For a long time, it felt strange for a brand like TAG Heuer not to produce its own movements. That all changed when the TAG Heuer Calibre Heuer 02 was released in 2020, and for the first time, TAG Heuer had an in-house movement that could be shown to the world, and for its most iconic Carrera and Monaco collections.

The TAG Heuer 02 movement features a 12-hour chronograph and date complication. It was a very smart decision for TAG Heuer to make the TAG Heuer 02 calibre for its most iconic buy replica watches. This innovation has allowed TAG Heuer to make great strides in its watchmaking capabilities and to compete with other established brands.

In preparation for our review, we were lucky enough to get our hands on a Carrera, model CBN2A10.BA0643. CBN2A10.BA0643, powered by TAG Heuer calibre 02. If you are interested in this model, please check out our video review.

My first impression of the movement is very impressive. Obviously, at this point, we cannot yet judge its accuracy, but we can assess its beauty and design. What initially stands out from the design is the black rotor and the Côtes de Genève surface of the machine. At first glance, the Calibre Heuer 02 movement is an absolute delight.

Over the next few days, we got to experience first-hand the precision of the Heuer 02 movement and the performance of the chronograph function. The precision of the TAG Heuer 02 movement is excellent. I didn’t notice any signs of poor timekeeping while I was experiencing this watch in person. Its accuracy seems similar to other famous brands that cost twice as much. All TAG Heuer fake 02 movements are checked for compliance with the COSC certification standard, a measure of chronograph accuracy.

I’m no different from anyone else exposed to the new chronographs, and this feature will definitely get some use. The pushers make for a cleaner user experience, but I don’t see any noticeable difference in the accuracy of the chronograph compared to other similar models. Maybe that’s a good thing, since I’m usually only exposed to well-made Swiss chronographs.

One aspect we don’t get to experience that the TAG Heuer 02 movement excels at is how handy its power reserve is. In recent years, watchmaking technology has innovated in terms of power reserves. The old standard of a 40-hour power reserve is no longer acceptable. Brands such as Rolex and Omega have improved from 55 hours to 70 hours. TAG Heuer has gone a step further and designed the TAG Heuer 02 calibre with an impressive 80-hour power reserve.

TAG Heuer lags behind other manufacturers in terms of innovation. Over the years, other smaller brands have been developing in-house movements that go beyond ETA movements, while TAG Heuer still relies on ETA movements for its flagship watches. There was a time when buyers, myself included, wondered why we were paying TAG Heuer prices when other watch brands offered more value.

Refreshingly, with the release of the TAG Heuer 01 and eventually the TAG Heuer 02 movements, TAG Heuer has innovated itself. This shows that TAG Heuer is taking R&D seriously and making progress in delivering high-quality, high-value timepieces.