CELEBRATION: 1,000,000 Page Views!

Hello everyone, just a quick post today to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who visits my blog and who has helped me to reach ONE MILLION views. Now if you only ever visit the blog on a phone (and I know a lot of you do) then you will never have seen the view counter because it's only visible on a computer. In fact there's quite a bit of the blog that is only easily visible on a computer... and I'm still working on ways to make the 'mobile' experience better - but the fact is that 'Blogger' was designed to be looked at on a computer, so it's never going to be as good on a phone.

Now regular readers may be thinking to yourself 'But wasn't it only a few months ago that the blog hit 750,000 views?' and indeed you would be right... as you can see from the graph below over the last year the views have really taken off and stayed strong (average 1000-1500 a day), which is pretty amazing if you ask me, considering that I only talk about one watch brand most of the time. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 'Diamond Bezel' Limited Edition Chronograph

 

Much as I appreciate the participation of the Council of Considered Opinion, when I saw this I knew instantly that they would get this so wrong and score it as a dismal failure... when it's clear to anyone with an ounce of common sense that this is easily the best looking TAG Heuer we've seen this year! But you know, 44mm and a diamond bezel... it's a travesty to the memory of Jack Heuer etc etc. 

Well first of all dear Jack is still with us, and second of all 'Pah'. And again I say 'Pah!' Yes it's 44mm and what of it? Anyone who has tried on one of these 'SPORTS' Carreras will know that it doesn't wear like a 44mm and what's wrong with a diamond bezel? I think it looks rad!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 500M Calibre 5 by FN Watches

 

INTERVIEW: Journey of a Watch Collector with Ben Smith

 

Long term readers might remember that way back in 2021 I conducted a series of interviews with various chums from the TH Forums. Well today we are reviving that series as we are joined by a relatively new member of our group and it's someone who seems to have a slightly different approach to watch collecting than most of us over there. 

Rather than looking into the Swiss abyss and plunging headfirst into the maelstrom, his wallet flailing behind him... Ben has instead skirted round the edges, dipping his toes in the water a few times but steadfastly hanging on to the handrail (in the process maintaining his sanity and more importantly his bank balance) before finally coming to the conclusion that while he enjoys watches for what they are he doesn't want to be Switzerland's next 'victim'.

What started out as an 'interview' quickly dissolved into a chat since Ben just wouldn't shut up and take direction! But all the same I hope you enjoy this one and maybe we will revisit our previous guests and perhaps even some new ones in the future... to be honest I feel like Ben interviewed me as much as I interviewed him which is probably why this one is so ridiculously long! 

Oh, and before we start, Ben would like me to point out that his comments are not meant to be inflammatory or provoking, but merely his honest opinions and that you really shouldn't care about his opinions aside from hearing an alternative take on things.

Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, let's begin... 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Three Handers by Brent Miller Time

 

FEATURE: My Top Ten Aquaracers by Mrs Aquagraph

As you probably know by now, this year we are celebrating twenty years of the Aquaracer (Aquaracer@20) and each month I have asked a different person to choose their top ten from the entire range. We've already had submissions for BPSmith, Jim Dollare$, Imagwai, Abrod520, Shane Paradis, Albert AMG and ThingzIliketoo and this month it's the turn of my wife (Rose) to pick her favourites. Naturally she started with the three she owns (which I have to admit are pretty damn cool, so fair play there), and seven more she picked out while perusing the TAG Heuer Enthusiast Gallery. 

I mean, I have six Aquaracers, so quite why she needed to go looking elsewhere I really don't know.... and I'm not at all upset that she didn't pick a single one of mine. 

No, not at all. Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffft!

Here then are her top ten...

VIDEO: Heuer Monaco 'Racing Blue' Calibre 11 Chronograph

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T 'Shanghai' Limited Edition Chronograph

CAR5A8AC.FT6231

Tourbillons seem to be ten-a-penny in TAG Heuer world these days, maybe one day I should do a post about all the tourbillons that have come out since JCB introduced them about seven years ago? At first glance this one doesn't look particularly different or even particularly exciting, but here there's more than first meets the eye, and I'm not just talking about the pink and blue highlights on the hands and tourbillon.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 6000 Series Copper Dial Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 'European' Limited Edition Chronograph

 

At the end of my half year review I mentioned that I thought the 'COCO Watch of the Year' would be some sort of Carrera, but one we hadn't seen yet. Well in the last couple of weeks we've had four more Carreras and I believe that one of those could be 'WOTY', but probably not the one I'd like it to be. 😜

More on that anon, suffice it to say that the watch I am referring to is perhaps the most Marmite watch of the year so far. I love it, and a couple of others do too, but unfortunately the majority of the Council of Considered Opinion get a case of the vapours when you mention '44mm', 'Carrera' and 'diamond bezel' in the same breath...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 Chronograph by The 1916 Company

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre TH20-00 'Sparks' Chronograph

 

CBL2188.FT6261

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield June 2024

It's odd. This is clearly one of the best TAG Heuers released in 2024 (any fool can see that), so why am I finding it so hard to come up with something to say about it? In person those yellow hands pop much more than the renders suggest and indeed the whole watch has more 'life' to it on the wrist. But I don't know.... somehow it doesn't grab me like the 'Bling Lord' does, or indeed the turquoise model. I'd also perhaps put it behind the 'Monaco Boutique' model released earlier this year. Yes it's a more inventive combination of colours than simply black with red highlights (for the ten millionth time), but there's a reason why those colours get used again and again and again.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Super Professional & Why It Leaked by Chronoglide Watchmakers

FEATURE: Fifteen to None (How My Classic F1 Collection Got Bought & Sold).

Long term readers will probably recall that at one time I had a pretty mighty collection of the classic 'plastic' 35mm Formula 1 watches. In fact at one point I had fifteen of the little buggers and was gradually closing in on a complete set of the standard models (beyond that there's lots of Japanese limited editions with all sorts printed on the dial and there are others too like the 'Van Halen 5150' one that I wrote about previously, but that's a rabbit hole I had no intention of falling down). IIRC I needed the resin cream/navy blue one, a red/black one with a steel case and most notably of all the multi-coloured 'Ukyo Katayama' with the 'signed' glass.

I remember finding a few of the navy/cream on eBay but they were always either battered or expensive, and some times battered AND expensive, but I kept looking. The red/black steel was basically the same as one I already owned with the resin case so I was never in a hurry to pick that one up (and again, usually battered and expensive for some reason) and the Katayama I could only find for sale in Japan, usually mint but way more expensive than I wanted to pay.

But still, I had a very solid collection and they were all in great condition. I replaced countless straps (while they were still available from TAG Heuer at £32, not any more apparently - now it's £90 a piece on eBay which is ludicrous!), interestingly there seemed to be three kinds of these. First there were the very thick 'rubbery' ones that always seemed to come on anything I imported from Japan. Then there was the thinner, less rubbery ones that seemed to be the norm, and later some very thin and crappy ones that deteriorated extraordinarily quickly. In particular the dark green one which looked absolutely knackered after just a few days on the wrist.

So while my collection wasn't quite 'complete' it was in very good order. In fact I even bought a couple of watches twice to get a really good one.

Let's take a look at all the watches I owned...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 WA1217 by Birth Year Watches

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Chronograph

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield July 2024

While clearly there's little genuine 'excitement' to be had from trying on an entry level quartz Formula 1 chronograph at this point, I will admit that this is, while by no means a contender for my hard earned sponds, a marked improvement over the red, yellow and green models released way back in 2022. This one just has a little more... class about it. The blue manages to be bright enough without screaming its head off at you like a 1999 Subura Impreza (surely a gold bezel and pushers/crown would work wonderfully here though?), and as such it successfully treads the fine line between fun and, well gaudy.

The previous models didn't so much tip-toe up to that line as run screaming across it while dressed head to toe in Gucci and clutching a diamond encrusted cane, but yet they still managed to find favour with the fantastically unpredictable Charlie/Imagwai (you remember his curious Top 10 Aquaracers a little while back); to this day I cannot fathom how this slight fellow who counts a tasteful blue Rolex OP and until recently an original Carrera re-issue in his collection could lust after something as outrageously gauche as the 43mm green rubber clad Formula 1. But there we are.... there's nowt so strange as folks as my old dad used to say!

VIDEO: KITH Heuer Formula 1 Re-Issue Quartz Watches by The Watch Village

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Porsche 963'

CBU2010.FT6267

By my reckoning this is the eighth 'Porsche' branded watch to emerge from the partnership between TAG Heuer and the German automotive manufacturer... and with the 'Orange Lava Racing' Carrera being my watch of the year for 2023 this one has a little bit of an uphill battle to fight if it wants to win me over. But first impressions are good. At £8050 this one is rather expensive, but it looks it - though I still don't like all that empty space at the 12 position; to my eyes the TAG Heuer shield looks a little lost, even with the 'steering wheel' framework behind it. 

But I do like the carbon bezel, the 'Porsche' engraving in the side of the case and the 'integrated' looking strap is interesting; albeit it turns out that the integration is something of an illusion, since what looks like the middle 'titanium' section (where it says '963') is actually part of the strap. But maybe that's a good thing since it allows you to use regular alternative straps and also allows you to remove the '963' if that's not to your taste.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco: The History and Evolution by Chronext

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Three Handers & Batman GMT

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield June 2024

I wasn't exactly 'effusive' about the new 42mm 'wave dial' Aquaracers when I wrote my 'First Impressions' post last month, but I was open to being persuaded by a hands-on experience and that came at the tail end of June when I visited the superb TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall centre. Did I come away converted? Or did getting them on the wrist simply reinforce my initial grousing? Well... somewhere in between perhaps.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Alter Ego Ladies Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T 'Australian' Limited Edition Tourbillon Chronograph

CAR5A8AK.FC6570

According to the TAG Heuer website the CAR5A8AK 'incorporates design elements that encapsulate the essence of Australia'. What they might be beyond the colour blue I'm not entirely sure, but it's slightly odd that this watch looks almost exactly like the CAR5A98.FC6471 'Nordic Edition' (save for the DLC coating) released a few years ago. I mean, I'm no expert on Sweden or Australia but they don't immediately strike me as obvious bedfellows. 

Leaving that slightly contentious claim aside, this (like the Nordic edition, oddly enough) is quite a nice looking Carrera, and reminds me slightly of the old Red Bull Heuer 01 Special Edition that I've considered on numerous occasions. The CAR5A8AK though is limited to just ten pieces, so a truly 'limited' Limited Edition (unlike the Nordic edition incidentally, which ran to a massive twenty pieces!). 🤣

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Repair by Mr Repair

 

FEATURE: My Top Ten Aquaracers by Imagwai

 

Once again in this 20th Anniversary year for the Aquaracer it's time to invite a COCO member to choose their top ten and this month it's our old friend Imagwai/Charlie M's turn. Unfortunately for various reasons Charlie wasn't able to supply text with his choices, so I will supply the commentary for his selections today. Yay!  

Oh and I suppose I should mention that Charlie submitted these to me a while back, before the new wave dial Aquaracers came out. But judging by his scores for those I don't honestly think anything would have changed...

VIDEO: TAG Heuer is Back and Better Than Ever by Theo & Harris

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer's 2024 Releases (Jan/Jun)

So it's been a 'busy' year for TAG Heuer already, with nearly fifty new watches added to the catalogue since January the 1st. Unfortunately we haven't actually caught up with all of them yet, such is the pace of the recent launches... but I don't want to delay this post in the hope that I catch up because you know exactly what will happen. So, grab a beer (or a coffee, or whatever you like to drink while pondering your next purchase) and join me in reviewing 2024 so far.

What has surprised me this year is how forgettable many of the new releases have been. This is almost certainly partly due to the sheer amount of new products being made available. I mean, not only have we had nearly two watches per week (on average), but we also had a new range of sunglasses - I mean did you even remember that? It just feels like there's always something else on the horizon, and I can't help but think this is counter-productive.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Glassbox' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by WatchChris

PRICE LIST: TAG Heuer Price List (June 2024)

 

Once again it's time to scour the TAG Heuer website (and beyond) to bring you an update on the pricing situation and also a quick look at what's new and what's been deleted. As usual, prices in blue have changed since the January price list, and models coloured red are new additions. This time I've included a few items without prices; these are generally non-UK limited editions such as the Qatar and Kuwait Carreras and the Australia and Shanghai Carrera tourbillons, this is just to note their existence really, in case at some point someone uses these price lists for reference.

As far as what has been removed from the website, perhaps most notable are the black and silver Aquaracer quartz chronographs. I can't say I'm that surprised as they never seemed likely to be that popular. You can still get them in the blue and lilac/blue dial variants though. Also the black DLC Autavia flyback seems to have gone, the base 43mm Aquaracers (to make way for the new 42mm models obviously) and also the not that old really white/blue bezel GMT Aquaracers. Again, not sure anyone will miss those...

The yellow highlighted CBN2A1H Porsche Racing Carrera has gone too, as have both the 42mm Year of the Dragon Carreras and the previous 44mm Year of the Rabbit Carrera. Obviously the 2023 Indy 500 has made way for the new version and the Super Mario Formula 1 Tourbillon has also disappeared. Finally, not surprisingly, the limited edition CBL2181 'Night Driver' Monaco has gone too... 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 5 Watch by Shah Lusso

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre TH31-03 COSC GMT Watches

 

I actually saw and tried these on last week, but I didn't revise my 'First Impressions' post as I think it's more interesting to document how opinions can change once you go 'hands on'. An 'On the Wrist' post for these (with pictures) will follow in July.

Last week we looked at the new Aquaracer three handers, I guess we could have included these in the same post but I think eight watches at once is a bit much, especially when it comes to organizing the comments from the Council of Considered Opinion. 

So like the three handers these new GMTs are also a chronometer certified and share the same new 42mm diameter / 48mm lug-to-lug case. They also have the new 'draped fabric looking wavy dials' (© Aquagraph), albeit the tones are a little darker here than on the three simple three handed versions.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Dato 'Green' Calibre TH20-07 Chronograph

FEATURE: The WAJ Series Aquaracers

You know, at the start of the year I really hoped to write a lot more posts about the 'History' of the Aquaracer, but unfortunately we're in June already and aside from the top tens this is the first one I've managed to find time to complete. The funny thing is that I made the header above months ago, and naturally I chose the WAJ that I owned to illustrate the series... but since then I've actually sold that one and now have an almost identical WAJ with an orange dial. Seeing it here it makes me miss it a little, probably the first time that's ever happened when I've sold a watch, but I really couldn't keep both no matter how cool the WAJ Aquaracers are.

VIDEO: Up Close With The 2024 TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph by Hodinkee

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 42mm Calibre TH31-00 COSC Dive Watches

 

Years ago I wondered if TAG Heuer would ever take the 'wavy' dial found on the ladies Aquaracer and put it in the 43mm models. I didn't think they ever would and one of the reasons for that was that I thought it looked quite 'feminine'. So I was quite surprised when the new 42mm Aquaracers came out a couple of weeks ago to see them sporting exactly that dial... well, surprised is perhaps putting it politely, because for me this is a MASSIVE wrong turn.

Allow me to explain. Regular readers may remember at the end of last year my wife bought a blue 'wavy dial' two-tone Aquaracer from Watchfinder; when it arrived she rang me at work to tell me and was very excited, saying it looked 'beautiful'. So when I got home I was put in the rather unfortunate position of opening the box and thinking 'Naaaah'. Not only did I not like it much, I really didn't think it was a watch that my wife would like, so I was confused by her excitement. But what could I say...? She seemingly loved it, my job was to inspect the watch for faults not to question her judgment (a no-win situation is what I call that!).

VIDEO: I Bought My First TAG Heuer by Britt Pearce

 

OWNED: TAG Heuer Kirium Quartz Chronograph

 

CL1113.BA0701

Aside from a few photos (back when I was regularly posting photos here on the blog) I've only written one post about my beautiful plum-dial Kirium that I bought all the way back in December 2020. As is so often the way with me, I buy a watch and then it sits in the box for a 'long time' before I become comfortable with the idea of wearing it. I don't know why that is, but it's a common recurring theme, particularly with new watches or old watches that are in 'as-new' condition, which this certainly was.

I think I am getting a little better as it only took me about six months to start wearing my green dial Aquaracer regularly, even though it annoys me that the clasp is already marked and the polished centre links are already showing signs of desk rash. If only I could be more like our Swedish friend Jim Dollares who lives for today and to hell with tomorrow... and who loves to taunt me by sending photos of his scratched up clasps (as if it's something to be proud of).

VIDEO: KITH Heuer Formula 1: Worth the Hype? by Casual Watch Reviews

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Chronograph

When the red, green and yellow versions of this watch were released back in September 2022 I can honestly say I didn't like them very much.... and unfortunately when I got to see them in the flesh I liked them even less. There's just something about the dials that looks cheap and tacky, and to my eyes those colours don't sit well with the black subdials either. All round they were a total fail for me and they didn't score that well with the C.O.C.O. either, collectively scoring in the mid 5's (which I thought was quite generous honestly). But I did like the rubber straps and until I got the bracelet for my orange dial Formula 1 I was waiting on them making a black one so that I could buy it for that (which they still haven't as it goes...).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Twin Time by Random Rob

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Sparks' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph

CBL2188.FT6261

Well the releases really are coming thick and fast now aren't they? I'll be doing a half year review soon and that's going to take a little while to pull together given we're already up to nearly fifty watches so far this year! Apologies for the lateness of this post, it should have been up first thing this morning but I'm a bit snowed under with decorating my house and last night I ended up going out and buying a watch - which seems like the best possible excuse I could ever have for not writing my post on time, haha. 

More on that anon, but today we are looking at the new Monaco 'Sparks' edition, which you may be slightly surprised to hear isn't a limited edition, or even a special edition - which definitely seems like a change of approach from TAG Heuer. Maybe the whole 'limited edition' thing has run its course now... though I'm sure you won't find these in every high street jeweller, more likely these will be reserved for the boutiques and possibly some of the higher end authorised distributors.