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Tag Heuer Formula 1 Chorno - Red


morlock

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Recently on the dealers sites were launched an updated version of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph with Swiss quartz Movt. I used to be a non-TAG Heuer fan, but the By-Tor and b16a2 reviews make to grown the brand on me. So the timming was perfect, an updated version of this entry model will be the perfect first TH for me, so I ordered from Andrew, and after 6 days I received it.

First, I must tell you that the update word in the dealers announcement is too overstated. I am supporting this comment on what I learn from the 2 great reviews of the White version from chrgod and Ruelcorte (found HEREand HERE). so if the factory updated or refresehed the rep, the previous issues are still present. However, I would like to review it because this is a great rep which issues are far from been noticeable to the naked eyes, and of course, this is the RED version. So I hope you enjoy it.

The Gen

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For a long time, TAG Heuer image has been associated with that of high-level competition. In 1976, Heuer, presented its computer-assisted "Automatic Car Identification and Timing System" which met the demands of Formula 1 and Le Mans 24-hour race and the approval of the FIA. Today, Official Timekeeper to the World Ski, FIA Formula 1 World Championships. Also since 1985, TAG Heuer has been closely involved with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 Team and maintains close ties with Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen.

According with TAG Heuer web site Fernando Alonso, the Formula 1 double World Champion and driver for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team in 2007 Season, participated in the design of the chronograph been covered on this review.

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The TAG Heuer Formula 1 series includes simple watch (H:M:S), analog chronographs and ana-digital chronographs, all versions use Quartz Movt, enclosed in Stain Steel case and with a titanium carbide signature bezel.

The Formula 1 is one of the most, if not the most, affordable TAG Heuer, which is the main reason this model is so popular, you could spot everywhere, on women or men of every age. Also I guess that the good performance of the McLaren Mercedes Team on Formula 1 has contributed on increasing the popularity of this model.

Gen Specifications:

CAH1112.BA0850

Movement: ETA FASHIONLINE G10.711 Quartz, 4 jewels, displaying hours, minutes, small second, date and chronograph (1/10th of a second, Seconds and 30 Minutes)

Water Resistance: 200 m

Crystal: scratch-resistant sapphire crystal

Case: 41mm, fine-brushed steel

Case Back: Solid SS with checker flag decoration

Bezel: Scratch-resistant titanium carbide coated unidirectional turning bezel with raised fine-brushed figures

Dial: RED with Hand-applied indexes. Faceted hour and minute hands with luminescent markers. Arrow head on second hands. Faceted date window between 3 and 4 o'clock

Crown: Scratch-resistant titanium carbide coated screw-in crown with raised fine-brushed TAG Heuer logo

Bracelet: 3 rows fine-brushed stainless steel bracelet

Clasp: Double safety clasp with diving extension system and fine adjustment system

The RED Rep

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After an flawless as usual transaction with Andrew, I received my very first TAG Heuer rep. The first impression was really good, the watch is heavy considering been a Quartz model, of course not like an Auto. It feels very solid and well constructed, I could compare its overall quality with a Victorinox Swiss Army Quartz model.

I ordered the RED dial because it's not an usual dial color, I mean there are not too many non-bling model with red dial in the market, and also the RED-BLACK-SILVER combination goes perfectly along with the McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 Team. It feels more fateful with the Formula 1 motif.

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The RED color is just on spot with the gen. The sub dials at 2 and 10 o'clock for 1/10th sec. and 30 minutes counter, are silvery white with concentric circle decoration. The running small seconds sub dial at 6 o'clock has silvery white circle, with the correct thickness. Due the rep use the exact same movt as the gen, the subdial spacing is perfect. The polish hour markers, font, wording and hands are correct, including the special half arrow tip on the chrono central seconds hand. Unfortunately, the running seconds hand issue is still present on this updated version, for my standards this is a minor issue, we are talking about one millimeter short, which only could be notice in a side by side comparo. Of course the date fond is perfect, been the ETA font, and the window is located between 3 and 4 o'clock. The crystal is sapphire without AR, just like the gen. And finally the lume is on the range of "good", it's applied on minute-hour hands and the hours markers.

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The bezel is made on black painted metal with raised fine-brushed number, with the right font and size. The bezel feel solid to the touch and the paint looks to hold as time pass. It turns with 120 loud clicks. The rep bezel is as close as possible to the gen. Nothing to complain here.

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The case is very solid stain steel carefully fine brushed, nice for US$ 118 rep. The overall design is very close to the gen, without any notifiable flaws. On the side opposite to the crown, the word "TAGHeurer" is deeply engraved and painted in black, the font is correct and maybe (under the macro lens) the "Heuer" part is a little thinner in the gen. The screw-in crown is an exact copy of the gen, but for the materials, the gen crown is steel with a titanium carbide coat, on the rep is steel painted on black. The good news is this paint look pretty good resistant to scratch, so I think it will hold well with time. The bad news are still the crown guard, the paint on them is not as good as the one used on the crown and bezel, so you have to be very careful not to scratch it. The chrono pusher are plastic, but look like the gen.

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The rep Formula 1 has a solid stain steel caseback, with deep and crisp checkered flag pattern on the upper half and the TAG Heure logo in the center. Under the logo the model number and serial are located, the model CAH1113 engraved correspond to the orange model, been the right number for the RED model CAH1112. In the outer circle, all the wording is correct and crisp engraved. Aside of the model number, this is one of the most beatiful performed caseback I have seen, deep, clean, on spot engraved.

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The bracelt has three rows of solid links in stain steel. After the usual cleaning and oiling process for new bracelet, it feels very smooth, heavy and solid, even better than the bracelet from my Victorinox SA Maverick II. The clasp has safety latch with diving extension and four position fine adjustment. The clasp has been reported as cheap, but at least this one has nothing to envy from the clasp on the aforementioned Victorinox. Even I could say it's better than the clasp on many mid level rep Roles Sub. Regarding the style, it's the same as in the previous rep, and differ only form the gen on the safety latch design.

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Now, lets talk about the movement, which in this case is not disrespectful to say it is a Quartz movt. It is really pleasant to find in a low priced rep an genuine Swiss ETA movt. The rep has the exact same model as the gen, the ETA FASHIONLINE G10.711 with 4 jewels. In addition to the usual time functions, it has a chronograph that measures 10th of a second, Seconds and Minutes. The movt has even a Swiss made battery, a 394 RENATA, so you could expect a long battery life. The movt has a V8 engraved, maybe a funny link with motor on a F1 car. Due the Quartz movt is not fun to photograph, I include some tech info from the ETA web site.

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And the usual wrist shot:

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Rep Specifications:

Movement: ETA FASHIONLINE G10.711 Quartz, 4 jewels, displaying hours, minutes, small second, date and chronograph (1/10th of a second, Seconds and 30 Minutes)

Water Resistance: Not available. Due the rep has a screw-in crown and solid caseback with the proper rubber seal, it has some level of water protection, but I could assure how much

Crystal: sapphire crystal

Case: 41mm, fine-brushed steel

Case Back: Solid SS with checker flag decoration

Bezel: Black painted unidirectional turning bezel with raised fine-brushed figures. 120 clicks

Dial: RED with polish applied indexes. Faceted hour and minute hands with luminescent markers. Arrow head on second hands. Faceted date window between 3 and 4 o'clock

Crown: Black painted screw-in crown with raised fine-brushed TAG Heuer logo

Bracelet: 3 rows fine-brushed stainless steel bracelet

Clasp: Double safety clasp with diving extension system and 4 position fine adjustment

Conclusion

I strongly recommend the rep TAG Heuer FORMULA 1 Chrono, but not because it's an updated version, which I just show you is an overstated statement. The issues (I resist to refer to them as flaws) are really minor, like a millimeter short small running seconds hand and 3 instead of 2 in the model number at the caseback.

As I mentioned in some previous post, I was not a TAG fan, but their designs started to grown on me thanks to the reviews and post on this forum. The FORMULA 1 is the perfect piece to start a long and solid relationship with TAG Heuer (at least By-Tor and b16a2 will be happy with this comment).

Finally the relative low price of the gen has been a strong argument against this rep, so I would like to throw my 2 cents on this. If you are looking for a low priced rep chrono, with nice design, for an occasional use in your collection, go for the rep, priced at US$ 118 including an genuine Swiss made ETA movt, the TAG Heuer FORMULA 1 Chrono has unbeatable value. But if in addition to the previous spec, you are looking for a daily beater (I don't now for how long the black paint will keep as new on the rep under heavy usage), go and pay US$600~800 for a new gen FORMULA 1.

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nice "Gen" comment on the car :p

Really nice review, have seen this on Andrews site and was really tempted by the price and what exactly you get for it. The review is a great breakdown and I think I am probably now going to get this as my next rep.

Good job! B)

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Thanks for your comments.

kokedose, thanks for sharing. Is that one a gen or a rep ? You know, those guys at China are able to do a replica of anythings :D

onzenuub, thanks for including it at your database. By the way, I just notice you un-blur your avatar, that's something I was waiting to see. Niceee. :thumbs:

b16a2, black is a good choice. Now that I got the TH fever, I added to my wish list the Blue Link Chrono and the Black Aquarecer Chrono on rubber.

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b16a2, black is a good choice. Now that I got the TH fever, I added to my wish list the Blue Link Chrono and the Black Aquarecer Chrono on rubber.

Me too :)

Here is a picture of a genuine F1 item I have on my shelf......

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Can you guess what it is yet ;)

A McLaren F1 front wheel (from 2007 I think)

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Excellent review of this cool watch. I actually wore it today, giving my SFSO a days rest.

You are right about the Swiss Renata battery, I missed that detail! :lol:

By the way, I brushed the clasp lock on my watch with a brushing pad. It gave it the correct brushed look, a bit closer to original.

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  • 5 weeks later...
A quick question regarding this and possibly other reps: Is it possible to tighten a bezel?? The genuine has a very tight bezel and the rep has a very loose one. Is it possible to fix this?? Thanks

cj, I guess it is a mater of luck, my bezel is very tight. Anyway, regarding your question, I found in the forum two methods to fix a loose bezel, not in this specific model but mostly of the bezel are look a like.

First method, disassembling the bezel, you could find this method used to align the bezel on an Omega SMP. You need to remove the whole bezel, using a very sharp knife and using the right amount of pressure. Internally, there is an open hexagonal spring wire, you before re assemble the bezel slight open the spring.

Second method, without dsassembling the bezel, cut a small rubber band, pull it to get it thinner and carefully insert it under the bezel, the more rubber band you could insert the tighter the bezel will fell.

Be aware that I could not warrant the results with none of the method described above. If you decide to perform any of them, do it under your own risk. The first one require more skill, it's the one I tried on my SMP, and the second is more in the MacGiver side. Also I suggest you to do a like more research in the forum, the method I just describe are not mine, I found them somewhere here in the forum.

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  • 8 months later...

Hey Morlock, how is this replica holding up? Is it still in pretty good shape? Im on the fence right now, undecided if I should buy the rep or the gen. When I feel ready to buy the gen the thought of being able to buy two really nice replicas for the same price has stopped me from making the transaction.

Edited by xeneize
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