Review – TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 1887 Chronograph 41mm

[scavenger 0]

Introducing the Carrera Calibre 1887 41mm

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I was browsing through the TAG section of a dealer's website when this watch caught my eye. Not having done any research previously on the gen, this replica still looked really attractive and I placed my order for it after only a little deliberation. I can't say I'm disappointed; it looks really great in the flesh as you can see from the picture above. It has great presence on the wrist and is definitely a worthy addition to the collection.

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Presenting the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 1887 Chronograph 41mm – this is a replica of the V3 Carrera Calibre 1887 Chronograph 41mm. I'll give you the bottom line up front: this is not the most accurate replica ever. In fact, there are many inaccuracies when comparing this rep to the gen and some are quite glaring. Nevertheless, it's still a fine looking watch in its own right and with great build quality.

 

Background: the various versions of the watch to date

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The gen Carrera Calibre 1887 41mm's initial design (V1) is shown the far left of the picture above. This was not a production version and had the tachy scale on the bezel. Feedback from retailers pointed out the similarity of this to the normal Calibre 16 Carrera. So, in order to distinguish the two models, TAG removed the tachymetre scale and made the outer bezel thinner. This resulted in V2 of the watch as shown in the middle. Many have stated a preference for this version with the cleaner overall look to the watch face. V2 is a production version with limited availability in only certain countries.

 

V3 (pictured on the far right) is the current production version. Here the tachy scale has been brought back because its designers wanted to re-acknowledge Carrera's racing heritage, but has been placed on the inner bezel instead. Another change is the slightly sunken flying-seconds sub-dial at 9 o'clock.

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However, note again that there is yet another difference between the actual production model and the evolution photo series above. The TAG Heuer logo and Carrera lettering in the actual production watch has been moved down slightly here, rather than having the "CAL 1887", "CARRERA" and 3 o'clock marker lining up horizontally across the dial.

 

Overall impressions: the dial face

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Firstly, the dial face itself is very attractive. The polished hands, applied hour markers and sub-dials stand out clearly from the black dial and are really eye-catching. The sapphire crystal with AR coating does a wonderful job of allowing the elements below stand out. The thin design of the outer bezel also makes the watch face look larger and feel more "open", belying its 41mm size.

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An obvious (and most noticeable) discrepancy between the rep here and the gen is the size of the printing on the tachymetre scale. The printing of the actual lettering and numbers are humungous on the rep when compared to the gen! But whilst this print size is highly inaccurate, I did find it to be easily readable on my wrist when I timed a 1 km run on the highway in my vehicle going at 110 kph. It worked great, I thought; I'd imagine it would be much harder to read with the much smaller font on the gen.

 

Other inaccuracies when compared to the gen would be the sub-dials (the 12 and 6 o'clock sub-dials on the rep look almost metallic white whereas the gen's are polished steel, and the sunken sub-dial at 9 o'clock on the gen does not have the polished outline of the rep) and the logo and lettering alignment (the production gen’s being a little bit lower than on the rep).

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The watch has a domed sapphire crystal and the AR coating does a remarkable job of reducing glare and setting off the elements underneath.

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As far as I can tell, the chrono pushers and crown are accurate to gen, as are the overall case dimensions.

 

Showing off: the clear caseback

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The watch has a clear caseback, like the gen, which allows the movement to be seen in action.

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I know a lot of people like clear casebacks but really, this can only be appreciated when the watch is not being worn. I've had quite a few people ooh-ing and ahhh-ing when they see the movement through the back; I doubt that any of them knew they were looking at a clone 7750 movement rather than TAG's Calibre 1887. More about the movement later.

 

Applied TAG Heuer logo

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Looking closely at the dial, we can see the applied logo and raised font printing of the CARRERA lettering on the rep.

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I believe the gen uses a printed logo rather than an applied one (albeit with raised printing to give it a 3D effect).

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Nevertheless, the applied rep logo still looks great. The same as in my Link Chrono (review here), the applied logo is one of the new ones with correct arrows at the end of the G. With the black background of the logo against the black dial, and with its size from a normal viewing distance when the watch is on the wrist, it’s really hard to see any difference between the applied look and the printed look.

 

One thing that's always bothered me about the white coloured applied rep TAG logos on white faced dials is the silvered background of those applied logos. They should be white/cream to match the background and the silvering just makes them look completely out of place. Because of this I’m happier sticking to the black ones instead.

 

Bracelet and clasp

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The stainless steel bracelet feels top notch and looks just like the gen with the 5-link style. Some links were a bit stiff as you would expect of the brand new rep, but nothing a good soak in WD40 didn't take care of.

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I must admit I did not enjoy resizing the bracelet. The traditional friction pin and sleeve setup is used here and as we know from working on Omega PO bracelets, these can be a right royal pain! I managed to bend the pusher pin on my cheapie resizing tool, and also managed to snap 2 of the bracelet's friction pins in the process.

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Here's a shot of the clasp. The engraving on the outside is nice, clear and crisp.

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The same can't be said of the inside though. The engraving here looks rather shallow and nowhere near as distinct and clear as what I have on my Link rep.

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The fold-over deployment clasp is well constructed and works great.

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The clasp closes tightly on this rep with no gaps and no play or loose movement when locked in place. It feels secure and can only be released when the buttons on both sides are depressed firmly.

 

Movement

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Okay, so we're on to the movement. TAG Heuer's Calibre 1887 is an in-house movement whereas the one in this rep is a clone Asian 7750. It's got a decorated rotor and the usual blue screws.

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The images above show the gen Calibre 1887 movements. The one on the left depicts an earlier version with the old style rotor which this rep attempts to mimic. Current production gens, however, have the new style rotor as shown on the right.

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Above is another photo of the display caseback on the rep showing the clone 7750 movement with the old style rotor. To be honest, I seriously doubt very many people would be able to pick up on the different movement when looking at the caseback (this too only if you decide to show it off). How many people would actually know what a Calibre 1887 movement looks like? Everyone who's seen this watch has remarked on how amazing the movement looks with the swinging rotor and the beating of the balance mechanism, the polished gears and parts and even the blue screws! No-one really knows (or cares?) about the Asian clone 7750 movement; they're too busy being blown away by the wow factor of seeing a complex mechanical movement in action.

 

Wrist presence

While the watch is smaller than the 43mm models such as the Link Chrono and Carrera Calibre 16 Day-Date, it still has great wrist presence.

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Measuring 41mm in case diameter and 16mm in case height, the watch sits high on my 6.5 inch wrist but (I believe) does not overwhelm it. The beautiful case and polished accents are set off by the predominantly brushed bracelet and the whole look works equally well peeking out of the sleeve of a business suit or with a much more causal weekend polo shirt.

 

Additional photos

Below are some additional photos of the watch for those who might be interested.

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Where to buy

While I did not purchase this particular rep from Mary or Rochest this time around, WatchInternational had previously posted this watch in their section of the Trusted Dealers forum. Find the description, pictures and price here: http://www.rwg.bz/bo...87&fromsearch=1

 

In conclusion

Again, I hope you enjoyed reading this review. There are many inaccuracies on this rep when one compares it to the gen, but that does not change the fact that it is still a quality watch that looks fantastic, has great wrist presence and works well. If the inaccuracies do indeed bother you, then it might be worthwhile holding off until the new 2013 Calibre 1887 TAGs get repped. I honestly believe, however, that all but the most knowledgeable/anal TAGaholics and aficionados will be able to tell the difference "in the wild".

 

Scav.

Edited January 28, 2013 by scavenger

[Xebryus 0]

Very nice review sir. Like you said, despite the glaring differences, it does not take away from that watch being sexy. Now I want one

[moredhel 0]

Excellent review mate!

 

Complete and concise.

 

Comparing the gen and rep pics, the bracelet on the gen seems a deeper colour with finer brushed graining, more of a satiny brush, whereas the rep seems...rough..

 

Perhaps a light application of cod would improve on the visual.

[elmerlo 0]

Amazing review Scav. Thanks!

[DreambreaX 0]

really great watch. hope for rep improvement for this

[g.man 0]

Great review mate!

 

regards

 

g.man

[Jose Betancur 0]

Thank u for this great review!

[razorblade 0]

Great review and what a piece! This has caught my attention since it was released, especially with the dial markers in RG - classy.

[KrakDrazh 0]

I really love this watch, but get so irritated that they can't place the logo correctly..

 

Great review though!

[Xebryus 0]

I have to ask because I keep eyeing this watch, am I the only one that sees baby blue everywhere in this watch?

[Chairman7w 0]

Great review, thanks so much for posting.

[SSTEEL 0]

Great review my friend, detailed, informative, and of course, plenty of eye candy for us all.

 

Given the flaws/tells, it's still a very attractive timepiece that's for sure.

 

About the resizing of the bracelet, I need to resize my Tag Carrera's bracelet also, as its a little big for my wrist. You say you experienced problems removing the pins/sleeves? Do you have any advice for me in resizing mine?

 

I'm unsure which side of the bracelet to push the pins out from. As you look at the watch face on, which side do I need to push the pins out?

 

Thanks in advance.

[scavenger 0]

I don't think there's any particular direction in which to push the pins out when resizing the bracelet; there are no arrows indicating any instruction like on the Omega bracelets.

 

The issues I had were to do with the stiffness of the pins when re-inserting them (back into their sleeves) in the links as I was finishing up the process. My pin pusher would not align properly and when I tried to push them in with something else, 2 pins broke because the sleeves were just so tight.

 

Maybe I was just being too impatient.... don't be like me

 

Good luck with your bracelet!

 

Scav.

[SSTEEL 0]

From what I have seen yesterday from another TAG bracelet DIY thread, there is a difference in the way you push the pin out, although as you say, no arrows indicating this. Suggestion to identify the correct way was to examine each end with a loupe, one end of the pin resembles what looks like a flat head screw, the other end smooth.

 

You push the pin out from the smooth end of the pin, see labelled photo of pin below. (photo credit to black263)

 

 

Tutorial in the link below..

 

http://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?showtopic=47173&hl=&fromsearch=1

[scavenger 0]

Yeah.... the pins from mine weren't the same as that depicted.... Would have made for a much simpler job if they were - for one thing, there wouldn't have been any (really tight) sleeves to deal with.

 

Just occurred to me that I posted a photo of the pin & sleeve arrangement in my review..... yup, I did! Check above.

 

Scav.

[Chairman7w 0]

Man, you do the best reviews. Very well done and a great looking watch. Thank you.

[Spartan2626 0]

Bought this watch based on this review. Can't wait til it gets here.

[DreambreaX 0]

I really like this one. please the factory fix the tachymeter font

[Leon666 0]

Wow I really like this watch I seen the gen when I was shopping last week and my wife said that this is the next watch I should get have to say I agree with her

[hacker2 0]

I am glad someone else had difficulty with the pins.....a royal pain! Great looking watch though!

[ra.90 0]

Amazing review. Great looking watch!

[DaytonaD 0]

Very nice review Scav.

 

I'd like to get one of these in my collection - not sure I could live with the over-sized font on the tachymetre scale, but on the other hand - could probably live with this for the right price.

 

Are you allowed to share where you purchased this one? As Mary at WatchInternational appears to be having some issues with local police at the moment (believe they are sorting it though), thought it would be good to know where you got yours.

 

Cheers,

D.

Edited July 24, 2013 by DaytonaD

[yowhitemomma 0]

I just stumbled across this review...first of all great review and second of all i think i need one of these...

I'm looking for something around the 40-42mm size that isn't a Omega PO...i think this might be it!

Thanks man

[wristmojo 0]

Awesome review! Tag has come up with some really appealing designs; the watch looks great. The tachy font, however, is distracting after seeing your comparison with gen.

 

Well done!

[dator 0]

Great review, thanks