ON THE WRIST: Victorinox INOX Carbon Mechanical Watch

 
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Victorinox Boutique / London, 28th October 2023

As I dedicated TAG Heuer collector and blogger, it's quite rare for me to talk about other brands. It does happen from time to time of course and I have written about watches I've tried on from brands such as Tudor, Rolex, Breitling, Maurice Lacroix, Bell & Ross, Chopard and even Roger Dubuis (their £168,000 twin tourbillon Exoskeleton is still the most expensive watch I've ever tried on, and probably always will be!) but over the course of seven years it's not much.

But I've been intrigued by the I.N.O.X. range from Victorinox ever since I saw the video where they drove over it in a tank, and while the bezel styling is 'interesting' shall we say, it's so refreshing to see a watch that doesn't look like something else. For that alone I would have to say well done Victorinox, thank you for looking forward in an industry that is OBSESSED with repeating the past. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Porsche 2.7' Heuer 02 Limited Edition Chronograph by Swiss Watch Expo

 

OWNED: TAG Heuer 3000 Series Quartz Chronograph

 
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Yet again I am writing an 'Owned' post as a formerly cherished watch heads out the door to its new keeper, and yet again I am surprisingly unmoved by the latest defection from my collection. Which surprises me in a way because I was so excited when this one arrived two and a half years ago from the USA. But over the last year or so my attitude to collecting watches has changed considerably and right now I'm sitting at 31 pieces, which means I've almost (but not quite) halved the number of watches I own with still probably more to face the door.

In my naivety I thought I could just keep collecting forever, amassing more and more pieces until either the money ran out or the wife left me... but then one day I realised that these things break, especially the older ones I was collecting - and when they break they cost money. Sometimes more than they are worth. Now that wouldn't be a problem if I had one or two cheaper watches that I really, really loved but when you have sixteen plastic F1s that are 30 years old you start to wonder if it wouldn't just be better to sell up. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Dark Lord Tribute' Heuer 02 Chronograph by WatchBox Reviews

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Gold' Glassbox TH20-00 Chronograph

 

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Back in May I visited London to meet up with my good friend Jim Dollares and together we spent a pleasant hour in the TAG Heuer boutique trying on lots of watches. One of the watches we tried on was last year's 42mm solid gold reverse Panda - the one we all thought was going to be for Jack Heuer's 90th birthday but ended up just being a regular gold R.P. Jim and I really liked that watch and my Swedish buddy suggested I should start saving for it for my 60th birthday (thankfully not until 2029 I hasten to add - but I'd still need to put away over £3000 a year!).

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 6000 Series Quartz Chronograph by Birth Year Watches

 

CORRECTION: A Correction and a Small Bit of News

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Some of you might have been a little surprised to see that the recently released Monaco 'Night Driver' (as pictured above) achieved an oddly low C.O.C.O. score of 5.8/10 in my recent 'First Impressions' post. But luckily, one of the aforementioned C.O.C.O. members brought this to my attention and on re-checking the scoring I found that it should have read 6.8 and not 5.8. I don't know how I managed to mess this up, I added up the scores correctly but an error crept in when it came to dividing the total by the number of scores. I have checked the other recent scores and they are all bang on, I will correct my original post as soon as possible.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera WV211A Automatic Watch by WatchBox Studios

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Watches of Switzerland' Calibre 5 Limited Edition

 

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WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND / Regent Street, London, 5th September 2023

With just over ten weeks remaining of 2023, it seems timely to remind ourselves that last year a 'Watches of Switzerland' limited edition Carrera 'Panda' (CBN2018) managed to snag the much coveted 'C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year' for 2022 - joining previous winners the CBK221B Silver 160th Carrera and the CBK221D Dato 45 at the top of the C.O.C.O. tree. 

Now, obviously I'm not for a moment suggesting that this 'Watches of Switzerland' limited edition Aquaracer is about to repeat that feat, because frankly we all know there's only one watch in the running this year... the CBK221H 39mm Glassbox Panda. The watch that not only heralded the start of TAG Heuer's 60th Anniversary celebrations for the Carrera of course, but also the one most likely to blame for the six-eight months it took W.O.S. to sell a measly 250 pieces of what was and remains a very nice watch!

Honestly I still think TAG Heuer well and truly stitched W.O.S. up there, releasing a 42mm Panda when they knew there was a more desirable 39mm one coming (and let's not pretend we didn't know about it too). But hey, it's water under the bridge now... and as far as I know the W.O.S. Panda is now sold out - so all's well that ends well.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Autavia Calibre 5 Watch by WatchBox Reviews

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer x Bamford Carrera x Rowing Blazers 'Yacht Timer' Limited Edition Heuer 02 Chrono

 

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I'll admit my knowledge of the 'Rowing Blazers' brand is pretty limited but even a cursory glance at their website tells you pretty much everything you need to know. £50 for a baseball cap, £135 for nylon shorts, £310 for a jumper.. and £9250 for a TAG Heuer x Bamford x Rowing Blazers Carrera. Wait, what? Oh yes, you think watch enthusiasts are easy to extract money from? Well that's nothing compared to fashion junkies...

VIDEO: What Has Happened with TAG Heuer by Teddy Baldessarre

In this video (at 0:41) I notice Teddy has used my photo of the TAG Heuer factory, you can clearly see my wife standing under the tree on the left.... :)

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Las Vegas' Limited Edition Heuer 02 Chronograph

 

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Every now and then TAG Heuer release something which makes you stop and stare, and the CBN2A1J 'Las Vegas' limited edition 44mm Carrera Sport is truly one such watch. Now obviously it's not for everyone, but when you consider the environment in which it was being sold it kinda makes sense. What better way to remember the night you went to the Casino and came away with a few thousand dollars tucked into your money belt, eh? But in the cold light of day, maybe it's a harder sell... and perhaps that's why it's currently for sale on the Watchfinder website for just £2550. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Link Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 'Monaco Boutique' Limited Edition

 

Can you think of a better place to buy your Monaco from than the TAG Heuer boutique in Monaco? Well if you happened to have been there recently then you might just have seen one of these, a grade 5 titanium 'SMQ' with gold subdials, hands and indices. The watch is limited to just 50 individually numbered pieces and comes with 2 straps in a special box... and I should hope so given the asking price is an eye-watering €11,000!

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by WatchBox Studios

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Tiffany Blue' Calibre 5 Watch

 

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 22nd April 2023

Admittedly, it's been rather a long time since my wife and I took a look at this one, but it's Thursday morning already and I need a post for Friday - that's how it seems to be at the moment, and so I took a look in my 'draft' folder and came up with this one. It was either this or my Top 5 Blue Dial TAG Heuers, and I really don't have time to sift through all the possible options right now!

It may have been a while ago, but I can say without fear of contradiction that my wife absolutely loved this one. A pity then that at 36mm it looked ridiculous on her tiny wrist - she doesn't own anything bigger than her 32mm WBD Aquaracers and even they look quite chunky on her. In fact she loved it so much that I think had it been smaller she might even have overcome her reluctance to buy another automatic. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 'Green Dial' Calibre 5 Watch by Brent Miller Time

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer/Bamford Carrera 'Team Ikuzawa' Calibre Heuer 02 Limited Edition

 

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You may remember me talking about the Wes Lang Bamford Carrera a while back and last year the RUF Carrera; when I spoke about them I explained that they did not constitute official 'TAG Heuer' releases as they did not have their own unique part number - rather they carried the part number of the base or donor watches delivered to Bamford to be modified. When I first saw this I assumed this would fall into the same category, but for whatever reason the TAG Heuer/Bamford/Team Ikuzawa Carrera does carry it's own original part number and indeed was sold on the Japanese TAG Heuer website. As such it is eligible for the C.O.C.O. Watch of the Year competition, though I don't think it's going to trouble the glassbox Panda somehow....

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-09 Tourbillon Chronograph by WatchBox Reviews

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Night Driver' Limited Edition Calibre Heuer 02 Chronograph

 

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You know when you buy a new printer and you have to print a sheet of paper out with all these grey squares on... and then you have to squint at it and work out which one has the thinnest white line down the middle? Well, I'm sad to say that was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the first picture of this new limited edition Monaco. But then I saw a different picture and it looked completely different, and then I saw another picture and it looked completely different again.... all of which makes appraising this without hands on experience rather difficult.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' TH20-00 Chronograph by Worn & Wound

INSTRUCTIONS: TAG Heuer Calibre S Laptimer (SLR & Carrera)

While not overly exciting for most of you, this post is sure to make someone's day at some point in the future. The Calibre S Laptimer is the most complicated watch I own and makes the standard Calibre S look like child's play in comparison. Trying to work out how to use it without a manual could drive someone insane, .

I have been meaning to make a video showing you what the Laptimer can do, and sooner or later I will. But I'll probably need to brush up on the instructions myself first! 🤣

NB: This is a note for myself as much as anyone else. When resetting the LAPTIMER after a battery change keep in mind that the watch has three modes not two like the normal Calibre S! Once you figure out which mode you are in things get easier. Also, don't try and do this in a rush, last time took me 40 minutes to get it right.

Chrono reset instructions are on the last page of the booklet.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Sports 'Porsche' Heuer 02 Limited Edition Chronograph by WatchBox Reviews

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Porsche Chronosprint' Calibre TH20-08 Chronograph

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If you've been around for more than a couple of years you will probably remember TAG Heuer's previous motorsport collaboration with Aston Martin. That was a bit light on product with only a Formula 1, a  couple of Heuer 01 Carreras (one of which was only available if you bought a specific Aston Martin) and a Heuer 02T Tourbillon emerging before the companies went their separate ways. If I remember correctly this was because Aston Martin stopped sponsoring the Red Bull Formula 1 team, which paved the way for a new love-in with Porsche (who TAG Heuer were already working with in Formula E). 

Of course, Red Bull Racing now seem to be getting in to bed with Ford, so it remains to be seen what happens to the Porsche tie-in in the next few years. Regardless, the TAG Heuer/Porsche collaboration has already produced more watches than the TAG/AM partnership ever did, with these two representing watches number six and seven to date.

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Chronograph vs Breitling Endurance Pro Superquartz Chronograph by Brent Miller Time

 

ON THE WRIST: Ulysse Nardin Diver X 44 Limited Edition Automatic Watch

 

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Watches of Switzerland Boutique / Regent Street, London 23rd Sept 2023

I've only ever tried on one Ulysse Nardin before as far as I can remember, that was also here in the Regent Street branch of Watches of Switzerland and a good few years ago to boot. In fact, despite visiting this store many times this was the first time I ever managed to get up to the top floor - where UN's boutique is now situated, alongside the Patek Phillipe store and a selection of pre-owned watches.

Well I say 'watches', mostly it was just 'Rolex'... perhaps unsurprisingly. There were a few other things, including a steel Nautilus for nearly £100,000 and a solid gold version of the same for nigh on £140,000. Neither of which I can get overly excited about if I'm honest. The Nautilus doesn't have anything like the presence of the Royal Oak (even though it's a bit passe to like it these days), and paying 2.5x list for a watch that starts at £35,000 is hilarious.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer 1000 Series Quartz Watch by Birth Year Watches

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton Heuer 02 Chronograph

 
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TAG Heuer Boutique / Leicester, 7th September 2023

I know what you're thinking, and yes I did already try on a Monaco skeleton when I visited the Oxford Street boutique way back in June. But at that time they only had the 'standard' models in stock and what I was really interested to see was the funky black and turquoise model. As luck would have it, I finally managed to find one when I made my very first visit to the (not so) new TAG Heuer boutique in Leicester.

As is typical for these 'partner' boutiques that are tacked onto the side of a larger jewellery store, this isn't the biggest boutique - certainly nothing like the ones in Sheffield or Oxford Street, but it still had a good selection of watches to look at and the lady that served me and my wife (Raisa) was very friendly and welcoming.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Night Diver' Heuer 02 Chrono by Time & Tide

INSTRUCTIONS: TAG Heuer 1/10th Second Quartz Chronographs (Various 90s/00s Models)

While I appreciate that for most of you this will be irrelevant, someone visited the TAG Heuer Forums asking for this manual as they couldn't figure out what was going on with their watch. Since I was scanning it I thought I might as well post it here as well. This manual is for various 90s and 00s models including the Kirium, 2000 and S/EL quartz chronographs.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Gulf and Red Bull Special Editions by AMJ Watches

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph

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I know that as a rule I am generally out of step with the watch community at large, but even I am flummoxed by the turnaround in opinion that's been brought on by the release of the new glassbox Carreras. To me these watches are inferior to the previous iterations, damned strange looking AND feel even smaller on the wrist than the old models even though they are in fact the same 39mm size.

And yet every time I go to YouTube I see video after video praising TAG Heuer to the skies for these new watches, even Teddy Baldassarre (who rarely even ever talks about TAG Heuer) recently posted a video praising the company for the direction it's heading since Frederic Arnault took over.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Skipper' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by Hodinkee

 

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Grand Carrera 'Caliper' Calibre 36 Chronograph

 

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Watchfinder & Co Boutique / Avery Row, London, 5th September 2023

Still smarting from the missed opportunity that was the H&T £1700 Grand Carrera Caliper, my attention returned to the steel CAV5115 and more specifically the one on offer on the Watchfinder website. Price wise this one was a much more realistic £3850, but... and it's a big but, it had some problems. Firstly the bezel has some marks, which is not a massive deal and in all honesty may be a good thing since I am more likely to actually wear it if I don't start with a 'perfect' watch.

Second of all, the red stripe is missing from around the left hand crown that operates the timing 'Caliper'. This I don't really understand since I assumed this red was paint, so how it's fallen off is a mystery to me. For me this isn't a massive issue either and again is something that could be rectified (presumably) relatively easily. Also I think there should be a small rubber o-ring around the crown, but I bet most of those disappear sooner or later - that one I really wasn't worried about at all. 

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Special Edition by Time & Tide

 

FEATURE: Trying (and Failing) to Buy a Ridiculously Cheap Grand Carrera Calibre 36 Chronograph

 
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A few weeks ago I noticed that EST1897 (now called H&T) had a CAV5185 Grand Carrera Caliper in black PVD on their site priced around the £2500 mark. I remember looking at it and thinking 'that's quite cool, but I don't know if I want another black PVD watch'. Which, in hindsight was very, very stupid on my part. 

Why? Because that price was exceptionally cheap for a PVD coated, titanium cased Grand Carrera 'Caliper' with a Calibre 36 (or as it's otherwise known Zenith 'El Primero') movement inside. But I foolishly left it and didn't think about it again until a couple of weeks later when I got an email from H&T inviting me to peruse their wonderful sale, which featured (amongst other brands) over 600 TAG Heuer watches, all of which were substantially reduced.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Fragment' Heuer 02 Chronograph by WatchBox Studios

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Jamie Carragher 23 Foundation' Calibre 6 Limited Edition Watch

 

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You may remember a couple of weeks ago I managed to turn up a watch that I hadn't seen before and commented how unusual this is these days after years of extensive research. But of course there are always more oddities to uncover and today we have another truly obscure piece to talk about.

I won't pretend to know anything about football past about 1981; my last in-person experience was watching Leicester City defeat Manchester United during one of Leicester's brief forays into Divison One (as it was then called, now the Premier League). So I'm afraid Jamie Carragher, whose career spanned about 17 years between 1996 and 2013 was never on my radar. Until now of course.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph by Monochrome Watches