FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera and Monaco TH-Carbonspring Limited Editions

Hello dear reader! As you can see from the blog header above we are about to celebrate nine years of the TAG Heuer Enthusiast. Quite an achievement you might think, but as the late, great Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister once said when asked how he managed to keep Motorhead going for forty years, the key to keeping going is simple - don't stop. Wise words indeed. And as it happens, I may well be paying homage to the great man as you read this as I intend to visit Stoke on Trent this week to see the statue they've erected there for him. Not that most of you are Motorhead fans I'm sure, but my very first gig ever was Motorhead in 1983, so Lemmy will always have a special place in my heart. 

Anyway, you didn't come here to read about my teenage exploits did you? So let's turn our attention to the matter in hand, namely carbon hairsprings. Now, I'm sure some of you will remember about seven years ago TAG Heuer launched the Carrera Nanograph, a funky looking thing that was covered in hexagons and topped with lime green accents... I loved it, but unfortunately at £26000 it was definitely out of my reach (currently there's one on Watchfinder though for about half that, if you're interested).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carbon Monaco and Carrera Tourbillon by Revolution Watches

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monza 'Carbon' Special Edition Chronograph

 

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

It's kinda funny, this one has been around for so long that when I clocked it in the display case in the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall centre, I honestly didn't even think about whether I had ever seen it or tried it on or not. I was just like... 'Oh there's the carbon Monza'... and it wasn't until the (always fabulous) Maxine asked me if I'd seen it before that the penny finally dropped. I mean it's been at least two years since the Monza CR5090 first appeared on (Red Bull Racing boss) Christian Horner's wrist, so it just feels very familiar, even though before today I'd never actually come across one in person. 

Thinking about it it's been quite a number of years since I had any kind of Monza on the wrist and I'd kinda forgotten quite how big a 42mm 'square' watch really is. I think even from this photo you can tell that it's quite a lump of watch and it sits quite high too. But with its carbon case and nylon strap, of course it's anything but heavy. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monza Carbon Heuer 02 Flyback Chronograph by Monochrome Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monza Carbon Heuer 02 Flyback Chronograph

 

CR5090.FN6001

Well this is different, isn't it? But is it good different? Or bad different? I'm pretty sure if you ask people who like the 'classic' Monzas you're probably not going to get the most positive responses, and that's  rather borne out in the comments at the foot of the page... but does that matter? Because clearly this is not aimed at someone who cherishes their Calibre 36 gold cased Monza, but rather a (possibly) younger customer who wants their own take on the Monza, but with a modern slant and more on-trend materials.

And so was born the carbon Monza, a slightly curious choice to be fair, but I suppose they'd already done the carbon Monaco with George Bamford back in 2017 and what better way to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the Monza? It is somewhat perverse that TAG Heuer wish to be edgy and avant garde, but they choose to do it with a watch case that was born in the 1960s, but that's the watch industry for you - new cases and model names are death to sales, so this is what we get instead. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Polychrome' Dial Heuer 02T Limited Edition Chronograph

 

CAR5A8AF.FC6415

Well if there's one thing that's certain, it's that TAG Heuer's releases are never 'boring'; you might not like them all, but there's no way anyone could predict everything they come out with and to be honest this was one of the things that first interested me about the company and one of the things that has kept me interested so long. I could never write a blog like this about Rolex, pretending to be excited about a 1mm change in case diameter and slightly thicker lugs.

And so now, at the tail end of 2022 we come to this rather surprising release, which is... yet another tourbillon! They seem to be spitting them out left right and centre nowadays, which surprises me somewhat given the £19,500 price tag, but I guess there's still a lot of wealthy people out there with plenty of cash for these sorts of watches. And in actual fact this particular piece is limited to 'just' 150pcs...

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 Carbon Watch Piece Unique for Only Watch

CBL2191.FC6507

Hot on the heels of the pink dial Aquaracer I posted about the other day comes this very interesting Monaco made as a piece unique for auction at the 2021 'Only Watch' event. Only Watch has been around for a while now and takes places every other year (raising money for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) and is something which TAG Heuer has contributed to previously with Monaco based watches in 2009 and 2011 and a luxurious 'Connected Tourbillon' box set in 2017.

They really went for it this time though with this carbon Monaco... which not only features a new carbon case (modified to take a larger display caseback) and skeletonised carbon dial components, but also utilises the carbon hairspring previously found in the Nanograph and the first wave of TAG Heuer Autavia watches, before they were recalled and replaced with standard steel springs. I feel like we will never be able to talk about the carbon hairspring without bringing that up, which I'm sure TAG Heuer really appreciate...

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Bullhead Collection

CAR2C90.FC6341      CAR2C12.FC6327      CAR2C11.FC6327

TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village, 22nd July 2019*

Outlet shopping is, by definition, a mixed bag. On the one hand you inevitably find the less spectacular high production pieces that have reached the end of their run, plus perhaps the models that haven't sold quite as well as hoped, but on the other hand you also get the opportunity to view some very unusual limited editions and also some very desirable high-end pieces. For example, ordinarily, you would be lucky to find one TAG Heuer Carrera Bullhead in any jewellers anywhere, but at Bicester Village you are spoilt for choice with not one, not two, but three on display! Naturally, it would have been a crime to pass the opportunity up, so I got all three on my wrist and here are my thoughts...

CAR2C12.FC6327

If you've already seen a Bullhead Carrera, chances are it's this one, the CAR2C12 features a PVD coated titanium case sitting on a fine brushed stainless steel cradle. The TAG Heuer website describes it as having steel 'lugs' but that's not entirely correct as to me that suggests it is similar to the Heuer 01 Carrera with its 'modular' construction. Here the titanium case sits on the steel cradle, and gives the impression of a stopwatch mounted on a 'base'; it is also angled slightly towards the wearer making it easier to read, but at the same time making the watch slightly bulky on the wrist and definitely not something to be worn discreetly. All the Bullheads feature this same design trait, the main differences then come from the case materials and dial designs. 

All three Bullheads measure 45mm in diameter, so again, definitely on the larger side and the CAR2C12 has a nominally 'black' dial with silver hands, numerals and subdial rings, this is accentuated with red detailing on the tips of the chronograph second, minute and hour hands. The running seconds is at the '6' position although it isn't immediately noticeable as it doesn't have a conventional subdial, I quite like this approach, especially as the date window is also at the '6' position and this layout can also be found on the new Heuer 02 Monaco. The date wheel is also black and shows that while the inner dial is described as 'black', it's rather more of a metallic dark grey than black, but then this helps split up the large dial and creates another level of interest.

Bullhead ownership doesn't come cheap, and as such this one could be described as the 'entry-level' model, but much like a Ferrari Portofino, it's still a chunk of change. Indeed, at list price (£6195) this is comparable to my 'pick of 2019' the carbon Carrera Heuer 02... here though, it's more akin price wise to a regular Heuer Autavia Heuer 02 at £4335.

CAR2C11.FC6327

TAG Heuer fans are inevitably drawn to anything carrying the 'Jack Heuer' name, such is the esteem in which the man is held, and it has to be said, the brand always seem to come up with the goods for Mr Heuer and this is no exception. I love that the dial is split more obviously here, providing contrast between the inner and outer rings and also those black subdials. I also think the baton style hour markers were a great choice as while I do like the Arabic style numerals when they are mirror finished they do become awfully hard to see from certain angles. The red chronograph second hand provides a welcome splash of colour as does the 'Tachymetre' text on the rehaut, and though it's hard to see in the render above the very tips of the subdial hands are also crimson.

My only slight niggle here is the white date wheel, obviously it would have been nicer in silver, but if it has to be white or black then white was definitely the way to go. Price wise the 'Jack Heuer Calibre 1887' carries a 10% premium over the base model and a list price of £6650, although the chances of finding one of these new is now very slim (of the three this is the only one not still featured on the TAG Heuer website). At Bicester village however you can pick this one up new with a 2 year warranty for £4655.

CAR2C90.FC6341

Finally we come to the most expensive of the three bullheads on display, the carbon fibre cased CAR2C90. This one shares the overall aesthetic of the CAR2C12, but with a black carbon dial (notably the TAG Heuer website says 'black carbon' rather than 'carbon effect'). I do like this one, and of the three it would probably be my pick, but then I always have had expensive tastes! Well, I say if you're going to have a Bullhead, you might as well go for it... and while the CAR2C90 shares the same issues of legibility with the CAR2C12, it's inately cooler so I am perhaps more inclined to forgive it some slight shortcomings.

I guess you would get used to it, but it is a bit odd having no protrusions on the right hand side of the case and the angled setting of the watch does make for an unusual on the wrist experience (obviously this goes for all three models), the CARC290 is undoubtedly very cool, but also carries a rather hefty price tag... list price for this model in 2020 is £8250, however our friends at Bicester Village can supply this watch at a significantly more affordable £5775, leaving a spare £2.5k for a 500M Aquaracer perhaps...? 

I do like these watches, but I'm not quite as gung-ho on the Bullheads as some people on the Calibre 11 Forum. I do struggle to think when I would be likely to wear such a watch, but reason that I would be quite happy to own one even if I never actually strapped it on my wrist... I mean just look at that picture above, how luscious is that carbon case? Sadly it's a little beyond my means at present, perhaps it's time I started doing the lottery again.... :)

*Although I tried these watches on back in July 2019 I have checked with the store and all three pieces (albeit probably not the ones I photographed) are still available. Please disregard the prices shown in the main picture, as they have gone up slightly while this post has been languishing in my 'to do' file.

If you fancy a Bullhead for your collection, please call the store on 01869 249008.

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Carbon Collection Rose Gold Calibre 5

WBD218A.FC6445

TAG Heuer Boutique / Sheffield, 26th January 2019

I've already made my feelings pretty clear on the carbon collection Aquaracers, but until today I hadn't actually had one on my wrist and so given the opportunity I decided to approach it with an open mind and see what transpired.

On the whole the watch is nice enough, I'm not crazy about the straps these come on and never have been on the other Aquaracers I've tried... The watch is quite light as while the case is not carbon it is titanium and only 41mm in diameter. The carbon bezel looks great and looking at it objectively, if I didn't know already that the dial wasn't carbon, I wouldn't have picked up on it. Which surprised me because when I looked at these in the Oxford Street boutique it appeared the dial was quite poor... so that has confused me somewhat.

I've said before though, you know... this watch costs £3300, it should not have any components which are 'faux' anything. If the watch was £500 then you can make the case, this is beyond ridiculous. That aside, from the pictures I really liked the look of the rose gold version - but on the wrist it's absolutely illegible. The gold reflects the black around it and to be honest it's harder to see the time on this than on my 'phantom' 4000 Series. It's definitely harder to read than the actual 'phantom' Aquaracers released a few years ago. Maybe it's the lighting in the Sheffield store? I don't know, but maybe that also accounts for my attitude to the dial as well, I mean looking at the picture above, the dial looks pretty bad... 

Well, I tried, but to be honest I found myself completely disinterested... and after a pretty brief period of time my attention was wandering from my wrist to the other watches on display, most notably the 'Racing Tires' limited edition tourbillon with blue accents, but that's a post for another day.

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carbon Collection Heuer 02 Carrera

CBG2017.FT6143

TAG Heuer Boutique / Oxford Street, 5th January 2019

When I walked into the Oxford Street store, my main aim was to get a look at the new carbon collection Aquaracers. When they were announced I was extremely interested, at least until I discovered that the dials were printed with a 'carbon-esque' design. I think I've already made my feelings more than clear on this in my 'Best and Worst TAGs of 2018' post, but all the same I was interested to see if they looked any better close up.

Truthfully, they looked even worse!

Thankfully my attention was quickly diverted by the carbon Carrera collection and in particular this gorgeous specimen. What a gorgeous watch this is, I've tried a LOT of watches on over the last couple of years and it's not that often that I don't want to give a watch back, but this is one that was very hard to take off.

Admittedly it's not unlike my own original Carrera Heuer 01, although at 43mm it's slightly smaller (no bad thing actually, if they made my watch exactly the same in the 43mm I think I might have preferred it, but they just don't) and as such it wears a little bit nicer while still having serious wrist presence. Also of course, this has the new Heuer 02 movement with the much lauded 3,6,9 layout... up until this point I've been somewhat indifferent about that, feeling that the top of the dial looked rather empty, but here it didn't seem to bother me at all.

The watch does wear a little thick, I'm guessing shaving those two millimeters off the diameter makes it appear thicker (it's funny, I never used to be able to tell the 45s and 43s apart but I seem to be able to spot it right away now), but let's be honest the 'modular' Carrera range has never been about being discreet and if you think it's too thick then this probably isn't the right watch for you anyway.

The carbon bezel and lugs look great and are matt finished so there's no constant wiping away of fingerprints (yes!), but I'm slightly bemused that TAG chose to utilise a PVD coated steel case which means the watch doesn't actually strike you as particularly light, despite the carbon components. To be honest that wouldn't bother me, but you do kind of expect a 'carbon' watch to be light on the wrist.

This particular model is limited to 750 pieces (the rose gold version is limited to 350 and the tourbillon is 500pcs) which is a bit depressing, because even if I resolve to save my meager salary hard, by the time I get enough together I'm sure these will be gone. They are already showing as 'sold out' on the Beaverbrooks website, which is odd in itself as I was under the impression that these were boutique only pieces (I'm guessing that must be the Aquaracers, maybe they didn't want jewellers mis-selling them as actual carbon dials....).

It's times like this when I call into question my choice to have a larger collection of less expensive watches as opposed to a much smaller selection of more expensive pieces, but the truth is I want both! Maybe I need a weekend job or something! :(

FEATURE: Another Day Out in London...

As I wrote in my last post, my experience of owning the Grand Carrera GMT has not been all that I hoped and since I can’t really afford to just sit on a watch like that in the hope that one day I’ll change my mind, I decided to part exchange it with Watchfinder for a couple of watches that I will wear.

Watchfinder's central London store is in Avery Row (off New Bond St)

Of course I could have posted the watch to them, but since taking it in myself meant I could see my new watches (although I couldn’t have them until my watch has been checked out) and gave me an excuse to spend a day in London, well that seemed like a sound idea to me.

So I rocked up at Watchfinder first thing (with my wife in tow) and dropped off the Calibre 8 GMT, and I have to say I am super happy with the new additions that are coming. Both of them look way better than the pictures led me to believe and one of them looks absolutely mint, so that was an excellent start to my day.

The Wonder Room in Selfridges

Next stop was Selfridges, which was somewhat underwhelming if I’m honest. They have a reasonable collection of TAG pieces in there I guess, and I was excited to see the new Carrera Twin Time and to try it on – but there was no one manning the TAG stand so I wandered off figuring that by the time I got back there someone would have shown up.

Amazing hand-finished 'Frosted Gold' AP Royal Oak

I had a look at some of the (rather gaudy) Hublots and my wife was drooling over the ‘frosted gold’ Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks (though she definitely can’t afford one of those), but actually there wasn’t that much that was blowing me away. Audemars Piguet’s stand seems rather sparsely stocked and seems rather too heavily weighted towards solid gold pieces.

CBG2A1Z.FT6157

Returning to the TAG stall there was still no one there, so I nabbed the man on the Longines stall who quickly came over and showed me the watch. It’s a nice watch, but if I was looking to spend that kind of money I think I’d want a bit better customer service than that to be honest.

A short step over the road is the TAG Heuer boutique and regular readers will remember that my first visit there was less than stellar. Quite different this time though, I’m happy to report. Evan single-handedly restored my faith in the Oxford Street store and was very friendly and happy to show me several watches including the carbon Carrera, the new Max Verstappen Formula 1, the Mikropendulum and the Oxford Street Limited Edition Carrera. I also spied the new Alec Monopoly Formula 1 (which looks better in the flesh than I expected) and the Tete de Vipere Tourbillon Carrera in there and also another unknown Formula 1 quartz with two red stripes down one side of the dial (I’m trying to get to the bottom of this*). I also had a good look at Evan’s own matt ceramic Carrera, which was very nice indeed and a great choice – no fingerprints on the matt ceramic!

TAG Heuer Mikropendulum

Leaving there (reluctantly – my wife was hungry) we headed back down Bond Street to ‘Richoux’ on Piccadilly, via Charbonnel et Walker to pick up some posh chocolates. I love C&W but I had to laugh when I saw on the receipt that their ‘pick and mix’ chocolates are £95 per kilo. Wow, that’s about 5 times the price of Lindt!

Burgers and awesome carrot cake consumed, we caught the tube to Kensington and walked around to the far end of Harrods for easy access to the watch room. Last time I visited Harrods the watch room was in a state of flux, but now it’s complete (although I’m sad to say that the Richard Mille boutique has disappeared) and slap bang in the middle of it there’s a very impressive 15ft high model of a Lange and Sohne split time, complete with display back! Impressive stuff.

Lange and Sohne Split Time model display.

We headed for the Hublot store and I have to say the watches in there were a lot nicer than the ones we saw in Selfridges. In fact my wife was rather taken with the ceramic ‘Black Magic’ range, the simplest of which cost about £7,000 and looked absolutely fantastic. In fact I think that might have superceded the TAG Heuer Link Bella Hadid as my wife’s dream watch!

This Hublot is really, really nice!

There were quite a few very nice pieces in there, including the Big Bang Unico Sapphire and also the Spirit of Big Bang Sapphire, both of which are incredible to look at, if way out of my price range. They also had a pink sapphire Unico as well and a ladies version with diamonds and a pink rubber strap, all at crazy prices – but still a lot cheaper than a sapphire Richard Mille to be fair.

Hublot Big Bang Unico Sapphire

They also had the Ferrari skeleton watches and the Depeche Mode watch too, and actually quite a few really nice pieces – and also some really weird ones with dials that look a bit like pentagrams… I’m not a fan of those, they seem awfully hard to read the time on them for a start.

Moving on we wandered into the Roger Dubuis store. I remember the first time we went in there we saw the ‘King Arthur’ watch (and several other very impressive pieces), but this time I somehow ended up trying on a watch that cost £137,000. Oddly enough, on leaving TAG Heuer I said to my wife that the Mikropendulum (£33,000) had taken over from the Royal Oak ‘Vampire’ as the most expensive watch I’d ever tried on, well that didn’t last very long!

The lady in the store asked me if I knew the brand and I said I did, but I wasn’t pretending to be a customer… however, the conversation led to me pointing to a Excalibur Spider Tourbillon and before you could say ‘this cost more than I paid for my house fifteen years ago’ I was slipping off my quartz 6000 Series (£300 from eBay no less!) and trying my best to hide it in plain sight on the tray in front of me.

It’s a cool watch right enough, but I can’t say with my hand on my heart that I’m gutted that I can’t afford it. I guess it’s so far out of reality that in a way there’s just no point wanting it, because I’m never going to get it, but while I do like Roger Dubuis watches I can’t help feeling it should have been a bit more affecting…. the white rubber strap seemed a little grubby as well!

The Fine Watch Multi-brand Room in Harrods

We had a quick scoot around the multi-brand showroom at the end of the corridor, but there wasn’t really anything particularly inspiring in there. Though having said that, some of the new Zeniths are pretty nice. I also spied a pre-owned Heuer Monaco in there (with the round pushers) which I believe was going for £19,000 or so. Not my cup of tea if I’m honest, but I’m sure some people would be well impressed with that.

Karl Lagerfeld Handbag

And that was pretty much it to be honest, we had a look in Karl Lagerfeld’s store on Regent Street, Superdry and Kate Spade and then made our way back to the train station. Definitely a day to remember, and I can’t wait to take delivery of my two new watches!

WAZ1116

*Turns out that mystery watch is in fact a WAZ1116, which oddly I can only find on a Honk Kong website called 'DFS'... (thanks to Tom and Evan at TAG Heuer for clearing this up for me - I just have to know!).

FEATURE: The Best and Worst TAG Heuers of 2018

Carrera GMT   Max Verstappen F1   Aquaracer Khaki   Carbon Carrera

It's been a busy year in La Chaux de Fonds. Going back through the blog to make this list I am really quite surprised at the quantity of new models that have been launched this year - and I'm sure there must be more that have slipped through the net. There's been some great pieces, some good ones, some not so good and one or two absolute stinkers - one of which really ticked me off! But we'll come to that... (and I definitely won't be pulling any punches).

So, in no particular order (because where's the fun in that), let's start with this rather nice khaki dial Aquaracer quartz.

Aquaracer Quartz 'Khaki Edition'

I tried this on in the Sheffield boutique and I really liked it. I'm not a fan of NATO straps and this one did nothing to change my mind, but the dial looks great and I really like the contrast between the bezel and the case. It was also a great improvement over the previous 'Calibre 5' Khaki Edition, which to my mind was no great shakes and completely failed to live with the 'Camouflage' Calibre 5 Aquaracer that was released at the same time.

Formula 1 Quartz 'Max Verstappen' Special Edition

A more recent release is this Max Verstappen Formula 1, which seems a little confused... the bracelet is smart yet the dial is rather gaudy and that stripe is awful. Admittedly I haven't seen one of these yet and I'm hopeful it might look better in person, but at the moment it's a thumbs down from me.

Lady Link 'Bella Hadid' Limited Edition

The Lady Link Bella Hadid Limited Edition is one that I have seen, as my wife tried it on in the TAG Heuer boutique in Geneva. She absolutely loved it, but baulked at the £4650 price tag - especially considering it's a quartz piece. It is pretty stunning though, with a matt black ceramic case and bracelet which emphasizes the diamond bezel and dial. What differentiates the 'Bella Hadid' from the standard version is the diamond hour markers (instead of gold), which really sets this apart and I think if you're going to go for a ceramic Lady Link then this is absolutely the one to go for.

Formula 1 Calibre 5 'Bucherer' Limited Edition

Luxury watch dealer 'Bucherer' are renowned for their special edition 'blue' watches having released them previously in collaboration with Tudor amongst others. This one is definitely attractive, but there's nothing to really mark it out as anything special, this could easily be a standard Formula 1. It would have been nice to see maybe just a subtle line of text under the TAG Heuer logo pointing out that this was a 'Bucherer' watch, but then it seems when it comes to Bucherer they kind of live by the 'less is more' mantra, so maybe not!

Autavia 'Watches of Switzerland' Limited Edition

Another blue dial, this time adorning one of the many Autavia Limited Editions we've seen this year. I'm not a big fan of the Autavia, and this one definitely isn't persuading me to change my mind. I'm just not sure that the blue dial and the black bezel go together somehow... it looks a bit odd to me. Maybe it would look better on a bracelet?

Carrera Heuer 01 'Aston Martin Racing' Special Edition

This one has taken it's time getting to the High Street, lagging well behind the Formula 1 version which I tried on months ago. While I like the perforated dial, I kind of wish they'd put some colour behind it to make it really stand out. It would have been nice if they'd incorporated the lime/yellow colour from the race team, but they've played it really safe instead by opting for red and black. I'm yet to see this one, and as yet I'm not really sure what I think, and I'm not to sure about the grooved case sides either...

Formula 1 Quartz 'Aston Martin Racing' Special Edition

When I first saw the pictures of this one I figured this one would be one that would end up in my collection, but when I finally did get to see it I was really disappointed. The whole thing is so muted in the flesh, not at all the bold and acidic colour shock I was hoping for, such a shame as I really had high hopes for this one.

Formula 1 Quartz 'Gulf Racing' Special Edition

This is another one that I have had on my wrist, and (like the Aston Martin model above) I was slightly frustrated that the strap was barely long enough for my wrist. I do have a large wrist, but I still usually have to have 1 or 2 links taken out when I buy a watch with a bracelet, so I'm slightly confused as to why the straps are so short. Speaking of the strap, a lot of people really like this weird blue textured band, but I really didn't like it much at all. I also didn't like that the crown and pushers were black, which makes the whole thing look slightly cheap and a little bit tacky.

Carrera Heuer 02T Tourbillon 'Ayrton Senna' Special Edition

TAG have really gone to town on the Carrera Tourbillons this year, and I have to say this one is not my favourite. I can't help but think the red Senna 'S' is a little out of place here and cheapens what is in fact a rather expensive timepiece. But then you don't buy a Senna if you want subtlety, do you?

Autavia '1972 Re-Edition' USA only Limited Edition

As I said earlier, I'm really not a fan of the Autavia, but this is definitely one of the better looking ones. I still hate that bezel but the red second hand works wonders for the overall aesthetic, it's a pity it's limited to the United States though...

Carrera Heuer 02 'Carbon Collection' Limited Edition

Definitely one of the very best things TAG have put out this year, the carbon bezel and lugs look great and that blue really works will with the skeleton dial. I'd love one of these but the price is a bit too step for my wallet. 

Carrera Calibre 5 'Bamford & Jonas Wood' Limited Edition

This is absolutely hideous and above all lazy. Clearly Bamford have taken a standard Calibre 5 Carrera and removed all the hour markers, paying no thought to how ridiculous the logo, day and date windows and 'Calibre 5' text look now that they are left crammed into the middle of the dial (with no reason for them to be so). Also the basketball design looks like it was drawn by a monkey with a crayon.

Autavia Heuer 02 'Hodinkee Orange Boy' Limited Edition

Predictable it may have been (very predictable actually), but no less effective for that... Hodinkee's latest super-fast selling special edition TAG looks fantastic as again that splash of colour works wonders with the Autavia's otherwise monochromatic aesthetic. Personally I'm not a fan of either the plain leather straps the Autavias come on or the beads of rice bracelets, so I'd be interested to see one of these retro-fitted with a padded, orange stitched aligator strap.

Aquaracer Quartz 'Nightdiver' WAY108A

This was another one that didn't live up to my expectations. I remember a leaked photo from Bazelworld showing off the lume on this one and getting very excited about it, but when I finally got to try it on I just found it rather underwhelming. I also took against the ceramic bezel as even though I barely had it on for more than a few minutes I was constantly wiping my fingermarks away...

Aquaracer Quartz 'Hendrik Lundqvist' Limited Edition

Definitely a specialised market watch this one, since I have no idea who Hendrik Lundqvist is (I know he plays ice hockey, but that's it). I do like the colour scheme, but the crown logo looks a bit too big really.

Carrera Heuer 02T 'Malaysia/Singapore' Limited Edition

This one really is a limited edition, with just ten pieces available to buy. A really unusual piece this one, with the case decorated with lots of small circles. Not sure how that is achieved, but it's definitely a unique take on the ubiquitous Carrera Heuer 02 Tourbillon...

The 2018 Ladies Formula 1 Collection

I'm afraid I'm not a fan of these new Formula 1 ladies pieces (and more importantly, neither is my wife). I saw a few of these in the Geneva boutique and one or two more more recently and they really come across as rather bland and pebbley. The most interesting thing about them is that the straps are easily switchable with some kind of quick release lever, I hope that makes it's way onto the men's models as well.

Carrera Heuer 02T 'Tete de Vipere' Limited Edition

Again, very limited and very pricey, this is the Heuer 02 tourbillon to go for if you're all about accuracy. It's a lovely looking piece as well, the blue really works, although I can't say I'm totally sold on the 'fan' design around the TAG Heuer shield logo at the 12 position. Still, I'm not in a position to buy one so it's not really something to worry myself over!

Carrera Heuer 01 'Oxford Street' Limited Edition

When I first saw the 'Oxford Street' edition, I was confused as I knew I'd seen that red date wheel before. Which of course I had, on the 'Tokyo' boutique edition released just a few months earlier...

Carrera Heuer 02 'Tokyo Boutique' Limited Edition

Indeed at first glance there's little to separate them (save the city name printed on the glass display back), but in fact there are some material differences in the manufacture, for instance the 'Oxford Street' version is adorned with a ceramic bezel, whereas the 'Tokyo' one is not. As yet I haven't seen either of these (and let's be honest I'm unlikely to see the Tokyo one - unless it winds up at Bicester Village one day!), and I'm undecided about the red date wheel. In one picture it looks rather cool, but in another it looks a bit cheap and nasty (like red plastic), so I think I'm going to have to wait until I've been to London again to make my mind up about this one.

Carrera Heuer 02 'Ginza Boutique' Limited Edition

I do actually quite like this one, if for no other reason than that it really stands out. Sure the colour scheme is super-bold and is not going to be for everyone, but I really appreciate its individuality and boldness. The red highlights stop the watch looking too flat and cold as well, but I'm glad they resisted the temptation to red stitch the strap as that would definitely have been a bit too much.

Carrera Skipper 'Hodinkee' Limited Edition

Heuer fans will tell you this is not a 'Carrera' at all, but since it says Carrera on the dial and it features the typical long Carrera lugs, well... I'm not getting into that! Suffice it to say that Hodinkee sold all 125 of these in a very short space of time, despite a very hefty price tag. Does nothing for me of course, but then I'm not the target market. Like all these super limited editions though, you can't help wonder how many were bought by 'investors' looking to flip the watch for a quick profit?

Carrera Heuer 01 'Las Vegas' Limited Editions

Yet another limited edition Carrera, this time specifically targeted at Las Vegas. I can imagine a lot of people finding these utterly rancid, but I kinda like them (well maybe not the diamond bezel one) and unlike some city-specific limited editions, these watches scream 'Las Vegas', which is kinda the point isn't it?

Monaco Calibre 11 'Bamford Carbon' Limited Edition

Most of the Bamfords I've seen this year have been... erm, well... let's just say I've not been inspired to save for one! This was the pick of the bunch, albeit I've never been convinced by the blue sub-dials. I think if that had been handled in a more subtle fashion (black sub-dials with blue text for example) this could have been even better than it is. Generally speaking though, this one definitely gets a thumbs up from me.

Carrera Heuer 02 GMT 'Batman'

I don't think it's too outrageous to say that this has probably been most people's TAG highlight of the year. Yes you can argue it's jumping on the 'Batman' bandwagon, just as Rolex are jumping off... but who cares - it looks great, at least in the pictures I've seen. I know these are out there now (because Calibre11 alumni 'Hubert' has one), but I'm yet to come across one. Asking in a jewellers has drawn a blank as well, which is frustrating... still I'm sure next time I visit London I'll be able to hunt one down.

Carrera Heuer 01 'Manchester United' Special Edition 

A definite improvement over the first Manchester United Carrera I feel, in part because I really detested the 'Devil' logo on the original version. I really like the 'Drive Timer' version of the Carrera Heuer 01 and one day I hope to pick one up, so seeing the Arabic numerals on here is also a plus point. Not totally sold on the red strap, but this is a Manchester United watch after all so it makes total sense.

Formula 1 Quartz 'Manchester United' Special Edition

When the first Manchester United Formula 1 came out, I was quite impressed. I realise in hindsight that what I really liked about it was the red and black rubber strap (also used on the Formula 1 Senna), but the rest of the design wasn't bad either. This one looks a little more classy perhaps, the black PVD and red was quite stark and uncompromising, so this might be a slightly easier sell to the hordes of United fans around the world.

Autavia Heuer 02 'Harrods' Limited Edition

Yet another Autavia... and this one I really don't get. Harrods teamed up with Tudor to produce a 'Harrods Black Bay' last year and subsequently this year they've released three more watch tie-ins, one with Bvlgari (which was green, but totally the wrong green), one with Roger Dubuis (which had two different tones of green highlights - neither of which was correct) and this Autavia which isn't green at all!

None of these three watches make any sense to me whatsoever, but on the whole I would rather the watch wasn't green at all than being completely the wrong shade. This version utilises the white dial (as used on the Calibre 11 limited edition) which is definitely a good choice, but I really wish they'd used the JH85 bezel. For me though, the Black Bay is still the Harrods watch, and I think the pre-owned market value bears that out.

Carrera Heuer 02 Fragmente 'Hiroshi Fujiwara' Limited Edition

Totally not my style, but I can see why this one caused quite a stir. I've always rather liked the idea of a Bund strap myself and I think this looks great, much better than the NATO I've also seen it presented on. As I say, definitely not aimed at me, but one of the nicest looking 'vintage' Carreras so far.

Monaco Calibre 11 'Gulf 50th Anniversary First Victory' Limited Edition

Limited to just 50 pieces, this one (predictably enough) sold like hot cakes, but for me the lighter blue stripe - while more authentic - was just a little off-putting. There's something about light blue that doesn't sit well with me when it comes to luxury watches. Yes it's a better contrast with the main dial, but it's just not a colour I can take to. Other than that, this is a very nice looking Monaco, but I'm still slightly unsure about the red and orange colour combination.

Monaco Calibre 11 'Gulf 50th Anniversary' Special Edition

Another watch I have had on my wrist and I think I prefer this to the limited edition overall. Again the red and orange is a slight bum note, but overall the watch looks very nice and as this was the first Monaco I'd tried on for a long time I was surprised how wearable it was. The only thing I really didn't like was the oversized 'Heuer' logo on the clasp, which is admittedly a bit picky on my part.

Carrera Heuer 01 'China Space Exploration' Limited Edition

I would say this is one that I'm never likely to come across, but you'd be amazed at the limited editions that turn up in the TAG outlets in Bicester and Cheshire Oaks. This is a pretty cool looking piece though, so I'd be surprised if they couldn't sell all 100 pieces at retail. I love the red and yellow highlights on the pushers and the back is neatly executed - if impractical for viewing the movement. Probably one of my favourite Carreras to date, along with last years Air-K5 (for Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori).

Aquaracer Calibre 5 'China Space Exploration' Limited Edition

Some complained that a dive watch had no relevance to space exploration... though as the same complaint wasn't leveled at the Carrera I see no reason to pay it any heed. This is a fun piece, and I would be quite happy to wear this on my wrist should one cross my path. The moon looks great on the dial and the red second hand gives the watch a dash of much needed colour. Having a job to find out how many of these were made now... but I'd love to see one in the flesh. 

Aquaracer Calibre 5 'Carbon Collection' Special Edition

I'm afraid I'm about to go on a rant now. When I first saw the pictures of these I thought 'Wow, that looks like my next watch right there...', my only reservation was that carbon watches are uniformly expensive. So I was somewhat pleased when I discovered the list price was £3200 for the blue and yellow versions and £3300 for the rose gold. Expensive for a Calibre 5 Aquaracer granted, but seemingly very reasonable compared to previous carbon pieces.

Then I discovered that the case was actually PVD coated titanium. Well, okay, I can live with that. I can see that it's a good cost compromise. But then I found out that the dial wasn't carbon either, but rather a printed 'carbon effect'... and that was a step too far for me and turned me completely against this watch.

When you buy luxury goods the one thing you don't want is 'faux' anything. It should be written in stone. Can you imagine TAG bringing out a diamond bezel Aquaracer with cubic zircona hour markers? Of course not. So why on earth would they think this is acceptable? I simply don't understand the logic at play here. Someone should have put their foot down and called b/s on this. Better to make it more expensive than to produce such an awful travesty of a watch. For this reason and this reason alone I am calling this now 'the Worst TAG Heuer of 2018' by a country mile. 

And to think, I really wanted one of these as well!

Autavia Heuer 02 'Calibre 11 - Siffert' Limited Edition

Okay, let's finish on a high note... as you know by now I'm not a big fan of the Autavia (or vintage style watches in general) but this is actually rather beautiful. As a very active member of the Calibre 11 Forum I was contacted last year and invited to express an interest in this 'Calibre 11' limited edition. While I really liked the dial design, it was still an Autavia (and priced accordingly) and so I reluctantly declined. I knew it would sell out though, as this is easily the best looking Autavia out there, and sure enough the watch was oversubscribed before it was even released.

David did a spectacular job designing this one and despite a few glitches with the Heuer 02 movement and an error in manufacturing which meant that some watches were sent out with 'TAG Heuer' stamped on the movement instead of just 'Heuer' I'm sure that most of the recipients were more than happy with their purchases. Sadly one of the 100 pieces that was returned to the factory was lost in transit leaving one forum member understandably distraught with little scope for replacement other than paying over the odds on the pre-owned market. Hopefully TAG and the AD involved will do the right thing and ensure the customer is taken care of properly.


So there we have it, my take on the best and worst of 2018, I know it's not completely comprehensive but I think I've covered the majority of what's been released and I'd be interested to hear your views on TAG's output this year in the comments below.