VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph by Time & Tide

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraphs

As the more observant of you might have noticed when you perused the June 2026 price list I posted a week or so ago, TAG Heuer have deleted from the catalogue a bunch of Aquaracer Solargraphs (most notably the original titanium version, but NOT yet the super cool black DLC / carbon bezel one). But fear not, TAG Heuer isn't giving up on the Aquaracer Solargraph, it's just time for a refresh. And by refresh, I mean lets slap a weird new bezel on it that makes it look like a Breitling... or something.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph by Brent Miller Time

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Evergraph

In the real world, by which I mean not in the 'luxury' world, if someone came up with a way to revolutionise and simplify a complex, expensive machine one might presume that it would turn out 'cheaper'. Otherwise... what's the point? I mean, yeah, okay you might save a few quid on servicing, but why would I pay more than twice as much in the first place? Well, if that's your thought process then the luxury watch world probably isn't for you...

Don't get me wrong, I've marvelled at the ingenuity of the V4 Monaco of old, with it's tiny rubber belts and linear 'rotor', I can see that it must have taken hours and hours of painstaking work to perfect (well, kinda - I gather it was still not exactly 100% even when they stopped making it) and for something like that I'd probably gladly drop £50k on one (if I had £50k to spend) but for some reason this new Evergraph movement just doesn't give me the same sense of awe and wonder.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph by Birth Year Watches

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: New Variations on the Titanium Solargraph and the 2021 39mm Carrera

We seem to be reaching the point of the year where TAG Heuer aren't actually releasing new watches so much as putting straps on existing models and trying to generate excitement about them by calling them 'Online Exclusives'... which is something I've never really understood. 'Boutique Editions' I understand (watches you can only obtain by travelling to a particular boutique, possibly in an exotic location like Monaco), but suggesting that something is 'exclusive' because you can 'only' buy it on the internet makes so little sense that I feel like I would need the world's most powerful microscope to measure it!

Anyway, I feel somewhat duty bound to at least show you a picture of these most elusive timepieces, but I really don't think there's any need to trouble the C.O.C.O. with either of them. After all, they'll still get to score them at the end of the year.

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. 

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 Blue Dial Aquaracers by Brent Miller Time

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Green Dial Aquaracers by Brent Miller Time

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph Two-Tone Watches

So here we are at last, the final 'First Impressions' post for 2024... and it's a two-fer! Believe it or not these two are numbers 80 and 81 in the 'C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year 2024' list, which if I remember correctly is six more than we had last year! Crazy. 

Anyway, it's been pretty clear this year that TAG Heuer are firmly embracing the 'Solargraph' movement with several new models appearing in 2024; including of course the recent 'Time & Tide' limited edition, the green dial and a whole bunch of 34mm pieces issued way back at the beginning of the year. I think it's a safe bet to say we'll continue to see more solar-powered watches joining the ranks in 2025. 

Indeed I can see a point in the not to distant future where the only old-school quartz pieces with replaceable batteries will be those rather long-in-the-tooth Formula 1s that have been around for about 8 years now. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph 'Time & Tide' Limited Edition

 

There is a distinct possibility that what you are looking at here will, in a few short weeks, become the COCO Watch of the Year for 2024. Of course, it's not a foregone conclusion, because the TAG Heuer x Hodinkee Seafarer is bound to attract a decent number of votes, but based on the 'First Impression' scores, this is the watch to beat. Could it be true that after five years we finally get a proper, modern, TAG Heuer branded watch on the top step of the podium... and an Aquaracer (in this 20th anniversary year) at that?

Time will tell, but I will be keeping my fingers crossed for it because my personal 'Watch of the Year' (the diamond bezel Carrera CBN2A12) has zero chance of winning. Which, of course means I have a crisis of conscience to deal with - do I vote with my heart or with my head? Hmm... 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer x Time & Tide Aquaracer 'Sundowner' Solar Quartz Limited Edition by Time & Tide

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph Calibre TH50-00 Watch by A Blog to Watch

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph 'Green Dial' Quartz Watch

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / 28th September 2024, Meadowhall, Sheffield

When the green Solargraph was announced I must admit I was a teeny bit concerned that maybe I had rushed into buying the Calibre 5 version. I've always said that given the choice of two identical watches one quartz, one automatic, I would probably choose the quartz... and a solar powered quartz appeals even more. 

But generally speaking there never really is a choice of identical looking watches is there? So the question that required answering here was primarily how do the two dials compare, and secondly was the light blue second hand a deal breaker?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Green Dial' Solargraph

 

I guess we should have seen this coming, shouldn't we? Given the ever expanding Solargraph range and TAG Heuer's current obsession with the colour green, it was surely only a matter of time until the two were put together and voila... I give you the green dial Solargraph! Must have been a long day at work thinking that one up, eh?

Still, that doesn't really matter if the finished product works and on the face of it this one looks quite successful. I'm not entirely sure about the combination of green and pale blue, I honestly think the black and blue dials provide a better colour base for the usual 'Solargraph' highlight colour. Perhaps, as we've seen with some of the ladies 34mm Aquaracers, a polished steel hand would have been a better fit?

OWNED: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Green Dial

It's been a few months over a year since I picked up my WBP2115 from the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield and in typical fashion it's been a journey of mixed emotions. When I found out there was going to be a new green dial Aquaracer I was right on it, desperate to avoid a repeat of the WAY2015 debacle. Actually there was no need to rush as even now it's perfectly possible to walk into an AD and pick up a WBP2115, but I didn't know that at the time.

Truth be told, when I went to buy it I was less than sure about it. It certainly wasn't love at first sight... but I'd made such a fuss about getting it, badgering Maxine at TH Sheffield regularly until it arrived that I felt rather obligated to buy it. Not that I actively disliked it, but it certainly wasn't a Chronotimer or Grand Carrera Caliper situation where I gazed lovingly at it all the way home... maybe it was just that I'd wanted the WAY2015 for so long and this didn't look quite the same - because, well it isn't!

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 200 Professional 'Solid Gold' Calibre TH31-00 Watch

 

WBP5152.FT6210

TAG Heuer Boutique / Sheffield, November 2023

One of the least reported surprises of last year in TAG Heuer land must surely have been the introduction of not one but two solid gold cased Aquaracers. This is the first time TAG Heuer have ever produced a full gold Aquaracer, with the material recently only used for special pieces in the Carrera range (there have been various solid gold pieces in the past including Monacos, Monzas, 6000 Series and 2000 Series).  

Why has there never been a solid gold Aquaracer before? It's a good question isn't it... with no satisfactory answer. Perhaps because most people would balk at paying £16,000 for a solid gold TAG Heuer that isn't a Carrera or Monaco... and yet here we are, finally, with an almost solid gold 40mm Aquaracer. I say 'almost' because clearly that black coated crown isn't solid gold and that's my first and actually main issue with this watch. I just don't get it. Clearly a solid gold watch should have a matching solid gold crown, it's a no brainer - so why on Earth did TAG Heuer decide to give these solid gold pieces black crowns?

Okay it's not so bad on the black dial version (which comes on a black rubber strap of course), but here it looks silly, mismatched and dare I say cheap. If they didn't want to use gold for the crown for some reason, then why not a blue coating or ceramic? At least then it would match...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph in Steel by Time & Tide

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Solargraph' Solar Quartz Watch

 

WBP1112.FT6199

When the original Solargraph came out I was more than a little intrigued. A cool black Aquaracer with a lume infused carbon bezel - count me in! But God-damn it took a long time to come to market, and by the time it did there was suddenly a rather nice titanium version on offer too. Unfortunately, right at the point when the watch finally broke cover was right when I was saving hard to buy myself something 'special', and so I was reluctant to part with the necessary £2500 to buy it because I knew it was going to take a long time to replace that in my TAG fund.

But still I sat in the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield for what must have been nearly half an hour, pondering and debating. I liked it, but... it seemed a little small, and a little expensive and I wasn't 100% sold on that light blue hand. Of course since then I have bought the green dial Calibre 5 Aquaracer which is also 40mm (all my other Aquaracers are 43mm) so I came back to the watch better prepared from that perspective, and as for the blue hand well I think I like it now... it's kinda cool that it marks out this Aquaracer as a solar-powered model and I also like that this is the original 'Solargraph' and always will be.