trailboss99 994 Posted November 29, 2009 Thanks once again to By-Tor for letting us re post another great review! The whole and complete name of this watch model is TAG Aquaracer Chronograph Calibre 16 Day-Date. It's not really a new watch, but more like a "facelift reissue" of the old Aquaracer date (that's shown in the title picture). The size has enlarged from 41mm to 43mm, and this new model got an antireflective coating and day function. Personally, I like the trendier bigger size, but it's not necessarily a welcomed change for small wristed men. However the watch wears considerably smaller than say, "UPO" or even the Link Chronograph. Unlike Rolex, Breitling and Omega, it's quite difficult to find any history or background of the TAG models. I tried to do some research of the Aquaracer Chronograph, and besides the typical marketing nonsense I found very little actual information. For example I'm not 100% sure if the older Aquagraph Chrono was a predecessor of this model or not. That would be logical, since TAG doesn't produce it anymore. Technically Aquaracer Chronograph is different, because instead of Tricompax and complications it uses the simple 12-9-6 ETA Valjoux 7750 layout, which is ideal for us (and the replica factories). That always means perfect subdial spacing. The good news is that this particular rep model has been produced in the same factory as TAG Link Chronograph Automatic and the TAG Carrera. We all know how well those two watches were replicated. MY LINK CHRONOGRAPH REVIEW became one of my most popular writeups, and against the beliefs of many, the replica turned out to be a huge success. It was holding top postion in the "bestsellers" chart in many of our community dealers' websites, even (temporarily) beating such mainstream watches as Submariner and Planet Ocean in popularity. So... is the new Aquaracer as good as the Link Chronograph? Well, I just got the watch and well know how difficult it is to remain objective when you have just received a new hot item. And we often find the miniscule flaws only 2-3 weeks after the initial release. But I guess it's safe to say it is Docblackrock was the first one to receive this replica model, and his initial expression was excellent as well. The bezel has 6 "studs" between the minute markers. According to TAG they're installed for "best diving-glove grip". Actually, this kind of bezel is not unique design on diver watches at all, the Steelfish SuperOcean bezel, for example, uses similar "studs" (as TAG calls them). Pearl is very unusual, because it's located below the bezel surface. Usually the pearl is the weakest link on all replicas, but the factory simply couldn't screw up such simplistic design. The worst part about the replica is the day/date alignment. The day/date combo is always more or less crooked on the 7750-based reps. The funny thing is, when we were "previewing" this watch with the fellow members (using dealers' pictures as reference), we saw lots of shots of the genuine article, where the day/datewheels were just as misaligned. Personally, it's not a big issue for me and I'm probably not going to do anything about it. To be honest, it's much better than I excepted. But there's a solution for people who always seek for better. Pugwash posted a tutorial how to swap the datewheels for the Asian 7750. Otherwise, it's hard to find any faults from the dial. No crooked markers, even in huge zoomed pictures. The antireflective coating is one-sided but very effective. Unlike the Link Chronograph the dial isn't very reflective at all. just as good. Lume is excellent and very smoothly applied onto the markers and hands. Quality. Caseback has correct engravings and serial numbers. Important for those who care. The bracelet is a Rolex Oyster type sports bracelet with polished middle links. The polished links will probably collect scratches very easily. The bracelet uses the always annoying push-pins for resizing. With all links intact the band has enough length for Godzilla. This was the first time ever I had to remove 2 whole links to get perfect fit for my large wrist. The push-button clasp has a short diver's extension, which is deployed in the picture. How about the watch itself? What make a standard, lowly 7750 TAG so desirable? These are always taste things, and like the old and stupid cliché says: one man's roof is another man's ceiling. I simply love the looks of this watch. Veteran members know that I've been awaiting this replication for years. TAG Aquaracer Automatic Chronograph is an excellent combination of elegance and sporty ruggedness. For me the blue dial was the only option. The amazing official photograph from the TAG Heuer site (used in my title picture) definitely wasn't the smallest factor behind my decision. If you compare the design to the Link chrono, this watch lacks all most of the TAG characteristics and originality. Unlike the Link this isn't a watch that you can immediately recognize as a TAG. Actually, it looks like any other sports chronograph, the design is very conservative. But so what... it's just so amazingly cool looking watch. The movement is the standard, new Asian 7750 Valjoux. It has a bit shaky reputation, but to be fair most of that bad rap comes from the old, low beat version. We don't see many bad reports of the new Asian, really. I've owned many chronograph watches with this movement, and my oldest two are about 12 months old now. Both work, keep time and reset flawlessly. The movement itself hasn't been in the market much longer than that, but like I said: we don't see many complaints. Movement picture courtesy of Ziggyzumba. If you're new to automatic chronograph watches, please do yourself (and the community) a favor and read Ziggyzumba's "Watch basics" and tutorials from his forum. That section answers pretty much all your replica movement questions, including the questions regarding a movement swap to Swiss ETA Valjoux. The automatic chronograph is not a toy, don't treat it like a joystick or gamepad. And once again: to avoid possible problems in the future, please educate yourself about the movement before you start using your watch. Does almost $300 TAG replica make sense? Besides their top model, El Primero-powered Link Chronograph Calibre 36, TAG doesn't produce any "high horology" watches. Most of their sales come from the quartz models. They produce fashionable and trendy watches with some prestige. The pre-owned genuine Aquaracer chronos (the old date versions) can be obtained for around $1K. But same can be said about many Breitling and Omega models, or even basic Rolex models like Air-King and Precision. $300 is an absolute limit for a rep like this, imho. To be fair, the new day/date gen Aquaracer price is pushing $2K in the AD's. The build quality of the rep is excellent, and I have decided to trust the new Asian 7750. I can only hope that it will give me years of use (before I need Ziggy's services). World could probably survive without high-end watches and their replications, but it would survive even better without humans. Does everything always have to make sense? For me, this watch is worth the price. I'm extremely satisfied with this replication, and it's safe to say it exceeded all my exceptations. Special thanks to our UK-based star dealer ***Precious Time*** for the watch (once again). He QC'd it for me (as usual), which delayed this review for a few days. The race is on! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
