The Best and Worst TAG Heuers of 2018

Aquagraph

https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2018/12/feature-best-and-worst-tag-heuers-of_21.html

Be interested to hear what you guys think of this...

Hubert

Good recap! I'll comment on what I believe were the very best, good efforts, and honorable mentions for 2018.

For me @Calibre11 Siffert was a "must-have". There was no way I could pass on this one. Probably my favorite modern Autavia.

The Viceroy reissue was a wonderful surprise that made it irresistible.

The Heuer02 Carrera TwinTime / GMT is an absolute winner. Arguably one of the best Carreras this year.

The "50th Anniversary of 1st Victory of Gulf Racing Monaco" finally made faithful use of the Gulf livery. An absolute treasure.

While the Carrera Fragment / Fujiwara is a step in the right direction, there are several compromises that IMHO should to be addressed, if TAG Heuer is considering adding 3-6-9 heritage Carrera as regular production models. The diminutive size is still my number one complaint.

Nevertheless, I it was another must have for me and it's part of my collection, along side the polarizing Telemeter.

Honorable mention to the following, which are part of my wish-list:
Aston Martin Heuer01

And the new Calibre 16 models.

The Heuer02 Carbon Carrera was also a step in the right direction, but the blue accents made me pass. Holding for a phantom edition!

Finally, given Bamford's model, let's hope we get full carbon Dark Lord for next year's 50th Monaco edition!

THJunkie

Best - Viceroy or Tete De V
Worst - that orange monstrosity from Bamford. If that’s considered a ‘real’ tag. Otherwise the Oxford St (simply because it is such a lazy LE).

I’m discounting all the co-branded stuff which is just marketing gimmickry.

PS: great writeup and thread idea Aqua*. Keep up the great work in 2019! Cheers.

PPS: ditto Hubert. You’ve been busy this year! Quite a collection. Congrats!

Remo

I had the same thoughts about the fake Carbon AR dials.Those are one of the most expensive Aquaracers, so it does in no way seem to be justified, if anything on the watch is just pretending to be.
For me the Heuer dreamwatch of the year was the Tete de Vipere.

dtf

Just skimmed so far, but wow, there's been a lot of new watches this year.

Worst watch has to be the super low-res fake CF aquaracer. It's not even a good fake, it looks like something I printed on a inkjet in the 90s.

Best...Bamford real CF Monaco, Viceroy Autavia (if only they has changed the bezel) or maybe the skeleton heuer 02 they announced at basel.

TonyStark

I picked up two watches this year - the calibre 11 siffert and the australia WOS LE

The aus LE hasn't had much acclaim - but i have really enjoyed it

Hubert

Glad to contribute! 😀 Maybe to some people, but not me. IMHO, the diminutive Telemeter, Skipper, Rake and Fragment Carreras look like children's watches in our modern world. Their dwarfed scale completely robs these watches from their impact and presence.

When one looks at a picture of a Carrera, its incredible clean lines and proportions convey a bold statement that makes you imagine it as an imposing watch. However when you actually try one of these new ones on, their bloated, dwarfed, diminutive scale completely deflates your mental image. The don't improve the original designs in any way; they worse them! That's what I see every time I put one of these on. And I tolerate their shortcomings, because they still posses enough qualities to make them worthy, but I do so under protest!

I am big into design and none is perfect. However, there is little that can be improved upon the original Carreras; increase their scale, give them better crystal legibility, materials, a solid automatic movement, and really that's all they need. They are elegant and timeless.

As with cars, I like modern reinterpretations of classics to revive their spirit; I want to see some progress and benefit from the technological advancements of decades past and service-ability. In terms of the design, I value a selected tasteful improvements, as long as they are faithful and retain the spirit of the original. The key is to always improve. Worsening it is a disservice to the everything that made the original great; and I feel this is what happens with some of these Carreras. In all honesty, most people would be better off finding an original or a CS3111 re-edition from the 90s.

Hubert

In my view, some 'purists' go too far, but to each its own. Vintage collectors would rather have an original than a reproduction. TAG Heuer realized this when it brought the Carrera back and incrementally kept making improvements while respecting the past. The original CH80 designs were almost perfect. A few minor modifications here and there and they would have had a sales phenomenon. We've been patient, but I say its time to get back on track. That's what I hope this "open letter" comments will accomplish!

Hubert

IMHO, the diminutive Telemeter, Skipper, Rake and Fragment Carreras look like children's watches in our modern world. Their dwarfed scale completely robs these watches from their impact and presence