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Dear fellow RWG members, Before I start, I would like to thank all of you who participated in this thread http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/162344-sick-of-tcs-subs and pushed me into purchasing TC Sub. You did a good job I finally placed my order at the end of the august 2013. After numerous considerations about which TC Sub to choose I decided to order classic 16610. At that time Thomas started a new thread on his blog about new KH dials, so my choice was clear. I asked him if he could build for me V5 16610 with KH dial. However he had no idea about turnaround time and said that the wait will be longer compared to usual order. On the other hand the new KH dials were looking so good from the initial pics that I wanted to give it a chance. The wait was on and after nearly four months I finally received a nice small box There were many unpacking/unboxing photoshoots, but I have to honestly confirm, that this packaging is just perfect. Sorry for the pic quality, they were made by a coconut. My first thoughts after unboxing this little piece were WOW. Even if there were crappy lowlight conditions in my room, I could clearly see the stunning level of detail. Only think I could think of at the moment was that the wait was worth it. Overall build quality is just awesome. DWO is perfectly aligned with cyclops, SEL fitment is nice imho, there were no scratches on the bracelet or case, crystal was bearing protective film as well as the caseback, bracelet and clasp. I remember some threads over on RWI where some guys were complaining about some dings, scratches, dust under the crystal, dial tilting to either left or right, misaligned DWO and some other things. None of these happened with my piece and Thomas did a really good job on this one. I have nothing to complain about. My only disappointment came when I tried to install gen insert. Gen insert is a piece of craftsmanship itself if you take into consideration that you need no glue because insert is hold in the bezel thanks to its shape that provides tension that holds it in the bezel. However I could not persuade that small piece of s**t to click in even if I used the edge of the table. Bezel press was needed so I had to ask my local watchsmith to do this one for me. If you are interested how much he wanted for just pressing the insert in, he charged me 25 EUR which is about 30 USD (I hope he dies in a terrible longobongo death). Now let’s go to the details. TC Sub is not a gen, but it is very, very close to it. Dial: KH dial is awesome, but there are few differences compared to gen. Almost everyone knows, that TC Subs are based on V Series case, but with rehaut engravings sanded off the case is closer to Z or Y Series 16610. If you compare gen Z Serial dial to KH dial, you will find the first difference in “1000ft” script as number 1 is different as well as the “ft” spacing, which bring the dial closer to pre-2008 models (according to Submariner Story book). However I did a little research and found out that there are variances in Z Serial dials and most of them look exactly as KH dials. But you can make your own idea: (from top: first three are Z Serial dials, last two is my KH dial. If you wonder why the font is bolder on one pic, Nr. 4 was made with ISO 400, Nr. 5 was made with ISO 100) Swiss Made script looks good itself, but I see that it should be positioned little lower. The two on the top are Z Serial dials; the last one is my KH dial. I would like to point out also the difference in positioning Swiss Made script between the two gens – the first one has more space under the script. From this pic you can also see that Z Serials have LEC crown on 6 and no AR on cyclops. You can also see that minute markers are correct – bolder markers on the left, middle and right and thinner markers under W and A. The difference is not that noticeable, but you can see it. Also there is nothing like “slightly grayish colour” of the minute markers between 5-min markers. They are just thinner. If you have ever seen how a dial is printed, you know, that nobody would care to print it with two different colours. They are all of the same white colour all around the dial. Here is another one: Finally Rolex logo looks the same to me as well as OYSTER PERPETUAL DATE spacing. No problem here. (gen Z Serial on top, TC KH under) So in my opinion KH dial looks with no doubt very gen like and even all those indices are just perfect. Forgot to mention that lume is strong and evenly applied all over the dial, so no problem (and it looks amazing). So all in all maybe the only thing that would make it different from gen lumi dial is position of the Swiss Made script. Also I do not recommend comparing the placement of indices at 6 between LN and LV dials as LV is not only bigger but always placed significantly closer to Swiss Made script (please refer to Submariner Story book). Crown: Crown is OK. No need to write much here. I did also 0 shots of it as I could not get a single satisfactory photo of it. But there is no need to change it. Bezel: Bezel teeth need some wear to be more gen like. New TC Sub bezel is also very stiff and is not very willing to turn. You have to use significant force to make it turn. After 5-10 circles it turns like a charm. But the first turn is pain in the a**. You need also bezel press to install gen insert in it (at least I did, but many other members used just their fingers). Bracelet: Bracelet is one of the things to improve. With no doubt V4 is currently the best one available on the rep market, but … There I thing I like, and also few that need to be improved. I like V4 clasp, as the coronet is nice, nice stamping on the blades and also the diver extension looks great. The brushed finish could be slightly better imho. SEL need some work, shave it a bit. And also 93250 number on the back of it may be missing. I understand that maybe Chinese are not willing to stamp it, but it surely is one of the things that make it easy tell from the gen. Everything other is spot on. There are so many details like diver extension circle marking on the bracelet link, clasp holes on the side of it, nicely brushed caseback, clasp blades are the work of art itself, TC 2824 movement with H4 cannon pinion that makes the gap between the hands more gen like, Cyclops magnification, DWO print, dial print quality, so many details. You have to see it in person to know what I am talking about. It is few days since I have it and I am getting still blown away by these little things. I had no problem with movement as well and it is running at +1 sec per day (real average rate after 5 day testing – dancing, jumping, running, oils, sweat and watter ). Good boy. On the last word, for those, who are picky about crown guards. There are so many differences between them, that nobody can tell if it is gen or not. All of them are 16610 and there are many differences not only between M, V, Z and Y case but also between the same Serial cases. Whatever you think the look OK to me. But feel free to discuss this and maybe we will find out something new (from top: 1-3 are Z Serials, 4-5 are M Serials, 6 is Y Serial, 7 is V Serial and 8 is TC reviewed here) That is all folks. TC is king. Bracelet needs some work. And I hope you enjoyed this little review and maybe it will help somebody. And big thanks goes to TC for this wonderful piece.

Sooner or later, it's going to happen to everyone if you buy things from overseas. In the past few years, I have had a couple of boxes of Cigars shipped from Australia , get stopped by US customs. The folks I purchase from reshipped to my business address, and were received safely. Incredibly after months and months, over a few week period, the boxes arrived!! I was told that US Customs in NY was releasing a lot of stuff that they had been holding. Of course with cigars, after 6-12 months in a non temperature and humidity controlled environment, they were pretty awful!! Probably their perverse way of saying" We know these are Cuban, and we could have destroyed them, but you can have them now after 8 months in a hot dry warehouse, enjoy your smokes!! This story however is about watches, not cigars. A couple of weeks ago, I bought an AP Diver V5 from a member on RG. Shipping from Singapore. Nice smooth transaction, lots of good prompt communication, He gave me two choices for shipping, Registered mail or courier service (OCS), which I had never heard of. He assured me that they were legit, sent me a link to their website, which I visited, and they are indeed a world wide shipping company. I chose the OCS route. He shipped the watch on 1/6/2014. Shipping 3-5 business days. I tracked the package, but the main site showed "Dispatched to the USA' up until yesterday. Then it showed up as undeliverable, which was strange as there was someone at home all day Thursday when it was showing as undeliverable. I emailed the seller as well as the OCS office in Los Angeles and their tacking email. last night I got my answer. the package was held up in Customs in LA due to "watch is undervalued" Shipper sent it as "Watch for repair" value 50.00 USD. He has resubmitted the invoice to OCS with a value of 150.00 USD, which may or may not satisfy customs. Since OCS hands off to FedEx, I believe that the FedEx customs clearing is where it's residing right now. So I may or may not get my watch, we will see. This is a lengthy lead in to the main topic which is How to ship a package overseas to the USA. First off when shipping to any country where the package has to clear customs, never ever use the word WATCH on the customs form, always use something like timepiece or Horological instrument, never watch. When customs sees a package from China with the word watch, the first thought is "Counterfeit", Second, if the watch is listed as" repair watch", do not use that terminology, List it as Broken Horological instrument, or timepiece, for repair and return to sender. If you send it with that terminology, first you can declare it for more, and it won't raise any eyebrows. Lastly, don't try to sneak it in in a toy!! US Customs X-rays every package. They go through a scanner just like your carry on baggage when you fly. Believe me the X-ray can "See" through the stuffed animal, and inside resides a watch!! Ah Ha, someone sneaking a watch past customs, sure way to get it seized. if you follow the rules of common sense, it will decrease the chances of something getting stopped. I assure you what I'm saying here is not 100% foolproof, it may still get stopped and seized, but every little trick like this will increase your chances of having it get through safely. Disclaimer: I am directing this only to those packages that are shipped to the USA. I have no idea as to how stringent the Customs Services of other countries scrutinize packages. I have heard that some EU countries are particularly difficult to get rep watches in to the country, however that is only what I have read on the forums.

While importing any replica is somewhat of a crap shoot ( see my post below), the chances of seizure may very well go up with numbers. While 5 watches isn't going to make headlines, it very we'll send up more red flags than a single watch. I also believe Rolex watches are much more familiar to everyone, consequently they are more likely to be scrutinized. I doubt that most customs agents have ever heard of Patek or Hublot, much less ever seen one. Everyone knows that Rolex watches are expensive watches, so when they see a Rolex being shipped in with a value of say 50-100 USD, they know something is amiss.

Hi Paul, take a look at this review http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/166427-tc-sub-v5-kh-dial-review. It covers all aspects about TC's sub perfectly. While $560 might seem a lot to you, especially if you're just getting into watches, you will have a hard time finding high(er) quality gen watches (mechanical) at this price point. TC's subs are actually pretty good value.

Where was it shipped from?

+1. I have had packages show customs for three weeks. EMS tracking can be slow at updating.

Have your tried tracking it on the USPS website? Sometimes after it reaches the US, EMS stops showing any activity. It should be close to delivery, but with the holidays and weather a bunch of packages are slow to arrive his time of year. Check it out and let us know!

New arrival

Just purchased this original 1912 Big Pilot Omega watch. Regards AJ

Obviously if I said I posted a new thread and it's not appearing it's probably cause it's not there lol. I'll try and post again tonight. Not donerix Thx fraggle Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

I have first hand knowledge of this and i can tell you that customs has set out to seize all watches coming in no matter what you list.. listing it as a Broken Horological instrument, or timepiece, for repair and return to sender does not work as they still have my Franken AP that I'm fighting for and its been 6 months and an attorney and still nothing in hand. I dont buy anything over seas anymore becasue of this. Gents God Speed. B

Nespresso for me

Hey guys!! So I just got the email from puretime with the QC pics for my first rep!! I have been researching for the last few months learning as much as I can, but I know there are members here that have forgotten more than I know lol. What do you guys think of this V6 Big Bang?? Any help is greatly appreciated!