SPOTLIGHT ON: The Winter Sale at Michael Jones (Northampton)

If you like the idea of a post-Christmas bargain, but you've grown weary of yet another email from Beaverbrooks, Ernest Jones or Goldsmiths imploring you to take yet another look at the same twelve 'entry level' Aquaracers and Formula 1s they've been peddling since Boxing Day (or in some cases before Christmas), perhaps it's time to look beyond the big boys on the high street and investigate some of the independents who rather than bulk-buying 'window' watches for exactly these purposes, might actually be trying to shift some more interesting pieces at healthy discounts. Case in point, one of my two local AD's in Northampton, 'Michael Jones'.

Their window on Gold Street has a decent and somewhat surprising bounty of TAG Heuer watches just at the moment, which might be of interest to those of you living in the UK. I did actually take some photos on my iPod but I can't work out how to get them onto my computer, and they aren't really worth wasting too much time on when stock photos will do just as well.

CAZ2017.BA0647

Top of the list, and most surprising of all for me is this Calibre 16 Formula 1 which has only been in store for a couple of months at the most. LIST PRICE: £2650 / OFFER PRICE: £1985

CAZ101V.BA0842

Another relatively recent release (and one I believe I predicted would end up in a sale sooner or later) is this 2019 Indy 500 Formula 1 quartz. LIST PRICE: £1395 / OFFER PRICE: £1050

WAR101B.BA0728

With the news that Cara DeLavingne is on her way out as a TAG Heuer ambassador, I expect to see plenty of these in the sales and outlets over the next little while. Not sure if this list price is correct either, it seems high, but it's been removed from the TAG Heuer website and I can't find it new anywhere else. LIST PRICE: £3895 / OFFER PRICE: £2925

CAR2A91.FT6121

Can't be 100% sure on this as I've only a photograph to go from, but it certainly looks like a CAR2A91 to me. LIST PRICE: £5395 / OFFER PRICE: £3895

CAR201Z.FT6046

Again, I'm pretty sure this is the model they have, but I could be wrong. 

LIST PRICE: £4100 / OFFER PRICE: £2995

CBC2112.BA0603

Rather surprised to see these Links in the sale, but on the other hand I'm not sure if they've really been that big a hit with the public. Beautiful watches, but as far as I can recall the only time I've seen anyone wearing one was when Colton Underwood was 'The Bachelor' (USA) and he wore a diamond bezel model every week. Fortunately for TAG Heuer he spent quite a lot of time with his head in his hands which meant the Link got a lot of on-screen time!  

LIST PRICE: £3695 / OFFER PRICE: £2775

WBC2112.BA0603

They also have the non-chronograph version, which is obviously quite a bit more affordable.

LIST PRICE: £2450 / OFFER PRICE: £1835

WAY211A.BA0928

They also have a couple of Aquaracers which I think are WAY211As, the price certainly matches the TAG Heuer website. LIST PRICE: £2095 / OFFER PRICE: £1575

WBJ1421.BB0648

Another very current ladies Formula 1, this one is two tone with hour marker diamonds and a mother of pearl dial. LIST PRICE: £1695 / OFFER PRICE: £1275

WAY1319.BH0717

This is one that I've featured in my Bicester Village reports, it's worth noting that while this looks like a good price, the Bicester price was £1470 (and as low as £1075 during their Christmas sale!) LIST PRICE: £2150 / OFFER PRICE: £1615

WAY131H.BA0914

Same story with this one actually, Bicester may well still have these at about £1330.

LIST PRICE: £1950 / OFFER PRICE: £1465

Michael Jones do also carry a fair stock of pre-owned watches, for example:

CV2A1M.FT6033

This tasty Carrera Calibre 16 Monaco Grand Prix Limited Edition on a tyre tread rubber strap.

PRE-OWNED PRICE: £2950

CAV518B.FC6237

And this classic black PVD Grand Carrera. 

PRE-OWNED PRICE: £2495

Of course Michael Jones isn't restricted to TAG Heuer, they also carry Omega, Longines, Rolex and Breitling, but the watch that catches my eye in the window every time I see it is this pre-owned Cartier Santos 100 in black PVD.

This is a watch I tried on in Watches of Switzerland on one of my trips to London and while I like it a lot and I know it's a considerable saving over the new price, I still struggle with the idea of parting with £4850 to make it mine. Besides, it will stick out like a sore thumb in my collection, so I'll probably just admire it from afar.

Well there we are, not sure how long the 'Winter Sale' goes on for, but here are the contact details for the store:

Michael Jones, 1 Gold Street, Northampton, NN1 1SA    PHONE: (01604) 632548

Incidentally, you can mention my blog if you like but they probably won't have a clue what you are talking about. I have been in there a couple of times, I bought a rubber strap from them once and they polished my Microtimer for me (lovely job they made of that), but I haven't 'identified' myself to them as yet. :)

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Link Calibre 17 Chronograph

CBC2112.BA0603

Michael Jones / Northampton, 26th June 2018

Came across this one by accident when hunting down the Aston Martin F1, and the first thing to say about it is that because of the way it was displayed in the window I couldn't see the price and had forgotten how much it was, so I was slightly surprised when I picked up the watch and saw the label which said £3650 (although I've also seen it for £3900 on Ernest Jones website, so I assume it must have gone up recently?). I did know that was the price, but I had forgotten, and for some reason it always surprises me when I see Links that cost this kind of money because I just don't associate the range with those kind of prices.

Leaving that aside, I have to say that the dial is very attractive. The one I tried on had a lovely blue sunburst dial (the watch is also available in black) and while there has been much made of the cluttered text in the lower sub-dial, in person I really didn't see it as a problem. It's a shame they've made the date window white, I guess it helps make it legible, but I can't help thinking it would have looked nicer if it had been matched to the dial colour (as indeed it was on the prototype of the black dial, but not the blue, oddly...).

The bracelet is very luxurious and tapers sharply down to the butterfly clasp which provides a clean look, there's no denying the bracelet is very nicely made and definitely gives this watch a certain X-factor. The bracelet was slightly too big for my 7.3/4" wrist, but as far as I can tell it seemed very smooth and comfortable. My only gripe with the bracelet is that it looks too wide where it joins the watch itself, indeed it actually makes the dial look rather undersized. This isn't helped by the seemingly oversized pushers and crown which also seem to give the impression of a too-small dial and take up an unusual amount of the right hand side of the case. I get that it's part of the whole integrated bracelet thing, but I can't help thinking it looks like they've fitted a bracelet for a 43/45mm case to a 41mm watch, because despite being a chronograph this watch is only 41mm (the same as the three handed version), which perhaps explains why the dial does looks slightly crowded.

Still, like everything, it's just a case of getting used to a 'different' design I guess. It is a very stylish and luxurious looking piece and the dial colour in particular is very attractive. I think if I was in the market I might tend to go for the three handed version, which is more like £2400 and doesn't suffer from the cramped dial.

WBC2112.BA0603

The other nice thing about the three handed version of course is that the date is able to be positioned at the 3 position which looks neater and actually looks a bit smaller into the bargain, which personally I prefer, especially with the white background.

All in all, while I like the bracelet and I like the watch, I'm on the fence about the combination. It seems a bit strange that they've made the chronograph a 41mm (and I've checked this in several places) when it's standard TAG practice to make three-handers 41mm and chronographs 43mm, I really do think that another 2mm would have given the dial a bit of breathing space and made it a bit less cluttered.

That aside it's clearly a quality product and it really looks and feels the business. I definitely think I'd take the blue dial over the black (although I haven't seen the black in person) as it just seems to give the watch something extra, but I don't think I'd pay nigh on £4000 for it if I'm completely honest.

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Aston Martin Quartz Special Edition

CAZ101P.FC8245

Michael Jones / Northampton, 26th June 2018

When I saw the first pictures of this Aston Martin Special Edition I was quite taken aback and thought there was a very strong possibility that this was a watch I would want in my collection. As more pictures emerged my enthusiasm was tempered slightly as it became clear that perhaps the yellow wasn't quite as in your face as it first seemed, and so I was very keen to finally see this in person and find out what it really looked like on the wrist.

One thing the picture above completely fails to convey is that this watch is almost 'Phantom' like, far from having shiny indexes everything is black and grey, which is probably a deliberate choice to make the yellow pop - and to a degree this does work. But it does mean this isn't the most legible of watches, and while the yellow does pop nicely, there's not a lot of it really so if you're hoping for a real eye-catcher you might be a little disappointed.

Case in point, when I walked up to Michael Jones' window and scanned the watches looking for the 'bright yellow' F1 (figuring it would stand out a mile) I actually didn't notice it at first, and it wasn't until I'd had a good look at a Link Chronograph with a blue dial that I even noticed the CAZ101P! Indeed the yellow stitching on the strap is more eye catching than the dial, which does seem rather muted in comparison.

The strap is very nice, I really love the yellow stitching and the patterned leather is very stylish, especially with the shape moulded into it. It does kind of bring to mind a car seat or something and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Aston Martin's interior was the inspiration for that. It comes fitted with a standard pin and buckle clasp, which is fair enough at this price point (£1350), but there is one major gripe - like the Gulf F1 I tried on the other day the strap is ridiculously short.

I do have a big wrist (7.3/4") but even so, not wanting to really pull hard on the strap in the shop I had to settle for using the second to last hole on the strap and the (very) pointed end of the strap barely reached under the retaining loops, that is really not going to work for me and even the salesman was rather surprised when he saw it on my wrist.

I've been hearing about people having this problem with Monacos of late and having to order a longer strap, which I think is a bit off if they are having to pay for it. I would hope that the dealer would supply the longer strap in the price, but I'm not sure if that is happening and I'm not sure if the Aston Martn or Gulf straps are available in longer lengths, and since they are a big part of the look of the watches in question that could be an issue. Personally I'd order a bracelet for the Gulf but the Aston Martin really needs the yellow stitched strap to carry off the complete look.

Incidentally, the retainers on this strap look much more substantial than the ones on the Gulf F1 which is good, because they ones on the Gulf look positively feeble. And the salesman in Michael Jones disagrees with our man in Ernest Jones, he thinks the odd blue strap on the Gulf is synthetic suede, which probably makes more sense to be honest.

If TAG are making their straps shorter as standard now I wonder how long it will be before they start reducing the length of the bracelets? I don't really understand why this is suddenly happening, I could imagine a shorter strap being preferable in the (very) important Asian markets, but over here in the West we're all getting fatter so we need a decent strap please!

At this price the bezel is obviously aluminium, and to be honest I didn't really notice it so much when I was trying the watch on, much like the dial it's kind of 'phantomy', but I like that they added the 'Aston Martin Racing' text. I also like that the watch has silver pushers and crown, even though the black ones would have looked much better on this watch than they do on the Gulf F1. For me the silver pushers definitely lend more class, whereas black ones bring to mind the older, cheaper F1s of old (like the one I sold a few months ago).

The backplate is uncluttered and tidy, with the expected Aston Martin and TAG logos in place of the usual chequered flag pattern.

Oh yes, the logo... tagheuerenthusiast superfan 'Jim Dollares' recently posted on the Calibre 11 forum that he's come to realise that he hates the logo on the dial and that every time he sees it it makes him want to punch someone in the face! Quite an extreme reaction I'm sure you'll agree, especially as it's nowhere near as 'bright' as you think it's going to be.

Personally I don't really have a problem with it, I don't love it, but I don't hate it either - it's just kind of there, and while I must admit I was concerned about the idea of having a 'branded' watch dial, it doesn't seem to bother me in the slightest. I think it's preferable to the 'Indy 500' branded dials for example.

To be honest I'm slightly confused about why the new Aston Martin racing car is this bright yellow colour, it seems somewhat at odds with AM's image which is usually all about style and a rather gentrified look. As far as I can remember I don't think I've ever seen an Aston that wasn't black, silver dark blue or dark green... maybe they've been hanging around Red Bull too long?

Overall this watch is quite classy looking, and while that is generally a good thing... in a way I'm kind of disappointed. I was hoping the yellow was going to be a lot more 'neon' (like the car it represents) and the watch a lot more 'fun'. It sounds a bit mad to criticize a watch for being too classy and I guess it will appeal to a lot of people, but for me if I want to wear something classy I'm not really going to wear a Formula 1 when I've got a Grand Carrera in my watch box. When I think of TAG Heuer F1's I think of a more relaxed, fun watch.. but to be fair this is probably the 'smartest' looking TAG Heuer you can buy for the money, which is a plus point for a lot of people.

While I won't be buying one anytime soon, I think this one would probably feature in my top five Formula 1's of all time (if not then certainly top ten - file that under future posts!). Like the Gulf I reviewed a couple of days ago, the watch looks smaller than 43mm, perhaps partly because it's a quartz and thus the case is a bit thinner than you might expect. It sits nicely on the wrist and again I'm sure it will sell well, but for me it's not really what I want from an F1 and in any case the strap length is a definite problem for anyone with a wrist over 7.1/2".

BUYING EXPERIENCE: BT0717 Strap

BT0714 (left) and the BT0717 (right)

After a very long search, lasting several years, I finally managed to get hold of CAU2012 Formula One Calibre 16. Despite the long search, or maybe partly because of it, I'm still rather on the fence with this one. When I see pictures of it I still think it looks great, but on the wrist it doesn't quite excite me as much as I'd hoped (and I still don't really understand why).

However, a similar thing happened with my WAH1110-0 (pictured above left) and it was largely because the strap, or rather the clasp on the strap, was utterly rubbish and irritated my wrist so much that I couldn't enjoy the watch and 'bond' with it (for want of a better word). Once I replaced the strap and it was comfortable to wear it transformed my attitude towards it completely and it became a valued part of my collection rather than an everyday beater, so I am hopeful that fitting its larger brother with a similar strap will have the same effect.

I'm still very disappointed that the only lume on the CAU2012 is on the hands. Ideally it should have lumed markers, but if not then I kind of wish it just had silver hands. The lume itself is great, but without markers it looks rather ridiculous and annoys me at the 'corner cutting' cheapness of it (and actually once you notice how odd the hands look on the otherwise fairly dark face, you can't un-notice it!). But anyway, let's not focus too much on that here because it may be that in a few months I will have fallen in love with this one like I have with my Microtimer...

...although I have to confess, when I was in the jeweller picking up my BT0717 strap I did enquire if I could trade the CAU2012 in for the second hand steel Grand Carrera I tried on ages ago - yep, they still have it. My reasoning was that as I'd bought it quite well, I might be able to flip it without losing much money - sadly the second hand items were sold on commission so they wouldn't take it in part exchange, I'd have to buy the Grand Carrera and then they would sell the F1 for me. Hmm..

(Interesting though, that that option is available. They charge 15% commission if the watch was bought from them and 25% if the watch was bought elsewhere. Given that they charge a fair bit more than Watchfinder (for example) those rates don't look too bad.)

Still, this was probably a good thing. Although I was actually hopeful of a deal (because I do still want a Grand Carrera), I can't help thinking I might regret selling the F1 without giving it every chance to win me over.

So having established that the clasp was terrible I started looking into my options. With a 22mm lug width the options were fairly limited if I wanted a genuine TAG Heuer strap, though there were plenty of 'eBay' options of varying style and quality. Strangely the CAU2012 has a unique rubber strap that isn't used for any other watch, which set alarm bells ringing. I searched for BT0717 (as I knew that was the 22mm version of the BT0714 I bought for the smaller F1) and it brought up just one watch.

CAH1012.BT0717

The BT0717 strap is used on this Formula One and also with a slight modification on the Kimi Raikkonen version. The Kimi F1 uses a BT0718 which has red highlights around the pin holes (and a red backing), which is quite cool - but not for an orange watch, and I'm not sure how available that strap is anyway, I suspect when you break it you have to replace with the BT0717 - but I don't know for sure.

The BT0718 Strap as fitted to the Kimi Raikkonen Formula One

So, having purchased my previous BT0717 from Michael Jones (Northampton), I gave them a ring and was quoted a very reasonable £48. Rachel there was very helpful actually and she contacted TAG to see if there was any other options like perhaps a different deployment clasp or strap that would fit. Sadly there wasn't, though I wished I'd enquired about the possibility of fitting the tyre tread strap found on the Senna Carrera. 

One issue there though that I wasn't quite sure about, was the fact that on this watch the lugs are closed in, unlike the Carrera where you can fit pretty much any strap without worrying. Since the CAH1012 looks similar I had to assume that it has the same basic case as the CAU2012 and that the strap would fit perfectly.  Thankfully I was right, though if not I was mentally prepared to 'make it fit', as my other options seemed less appealing. 

I did see a strap in Debenhams which had a lot of orange on it, and thought it might actually be a good fallback, but it was actually £70 and when I checked it was a lot more grey than I remembered, which would have looked a bit rubbish I think. My other possible route was a 'carbon fibre' effect strap, but thankfully the BT0717 fitted perfectly so I didn't have to go down that route.

The guy in the shop was rather bemused that I was changing the strap on a seven week old watch, until I explained the problem. He said that he had owned a Breitling in the past with the same issue, so it's obviously not just TAG who can fail at making clasps!

Despite only being 2mm wider that the BT0714, the BT0717 feels a lot more chunky and substantial. It's actually quite hard to get the tail end of the strap to fold under the retaining pieces, but I'm wondering if that might improve as the rubber wears in and softens up a bit. I can't remember what the BT0714 was like when I first had it, though it must be said I don't remember any struggles, and obviously this watch won't get anything like the wrist time so it will probably take a long time for any 'wearing in' to take effect.

Once it's on the wrist though it feels very secure and I actually think this strap looks better than the one which comes on the watch, so I can't really understand why they went to all the trouble to design and make a bespoke strap when they could have used this one? Of course, ideally they would have made this design with a (much better) clasp, but there you go.

So, to sum up, once again the service from Michael Jones was pretty good (it did take six weeks to come, but this was because TAG were out of stock and Rachel was very helpful with trying to source me an alternative strap) and the strap looks and feels fine (if a bit chunkier than is really ideal). So let's hope that wearing the CAU2012 on this new (comfortable) strap allows me to start enjoying this watch and I can get on with saving for my Grand Carrera rather than looking to trade up to it. Time will tell I suppose, and I guess at least if I do come to sell the CAU2012 at some point, the original strap will be in perfect condition!

FEATURE: The Microtimer is Back from the Polisher

Beautiful isn't it? Except mine wasn't quite this beautiful...

I bought my Microtimer last week for £680, which was a considerable saving on the one Watch Finder are selling at the moment... and by considerable, I mean over £500 cheaper. But the Watch Finder one was probably in better condition, to be fair.

Mine was not terrible, but it was scratched. Definitely scratched, a well used watch, which unfortunately because of the design, was a little too apparent for me. I thought I could accept it as it was, it wasn't so bad unless the light was really on it... but then I spotted that a local jeweller (Michael Jones in Northampton) is an authorised refinisher for Rolex and thought it couldn't hurt to ask.

The quote was for £100, which I thought was very reasonable, and so just a few days after getting my Microtimer it was gone again. Of course I was worried, the biggest question mark was over the logo on the face, they assured me it would still be there albeit it might look a little less sharp through an eyeglass but I was still concerned.

Similarly the clasp has an even shallower logo and the back was scratched even worse than the front. So it was a (slightly) stressful couple of days... yes, a couple of days, despite being quoted a return date of the middle of next week, I took it in on Monday and collected it today - brilliant service I thought.

They really have done a fantastic job, there was a chip on the left front (near the glass) which is now much less visible, in fact it's now more of a slight dint that you can only really see when you look closely at the reflection in the highly polished finish. The back is so much better too, with most of the scratches gone, but the engraving still perfectly legible.

I think they've done a great job of striking the balance between taking too much metal away and removing most of the scratches. There are still some fine scratches, but I think that's better than taking it too far. I'm sure those very fine scratches would soon return anyway, just with normal use. And most importantly of course, the TAG logos are all there, perfectly readable and really you wouldn't even know it's been polished at all.

So all in all, I'm incredibly happy (not to mention relieved) with the work they've done. Frankly for £780 all in, I've got myself a Microtimer that is a match for any out there I should think. The only problem is they've put the strap on upside down so I'm going to have to go and see them again on Monday to get it put right, and while I'm there I might have another gander at that Grand Carrera!

ON THE WRIST: Grand Carrera Calibre 17 Chronograph

CV511A.BA0902

Michael Jones / Northampton, 17th February 2017

I've seen this in the window of my local TAG stockist the past couple of times I've been there, but never really took much notice. It's a pre-owned model, offered for sale at £2700 and looks in very good condition. Strangely, when I looked at it in the window it appeared to have an oval dial, I mean I know it hasn't, but there was something odd about the case which made it appear oval.

I thought I would try it on while I was in there, because it was the most interesting TAG they had to be honest, and even though I wasn't particularly interested in it, I can always use some wrist time for new material for the blog.

So I was pretty surprised when I got it on my wrist to find that I really, really liked it. I've always thought that if I ever owned a Grand Carrera it would be one of those black PVD models with splashes of bright colours all over them, but this has really made me think again. It looks incredibly classy in the steel finish and the dial is simple, but stylish.

Most importantly it doesn't clash with anything else in my collection, by that I mean it's not too similar to any of my other watches and fulfills my desire for another 'higher end' piece. And with screw down pushers, a nicely detailed dial and it's unusual chronograph function it ticks a lot of boxes.

The sub-dial on the right hand side of the face is the running seconds and the left hand sub-dial is a thirty minute counter for the chronograph, as you'd expect the large second hand is the chronograph second hand and has a lovely (but subtle) red tip to it.

A quick glance at Watch Finder suggests it's a tad overpriced at £2700, as they currently have eleven of these available with eight of those being priced at £2450. Still, I don't know how old this one is (actually I don't think the jeweller does either) but at least I would have the comfort of buying locally.

I'm pretty sure they might have had some of this in the TAG outlet at Bicester Village last time I went, maybe I need to get myself back over there and have another look. I'd be surprised if they were under £3000 given the list price of £4795, but I'm sure there were some Grand Carreras in there that started with a £2---. Really should have paid more attention shouldn't I? Obviously paying a little bit more for NOS and a TAG warranty would be a better bet, but it's nice to know there's plenty about and there's no need to rush into buying the one I saw today.

BUYING EXPERIENCE: BT0714 Strap for Formula One WAH1110-0

When I received my WAH1110.FT6024 watch from FineTime Watches I was really happy with it, but it didn't take me long to realise that I wasn't going to get on with the strap. It seemed like yet again I'd bought a TAG second hand and couldn't get it to fit properly. The buckle on the strap was badly designed and it had two sharp edges which pressed into my wrist and really irritated my skin.

I must admit I was a bit annoyed, partly because I really liked the strap, partly because I couldn't believe this was happening yet again and partly because though the watch had seemed like a good deal I hadn't factored in the cost of another strap from TAG (remember the previous strap had cost me £120!).

So after a couple of weeks trying everything I could think of to resolve the problem I decided enough was enough and I went into town one lunchtime to enquire about the price of a BT0714. I'd looked on eBay and elsewhere on the net and the prices ranged from about £90 to about £300! Seeing as my previous strap had cost £120 from an AD I figured about £100 was probably about right. So I was pretty shocked when they told me that a BT0714 was actually £45.

Great, I thought... but then I got nervous and had them ring again and make sure it definitely came with the buckle (BT0714's seem to be sold on the internet with or without - maybe the ones without are fake?), they confirmed it definitely came with a buckle and I paid my deposit and left.

Delivery time was estimated at about four weeks, and bang on time I got a phone call telling me my strap was in store and ready to collect. The guy I saw the first time wasn't there but after some messing around they found my strap in a drawer (I couldn't really understand why this was an issue seeing that the woman who had rang me the same day to tell me my strap was in was standing right there, but still...) and then asked me if the original guy had quoted me £10 carriage.

I said no, but I didn't really mind (I just wanted the bloody strap) but the salesman waived it anyway and set about fitting the new strap to my watch. He enquired as to why I was buying a new strap to replace what to all intents and purposes looked to him like a perfectly fine rubber strap. Fair question I suppose, so I explained about how the buckle was badly designed and how it irritated the hell out of my wrist.

He said something about the buckle on a Breitling he'd owned not being that good and it was at this point I happened to mention that the buckle on the Carrera Heuer 01, was much better designed and that I had no problem with that at all. He rather comically stopped fiddling with the watch, looked at me with an air of disbelief and said 'You... have one of those?'.

I confirmed that I did, but that I hadn't had it long and hadn't worn it much. To which he replied 'You should have bought it here, we would have encouraged you to wear it!'.  

It didn't exactly bother me at the time but by the time I got back to work I was a little annoyed by his comment (actually not so much his comment but his tone), true I was wearing shorts and a work polo shirt, but so what. He doesn't know how much I earn, or indeed that I am the manager of my branch!

Still, the strap was (and still is) great. The end of the strap is a bit 'flappy' because the retaining loops aren't as tight as they perhaps could be, but it's fine and it was just so nice to finally be able to wear my Formula One without getting a terrible rash on my wrist. And I thought £45 was a decent price too.