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scavenger

REVIEW – New TAG Heuer Link Calibre 16 Chronograph

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scavenger

Let me preface this review by saying that I am new to the rep scene. I only got into this less than 2 months ago and up until then my only knowledge of reps was of cheap knock-offs hawked on the streets of Asian holiday destinations. Never did I imagine there was a world of high-end top-quality replicas waiting to be discovered. Then I ran into this and the other forums. I read, and searched, and read, and searched, and then read some more… and gradually built my knowledge base. So my heartfelt thanks go out to the admins that maintain this forum, to those experts who write their awesome reviews, to those who take the time to share their knowledge by way of FAQs, and also those who contribute their individual opinions to the rep community.

 

I've lurked the entire time I've been here, I’d like to now contribute my little bit by way of this review. My dear friends, I present to you the (replica) TAG Heuer Link Chronograph.

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Admittedly, I’ve always been a fan to TAG watches. I've owned 2 quartz models of the 2000 series up until a year ago. These have served me well, each lasting well over 10 years before I replaced them. Then in 2010 the Link series caught my eye. My grail watch was now the Link Calibre S and a year later I was able to purchase this. Later in 2011, TAG refreshed its Link series. The changes were relatively subtle and can be found in the dial face, subdials, bezel, case and bracelet. More information on these updates can be found here and here.

 

While I was, and still am, thoroughly happy with my purchase of the superseded Calibre S, I was intrigued by the new line and found the Chronograph quite appealing. So imagine my pleasure at discovering that a rep of this existed and that it looked, to my eye at least, to be quite accurate! Here’s a comparison of the gen (left) and the rep (right).

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Near as I could tell, it looked like a perfect rep!

 

I ordered this from Watch International and Rochest looked after me the entire way. The process and service were fantastic; all my questions were answered and queries of the QC pics addressed to my complete satisfaction. As with anything in life, a little bit of patience goes a long way and Rochest always got back to me with responses to my emails.

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I couldn't have been happier with watch I received. It surpassed my expectations of what a rep would look and feel like and upon initial inspection I would have found it difficult to tell it from a gen. This thing had weight, the details looked accurate and from a visual perspective the build quality looked solid.

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The 2011 Link Chronograph replaces the previous model’s dial pattern with a vertical streak texture effect. The subdials have also been subtly altered and now overlap slightly with the oversized running seconds at 9 dial being the only one retaining the polished border outline. I do believe I prefer the new dial face design, it looks simpler and, perhaps, slightly more elegant. And, true to the gen, the new case has got some sexy curves!

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Another difference in the 2011 Link is the TAG Heuer logo. The 2011 gen has an applied logo, as opposed to the outgoing model which has a printed one. Now all my research to date has led me to believe that whilst printed TAG logos on reps have been done correctly, applied logos have been missing the arrow at the end of the 'G'. Ladies and gentlemen, this rep has an accurate applied logo! Observe below.

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As I'd mentioned before, the 2011 update also saw changes to the bezel and case. The bezel is now a two-part affair, with the traditional circular bezel featuring the tachymetre scale being set on top of a 'cushion' bezel with angled edges. TAG marketing calls this "a highly complex, sophisticated geometry" :lol: Whilst the circular upper tachy bezel is polished, the 'cushion' below it has brushed elements. This further contrasts with the curvy polished case as shown in the images below.

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The watch has a closed caseback – which, again, is true to gen. And.... judging by the picture I really should clean out :P

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And now we come to the bracelet itself – the part that makes the Link a Link! The replication here is just, in a word, magnificent!! The 2011 Link range features flatter, squarer links that fit more tightly together than the previous version. This actually contrasts with the curvy polished body of the case described above.

 

Whilst it could do with a bit of cleaning in some areas to make the joints glide even more smoothly, the bracelet's build quality is outstanding with each individual S-link component fitting together tightly and accurately. As with the previous Link Chronograph rep, the bracelet resizing mechanism has been copied and remains 100% faithful to the gen. You won't see any unsightly sizing pin holes on any of the S-links themselves here! Oh and speaking of the S-links, the outer faces are brushed steel, whereas the edge surfaces are polished.

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The clasp holding it all together is also modelled on the real thing with a folding clasp and push-button deployment system.

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So.... it's all good yes? Super rep? Not quite.... This is a rep after all!

 

Since we were only just talking about the clasp, I might as well start there. The watch that I received has a clasp that can be a little bit stiff to deploy, even when both push buttons are pressed firmly. I put this down to manufacturing tolerances with the higher accuracy and quality control of the gen components leading to better fit and finish overall. When closed, the rep's clasp also exhibits a slight gap as can be seen in the picture below.

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Next item on the list: the crown size and chrono pushers. I do not personally believe that the crown size is as wrong as some people think. The gen 2011 Link Chrono was supposed to have a re-designed, shorter crown and smaller chrono pushers. This is probably the picture that people had in mind:

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I would argue that the image above is an artist's impression and that the photo lineup below shows the crown on the actual manufactured product. (These images were obtained from AD sites and the rightmost pic is a screen capture off the TAG Heuer official site.)

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I won't talk to the size of the chrono pushers, but the crown itself does seem to be quite a fair bit larger on the real thing as opposed to the artist's impression. Indeed, this appears to be borne out by Spikedlee's pics of his gen Link Calibre 16 Chrono (many thanks to Spikedlee for his kind permission to use his photos).

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However! This isn't to say that the rep's crown is completely accurate (it's a real bummer, I know!). Here's a pic of my rep from an angle that kinda shows the flaw in the crown's accuracy.

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See how it almost seems like it's not fully screwed in? That slight additional protuberance from the base of the case? Well that's caused by the design of the rep itself. There seems to be a washer-like thingy on the case that stops the crown from screwing in fully. Take a look below.

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And again, here's what it looks like with the crown fully screwed in.

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I'd say the extra height of the crown is no more than 0.5mm off the gen; on the wrist and from almost any other angle, this discrepancy is all but impossible to spot. Check out all the other photos above and the wrist shots further down if you don't believe me. Here's a closeup of the crown and chrono pushers that shows how difficult it is to see this flaw (the bezel hides it quite nicely, I think, from a straight-on/top-down view).

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Finally there are those little things that one would expect from just about any rep out-of-the-box: inaccurate date font (again very hard to see to the untrained/uninformed eye), and the AR not being quite as good as on the gen (as evidenced by the heavy presence of reflections on the crystal as I was taking these photographs).

 

Here's a shot demonstrating the difference between my gen Calibre S and the rep Chrono. The crystal on the Calibre S pretty much disappears unlike the Chrono.

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And while I had the Calibre S out, here's a comparison between the bracelets of the new flatter, squarer 2011 Link (left) and the older more rounded version (right).

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And so we come to the end of this review. Bottom line: I love this rep! The minor flaws and inaccuracies I outlined above are miniscule and, to me, easily accepted as being part of the rep compromise. There's no way I could justify paying retail for the gen Link Calibre 16 Chronograph, not after having previously bought the Link Calibre S. The watch looks amazing, the build quality is solid and all this for a price that won't break the bank – what's there not to love?

 

Thank you all for reading this, I hope you've enjoyed the review as much as I did writing it. I also hope it's helped some of the people in this great community. Let's end with some obligatory wrist shots!

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Edited by scavenger

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jeffw69

Great review, nice pics.

Enjoy your Link. :)

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graham47

Fantastic review for a great looking watch, thanks for sharing.

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NCRich

Very nice review and pics. Enjoy!

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HWG

Awesome reveiw, and very nice looking watch. Enjoy it! :thumbsup:

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P4GTR

Great review! This is a rep that surely has been under-loved IMO. Simply stated, it looks gen.

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HeavyKrush

Awesome review. Never have been a fan of these, but I like the more squared off link design. Again, great review.

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halcyon

Great review.

I'm also a big fun of TAG Link. I have to buy this one after you.

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avc0002

awesome review

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kolchak

fabulous review!

I had a gen link (circa 2005) that I wore like it was my job for a couple years but eventually traded for several high end reps. I've been thinking about getting a new link rep and this one looks great. Is it 43 mm? mind sharing price?

 

enjoy

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Olig7475

Well done, what an excellently written and compiled review, as for the watch.......oh he'll yeah it a nice one.

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tsomers

Nice job! keep them coming.

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WebWind

Great review and pics!

Tkanks for sharing.

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scavenger

mind sharing price?

PM sent.

 

Nice job! keep them coming.

Glad to hear that this review has been well received. Unfortunately I doubt I will be writing too many of them. At this stage I have no plans to get too many reps, and I'm sure the ones I do get will already be covered by others more knowledgeable than myself.

 

But... you never know what might happen! I'm holding out for a nice Omega PO... :)

Edited by scavenger

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Heisenberg

Excellent review. I've got one of these on the way. Looking forward to it arriving even more now. Is the rep available in white? The gen looks great.

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Heisenberg

mind sharing price?

PM sent.

 

Nice job! keep them coming.

Glad to hear that this review has been well received. Unfortunately I doubt I will be writing too many of them. At this stage I have no plans to get too many reps, and I'm sure the ones I do get will already be covered by others more knowledgeable than myself.

 

But... you never know what might happen! I'm holding out for a nice Omega PO... :)

 

Have you seen this UPO?

 

http://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?showtopic=28921

 

I got one and it's excellent for the price.

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Patton

Fantastic review. This particular watch is on my hit list. Looks like I will be dropping Mary a note about it.

  • Like 1

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Sparkal

Thanks for the attention to detail in your review.

 

Stunning, simply stunning

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Burnleybezel

Wow another Tag now on my hit list, how stunning is that!

 

B.B

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Heisenberg

Already ordered mine. White dial version. Waiting for Mary to send QC pics.

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Patton

Can I ask how much this cost? Pls send a PM if you need to.

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hnic

just so this today

great review! well done

thanks for posting and enjoy your purchase

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g.man

Brilliant review my friend!

 

+1

 

g.man

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Baldrick

Very good review and a lovely watch.....nice pics also..( whichever of them are yours :) ) !

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Kaiser

Very comprehensive, excellent review mate

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