Isn’t it fascinating when a modern-looking watch, upon closer inspection, takes on a cool 90s vibe? For some reason, maybe there’s also a touch of Porsche Design, which is what I sense from the integrated lug construction and the wonderful overuse of grooves, numerals, and indices on this new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 high-quality watch without the high price.
One small caveat is that there’s usually not much to really see, aside from some plates and a skeletonized date disc. One would have to buy something like the Opus Chronograph while spending about 50% more to see the chronograph movement components displayed through the watch face.
TAG Heuer best cheap watches for men defines them as “glittering” (to our eyes, it looks like aventurine, but it’s not officially defined as anything other than “glittering”) and uses four pieces of Super-LumiNova on the chronograph hour and minute counters at 9 and 3 o’clock, respectively.
These details are more about show than maximizing functionality and performance: The individual hour and minute markers in the subdials are not luminous, so a full set of luminous elements can’t help real-world low-light readability. The Cheap Tag Heuer Replica luminous background of the date disc complements the blocky Super-LumiNova hour markers, which is a very nice touch, as are the huge, well-sized hands – all of which are well done.
The 44mm-wide case is made of stainless steel. Its lugs are “finely brushed”, while the black PVD-coated and “fine-grained” case outline is hollowed out – this is what automotive designers call “negative space”, which, while rarely encountered, works quite well with the watch. The outline is printed with a huge “PORSCHE” lettering, as is the bezel.
Speaking of which, the bezel of the TAG Heuer Carrera Replica Watches is made of black forged carbon, decorated with a tachymeter scale and a white Super-LumiNova “PORSCHE” logo, adding luminous effects to this TAG Heuer and Porsche joint work. The pushers and crown are made of black DLC-coated steel.
Another interesting feature is the lug construction: the well-known extra-long faceted Carrera-style lugs are complemented by a third lug construction in the middle, which reads “963” in the font recently used on the rear of the current 911. This lug construction and the sturdy and long bracelet integration that they also require by design increase the lug-to-lug dimensions of the watch, so it is quite “long” to wear.
We look forward to seeing this watch in person, until then, we will share that the lug-to-lug distance is 49.7mm, while the Fake Tag Heuer Watches case thickness is 15.1mm for the 100m water resistance (a plus). As a car and racing enthusiast, a cool detail (for us) is that the concave shape of the strap is inspired by the NACA-style low-drag air intakes used on special road and racing cars.
The sapphire crystal caseback reveals the TAG Heuer TH20-00 movement. It was launched in 2023 and is an updated version of the Heuer-02. Still column-wheel operated and equipped with a vertical clutch, it now features bidirectional automatic winding, replacing the unidirectional solution of its predecessor. For this 963 edition, produced in commemoration of the Porsche 963 LMDh endurance racer, the column wheel has been “personalized” in red. It, along with the large black ball-bearing rotor with red text, looks fantastic.
All in all, the Luxury Tag Heuer Replica is a fascinating combination of highly engineered specifications and design – including modern and versatile materials, a technical look, a proper in-house movement and a luminous show – as well as the whimsical – such as the “glittering” subdials and arbitrary red markings.
