GALLERY: TAG Heuer 6000 Series Quartz Watch

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 Chronograph Review by MD Jewellers

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer 2000 Professional Quartz Watch

254.006/1

The 2000 Series 254.006 is another one of those models that was carried over from the Heuer days and subsequently given an updated dial with the (then) new logo. Since this dates the watch to the mid 1980s it's no surprise to learn that the watch is battery powered, indeed such was the novelty and perhaps even 'cache' of this that they even placed the word 'quartz' on the dial - can you imagine such a thing in 2020?

The dial is fairly simple, with a nice 6-9-12 layout for the subdials and while these pictures suggest the background is white, other pictures I've seen suggest a slightly creamier tone.

While the watch isn't exactly gorgeous, I must admit the more I look at it the more I'm warming to it. The shot above in particular seems to show it from it's best angle and also shows off the classic 80s bracelet. The bezel is bound to be this watch's 'Marmite' factor, it's an interesting one isn't it? Not quite as spectacularly awful as the similar one with cross headed screws for sure, but still... I guess we could be generous and say the style hasn't dated well, but it does rather bring to mind some other classic watches of the 70s and 80s doesn't it?

The watch looks surprisingly chunky for a quartz and as this side shot (below) shows, the crown is positioned bizarrely low down on the case side. I can't help thinking that might be rather uncomfortable if like me you wear your watch right up at the top of your wrist next to your hand. I don't think I've ever seen another 2000 that looks like this and it rather makes me wonder why it was necessary for the crown and pushers to be placed like that.

By contrast the hands seem rather delicate don't they? Indeed the more I looked at these pictures the more I started to wonder if I wasn't looking at some cobbled together Franken-watch, but a bit of Googling seems to suggest the Heuer version of this watch was just the same - even the crown and pusher arrangement matches up. 

I've had no luck trying to find an open sale for one of these (just a lot of dead links on 'Rebonz' and the usual Chrono24 'you searched for one specific watch but we're going to show you everything with Heuer in the title' nonsense) but I did find a completed sale on 'Watchcharts.com' which had an asking price of $455. This gives us some information about the watch, apparently it has a 36mm bezel diameter and a 40mm case size which strikes me as rather generous for a watch from the 80s - let's not forget the men's resin case Formula 1 of the period was only 35mm so this must have been quite a beast in it's day.

Pre 'TAG Heuer' 254.006 with Heuer logo on the dial

One thing that is somewhat curious about this watch is that it clearly has some kind of date window magnification and yet it doesn't appear to have an 'external' cyclops such as you would find on a modern Aquaracer. It looks like perhaps there is a magnifying glass between the date wheel and the date window aperture, which seems like a great idea. I've often wondered why they don't put the cyclops on the inside of the glass (assuming there is room for the hands of course) as it would be so much neater and much more aesthetically pleasing. But then, maybe this is the reason why the watch is so thick and the movement positioned so far back in the case? If so, then I can see why they didn't continue with that particular design...

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 Watch

FEATURE: My Top Five Grand Carreras

CAV5185.FC6237

I was going to start this post by declaring the 'Grand Carrera' as the most recent 'new' product from TAG Heuer (launched in 2007 and now discontinued). But when you think about it, since then we have had the 'Connected' smartwatch and also the modular Carrera and the TAG Heuer 'Autavia' (which is a brand new model in all but name). I guess it's the last product that was released with a new 'name' but then again... it's just 'Carrera' with 'Grand' in front of it, so no not really. Maybe the 'SLR' or the 'Golf' should have that particular accolade? Wow, 15 years since we had a genuinely new product launched in it's own right, vive le Avant Garde!

Leaving that aside, the Grand Carrera isn't exactly universally adored in the TAG Heuer community; some people love it and some really don't. Personally I have a very on/off relationship with the line (so far I have owned and sold one piece) and the high prices have kept the ones I really like very much at arm's length for me. But I still have my favourites and one day when that lottery ticket finally comes up trumps I'm sure I'll add more than a couple to my collection. 

Let's take a look and see which ones have made my top five:

#5 WAV511E.FC6230  40.2mm Calibre 6 Brown Dial & Diamonds 

It was a toss up for fifth place between this and the black and rose gold CAV518E, but in the end I gave it to this one because I wanted at least one Calibre 6 in the group. One of my issues with the Calibre 8 GMT I owned was that at 43mm the watch was too big for a three hander with a narrow bezel, so I've often wondered if I wouldn't have been better going for the smaller Grand Carrera with the running seconds sub-dial at the '6' position instead?

I've chosen the brown dial version because I tried on a brown dial GC Chronograph one time at the Hull outlet store and I thought it was extremely classy. It's a very dark brown, you might even mistake it for black at first, but that subtle colouration was a big plus for me and the diamonds... well, I also tried on a black dial GC Calibre 8 GMT with a diamond bezel at Bicester once and I really liked that too... in fact that was the event that lead to my poor choice of first 'Grand Carrera'.

#4 WAV5114 43mm Calibre 8 GMT 'Singapore GP' Limited Edition

This render gives the misleading impression that this watch is black PVD coated, but in fact it's only the bezel that is black, the case is brushed stainless steel. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that but I like the black and green colour scheme so much that I'm willing to overlook it. Actually there's not as much green on this watch as it seems, it's only the second hand and the stitching on the strap, oh and a tiny bit on the GMT function... but it looks fantastic.

Would this one look as good in the real world? I don't know and part of me hopes I never actually see one because I don't want to be disappointed. Same goes for all the 'Singapore Grand Prix' limited editions actually, they all look great in pictures, but as yet I've never actually managed to clap eyes on any of them.

#3 CAV518H.FC6273  43mm Calibre 17 RS 'UK' Limited Edition

Limited to just 150 pieces, this 'United Kingdom' limited edition has long been a favorite of mine, indeed I've viewed it a few times on the Watchfinder site, but never found one a) with its PVD in tip-top condition and b) with the correct 'blue stitched' strap. Unfortunately, from what I've seen of the Grand Carrera range the straps are definitely on the delicate side and with this limited edition it's doubtful that spares are available so you're eventually going to end up with either a plain one or one that has the wrong colour stitching (I've seen at least one with red stitching).

It's a shame because I really like the black/blue colour scheme (the blue extending not only to the chronograph second hand, subdials and bezel text, but also the crown), but it seems like all the ones that I've come across have lived slightly harder lives than they would have on my wrist. Never mind, I'll keep looking and maybe one day a nice minty one will pop up.

#2 CAV5186.FC6304  43mm Calibre 36 'Caliper' Chronograph

Again it was a toss-up between this and the CAV5185 (shown at the top of the page) for second place, but the bright yellow won out over the red in the end. This one is a real eye-catcher with yellow highlights all over the place, enough in fact that the yellow stitched strap almost looks slightly OTT. Still, since it's best left in a drawer and kept for special occasions, what I think I would do would be to order the FC6237 rubber strap and switch it onto that for day to day use.

I've tried this model on several times over the last six or seven years and it's very enticing. This model has some very unusual features including the 'straight line' (faux) retrograde running second on the left hand side of the dial (which should hopefully negate the wobbly running seconds dial symptomatic of the Grand Carrera) and of course the genius (but at the same time hopelessly overly complicated to use) 1/10 of a second 'caliper' chronograph. The main issue with this one though is the price; even in the outlet these are over £5000 (down from £7500) which is way too much for me and (realistically) for what you can get for your money in the current TAG Heuer range.

#1 CAV511F.BA0902  43mm Calibre 17 'Japanese' Limited Edition

I'm sure regular readers might just have had an inkling about which Grand Carrera I would pick as my number one and looking at the picture above I'm sure you can see why! Limited to just 300 pieces and intended for the Japanese market, I know there is at least one in the UK because I came across the 'sold' listing on a Northern jeweller's website. So yeah, it's a long shot to say the least... but crucially not completely out of the question.

Realistically though I would take the watch with a blue, brown or even black dial - but blue is definitely my first choice. I just wish I'd bought one of these instead of the Calibre 8 GMT when I had the chance. That was definitely a mistake, especially since the GMT only shows twelve hours of the day which renders it practically useless for long haul travellers. 

So there we are, my top five Grand Carreras, I hope you enjoyed this post and if you did leave me comment and let me know which one you prefer?

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 3000 Series Quartz Watch

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Review by Watch Club Bangladesh

BUYING EXPERIENCE: International Watch Magazines from eBay

I've come across 'International Watch' magazine before as I've purchased a couple of issues with TAG Heuer models on the cover from eBay previously. But this was a real find, eleven issues from the 1990s in a dust cover with an asking price of £20 + carriage, but willing to consider 'offers'. I can't remember exactly what I offered, but I think I negotiated away the carriage (pretty heavy this little lot) and ended up paying a flat £20.

I didn't actually realise until it came that one of the issues featured the limited edition Senna 6000 that I hailed as my favourite Senna watch the other day, so that was an excellent bonus! The magazines are all in pretty good condition as well, considering their age.

I do enjoy reading these old magazines, especially when they feature my favourite brand. It does give you a historical viewpoint on models that were released back in the day and how the press viewed new releases at the time, rather than 'fashionable' opinions that have formed over the last 20-25 years.

I can't wait to get stuck into these and no doubt I shall be on the lookout for more in the future, though whether I'll find another bargain like this is debateable!

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 3000 Series Quartz Watch

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Watch by JayR278

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 'Grand Prix de Monaco Historique' Limited Edition

CBL2114.FC6486

So I guess it was kind of inevitable after the success of the '1979-1989' 50th Anniversary Monaco that we would see another red Monaco at some point, after all only 169 lucky people got to take one of those home! So here we are almost a year later and what do we have but a, well... not exactly another 'red' Monaco, but one with a significant amount of red on the dial.

This new Monaco was timed to coincide with the 'Historic Monaco Grand Prix' which traditionally runs two weeks prior to the current Formula 1 Grand Prix, but of course both of these events have now been cancelled due to Coronavirus. I was actually aware of this event because my brother in law has attended as a mechanic in the past and if I remember correctly it's an event that you have to be invited to attend, so pretty exclusive!

This watch, if not quite as 'exclusive' as the CAW211W is still limited to just 1000 pieces, which seems a reasonable number. I get that TAG Heuer wanted to (sort of) tie the 50th anniversary limited editions to the number '69', but it did seem like they could have easily sold four of five times that number of watches in time.

No doubt you'll have noticed the two colour dial, which is pretty unusual to say the least. The more I look at it the more I like it and the silver dial looks great with that vibrant red background. The red subdials also look fantastic against the silver circle, the only thing I'm not too keen on is those red dot hour markers (I presume they are not lume?), but then I do wonder if they will be so noticeable when looking at the actual watch rather than a 5x actual size photograph? Probably not...

It's also nice to see the TAG Heuer logo up there at the '12' position rather than the simpler 'Heuer' one we got to see an awful lot of last year, especially since this Monaco is powered by the in-house Heuer 02 chronograph (the default replacement for the 'retired' Calibre 12 movement). I must admit the first time I saw the new 'modern' TAG Heuer logo on a Monaco I thought it looked a little out of place, but familiarity seems to have worked in its favour and now it seems to give the Monaco something of a modern angle, which I for one appreciate.

A nice contrast to that 'modern edge' is the classic racing car hovering just above the dial at the 1:30 position, a small detail but one that really adds something to an already impactful dial.

This is a nice addition to the Monaco line and I am glad they decided to release it despite the 2020 race's cancellation. I think we are all in need of something to take our minds off what's going on in the world at the moment and I am confident that this year will see a number of cool new TAG Heuer pieces for us all to admire and covet.

More on the TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 'Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Limited Edition

https://www.calibre11.com/tag-heuer-monaco-grand-prix-de-monaco-historique-limited-edition-cbl2114/

https://monochrome-watches.com/tag-heuer-monaco-calibre-02-gp-monaco-historique-cbl2114-price/

Click here to view 'Monaco' watches on the TAG Heuer Enthusiast Gallery Blog

https://tagheuerenthusiastgallery.blogspot.com/search/label/Monaco?view=snapshot

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 500M Quartz

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16 Chronograph Review by Doug FNJ

FEATURE: The Curious Case of the Ill Fitting Strap

FC6405                                       FT6046

I've learned quite a lot about watches over the last few years, well... TAG Heuer watches certainly, and one of the things I've learned is that you should never 'assume' anything. For some reason known only to themselves, watch companies, well... TAG Heuer certainly, sometimes seem hell bent on making things unnecessarily difficult for the consumer. I don't think they do it on purpose, I think it's an unfortunate side effect of trying to make things more 'integrated', but sometimes it's genuinely hard to follow the logic.

I really like the Aquaracer and I really like that TAG Heuer make rubber straps which fit in and fill up the entire lug space. But there are so many variations of the Aquaracer case that it's not that easy to know which rubber strap fits which case, and because the rubber straps fill up the lug space there's no room for error.

If you favour a classic Carrera the world is your oyster for straps, there are a multitude of options to suit every pocket and all you really need to know is the measurement between the lugs. But recently the trend has been towards 'bespoke' fitting straps, which is great for the manufacturer of course as it encourages continued strap sales. But even here there are pitfalls for the unwary, if I see a cool looking strap on a new Carrera will it fit my original Heuer 01? Probably not.

Which brings us to the thrust of this post, you may remember that last year I wrote a post about buying a watch on behalf of and sending it to Jim Dollares in Sweden. Jim wanted to take advantage of the 50% discounts being offered at Bicester Village on the last remaining Heuer 01s and as we had been chatting for a while he felt he could trust me with his money and transferred it to my bank account.

I had a good deal of 'fun' sorting that deal out and getting the watch to him, with DHL proving to be the best and pretty much only option in the end. Here's a tip, if you ever plan to send an expensive watch abroad make sure you definitely have a means of getting it there before you buy it - the Post Office really let me down.

Before Jim settled on the titanium Carrera on a rubber strap, he was toying with the idea of taking the 'brown' skeleton Carrera on a brown leather strap, indeed he very nearly bought that one but changed his mind at the last minute. So after he'd had the watch a little while he went to his A.D. to enquire about getting the brown strap for his Carrera and was quoted some absolutely ridiculous figure, so I said I would see if I could find out what the price was here as posting that to Sweden wouldn't be as big a deal or as costly as sending a £4000 watch.

The price I got was considerably better, and the strap was ordered, collected and sent. Happy days, done and dusted... or so I thought.

It was fair to assume, for all concerned (and I am including the ADs in this), that the brown strap would fit the titanium Carrera. After all, the models came out at the same time, they had the same case, the only difference with the titanium model was the material of manufacture... right?

Wrong. Unfortunately the position of the spring bar holes in the lugs is different on the Titanium model. It's actually further out on the lug compared to the steel. This means that when you fit the brown strap to the titanium Carrera it leaves a small, but noticeable gap between the lug end (which is actually glued to the strap) and the case.

On the bottom we see the original rubber strap and on top the brown leather version. 

Notice the different positions of the spring bars relative to the strap shoulder.

Looking at this we can see that the end piece design is different on the two straps, 

on the rubber strap the end piece is a separate part that is held in place by the spring 

bar itself, but that doesn't really explain why it's necessary to reposition the spring bar

holes and in the process limit the titanium model to just one strap

Admittedly the gap is probably not that noticeable after a while, but I think it 

would annoy me enough that I would definitely end up trying a D.I.Y. fix! 

While this is annoying for Jim, if you think about it the other way round, if you ordered the rubber strap for the titanium watch for your steel Carrera, it wouldn't fit at all. So it could be worse. I guess, if Jim had ordered this from his local AD, he would have been able to reject it on arrival, since the AD would have fitted it for him and the gaps would have been obvious from the start.

Jim could have asked to send the strap back, but he didn't have an alternative - there is no 'brown' strap for the titanium Carrera (only a titanium bracelet) so he decided to keep it and live with the gaps. I did suggest that he could try making another hole further down the strap and resolving the issue that way, but he wasn't keen on the idea - which I can understand, it sounds like the kind of thing I would attempt and probably end up regretting!

And it seems that it's not just the titanium Carrera that has this issue, in fact the steel CAR201Z above uses the same rubber strap and as such will have the same problem. So it seems if you want a 43mm Heuer 01 Carrera you have to choose between a leather strap or a bracelet with no possibility to fit a rubber strap, and a rubber strap and a bracelet (but not the same bracelet) with the option of a badly fitting leather strap. Wouldn't it have been better if you could fit all three options to any 43mm steel Carrera? I don't see why they couldn't have made the two interchangeable really

Like I said, I'm not sure it's some kind of nefarious plot on TAG Heuer's part, but it's something that could have been addressed and resolved at the design stage - as it is you probably won't even realise you are locked in to one or other strap choice until the time comes when you decide you'd like a change.

So the moral of the story is, don't buy any straps unless you are 100% sure they fit, and maybe buy from your local AD so that when they don't end up fitting, it's their problem not yours. Alternatively just buy a basic Carrera with a 20mm lug width and you'll be spoilt for choice!

With thanks to Jim Dollares for the excellent photographs!

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Quartz Regatta Chronograph

VIDEO: How to Repair the Watch Hand Lume on a TAG Heuer Watch by Watch Repair Channel

FEATURE: My Top Five 'Ayrton Senna' Branded TAG Heuer Watches

Like many of you I'm sure, I can still remember watching the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. At the tail end of 1993 I had started taking a real interest in Formula 1 again after a few years of relative indifference, but I couldn't possibly have imagined the colossal drama and tragedy that would unfold over the course of the 1994 season:

Karl Wendlinger suffered a horrendous crash in Monaco that would leave him in a coma for several weeks and meant that he missed the rest of the season, returning in 1995 only to be replaced when he failed to perform to the required standard.

Jos Verstappen was engulfed in a fireball, when spilt fuel ignited at his pit-stop at Hockenheim (in the process creating some of the most iconic Formula 1 photographs of all time).

Jos Verstappen and some of the pitcrew suffered minor burns in the incident. 

Michael Schumacher crashed at the last race in Adelaide, but managed to steer his car back onto the track to take out his only rival for the title (Damon Hill), in the process securing his first World Drivers Championship when Hill pulled into the pits, his car too damaged to continue.

At the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Michele Alboreto's wheel came off as he left the pits and it struck two Ferrari mechanics and two Lotus mechanics who needed medical treatment as a result.

Again at San Marino, JJ Lehto's car stalled on the grid and was hit by Pedro Lamy sending parts of the car into the grandstand and leaving nine people with minor injuries.

All of which pales into absolute insignificance against what happened during the rest of that afternoon's race and the qualifying session the day before. Firstly Simtek driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed on the Saturday after a high speed impact with the barriers and then on the Sunday after a restart from behind the safety car, F1 legend and the only active Formula 1 World Champion in the field, Ayrton Senna struck the wall at Tamburello and was killed when a piece of the suspension of his Williams pierced his crash helmet.

Ayrton Senna only drove in three races for the Williams F1 team

By the time of his death Ayrton Senna was a legend and a superstar all over the world, his home country observed three days of mourning such was his status and his shadow has loomed large over the sport ever since. Even Michael Schumacher's absolute dominance of Formula 1 failed to make him a 'legend' in quite the same way and to this day many, many people consider the Brazilian triple champion the best Formula 1 driver ever.

Yes, Ayrton had his dark side and he wasn't above taking things into his own hands if he felt the need, but mostly he didn't need to because he annihilated almost everyone he raced against, with only Alain Prost keeping him relatively honest through a mixture of cunning and strategy. But real legends aren't built on cunning and strategy, or indeed 'winning races by only going as fast as necessary' which Prost was famous for. Yes, it's sensible to be kind to your car if you want it to get you to the end of the race, but that wasn't Ayrton's way, he didn't just want to beat the competition, he wanted to crush them to dust.

And so it was that Senna became more than just a racing driver, he became an icon. You could well argue that his legendary status was attained because he died on the track, but the truth was that Senna was already a legend when he died, he just wasn't like the others... he was somehow 'above' them all.

Two of Ayrton's signature pieces in the TAG Heuer Museum

It's just over 26 years since Ayrton passed away, but the TAG Heuer connection is as strong as ever; last year seeing several more 'Ayrton Senna' pieces added to an already impressive collection. Ayrton was of course famous for wearing first a two-tone ani-digi S/EL on a brown leather strap and later a 6000 Series, sadly there was never an 'Ayrton Senna' S/EL as to me that would be the ultimate tribute watch, but there have been several 'Links' and in recent time TAG Heuer have taken to using the excellent (old-style) 'Link' bracelet on Carreras and Formula 1s that bear the great driver's name.

Here then are my top five TAG Heuer Ayrton Senna watches...

#5. Link Calibre 16 (CJF2113.BA0576)

Whereas I had a pretty good idea what the top four entries were going to be here, the number five spot was a hotly contested one. I nearly went for the CAR2A1L Carrera with its black PVD case and bracelet, but somehow the oversized new Carreras don't really seem to gel with Ayrton's more refined watch choices and so in the end I plumped for this stylish looking Link.

It has the unique feature of being the only 'Senna' branded TAG Heuer to feature a dark blue dial, which is the perfect background colour for the yellow signature and the green running seconds hand. 

#4. Formula 1 Quartz Watch (WAZ1014.FT8027)

I was tempted to put this one at number five, but since there were several watches vying to join this elite group I figured that whichever one won out it really ought to be at the bottom of the pile as this one was definitely getting in. This is a watch that I actually own, albeit it is currently languishing in the safe at TAG Heuer Bicester Village. No doubt by the time I finally get it back it will be out of warranty... Damn you Coronavirus!

For a long time I was unsure about those red hands and in my 'Top Ten Formula 1s' post back in July 2018 (which I must admit I had completely forgotten about) I said I liked it but I wished it had silver hands. I've got used to them now and while they are still a bit too shiny for my liking, I do like the watch a lot. The dial though is the least interesting part of the watch, which is pretty unusual. I love the silver aluminium bezel against the black PVD case and the strap is really something.

For me, the three hander is preferable over the chronograph simply because of those red stripes down the right hand side. Here the design is simple and smart, but chuck subdials into the mix and it gets a bit messy for my liking.

#3 Link Calibre 16 Chronograph (CT2115.BA0550)

I picked this one because while it is a 'Link' rather than an 'S/EL' it carries more of the old model's DNA than say the Link CJF2113 and also because I really like the black and yellow colour scheme. Aside from the fact that it seems more appropriate for a 'Senna' watch than black and red, I do think that black and red sometimes needs a bit of white to make it work - which is why I prefer the new black and yellow Carrera Heuer 02T over the old black and red one.

Admittedly the design is a bit cramped, I'm not sure putting the TAG Heuer shield on top of the Senna 'S' logo on top of Ayrton's signature was really the best move, but there we are... they've done a fair job of smoothing it out with their choice of colours which draws your eye to the yellow 'S' and away from the other two components of the design.

#2 Formula 1 Quartz (CAZ1015.BA0883)

I don't own this one, but I know a man who does (Hi Tom, hope you are keeping well) and I've had a good look at it and I really like this one. As I said above, this one has just the right amount of white on the dial to make the red and black colour scheme mesh properly and the decision to go with the Link bracelet here was inspired, it really lifts this above the majority of Formula 1 models available.

After seeing this one I had a fantasy of purchasing a Red Bull Formula 1 and a BA0883 bracelet and creating my ultimate 'TAG Heuer Formula 1'. As yet that hasn't come to pass, but maybe one day. It's quite amusing really that this one should feature so highly when it's probably one of the cheapest 'Senna' watches available, but you really wouldn't know to look at it, as I said before the bracelet lifts this one enormously and makes it look much more expensive than it really was.

#1 6000 Series Quartz (WH1114.FC6030)

During the last two years of his life, Ayrton switched from his trademark S/EL (he actually gave it away to a departing McLaren team member) to a white dial 6000 Series WH5151 with a two-tone case on a black leather strap. This limited edition was released in late 1994, but was actually in the works before his death and as such was the only 'Senna' edition TAG Heuer that was made with his personal input.

I love the 6000 Series and for me this is perhaps not only the ultimate 'Senna' watch but also the ultimate 6000 Series. That metallic grey dial is stunning and the branding is kept subtle enough not to be intrusive. Can you imagine this with a yellow 'S' on the dial, sometimes less is definitely more, maybe that's why this didn't come with a two-tone case? 

Oddly this was made in three sizes, defined at the time as 'Mens', 'Boys' and 'Ladies' with each piece manufactured in a quantity of 1000. As you can imagine the 'Mens' size models are much sought after, but one lucky Calibre 11 forumite 'Albert-AMG' somehow managed to find a NOS piece complete with hangtags, etc for sale last July!

Click the link below to read his Calibre 11 post on the subject:

https://forums.calibre11.com/threads/new-arrival-nos-1994-tag-heuer-6000-senna-wh1114.97754/

To view the entire Ayrton Senna collection to date, including the models he personally wore please click on the link below:

https://tagheuerenthusiastgallery.blogspot.com/search/label/Senna?view=snapshot

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Kirium Quartz Chronograph

VIDEO: Here is Why I Love TAG Heuer by Watch On

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Bamford / Black Badger Carrera Calibre 5 Watch

This is a post that's been languishing in my 'to-do' pile for quite some time now, probably six months or thereabouts actually... (long enough that I felt the need to change the title from 'First Impressions' to 'Spotlight On' at any rate). You may have seen these last Summer and completely forgotten about them, or you might never have seen them at all and be wondering exactly what it is that you are looking at?

Well, these are a creation of Bamford Watch Department, who were originally much known for modifying Rolex watches to customer specifications (without Rolex's approval, needless to say) and who are now a partner of TAG Heuer and their official 'personaliser' of choice. In addition to customising models for customers, they also create their own 'special' models, some of which are quite horrific, and some of which are surprisingly tasty actually.... 

So what exactly are we looking at here? Well, Bamford in their infinite wisdom, have taken a material called 'Fordite' and used it to make replacement dials for these Calibre 5 Carreras. Don't worry if you've never heard of 'Fordite', I suspect you are in the vast majority. Despite looking like a psychedelic rock formation, what you're actually looking at is paint. More specifically, paint over-spray buildup taken from a Ford Motor Company paint spray booth. 

Whether you appreciate the end result or not, you have to admire the ingenuity and of course, no two of these will ever be quite the same as the paint build-up is completely random. 

I must admit I was quite intrigued when I first saw these, but over the last six months my interest has waned substantially. I like the creativity of it, but I'm not sure it's something I'd actually want to hand over my own money for. They do still have them on the Bamford website, though obviously each design is a piece-unique, so I guess they upload each one in turn as and when they sell one.

Price hasn't changed since launch, it was and still is £5500.

https://www.bamfordwatchdepartment.com/?page_id=6233

https://www.watchpro.com/bamford-and-black-badger-collaborate-on-unique-fordite-dials-for-tag-heuer-carrera-watches/

GALLERY: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Watch