Choosing a TAG

[Composite Guru]

Hi,

I have had a bit of inheritance money and would like to buy myself a Tag with some of it.

I'm looking around the £4k mark and was considering the Carrera Calibre 1887 Chrono.

Could anyone recommend a different Tag for around the similar money as I'm a bit undecided?

Before anyone asks, the reason why I am choosing a Tag is because I can get a good discount on them.

Thanks in advance.

[SLR400]

Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 bought wisely and stick the rest in the bank.

[thebraketester]

I'd be looking at omegas at that price point. Or a dornbluth?

[SLR400]

If it's non Tag, I'd be looking at lots of other things.
OP stated Tag ;-)

[counterofbeans]

Composite Guru said:

Before anyone asks, the reason why I am choosing a Tag is because I can get a good discount on them.

So your £500 watch costs you £3k instead of £4k.

Still not good.

[Composite Guru]

Not really the response I was looking for.

Why are they so bad compared to other manufacturers?

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Composite Guru said:

Not really the response I was looking for.

Why are they so bad compared to other manufacturers?

Because PH. The main bone of contention seems to be the use of movement that is readily available in much cheaper watches, which is fair enough if that interests you but for a great many watch buyers it of course don't make much difference.

It's too simple to liken it to a lotus using a cheap toyota engine, but I suspect a great many of TAG's detractors wear items of designer clothes that pour out the same factory and are cut from the same cloth as a great many cheaper items (the same factory that produces both Armani and Top Shop's jeans for example).

Then add in a little snobbery, a little reverse snobbery (that also affects Rolex to some degree on watch forums) a repositioning of the brand's price point and the strange phenomenon that if something's popular it's now "uncool" (on an internet forum full of watch geeks-perhaps not the finest barometer of cool!) and you have the TAG-factor.

What people forget is TAG's history which really can't be denied nowadays. Heuer has serious history but TAG has had great links with motorsport over the years and I can only see it being more so in the coming years.

If you like a TAG Heuer, you like it and it's as simple as that.

[Composite Guru]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Composite Guru said:

Not really the response I was looking for.

Why are they so bad compared to other manufacturers?

Because PH. The main bone of contention seems to be the use of movement that is readily available in much cheaper watches, which is fair enough if that interests you but for a great many watch buyers it of course don't make much difference.

It's too simple to liken it to a lotus using a cheap toyota engine, but I suspect a great many of TAG's detractors wear items of designer clothes that pour out the same factory and are cut from the same cloth as a great many cheaper items (the same factory that produces both Armani and Top Shop's jeans for example).

Then add in a little snobbery, a little reverse snobbery (that also affects Rolex to some degree on watch forums) a repositioning of the brand's price point and the strange phenomenon that if something's popular it's now "uncool" (on an internet forum full of watch geeks-perhaps not the finest barometer of cool!) and you have the TAG-factor.

What people forget is TAG's history which really can't be denied nowadays. Heuer has serious history but TAG has had great links with motorsport over the years and I can only see it being more so in the coming years.

If you like a TAG Heuer, you like it and it's as simple as that.

Ok I see now thanks.

The watch I was looking at buying has a proper chrono auto movement in it so not an average quartz jobbie. I thought that would be specifically made by them fpr that watch surely?

I'm confused by the whole thing really.

[Composite Guru]

NeMiSiS said:

If you're confused, don't dive in, there are people here who are well up on Heures and will give you advice.

There are also people who know an in house movement TAG Heure from an ETA, they will be along shortly.

I'm not planning to jump in too fast, I want to buy the right watch.

I'll wait for more info. Cheers

[thebraketester]

Theres a 2003 rolex GMT in a local watch shop. £4500.... much more PH! ;-)

[Composite Guru]

I guess i'll put my money into something more worthwhile then.

[webby23]

I'd sooner have a watch on my wrist that I liked, as opposed to having one that maybe I didn't like but was recommended to me by people I'd never met.

If you like TAGs, buy one, it's your money and they are great looking watches on the whole.

[Composite Guru]

webby23 said:

I'd sooner have a watch on my wrist that I liked, as opposed to having one that maybe I didn't like but was recommended to me by people I'd never met.

If you like TAGs, buy one, it's your money and they are great looking watches on the whole.

I do like them but its inheritance money I don't want to waste on an overpriced POS. Yes its a discounted price but I still want something with some value in it after a few years.

[Polariz]

In my experience yes there are plenty of people who will tell you what to do and a lot of it is rubbish. However there is truth in that if you "invest" (if that's the right word) your cash in a Rolex for instance, that money is pretty safe, and buying a Tag is going to lose you money (there are obviously lots of exceptions to this). The bottom line is, if you're going to keep it the rest of your life (Like I will with my Monaco Calibre 12) then the value bit is pretty irrelevant.

If you're going Tag, I would go Monaco personally - mainly because it's so unique and it was apparently the first square cased Chronograph. With it's history and links to McQueen and what not, people tend to forget all about the movement argument. I paid £2400 for a mint 2014 example pre-owned and it's never missed a beat.

[SirSquidalot]

If you want a Tag buy one, they wont hold their value as well compared to other brands. Maybe buy a used one? Best of both worlds!

[Podie]

NeMiSiS said:

The watch manufacturers are going down the line of dropping the TAG logo and reverting back to Heure, so even they know that the TAG logo devalues the watch.

As for PH snobbery that's bollards, some people know what Heure was before TAG ruined it.

Too much irony...

*Heuer

[Composite Guru]

Polariz said:

In my experience yes there are plenty of people who will tell you what to do and a lot of it is rubbish. However there is truth in that if you "invest" (if that's the right word) your cash in a Rolex for instance, that money is pretty safe, and buying a Tag is going to lose you money (there are obviously lots of exceptions to this). The bottom line is, if you're going to keep it the rest of your life (Like I will with my Monaco Calibre 12) then the value bit is pretty irrelevant.

If you're going Tag, I would go Monaco personally - mainly because it's so unique and it was apparently the first square cased Chronograph. With it's history and links to McQueen and what not, people tend to forget all about the movement argument. I paid £2400 for a mint 2014 example pre-owned and it's never missed a beat.

Thanks, that's a good input.

[Polariz]

My pleasure.

[h0b0]

Most people have an issue with Tag using ETA, or quartz, movements in watches with high prices. A lot of other manufacturers have done the same but not to the extent of Tag. I have a Tag and an IWC. The IWC is my everyday watch and the Tag is my special occasion watch. Why? It turns out that some of the Tags come out with good movements. The Calibre 36 is the El Primero movement from Zenith.



You could get one of these in your budget, so if it had to be Tag it's where my money would go.

FYI, the 1887 is considered an in house movement but has questionable origins. It is a, good quality, Seiko movement that has been adapted for Tag. They bought the IP so Seiko can not sell it to others anymore. Most other movements are ETA (Swatch) which is in line with the industry.

Nemesis has a point though, Tag do not have a good perception in the watch collector circles because they are considered to have "sold out". For this reason they can not be seen as an investment like a Rolex can.

Before you commit to Tag, see if your discount applies to their other brands.

Bulgari
Chaumet
De Beers Diamond Jewellers
FRED
Hublot
TAG Heuer
Zenith

Here are the other brands in the same LV family just because I do not think people realize how much LV own,

10 Cane
Ardbeg
Belvedere
Château Cheval Blanc
Château d'Yquem
Cloudy Bay Vineyards
Dom Pérignon
Domaine Chandon California
Hennessy
Glenmorangie
Krug
Mercier
Moët & Chandon
Ruinart
Veuve Clicquot
Wenjun[18]
Specialist retailing
DFS
Le Bon Marché
Sephora
Starboard Cruise Services
Fashion and Leather Goods
Berluti
Céline
Dior
Donna Karan
EDUN
Emilio Pucci
Fendi
Givenchy
Kenzo
Marc Jacobs
Moynat
Loewe
Loro Piana
Louis Vuitton
Nicholas Kirkwood
Thomas Pink
R. M. Williams
Perfumes and Cosmetics
Parfums Christian Dior
Guerlain
Parfums Givenchy
Kenzo Parfums
Benefit Cosmetics LLC
Fresh Inc.
Make Up For Ever
Acqua di Parma
Perfumes Loewe S.A.
Fendi Perfumes
Marc Jacobs Beauty
NUDE

[Composite Guru]

h0b0 said:

Most people have an issue with Tag using ETA, or quartz, movements in watches with high prices. A lot of other manufacturers have done the same but not to the extent of Tag. I have a Tag and an IWC. The IWC is my everyday watch and the Tag is my special occasion watch. Why? It turns out that some of the Tags come out with good movements. The Calibre 36 is the El Primero movement from Zenith.



You could get one of these in your budget, so if it had to be Tag it's where my money would go.

FYI, the 1887 is considered an in house movement but has questionable origins. It is a, good quality, Seiko movement that has been adapted for Tag. They bought the IP so Seiko can not sell it to others anymore. Most other movements are ETA (Swatch) which is in line with the industry.

Nemesis has a point though, Tag do not have a good perception in the watch collector circles because they are considered to have "sold out". For this reason they can not be seen as an investment like a Rolex can.

Thanks for that, I like your Calibre 36 but that may be a little out of my price range. Will have a look though.