Tag Aquaracer 300m vs Longines HydroConquest

[forsberg]

Longines > Tag. I like the numbers on Longines.

[UEngineer]

I'm just going to throw this out there. A warranty is only 2 years, and from what I've read on here it seems companies can be pretty picky on what they'll fix if it isn't a black and white situation. Also, don't try to predict the future. The watch industry is based on perception, and in 5 years the perception that people have of Tag may be completely different. There's also the chance that these companies may not exist in 50 years. Don't think too hard about it, just get the one you like better.

Also, Amazon has a 30 day return policy I believe. You could buy one, wear it around the house a little, and return it if you don't like it. They pretty much don't ask questions about returns. Just make sure the page says "Shipped and Sold by Amazon" if you do buy it from there.

I agree with this sentiment. I'm a firm believer in NOT paying extra for warranties, especially ones that are so limited and up to someone's discretion. The tag ADs that I have talked to are still quoting $500-600 more than what they are going for on Amazon. I feel like the extra cost of the Tag is simply due to the "recent" popularity of the brand (becoming a fashion/status icon) and does not yield any actual quality or performance improvement over the Longines.

[UEngineer]

The wan2110 is being heavily discounted at the moment on gray market and to some extend , my local ADs. Probably has to do with the a few factors including the arrival of the new models.

I see these two watches to be comparable in many ways. I am nt bias as I like some of the longines just fine, infact the longines conquest has always been on my radar for a secondary market buy.

In this case I personally prefer wan2110 for mainly on cleaner and simpler look.

Does anyone know when the new 300m models will be released? I'm not too keen on the pricetag for the 500m and being someone who actually dives, I realize this is simply overkill for the common customer.

[Monocrom]

The use of the Sellita movement shouldn't bother you. It's not a copy. ETA used Sellita as a sub-contractor to make movements for ETA under the ETA name. Plenty of watches out there with genuine ETA movements that were actually made by Sellita. The Sellita SW200 for example is an ETA 2824 but with an extra jewel tossed in, and under a different name. Not a copy. It's the same thing. Imagine meeting two identical twin sisters. One has a small mole on her cheek. Only difference. Clearly, it's not as though one is a copy of the other. The TAG Heuer looks nicer. But the Longines gets my vote. I've tried on that TAG Heuer model, unless you have very skinny fingers, you need to rotate the bezel just a bit so that one of the flat portions of it isn't blocking part of the crown. Once done, it makes manipulating the crown easier. But then you have to rotate the bezel all the way around to get the triangle to line up with the 12. That's just annoying. And, has to be done each time you want to use the crown.

[UEngineer]

The use of the Sellita movement shouldn't bother you. It's not a copy. ETA used Sellita as a sub-contractor to make movements for ETA under the ETA name. Plenty of watches out there with genuine ETA movements that were actually made by Sellita. The Sellita SW200 for example is an ETA 2824 but with an extra jewel tossed in, and under a different name. Not a copy. It's the same thing. Imagine meeting two identical twin sisters. One has a small mole on her cheek. Only difference. Clearly, it's not as though one is a copy of the other. The TAG Heuer looks nicer. But the Longines gets my vote. I've tried on that TAG Heuer model, unless you have very skinny fingers, you need to rotate the bezel just a bit so that one of the flat portions of it isn't blocking part of the crown. Once done, it makes manipulating the crown easier. But then you have to rotate the bezel all the way around to get the triangle to line up with the 12. That's just annoying. And, has to be done each time you want to use the crown.

Hmm, that's an interesting note Monocrom. To be honest the use of the Sellita doesn't really bother me that much and is one of my weaker "dislikes" -- both watches have a solid caseback anyways!

I'm really tied up here...I keep trying to look for things about the Aquaracer that I don't like in order to justify the Hydroconquest....I guess that gives me my answer then? haha

[Wisconsin Proud]

. I feel like the extra cost of the Tag is simply due to the "recent" popularity of the brand (becoming a fashion/status icon) and does not yield any actual quality or performance improvement over the Longines.

Then why are we having this discussion? You are stating the TAG is not worth what is being asked and apparently the Longines is.

What is holding you back???

[Perseus]

The Longines seems like a nicer piece from all the raving reviews on the forum but I haven't handled either.

[UEngineer]

Then why are we having this discussion? You are stating the TAG is not worth what is being asked and apparently the Longines is.

What is holding you back???

You're right! I guess I just wanted some opinions/experiences/etc. I just came back from my local AD and handled both watches side by side. It's strange, but the HQ is MUCH smaller in person than it appears in pictures. I tried on the 41mm and it felt great. Even more, the AD (Tourneau) has a running offer of $250 off any watch over $1,000 (it's located in a high-end mall that enforces this offer). I tried to negotiate on the Tag but they wouldn't budge off the $2,200 MSRP.

I noticed that the HQ they had were the "old" version and had "300m" instead of "30bar" on the dial. Does anyone know if there were any other updates to the model when Longines made this change?

[Rogi]

Tag 300m looks like a Omega Seamaster, but in person its vastly diffrent, I'd choose the Tag.,

the Longines just looks like its trying to rip off a Tudor Black Bay (or better yet the old Tudor submariners with the Black Bay type hand, I think its called snowflake :S)with the hand and a bit of a Omega's Seamaster, like those 2 brands had a baby and the Longines poped out. Not really impressed with the photo :S it might look better in person.


If you really want a excellent watch with history, buy a used Omega Seamaster from a Omega AD, yeah the Longines might reach the same status Omega has in 40 years, but it hasn't reached it now, and its stuck in some trans warp cycle of kinda Tagish quality kinda Invicta looks. Longines had more of a status back then, the more recent offerings it has just doesn't impress much :S

Used Omega Seamaster you could pick up for around the price tag your looking at, history, good movement (try for the 1120 movement (modified 2892) shes a workhorse and the basis for the 2500 co-ax. It also runs you a bit cheaper than the 2500 Seamasters.)

I hope that helped,

Igor

P.S. Ask for a discount on the Tag, most of the ADs in my town are giving out 25% standard to get them out of the shops so they can make room for the new ones.

[tpd80]

I'm a fan of the big 6,9,12 on a divers watch.