Although it’s become an increasingly prominent portion of the collection in recent years, the non-chronograph side of the best replica TAG Heuer watches family still struggles to build a distinctive identity at times. As TAG Heuer intends to position the Carrera as its elegant, versatile daily-wear collection, then, the three-hand Carrera needs its own signature complication to stand out from its rivals.
Paradoxically, the solution to freshening up the Carrera might lie in the brand’s pre-Carrera lineup. In 1962, U.S. astronaut John Glenn brought the first Swiss timepiece into orbit, with a specialized Heuer 2915A carried aboard his Friendship 7 spacecraft. As part of perfect fake TAG Heuer Carrera watches, TAG Heuer aims to celebrate that milestone in a less literal way — by bringing a unique, precision-driven take on the moonphase to the Carrera complication. The new TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer family does away with the dreamy romanticism of the traditional moonphase, replacing it with a crisp, graphical approach that finally gives the non-chronograph Carrera its own visual calling card.
Like its three-hand stablemates, the replica TAG Heuer watches for sale begin with a 39mm wide stainless steel case. The overall design here should feel familiar to fans of the brand, avoiding the Jetsons-esque spectacle of the “Glassbox” chronograph case in favor of a sharp, minimalist presentation in line with the first-gen Carreras of the ‘60s. The classic angular, inwardly faceted lugs are present and accounted for here, as is the old-style narrow, sloping polished bezel.
While it may lack some of the show-stopping quality of the current Carrera chronograph, it’s still a bright, classically handsome design that wears a touch smaller than its diameter might suggest. Predominantly polished, the only contrasting finish on the Carrera Astronomer’s case is tight, well-defined linear brushing along the case sides, but the relatively straightforward finishing is far from unattractive. Instead, the real showpiece of this case is its caseback. In a break with TAG Heuer’s usual design philosophy, the caseback is given over to a hyper-detailed, black-filled engraving of an observatory telescope. It’s a handsomely balanced, almost comic book-esque depiction that works well with the celestial themes here, and it lends this otherwise standard case a welcome visual flourish. Like its three-hand stablemates, the cheap copy TAG Heuer watches are rated for a respectable 100 meters of water resistance.
At a glance, it’s immediately obvious that the top clone TAG Heuer watches’ dial are the far cry from both a traditional moonphase and the standard Carrera. Available in sunburst silver and gold, silver and black, and silver and medium gray dial variants (our review sample arrived with the limited-edition gray option), for all three wayches, the immediate focal point is the massive, layered, and intricately graphic moonphase display at 6 o’clock. Rather than the usual midnight blue disc, arcing window, and polished, stylized moon, TAG Heuer presents this familiar complication in a truly novel direction. Arcing above the center line of the dial and coming in at roughly half the size of the main dial surface, this matte battlesahip gray disk is dominated by a series of clean, technical scales and topped with a series of simple, graphic illustrations of the phases of the moon.
The actual moonphase indicator itself is a small, double-ended pointer on a disk near 6 o’clock, but this diminutive element tracks the phases of the moon in three separate ways. Along the bottom edge, perfect fake TAG Heuer watches add a simple, minimal scale, with segments marked between full and new moons. This corresponds with the upper 29.5-day scale, which allows far more precise tracking of the exact phase of the moon than the traditional, more stylized display. Lastly, the graphic depictions of the moonphase up top interact with the indicator to make a quick moonphase assessment easy at a glance.
On the wrist, it’s a technical, pleasingly busy series of scales, and one that gives the Carrera Astronomer a much-needed depth of character. Of course, outside of fishermen and werewolves, few people would need such detailed, precise information on the current phase of the moon, but this focus on technicality brings a sporty edge to a usually dressy complication.
Looking beyond the moonphase, the TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer’s dial still provides a wealth of nuance. The most striking element is the silver sunburst dial surface itself. Rather than radiating out from the dial center as per usual, its center point extends from the moonphase display, further framing this complication as the Astronomer’s centerpiece. It’s also a remarkably bright and dynamic sunburst effect on the wrist, giving this dial yet another layer of visual impact in changing light.
The bold, squared-off Arabic hours numerals are likely to be a divisive visual choice, however. While it definitely sets the Astronomer apart from the run-of-the-mill Carrera, the somewhat military undertones of the font and the missing numerals from 5 o’clock to 7 o’clock are sure to raise some enthusiast eyebrows.
This is also the case for the mint green Super-LumiNova used throughout the dial. It’s a unique, eye-catching accent color that definitely aids legibility against the silver background, but it’s easy to imagine some buyers preferring a simple white here. Lastly, small touches like the needle-style seconds hand and the recessed gray minutes track re-inject some of the Swiss fake TAG Heuer watches’ traditional racing character to the design.