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Ok thanks. That makes sense. So they basically sold out. But what is this reputation that Sumo mentions? I guess I've seen lots of city banker types in speedmasters etc but I didn't realise tag Heuer were like a level lower in that whole thing. Those aquaracers with the unpainted metal bezel are appealing to me because they seem a bit more low key and all their website spiel makes it sound like they're hard-wearing
sorethroat-
Those aquaracers with the unpainted metal bezel
...are becoming retro cool now
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Tag were always like half the price (or less) of an Omega or Rolex and that's still about where they are. So it was the luxury watch you bought if you wanted to show off but you couldn't afford a Rolex. Kind of where Tudor and Longines are now, but Tag went for the younger market - they had no qualms about being bold/new/different. Kind of like the Hublot of mid-priced Swiss watches.
To be honest I think a lot of it is just people being sniffy about the brand. If you like it go for it. They’re well enough made but at over three grand their mechanical dive watches don’t compare super well to a Tudor Pelagos 39 or Black Bay 39 IMO.
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all their website spiel makes it sound like they're hard-wearing
Don't buy into this (or any other brand) spiel. Everyone makes their watches sound bullet proof. They aren't. That said, I must admit my ExpII has been worn pretty unapologetically for coming up to 4 years and it's daily rate has never varied from between 1.5-1 secs fast a day. That's nearly quartz levels of consistency / accuracy.
But as the others say - if you like it, get it. Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Only issue is if you're buying with a view to selling later, as that's when other peoples' perceptions of a brand (fair or unfair), are a factor.
ChainBreaker
Regal
Detritus
Because Heuer made a ton of classic and innovative chronographs and had lots of heritage in motorsport, innovative stopwatch and chronograph design, dash mounted stopwatches etc., but when TAG bought the company in the 1980s I think a lot of people felt they became primarily about marketing. The general style of the watches changed as well, and some people feel they've never really recaptured the cool factor that the old Heuer chronographs had.
It saved the company though. The shift to chunkier image-led watches was necessary after the quartz crisis.