docblackrock Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Well, it seems Mr Postie had a little surprise package for me today So thought I'd share my initial thoughts as well as some quick 'n' dirty photos, hope you enjoy... Dealer Big kudos to the delightful and reliable Ms King - her English may not be perfect, but it's always a pleasure dealing with her Background As some of you know, Tonton and I petitioned for this rep during the Great Polls of Christmas 2006, but were humiliatingly torn apart by Pugs and his IWC-olytes. I must admit then, that the fact that the 'Racer has made it into production before the long-awaited standard Aquatimer gives me some tiny glint of pleasure, but hey I'm petty like that Onto the watch then, I actually had the gen on approval at the beginning of the year, and I was keen to see just how 1:1 this rep was. I initially ordered the black dial on bracelet together with an extra rubber strap. Also have a blue dial on it's way, the plan being to gift one to my brother. So first impressions.....this is as expected a stunning piece, from memory it has the same heft as the gen, as welll as the same overall quality of finish. Dial - clean crisp, concentric rings in dial and subdials are pretty much perfect. New silver decal logo is also spot on. Calendar window is also nicely silvered. 9/10 Case and Bezel - superb finish to case, pushers feel solid, crown screws in with same resistance and smoothness as anyone with a gen Rolex crown/tube would recognise....very nice indeed. Bezel has the correct 120 clicks, nice and tight. Inner bezel aligned perfectly, no movement with outer bezel. 9/10 Caseback - ok a little rough in terms of finish as usual nothing a bit of elbow grease can't sort out. Diver's helmet engraving is nice although not quite as defined/deep as the gen. Maybe 90% there. The surrounding engraving is more of an issue - not as defined as gen even if despite somep peoples' fears it still is engraved NOT etched. It is also inked, which will be easily removed (a la MBW/WM vintage Rollie casebacks) to give a more accurate look. One welcome addition to the prototype pics is the inclusion of model and serial etchings in the correct place. I recall someone pointed this out as a major flaw based on the model pics. Well that person(s) can now sleep at night (assuming they're correct numbers of course, I just can't be bothered to check ) Calendar wheel alignment - finally, the fly in the ointment, the spoke in the wheel, the strychnine in the soup, etc. Yes, about as misaligned as it possible to be. A big big tell. Fortunately, an easy solution - gen ETA day/datewheels and a copy of Pugs' excellent DIY guide to swapping 7750 wheels....voila, hopefully a good fix 2/10 rising to 10/10 with fix. Note: I have it on good authority that TH plan to change the datewheel colour on all new black dial models inc the 'Racer from next year, so the black DWs will come in handy Bracelet/Strap - as good as the UPO bracelet, says it all really. Almost indistinguishable from the gen. The old Date-only 'Racer not only had a weedy 41mm case but had a bracelet that rivalled Rolex in the cheap and nasty stakes. When they thought to modify the gorgeous Aquagraph case for the new Aquaracer, they also (thank God) used the 'Graph's bracelet - much more substantial and silky with a much-improved clasp. The rep bracelet does not disappoint far from it. Clasp looks and feels good, and the polished midlinks give the watch a nice almost-dressy feel - very much an allrounder or hybrid watch. 9/10 Rubber strap I've not actually received yet but from pics it looks very good, no lug gap issues that some people had with the post-production PO rubber strap. Still I've included pics of the gen strap to give you an idea of how it looks on the wrist. Crystal - the big AR question, does it or doesn't it? Well I'm happy to say the crystal is as the gen crystal. It DOES have AR - almost clear with a faint blue reflection. By no means a light sucker (neither is the gen) but the dial is clearly visible at certain angles, no mirroring or other nasties. Doesn't perform too well under fluorescent lights though it must be said. This ain't no gen PO. Logic states it must be single-sided meaning inner coating but interestingly it does seem to give a positive fingerprint test. Hmmm . So to clarify again, this is not AR as some people seem to think AR should be - bright blue/purple reflection like with some of the 'super' Breit or HBB reps or older-generation Pams - that is simply not accurate for a Tag, so there's no flaw here to speak of. Good news. 9/10 Movt - the Achilles heel of course, being it's a Asian 7750 - we've all been here before many times gentleman, luck of the draw in which your odds are improved if you stay away from the chrono function. That said, this is a watch that is ripe for a movement swapout with a Valj.7750 - I have been offered one at a very competitive price, not sure whether it will end up in this piece or not though. 5/10. So all in for approximately one-tenth of the RRP on the gen, you'd be mad not to indulge a bit of Tag love. "Stop blathering on man, and just show us the bloody pics!" I can hear you all muttering, so without further ado.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4rcus Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Man I want this watch. Why did this thing have to arrive just when I swore off reps and decided to start saving money??? Nice review and pics. I might have to break my promise to myself on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TmeShare Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Look forward to my blue dial version but I half suspect that the bezel blue and the dial blue are different colors of blue. I will see soon. The black version is perhaps the safe version. TimeShare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gioarmani Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Look forward to my blue dial version but I half suspect that the bezel blue and the dial blue are different colors of blue. I will see soon. The black version is perhaps the safe version. TimeShare Only one way to find out. And you might be pleasantly surprised... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMK000 Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Background As some of you know, Tonton and I petitioned for this rep during the Great Polls of Christmas 2006, but were humiliatingly torn apart by Pugs and his IWC-olytes. I must admit then, that the fact that the 'Racer has made it into production before the long-awaited standard Aquatimer gives me some tiny glint of pleasure, but hey I'm petty like that Once again confirmed that the manufacturers produce what they like , they competely ignore us and the dealers cannot influence this. Very nice watch ... and I like it even more with the rubber band. Wear it well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookycord Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 So nice. Post more pics after the glow on your face wears off a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Very nice watch, i'm considering seriously as my next purchase. docblackrock, does it look much larger on wrist compared to the genuine 41mm Aquaracer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted August 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Larger but I wouldn't say "much larger". Enough. I balked at buying the gen 41mm date Racer due to it's very unimpressive presence on the wrist. Felt small both size and thickness/heft. This one (gen and rep) at 43mm feels just 'right' in the same way the 45mm PO does. If you have any doubts, check it out at any AD - I think you'll be surprised if you're worried about size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 I've tried the white dial model on and it looks a big watch but probabily the black and blue versions look more balanced having more color contrast between external bezel (grey) and tachymeter and dial (blue or black). I just hope it's not as huge as the 45 mm PO (watch i love but not suitable for my 6.5" wrist) Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Fantastic review - thanks! This one is verrrrry tempting. How long will I resist.....?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slojo Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Great review of a great watch Day-date wheels don't look all that bad to me BTW... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Great review of a great watch Day-date wheels don't look all that bad to me BTW... I think those are the post date wheel fix pics [unless you're talking about how it looks on the dealer pics] It's lookin' good anyway!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Very nice. I still prefer the Carrera, but I know this will make some people very happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slojo Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 I think those are the post date wheel fix pics Doh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verbal Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Thanks for wanting me to want one Excellent review docblackrock, gives me a lot more confidence to get one and drop another mail @ ms. King won't take long before someone mentiones a groupbuy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Really nice. It would have been interesting to see the bad datewheel alignment issue though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRiddle Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Really nice. It would have been interesting to see the bad datewheel alignment issue though. I'm confused ByTor :X did you jus say you wanted to see the bad datewheel on the shipped aquaracers? o_O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Doc apparently swapped the datewheel to the ETA one, and said how the original Asian datewheel was badly misaligned. It would have been nice to see it before he did the swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRiddle Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Doc apparently swapped the datewheel to the ETA one, and said how the original Asian datewheel was badly misaligned. It would have been nice to see it before he did the swap. ohh [censored] :X yea definitely i think peeps need to see it "As is" when it arrives.. totally agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 I think the datewheel is the genuine asian, font is different from ETA font. I'm sure he didn't swap it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Thanks Ryaku. Doesn't look too bad to me. Definitely acceptable, imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexman Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Great review and I'm glad to see the serial and type #. Could you post a pic of the case back engravings when you have removed the black paint (as you stated). Thanks! Wear it wel my friend... it's a stunning piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vric Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Vric is now saving money.... again.... How about a group buy for this fall ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Thanks Ryaku. Doesn't look too bad to me. Definitely acceptable, imho. All Asian 7750 day/date wheels wobble in and out of accuracy. I suspect the Aquaracer is no different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted August 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 just quick reply, on the move right now... pics of watch are as received, standard crappy font day-date wheels....gen eta/valj. white and black sets in pic have not been installed yet @rolexman - will do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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