Many people's watch journey began with a TAG. Mine certainly did - I had had Casios and various fashion watches in the past, but wasn't an enthusiast by any means. Then in 2011 whilst walking though the shopping centre this caught my eye in the window, and I had to have it.
This is the Carrera Chronograph CV2010. It is powered by the Calibre 16 (also known as the ETA 7750 - the ubiquitous Swiss automatic chronograph movement found in many models). This model is 100m water resistant (there is a previous 50m model). I love this watch - it's very versatile - almost 'beach to boardroom' except perhaps that I wouldn't dive with it, despite its dept rating claims (an issue commonplace in the watch industry).
I just own the 1 TAG, but could well be persuaded to own another. I think this aquaracer for example is a very attractive piece, as is this calibre 5.
My only issue with TAG is their slightly ambitious MSRPs, but if you shop around you can easily get 30% off and you have a cracking watch for the money.
Heuer has a rich history in racing and chronographs, and partly because of this their vintage models are especially sought after because of their modern, wearable size (40mm or so, as opposed to most vintages of that time at a rather diminutive 34mm or so). Because of this ones in good condition sell for £2-3000 or so.
In 1985 Heuer was bought by TAG Holdings - an aviation, motorsports and hospitality company, hence the new name. In 1999 TAG Heuer was bought by LVMH who also own Zenith, Bulgari, Hublot, and various fashion and alcohol companies such as Dior and Dom Perignon.
Today the company has an incredible research and development division - check out their Mikrotimer 'The worlds first mechanical timepiece to measure and display the 1/1000th of a second', the Mikrotourbillions, and belt-driven Monaco v4.
Last edited by geoffbot; Nov 15, 2014 at 08:45 AM.
There are some very nice modern Carreras around now. I was looking forward to adding a C80 to my collection before Mr Biver decided it was too nice to produce.
You should have more faith on TAGHeuer's water resistance ratings; every watch produced is pressure tested in a water tank.
As for the CH80, it's a little more complicated than that.
Short version, they can only manufacture 100,000ish movements at the moment and this figure can be of a mix of the two movements.
Key factor is they sell about 100,000 Carrera Chronograph watches as it is and if they reduce 1887 to squeeze in a few CH80, they wouldn't have enough 1887 to fulfil orders.
If you look at the numbers involved, it looks like it was always questionable if it was going to be put into production properly because they just didn't have the capacity to sustain their Carrera Chronograph line-up, especially with the 16s disappearing.
Now that the Carrera Chronograph watches are pretty much 1887 only, they will need to increase factory capacity before they can consider introducing the CH80.
I still can't get confirmation of that rumoured three hander.
Not even a wink and a smile type answer.
Hello Peter! Glad to have your expertise in this forum - you know TAG better than most I've met. I did actually swim with my Carrera on holiday, and it was great. Here's a pic
I have to say though, my Carrera hasn't seen anything deeper than my kitchen basin. If I know water's going to be involved during the day, it'll be a dive watch that comes with me.
There's something about them that are just more "bashable" than the Carrera, especially my one with the thin bezel; that crystal feels awfully big and awfully close to the edge of the metal.
I got a lot of time for TAG Heuer. It was the most popular selling brand in my store during my time in the industry. I said it elsewhere here, but TAG H is the brand that turns men into watch nerds (I don't say 'WIS'). Customers would come into the store, buy a TAG Heuer, and then they'd be back six or twelve months later to buy themselves another watch. Sometimes another TAG, sometimes another brand. Many of them would say that the TAG that they purchased earlier had gotten them interested in having a small collection of watches.