panerai153 Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Well, I did a side by side comparison of the LW Spidolite and my AP FC V3. When I did the comparison, the LW was only a couple of days old, and I had only worn it once. I've had it for going on two months now, and I have worn it quite a lot. There is a lot to like about the LW, and there are some definite minuses. I'll try to go through every part of the watch and give you my thoughts. First let's look at the overall watch. At first glance, you are struck by the really odd case, which is essentially a lightweight metal inner case surrounded by a Forged carbon outer case. the case has four cutouts on each side inside the cutouts are the watch number(mine is 40/75) and on the crown side are SL (For Spidolite) and ALW which are the initials for the super light allow that makes up the inner case. the other two on each side are the mounting holes for the add on electronic modules that LW makes and sells, one is for mountaineering the other for scuba. Strange idea, as I would bet that very few folks are going to take a 15K watch underwater or up a mountain. But to each his own. What I find is these "cracks and crevices are great dust and dirt catchers, and they are hard to clean. If I were sure the watch were completely water resistant, just rinsing it under running water should do the trick for keeping it clean. One problem that has come up with some of the watches delivered, is very small cracks or what appears to be cracks at the corner of one of the cutouts. Whether this will affect the structural integrity of the case, only time will tell. They seem to be very small and are hard to detect on QC photos. The small white oblong thing on mine next to the right strap on the crown side isn't anything, it wiped off after I noticed it in the photo. I looked over mine with a 4x loupe, and I couldn't find any cracks. Getting away from the sides and over to the face, it's pretty different, as it has a lot of green and gold on the watch face. the seconds @9 numbers are green as is the LW and Linde Werdelin. Also the numbers on the DW are green. the DW is gold and can be seen all the way around the dial through cutouts in the dial. Very different and striking, however I take points off for legibility as the green on gold is not nearly as easy to see as black on white or white on black. in keeping with the gold theme, the crown is gold, matches the DW color. The crown is tucked up between the FC crown guard/module attachment points. It is a bit hard to turn as the space is limited. The good thing is the crown is really well protected. Fit and finish are very nice and the FC has good color and "marbling" The lume is OK, as you can see there isn't a whole lot of lumed areas, the thin hour indices, and the hands. compared to a lot of dive watches that have lots of lume, this one doesn't. I suppose if you were going to use it for scuba, you would spring for one of the electronic modules which completely cover the watch face when attached. You will notice that the LW uses a unique attachment method to attach the straps. the Hex head screws on each side of the case screw into threaded metal bars that attach to the strap and to the watch. Novel method, and if you have several LW straps, it seems like a pretty easy way of changing straps. Some folks have reported that the screws are very soft and strip easily, so one has to be careful when changing straps. AFA the strap, it's pretty comfortable, although it really doesn't seem to be "breaking in" like I was expecting. It sort of reminds me of AP straps which are very stiff for about half their length. I think that at some point, I will try to find a better leather strap, or something softer. It's not uncomfortable, and of course the light weight of the watch makes it wear more comfortably. It sits good on my wrist and even when worn a little loosely, it doesn't constantly try to "turn turtle". The buckle is light weight and is well made and from what I can gather, it is pretty close to the genuine. If It were my design, I would make the buckle a little more substantial, and the tang a little wider, but this one works and fits fine. Now let's go around to the back of the watch. As you can see it's got and exhibition back A black rotor with Green lettering One thing for sure, one look at the back and anyone who is familiar with LW watches will know this one is a rep. The plain jane A7750 movement is superficially similar, but it doesn't have any of the "Cote De Geneve" machining or the model markings like the genuine. But, hey, keep your watch on your wrist and no one will ever know. Realistically, with a production run of 75 watches and a selling price north of 15K, chances are pretty slim that you are going to run into one of these in the wild. So, there you are, my take on the LW Spidolite II Green. I don't think it's a watch for everyone, but if you like the way it looks it will be a hit. As I tried to convey, it's not perfect, but then no watch is. no matter which watch you put before folks, reviewers will always find things that they didn't particularly like. What you have to decide is, do you like a particular watch enough to overlook the "Warts". And truthfully, this one doesn't have anything outstanding that would make me say, stay away from this one. It's got and a7750 movement, but the seconds are @9 which is the standard position for 7750's. no extra gear train to move the seconds to 3,6 or 12. Mine is keeping pretty good time, about -5-7 seconds per day. The a7750 movements in their unaltered form are pretty reliable movements and should be relatively trouble free. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike on a bike Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Well very good right up my friend. Yes this watch is not for everyone me being one of those "not" group I'm afraid that being said still a great right up of a let us say a unique piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTooper4 Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Nice work. Thanks for putting this up. If didn't have an APFC diver I'd be tempted for one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heman16 Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Thanks for the Write up. Mine will be arrived tomorrow, so we will see it in natural! Gesendet von meinem iPhone mit Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Wonderfully detailed write up thanks brother! Message crafted while riding a leathery juvenile T-Rex and charging toward the horizon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prdk Posted November 9, 2016 Report Share Posted November 9, 2016 I read your info on this particular watch. Thanks for that. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFors Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Thanks for the review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cissiboy Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 great review, thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 On 1/17/2017 at 5:24 PM, cissiboy said: great review, thank you don't bluff. You won't buy it bro. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cissiboy Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 the dust catching holes make me hesitate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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