FEATURE: The Joy of Switching Out Straps

 

Visit any watch forum and you will always find a thread where people are discussing which straps they are wearing on their watches, where they came from, how much they cost and which exotic animals were killed in the process. No word of a lie, someone on the THF Forum has watch straps made of giraffe and hippo leather - I can't even with that. But who am I to cast aspersions, do I not own a pair of brightly coloured sharkskin straps for my 4000 Series? Why yes I do... and here they are.

FEATURE: Keeping Track of Wrist Time 2022

 

Happy New Year everyone, and welcome to 2023. We start the year with everybody's favourite post... 'Keeping Track of Wrist Time' (I jest of course, it doesn't get any more self-indulgent than this!), in which I reveal which watches I wore the most (and least) during the year of our Lord Jean Claude Biver 2022. 

I know, it's a LOT, just keep calm and we'll get through this together! Haha.

Now if you've already read my 'Another Crazy Year of Watch Buying' post that went up a few days ago, you'll know that there's been a fair bit of coming and going this year. Actually a lot more going than coming... which is a good thing, because looking back it's clear that I had (and still have, truthfully) far too many watches to actually wear them all. In fact I'd be somewhat surprised if I'd worn my Microtimer more than 25 times since I bought it back in 2017. And given it cost me £85 for a new battery last year, that isn't a good ratio!

FEATURE: Three Years On, Did I Buy The Watches I Thought I Wanted?

Way back in April 2019, I wrote a post where I listed ten watches that were on my radar as potential purchases. Some of them I did actually buy, but not all. I also produced the collage above for the top of the post which for some reason featured two watches that weren't in my top ten, maybe I changed my mind at the last minute or maybe I was trying to mislead my readers? Who knows. Anyway, let's find out which ones I bought and which ones didn't make the cut...

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

 

OWNED: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

530.806

No doubt, the TAG Heuer 'Pilot' watch is not for everyone. Reaction to it on the Calibre 11 forum is mixed to say the least, with one forumer in particular taking a real dislike to it and regularly mocking it for its 'twenty-seven' bezels. Yeah, okay... perhaps it's not traditionally beautiful, but it does have a distinct charm and for me part of that charm is simply 'Breitling Navitimer with a less retro aesthetic'. Because, as you guys know all too well by now, I do not do 'retro'.

I'm not too sure when I first became aware of the Pilot, but I do remember being very excited when I saw it in the TAG Heuer museum in September 2018. Like several other watches I saw that day, it was mentally added to my list of 'must own' watches, but it was one that seemed hard to find in good condition at a reasonable price.

There was one for sale for a long time at Watches of Lancashire, a company that sells beautifully refurbished watches... at beautifully refurbished prices. Their Pilot was up for a headache inducing £1500, but it looked incredible. So much so that on more than one occasion I almost decided 'screw the expense', but (thankfully) never quite followed through.

Eventually, in October 2019 I came across one for sale on eBay in great condition and selling at a reasonable price. I knew it would climb up from where it started but even so, when I won the watch for £570 I was more than happy (my bid had been waaay over that!).

The watch didn't have a box, but it did have the original instruction leaflet - though annoyingly it tells you all the things you probably already know (like how to use the chronograph), but omits to explain how to make use of the aforementioned 'twenty-seven' bezels...

Overall the condition was really nice, with only the aluminium bezel insert betraying its age a little bit. But even that is pretty good and nothing to really make a fuss about.

Some watches wear bigger on the wrist than they are and some wear smaller, this one definitely wears BIG. It's actually 42mm, but perhaps because of the overhanging bezel and the way it stands up on the wrist, it definitely feels bigger than that. Also, because the blue bezel kind of merges with the chapter ring underneath the crystal, it gives the impression of a huge dial with no bezel at all or a small dial with a colossal bezel. 

The bezel is bi-directional and despite its age it stays where it's put. Not that it matters, since it looks fine wherever you put it... unlike, for instance, a dive watch that always looks wrong if it slips out of its natural positioning. 

The bracelet is okay too, in fact it is surprisingly comfortable, but it tapers quite a bit and is a little bit slender for the size of the watch head. I mean it does the job, but if anything it kind of makes the watch look bigger than it actually is and that was one of the reasons I decided to purchase the original blue leather strap for it.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was told that the strap was still available and that it was a relatively reasonable £87 including the steel buckle. Considering I'd paid well over a hundred for a rubber strap before I didn't think that was bad at all and when the strap arrived I was more than chuffed with how it looked.

I actually think it looks good on both the strap and the bracelet, and I can possibly see me switching back at some point, but for now I really like it as it is. Unfortunately I haven't worn it enough to really soften up the leather yet and it is still remarkably stiff, but I do think it's getting better. It's also only just long enough on my 7.5/8" wrist, but better that than two inches of spare tail flapping about in the breeze!

For sure, the crown looks huge, and it does stick out - indeed that was a major concern of mine before I bought the Pilot, but to my surprise and perhaps because of its rounded shape, even if it does jab the back of my hand, I never feel it like I feel the crown on my 500M Aquaracer sometimes. 

And yeah it wears kinda big and it sits up on the wrist, which is kind of annoying, but still... it works perfectly (which is more than can be said for a few of my 1/10 second quartz chronos), it looks equally good on a bracelet or a strap and the blue subdials catch the light just right and give that fantastic 'sunburst' effect we all love so much.

Obviously the lume is pretty shot, but you wouldn't expect anything else from a watch of this age. The tritium is still in fantastic condition though and looking at the dial you would never think this watch was 30 years old.

Overall, the Pilot is one of my favourite pieces and one that I can't see myself parting with. Yes, it's not a 'beautiful' watch, but I kinda like how 'ugly' it is, and I really like how different it looks from everything else in my collection. I think when you have a certain size of collection that becomes quite important, unless you're one of those people who like to collect the same watch over and over again with minor differences.... which I am not. 

(Well some might argue about that, obviously...)

And while the 'Watches of Lancashire' watch did look incredible, I'm glad I held out for this merely 'excellent' condition piece for 2/5ths of the price!

GALLERY: Happy New Year to All My Readers!

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

FEATURE: The Weight Issue

I've been meaning to do a post about 'weights' for a long time, but never quite got around to it... and then someone asked me what the weight of one particular watch was so I thought, right - let's get it done. Now obviously I don't expect everyone to be fascinated by what each of my watches weighs, but it could be useful if you are looking to buy something 'similar' to one of my watches and actually some of the results came as a bit of a surprise one way or the other.

According to YouTube watch guru Jody (at 'Just One More Watch', a channel I view regularly even though most of the watches are 'micro-brand fluff') the sweet spot for wristwatches is 150g. So I've decided to divide the watches into three categories, the lightweights (0-100gm), the light-middleweights (101-130gm), the middleweights (131-160gm) and the heavyweights (161gm+).

THE LIGHTWEIGHTS

Five of the twenty five watches I have available at the moment (3 of my watches are stuck in TAG Heuer limbo for the forseeable future) fall into the lightweight category.

01. Classic Formula 1 quartz with a resin case on a resin strap (35g)

02. 2000 Series Multigraph quartz on a rubber strap (72g)

03. 3000 Series quartz Steel on a bracelet (92g)

04. 3000 Series quartz Two-Tone on a bracelet (92g)

05. Aquaracer PVD Titanium Calibre 5 on a textile strap (95g)

THE LIGHT-MIDDLEWEIGHTS

06. 4000 Series quartz on a bracelet (105g)

07. Microtimer quartz on a rubber strap (106g)

08. S/EL quartz watch on a bracelet (108g)

09. Carrera Titanium Calibre 16 chronograph on a textile strap (110g)

10. Aquaracer Calibre S quartz chronograph on a rubber strap (113g)

11. 6000 Series quartz on a bracelet (115g)

12. 1500 GMT quartz on a bracelet (116g)

13. Classic Aquaracer quartz on a bracelet (123g)

14. S/EL Two-Tone quartz chronograph on a bracelet (125g)

THE MIDDLEWEIGHTS

15. 2000 Exclusive quartz on a bracelet (131g)

16. Aquagraph Calibre 60 chronograph on a rubber strap (133g)*

17. Pilot quartz chronograph on a bracelet (136g)

18. 6000 Series quartz chronograph on a bracelet (140g)

19. 2000 Exclusive quartz chronograph on a bracelet (143g)

20. Carrera Heuer 01 chronograph on a rubber strap (150g)

21. Kirium quartz chronograph on a bracelet (154g)

22. F1 Kirium quartz chronograph on a bracelet (156g)

THE HEAVYWEIGHTS

23. Link Searacer quartz chronograph on a bracelet (167g)

24. Aquaracer Chronotimer quartz chronograph on a bracelet (176g)

25. Aquaracer 500M quartz on a bracelet (189g)


*My Aquagraph is currently living on a rubber strap and accordingly weighs in at a relatively light 133g, but on the bracelet it would easily have been the heaviest watch here weighing in at a startling 225g, 50% up on the 150g 'sweet spot'.

I hope this post is useful to some of you and particularly to the person who asked about the Link Searacer - thanks for your interest.

ON THE WRIST: Zenith Pilot Montre D'Aeronef

96.2431.693/21.C738

TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village, 21st February 2020

When I first saw this watch I must admit it did arouse my interest, which is odd... because for me the traditional 'Pilot' watch is something that I really don't get the love for; especially the massively oversized ones with the equally oversized 'onion' crowns. And yet, for some reason this one gave me pause for thought, and now getting it on the wrist makes me pause for thought all over again, because I really, really like this one!

Okay, let's just face the 'size' issue head on, this is 48mm in diameter, but looking at it I actually guessed 45mm - so I would say it wears a little smaller than it actually is; probably because it's black PVD titanium and lighter than you might think. Then again, that crown is HUGE, but because the 'Bund' strap lifts the watch up off the wrist it really wasn't an issue at all; I thought it would wear horribly, especially for someone like me who wears my watches as close to my hand as possible, but it was absolutely fine.

*Some slightly odd people do wear their watches a little way down their arm apparently - Jody from the 'Just One More Watch' youtube channel being a prime example...!

Everything about this watch is big, even the buckle... I didn't measure it but that has to be at least 1" across there. I like the star detail as well, and incidentally, that's not a scratch at the top right corner, just one of my hairs looping over the buckle. They've also made a nice job of decorating the back of the 'Bund' strap, I was expecting it to just be plain on the back so this was a rather nice surprise when I turned it over!

I know the 'Bund' strap isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I've always had a bit of a soft spot for any kind of 'cuff' strap and I would definitely keep it in place. There's nothing to stop you removing it off course, but I would suggest that if you do the crown might become an issue. As you can see in the picture below, the crown is very nearly as wide as the whole watch and I wouldn't fancy that pressing into the back of my hand. Incidentally, I didn't take the watch off the cuff, but if you do there is a nice engraving on the back of the watch as well.

Some pretty decent lume on the dial and hands here too, sorry for the slightly blurry photograph by the way - I only took one 'lumeshot' photo so it will have to do. Actually the Arabic numerals are the only thing I'm not 100% crazy about, the shape is okay, but I'm not sure about the finish of them - it's kind of somewhere between desert camouflage and faux patina, still they look great when they are glowing. 

Small running seconds at the 9 position is something a little different and there's also a small plate on the left hand side of the watch (which I unfortunately didn't get a shot of) which tells you the watch is a limited edition and contains this watch's individual number out of 1903. The pusher at the top left of the case is to advance the red skeletonised hand which is the GMT hand on this watch. Around the dial you will find 24 markers indicating the hours of the day and night, you can just about make them out in the picture above actually.

While I was trying on this watch I was mistakenly under the impression that the watch was more expensive than it actually is (which is always a good thing, no?), in fact the list price of the watch is £6400, but currently at Bicester Village this one is available for £3800, which seems remarkably good value. Sure, it's not something you're going to wear every day, but it's clearly very well made and with fantastic attention to detail.

Like I said at the start, Pilot watches aren't really something that I've ever dreamed of owning, but if I was to go down that route this Zenith Pilot Montre D'Aeronef would definitely be right up there at the top of my list.

Call the TAG Heuer Bicester Village boutique on 01869 249008 for more details and availability.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

FEATURE: 2019 - Another Crazy Year of Watch Buying!

On January 14th 2019 I published a post called '2018 - My Crazy Year of Watch Buying', and at the end of that post I stated the following:

"Well there we are, my crazy year of watch buying... and even though I've already bought a couple of watches this year, I can't really see 2019 playing out the same way. For a start I've covered a lot of bases now, and if I do buy watches I can see where I might buy one and sell one rather than just keep adding to the numbers. I'm also toying with the idea of saving up and getting myself something decent for my birthday in October, so that might slow me down a bit, but I guess we'll have to wait and see!"

Well, for those of you who've followed my blog over the last twelve months, I think it's more than apparent that 2019 did not go down the way I thought it might.... not at all.


01 & 02. TAG Heuer 2000 Exclusive Quartz Chronograph and TAG Heuer Aquaracer Quartz Chronograph

CN1110.BA0337                              CAF1112.BA0803

January got off to a great start, I traded in my unloved Grand Carrera GMT and walked away with two quartz watches! However, only one of these made it to the end of the year... I sold the CAF1112 on eBay in November because I barely wore it and when I did I couldn't click with it. That cost me a few hundred quid, but it was one of my few bad decisions this year.

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/01/buying-experience-tag-heuer-aquaracer.html

03. TAG Heuer 1500 Series Quartz GMT Watch

159.006

I was pretty lucky to find this one on eBay, I'd wanted a 1500 Series for a long time and these GMTs seemed like the ones to get since they were considerably larger than the regular 36/37mm models which can be easily picked up. But obviously that makes them more desirable, so I could hardly believe it when I managed to secure one for just £376!

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/02/buying-experience-tag-heuer-1500-series.html

04. TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Classic' Quartz Chronograph

CA1212-1

This was a bit of a mistake all round, I wasn't overly enthusiastic about it when I bought it and again, this one didn't even make it to the end of the year, but it did help fund my limited edition 'Senna' Formula 1, so it wasn't entirely without purpose...

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/03/buying-experience-tag-heuer-formula-1.html

05. TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Classic' Ladies Quartz Watch

WA1415

My wife decided she wanted a 'classic' Formula 1 watch and after trying on a white dial version at Parkers in Sheffield, which was nice but lacked 'something' she elected to gamble on a green and black model imported from the United States via eBay. I ended up buying it for her birthday and she couldn't have been happier with it. As it happens I've just changed the battery, which was my first go at doing that myself, it all seemed relatively simple so I think I shall be doing that more in the future.

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/04/buying-experience-tag-heuer-formula-1.html

06. TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 Watch

WAY208C.FC6383

I could not believe it when I saw this on the Bicester list, I'd been searching for one of these for so long that I'd pretty much given up on ever being able to see one and I really needed to see one before I committed to buying because I wasn't sure how I felt about that textile strap. Now I love it and even though I got a rubber strap for it, it's still in its packet.

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/05/buying-experience-tag-heuer-aquaracer.html

07. TAG Heuer Link 'Searacer' Regatta Chronograph

CT1113.BA0550

Here's one I really lucked out on, having tried to buy it earlier in the year at £995, I eventually got the exact same watch in a sale for half the money. If only that happened more often...!

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/05/buying-experience-tag-heuer-link.html

08. TAG Heuer 2000 Exclusive Quartz Watch

WN1112.BA0332

A very inexpensive watch this one; just £255 secured this from eBay and while the bezel is a little scratched and the crown needs some attention at some point in the future, this watch represents huge bang for buck in my opinion; and that blue dial is gorgeous!

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/06/buying-experience-tag-heuer-2000.html

09. TAG Heuer 2000 Series 'Multigraph' Quartz Chronograph

WK111A.BA0331

This was one that had been on my 'wants' list for a very, very long time. This one is a little rough around the edges and has a small chip on the back edge of the case (which you can't see when it's on the wrist), but again I only paid £266, which is on the very low end of what these generally go for. Since I bought it I've put it on the official TAG Heuer rubber strap, which has improved it greatly in my eyes, although I could live without the vanilla scent!

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/06/buying-experience-tag-heuer-2000-series.html

10. TAG Heuer S/EL Ladies Quartz Watch

WG141C

In July I sent my wife a link to the eBay sale for this little beauty and she immediately fell in love with it. So much so that she was willing to pay around £460 for it, but luckily she won it for just £300. When it arrived it firmly convinced me that I really wanted a red dial S/EL too...!

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/07/buying-experience-tag-heuer-ladies-sel.html

11. TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Chronograph

CG1110-0

In 2018 I tried to buy a CG1110, but the deal floundered because the glass was scratched and the movement was faulty. On the rebound I bought a two-tone CG1120 instead, but I always knew I wanted to add a CG1110 at some point. The sale didn't go smoothly, and the chronograph needs attention at some point in the future, but at least I have one now.

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/09/buying-experience-tag-heuer-sel-quartz.html

12. TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 Titanium Day/Date Chronograph

CV2A80.FC6256

Not something I was looking for, but a chance visit to Bicester Village turned this one up and I had to get it. This one was part funded by my wife and it became my 50th Birthday watch, I really love this one, especially the luminescent minute markers which look fantastic in the dark. Overall I'd say this is probably my second favourite piece in my collection right now.... the Heuer 01 Skeleton remains number one.

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/10/buying-experience-tag-heuer-carrera.html

13. TAG Heuer Aquaracer Ladies Diamond Spot Watch

WBD1316.BA0740

My wife turns 50 next year and she decided she wanted one of these, trouble is... no one knows for sure if these will be around next year so I had to stump up for it now! This is a gorgeous watch though, that green dial is really stunning, I just wish the men's version was still available here in the UK!

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/10/buying-experience-tag-heuer-ladies.html

14. TAG Heuer 'Classic' Aquaracer Quartz Watch

WAB1112.BA0801

A chance encounter with the WAB1112 in a dealer catalogue I bought piqued my interest, but my initial finding seemed to be that these fetched more than they really should (£8-900). Thankfully my persistence paid off and I managed to secure one in absolutely mint condition for less than £600.

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/10/buying-experience-tag-heuer-aquaracer.html

15. TAG Heuer Kirium Ladies Quartz Watch

WL1316

This one was a random present for my wife, which I found pretty cheap on eBay. When it arrived it was quite scratched and I spent a little while polishing it up myself, it actually ended up looking rather good and my wife loves it.

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/10/buying-experience-tag-heuer-kirium.html

16. TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph

530.806K

This is one watch I never thought I would get my hands on at a sensible price, but luck seemed to be on my side this year. Or maybe I just learned persistence and patience? Maybe a little of both... I certainly felt like pretty lucky when this one fell in my lap for about half what seems to be the going rate.

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/11/buying-experience-tag-heuer-pilot.html

17. TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Watch

WG111C

And this was another one that I managed to get for a lot less money than I was expecting. That's probably because the only other one on eBay was priced so high that it's been on there forever, but even so... red dial watches are nothing if not rare, and this one was in great condition and it fitted right out of the box, it was obviously meant to be!

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/11/buying-experience-tag-heuer-sel-quartz.html

18. TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Senna' Limited Edition Quartz Watch

WAZ1014.FT8027

Saw this and fell in love with that strap, I quite like the watch too, but the strap is super cool. I really like the silver bezel against the black case too and I prefer the non-chronograph with the stripes. Bit of a bargain and still under warranty until mid 2020!

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/12/buying-experience-tag-heuer-formula-1.html

19. TAG Heuer 3000 Series Quartz Watch

932.206

My final purchase of 2019, and a great one to end on. Been looking for a steel 3000 for a long time now and finally came across one for sale in the UK. I'm a link short, if anyone knows where I can get one please do let me know. Thanks...

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/12/buying-experience-tag-heuer-3000-quartz.html

Well, there we are... I know what I said last year, but I honestly don't see 2020 being anything like 2018 and 2019 as far as watch buying goes. Not least because I've already scooped up a lot of the 'cheap' watches I wanted, and there aren't so many bargains left for me to go at. So while I might end up spending a similar amount of money overall, it will probably come in the form of less watches... but we'll see. Last year didn't pan out the way I thought it would, so who knows?

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Pilot Quartz Chronograph