Customer Reviews

TAG Heuer Men's WJ201B.BA0591 Link Caliber 5 Automatic Watch

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a great watch. I could not find it for under $2,600 anywhere else. I had to adjust the band size for $35, but the watch weight and look is excellent. I also love the fact that the back is a see thru! If you take it off more than 12 hours you will have to re-adjust the time, but who cares, it beats changing the battery every 3 years and having the watch opened!!
It came with Amazon 2 year warranty not TAG's warranty, but I was able to register the watch on TAGHeuer.com.

A great time piece... buy it!

I read a lot of reviews before I purchased this watch from Amazon, including the reviewer who complained that the watch was heavy, clunky and uncomfortable. I disagree with some of that review. I found the TAG Heuer Link Calibre 5 to be very comfortable to wear.

This watch is heavier than a battery powered watch. An automatic watch needs a lot more moving parts than a watch that runs on a battery, and that adds extra weight. I prefer the extra weight because it feels like I have something substantial on my wrist instead of a hollow piece of tin.

An automatic watch must be worn (or periodically wound) to keep running, so if you are only going to wear the watch part time, than a battery powered watch may be a better choice for you. A quartz battery powered watch may keep more accurate time than an automatic watch (especially if you don't wear it constantly or keep it wound), although I have been wearing my Tag automatic watch for a week now, and so far, it has kept perfect time.

One feature I really like about this watch is that you can wind it in the ordinary fashion by turning the crown. Many automatic watches are not capable of being wound without the use of an electric powered watch winder that rotates the watch for an hour or so so that the automatic winding feature can wind up the spring. To my mind, that defeates the purpose of owning a mechanically powered watch. I was very pleased to learn that this watch can be wound the old fashion way. That's very useful in situations where you haven't worn the watch for a couple of days and need to give it a quick wind to get it going.

Any watch you buy on the internet with a metal band is going to need an adjustment to fit your wrist. The band comes oversized so that people can remove links to achieve a good fit. The band on this watch is very well made and comfortable, but removing links requires a watch maker's tools and skill. I went to a local department store that had a jewelry department with a watch maker on staff. It cost twelve bucks and took about ten minutes for him to remove a couple of links to fit the watch. Not a big deal when you are investing $1,600 on a watch.

Any metal banded watch is going to catch hair and pull it. This watch seems to pull hair less than the two other metal banded watches I own. Of the three metal banded watches I own, this is the most comfortable. The other two are a battery powered quartz Wenger with a mineral crystal (which feels like a piece of tin next to the TAG) and a sapphire crystal Swiss Legend automatic (which is heavier and bulkier than the TAG).

Unlike a mineral crystal, the sapphire crystal will stand up to a lot of abuse without scratching. The mineral crystal on my Wenger was all scratched up after a year of use. The sapphire crystal on my Swiss Legend has no scratches after a year of constant wear. I expect the sapphire crystal on the TAG will have the same durability.

The reviewer who complained that this watch is heavy, clunky and unaffordable makes the point that you can spend a tenth of the cost for a watch that keeps better time and has more functions. That much is true. There are many good watches out there like the Wenger I own that cost about a hundred bucks or so and keep great time. Many watches in that price range come with a slew of functions. But heck, if you want a bunch of functions, then why not consider a digital watch?

The difference is that this watch is a work of art.

I've had mine for a few years now and it still functions flawlessly. It's not exactly quartz watch accurate even with the calibre 5 movement, but its close enough and seems to have evened out over the years (it used to gain time slowly). The pointer on the rotating dial fell out about a year ago, leaving a shallow hole. I had it replaced with a sapphire at a local jeweler for $16. It turned out nice. The watch is not too big and looks great still, even though I beat the hell out of it with daily wear. The shiny crown will scratch, but don't worry about the crystal. I've hit it with a hammer and it won't scratch. Like I said, I beat the hell out of it. I have a less expensive Invicta that I bought to work in, but I wear this watch instead every day. If you take care of it, your literally looking at 10+ year watch that still looks hot. My last TAG lasted over 10 years and then the band just disintegrated. The band on this watch appears indestructible and consists of over 75 parts. It took me a half hour to figure out how it came apart to adjust it. The only care it really requires is regular cleaning with a mild soap and toothbrush. It is waterproof but don't wear it in the ocean. The rotating crown doesn't like sand at all.

This is a great watch. Looks fantastic. I look at it from time to time and really appreciate how good this watch looks.

It is NOT heavy in any way. I love the watch but fine it hard to wear it to work (I work on a Naval Ship).

Wearing it a little loose is very comfortable. It goes perfectly with a suit or casual. I usually wear it with my dress uniform.

I love TAGs, in fact I brought another TAG (with a rubber band, which is very comfortable) for work. The rubber band doesn't scratch easily and it looks great also.

About time keeping, it's a TAG, enough said. I will not wear a watch with a battery, it has to be an automatic (I learned to love them).

If you don't want to wear it all the time (because it's an automatic), buy a watch winder.

I took my son into a jewelry store nine years ago to make certain a Tag Link (virtually the same) would be comfortable and fit him properly. It was his college graduation present. He wanted a big, fairly heavy, strong, stainless watch with a stainless bracelet. He has always loved it and won't consider a second watch for other purposes. I couldn't wear his Link comfortably and I still wear my old Tag S/El most of the time (about 39mm and with a leather strap with deployment). He's in a high-profile job now and the Tag Link is perfect for him. He has really worn it hard and it still looks almost new and it's certainly still in fashion.

IF YOU ARE THINKING OF BUYING THIS WATCH, THIS REVIEW IS FOR YOU.
IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT THIS WATCH, YOU ARE GOING TO MARK MY REVIEW AS "NOT HELPFUL" AND THEN PROBABLY LEAVE NASTY COMMENTS. But, you would be right. If already bought this watch, then it is too late and this review will not be helpful for you.

To calibrate: I am big boned, fairly athletic and lift weights (but am not in perfect shape). My wrists are probably bigger than normal. I cannot wrap my hand around my wrist and touch my finger thumb. Wearing this watch, I found it to be clunky, heavy and very uncomfortable. The clasps dig into my skin and the band clunks against my wrist bone.

It comes with the watchband much larger than my wrist. I had to have it resized by taking out 1 link. The nice thing about this watch, is after you take out the links, there is still a finer adjustment to get it to fit perfectly. So, now it is just perfect, not too tight or too loose.

So, with the watch fitting perfectly, it hurts my wrist. It is a relief when I take it off at the end of the day. I always have marks on the inside of my wrist from the clasp. The watchband used to pull on my arm hair, but now most of it has been pulled out, so that is not much of a problem anymore. The worst part is that the band bangs up against my wrist bones, especially when I am typing.

I do get used it after awhile, but my wrist still gets sore if I wear the watch all day. If you have skinny wrists, small bones and are not hairy like an ape, maybe it won't be so bad for you.

I got the watch as anniversary gift from my company. I wear it because I am just as vain as the next guy. I like to show off that I have a watch that cost more than $1000.

But, make no mistake, this is a status symbol. It is for people with money to burn, or people who are foolish with there money (those people who buy this with a credit card and are still paying it off years later). For a tenth of the price, you can buy a watch that:
+keeps better time
+has more functions
+is more comfortable
+looks better...well that's a matter of opinion
-doesn't have the status symbol name

Before you buy this, you really should go to a store and try it on. The only problem is that the band will not be fitted for you and you don't know how it will really feel.

I know I will get some nasty comments left. No one wants to see a bad review for something that cost them over $1000.