FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Day/Date' Calibre 16 Chronograph

 
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In an age where we are constantly bombarded by new and exciting pieces, perhaps it's no great surprise that watches like this (which are perfectly nice in their own right) sneak onto the TAG Heuer website unannounced. I guess the fact is there isn't really too much to say about this watch as for the most part it carries over much of the design aesthetic from the previous model. Now based on the Carrera Sports case the size has increased by 1mm (to 44mm) and the typeface used for the 'minute' markers look a little more modern perhaps, but by and large it's a case of as you were.

But then again perhaps that's a bit harsh, it does now feature a ceramic bezel and the pushers and crown are a bit nicer than they were before but once again, purists will complain that these models aren't really Carreras with their stubby lugs and thick case. Of course these people probably wouldn't have bought the 43mm predecessor either, so their opinion is probably not that relevant...

VIDEO: Heuer Carrera Red Dial 'Heritage' Heuer 02 Chronograph by Time & Tide

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 'Titanium' Watch

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 16th June 2022

It's been a little over a year since my first encounter with the WBP208B: back then of course we were still between bouts of 'Covid-lockdown' so it was an absolute treat to be able to go outside and look in the shops (albeit you had to stand outside and wait to be welcomed in past the velvet rope, which contrary to popular belief doesn't 'add to the experience' like you might think it would!). 

Back then I tried on this one, a new blue-dial Aquaracer I believe and I also had a look at the 36mm version with the silver dial. This was my favourite of the three, but even then it wasn't something that I was considering purchasing. For one thing, while I kind of like the green aesthetic, it is a very particular green, a very 'military' green if you like and not something that massively appeals to me. If I was going to buy a green watch I would want it to be much brighter, the original Aquaracer WAY2015 springs to mind - but of course they are sold out and now there are fakes everywhere... so that's out the window.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf H02 Special Edition and Carrera H02 Porsche Limited Edition by Watch Advisor

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 200 Professional Ladies Watch

 

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TAG Heuer has a long history of releasing teal dial watches, in the past these were most commonly 2000 Series pieces which featured the names of holiday destinations such as 'The Bahamas' or 'Bora Bora', but recently teal dials have been a bit thin on the ground. Well... I guess there was that limited edition 39mm heritage Carrera, although I think that was officially designated a 'green' dial.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Superdiver 1000M by Time & Tide

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer 2000 'Sports' Quartz Watch

 

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This is a watch that has been on my wants list for an extremely long time, but for one reason and another I didn't pick one up until now... or actually March this year. I'm not entirely sure why it's taken me this long to write about buying this one, but... ever since I discovered TAG Heuer's 2000 Sports range I have been intrigued by the difference an aluminium bezel and some unusual Arabic numerals could make to a watch. 

If you're not aware, the 2000 Sports came in four flavours: all blue, red/black, black/gold and white/black. It was also available in three different sizes; men's, midsize and ladies. I'm not too sure what sizes the midsize and ladies are but this one is your bog standard 37mm. I would imagine the midsize would be about 34mm and the ladies probably 28mm or something close to that.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Twin Time Calibre 7 Watch by NMwatch

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 'Macau' Limited Edition Chronograph

 

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Way back in the mists of time I believe I might have encountered a 'Macao' Calibre 5 Carrera (as seen below) at TAG Heuer's Bicester Village outlet. It was rather unremarkable, some might even say relatively tasteful in its execution with a plain silver dial decorated with the four suits of cards, 'Macao' and a fairly subtle 'limited edition' text line on the lower half... this model was limited to 200 pieces. 

Fast forward to 2022 and we have a new 'Macao' Carrera and again it's a limited edition, but this time just 20 pieces are available and instead of a Calibre 5 three hander we have a full on Heuer 02 chronograph. But this time, any notion of subtlety is best put to one side!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Ladies Quartz by NeilPinkett

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Quartz Ladies Watch

 

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield, 18th June 2022

This came as a pleasant surprise for my wife as we visited the TAG Heuer Meadowhall boutique just a couple of days after the watch appeared on the TAG Heuer website. She had already tried on the fumé dial version a few weeks ago and so it was interesting to see a slightly different version of the same watch, albeit both watches of course have the diamond hour markers. 

A lot of guys who talk about watches bitch about diamonds, and while I am sure there are some ladies who don't like diamonds on their watches (or Mother of Pearl come to that) there has to be a reason why watch companies persist in producing them ad nauseum. Or maybe it's that women buy them because that's all they get given? I don't know.... but I've never heard my wife ask if they make a watch without the diamonds. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Calibre 5 by Watch Expert Giorgia Mondani

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 'Purple Dial' Chronograph

 

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So here we are again, last year it was green and this year it's purple. Yup, purple. And believe it or not, this isn't the first purple Monaco ever. Sure, it's the first purple Monaco you can actually buy (although more on that in a moment), but there was actually a previous purple dial Monaco chronograph which came on what looks like a purple snakeskin strap. This, as you will know if you follow me on Instagram, was a piece unique that was made for the actress (and then TAG Heuer ambassador) Uma Thurman about 10 years ago. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Solargraph' by Time & Tide

 

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List (Jul 2022)

 

Time once again to catalogue the TAG Heuer range for posterity, and with it the current state of the prices. With all that's going on in the world it's not surprising to note that most of the range has increased in price somewhere in the order of 5%, but some things (noticeably the skeleton dial Carreras) have stayed put, while some of the most expensive pieces have jumped up quite considerably. For instance, the CAR5A5U Carrera tourbillon has gone from £20450 to £22500, a 10% hike! On a more down to Earth level, if you've been pondering purchasing the CBN2A1F 'Porsche' Carrera Special Edition on a bracelet, well I'm afraid your indecision has just cost you as for some reason that particular model has gone up from £5000 to £5450.

Not too much to report as far as models dropping out of the range goes, the main news here is that the entire Calibre 5 Autavia range has disappeared from the site, leaving only the three 2022 models behind (two Flyback Chronographs and the Calibre 7 GMT). Elsewhere we see the old Gulf Monaco and Formula 1 Indy 500 pieces making way for new releases. 

Blue text indicates new items, red text indicates price changes.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 3000 Series Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

HISTORY: TAG Heuer Link - Part 2 (2012-)

 

As we discovered yesterday the TAG Heuer Link has a long history, too long for one post in fact! So here we go again, with yet more watches... and , it has to be said, an awful lot of Link Lady pieces!

For Part 1 of the History of the TAG Heuer Link, click the link below

http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2022/07/history-tag-heuer-link-part-1-1999-2012.html

HISTORY: TAG Heuer Link - Part 1 (1999-2012)

 

The TAG Heuer Link has had a rather up and down history, at one point in the early 00s, it was almost the 'go-to' TAG Heuer. As time went on the Link became less sporty and more dressy, but tastes have changed and the Link has sadly fallen out of favour. Indeed, the current Link line-up is pretty much the remnants of what was new five or six years ago. Where does the Link go from here?

As in previous 'History' posts all watches are quartz powered except as indicated:

(A) Automatic 

(C) Chronometer 

(S) Calibre S

VIDEO: TAG Heuer SLR Calibre S Quartz Chronograph by WatchBox Reviews

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Link Automatic 'Tiger Woods' Limited Edition Watch

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It's fair to say that the 'Link' series of watches doesn't get a lot of love these days, but back in the 00s the 'Link' was a pretty popular watch. Today the line has dwindled to a handful of pieces and seems destined for extinction or possibly retention only as a 'female' focussed range. Which is a shame really, but the seeds of change were perhaps sowed by Jean Claude Biver when he famously said in an interview that the 'Link' bracelet should just be a bracelet that could be used on other watches. Since then we've seen the famous bracelet used on several Formula 1 'Senna' models, but as for the Link range itself, except for a few ladies pieces there has been nothing new for years.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Kirium Chronograph Restoration by Nekkid Watchmaker

 

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...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 'Dark Lord Tribute' by Time & Tide

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: New Arrivals at TAG Heuer Bicester Village

It's been a while since I've been able to bring you an update on the stock situation at Bicester Village, largely because the stock has been fairly static, but recently there has been an influx of Heuer 01 models which are currently being offered at a hefty discount of 40%!

VIDEO: The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Collection Gets Seriously Interesting by Time & Tide

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracar Calibre 5 'Orange Dial' Watch

 

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Sheffield, 18th June 2022

It has to be said that the current generation of Aquaracer endured a difficult birth; let's not forget that way back in early 2021 the new style diver was met with howls of derision for (among other things) its circular 6 o'clock cyclops. Indeed, I recall one YouTuber staunchly claiming the watch was so bad it would definitely be redesigned before it hit the stores... which, if you think about it is a ludicrous suggestion. Because by the time Frederic took to the stage to announce the new watch you can be sure there were already thousands of them assembled and ready to leave the factory.

Even so, at the time the watch was regularly compared to the Audemars Piguet Code 11:59, not because of its looks, but because that was another watch that spluttered onto the world's stage only to be met with (at best) indifference and (let's not beat about the bush) wholesale mockery. God knows the watch world loves a disaster and loves to stick the boot in even more... and of course in this day and age that negativity spreads like wildfire through social media meaning potential customers are bombarded from the outset with 'opinions' based largely on nothing more than a photograph.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 200 Professional by Bruce Williams

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Ladies Quartz Watch

 

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Woop woop, there's a new ladies Aquaracer in town... let's talk about it a little bit; because, well, I've always felt like we should include TAG Heuer's smaller watches in our discussions. In fact I've included all sorts of TAG Heuer related items in this blog over the years, be it mobile phones, glasses, even some kind of skateboard thing! Hell, on the odd occasion (and against my better judgement) I've even talked about the accursed TAG Heuer Connected! But not very often... hehe.

Sure, getting the Council to voice an opinion on new ladies watches is still a bit of a stretch, and often produces a lot of the same comments (and often the same scores), but thankfully some of the Council are able to seek the opinions of their better halves and I too sought my wife's opinion before writing this post.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 'Watches & Wonders 2022' by Watch CataVlog

 

BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 6 'Japanese' Limited Edition

 

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Ask any watch enthusiast to name a model from TAG Heuer and you can be sure the name 'Carrera' will be near the top of the list, but 'Grand Carrera'? Not so much. You see, the Grand Carrera (decried a few years ago as a 'stupid idea' by the otherwise splendid Jean Claude Biver - before he announced the model was coming back... only for the idea to be cancelled when Zenith got the super-duper silicon movement that was planned for it!) was a short lived chronometer-certified uber-Carrera that never really took off and which was quietly retired after about five years in the line up.

Undoubtedly one of the reasons for this was the fact that many people did not (and indeed still do not) like the look of the watch, and in particular the unusual (avant garde, perhaps) shapes utilised as sub-dial windows. Indeed, while I've always liked the chronograph version I will admit that the dual subdials somehow conspire to create the illusion that the watch has an oval dial, which is a little off-putting to say the least!

Why then are we talking about a 'Buying Experience' today? Well, that's a very good question, and longer term readers may remember that this is not my first time at the Grand Carrera Rodeo. Oh yes, me and the Grand Carrera have 'history'. Expensive history!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Alter Ego Watch Battery Replacement by Adventures With Dr Joe

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Indy 500' Limited Edition Quartz Chronograph

 

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Well this is slightly embarrassing... I found this post in the 'Draft Posts' folder, it should have been posted over a month ago and included in the 'Half Year Round-Up'. I can only apologise for my tardiness! 

Over the years there have been some fairly.... umm, unattractive looking 'Indy 500' watches produced by TAG Heuer. But two years ago they finally got it right and produced the rather good looking CAZ101AD. Here at last was a watch I and many others on the TH Forum could get behind, regardless of whether or not they had any interest in the race itself. With it's black coating, rubber strap and bespoke dial (with red brick stripe), I even contemplated buying one myself and I've never watched an Indy 500 in my life!

But of course, with success comes pressure when it's time to follow it up... and here we have the follow up to that very watch. As you can see it's very much designed on the same template as this year's 'Red Bull' Special Edition, but instead of the somewhat controversial 'grid markings' instead we have the control tower (or as someone cheekily suggested on the TH Forum the 'Christmas Tree').

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Multigraph by Shwatch150

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer S/EL 'Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo' Limited Edition Quartz Chronograph

CG1110 (with the revised dial)

One of my readers (Reims) left a comment on the 'S/EL' part number page recently, letting me know that the CG1118 was actually a limited edition for the Brazilian football player Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo. I did not previously know this, but I must admit I did wonder why the CG1118 looked exactly like the CG1110 (with the revised dial, the original - like mine, did not have the circles around the subdials) at least from the front view. 

Actually, to be 100% correct, initially Reims told me the watch was a limited edition for Leonardo di Caprio, which I knew wasn't right because LDC didn't become an ambassador until 2009, ten years after the S/EL was discontinued... and so this confused matters, because I could only find two pieces of information about the CG1118; one of which was a useless 'PicClick' link that had expired but just said 'Leonardo' limited edition... technically correct, but confusing when I was looking for 'Leonardo di Caprio'!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer S/EL 'Mickey Mouse' Dial Quartz Watch

 

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Back in March I told you the story of a very cool TAG Heuer 2000 Sports watch with a 'Coke' bezel which featured Mickey Mouse on the dial (if you haven't read it I will leave a link at the bottom of this post). This was very kindly forwarded to me by a member of the THF Forum (HoltzPlatz) who knew that I was looking for a Coke bezel 2000 and wanted to give me first dibs on it. But when I passed on that particular one because a) it was in America and b) because the eBay listing rather worryingly said it needed a new battery, he decided to pull the trigger on it himself. As it turned out when it arrived it really did just need a new battery (phew!), and as it happened I ended up buying a (non-Disney) 2000 Sports 'Coke' from America anyway! More on that another time - the 'Buying Experience' post for that is in the queue and will appear soon! 

At around the same time HoltzPlatz also sent me the details of another 'Disney dial' TAG Heuer he had stumbled upon, which languished in a folder on my desktop for several months, but now I can share with you the minty looking WG1113 S/EL you see here. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 Twin Time by Perpetual-Time Ltd

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer's 2022 Watch Releases (Year to Date)

 

Can you believe we're already approaching the middle of 2022? Bah... it will be Christmas again before we know it! With that in mind I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you a little recap of the TAG Heuer watch releases to date (spoiler, it's very Aquaracer heavy!).

Overall we've seen some interesting pieces and very little in the way of genuine duds, but I'm sure there's plenty more to come in the second half of the year and don't forget the watches will all be scored again come December, before we announce the C.O.C.O. Council 'Watch of the Year'.

So then, here we have all the watches released so far in 2022 and as a bonus I've included links to the original 'First Impressions' posts (which of course include the invaluable thoughts of the C.O.C.O. Council).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Superdiver' 500M Automatic by Chisolm Hunter

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 'Dark Lord Tribute' Special Edition Chronograph

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If I had a pound for every time I'd heard someone say they wanted a re-issue of the infamous Heuer Monaco 'Dark Lord', I genuinely think I'd have enough money to buy myself a beat up old Kirium from eBay. I jest of course..., I'd actually have enough to buy an original 'Dark Lord', with change for a beat up old Kirium from eBay! Haha. But seriously, the Dark Lord is without doubt the most lusted after watch in the company's history, so what are the chances of a 'modern' version satisfying these people's cravings? Pretty low I would say...