Wednesday, 21 August 2019
Tuesday, 20 August 2019
NOT BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer 1988 Catalogue
Ugh! I'm not going to lie here, I am deeply disappointed. I found this on eBay a couple of days ago when it was bidding at £10.50 and I was more than a little excited. This is the 1988 TAG Heuer catalogue, featuring 183 ring bound pages in seemingly excellent condition... why wouldn't I be excited?
The only problem was it was due to finish at 12:05PM on Sunday, which for me was the worst possible time as I would not be able to bid at the last minute or respond if someone outbid me as I couldn't be near a computer to watch the auction end.
Still I reasoned that if I left a decent bid I would have a fair chance of securing this particular treasure... and so began the awful dilemma of deciding what might be that 'winning' bid?
In hindsight I can see that my bid was too low, and I really should have made a better fist of it - but I have spent a lot of money on catalogues lately. Still, opportunities like this don't come around too often and I wish I had bid more for it.
The bid I left was for £41.33, and when I eventually returned to my computer (about half an hour after the auction had finished) I saw that the catalogue had sold for £42.33.
Galling as that obviously was, who knows exactly how much the 'other guy' was prepared to pay. Maybe he was just as determined as I was, so maybe it's for the best....
Hmm.... (quietly seething)
Monday, 19 August 2019
Sunday, 18 August 2019
BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Master Catalogue 2006-2007
As a fairly frequent scourer of eBay I've come across (and purchased) many, many TAG Heuer catalogues... but it's very unusual to find a 'dealer' catalogue for sale on there. I guess this stands to reason as there are comparatively few in existence versus the ones meant to be given away to potential customers. In fact the only one that springs to mind is one that's been on there recently (in Spanish) and which is offered for around £100.
Even if it was in English I'm not quite sure I'd be willing to spend £100 on it, but then the other day I came across an older 'dealer' catalogue listed at £30 (plus £5 postage). As the seller had invited offers I decided to offer £25 and this was accepted straight away, which of course made me think I could have offered less. But still, I think I've paid that for some regular catalogues and this one is quite thick and comprehensive. I definitely think it was a good deal.
The catalogue includes some interesting information, such as how to open the 'Golf' case and adjust the strap to the owner's wrist.
It also includes detailed information about various movements used in TAG Heuer watches...
All in all I'm very happy with my purchase, but this isn't quite the end of this story as I'm currently awaiting the 2005-2006 Dealer Catalogure purchased from the same seller...
Saturday, 17 August 2019
Friday, 16 August 2019
ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Golf Watch
WAE1116.FT6004
TAG Heuer Boutique / Bicester Village, 22nd July 2019
Not the first time I've had a Golf on the wrist, but the first time in a good while I think. It's an odd little thing, very quirky... it's designed for a particular purpose and as I don't play golf myself it's not especially useful to me (but then I don't dive either...), but there's no reason that should preclude non-golfers wearing it if they like it.
You could, I suppose, see this as an affordable alternative to a Monaco, but in reality it has a very different aesthetic. It's slightly 'confusing' to look at, because while at first glance it looks square, a closer look at the dial reveals a different story. It's also quite small, I don't have the measurements unfortunately, but it looked disappointingly dinky on my 'manly' 7.3/4" wrists.
The 'Golf' watch is in essence a basic three-hander with a quartz movement, designed to cope with the shock of golfing. There's a date at the 3 position; the dial has a kind of 'golf ball' relief in the central section and the watch has a left handed crown (to prevent it fouling your wrist while swinging your golf club, obviously). The watch has a ribbed and satisfyingly 'branded', seemingly endless rubber strap which actually fastens in the watch case itself. Those buttons on the upper edges release the three part case, which opens to release the end of the strap (which has to be cut to approximate length) and clamps down on it when closed. It's a clever idea and not having a clasp is a brilliant idea, but those buttons do look a bit odd. It would be interesting to see if someone could come up with a better way to do this as the concept of a claspless strap is quite brilliant (as I'm sure anyone with a scratched up clasp would agree) .
I'm not sure if this is still available, but when I tried this on at Bicester Village in July this piece was offered at £980 (RRP £1400), I don't recall seeing it the last time I visited, but I might have just missed it. While I'm not totally sold on the case shape, I love the quirkiness of it, but it's just that bit too small for me, worth a look though if you happen to visit the outlets any time soon.
Thursday, 15 August 2019
NEW PAGE ADDED: Blacklist
Total and Utter Garbage!
http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/p/blacklist.html
Wednesday, 14 August 2019
BUYING EXPERIENCE: TAG Heuer Keyring, Plaque & International Watch Magazines
This first little item came all the way from China (via eBay, of course) and while it's obviously not in any way, shape or form 'genuine' I simply couldn't resist. No doubt it's made of some kind of incredibly toxic rubber with phthalates up to the eyeballs, but what can you expect for £8 including postage? This one is about 1.1/2" square and undoubtedly the coolest keyring I've ever owned, in fact it's the coolest thing for £8 I've ever owned! Didn't take that long to come either, just over a week if I remember correctly.
I also picked up a couple of copies of 'International Watch' magazine recently, firstly number 49 (1998) which features the release of the Kirium Ti5 and the Kirium Quartz Chronograph.
The first article informs us that... 'Ti5 is a relatively impure alloy, composed of only 90% titanium with aluminium and vanadium. As used in the Kirium, the result is a case that is both hypo-allergenic and some 50% lighter than its steel equivalent and a bright, attractive finish that is not unlike gold or platinum and not possible with conventional titanium alloys.' The article also tells us that the price of the Ti5 on launch was $1295.
The second article is headed by a photo of the blue dial Kirium quartz chronograph (just like mine, but I wish mine was in that condition) and includes a photograph of the very hard to find burgundy dial version (both £1325 on launch, and also available in black or silver).
Both these magazines are in excellent condition, in fact they look like new. No doubt they've barely been looked at since they came out. These old magazines are quite thin and pretty lightweight, but it's interesting to flick through and see what was going on in the world of watches just over twenty years ago...
Finally I picked up a little (45mm) 'Aquaracer' display plaque, God alone knows what possible use I will have for that, but it was less than a fiver. I'm sure it will appear in some 'Aquaracer' photographs at some point!
Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Monday, 12 August 2019
ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 17 18K Gold
CW5140.FC8147
TAG Heuer Boutique / Oxford Street, London 3rd August 2019
My wife and I popped in to the TAG Heuer boutique on Oxford Street today, it was the end of a long, hot, excessively busy day and we were about ready for home to be honest, but it was nice to see Aneta and Chau from Bicester (both have moved permanently to the London store) and while my wife got some info from Aneta about the upcoming green dial ladies Aquaracer I took the opportunity to try on one of the few watches in the store I haven't already had on my wrist. Admittedly it's not exactly my 'style', but it doesn't hurt to try on something different now and again, and now that I finally have a 'proper' Carrera in my collection (or I will have come October), I'm starting to focus my attention of nailing down some sort of Monaco in the next twelve months or so.
This particular Monaco measures 38mm square and 13mm thick, it contains a chronometer certified Calibre 17 movement and while I didn't catch the exact price, I know it was somewhere north of £11,000 (although I believe they might be willing to move a little bit on that if you are genuinely interested). In this particular instance the watch is supplied on a brown leather strap with a matching gold buckle (the watch is also available with a black strap) and a silvery-white dial. The strap seems a little short to me, it fitted but there wasn't much left over (my wrist is a little above average at 7.3/4") so if you have bigger wrists you might need to change that out.
Whether you choose the brown or black strap is a matter of taste, I think I'd probably prefer the black myself, but I like that this comes with a proper pin and buckle instead of a deployment clasp. The brown makes it more retro in my opinion, and hence less suited to me really... but it definitely goes quite well with the gold case. The only thing about the gold case is that it rather limits the dial colours one can pair with, and personally I'm not a fan of this silver/white dial. It's hard to know what would go well with it as the black dial gold Carreras don't look all that amazing either. I'm thinking a fairly dark blue might be a good choice, but this dial doesn't really create any significant contrast with the case and so appears a little 'flat' to me.
Clearly I'm not really the target market for this particular watch, but it's still interesting to get it on the wrist. I expected it to be a little heavier if I'm honest, but it didn't really feel significantly heavier than the watch I took off (my 43mm Aquaracer Calibre S) so I don't think that weight will be an issue for anyone. At 38mm it fits nicely on the wrist (38mm square is bigger than 38mm round) but a square cased watch is never going to be the most ergonomic of items. At this sort of money you've got to be seriously bowled over to plunge for this one, even if there is a deal to be had... but this is no longer on the TAG Heuer website (if it ever was?) and I'd suggest chances to buy this piece 'new' are probably running out, so if you are tempted then now may be the perfect time to make your move.
I also took the opportunity to pick up a copy of the new Autavia booklet (make sure to pick up the one in English as they have it in Chinese as well: unless you'd prefer it in Chinese of course) which is a nice little addition to my ever growing collection of TAG Heuer ephemera.
Sunday, 11 August 2019
Saturday, 10 August 2019
INTERVIEW: Mr Orange (Calibre 11 Forum Member)
For the benefit of any of my readers who don't as yet frequent the Calibre 11 forum, please tell us a little bit about yourself...
To misquote Sting, " I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien. I'm in Englishman in Brisbane".
Clearly this is an obvious question, but I feel I need to ask it all the same as it gives us some kind of background, so how did you get into watches?
That's easy! The Omega Seamaster (although I will probably never buy one because every time I have tried one on, I have been disappointed) and my Father. He once came home from work in the Middle East with a titanium Seiko. I don't recall the exact model, but that got me interested such that when he came home from another trip he had a Seiko Kinetic Titanium for me. A watch that I still have some 25 years on.
I know from the forum that you have a couple of very nice Carreras in your collection, do you have a 'favourite' piece?
Without a doubt I do, although that is not to say that I don't still love wearing all my watches. My Heuer Carrera 300 SLR Limited Edition is my favourite though.
Those are both very beautiful pieces which I would love to own, although I think I would tend towards the McLaren 1974 myself. So now we get to the slightly trickier questions, beginning with a personal favourite of mine: is there a place in your collection for quartz / how do you feel about quartz watches?
Yes. The Seiko Kinetic is quartz and I also own a Rado R5.5 that is quartz. That said, I don't see me buying quartz in the future. As an engineer, I am fascinated by mechanical watches so that is where my $$$ will be going in the future. Oh, and maybe an JLC Atmos - those things are super cool!
Yes, I don't really understand how that works personally, but it's ingenious none the less. Something else which is ingenious, but in a completely different way is the TAG Heuer Connected, is that something you could see yourself buying/wearing at some point?
Nope, sorry, never. I think it has its place but the way that TAG Heuer have allowed any and all dials to be bastardised on to the face of the Connected really irks me. (Sorry Albert-AMG)
Do you have any idea what you might like to add to your collection next?
Not yet. I have a fairly long list including a Carrera Calibre 17 (CV5111), a couple of Monacos, an IWC Spitfire Flyback Mk XVII, the Carrera MP4-12C, a JLC Geophysic True Second, a Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control and so it goes on. Quite a few of those can now only be bought second hand and I have sadly watched the prices of some them increase over the years. If only I had had the funds at the time I decided I definitely wanted to buy them.
Is there a 'money no object' grail piece that you lust after?
Absolutely. Two JLCs and an ALS. First the Duometre Spherotourbillion Moon, second the Amvox 3 Tourbillion GMT and lastly the Lange 1 Moon Phase.
I'm glad I don't have to answer that question myself because I tend to focus on what I can afford, and what my wife will let me get away with, haha. So how does your partner/wife feel about your collection?
She is very supportive and has "bought" (in inverted commas) me three of my collection. She expects me to exercise restraint though but can also be an enabler. Luckily, I am not that impulsive and tend to think long and hard about my purchases.
How many watches is too many?
Whatever it is, I haven't got there yet.
Have you ever ‘sneaked’ a watch into the house?
Ermmm, pass ;)
I'll take that as a yes then. :)
Have you ever maybe bought or sold a watch and regretted it?
I still own every watch I have ever bought and there are no regrets. I think that has something to do with the length of time I spend mulling over a purchase.
Probably, I am far too impulsive but I'm trying to roll it back a bit now. So here's another question that seems to divide the forum somewhat, and that is how do you feel about 'faux' aged lume?
Lume the colour of baby poo doesn't really float my boat, on the other hand I really don't care and it is horses for courses.
In the wider watch world TAG Heuer has long attracted more than its fair share of negativity, do you have any thoughts on why that is?
The 80s - The plastic Formula 1 didn't help, but I suspect the main reason must have been their marketing campaigns because everyone associates TAG Heuer in the 80s with w*nker bankers wearing gold and two-tone models. I was too young to really appreciate what their issues were at the time, but looking back this is what I see. Having said that, TH have definitely moved well beyond this decade (although refer to Bamford comments) and should not be being persecuted for it any more. I think that anyone who is genuinely interested in the brand or knows the full history doesn't care about, let's call it 'The Great Mistake', but the trolls who love to hate TAG Heuer cling to it and bring it up time after time much as they do the story about the birth of the Calibre 1887. That said, the Bamford collaboration is a total fail. It is the 80s all over again, only worse. Bamford's creations look like something off Playschool, IMO.
Are you swayed by ‘limited editions’ and associated packaging?
I'm not swayed per se. I own 3 limited editions (Monaco ACM Edition, Carrera 300 SLR and Carrera McLaren 1974 Edition) but I bought them because I like them not because they were limited. I used to be a bit annoyed by cheap packaging but the reality is that all my boxes are stuffed away in drawers or cardboard boxes and never see the light of day. The packaging probably only matters at time of resale which is not something that interests me since I buy to keep. Rather than packaging, I think watch companies could do more in terms of providing a second strap or accompanying books (as TH have done).
Is there a TAG Heuer / Heuer you really don’t like?
This will be controversial, so I will caveat it by saying that I love and respect the Heuer history and the Heuer family story but there is almost nothing from the old Heuer days that I like. I also don't like the new 'mutant Carreras'. In fact, I don't think they should even be called Carreras!
I kind of agree, even though I have one... I don't necessarily think calling them Carreras was the best idea. How do you feel about gold and two-tone watches, would you / do you wear them and do you feel comfortable wearing them?
In general, I am not a fan and don't see myself wearing them, but the aformentioned JLC Amvox 3 is two-tone rose gold and black DLC and I love that.
We've now seen three of the five Monacos made to mark the 50th Anniversary and it seems like we're in for a long wait before we 'officially' see the last two (plus some more that we think we know about), but if you were in charge of TAG Heuer, how would you have chosen to mark the 50th anniversary of the Monaco.
Maybe I would have run the 'Monaco Cup', similar to the Autavia Cup, with a larger production run of the eventual winner and at a more affordable price point than the decade '5', but this would have been in addition to the '5'.
You've mentioned a couple of brands already so I know this question isn't moot: which other brands do you appreciate / own?
I own Seiko, Rado, Maurice Lacroix and, of course, TAG Heuer. I aspire to add JLC, GO and ALS to my collection and no doubt others I have yet to discover.
Do you see your collection growing, if so how?
Yes, I see it growing. How - that's a bit harder to answer. Outside of my day job, I trade shares - it's working out fairly well so far. I do still see affordable watches that I really like, for instance the Ultrmarine Morse UTC, so it is not just about spending the big dollars.
Given the very positive initial reaction to the red limited edition Monaco, would you like to see some sort of ‘Ferrari’ Monaco?
Yes, but also no. Various other brands including Hublot, Girard Perregaux and Panerai have all done Ferrari watches in addition to the Ferrari branded watches that exist so I don't think that TAG Heuer would benefit from a tie up with Ferrari. I could also see the brand being accused of jumping on the bandwagon which would give the TAG Heuer haters even more ammunition.
How do you feel about the Hodinkee limited edition phenomenon, and leading off of that, would you like to see TAG instigate some sort of ‘VIP’ club for people who buy regularly with special editions offered first/or possibly exclusively to members?
I think they are aimed at different customers to me. They seem to take a watch, change the dial colour and slap 2 grand on the price. Revolution/The Rake have done something similar. People who buy these watches are buying into some sort of 'lifestyle'. Good on them though for seeing the business opportunity and grabbing it.
And finally, who (if anybody) do you think should be TAG Heuer’s next brand ambassador?
Nobody. Actually scratch that, it should be one of us from the Calibre 11 forum.
Perhaps we should 'elect' someone, maybe Hubert can be the ambassador with special responsibility for Monacos, and the Connected, well we know who that'll be, haha. Well, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and maybe in the future we can do this again?
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