By-Tor

Yes it is "wokky", and (imho) completely ruins the watch. The factories have ruined lots of potentially good Rolex replicas with this horrible crystal/rehaut combo. Besides the rehaut, the crystal looks all wrong from the upright view as well. See this: http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m309/bk...t_thickness.jpg Then read this by bklm1234: http://replica-watch.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23183

I'm wearing the Link right now (age old wristshot though). But will probably change to the Aquaracer later today.

White Explorer II. Never did anything to me, but some pics by the fellow members raised my interest. Actually I sold it almost right away... not because I didn't like the watch but because those dark grey hour markers started to bother me. I really hope they'll solve that problem eventually, what a great watch.

Finally swapped the Aquaracer to this one (at least for today).

Keyhole's wristshot is the winner. Game over.

Big thanks TT. Much appreciated, and I hope these writeups will serve the members (new and old). I (think) I have now reposted all my old reviews here (save the Omega & Breitling guides which serve the members best in the brand-specific subforums). I closed the articles, made them read-only, and added a link to the initial review (in case you want to comment them). Cheers!!!

This is one of my impulse buys. I saw this model in Precious Time's gallery and bought it. I did ZERO research, didn't care how accurate it was, I just loved the looks of it. I've been a fan of AP for a long time, and it's actually quite surprising that I never bought a Royal Oak. This watch has the old 7750 inside and it was exceptionally cheap (for a real automatic chronograph), so I grabbed one. This same model also comes in various dial colors, but perhaps the most beautiful of them is the rose gold model with gorgeous white dial. But since gold is too much for me, I chose the stainless steel version. Here you can see the pictures of the gold version anyway (pictures courtesy of Precious Time). If I ever buy another gold watch again, this AP is definitely my first choice. Another reason I bought this was that I wanted to have day/date watch. I always thought it was a neat feature. Date sets normally, and the day changes when you turn the crown anti-clockwise (in the date set position). This particular watch had especially slow date change. It started to change already 10'o'clock and the wheel got perfectly centered as late as 2'o'clock. When I got the watch I immediately started searching for its genuine counterpart. I found lots of "Seven Sails" special edition models, but not this model. When I posted my first picture of my new aqcuisiton, none of the members couldn't tell, either. Next move, of course, was to contact thomasng, our own AP expert and he verified that this watch is a fantasy model. For me it didn't matter at all. I have never done a review of a fantasy model before. Saved me a lot of research and work. The dial uses very nice looking "square layer" with kinda original "lump of sugar" hour markers. All dial print is very crispy and clean which was very apparent even in all huge and uncropped photos. The case was beautifully finished brushed steel which was one of the main attractions of this watch for me. The subdial arrangement is the unmodified 12-9-6, which is always the best option (keeping the reliability and possible adjustments in mind). The old Asian 7750 takes genuine ETA Valjoux in without any modifications. If I'm not mistaken even the hands are usable. The caseback with sailboats is beautiful. The strap has very neat looking lockup mechanism, using the AP logo on both sides. Since this was my first ever watch with a leather band I can't really make any educated comments about the quality of the strap. All I know it feels sturdy and thick, and it was designed to fit even larger wrists (like my 8+). The pushers and crown are screw-down type a'la Daytona. This means you can't operate the chronograph functions without unscrewing the bolts first. The quality feeling of the pushers and bolts is fair, but I'd imagine these kind of things are the easiest tell-tales when you compare a rep to a genuine $10K watch. The diameter of the watch is just 42mm. But because of the typical square AP design it feels much bigger. This watch really has some impressive and "machismo" wrist presence. No wonder they chose AP as Schwartzenegger's watch in Terminator 3. All in all... I think this rep is a "strange ride". It's very rare to see a complete fantasy model with fully functional automatic chronograph and quality like this. Perhaps the factories just wanted to be creative and have some fun. For me rep collecting isn't all about pedantic and meticulous whining about minutiae inaccuracies, either. If something looks nice, I'll wear it. Funny thing is... My friend (who already owns a rep of AP Wempe) bought this rep literally from my wrist. When I'm writing and finishing this review I no longer have the watch. But now I'm seriously considering the rose gold model. I simply can't stop staring at those pictures. Thanks for reading (again).

Cool. I have a few to share as well. Not as nice as yours though, since mine only has the poor rep AR.

The most striking difference is the Omega logo, which is gigantic in ssabripo's wristshot picture.

I love both orange and black, but since this is the Bond watch, hmm...

Ditto. Happy B-day Ken, and hopefully you're here with us as soon as possible.

Go for the "4th Generation" PO. Getting a strap for it is recommended... it's a great rep, but it has pretty bad clasp and bracelet. Here's mine (sold long time ago though).

Wow... you guys notice everything. No big deal, imho.

Well yeah, this model is more conservative and not so unique. Impossible to argue about personal tastes, but I've always considered this the nicest looking chronograph watch ever made. Impossible to say what's so appealing about it... it's just my style I guess.I love my Link chrono though. Sorry man.Did you order it already? @Rolexman: Now I see what you mean. Doesn't bother me though.

Thanks Puggy... appreciated mate. I might even send this watch to you for a Swiss Valjoux exchange (eventually). I'm confident that I'll keep this watch for good, it's absolutely amazing looker. The pics don't even do it justice... I love the polished/brushed bracelet combo on this watch... outstanding. Yes I have found perfect lighting setup now (I think). But I'm always trying to get better.

@Rower: Glad you're still enjoying my old GMT mate... damn, I need another one asap.

There's a quartz version of the Calibre 36 replica. Nice looker, but of course it's nothing like the genuine. PS: Why this was posted to the General Discussion? We have a TAG Heuer forum section here you know...

It's time for the Weekend Wrist Check folks. It's a great weather out there... and I'm heading to my summer cottage with my brother. Wearing this absolutely fantastic watch today. It's difficult to see this one coming off of my wrist anytime soon. For people who missed it... here's my TAG Heuer Aquaracer chrono. Have a great weekend!

Here's some more wristshots that I took when I received the watch. Straight out of the camera, just crop and autolevels. Interesting that none of the dealers list this watch as AR coated, but just like Docblackrock stated in his review I'm quite sure there's some kind of light inside coating on the crystal. The dial doesn't reflect much at all. But it's definitely not very apparent.

Thanks all. I updated the wrist shot with a better one. Refresh the page. Actually I have plenty of wrist shots... I just have to crop them. Will post later, I'm gonna hit the gym now. @Rolexman: Are the black letters wrong on the rep... or what "black paint" you mean?

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! <div align='left'>Posted by TB99 on behalf of By-Tor </div>

I've been wearing this since Saturday.

Hi Laz. bklm1234 is building me a GMT Master. It's a long story... but I will make an extensive writeup of this model (and a "buying guide") as soon as my watch arrives. The best "out of box" version right now is the wrong hand stack "special request" model from Joshua. http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=25215 There's another version which is even better, but it requires some modifications (my upcoming review will cover that).

Try wearing similar pink outfit next time. Maybe it'll catch her attention.

Yes they do. Read the Omega Guide (sticky in the Omega forum, the link is also in my signature).