BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer 2000 Searacer Velcro Strap

 

Years ago I managed to get hold of a leaflet for the 2000 Searacer, which showed that the watch could be purchased either on a bracelet or on a black sailcloth strap, but also that there was a red velcro strap available which came in a pouch with a strap changing tool. I remember a long time ago I enquired about the black sailcloth strap and being told that it had been discontinued. I don't think I ever asked about the red velcro strap as I thought that there was zero chance of that still being available...

But then a few weeks ago a new forum member at TH Forums contacted me and told me that she had ordered a 2000 Searacer from Japan and that she had already got hold of the red velcro strap for it directly from TAG Heuer. Interesting!

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S Regatta Chronograph

 

While it's a noble endeavour of mine to try to turn my rather large collection of (mostly) cheaper TAG Heuers into a smaller collection of 'less cheaper' TAG Heuers, it does rather take the fun out of the experience. Sure I was a little slow to cotton on to the fact that watches are not inanimate objects and they are liable to break and need repairing, but sometimes I really miss those heady days of 2019-2022 when every other month brought at least one new Ebay bargain to my door. Sigh...

Now, having sold approximately half of my collection, I have used most of that money to buy some nicer watches like my Grand Carrera Caliper Calibre 36, my Grand Carrera Chronograph Calibre 17, my SLR Calibre S and my Aquaracer Solargraph and I don't regret doing that, however I still get the urge to buy 'something cheaper' now and again. Truthfully, spending big money* on watches is still not something I am really comfortable doing, and since I only really like one watch brand most of the things I end up looking at are usually variations of things I already own or things that are still a bit out of my comfort-zone price-wise, even when pre-owned.

*My idea of 'big money' being anything over £2000 honestly...

OWNED: TAG Heuer Link Searacer

 

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It's a strange thing, but I haven't written a single post about my Link Searacer since my 'Buying Experience' post back in May 2019. Hard to believe, actually, that I've had this watch for over four years already. It's one I haven't worn that much, and recently even less because I needed a link for the bracelet and never got around to getting one, thinking that sooner or later it would fit me again (to be honest it's always been a bit tight), which of course it didn't. So I did finally get round to it, but to my surprise it turned out that despite the clasp having no micro adjustment there were only full links available. NOT COOL TAG HEUER!!!

So I ended up getting a full link from the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield (thanks Maxine) and it promptly sat in the packet for a full five weeks before I bothered my arse to fit it. 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer 2000 Series Regatta Chronograph

 

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Ever since I got interested in watches I've always gravitated towards the unusual pieces, the ones a lot of people might find 'interesting' but not necessarily things they'd actually want for themselves. One perfect example of this is the oh-so 'Avant Garde' Microtimer, and another would be the various 'Regatta' chronographs that TAG Heuer have put out over the years. 

Now you might think that would mean a wealth of cheap as chips watches all for me, but of course these types of watches are produced in smaller quantities, making them difficult to find and not as cheap as you might imagine. Take this 2000 Series CK111R Quartz Regatta Chronograph for example, I think I've only come across this model 2 or 3 times in the last few years with the price generally falling somewhere between £750 and £1000.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Quartz Chronograph

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Regatta Chronograph

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Regatta Quartz Chronograph

 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Quartz Regatta Chronograph

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Quartz Regatta Chronograph

SPOTLIGHT ON: Corum Admiral's Cup Challenger 40 Automatic Regatta Watch

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You may remember a few weeks ago I bought a selection of 'International Watch' magazines, that originated from the mid 1990s. Reading one today I came across an article about Corum, and for some reason it got me thinking... for all the time I spend on eBay looking for TAG Heuer watches and memorabilia, I can barely ever remember searching for other brands of watches, except maybe Breitling, but not in the last couple of years (and certainly not now they've gone down the 'we're just so damn retro it hurts' route).

So who knows, maybe there's a world of pre-owned watches out there from brands that are not so well known and which might not hold their value that well? Maybe my blinkered vision means I'm missing out on a veritable bounty of watches, perhaps some Girard Perregaux divers for next to nothing... or perhaps a Ulysse Nardin for the price of an Aquaracer?

Well probably not, but I did search for Corum... and to be completely truthful, most of what came up was pretty awful. I know they are famous for those dreadful bubble watches, but a lot of their other stuff isn't much better. But then my eye settled on this (above) and I was rather shocked by it. Finally a Corum that I actually liked!

Now the diamond bezel might give the game away, because in fact this is technically a 'ladies' watch. But... crucially, it is 40mm in diameter, so to my mind that is at the very least something that could be considered 'Unisex'! I mean come on, with that protruding crown and those brutalist crown guards, this thing is going to measure 45-46mm surely!

They also make it in black, with a chronograph, which is a bit less feminine admittedly... and the flags look rather cool in monochrome, but still I think I prefer the white version. But okay, maybe it is a bit girly... (can't even buy it for my wife as it's way too big for her tiny wrists, she can only just cope with 36mm!), and of course there are 'Admiral's Cup' models for men. Here's one below, the only problem is it's 50mm in diameter!

Why on Earth does it need to be so big - that's ludicrous. I mean, I don't like it much anyway, although the strap looks quite cool. Kinda reminds me of the Oris rubber straps, the ones that come on the Aquis... but no way can this thing be 5mm bigger than my Heuer 01, that just isn't going to work.

They do however, make a rather cool watch called the 'Deep Hull 1000', which as you can probably guess from the name is manly to the max. It looks (at least to me at any rate) like an Aquagraph that has been redesigned by a Terminator T-800, and then given twice the water resistance - hence the 1000 in the name. This is a beast of a watch and yet again the sizing is the wrong side of ridiculous.

If I remember correctly the Aquagraph is 42mm in diameter, but this thing is 48mm, and will you look at the size of that crown, that thing would give Richard Mille nightmares! Part of me quite likes it though, but I know on wrist it would almost certainly look completely over the top.

List price on one of these is nigh on £8000, but as I suspected you can pick one up from Chrono 24 fairly easily for around about £3k. I think at £8000 it looks expensive, but at £3000 it's looking like a very credible and very cool alternative to a 500M Aquaracer, or indeed the Aquagraph!

Corum certainly are a very hit and miss brand, and I really can't see me succumbing to their offerings any time soon, but it just shows that once in a while perhaps it's worth taking the blinkers off to see what else is out there - even if it's only to assure yourself that you were happy as you were in the first place!

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Regatta Quartz Chronograph

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link 'Searacer' Regatta Chronograph

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link 'Searacer' Regatta Chronograph

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Quartz Regatta Chronograph

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Quartz Regatta Chronograph

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You may remember that I bought one of these from eBay a month or two back - it seems a long time ago now, I guess a lot has happened in the meantime! That one was (by far) the cheapest one I could find, and once it arrived it became clear why. It was a bit scratched, but not too bad - I would probably have worn it for a while and then maybe had it polished once the battery needed doing, but it also had three polished links in the bracelet (should be brushed) and the bracelet was too small for me, which admittedly isn't the seller's fault. But the real problem was that the Regatta function didn't seem to work properly and I couldn't get the hands to reset properly.

So it went back, and I resigned myself to either living without the Searacer, or having to find some more money to get a better one. It was a massive shame because I really loved the watch and I really didn't want to send it back. But the head won out (thankfully!) and I received a full and prompt refund from the seller. 

In the meantime I found one for sale on EST1897's website which was up for £995, a hefty jump indeed, but considerably less than I had seen CT1113s for on Watchfinder to be fair. I decided to get the watch sent to my local pawn shop for a viewing, but for whatever reason it never turned up, or if it did they never notified me that it was there, and so eventually I assumed it must have been sold. But then the other day I went on EST1897's website for the first time in ages (for some reason I always forget about them) and the watch was still sitting there, only now it wasn't £995. It had been reduced to £745, and then further reduced to £495!

It would be crazy not to buy it at that price, even though the photographs showed that the hour sub-dial wasn't aligned properly (... more on that in a minute), and so I ordered the watch only to be informed a couple of hours later that Bicester Village had finally got the WAY208C in that I've been after for over two years. How typical is that? Still, probably best I had already ordered it, otherwise I would have probably passed it up again, and someone else would have snaffled up what is undoubtedly a bargain. Hell, Watchfinder could have bought it and put it on their site for their usual price of £1150!

So it took a week to arrive, which is a bit slow if I'm honest, these days watches usually turn up within a day or two, a week seems like a lifetime. There's no box or papers, although they did send it in a black watchbox which is adequate for the purpose. The watch is in excellent with no marks to the glass, and only a few tiny marks on the case and bracelet. Furthermore, despite being advertised as having a 7" bracelet, the watch fitted my 7.3/4" wrist straight out of the box and needless to say all the links are brushed rather than a random assortment, which is nice. The clasp is also in good condition and functions well, it obviously hasn't had too much use as it still has a nice crisp action and snaps into place perfectly.

So then, I had to reset the hour sub-dial, which isn't too difficult. You pull the crown out to the first position: this allows you to move the hour hand (with the crown) quickly and independently of the minute hand to set the hour and date (there is no quick set date function on the Searacer). In this position you can also reset the hour sub-dial hand and the red 'Regatta' hand using the upper and lower pushers, then pull it out again to adjust the minute hands (with the crown) and reset the second hand and the 1/10th of a second sub dial using the upper and lower pushers. 

This video demonstrates first the chronograph function, then putting the watch into Regatta

mode by depressing the lower pusher for two seconds. Notice the hour subdial flicks from

12 to 6 and the red hand starts moving, this indicates the ten minute countdown as measured by

the larger Arabic numerals on the chapter ring (rehaut). 

(I won't make you sit for nine minutes watching the seconds tick by...)

Nine minutes later, the red hand is now approaching the end of it's ten minute countdown. 

When it reaches 12 the hour sub dial flicks back up from 6 to 12 and starts the chronograph counting forward. 

Once the countdown is completed the chrono functions normally and can be stopped and re-started as required.

Once you have finished timing, the chrono is reset in the usual manner by pressing the bottom pusher.

Once this was done I depressed the lower pusher for two seconds to initiate 'Regatta' mode and the red tipped hand on the hour sub-dial flipped to the 6 position to indicate 'Regatta' timing. In this mode the second hand starts moving and the red hand with the half-arrow tip begins a ten minute countdown (using the large backwards digits on the rehaut as markers). Once the countdown is completed the hand on the hour sub-dial flips back up to 12 and the chronograph starts counting normally and can be stopped and restarted as normal. I left the chronograph running to satisfy myself that the hour sub-dial was working and then reset everything back to zero.

Great, so everything works and finally I could relax and enjoy my new timepiece. Unlike my new Aquaracer, I'm okay with wearing this one to work so I switched my watches and wore it for the rest of the day. So far I'm very happy with it, although there are a couple of niggles, not pertaining to this watch in particular, but the watch in general. 

First, though the Link bracelet is super comfortable and extremely stylish I do wish the bracelet tapered rather than 'stepped' from the largest links to the smaller ones. I know that's just how Link bracelets are but it does look a little bit clunky to these eyes, albeit it's probably something I'll stop noticing after a while. Secondly, it's a bit strange not having a running seconds hand anywhere on the dial, again it's not a massive deal, just something I'm not used to as none of my other watches lack a second hand.

The only other minor complaint that immediately springs to mind is that the glass doesn't seem to have any anti-reflective coating applied to it, so reflections are a bit of a pain. But really, that's about all I can come up with, and given the bargain basement price I paid for this one... it's a definite keeper.

NOT BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Link 'Searacer' Regatta Chronograph

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This is a disappointing tale... I wasn't going to buy anything else for a while, I was going to be good and save for something special. But you know how it is, you start looking on eBay and something catches your eye, the price looks good, maybe a little too good... 

This one was bidding at less than £300, albeit it hadn't hit its reserve price, and it had a buy it now of £495. Checking around I could see this going for over £495, in fact I could see it going up around £600 (if not more) and I knew that as soon as someone hit the reserve the buy it now price would disappear. The price climbed up to £319 and still hadn't hit the reserve and I figured £495 was a good price, sure it might go for less, but £495 was a good price and I didn't want to lose this one - so I took it. 

But before I did I contacted the seller to establish that everything worked okay and that he had all the extra links for the bracelet. This was important because in the picture it was clear that the owner had a very small wrist - indeed I couldn't even get this over my hand when it arrived.

So two days later I get my post and there it is. The box and barrel case were in excellent shape, and the watch itself... well, it wasn't pristine, it had clearly been well worn, but the glass was scratch free.  I figured I'd be quite happy to spend a little more to send it off for polishing and have it looking perfect again.

The watch felt great, I've always had a not so great feeling about Links in general, but this one looked and felt great. It's a nice size and weight, it's certainly not light and feels quite chunky. Obviously I couldn't get it on my wrist, but I was surprised how substantial it felt actually. I really loved the dial, it really is pretty damned cool and the Regatta function itself is pretty badass too. Not that I would ever have a use for it of course, but really... who cares about that?

The booklet that came with the watch wasn't overly helpful it must be said, and looking on the internet for assistance didn't produce much of worth. But after I played with it a bit I figured it out, and the Regatta function did seem to work just fine. The function is a countdown of ten minutes which then initiates the chronograph to time your race, pretty clever stuff... except when you revert back to chrono mode the hands didn't reset to 12 like they should.

So I figured, okay, I've been here before... watches in the post get dropped, so I pulled out the crown to reset the chrono. Well I got the second hand to reset but that was it, heaven knows how you're supposed to reset the other hand. I contacted the seller, but he had no idea how the watch worked, he'd never used it other than as a time telling tool, so that was a dead end.

And then I noticed something else, that being that the 1/10th of a second hand had not moved once since I'd picked the watch out of the box. Clearly something was awry. My Kirium chrono was all over the place when I got it, with every hand knocked off centre, but the 1/10th subdial still moved, this one was stuck at 4. I checked the photos on the auction and sure enough the 1/10th hand was stuck at 4. 

This was enough for me to call time. The seller offered me a £100 discount, but I didn't think it was worth letting myself in for a potentially big bill. Being quartz there's every chance it would need the movement replacing, so I figured that even though it was tempting, it was a bad idea. It's such a shame as well because I really liked the watch, and I kinda want to hunt another one down - preferably in a lot better condition and working properly, obviously. I know it will cost more money, but I think it will be worth it, this is a very cool looking watch.

My only slight niggle is the bracelet, I can't comment on the comfort as I couldn't try it on, but Links are notoriously comfortable. What I didn't like so much was that the first two links are one size and then it jumps down to a smaller size link for the rest of the bracelet, which I thought looked a bit weak. I realise it would have cost more to make, but it would be nice if there was more of a gradual taper to the bracelet. Not a deal breaker, I'm sure I would have gotten used to it. Just an observation really.

Wristshot taken on my friend Rich's wrist (6.1/2")

Sadly the watch has been returned now, so I'll have to start looking for a replacement. No rush though, I need to rebuild my TAG fund a little. I do think I'm done with buying the cheaper, older models now though. I've got a good selection of interesting older pieces, I think now it's time to be more selective and get some higher quality pieces into the collection. Interestingly EST1897 have one of these for £995, which bears out my opinion that this was a great price - but only if it had worked properly, what a shame it didn't.

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Regatta Calibre S

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My affection for the Calibre S movement is well documented on these pages, but (as I found out when I tried on the SLR lap-timer a little while ago) not all Calibre S movements are quite the same. And so it is with this 'Regatta' version, which features a countdown timer as part of the mechanism - should you ever feel the need to time an egg, or indeed start a yacht race!

Let's be honest, very few of us need a countdown Regatta timer, but it's a fun thing to have on your wrist and takes the fiddle-factor of the original Calibre S to the next level. I find these particular Aquaracer's to be quite nice looking, but when I've tried on the standard (non Regatta) versions I've found them to be very... I can't quite think of the words, they are a bit 'pebbley'.

What on Earth does that mean I hear you say?

Pebbley, smooth... the bezel slopes and somehow gives the watch a very ergonomic feel, which I can imagine some people finding appealing, but to me it leaves the watch a little characterless case wise. The watches are also quite thin, which again some people like, but I find they feel a little insubstantial on the wrist and I seem to remember being singularly unimpressed with the clasp, which really looks like it belongs on the most entry-level of Formula 1s, not a £3000+ Aquaracer.

The party trick of the Regatta Calibre S is that it gives you a ten minute countdown timer, which then starts the chronograph function to time your yacht race, I have posted a video showing this in the past and there's no denying that it's very cool. Pretty pointless for 99% of the people who are going to buy them, but then so are chronographs and everybody loves a chronograph!

This watch comes in anthracite, blue and also in a limited edition 'China Team' version with a quarter section of the bezel coloured red, which looks quite nice - these are still available in the outlets, I know Bicester Village has one (unless they've sold it very recently) but they aren't cheap by any means. Personally I think I'll stick with my yellow dial standard Calibre S, I much prefer the case style and it's relative chunkiness compared to this more svelte model.

VIDEO: Aquaracer Calibre S Regatta - Factory Reset and Functions

VIDEO: Heuer Regatta Timer 134.603 Review by Watchbox Reviews

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S Regatta Review by JSNissan