The shared history of TAG Heuer and Grand Prix racing is so intertwined that separating the two is almost unthinkable. The company’s roots in the sport go as far back as the creation of Formula One itself, with Heuer laying down the foundations of modern timekeeping in the 1970s. Even since their rebranding in 1986, TAG Heuer’s catalog of F1-themed timepieces has been nothing short of staggering. We were certainly aware of this, and expected a world of pain as we braced ourselves for the research. Surely it’s a complete nightmare for any F1 fan foolish enough to go down the rabbit hole.
Or at least it would be, if not for the years of dedication and hard work already put in by Rob/Aqua-G of TAG Heuer Enthusiast. Rob’s blog is to TAG Heuer as IMDb is to films, or as Wikipedia is to, well, everything. So in-depth is his knowledge that it can sound like he’s talking rubbish sometimes (his words). There is also no TAG Heuer model obscure enough to get by Rob, and in fact there’s a decent chance it’s already in his personal collection. But Rob’s blog is far more than just a comprehensive catalog. There are also personal and often humorous stories about his journey as a collector, from heart-wrenching near misses to some unexpected wins.
Perhaps the only thing that eclipses Rob’s passion and knowledge is how nice of a guy he is. Despite our relatively new entry into the watch community, Rob has been both welcoming and generous with his time. There was never a dull moment in our correspondence, given Rob’s refreshingly honest takes on F1, discovering his recommended gateway drugs into the watch world, and how he might be the only F1 fan on the planet focused on watch spotting during a team factory tour. Brace yourselves for a fun read!
Grand Prix Watches: You’ve been asked “Why TAG Heuer?” before, and it was being an F1 fan that introduced and cemented you to the brand. How much of your passion for TAG Heuer is still tethered to F1, or has it completely taken on a life of its own?
Rob/Aqua-G: It’s definitely still a factor. I still enjoy seeing the TAG Heuer logo around the circuits and of course on the Red Bull cars and Max Verstappen‘s overalls. I was able to visit the Red Bull factory in 2024 thanks to my wife, who bought tickets for us both. I definitely got a kick out of seeing the TAG Heuer logo close up on the cars and also spotting the various TAG Heuer wall clocks scattered around the factory, particularly the Heuer 01 clock in reception.
It was quite funny, really. We started off in this great room which had every Red Bull F1 car arranged in a semi circle, but the first thing I did was go and ask one of the guides if there was likely to be any chance that anyone was wearing their “Red Bull World Champions Edition” Formula 1 watch that Max had just presented to everyone who worked in the factory.
I think he was slightly put out that I wasn’t asking a question about the cars, but whatever haha. Sadly not… Apparently they were all taken home for safe keeping. But I did notice our guide had one of the older Heuer 01 Carrera Red Bull Special Edition watches on his wrist and I saw a few random TAG Heuers around on people’s wrists throughout the day.
I don’t think it would matter if TAG Heuer stopped being involved in F1 for me though, or if I lost interest in F1. Those two interests are connected but both exist on their own, with or without the other.
GPW: You bought your first TAG Heuer watch in 2004, and started your blog in October of 2016. What were three defining moments during those 12 years that led to the creation of TAG Heuer Enthusiast?
Rob: You know, that’s a good question and I often try to think back and remember what life was like before I took that fateful decision to start my blog. Clearly, the most obvious was buying my second TAG Heuer (the Aquagraph) in 2014, as that kind of started my “collection” rather than me just owning “one nice watch”.
I suppose the second defining moment would be Jean-Claude Biver announcing the Carrera Heuer 01 skeleton in 2015 and me falling in love with it. Frustratingly I can’t remember how I found out about it. I imagine it was in the watch magazine QP, but I can’t remember when or why I started buying that.
And thirdly I guess it was me finally taking the plunge after many visits to jewellers to try it on, and putting my money where my mouth was. By this time I had owned a couple of 2000s that had both been purchased from eBay and I was starting to take an interest in the history of the company, but I was still open to other brands like Tudor and Breitling at that time. But once I got the Heuer 01 I think that was pretty much game over for the other brands, and I started my blog pretty soon after I got that if I remember correctly.
At the time there were only really two dedicated TAG Heuer resources on the internet: Calibre 11 and On the Dash. Calibre 11 was excellent and is sadly missed by the community, but I still felt there was room for a more “personal” blog where I could post my thoughts and experiences and also post reference material for anyone who was interested. On the Dash is still around of course, but that is more of a “Heuer” blog which covers some of the new releases. I wanted a 100% “TAG Heuer” blog which doesn’t really look back any further than the mid 1980s, and inevitably it grew and developed over the years to what it is now.
GPW: What do you find most challenging and rewarding about being a trusted source in the watch industry?
Rob: Well, one challenge is that in the past TAG Heuer were a bit chaotic. They didn’t always do things by the book, so to speak. So for example, they would change details on watches without changing the part number. If you were to Google WAH1110 you will find it relates to two Formula 1 models that have completely different dials. One has baton markers and one has large stencil style numbers. This completely flies in the face of what goes on now, with people studying minute details to determine which watches are real and which watches are fake. So things like that are difficult to explain because it sounds like you are talking rubbish, when in fact it’s perfectly true!
What I do find rewarding is when I post instructions for watches that are not easy to understand, such as the Chronotimer, the F1 Kirium, the Microtimer, the 2000 Multigraph, and the Calibre S models, and someone leaves a comment to thank me. Having been in the position of searching for this information myself, I know how difficult it is to locate and what a nightmare it is trying to work out how to set these watches intuitively.
GPW: What is one aspect of your TAG Heuer collection or blog that you enjoy sharing about, but rarely get the chance to discuss?
Rob: Well, generally speaking my big frustration in 2024 was that there were so many new releases that I just couldn’t find time to write about much else, and so a few weeks ago I decided that this year was going to be different. First of all I changed the posting schedule so that “main” posts would be every four days instead of three, and I decided that I wouldn’t cover every new release with its own post.
Hopefully this will give me more time and space to write about things that I enjoy writing about, rather than chasing my tail trying to keep up with the release schedule. After all, I don’t get any warning of what’s coming out. I find out just as everyone else does, which is why I can never react immediately; I have to wait a couple of days and then send out messages to the “Council of Considered Opinion,” and then wait for their scores before I can complete my post.
It’s a bit annoying especially as the watch world moves so fast these days, but I actually wonder if TAG Heuer likes it that way since it means I act like a reminder service about ten days after the initial launch haha.
In all honesty, I’m not too sure what it is I actually want the extra time and space to write about, but in 2024 I really wanted to write a lot more about the Aquaracer’s 20th anniversary. In the end I only managed to write one proper feature post, although I did organize a series where other people picked their favourite Aquaracers, which was interesting.
GPW: In the three decades since rediscovering your passion for F1 at the end of 1993, what have been some standout moments in the sport for you?
Rob: Definitely Jean Alesi winning the Canadian GP in 1995. When I started watching F1 religiously again after a decade away discovering rock music, I gravitated towards Ferrari and Alesi in particular. Despite his obvious talent, the guy seemed to be tremendously unlucky. There was a race where he was running second to Gerhard Berger if I recall correctly, or could have been at Monza perhaps, and Berger’s camera fell off and broke Alesi’s suspension. He definitely deserved more than one race victory.
Damon Hill winning the Championship in 1996 was memorable of course, if only because I really felt he was cheated out of the 1994 title in Adelaide. If I recall correctly, I was rooting for Jacques Villeneuve that year and he probably deserved it more, but he got the win in 1997 so it all worked out in the end.
Jenson Button‘s win in Canada in 2014 was pretty amazing as well, coming from last to first in changeable conditions. And of course, there was Abu Dahbi 2021. Oh dear, that was a mess. As much as I wanted Max Verstappen to win and I was so bored of Lewis Hamilton winning, it was clear that Hamilton was cheated out of an eighth title. This was no fault of Max’s, but rather the race director’s inability to follow the rules properly. It was a shame for Max too really, for his first title to come in such questionable circumstances. Still, he’s won three more since so I don’t suppose he loses too much sleep over it.
To be honest, since Alesi retired I’ve never really been a fan of one particular driver or team. I nominally support Max and Red Bull now, but it’s really just the TAG Heuer connection that’s drawing me there. I usually support underdogs, and in recent years I supported anyone who had a chance to beat whoever is being tedious by winning too much. So by rights I should be supporting Lando Norris, but he’s such a whiny teenager type that I can’t bring myself to do so. I hope Oscar Piastri gets the better of him sooner or later.
GPW: Do you have a favorite off-track memory or experience about F1?
Rob: Actually, yes. Around 2005, I visited the Donington Motor Museum which at that time had a ton of Formula 1 cars. There were 10-15 each of Williams and McLaren cars from different seasons, and that was quite fascinating to see cars that Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet drove in the 1980s. It’s funny. You see F1 now, and it’s all carbon fibre this and titanium that. But when you see those cars, they look fancy on TV of course, but close up you can see all the rivets that are actually holding the aluminium sheets together—and to think those cars had 1000bhp in qualifying trim! Must have taken some real balls to get into those things.
GPW: For the average F1 fan who knows nothing about watches, which TAG Heuer reference would make the best gateway drug and why?
Rob: Well the first thing I’m going to say is that if they know nothing about watches, then they don’t necessarily want to start with an automatic movement. Watch enthusiasts are very keen to bang on about mechanical movements, but quartz is much cheaper and requires less understanding to own and operate. Plus, it’s way more accurate—something that newbies don’t always appreciate when they fling themselves into the hobby.
So obviously there are several Senna watches we could point to, but they are all pretty overt with Senna logos on the dial. Since not everyone is an Ayrton Senna fan, I’m going to single out one watch and one chronograph instead.
First I would say the WAZ101A, which has an orange “asphalt” textured dial and a black ceramic bezel. This watch was worn by Max Verstappen on several podiums during 2021, but it’s not an official Max Verstappen watch. I think F1 fans will appreciate the bright colour, and of course some will appreciate the connection to Max. It’s also quartz, so no need to worry about having to wind it, etc. The only downside with this watch is that it was only available on a very uncomfortable textile strap. However, you can order the BA0842 bracelet for it, which is exactly what I did in the end.
Alternatively, there is the CAZ1018 which was the first “Red Bull” Formula 1. However, there’s nothing on the dial to indicate this. It’s just a very cool blue and white dial, with pops of red. It does mention Red Bull on the back plate so it’s probably not for Lewis Hamilton fans, but on the wrist you can’t see that. I’d really like to get one, but there are a lot of fakes of this one unfortunately so it would have to come from somewhere I trust. I.e., not eBay!
GPW: What is your most prized TAG Heuer item that is not a watch, and what is the story behind it?
Rob: Well, I do have a TAG Heuer-branded double watchwinder, which I was lucky enough to get hold of in “display” condition and at about 20% of the insanely high list price! That’s pretty cool, and lots of TAG Heuer catalogues. But actually, my good friend Jim Dollares sent me a small picture frame with a TAG Heuer logo in it made of plastic beads few years ago, which his son Noel made for me one Christmas. That’s a very special item as it’s more of a personal gift.
GPW: Your 2018 visit to the TAG Heuer museum is well-documented and incredibly fun to read. What would you most look forward to about going back, aside from leaving with the ‘Carrera’ book under your shirt?
Rob: Haha… well, that’s an interesting can of worms. I wonder if they would welcome me back or not? I mean, on the one hand I clearly promote their brand for free day in day out to thousands of prospective customers. But at the same time, I speak my mind freely and watch brands don’t always appreciate that.
But that said, even if they invited me I’m not 100% sure I would want to go back because it couldn’t possibly be as good the second time. And in a way, I think it might even spoil it a little bit. To be honest, I still can’t really believe that I went there at all because I am not a “traveller”. In fact, I haven’t been out of the country since then so it seems slightly surreal to me when I remember taking the train across Switzerland to La Chaux-de-Fonds, and then walking in blistering heat across the car park to the reception.
The other thing you have to remember is that when I went there back in 2018, it was absolutely mind blowing because everywhere I looked there were watches I had never seen before. But now I have seen and owned many of those watches so while it would still be interesting, it couldn’t possibly have the same impact. On the other hand, I suppose it would give me more time to concentrate on the haute horlogerie pieces that I haven’t owned and probably never will own, like the Flying 1000 and the Monaco V4.
But I understand there are three more TAG Heuer factories in Switzerland, so maybe it would be interesting to visit those instead if they would have me?
GPW: What project or milestone are you most looking forward to accomplishing next?
Well, after a steady start the blog recently reached one million views, which was something I never really even thought about. It’s already jumped up to 1.3 million, and every month it’s doing 60,000+ so I’m kind of looking forward to seeing that counter tick over to 2 million before the end of 2025.
I do have some other projects on the go, actually. I’ve long been wanting to make a photo book about my watch buying journey (just for myself I mean) and I’m hoping to get that done in the not too distant future.
As for the blog, well, I’m not too sure yet. But I hope I can write some interesting posts about older watches, and not just endless things that came out in 2025.
Stay up to date with Rob’s collecting adventures on Blogspot and Instagram.