Looking for advice/input on buying my first Tag Heuer. I like the F1 and the Aquaracer style and am looking to spend as much as 2500. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated
Which models in particular are you looking at, chronographs or more of a 3 hand time only piece? Personally I'm a big fan of the Aquaracer as its one of the toughest divers I've seen in its price range.
I'd have thought the Aquaracer and F1 aren't too far apart in terms of quality and positioning in the range. I think it comes down to which one you prefer most or which one would suit you more.
I'm going to go hands on with both on Monday and see what really feels right. I am a big fan of chronographs for the aesthetics. Have any of you heard anything about the indy 500 limited edition. I like the looks of it but being new to this market don't know why it is priced a 1000 lower than say a F1 or aquaracer. This also brings up another point why are there large price gaps in the same models?
Both Aquaracer and F1 families have quartz and automatics in them, the largest price difference will be between those with quartz (battery powered), and the automatics (powered by movement). There will be some price gap between different options eg quartz with a rubber strap will be cheaper than on a steel bracelet, aswell as the number of complications (datejust will be cheaper than chrono + date etc). The Indy 500 this year seems quite a low price considering it is a limited edition, but is still battery powered so depends which movement you're looking for.
Some very good advice here. Cost is a function of the movement (quartz, "standard" mechanical or "high end" mechanical) and the materials used for the watch. This works in two ways- the type of material (of course, a carbon fibre case will be more expensive that steel) and secondly, the finishing. The finishing is where a lot of cost is added. Is the case polished or sandblasted/ brushed? Patek use the same basic steel as everyone else, but then spend hours and hours hand finishing the case...hours and hours = $$$$$$$ So in the case of the Formula 1 Indy 500, it's less than the Aquaracer because it has a quartz movement and the case materials are not to the same standard (check the clasp on the bracelet for an example) and it's cheaper than an automatic F1 because while it has the same materials, it has a quartz movement, while the other models you are looking at are almost certainly mechanical.
I've got a couple of aquaracers, a stainless Quartz 3-hand and a black titanium chrono. Both are fantastic watches, the Quartz especially so. While an automatic watch is a lot more fashionable, Quartz is arguably more useful, especially if you don't wear it everyday - it's nice picking the watch up off my desk where it's been sat for a week and have it still keeping perfect time. I tend to be a lot more careful with the titanium one for fear of damaging the finish, but the stainless watch has had a lot of abuse over the years and still looks good, without a mark on the glass.
I don't think you can go wrong with the entry level F1 automatics at the moment, particularly the white dial cal 5 and 6 versions. A beautiful clean dial, a case that hark's back to the 70's autavias and a rock solid and proven movement. Not sure of the exchange rate, but would be under $2k at UK prices.