GALLERY: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Ladies Watch

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Four New Ladies Formula 1 Models

The new ladies range of Formula 1 watches was launched last year, the first ones to feature quick change straps that came in a variety of colours. To be honest I wasn't really that impressed, I much preferred the previous design and it seems the market shared my indifference as I understand they haven't sold particularly well. Undaunted, TAG Heuer have added some ceramic bracelet models to the range because, well, why not? 

After all, maybe it's just a case of people getting used to the new look, some truly iconic watches have started out being less than popular (the AP Royal Oak to name but one)... so here we are. All four pieces are 32mm diameter, with fixed polished ceramic bezels and quartz movements. As far as prices go, the 'diamond spot' models cost £1500, while the standard models are £1150. No word as to whether these feature quick release bracelets, so I'm guessing they don't.

WBJ141AB.BA0973

WBJ141AA.BA0973

WBJ141AC.BA0974

WBJ141AD.BA0974

As I'm obviously not the target market for these watches, I thought I'd get a second opinion from my wife. As it happens she owns the 'older' version of one of these watches, so I showed her the new version and her reaction was 'muted' to say the least. Admittedly she wasn't too impressed when she saw the new range in the Geneva boutique last year, so maybe she wasn't the best person to ask and besides, she's kinda fixated on that Bella Hadid Aquaracer and the new green Aquaracer right now. 

As for me, well I get that you have to update the range every so often or it gets really stale... but to be honest I'd rather they had kept the old design and given us some new variations of it instead. I don't know what it is about these new ladies F1s, but to me they just look a bit cheap and flimsy somehow, which is not something I would ever say about my wife's WAH1314. That is a beautiful watch that genuinely impresses me every time I take it out of the box to adjust the date for her.

Interestingly, I just showed a friend these watches without expressing an opinion alongside the WAH1314 and his reaction was also that the new ones looked 'cheap'. Oh dear...

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer 6000 Series Ladies Gold Quartz Watch

WH2344.FC6086

During my search for another 6000 Series, I came across this ladies gold 6000 Series quartz watch on Chrono 24. Sold on what appears to be it's original white stitched, blue leather strap, the watch appears to be in pretty immaculate condition and so it might be given the asking price of almost $4000!

According to the seller, the original retail price was $15,000... I'm afraid I'm slightly sceptical about that, given that it doesn't have any diamonds or other precious stones on it and the 'full bracelet' 2000 Exclusive in 18k gold was only £12,000 when new. But who knows, sometimes products are made for specific markets and priced to that market. So it's possible a watch might only be made in gold for a certain market (eg Saudi Arabia) and priced completely out of proportion. I know the guys at Bicester had a brown dial Grand Carrera in that was made for a particular market and was priced about £2000 over what would be considered reasonable, so it's does happen.

Given the age of the watch I would imagine it's either had the strap replaced or it simply hasn't been worn very much. It certainly looks in excellent condition, as does the gold deployment clasp. The watch is quite small at 28mm, but you may be surprised to learn that this watch was also available in a larger man's version, the WH5144.FC6065 which is apparently 39mm in diameter.

It always amuses me slightly that whenever you go off searching for the more extravagant looking 6000 series models you seem to come up against something of a brick wall, it's like they've disappeared off the face of the Earth. I'm talking about the more colourful ones in particular, you may find them in the ladies versions but the men's models don't seem to come up very often. Given that a lot of men probably wouldn't want to wear them these days you'd almost expect there to be a significant glut of them available on the second hand market (and a drop in value accordingly) but since there doesn't that kind of suggests they are either in the hands of collectors already or perhaps more likely they just didn't sell that will in the first place?

VIDEO: Stunning Ladies Aquaracer Review by Edinburgh Watch Company

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Alter Ego Two-Tone Quartz Ladies Watch

WP1351

I've been somewhat fascinated with the Alter Ego range for a long time and then a couple of months ago I finally got to see one in H&T Pawnbrokers in the town. It was one of the larger, brushed case models which while much more practical simply don't look as good to my eyes. And then of course came the whole adventure to Cash Converters (Wakefield) with my wife to buy her own Alter Ego.

You can read about that HERE.

I really like my wife's Alter Ego, but if I had been buying one I think I would have chosen the metallic blue or possibly black dial, but I understand why she chose the pink dial since she wanted something 'different' (not to mention the pink dial version is definitely one of the less common ones). My wife has never been a fan of two-tone, but when I sent her these pictures yesterday even she grudgingly admitted that it was nice!

I'm intrigued as to how this is put together, as I can't quite work out if it's gold plating or if the gold parts of the case and links are separate pieces? The backs of the links suggest they are one piece, but from some angle it appears that there are 'join lines' as you'd expect with a two-tone bracelet made of individual sub-links. And the case, surely the case isn't made in three pieces?

However they've done it, I think this 29mm watch looks absolute stunning! In fact I would go as far as to say this is probably the best looking Alter Ego I've seen yet, and this particular example (which is being sold by Swiss Wrist Watches on eBay) looks in incredible condition for a watch that must be at least fifteen years old.

I don't know why I have this affinity for the Alter Ego, I guess it's just because it epitomises the 'Techniques d'Avant Garde' spirit like no other watch. I just wish they'd made a men's version or something similarly futuristic and 'out there', sadly I doubt we'll see anything as brave as this again, even from a company as forward looking as TAG Heuer.

One thing my wife has commented on since she got her Alter Ego is that she doesn't think they are as comfortable to wear as her Aquaracer / Formula 1 / 2000 Series. I think perhaps this is because she has such a tiny wrist, because looking at the bracelet it doesn't have the same flexibility as a normal strap, although oddly, I would say the Kirium bracelet is the most comfortable bracelet I've ever had and that is by far the least flexible of all my straps. But since I can't wear one of these, the comfort isn't really my concern... but I can still appreciate the aesthetics, and this one looks outstanding.

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: Ladies Kirium Quartz Blue Dial

WL131F.BA0710

Clearly, not all Kiriums are created equal, some are definitely intrinsically nicer than others and this blue dial version is right up there for me. I happened upon this watch on eBay a few weeks ago and I really thought my wife would go for it, especially as the asking price of £280 seems very reasonable to me. The seller was open to offers, but turned down an offer of £250 and my wife decided not to pursue it any further.

I can't quite fathom the idea that it's worth losing a watch for the sake of £30 myself, but there you go. She's obviously not quite as obsessed as I am. But clearly the market agrees with her as the watch went unsold and has popped up back on eBay once again for the same asking price.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ladies-Tag-Heuer-Kirium-Sapphire-Blue-WL131F-BA0710/323304344950

I think this is a stunning watch and if I thought for one second I could wear a 29mm watch on my 7.3/4" wrist then I'd buy it myself!

As I've said before, I think the brushed Kiriums generally look better than the polished ones, but for a ladies watch with a jewel blue dial it makes total sense. I think my wife has some reservations about the watch because the photographs show up a lot of surface scratches, but to be honest I bet they aren't as bad as they look in the pics. Polished watches always seem to photograph quite badly, but you should still be aware that a lot of polished Kiriums have been worn as beaters... sometimes I wonder what sort of person buys a polished luxury watch and then wears it to their day job breaking rocks?

This particular example comes with all the (correct period) boxes and a warranty card, albeit the card seems to have some very odd marks on it, it looks like it says TAG Heuer Malaysia - but it looks like its been punched into the plastic, which looks a bit strange, but maybe that's how they do things over there?

Again, I can't vouch for the seller, but she has very good feedback, I think I'll give the wife one more look and see if I can't persuade her to try again.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Ladies Quartz Formula One Range for 2018

WBJ1312.FC8231  WBJ1311.BA0666  WBJ1317.FC8230  WBJ1416.BA0664  WBJ1411.FC8232

These are the new ladies Formula One quartz watches for 2018. Available in a combination of 32 and 35mm sizes, these represent a distinct modernising of the women's range with what appear to be Panerai style sandwich dials on some of the pieces.

I think the pick of the bunch here is definitely the steel and blue model, and for my money the steel and blue with the bracelet and diamond bezel. I think the least successful would be the black one, it seems a bit anonymous apart from the gold hands and diamond indices, the case just seems to disappear into the background, but maybe it will look better on the wrist and in natural light. Perhaps it's just that it looks like a less exciting version of the black Lady Link that came out recently?

Prices start at £850 for the leather strap models which seems like a good value price point to me.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Link Lady Black Ceramic Quartz

WBC1390 / WBC1391

A first for the blog today, this is of course a ladies watch and perhaps the perfect solution for those who liked the looks of Cara Delevingne's signature piece, but were horrified when they saw how big it was (41mm - which is well oversized for a woman's watch, 'boyfriend watch' fad or not).

My personal interest in this is because my wife owns three TAG Heuers of her own, and she's currently contemplating an Omega Constellation 123.15.27.20.01.001 with a black face, stars and diamonds.

I must admit the dial is nice and the diamonds around the bezel look good, but for me I'm not sold on the strap. I'm not sure that she is either to be honest, and every time we see one the bracelet seems to be scratched, which is a bit of a worry. I wonder if it's partly because the links are so 'flat', does that leave them more liable to damage?

Personally I think she should at least see the Link Lady Black Ceramic before making a decision. The Link bracelet has a reputation for being one of the most comfortable available and the gold hands and markers look fantastic against the blacked out mother of pearl dial, while the diamonds can't fail to look spectacular against the black ceramic case. The ceramic, incidentally, is available in either a polished (WBC1390) or matte (WBC1391) finish (I think the polished will sell better, but then maybe not once you actually get to see them properly).

Both the TAG Heuer and the Omega are quartz movements with a date function, so nothing much to choose there and they are both fairly similarly priced. I guess it's just a question of taste. For me the TAG is the obvious choice, but I know she loves the stars on the Omega...

http://www.calibre11.com/first-look-tag-heuer-link-lady/