Month: June 2019

Swiss watchmaker, TAG Heuer has a long tradition of collaborating with influential groups, and they recently partnered up with the avant-garde Japanese streetwear guru, Hiroshi Fujiwara, founder of fashion label Fragment. The 54-year old, former DJ and now musician, producer, and designer is a big vintage watch fan, a passion he’s indulged in for more than three decades.
Together, they have created the Carrera Fragment, officially called the TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 Fragment Limited Edition by Hiroshi Fujiwara. Even though the ‘Godfather of Harajuku’ may be best known for his experimental spirit, the replica watch that has created is a slightly modified redesign of the original ref. 2447NT from 1963 – a fitting celebration for Carrera’s 55th birthday.  
The 2447NT is one of the most iconic vintage watches. Released the same year as a certain Daytona, the two fake watches actually have some similar elements, such as their Singer-made dials and Valjoux-based movements. They both have the exact same baton-style hour markers and tri-complex layout for the sub-dials. The main difference lies in the bezels, the Rolex model famously engraved its bezel with a tachymeter scale, the Heuer omitted the surround altogether to make a cleaner, dressier look.
It may not be as commonly recognized, but the Carrera 2447NT carries great significance in the history of both fake TAG Heuer and sports watches in general. Wisely, with all that legacy to work with, Fujiwara has only altered a few elements, in a way to enhance the retro appeal of his subject, rather than overpower it totally.
Put the two replica watches side by side, perhaps the most notable difference is the size. The first one is 36mm in diameter, the new one has a more 21st century friendly, 39mm case diameter. Except this, everything is pleasantly similar, from the beautifully sculpted and faceted lugs to the large unguarded crown flanked by two simple pushers, all put into an elegantly-curved stainless steel case.
What protects the black opaline dial is a vintage domed sapphire crystal, with an anti-reflective finish on both sides. The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands are filled with faux-aged, beige Super LumiNova, as are the tiny square hour markers. In fact, the only thing that differentiates it from the original is a pair of very unobtrusive insignia – the ‘Fragment’ name printed in small letters between the 4 and 5 o’clock markers, and the brand’s logo (which some likened it to two lightning bolts humping), placed right below the 12 o’clock.
The minimalist decor is a clear sign of Fujiwara’s devotion to the Carrera, and earlier this year, Fujiwara teamed up with Bamford to launch a limited edition Zenith El Primero watch.

The popular replica Patek Philippe is doubling down on its aviation-inspired collection when the debut of the first Pilot Travel Time was still a controversial one. In 2019, the new Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time 5520P pairs the proprietary dual time zone “Travel Time” function with a 24-hour alarm mechanism, complete with a striking hammer and classic gong. Now let’s take a closer look at this new fake Patek Philippe.
The Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time 5520P sports a 42.2mm case in platinum by taking its design cues from the Pilot line. Surely, you will notice the quartet of crowns protruding from the case – which is one more than the maiden Pilot model to get used to the new alarm mechanism.
The ebony sunburst dial remains the familiar applied gold Arabic numerals filled with lime, the second time zone displayed via a second skeletonized hour hand, a duo of round indicators for local and home times, and a date sub-dial of the previous Patek Pilot watches. 
However, new to the Alarm Travel Time 5520P dial is, of course, the alarm. Patek Philippe chose a digital display for the alarm time placed on the upper portion of the dial, adjustable in 15-minute increments using the crown at 4 o’clock. There is a bell-shaped aperture to indicate on the top of the duo of windows if the alarm is on or off, which is controlled via the pusher at 2 o’clock.
Below the alarm windows is a colorful and round aperture where white shows a daytime alarm and blue indicates a nighttime alarm. The hammer strikes a gong for up to 40 seconds at 2.5 strikes per second for a total of 90 strikes when the alarm is activated.
Patek Philippe replica had to develop the brand new Caliber AL 30-660 S C FUS self-winding movement to power it in order to make this Grand Complication a reality. Comprised of 574 parts, Patek Philippe opted to make an integrated movement to maintain a slim profile, because adding a module to an existing caliber would have made it too bulky.
The Caliber AL 30-660 S C FUS has a 52-hour power reserve and beats at 28,800bph. Clearly visible from the sapphire case back is the 21k gold central rotor, which is marked with the company’s famous Calatrava cross and decorated with a circular Côtes de Genève pattern. You’ll find the fake Rolex to ensure a big tolerance of -3/+2 seconds per day if you took a little closer look. The movement is perfectly manufactured and finished in true Patek form.