kramerica2 Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Brief Model History The first Formula 1 model was introduced back in 1986. The model summed up years of collaboration between Heuer and Formula 1. 6 years later, Tag Heuer was chosen as the official time keeper of Formula 1 racing cup. Many Formula 1 drivers have joined Tag Heuer through the years: Ayrton Senna, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to name a few. Further more, Heuer has sponsored the Ferrari team and later the McLaren Mercedes team. In 2004, Tag Heuer became the official time keeper for the Indy 500 racing as well, and added the Indy 500 watch as part of it's Formula 1 series. The Gen Specs Crystal type: Scratch Resistant Sapphire Case material: Stainless Steel Case diameter: 45 Millimeters Case Thickness: 13 Millimeters Band material: Stainless Steel Bezel material: Stainless Steel Bezel Function: Tachymeter Calendar: Date Movement: Swiss quartz Water resistant: 660 Feet The Rep in Detail The Rep specs are about the same. I can only guess that the quartz movement isn't really Swiss, and it won't live to see 660 feet under water, but everything else is the same as the gen. The chronograph works great, and follows the exact same functions as the gen. The hands reset to zero, and you can set the zero point if you need to, at the exact same way it's done by the gen. The date isn't perfectly aligned. On certain days it's quite noticeable, while on other days it's almost perfect. Not really a major issue IMO, but could be for some people. The overall build quality is quite good. The crown is tight, the chrono pushers feels quite good, and being a quartz watch, there's no worry about accuracy nor reliability in the short run. The case diameter is 45mm including the crown, but it wears smaller than that. It actually doesn't look bigger than my 42mm PO. The bracelet feels a bit cheap and the clasp isn't the best I've seen, but it seem to hold pretty good so far and at to me it looks very close to the gen bracelet. The date mechanism is what you'd expect from a cheap quartz. It starts changing at about 22:30 and finishes at about 00:30. No biggie, but surprised me the first time I've noticed it. Overall, this is a very nice watch for the price. I got it as a beater to go with casual clothing and sport activities, and it does the job very well. It's comfortable to wear, the chrono works very good (and I actually use it many times), and IMO it's a great looker. The Flaws - Rep to Gen Comparsion I'm no expert at finding flaws, and since most flaws of any rep are very hard to notice at real life situations, I don't really care about them, but I'm aware that most people do, so here are my findings. First of all, a major flaw that isn't shown on the websites' pics, and wasn't there in earlier reps, is the logo (rep on left, gen on right). ............................. Another flaw, but a minor one, is the number 12. On the rep it's a bit thicker than on the gen, and a bit tilted. Here's how it looks on the rep (compare to the gen photo): And finally, the last flaw I could find, and was always there with Indy reps, is the lack of the Tag Heuer writing on the left side of the case. Bear in mind: These flaws are much more hard to see in real life. The pic is zoomed in a way that no one except yourselves will ever look. That's it, hope you found the review useful.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 A nice rewiev, thanks! These bargain Tag Heuer Quartz chronos are among my favourite bargain replicas. I am happy with my beater F1 Chrono. My guess is that it actually have the ETA Quartz movement. The regular F1 chrono replicas do have that. One thing that makes the Indy replica preferable over the F1 chrono is that the black paint on the F1 crown and crownguards scratches easily I'm a bit surprised that the Indy does not have the Tag Heuer engraving on the side, as the regular F1 replica have that..? The newest batch of Indy-replicas seems to have the correct bracelet clasp as well. Seems like they never get the logo 100% correct, as usual on TH replicas.. :/ Wear it well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdkno Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Nice write up. Looks like they have corrected a good bit of the flaws on the new $128.00 version. The only thing I can't tell about is the Tag Heuer engraving on the side of the case. http://www.jpc8118.com/tg10016-indy500-chronograph-black-swiss-quartz-p-1425.html However the big date version of this watch does have "Indy 500" engraved in red letters on the side of the case. http://www.jpc8118.com/tgi50010002-indy-date-chrono-ssss-black-swiss-p-6509.html Not sure if that is correct or if it is supposed to be engraved Tag Heuer as well?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramerica2 Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Nice write up. Looks like they have corrected a good bit of the flaws on the new $128.00 version. The only thing I can't tell about is the Tag Heuer engraving on the side of the case. http://www.jpc8118.com/tg10016-indy500-chronograph-black-swiss-quartz-p-1425.html According to the dealer that I got the watch from, this model isn't available anymore, only the one with the wrong logo. However the big date version of this watch does have "Indy 500" engraved in red letters on the side of the case. http://www.jpc8118.com/tgi50010002-indy-date-chrono-ssss-black-swiss-p-6509.html Not sure if that is correct or if it is supposed to be engraved Tag Heuer as well?? I have no idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramerica2 Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 double post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward Posted August 11, 2009 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 It does use swiss ETA and it aint supposed to have the text engraved on the side like the F1... I own gens of both and apart from the quality of the clasp the reps are pretty damn close! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daviemac Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 I have a gen of the indy 500 and it definetly has "Tag Heuer" engraved on the side. To be honest it didn't take long for me to scratch that area. I wear it as my everyday watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdkno Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 It does use swiss ETA and it aint supposed to have the text engraved on the side like the F1... I own gens of both and apart from the quality of the clasp the reps are pretty damn close! I have a gen of the indy 500 and it definetly has "Tag Heuer" engraved on the side. To be honest it didn't take long for me to scratch that area. I wear it as my everyday watch. So which is it? We have 2 gen Indy 500's one with "Tag Heuer" engraved in the side of the case and one without?? Is there this much variation even in gens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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