The last time I went Street Fighter II on Daan was when the Chopard Mille Miglia took on the Zenith Pilot. In that showdown, I had no issues being harsh on Chopard for the Mille Miglia. This time, however, it’s different. The cheap fake TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox, especially the black-dial version, was one of my favorites of the Watches and Wonders 2023 show in Geneva. The most common complaint was the date at 12 o’clock and that the chronograph seconds hand obscures it. But when wearing that Swiss made copy watch, I didn’t experience that, to be honest. It’s perhaps a bit like the halos in F1; you just look past it. The seconds hand is so thin that there was absolutely no problem when reading the date.
How will it age?
No, my criticism of the new Carrera Glassbox stems from a few different things. The retail price of €6,500 sounds nicer than the €7,500 for the cheap fake Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, especially considering the fact you will get a column-wheel chronograph for that amount. And it’s definitely an interesting price, but I have to say that the finishing of the TAG Heuer TH020-00 movement didn’t really put a smile on my face. Another more critical point is that while the design of the top copy TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox dial with the curved flange is definitely interesting today, it also comes across as very “now”. I am not sure how this will look in five or ten years.
It’s not something I often mention, but when I am on the lookout for a new super clone watch, this is something that I wonder about. Will this still be a nice-looking watch in x years from now, or is it too era-specific? Granted, sometimes I am also dead wrong. I thought that the blue of the high end copy Omega Seamaster 2531.80 might be a temporary thing, for instance. But that watch is also a good example because while it looked very modern with the nine-link bracelet in 1993, it looks quite “1990s” today. A few TAG Heuer examples of this are SEL models from the 1990s and the Kirium models from, well, also the 1990s. These high quality replica watches looked “baller” back then, but look at them now…
Anyway, I am not certain this will happen to the Carrera Glassbox since it does have a lot of vintage inspiration going on. Still, the curved flange does worry me a little bit, even though it does look cool today.
The current Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch is the best
Although I like vintage Speedmasters, I do have to admit that the current Moonwatch model with a Hesalite or sapphire crystal is the best version that best 1:1 replica Omega has ever made. It’s a combination of the 105.012 CB case (the fourth Speedmaster generation) with a step dial, teardrop chronograph seconds hand, and a new Master Chronometer-certified movement. Whereas the caliber 1861 Speedmasters had an accuracy of -1/+10 seconds per day on average, it’s now 0/+5 seconds per day on average.
The movement is now also antimagnetic to 15,000 gauss and equipped with AAA quality fake Omega’s Co-Axial escapement. Last but not least, the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch comes with a beautiful bracelet that tapers from 20mm to 15mm. This “Nixon” bracelet looks similar to the ones that Swiss movement replica Omega used in the past and fits much better than the one on the previous Moonwatch reference. The Moonwatch saw some steep price increases in the past few years, but compared to the previous reference (that retailed just below €5,000), you do get quite a bit of added value as well.