefer the lighter watch, but I do like my Aquagraph, you certainly know you've got it on! 

Unfortunately for me, I think the simplicity of the smaller black phantom works better with the blacked out aesthetic and they don't make that in a 43mm case. Also as I've mentioned before I'm really not a fan of these nylon straps, but that would be easily remedied. The real deal breaker for me was the cyclops though, the more I see these Aquaracers with them the more I hate them. I think the TAG cyclops is particularly nasty as they have a ridge around the edge rather than blending into the main glass which just looks shoddy to me. 

To be fair it's not like I've tried on a whole bunch of other brands with cyclops on the glass, so I don't have much data to compare, but I've never noticed that ridge on a Rolex (for example), but maybe that's one of the compromises you accept for the less expensive watch? Or maybe it is there and I've just never noticed it? Whichever, the cyclops really bugs me, and I don't feel that this watch (or any watch) really needs one. It seems at odds with the whole 'Phantom' feel, and the date really isn't that small anyway. 

My other slight gripe, was that the markers and hands on the 41mm version seemed to catch the light more, though I am at a complete loss to understand why that should be. I can only assume the difference in lighting in different shops. But whatever the reason, it certainly made this 'on the wrist' experience a bit of a damp squib.

Perhaps it didn't help that while I was trying this on my eyes were being drawn to the Carrera Senna that was on the counter in front of me (see separate review), but even so I feel rather disappointed as I quite liked the idea of a phantom watch in my collection. I even contemplated asking if it would be possible to purchase separately a non-cyclops glass to fit the 41mm (if I could get over the size - which I think I could because it's no smaller than my Formula One). 

Ah well, I suppose the purpose of these 'on the wrist' visits is to help separate the wheat from the chaff and find out which watches really ring my bell, and so I don't consider it a wasted opportunity as I now know that cyclops's are definitely something of a red flag for me. 

http://www.tagheuer.co.uk/int-en/luxury-watches/aquaracer/aquaracer-ladies-300m-calibre-16-automatic-chronograph-black-phantom-43-mm-black-steel-bracelet

MEGA DEAL!: Aquaracer Calibre 5 at Goldsmiths - £500 off!

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A friend of mine pointed out to me today that Goldsmiths are currently offering this model at a fantastic price, £1350 (reduced from £1850), which is cheaper than even the grey market importers are doing them for. True it has got the nasty nylon strap, but with the £500 you save you could swap it out for the rubber strap with the yellow back or even a stainless bracelet. If it wasn't for that cyclops I think I'd be jumping on this deal myself. Don't know how long the deal is on for so maybe if you are interested then check it out sooner rather than later!

http://www.goldsmiths.co.uk/Goldsmiths-Exclusive-TAG-Heuer-Mens-Aquaracer/p/17381086/