It wasn't you. There are any number of us who will inevitably bring up Tudor. Its price point is similar to TAG and many of us like both brands. (It was actually @abrod520 who mentioned Tudor first in this thread.)

 

Hardly a visit to my local AD without hearing exactly this.

 

Of course, as a salesman why the hell wouldn't you play that card. But by the same token, perhaps it just shows that they aren't actually that interested in watches.... I want a Rolex. Sorry none available, but we do have Tudors which look like Rolex looked 50 years ago... and did I mention that Tudor is actually made by Rolex, I mean owned by Rolex I mean they are the same thing basically.

 

Yes, future members of the COCO will need to prove ownership of at least one TAG

That's a risk sure, but... you can't call yourself 'Avant Garde' and only make watches that look as if they were designed in the 1960s. And it's not really like people buy a watch and keep it till they die these days is it?

I'm not so sure about even this actually. I have zero use for a GMT, but I own a 1500 GMT and find myself deeply attracted to the blue/black bezel of that Aquaracer. I suspect many others are drawn in by the colourful Pepsi bezel too, with little regard for the actual function.

It's a timeless classic and easily the greatest watch of the 21st Century.

 

The Tudor gets praised cause it is a well built, premium feeling watch that uses the kennisi movement. In my opinion, the Aquaracer is as well built and premium feeling. If TAG would buy kennisi movements for the Aquaracer models, they would be straight up comparable in terms of specs and luxurious feeling. Only issue though, the Aquaracer would probably be priced $5500 or something like that. So we would still be left with the problem that Tudor are super cheap and much better value for money.

Luxury is all about your perception of a brand, right? 90% of what you pay for is fluffy air, in the name of getting that luxury branding on your product. To me it makes a lot of sense that a TAG Heuer costs more than a Tudor, because for me the Tudor branding has a lower "status" value or luxury appeal.

I do love my fiddy eight, but it feels nowhere as cool to show a Tudor to a friend of co-worker (since to them it could as well be a $300 watch) as it does rocking a TAG that most of them associate with luxury.

 

Of course luxury is all about perceived perception.

Oddly for me I’d say it’s the opposite. Every Aquaracer I’ve handled and even the new professionals feel no where as refined as Tudor. Case finishing, sloppy bezel action, awful claps, (let’s not talk about movements).

Then you have the fact 50% of the brands portfolio F1s & Aquaracers are quartz, & for the price they are charging - it’s shocking.

It’s also shocking how much they are RRP for selita movements considering most people I speak to want 10-20% of RRP if purchasing.

Maybe Tudor as a brand at RRP are too cheap, but they’ve stolen the market segment form Tag & Breitling and will increase their RRP soon to what Rolex were at.

Maybe Tag need 2 strategies - Heuer branding for a vintage line - Monaco, Carreras, Autavias.
TH for modern stuff - 02 movements, Aquaracer etc.

Move away from selita would help, but also not to push their RRP to much. If the Aquaracer starts competing with Seamasters that’s crazy, one is almost modern & advanced, one is full modern & advanced.

Also could be a big market to redo the F1 as the cheaper fun part of the brand, can think only the orange one recently does this.

 

I’ve been close to picking up the WAN2110 Aquaracer many times still might if I find one cheap enough.

The new Aquaracer appeals to me a lot, but a few things, mainly size & cyclops are holding me back.

if I’m honest it’s most likely the Monaco in the new year.

Pepsi bezel you say, see everyone wants a Rolex deep down.

 

Still think TAG Heuer is a strong name and gateway brand but also think loads of people buy used aka fake unknowingly. Reddit discussions are flooded with these.
I also believe TAG Heuer is getting more of a beating from Omega and Breitling than Tudor these days. Not many noobs buying Tudor I reckon. The made by Rolex sales pitch is building a mass brand no doubt. My TAG Heuer AD took on Tudor recently. We’ll know when the Swiss numbers come out.

 

Interesting, I only have the bb58 to compare with but I find the current gen 300m Aquaracer on par with it in those three aspects.

This is a logic I have never understood. Charging 2k for a watch with a $10 quartz movement is shocking but charging the same money for a $50 Sellita powered watch is more ok just because it happens to be mechanical? The street price to end consumer who wants to buy a sw200 is below $200. TAG and other brands buying tens of thousands of movements yearly probably pay very very little per Sellita unit. To me this makes a Swiss Sellita watch as ridicilously overpriced as any quartz piece

 

Yep, they are both OVERPRICED, the mechanical is way more overpriced... but somehow that is justifiable because it is connected to eternity.
That Biver guy knows his marketing alright.

 

Wow, I go to sleep for 9 hours and miss all the fun!

Arguably the sellita is much worse value than the quartz, because there's a decent chance the quartz will still be working in a decades time.

 

The new Aquaracer clasp on the 36mm and 43mm is great, though the clasp on the Ice King was crap apparently

Yeah, but.... ALL companies charge what they can get away with. If Oris could charge more they would. I agree TAGs prices are high but people obviously pay them. All Swiss brands' prices are hilarious, but people pay them. It's all brand recognition. If Omega had Rolex brand recognition their prices would be going up. People are moaning about Rolex prices going up 10% but the demand is so high that who can blame them?
As for the quartz thing, TAG as an entry level luxury brand need quartz in their line up, if all the F1s and Aquaracers were mechanical then they wouldn't have anything under £2000 - then they aren't entry level anymore. Besides, not everyone who wants a nice watch wants a mechanical watch, we as watch enthusiasts assume everyone who buys an expensive watch is an enthusiast but I think that's way off target. But if you are charging £3-4000 for your £50 mechanical watch you have to position your quartz offering in line with that otherwise it looks silly. Do I think the orange F1 is worth £1300, not really no. But I paid it. And I paid an extra £135 for a rubber strap.

Relative to TAG yes they probably are, but like you say, I can see Tudor prices rising steadily and leaving TAG behind, and soon this problem will be solved and you guys will be hating on Tudor for milking it.

In a way that would make sense, but all that is so confused now.... I don't think there's a straight answer. I'd wager TAG sell just as many shiny, thick, H02 Monacos as they do matt dial Calibre 11s, otherwise they wouldn't be moving in that direction. Carrera is a mess, and we've basically got Heuer branded Heritage models. As for the Autavia... since they don't know what it is anymore maybe it's best they don't brand it Heuer and upset the people here?

I can agree here, the plastic F1 was a huge success back in the day and I think if they made something similar today it could be another smash hit - if it was in the £6-700 region. But TAG is trying to raise its prices overall and become more luxury again, so I don't see this happening. Maybe they could have a cheap range just called 'TAG' without the Heuer part, like a baby brand? But I don't know, I think they would say the perception would be that TAG is cheap and they don't want that. Look how many people hate the Moonswatch for dragging Omega down...

 

Another place listing the gmt for sale, price €3600, they have added some more renders to their listing

https://www.oroeora.gr/en/products/tag-heuer-aquaracer-professional-300-gmt-wbp2010ba0632

 

I may be in the minority but the TH looks "too blingy" I'd go for the Tudor right away, but then I'm old, officially, my daughter is 40+.

 

Quite the debate I seem to have started. I’d like to point out though that all the previous discussion of Tudor on the forum, was not my fault lol.

I also didn’t just say Tudor - I said that Miyota has a cheap true GMT movement showing up in watches under $1000 now. My point was not that Tudor was better than TAG, my point was TAG is rather behind the times with the new Aquaracer GMT and it’s starting to look bad.

 

I'm old too. Not quite as old, granted. I guess I'm young at heart.

 

Oh absolutely, but.... you could say the same about lots of microbrands using sapphire glass and ceramics, making the whole Swiss industry look bad. But.... it's like the old high spec Ford v low spec BMW debate isn't it.

 

Of course. And I'm no fan of microbrands, I just can't get behind them. But there does come a point where when every micro has X, Y and Z but TAG does not, it becomes embarrassing.

 

most people like it but you get more views when you trash.