Who decides the pricing at Tag Heuer?

That's absolutely insane for the specs you are getting and it's one of TAG's current problems and I'm a TAG fan.

There are so many better and more value watch's available for a fraction of the price. I mean it's pretty but you really have to be in love with it to pay that.

I guess they really aren't going after our cash tbh. It's more of a non watch enthusiast's brand nowadays.Such a shame #tagheueraquaracer #tagheuer #tag

I believe @Justingalore owns both a Solargraph and a Grand Seiko and was only asking a similar question yesterday, great minds!

Posted about Tag pricing in another thread, as recently I was in pursuit of a Monaco Calibre 11.

The Calibre 11 is a Sellita movement, and while it does have history along with being supremely accurate and a workhorse, it is not an in house movement (compared to the Calibre 02 in the modern day Monaco watches and Carrera line).

Additionally, these go for just about the same price as the modern Monaco's. The ADs and Tag Boutiques I've spoken to will give no more than 5% discount (and some have given me an outright no to a discount at all).

This currently retails in Australia for AU$10,600 - personally I wouldn't buy it without a 25% discount new from an AD or Boutique.

I have also been told that Tag are implementing a 5-7% price rise in April.

Its a good buy at a significant discount or if you can find a good pre-owned example.

There is more to my story, but my recent dealings with Tag & their ADs with regard to this piece have not been pleasant. I get the feeling they are trying to copy & paste the Rolex business model (scarcity marketing of their flagship pieces), while also being used as somewhat of a test bed for other LVMH brands (i.e. Hublot & Zenith), and expecting the customer to pay a fortune in the process for a product that is not on the same level of quality compared to their direct competitors in the same market segment.

(in the meantime I've since purchased an Omega Aqua Terra World Timer - from a family owned and run AD, at a 20% discount + as I'll be travelling in April I have the opportunity to claim back the tax as well... the service I received compared to Tag, well, you can't compare)

This is my favorite Tag currently available, and I am in the same boat with you! God do I love that dial, but unless I have a ton of disposable income, I’m not going anywhere near it.

Tag are having a tug

They roll a 20-sided die and apply a factor that is drawn out of a hat that day. Come on chaps, this is standard industry practice.

Just saw the post, I would keep the GS without a doubt. As much as I like the tool watch aesthetic of the Tag, the GS is more versatile and a watch for the price that actually makes sense.

I haven't had any issues with Tag boutique, at least in my place they are very welcoming and the customer service is good.

While I checked out the solargraph, I also took a look at Aquaracer 200 Automatic which had a retail price lesser than the solargraph plus with a 10% discount which made me more confused about the pricing of their models. Also, I think the price got increased already cause the Solargraph was released for $3050 and now it is retailing at $3250.

I have been never interested in Tag apart from the Monaco and recently the newer Aquaracer models have been good visually. LVMH is ruining heritage brands, pushing them towards expensive fashion watches. I'm hoping Bulgari and Zenith don't end up like their other brands.

Omega Aqua Terra World Timer

A really underrated model but a stunning watch and with Omega, there are always good discounts for the majority of their models except for the ones in demand.

Same, a Tag which I would have bought without thinking if it was priced appropriately. If you know one or two things about watches, definitely won't go near it for the price. It's like the Swiss version of Citizen Promaster.

It’s a confusing thing as the GS is technically superior and just great.

But but but - the Tag is just so useable and the design really chimes. The light weight and matte finish make it perfect to throw around (I don’t tend to jog in the GS but do in the Tag and already that makes it a better option for me like 3 days a week.)

I have found the bracelet to have worn in well - no issues with scratches etc. maybe the one in the shop has been beaten up.

Previous comments already nailed it & I agree; I personally really like this piece. However, the price has to come down by quite a bit, it’s just crazy at this point.

I absolutely love my two Tags.... But ain't NO WAY I would may anything close to retail or MSRP on one. As soon as the tags are cut (no pun intended) and plastic removed they are worth half of what you just paid.

I‘ve thought about getting it many times, but the price always reminds me it’s not worth it. At least Quartz runs in GS’s heritage.

Citizen and TAG Heuer are not owned by the same group, no?

So Citizen wouldn't let then use "Super Titanium" and likely won't sell their top end movements through LJP (so they are "Swiss Made") to TAG Heuer.

True and GS quartz movements are special compared to the movement Tag is using in this model. It's the same E168 eco-drive model you find in $200 Citizen watches.

TAG may not have had much choice, perhaps they could have gotten a slightly better movement but I doubt Citizen would have let them have anything from the Chronomaster range.

If Citizen eventually decides to do the same thing as Grand Seiko and compete on the higher end in the Western market, then they probably don't want a TAG Heuer Aquaracer watch to have the same movement as their "best" product. That it not to say that Tag Heuer watches are bad, I like many of them 🙂 and even own one, they are just positioned in a way that may hurt Citizen's plans.

Obviously I have no idea what Citizen actually intends to do and what options TAG Heuer had. Just speculation 🙃

That's a watch made by an Ivory tower boss and a frugal accountant to make it pretty but cheap. Nico has a point.

I think people are missing a key point here;

The Solargraph likely isn't intended to be sold to "enthusiasts", it's likely intended for people who want a luxury watch, from a recognized brand, but want the watch to be hassle free. Eco-Drive watches have a great reputation for reliability, and hassle free ownership from the muggles, so to the average person a Swiss made Eco-Drive is all upside.

Citizen is more of an established movement manufacturer right now in the west, especially with the things they are doing with LJP movements. More micro brands are moving away from Sellita for LJP 100 movement which at a $1000 price point is a better value proposition compared to an SW-200. And being based on a 9 series Miyota movement, it is quite reliable and easily serviceable. When it comes to Solar quartz, the Japanese manufacturers are way ahead in technology wise.

Isn’t the solution to buy pre-owned or grey market? If it’s significantly overpriced, then you should be able to easily find large discounts on the secondary market. On the other hand, if the discounts aren’t unusually large, then maybe it’s not too overpriced?

If you want a solar-powered quartz in titanium, get a Citizen. Seriously, they're awesome value for the money.

I handled a number of TAGs, quartz and auto, time-only and chrono. IMO, TAG Heuer shines in one particular category, that being automatic chronographs. Some will say that Calibre 16 is just a Sellita. Well, yeah. But the amount of work that TAG does with it is astonishing, it has the smoothest chrono action I've ever witnessed in a 775X/SW-5XX Valjoux movement. Hell, the cal.16 operated smoother than the column-wheel Longines L688, and that's saying something.

TAG's time-only automatic watches, however, don't deliver more than any Tissot, Certina or Rado with a mid or high grade of the Powermatic 80 (C07.611 or C07.811). Let alone more than any Longines at the same price.

TAG's quartz, meanwhile, are - IMO - overpriced toys. 3x the price of a Certina, for a movement that can at best give the ETA Precidrive or the ETA Longines-exclusive VHP a shoeshine. In my experience with them, the seconds hand wouldn't hit the markers right on, which is excusable in a 400-dollar watch, say, a Tissot PRX, but not in a TAG. The TAG quartz chronos also didn't really like resetting to zero straight, always a bit off. Which again is a Moonswatch-excusable flaw, but inexcusable for a watch with a TAG price tag.

The AD I worked at had TAG in the retail chain as such, but not in that particular showroom. We could order one for a customer on request, and sometimes did. However, the ones who bought quartz TAGs were always the creme de la creme of Douchebags with a capital D. That's not to say that owning one makes one a douchebag, it doesn't. Simply, I noticed what kind of people I have sold quartz TAGs to, and they were all douchebags. I didn't even need to make any effort to convince them to buy it, they simply wanted a quartz TAG badly. The reason was simple - power of marketing made them want the brand name on the dial, and hang the fact that the watch that they wanted was simply miserable value for the money.

Your last paragraph describes a certain percentage of luxury product buyers from all brands...

There was a study done a while back that proved that Mercedes and BMW drivers were statistically more likely to be aggressive idiot drivers. Not because the cars make them act like that, simply because people who act like that are drawn to those cars.

From my perspective, TAGs are not type of watch to greatly appreciate in value or being target of collectors, etc. So if retail seems too high, you have a great chance of landing a good deal at certified pre-owned segment. Try checking out Watchfinder, Watchbox and alike. They might have great deals. Bought my Grand Carrera this way at a great price

Titanium without a hardness coating is a hard pass from me, especially on such an expensive watch.

Never said that quartz TAGs make their buyers douchebags. These buyers were douchebags well before they bought a quartz TAG.

As for Merc and BMW, that's unfortunately often very true. However, BMW and Mercedes, unlike TAG, don't skip on QC or engineering because a particular model is entry-level. A Mercedes A-class or BMW 1-series won't be a bad car because it's not an S-class or 7-series. TAG, unfortunately, does skip on these things in the quartz part of their line-up. And that's what makes them bad value for the money.

Sounds to me like they are targeting non watch people and hyping up marketing to target a segment of people who have money but are basically watch idiots and fleecing them... which is a business model that makes me as a watch enthusiast want nothing to do with them.

So only a "watch idiot" would buy a Solargraph?

Snobbery is not a good look.

I don't think that's a matter of deliberately building bad watches, more likely it's negligence. LVMH's strategy for TAG Heuer has been mostly funding the development of the Carrera line-up, updating auto-chrono movements, and specialities such as tourbillons. And, of course, the Connected smartwatches. I guess it's simply a case of focusing on the mid to top tier of the line-up to the point of failing to pay the necessary attention to the entry level. Similarly, when Seiko started pumping money into GS and Credor, cases of bad QC and design flaws in watches from the ordinary Seiko line-up started appearing on an unprecedented scale.

Yet another problem is overblown investments in marketing. Guess that's what happens when a company hires scores of yappies who'll just put pressure on R&D and manufacturing to spit out dozens of novelties on a short notice, without resolving issues in the stuff that's already in production, because all resources are being routed to another novelty, and another, and another, and so on.

Not really what I meant, to be more specific if you buy it knowing what it is at that price and you feel that it is worth it then more power to you and I may not agree with you that it is "worth" it but you certainly have the freedom to have your opinion and thats ok... if that is a better explanation for you 😉

Referring back to the original post, I personally don't see anything all that unusual about this pricing structure. As clearly ludicrous as it is, for the myriad reasons put forward, this is the Swiss watch industry we're talking about. I mean, come on! We're not honestly going to hold Tag up to some sort of higher ethical standard, when all they are doing is what the industry has always done and will always do. The objective 'quality' of the watch will never dictate the price; what people are willing to pay for it will. If Tag sell a barrel load of those solar powered quartz Aquaracers at 3 grand a pop, then that's what a solar powered quartz Aquaracer is worth.

Don't forget that Manchester City paid £100m for Jack Grealish! Is he worth that fee? Well, yes, unfortunately he is, because that is what the 'luxury' football market decided, regardless of the fact that he's probably England's 4th or 5th best midfielder. If you want to buy Jack Grealish that's the price you pay for him. If you don't want to buy him.....um.....uh.... buy a Citizen Eco-Drive instead. Or something like that.