price adjusted to include a new OEM sapphire crystal
The Tag Heuer S-EL range was one of the most sought after and distinctive watches of the 1990’s and this example has all the right combinations.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the supplied and stamped warranty card we can accurately date this watch to being sold in December 1995. The serial number on the warranty card is one digit different to serial number on the case back, which we are happy to put down to human error – the other five numbers match.
CONDITION
The Sports Elegance, or in TAG Heuer talk S-EL range was launched in 1987 and the Chronograph, with the 1/10th second counter, joined the range in 1989. The distinctive bracelet design, with the S shaped links that were designed to resemble the curves on a woman’s body (as shown in the photo we have taken from Tag Heuer’s 150th anniversary book), along with the advertising campaign of ‘Don’t crack under pressure’, made this series one of the more iconic of the 1990’s.
Various different dial and strap or bracelet combinations were offered, but this watch has the hand finished stainless steel bracelet and that would be our choice of the range. Leather straps are difficult to get, thanks to the way that they are applied to the top bracelet link, and the gold plating on the bi colour bracelet was only 10 microns, which honestly isn’t enough in a high wearing area and can look tired quite quickly. We also have spare links for this example, meaning it should fit most wrists. Covering the black dial is a sapphire crystal, fitted in a unidirectional bezel that compliments the screw down crown – this was a proper divers watch, rated to 200m when new. The tritium lume is still good, although the hands do have cracked lume, and the lumed pip on the bezel is still there. The crystal has a few tiny marks that are visible at some angles, and the bracelet has been cleaned in our ultrasonic bath. The box, like almost all boxes from the 1990’s, is losing the leatherette – Breitling, Cartier and Omega boxes of this period are all the same. The chronograph works with the centre white hand doing the seconds, which reveals once it starts counting a red hand that counts the minutes. Hours are counted on the subdial at 10 and the subdial at 2 measures the 1/10ths of a second once the chronograph is stopped. This watch will be fitted with a new battery prior to being sent out.
This watch will be supplied with the original presentation box, papers and warranty card, and our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video for more detail. All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned. We do not photoshop any images, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.
SIZE
Width with crown 42.7 mm
Width without crown 39.1 mm
Between lugs n/a
Lug to lug length 43.4 mm
Case Thickness 11.4 mm
Bracelet maximum length 210 mm approximately including the spare links
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 3 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us.
