Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Tuesday, 15 May 2018
ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M with Full Lume Dial
WAY108A.FT6141
Steffans, Northampton / 15th May 2018
Wes at Steffans is a very nice man, twice in the last two weeks I've been in there and asked him to put links into bracelets for me and twice he's refused payment. He doesn't know I'm blogging about him either, so I'm very impressed. Of course this is how service should be, but I've been charged in Goldsmiths before now - not that I object, in fact if I want a service then I should pay for it, especially if I haven't bought the watch there, which is why I offered to pay, but Wes wouldn't take my money, so thumbs up to Wes at Steffans.
Now, on to the watch. I saw a photo of this at Baselworld and it caught my attention, but the photo didn't show the true extent of the lume. In the photo the lume appeared two different colours, but what it didn't show was that the entire dial is actually lumed.
And indeed the bezel, which I don't think we've seen on a TAG before, at least not recently.
The dial is interesting, because despite appearing white in the pictures it is definitely a light silver colour (which may be to do with the lume?), at first I was slightly disappointed about that but on reflection it maybe softens the monochrome scheme a little bit.
The watch is 43mm in diameter, but it's quite thin and with the black case playing its usual tricks you could be forgiven for thinking it was 41mm. The strap wasn't sized for me, so I'm a little nervous of the deployment clasp as it looks like being the kind that I usually have trouble with. The strap itself is very smart though, and I imagine it will be fine for everyone else.
Interestingly, Wes told me that when he was at Baselworld he was shown a picture of a prototype which came on the the black nylon strap similar to the one on the Phantom Aquaracer from a couple of years ago. I can imagine that probably looked quite good as well...
Price for this one is £1700, which is definitely on the higher side for a non-bracelet Aquaracer, but I'm sure that dial is going to sell it and I imagine this is going to be one of those novelties that doesn't stick around too long. So if you want one it might be wise to get your money out sooner rather than later, and avoid having to buy a scratched pre-owned piece.
I don't think I will be buying though, I really like it, but I'm wary of that clasp and in all honesty I've spent rather a lot of money on watches already this year and I don't think I can justify another one just yet.
Monday, 14 May 2018
ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer 500M Calibre 16 Ceramic Bezel
CAK2111.BA0833
TAG Heuer Boutique, Bicester Village / 10th May 2018
If ever there was a watch you need to see 'in the metal', then this is it. None of the pictures I've found seem to do it justice or illustrate just how strong the green colouring on the dial is. If you are a lume fan, then this could well be a watch you should investigate because not only is the lume itself very strong, but the green hands and hour markers give the impression of lume even when the watch isn't charged.
This one was on offer at a discounted price of £2415, down from £3200 (IIRC). It feels very nice on the wrist and I must admit I was rather surprised how much I liked it once I got it on. So much so that I didn't really want to take it off!
CAK2111.FT8019
But eventually I did because I wanted to try on and compare the same watch with the (rather understated it must be said) rubber strap. I have to say I much preferred it on the bracelet, it seems to be a common theme with me lately - although I do love my Calibre S on the rubber band I bought recently. I switched back to the bracelet version and couldn't help but to start comparing it with my Aquagraph... both 500m divers, both chronographs, both sporting strong lume (although the Aquagraph has more if it - having a well lumed bezel).
This one though does have a ceramic bezel insert and is much more wearable than the lump that is the Aquagraph due to it's thinner case. Actually it's very nice on the wrist and gives off a very expensive air somehow, but that green is a constant reminder that this is at heart a tool watch.
This is a photo of the actual watch for sale in Bicester Village
I must admit I'm not wildly enthused by the Calibre 16 movement, I've had one (in my recently sold CAU2012) and it's not the smoothest of winders, but I believe it's quite a reliable engine. The only downside of the Calibre 16 of course is that dial layout isn't to everyone's taste as it's non-symmetrical (left to right), though I have to say it never bothered me at all.
A slightly more flattering photo from the Parkers website
This is a tricky one, because despite my reservations I really, really liked this. I love the green on the dial and it looks much classier than on the chunky green and black 500M Aquaracers which are quite cool but not terribly versatile. Despite the strong green it retains a certain 'quality' feel and the bracelet, while brushed, seemed to give it a definite razamatazz somehow.
The sticking point for me really is that I can't help but think it won't add anything to my collection that the Aquagraph doesn't already bring. Another black dial steel dive watch isn't really what I need right now and the blue version doesn't have those cool green hands (because, well, that would look awful). Interestingly, they had the blue version in the outlet at Bicester, in fact they had two. Tom was telling me that they have the same part number but with a different suffix, but they are clearly quite different blues. One reminds me of the blue on the Tudor Pelagos, that kind of almost 'Royal' blue and the other is a bit darker and more subdued.
One other interesting thing to note is the rubberised crown which is kind of the pre-cursor to what we now have on the Carrera Heuer 01s. I did notice one or two on eBay that had the rubber crown missing (one listing claimed it was a 'common problem'..) so if you're buying second hand that's definitely something to pay attention to as I'm sure it won't be cheap to replace.
Sunday, 13 May 2018
SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Aquaracer CAF101D (Project Fugly)
CAF101D.BA0821
Watch design, like most design of course, is subjective. But occasionally a designer drops the ball badly, and the CAF101D is one such example. I mean the three hand 41mm version is a fairly ugly watch, with it's vast expanse of plain yellow dial, but this one takes the biscuit. Seriously, as much as I love TAG, I'm fighting the urge to go full on Archie Luxury on this one.
"Get a Man on the Mooooooooooooooooon!"
Sure the case and bracelet are fine, as is the colour, you should know I have no problem with the yellow itself, I own a yellow Calibre S Aquaracer after all. The hands are fine too, no problem there at all. The date window is a bit ugly if I'm honest, it's not a good start... maybe a black edging with a yellow date wheel would have been the best way forward, or white perhaps if yellow was too much of a stretch (better white than a mismatched yellow in all honesty) and having the TAG logo stuck right up against it doesn't help either.
The half circle running seconds is, lets be charitable, a poor execution of a less than optimal design choice. It looks rubbish on the three-hander and it looks just as bad here, but the real problem is that once you introduce those sub dials what you've basically done is create a stupid looking face. And it's one of those things that once you've seen it, you can't un-see it, so every time you look down at your CAF101D you'll notice that dumb looking face staring back at you. And while generally I really like the black inner ring on these kind of Aquaracer bezels, in this instance I think it just emphasis this design flaw all the more, giving the face a defined shape in the way that a standard bezel wouldn't.
I can't help thinking that someone, at the design stage, should have spoken up and said 'it looks kinda like a stupid smiling robot face, let's start again'. But clearly either no one spoke up or no one listened.
I don't really get why the subdials are so half-arsed as well, they look like an after thought just printed on the dial like that. Compare and contrast with the applied subdials on the Calibre S version, okay I'm sure it's a much cheaper watch (and frankly it shows with it's crappy, printed TAG logo), but for God's sake it surely wasn't that cheap, was it?
Interestingly, I can't find a single one of these for sale anywhere, which either means the owners love them so much that they're not selling, or... they've all been put in the crusher where they belong. We can only hope it's the latter. This one is surely best avoided unless it's dirt cheap, and even then you should only buy it as a gift for someone you don't like. In short, it's quite ghastly, and quite possibly one of the ugliest watches TAG Heuer have ever made.
Saturday, 12 May 2018
FEATURE: Water Resistance...
A few weeks ago I was watching a video on the Theo and Harris You Tube channel, I don't know if you are familiar with Christian and his channel but he's a young guy who seems to have quickly made a business for himself selling vintage watches.... so far, so good. Vintage isn't my thing, but his channel is still okay in parts because he doesn't stick exclusively to vintage, for instance today he did a pretty good job of ripping Breitling's new Navitimer 8 to shreds, and deservedly so it has to be said.
However, in the video I watched a few weeks ago he was talking about water resistance and made it perfectly clear that he had no idea how water resistance ratings on watches worked. I can't remember exactly what he said but it was something along the lines of 30M is fine because I'm never going deeper than that. Which is worrying from a man selling watches, is it not?
I left Christian a comment (as did other people, unsurprisingly) and he responded saying he felt very silly and he went on to address his folly in a video he made about water resistance and how the ratings work. To be fair, the ratings are bloody stupid and are wide open to misinterpretation, especially for the average Joe whose interest in wrist watches doesn't extend much beyond needing to know the time.
So, while I appreciate that most of you will already know this, for the benefit of any that aren't aware, a 50M rating DOES NOT mean you can take it to a depth of 50M. The problem is 'pressure', you could theoretically place that watch in a tank and fill the tank very carefully to a depth of 50M, but if you move the watch in the tank you increase the pressure and the watch will most likely leak.
Essentially, it goes like this:
30M or 3atm: Suitable for everyday use, splash/rain resistant. Not suitable for showering, bathing, swimming, snorkeling, water-related work, fishing or diving.
50M or 5atm: Suitable for swimming, white water rafting and fishing. Not suitable for diving and snorkeling.
100M or 10atm: Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and water sports. Not suitable for diving.
200M or 20atm: Suitable for professional marine activity, serious surface water sports and skin diving. Not suitable for deep water diving
500M+ or 50atm+: Suitable for deep water diving.
So if you've got a lovely new Carrera with a display caseback and it says 100M water resistant on the back, you can go swimming in it, but you can't dive with it, this is because diving and moving in the water in general increases pressure on the seals.
And the other thing to bear in mind is that if you want to maintain your water resistance rating you should have your watch tested annually because the seals can dry out and fail. It is also important to note that chlorine, bathing products, some cosmetics and heat cycles can all play a part in degrading the seals in your watch.
But of course, even if you follow all these rules, there's still always the possibility of human error. Some watches, like my Aquagraph (above) have visible warnings to help you avoid costly mistakes, here the crown has a yellow (or sometimes orange) band that becomes visible from the front side of the watch when the crown is unscrewed.
But not every diver has this and if you really want to be safe then you need something like the latest Rolex Submariners which have a triple-lock system which keeps the water out even if the crown is unscrewed. Providing, of course, that it's been serviced properly...
Friday, 11 May 2018
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Gulf Special Edition
CAZ101N.FC8243
Looking at this official rendering of the new Formula 1 Gulf Special Edition, it's hard not to imagine this thing flying off the shelves. It's stylish looking, affordable and it astutely rides the coat tails of the new Monaco Gulf SE, because let's face it, not everyone can afford a £5000 watch, and, well believe it or not... not everyone likes square watches.
In all honesty, I've always had mixed feelings about the Gulf Monacos. I kind of like them, but at the same time I always thought they never got them looking quite right. I think the new one is definitely the best one they've done, but if I'm honest I still don't feel like I would drop that kind of money for it.
A few weeks ago I came across a WAH1013 for sale at FineTimeWatches.com (which is where my WAH1110 originally came from), it looks in excellent condition and at £799 was more than a little tempting.
So far I've managed to resist, because a) it's still £800, and b) I just bought a Grand Carrera! But it's a pretty cool looking little watch all the same. The new version though, looks so much more... mature, let's say. Indeed, the Formula 1 range as a whole is looking a lot more 'together' than it used to, which is to be applauded, of course. But there's undeniably something 'fun' about these slightly older, slightly more rough around the edges pieces. While the new one looks like it would be the perfect watch to wear to a bar, this one looks like the perfect watch to strap on before you gun it up the hill at Harewood in your self-built Lotus Seven.
But don't get me wrong, that's more an observation than a criticism...
Because unfortunately the criticism starts with this photograph, because clearly the blue stripe looks nothing like the one on the render and it's clearly far too close in tone to the main dial colour. True, this picture is from Baselworld and it could well be a pre-production model that needs a little more finessing - we really won't know for sure until the proper release - but it's worrying that it looks so wrong, when the render version looks so right.
That said, overall the new model is clearly an attractive proposition and the blue does give it a fresher, cleaner look. But given that the watch is a Formula 1 and therefore at the cheaper end of the range, it's likely that that lovely blue bezel insert is aluminium and highly prone to scratches. Which is a shame, but ceramic isn't cheap and blue ceramic is apparently not the easiest thing in the world to make either.
So, colour scheme aside, what we're really looking at here is your basic F1 Chrono 1/10th of a second, 200M. £1350 quartz TAG, albeit on a very odd looking strap. The guys over at Calibre 11 forum seem quite excited about this strap, but me personally... I'm not sold. I think it's a bit of blue too far and I'd much prefer to see this on a bracelet or some kind of black leather or rubber (or both) strap, if nothing else it would complement the black pushers instead of fighting them as this blue strap seems to.
Let's give them the benefit of the doubt for now and hope that when we see this in the stores in a few months time that blue is bang on the money, if not it's going to be a bit of a shame. I guess the only other question mark is the case size, which at 43mm will surely be too big for some people, perhaps there will be a three hand 41mm along later?
Thursday, 10 May 2018
FEATURE: 'Trying' to Get a Second Opinion...
L-R Back Row: Microtimer / Aquagraph / Calibre 16 F1 / Calibre S / Heuer01 Carrera
L-R Front Row: Kirium F1 / Aquaracer Chronotimer / 6000 Series / F1 Quartz
Unfortunately, Rich said there wasn't really anything he didn't like about my watches, except that he couldn't wear some of them because they were too big for him (Rich has a Tudor Pelagos LHD that is 42mm and that is the absolute biggest watch he can really wear because his wrist is pretty small).
COOL LUME: My Aquagraph and Rich's Pelagos LHD
So it quickly became apparent that a series of posts was not really on the cards and I suggested that instead it would be interesting if he was to rank my watches from one to nine and I would do the same, then we could compare our results and see what the outcome was.
Well, we both picked the Heuer01 Carrera as our favourite (even though at 45mm Rich hasn't got a hope of wearing it), and maybe that wasn't too unexpected... then the next three watches we picked the same ones but in a slightly different order, I picked the Calibre S Aquaracer then the Microtimer and then the Aquagraph, whereas Rich picked the Aquagraph, the Calibre S Aquaracer and then the Microtimer.
We both picked the Kirium F1 fifth and the Aquaracer Chronotimer sixth...
Then Rich picked the orange Calibre 16 Formula 1, the 6000 Series and lastly my quartz F1. Up until a few weeks ago I'm sure I would have done exactly the same thing, but because I was feeling so negative about the orange F1 at the time I picked the 6000, then the quartz then the CAU2012.
It's interesting to see that we both picked the same winner, the same second, third and fourth tiers and that there wasn't any watch that we really disagreed on. Indeed, the biggest mismatch really was that I rated the Microtimer a couple of places higher than he did, and I would imagine most would probably agree more with Rich than me. But that's fine... I know the Microtimer isn't to everyone's taste, but I love it.
Of course, we did this before my new Grand Carrera GMT Calibre 8 turned up... and I thought it was too new (to me) to include in the list proper. But I asked Rich anyway and after much pontificating and indecision Rich finally said he would have placed it fourth had it been on the list. For me I can't really say because as that watch has just arrived it's obviously got that 'new watch honeymoon' thing going on and it could be 2nd now and 5th in a month....
Then I thought, why don't I get my wife to rate the watches as well (she loves watches but has no interest in them beyond aesthetics and she's not impressed by movements or complications particularly), and that produced a slightly different set of results. Again she picked the Carrera as number one (because it's gorgeous*), and followed Rich's lead in picking the Aquagraph as number two (which I must admit surprised me a bit), but then went a little rogue and picked the F1 Kirium. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised as the Kirium was my first TAG Heuer and she's always loved it. Fourth was the Calibre S Aquaracer, and fifth the Calibre 16 Formula 1. I was actually quite surprised by that, but she said she liked the orange on it. I was even more surprised when she said she would have put the Grand Carrera next if we'd been counting it... so in essence she liked the watch I've just sold better than the watch I've just bought! Oh deary me.
*Incidentally, my wife loves my Heuer01 so much that when I got it she said if TAG made a ladies watch like that she would 100% buy it. As it happens she bought an Oris Atelier Skeleton not long after, but I reckon if TAG did make a ladies version and it was 34mm max she'd still be more than tempted...
Next she picked the Chronotimer, and then the Microtimer. She's never been a huge fan of the Microtimer, she couldn't understand why I bought it in the first place, although she has mellowed towards it a bit since I've had it and she does concede that it looks good on me. Okaaaay. Bringing up the rear were the perennial tail-end Charlies, the 6000 Series and the F1 Quartz. I actually feel kind of bad for the 6000 because honestly I really like that watch, it's just playing a bit out of it's league being a smaller quartz piece from the 90s....
I also got some more feedback from a couple of people (including 'dtf' at Calibre11), and here we started to get a bit of variation (finally). dtf picked the Aquagraph first, and then the Carrera (the Carrera's first defeat). Then he went for the Microtimer, the Calibre 16 F1 and the F1 Kirium, but he also said he would have put the Grand Carrera third ahead of the Microtimer. He didn't complete the list thereafter so I will award points equally.
My other response put the Carrera in first place, followed by the F1 Kirium and the Aquaracer Chronotimer (which surprised me slightly), then the 6000 Series (another surprise). This was followed by the Microtimer and the Aquagraph, the F1 Calibre 16, the Aquaracer Calibre S (its worst result by far) and the quartz F1. This person is really into watches, but clearly ploughs their own furrow! :)
So for the moment, counting the five responses I've had, the leader board looks like this...
1st - Carrera Heuer 01 Skeleton
2nd - Aquagraph
3rd - Formula 1 Kirium
4th - Microtimer
5th - Aquaracer Calibre S
6th - Aquaracer Chronotimer
7th - Formula 1 Calibre 16
8th - 6000 Series
9th - Formula 1 Quartz
To be quite honest, on a different day I could quite easily have come up with this list myself, so I'm not unhappy with it. But what do you think? Do you agree - leave me a comment and let me know.
Wednesday, 9 May 2018
SPOTLIGHT ON: Mario Andretti's TAG Heuer 2000 Series 75th Indy 500 Watch
Recently Hodinkee posted a video interview they did with the famous racing driver Mario Andretti, Mario enjoyed a long and successful career including becoming the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship with the Lotus team, four Champ Car titles and one win at the Indy 500 (in 1969) and has gathered a fine collection of desirable watches throughout his career, seemingly without actually buying any of them.
TAG have produced many Indy 500 watches over the years, some of which are nicer than others, but this TAG Heuer 2000 Series made solely for the 33 drivers taking part in the 75th Indy 500 in 1991 is quite a special one as rather than simply sticking a badge on a regular model, they went the extra mile and produced a proper bespoke dial. True, it's not the most beautiful dial ever made, but at least they put some effort into it and as it was given to the drivers (who probably owned much more expensive watches anyway) it probably wasn't intended to be worn everyday (if at all).
Because it was given only to the drivers who took part in the race, most of whom would probably keep the watch as a keepsake and for whom the watch probably didn't represent a significant value to sell, I can't find any record of any of them ever having been sold, never mind for sale currently. Indeed, there is such a lack of information on the internet about this watch that I can't even really say for sure that it's automatic or quartz, given the year it was made I would guess quartz, but there are automatic models in the 2000 series, so who knows? The only other information I found was a photo of Arie Luyendyck's watch from the same race.
I do like this watch, even though I concede it's not conventionally good looking. I just like the fact that TAG went to the trouble to make something completely unique (well, technically not unique, but you know what I mean) rather than just adding some text or a logo to a production dial. On the other hand, I can see that it works more as a 'corporate gift' than as a commercial proposition, but even so I'm happy it exists and that we can see it, even if we know almost nothing about it!
Tuesday, 8 May 2018
ON THE WRIST: Aquaracer Quartz Chronograph
CAY1110.BA0927
Steffans, Northampton / 4th May 2018
I tried this one on at the same time as the 'not-quite'sure-if-it's-a-white-dial-or-not' 40.5mm WAY111Y, and I have to say that while initially I was quite taken with the alarm version, once I put this next to it I was immediately drawn to this one. It's undeniably the case that we are all drawn to certain design cues that we know and love and so it's not hard to see how people can end up with a watch collection that has a distinct air of similarity about it. Of my nine piece collection, seven have a black dial (if we include the Microtimer) so when it comes to future additions I'm trying to broaden my scope a bit, but when you see a black dial watch that looks this nice it can make your resolve waver slightly.
I've been thinking that I would like a blue dial Aquaracer (probably quartz and on a bracelet) at some point. Something that's maybe a bit more blue than my 6000 Series, which is blue, but only in certain lights. So, while I've not been persuing this as such, that's where my head has been at recently... and yet, this watch has that certain 'wow' factor that comes from polished skeletonized hands on a black dial. Of course I already have almost exactly these kind of hands on my Chronotimer, but there's no denying they look very smart indeed. One word of caution though, as much as I love my Chronotimer, the hands aren't the most legible as often the polished surfaces reflect black and the hands all but disappear. You can see the same problem on some of the Carreras with polished Arabic hour markers, they look great, when you can actually see them, but sometimes they just seem to vanish into thin air. In fact, you can see exactly what I'm talking about in the picture below.
CAY1110.FT6041
This watch is also available on a rubber strap, but for once I'm not convinced (I know....!). Granted I haven't actually seen it, but it doesn't look right somehow, this is actually quite a 'glam' watch and not 'tooly' enough to warrant the rubber, especially this kind of rubber strap that I'd rather expect to see on the more hardcore 500M divers like the one I reviewed the other day.
On the wrist it wears as you'd expect a 43mm to, if perhaps slightly smaller than my yellow dial Calibre S, which may be partly to do with the black dial. Next to the CAY111Y it didn't look massively bigger and unless you have really skinny wrists I don't see this being much of a problem for anybody, unless you just prefer a smaller watch of course.
I don't have the exact thickness to hand (and TAG's website doesn't seem to supply it), but as you can see it's none too thick and will slide perfectly under a shirt cuff, and look perfectly at home with a suit. This is one of those watches that looks much better on the wrist than in the window and much, much better than it does in the catalogue. On paper it looks very average, but wrapped around my wrist I must admit I was rather taken with it... I still wouldn't put it on a rubber strap though, even a smarter one, it just seems a bit too dressy for that.
The bracelet is pretty standard Aquaracer fare, though I did notice the clasp has already picked up some scratches, but then this does seem to be a bit of a trend in Steffans unfortunately. I don't know whether it's down to the staff in the shop or just the punters in Northampton, but this shop does seem to have more than it's fair share of scruffy watches, which is a bit of a shame as the guys in there seem like good sorts.
The Chronograph is your standard quartz model with the 1/10th of a second reading at the 6 position, just as you've seen on other watches like the Formula 1 Red Bull and many, many others. The 1/10th of a second chrono does give you that fast moving subdial hand which does look pretty neat and will undoubtedly win you some 'cool' points with people who aren't entirely clued up on the watch game (not that you should be concerned with such nonsense of course). Price for this model is £1750, which is a jump over the Formula 1 models, but undeniably looks worth the extra cash, I've really gone off the Formula 1's of late, I'm not sure why, though it could be something to do with my CAU2012 and the slightly bitter taste it's left in my mouth.
Overall then, a very nice looking watch and one which definitely merits a visit to a jewellers and a go on the wrist. If I had to choose (and if I didn't already own the Aquagraph and the Aquaracer Chronotimer) I think I would spend the extra £400 and go for this over the alarm version, sure I'll never use the chrono for anything much, but then I'd probably never use the alarm either.
FEATURE: My Top 'SIX' Favourite Monacos...
A couple of months ago I posted my 'Top 5 Monacos' to the blog, unfortunately... I made a mistake and omitted one of my favourites, so I thought the best thing to do would be to re-post the article, and make it my Top 6 Monacos' instead...
The Classic 40th Anniversary Steve McQueen Monaco
I feel like I'm in a slightly odd position when it comes to the Monaco, I mean, can you imagine someone writing a blog devoted to Omega who just wasn't that bothered about the Speedmaster? No, me neither, and yet... the truth is, while I kinda like the Monaco, it just doesn't excite me the way a watch that costs serious money needs to if it's going to win me over. I mean I'd like a Monaco in the collection, but I imagine it will be a long time before I have £3,000 in my pocket and nothing I'd rather spend it on.
My affection for the Monaco 24 range and in particular the CAL5113 is well documented on this blog, and for the purposes of this post I'm going to ignore these wonderful, futuristic and rather expensive models and instead focus on Monacos the purist might like, or at least tolerate... because you know what I'm like, there ain't gonna be no blue dial Calibre 11 in my list!
I'm also going to ignore the Haute Horlogerie pieces like the V4 and also the Bamford customised watches, this list will be Monacos we can all find on the pre-owned market if we look hard enough (and perhaps if we live in the right country), and finally, I'm also going to discount the Monaco Sixty Nine, because as much as I like that it exists, it's too thick and at the end of the day I've already got a Microtimer so I don't need another one strapped to the back of a Monaco!
#6. CAW211N.FC6177 - The Boutique Edition
I only really came across this one the other day and it rather piqued my interest, echoing as it does the design of the blue/white Monaco 24 somewhat. I think the dial design works perfectly and I really like that it is symmetrical rather than offset like the classic 'Gulf' models. 39mm case size is perfect for me and it has the TAG Heuer logo rather than the Heuer, so I'm happy.
#5. CAW211E.FC6414 - 'Men's Club' Japanese Limited Edition
I had to include this because it's just so unusual, made in a limited run of... I want to say of five hundred pieces, but I'm not 100% on that at the moment, 'Men's Club' is a Japanese magazine (I'm assuming 'lifestyle' rather than 'sexy ladies') and the watch was available through the Espace TAG Heuer boutique in Japan - I say was because I'm pretty sure it will be sold out by now. Being a Japan only release it was priced only in Yen (675,000) which equates to about £4,500. A fair price for a unique and very attractive alternative Monaco.
#4. CAW211F.FC6300 - The Blue Stripey One..
#3. CAW211M.FC6324 - ACM Limited Edition
This is one I have actually tried on, must be a good couple of years ago at Bicester Village. Can't remember off the top of my head how much they were asking, let me go see if I noted it when I reviewed it... nope, but I think it was somewhere between £2500 and £3000. In my review I did say that the black case looks a bit odd on the wrist, but I still kinda like it, probably because the coating makes it look a bit more modern. This one has the ACM logo on the display caseback and an orange backing on the strap to match the tip of the second hand. Nice!
#2. CAW2117.FC6271 - Singapore GP Limited Edition
This is the one I missed out in my original post, and it only occurred to me when I started looking at the Grand Carrera Singapore GP Limited Edition. All the Singapore GP Limited Editions look great to me, you just can't really go wrong with a combination of black and green. Ideally I'd prefer it if the case was black, but on the other hand there's a nice contrast between the black dial and the silver case which gives it a classic air. No doubt this was produced in a small quantity - it doesn't seem to say on the watch itself, which is slightly odd - and so finding one is going to be tricky, but if you can find one, what a beauty!
#1. CAW2119.FC6289 - Carbon Fibre Dial Limited Edition
Another limited edition and another Monaco that I've actually had on my wrist, this one I tried on either last year or 2016 in the Royal Exchange branch of Watchfinder. As I recall, it was on offer for about £3600 and was in great condition (Blowers are selling one right now for £3750) save for one scratch on the case near the pushers for the chronograph. A lovely watch, but again, am I ever going to have that kind of money burning a hole in my pocket and nothing else higher up my list?
I think it's safe to say that I won't be adding a Monaco to my collection anytime soon (unless a ton of money falls into my lap of course) but I'd still like one, even if only to round out my collection, I mean imagine having a collection of ten Omegas and no Speedmaster, that would be kind of strange wouldn't it?
Monday, 7 May 2018
BUYING EXPERIENCE: Grand Carrera Calibre 8 GMT
WAV5111.BA0901
I guess it all started about a fortnight ago, when I visited the TAG Heuer outlet at Bicester. As you may remember I tried on three Grand Carreras that day including a GC GMT with a diamond bezel. I'd never really been that taken with the single sub-dial Grand Carreras, and I was pretty focused on getting hold of a CAV511A Chronograph GC.
But after I tried that blingy piece on it got me thinking, the chrono versions of this watch sell for way more and did I really need another chronograph? Wouldn't it make sense to get a cheaper watch with a GMT instead (a complication I don't already have) and rather than getting yet another tachymetre bezel watch perhaps a more dressy piece would be a better addition to the collection.
So having already had a trade in offer from Watchfinder for my CAU2012 against a CAV511A, I found this WAV5111 on their website for a decent price (£1950) and checked with them that my offer of £1200 trade in stood. This meant I could turn my orange Formula 1 into a chronometer certified Grand Carrera GMT for £750. I didn't think about it for too long, except to ponder whether I should maybe go for the white dial version, just to tick another box. But I quickly decided that if this is to be my dressiest, poshest watch then it really ought to be black, and so I quickly did the deal.
Rather than post my CAU2012 I decided to take it down to London last Saturday and drop it in to Avery Row myself, which meant I could also try my new watch on and size the bracelet - but I couldn't pick it up until they'd had time to check mine over and authenticate it, which while a little frustrating I can understand.
While I was in Watchfinder I got them to swap the rubber straps back over on the old watch as I tried to do it myself but was too worried about scratching the otherwise immaculate PVD coating. Incidentally, Watchfinder have listed my watch now and if you do want a CAU2012 (despite everything I've written about it) you won't find one in better condition, because it really is mint.
I was served by George, who was nice enough, but they really ought to give him a better watch to wear while he's in the office. Surely there must be an old Kirium knocking around they could give him rather than having him wear a Daniel Wellington while he's serving people looking to buy Rolexes and Royal Oaks. It just gives a bad impression in my opinion.
As I said before, the Avery Row branch seems to be more of a collection point than anything as its stock is severely limited in comparison to the Canary Wharf and in particular the Royal Exchange branches. But it serves a purpose and they probably do have maybe 100 watches in there I guess (including one of those ridiculous Omega PloProf things).
Even though it was disappointing that I couldn't take the watch with me I felt much happier having inspected it and tried it on. It was also handy that they could size the watch for me and add in a link so that it would fit me properly, and I knew it was only going to be 7-10 days before I would receive the watch so it wasn't so bad.
I arranged for the watch to be sent to my work, which was simple but for the fact that my work email is a Gmail address and they didn't like that very much. I guess they have to be careful, and I was prepared to have it delivered to home if necessary, but in the end I resolved it by sending them a photograph of my work catalogue which has the email address printed on it. Eventually Tom said it was fine (perhaps because this was my second purchase from him this year) and much quicker than expected (last Wednesday I think it was) I received an email from Tom telling me that my sale had gone through and that I would be contacted by the shipping department soon.
I got the call on Thursday and finally on Friday afternoon my parcel arrived...
A huge outer box...
Incorporates the document folder...
Instructions in one, Chronometer certification in the other...
Beautiful inner wooden box, unfortunately scratched at the front :(
And there it is, finally a Grand Carrera owner!
Nice!
100M water resistant with display case back...
Classy and practical, just like me.. :)
Between ordering and arrival I did get a bit nervous, because I started worrying that I'd sold myself short and should have spent the extra and got the chronograph after all. But once I had it on my wrist those worries soon dispersed, I'd still like the CAV511A, but in addition to, not instead of. I know I'm obviously in the honeymoon period, but I'd say this is probably my second favourite of my watches right now.
The only slight niggle, well two I guess, was that the box is scratched up at the front, but it's not a massive deal (and to be fair that was clearly visible on the website if I'd looked more carefully). The other was that they seem to have added another spare link into the watch bracelet so that when it arrived it was too big and I had to take it to a jewellers to get it taken out again - I really don't know why they did that. But still, better that I've got a spare link than not I suppose, and aside from that, so far I'm rather chuffed with this one!
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