Even for famously motorsport-centric TAG Heuer, 2025 is shaping up to be a particularly racing-heavy year. Its new title sponsorship for Formula One racing has seen the brand ratchet up its race-inspired marketing, with branding surrounding every race in the series and a heavy advertising push in both social and traditional media. Of course, the crux of this massive racing-centric effort is this – the new perfect replica TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph collection watches. Nearly 40 years on from the original Formula 1 (the watch that launched the TAG Heuer name), this new line aims to capture some of the vibrant spirit and ‘80s sporting flair of its forebears but gently evolves the base design away from cheap-and-cheerful fun towards something far more refined and serious.
Available in either matte-blasted stainless steel or the brand’s proprietary TH-Polylight polyamide plastic, the 38mm cases of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph collection pay homage to their ancestors while offering a significantly more elevated wearing experience. While it’s significantly larger than the 35mm-wide original, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The modern case still feels light and compact on the wrist, without the diminutive, almost fragile proportions of the original. To put it another way, the original Formula 1 often felt like a boys’ UK AAA fake watches in both feel and sizing – the modern Formula 1 is undoubtedly for adults. This also shines through in the case materials. While the original fiberglass cases had a tendency to feel rough and flimsy during wear, there’s a silkiness to the TH-Polylight material that gives a much more premium impression than both the originals and similar modern plastic cases (looking at you, Moonswatch). It’s also worth noting that TH-Polylight seems to react differently to pigmentation than the old fiberglass does — most of the truly vivid hues — reds, yellows, and greens, for example — are a shade or two lighter and less intense than their ‘80s counterparts. These hues are still blazingly bright, but the overall execution is a hair milder and more balanced. The classic red, black, and white “McLaren” colorway shows this the best, with a less saturated look, but a softer, finer case surface that allows for a greater range of hues in changing light. Of course, the matte stainless steel maintains a largely familiar feel, with a weightier presence that further enhances the more upmarket feel of the new design.
TAG Heuer’s changes to the Formula 1 Solargraph’s form also deserve closer investigation. While the chunky, crenellated TH-Polylight bezels closely emulate their ancestors, the main case bodies are significantly re-profiled. Think of it as a high-resolution remaster of the original shape, with sharper angles, crisper transitions between surfaces, and a newfound sense of visual depth. Nowhere is this more apparent than the reimagined lug design. On the ur-Formula 1, the hooded lugs aren’t much more than a rounded flaring of the case, with funky raised “Formula 1” text across the upper surface at 6 o’clock. For the modern version, high quality TAG Heuer replica watches employs a deceptively ornate compound curve. The upper hooded lug surface gently arcs above the main case body, creating a pronounced lip between the lugs and the case that catches the light dynamically. The outward flaring from the lugs to the case sides is also heavily reworked, with less protrusion but a sharper transitional angle for a streamlined, modernist look. Lastly, and most importantly, the raised text is gone, resulting in a cleaner, more refined presentation. Even the crown is given a premium makeover. Gone are the undersized, jutting crown guards at 3 o’clock, replaced by a flowing set of crown guards that better integrate into the case design. The crowns themselves move past the simple pillboxes of the original, with a more robust, luxurious gear-toothed design. In profile, the overall thickness of just under 10mm (9.9mm thick, to be precise) keeps the svelte, lightweight character of the original intact on the wrist as well. Both the stainless steel and TH-Polylight variants offer screw-down crowns and casebacks, allowing for a solidly sporty 100 meters of water resistance.
TAG Heuer takes much the same approach to the luxury 2025 super clone TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph watches‘ dials as it does to its cases. The bones of the classic Formula 1 are all here — the colorful minutes tracks, the Mercedes handset, and the TAG Heuer shield-shaped indices at the cardinal hours, for a start — but everything is reworked and subtly reproportioned for a more elevated look and feel. The dial hardware shows this the most clearly. Rather than the slender, almost anemic handset of the original, TAG Heuer opts for wider, more heavily lumed hands. Raised, applied indices mirror this bolder look, and sharp matte black or polished metal finishing makes these elements feel far more complex and refined than previously as well. What isn’t immediately apparent, though, is how TAG Heuer handles the dial surfaces themselves. The original Formula 1 dials were almost brutally simple, with flat matte surfaces and bright primary colors. For the Solargraph, TAG Heuer adds a wealth of visual nuance to each dial, from fine matte graining on black dials to an almost milky visual depth for white dial surfaces. Of course, the visual tweaks aren’t universally positive. The three-line dial text at 6 o’clock is somewhat unbalanced, and the blocky futuristic typeface used is a touch over-stylized.
Both literally and figuratively, the heart of the top replica TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph line watches is the TH50-00 light-powered quartz movement. Created for TAG Heuer by La Joux-Perret, this modern quartz powerplant may be a far cry from TAG’s usual mechanical focus, but claims that this is a Citizen Eco-Drive under the hood are somewhat overblown. The performance figures for the TH50-00 are in line with TAG Heuer’s more premium standing, including a full day of running with under two minutes of sunlight charging, a 15-year recommended service interval, and a power reserve of 10 months after well under two days of charging. In many ways, the Formula 1’s character depends on an attainable, rugged quartz movement, and the TH50-00 largely accomplishes this for the modern era while moving the brand as a whole upmarket.
Like the originals, much of the charm of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph’s design comes from its strap pairings. The visual shifts to the “shield strap” design are less overt than the case and dial, but the effects are no less profound on the wrist. The vibrant, cut-to-fit plastic strap design of the original Formula 1 was playful and vibrant but undeniably low-cost during wear. Often, these straps were brittle and inflexible right out of the box, with a sometimes scratchy, unpleasant texture. The swap to thicker, more flexible rubber makes an immediate, dramatic shift to the way the Formula 1 Solargraph feels on the wrist. Soft, supple, and still wildly colorful, these straps feel like the natural intention of the design from the beginning rather than a conscious shift in design philosophy. Likewise, the new brushed, faceted pin buckles give the 1:1 cheap copy watches a more secure, refined feel during wear. Other than the shift to the current-generation TAG Heuer shield emblem, though, the overall strap design is remarkably faithful, right down to the flat vents flanking the shield emblems. On the other hand, bracelet-equipped stainless steel models take a more drastic visual shift. Rather than the light, jangly jubilee-style bracelet of the first generation, the Solargraph receives a heavier, more aggressive faceted three-link bracelet. While this arguably fits the sporty character of the Formula 1 line better, it does make the Formula 1 Solargraph a significantly more aggressive watch on the wrist.
As TAG Heuer doubles down on its motorsports inspiration amid its new sponsorship deal with the Formula One World Championship, its return to the classic ‘80s Formula 1 collection is at the forefront of its campaign. The new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph collection isn’t just a faithful reinvention of the 1986 classic, though. It’s a refined, streamlined, and tangibly improved new generation that aims to move overall brand perception upmarket. Whether these models are worth the asking price (at press time) of $1,800 USD to $1,900 USD is sure to be a subject of fierce debate, but the replica watches UK online themselves are undeniably compelling. Two stainless steel variants of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph collection (white, black, and red along with the blue, white, and red version) are available now through authorized dealers, with the other seven models in the collection (all limited editions) due to be released at select rounds of the 2025 Formula One World Championship throughout the year.
