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[MINI REVIEW] Tag Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 36 [PIC HEAVY]

machiavegli

Active Member
7/11/11
496
17
18
I just got my hands on the really slick Tag Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 36 Caliper Automatic (GC36) rep thanks to Rochest and Mary at watch-international.com. There have been several previous threads:
http://www.rwgboard.com/board/index.php?showtopic=24127
http://www.rwgboard.com/board/index.php?showtopic=14284
http://www.rwgboard.com/board/index.php?showtopic=3140
...and I wanted to add some more pics and thoughts in case you're considering one of these.

THE GOOD:

The GC36 rep looks fast! It's the quintessential luxury sports watch. The cotes de geneve on the calipers catches the light nicely, and the black-silver-red color scheme makes it look right at home with a Lamborghini or Ferrari (see pic below).

Everything on the rep is functional although I wouldn't necessarily send it to Geneva to get certified for accuracy :) The crown is screw-in and snaps easily between wind-date-hour.
AR is good. It wears bigger than you think on the wrist because it's pretty thick (see pic).
Anatomy of the dial:
The linear seconds (really 1/10 fraction of seconds) at 9 o'clock works and runs continuously as per gen.
Chronograph seconds are measured by the central second hand and start and stop with the standard chronograph pushers
Chronograph minutes are at 3 o'clock, and chronograph hours at 6 o'clock.
The other crown at 10 o'clock rotates the internal 1/10 second dial as per gen.

The back of the GC36 is a treat: the crystal has a slightly smoked color like a tinted window and the rotor shape and engraving are great, the 7750 is of course not as cool as the gen but they did a good job Tag-ing it up. In fact, the back of this watch looks so good I would definitely NOT recommend the cheaper quartz closed-back version of the watch.

THE BAD:

The deployment clasp on the strap is easy to open by accident, and is a virtual IQ test to put together the first time you do it.
The faux alligator strap looks, well, a bit faux.
Worst for me is the fact that the Cotes-de-Geneve demaskeening on the central calipers and the chronograph minutes window at 3 o'clock don't line up with each other. It's not obvious at 3 or 5 feet but once you've noticed, it does bug you a bit, and would've been easy to fix.



SOOOOOO............. on with the GC36 pics:
Right at home with gen red Lambo:
Tag.jpg


And outside in San Diego:
TAG2.jpg

TAG1.jpg

TAG3.jpg

TAG4.jpg

TAG5.jpg


Hope you enjoyed it.
-Mach
 

Scorpio

Do not accept unsolicited offers
25/3/13
13
0
0
Well it's a great watch! The back of the watch looks also very nice.
 

Dastardley

Do not accept unsolicited offers
12/2/12
11
0
0
The white writing on the caseback is this correct? I had thought the gen had the lettering engraved into the caseback and black the same as the watch?......Anyone?

My son was thinking of getting this watch but the white lettering is kinda putting him off if it's not as the gen.

-Das
 

machiavegli

Active Member
7/11/11
496
17
18
Das,

I found a bunch of great caseback pics on Chrono 24. I believe that only the serial number is filled in white and the rest is just engraved. I would definitely NOT consider this a tell as this is the sort of minor evolutions that models have nearly every year, no one would have the balls to call your son out.

On the plus side, the rotor is more like gen than I realized, check the pics!



-Mach
 

JackP

Renowned Member
21/3/13
559
4
18
I do like the look of the black gator with red stitching but is seems like they are only available on the cheaper quartz versions. I am on the hunt for the 7750 Grand Carrera RS36 PVD but they all come on rubber, or at least with the TD's I have used. machiavegli thanks for review as it has led to my next purchase when I can find it. Did you add a rep strap yourself?
 

machiavegli

Active Member
7/11/11
496
17
18
Hi Das,

No mods, got it as pictured from Mary at watch-international.com

Just send one of the pics above!

-Mach
 

staff

Do not accept unsolicited offers
12/5/13
1
0
0
The giveaway is it says "Limited Edition" and not "Swiss Made" ... Hope they get this fixed.
 

peterloveslubey

Getting To Know The Place
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
18/1/13
15
0
0
Any chance you'd be willing to take a wrist shot? I've been eyeing this watch for a while, but the listed 18mm thickness is really throwing me off, considering my pam111 is only 15mm thick and its quite large IMO.
 

Bart Bever

Active Member
8/2/13
394
52
28
Belgium
I have 2 of these, and also a Pam.
They wear comfortable, and especially when you take the leather or rubber strap.
Don't let the thickness hold you back...

I have a gen black/red croc strap and titan buckle on mine. Thats an upgrade for this beauty!

Greetz!
 

PecMan

Respected Member
4/5/09
4,864
237
63
i had the calibre 17 , which is very similar , at least in the construction of the watch.

i had to sell the watch cause i was not happy with the quality of the watch , beginning with the strap ......... it can not be worst !
. the black color on the case is totally different on the gen , the replica is shiny !
. the ar is very blue , lots of tint
i love the gen , i can not say the same about the replica
imo is a very bad replica IF! u meet the gen ;)
 

Bart Bever

Active Member
8/2/13
394
52
28
Belgium
I agree with the leather rep strap that sucks big time. (both 17rs and 36rs

I also had the 17RS2 long time ago and agree that doesn't even look the same as the gen and it is way overweighted and wears like a brick on your wrist.
The 36RS on the other hand is much better and closer to gen. The gen also has a shiny bezel. The 36RS PVD faults are the worthless leather strap, the SS buckle that should be titan (no matter if you chose rubber or leather), the caseback, the shiny crown (and shape) and in the older versions the '200' that was missing on the bezel.

Leave the 17rs and go for the 36rs.

Greetz!
 

shandroid

Respected Member
13/9/10
3,555
34
0
I've had a few of these over the years.... Great reps, and I'm also a fan of the 17's, although non PVD models are the pic.

Both are thicker than gen, obviously, but I don't consider this a huge tell. Both have 'gen feel' IMO, with great build quality, aside from the strap as has been mentioned. However, Dial construction is off from gen. Red details are weak and 'flat' whereas gen are brighter and slightly raised. Caliper on 2 of my reps came loose (easy fix, but still...) Also, worth checking 10 o'clock crown properly in QC pics, as common to have red paint run...

Nice watch. Nice car! :)

Enjoy
 

Commoner

Do not accept unsolicited offers
15/1/13
1
0
0
Hello,

I am visiting and reading RWI forums for a while and must say it is an awesome place to gather useful info and knowledge about replicas. machiavegli your review is also very good.

I have a question though that i could not find the answer to using the search and browsing topics: Is Mary at watch-international.com a TD and by what name should i look it up? Their prices and the quality of the last Grand Carrera 36 rep is superb and am probably going to order it. Just wanted to make sure is a TD.

Thanks in advance.
 

Bigj86

Getting To Know The Place
Patron
16/1/13
25
1
3
I just received one of these bad boys in the mail today , from Angus ... I feel like the strap is a little thin for the size of the watch, but overall its a great looking watch ... And the whole process took 8 days from order to delivery in Conus

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 

Bigj86

Getting To Know The Place
Patron
16/1/13
25
1
3
I will add this .. the clasp feels flimsy ... Almost like really cheap plastic ... I know, I know its a rep ... I'm just saying . I really like this watch but that is my only gripe

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 

machiavegli

Active Member
7/11/11
496
17
18
Hi Commoner,

Any of the TDs here can get you this.

Hi Bigi86:

Agreed.

-Mach

Hello,

I am visiting and reading RWI forums for a while and must say it is an awesome place to gather useful info and knowledge about replicas. machiavegli your review is also very good.

I have a question though that i could not find the answer to using the search and browsing topics: Is Mary at watch-international.com a TD and by what name should i look it up? Their prices and the quality of the last Grand Carrera 36 rep is superb and am probably going to order it. Just wanted to make sure is a TD.

Thanks in advance.