This is a fun watch!

This is a really fun watch. This watch make me smile, this watch make me laugh even. I’m laughing cause the Skipper is so playful by just adding some vibrant color to an otherwise sober blue dial. I just come home from a 500 km drive with the Skipper on my wrist. A drive that long allows you to experience different light along the way and more than once I found myself mezmerized by it’s charm.

I often fall for classic looks. Not seldom that means black for sport watches, like the Speedy and the Sub. My ”grail” was a black steel Daytona. Picking up the Daytona is my greatest watch experience on so many levels. The wait paid off, the perfect sized and perfect designed watch make me feel very good to have it on my wrist. The feeling of the Skipper is not the same. Not better or worse but different. The Skipper makes me happy in it’s purest form. This will probably be my ”fun watch”.

1st of April, after attending the 2nd London meetup, I went to Harrods on a watch safari. At the Tag Heuer boutique they had the new glassbox Carreras in the shop. I tested both the black reversed panda and the blue version. I liked the design from the start. Of the two, the reversed panda was the winner. Classic look, beautifully executed. But owning the Speedy and, at the time, the Tag Heuer CV2113 made it redundant for me. The blue was also very nice looking. All blue dial with silver indicis. A dress watch disguised in a Chronograph’s body. I left the shop impressed by the watches but they where not for my collection.

I don’t know when I first saw the new release of the Skipper. If it was the Hodinkee film or one of the quite many reviews on the internet. Quite many for a Tag Heuer that is. Probably due to a well executed pr campaign and the fact that the watch actually stands out in a crowd imo. Either way the pr worked on me. 

Visiting the capital I found that my regular AD couldn’t get their hands on one. A Tag Heuer boutique just opened in a shopping mall just outside the city center. I made them a visit and yes, they actually had the watch in the boutique. It was stunning! By adding color to the sub dials Tag Heuer had completely changed the character of the watch. From a dress watch to a playful chronograph. I was exited so I took a photo and texted my wife in another shop at the mall. She replied ”Hm”. Not a good sign, so I took another photo and sent. Obviously my first shot wasn’t convinsing enough. ”Not on my top list, but if you want something more playful so…”. Much better reply. I asked the boutique for time to consider which I got, but of course I came back 90 minutes later for the watch and some bubbles.

The Skipper is a 39mm watch in Tag Heuer glassbox case. A domed chrystal replaces the bezel. 46mm lug to lug and just under 14mm thick. The chrystal is a large part of the height and the watch doesn’t feel thick on the wrist. From the see through case back you can see the inhouse movement (TH20-06). There are plenty of background information on the internet about the history of the Skipper. 

It is way to early to make a review of the Skipper. The first impressions are obviously very positive. Tag Heuer has nailed the design of their anniversery watches. Very wearable and I don’t experience it as a 14 mm thick watch. The Skipper is equipped with a navy canvas strap with a deployant clasp. Nothing exeptional but the navy matches the watch well. I will probably pick up a navy leather strap. There is no bracelet available at the moment.

Back to the 500 km car ride home. The watch kept me smiling all the way and the wife gave it cred since she also noticed the pop of colors and admitted that the watch stands out in a playful way. So I got away with this one.