Jump to content
When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/28/2014 in all areas

  1. So I'll preface THIS review with a "Feel free to freak out because... it's not a real fake". I felt like doing a review of this watch, and I felt like this is the audience to share it with. Please enjoy my review of the "ultimate" Invicta Pro Diver. While getting impatient for my first fake Rolex to arrive (a DSSD), I researched and ordered yet another fake Rolex. I'm sure this watch is not new to anyone here; the Invicta Pro Diver. I'm also pretty sure there are literally over 500 variants of the Pro Diver series, ranging from under $80 to over $1000. I took some time and sorted out the "what", "why", and "how much" for the watches which most closely approximate an actual Rolex Submariner. If you're considering getting one, this should be helpful. These are the key differences I found between the watches in the Pro Diver subset... (feel free to correct any errors I've made in my research) keep in mind there are MANY models I'm not including because I only focused my research on about 5 sub-models. Major differences: -Crystal: Mineral [All Models] or Sapphire [Mod 9937, 9938] -Crown: Screw down [Mod 9937, 8926] or button [Mod 8932] -Movements (most common): Quartz [Mod 8932], Japanese Citizen Miyota 8215 21J [Mod 8926], Seiko Automatic NH25A 21J & NH35A 24J [Mod 8926], Swiss Movement: Swiss ETA 2824-2 25J [Mod 9938] & SWISS ETA 2824-2 26J [Mod 9937] -Bracelet: Hollow link [All Models] or Solid link [Mod 9937] -Clasp: fold-over [All Models] or deployant [Mod 9937] Foldover Deployant -Bezel: Scalloped & Coin Edge (most models) Scalloped (Omega style) Coin Edge (Rolex Style) The top-selling and best-reviewed watches are the 8932, the 8926, and 9937, in order of cost. All are water resistant to 200M, and all look nearly identical. I was between purchasing the 8926 & 9937 initially, because they both have automatic movements and both have screw-down crowns. For snobbish reasons, the Quartz movement had been immediately ruled out. Older models of the 8926 have the Miyota movement, while newer versions were upgraded to the Seiko. If you don't know, the difference between the NH25A & NH35A (besides the number of jewels) is that the NH35A has a hacking feature as well as a winding crown, whereas the NH25A movement has neither of those features. So did I want my watch to say "JAPAN MOVT" or "SWISS MOVT"... I wasn't sure the cost was worth the difference, so I kept researching. The next thing I found was that there are TWO bracelets available; hollow links or solid links, and out of all the Pro Divers out there only the 9937 got the solid links. As I looked closer, the 9937 also has a nicer looking deployant type clasp. I was pretty much sold. The bracelet is a pretty major part of my decision when buying any watch, and I knew I'd like the heft of this one better. Everything I read seemed to reinforce that the 9937 was the best choice; the 26 Jewel Swiss Movt was arguably the best movement available, and a sapphire crystal was only available for the 9937 alone. Okay, so back to price. You can find Invicta watches at Zales, Sears, JCPenney, Kohls, & Macys.... and of course eBay and Amazon. Stay away from Blue Fly... I've never read more bad reviews of a website in my entire life. I don't know how that website is still up. 8932 Quartz: MSRP $195.00 - Can be found for under $80 online, expect to pay over $100 at a store. I found 2 "new in box" listings on eBay for under $40. 8926 Japanese Auto: MSRP $315.00 - Typical seems to be about $80 - $150. Most sellers don't have info on which movement is inside, and some show the "8926" model # yet describe it as a Quartz watch. From the better sellers I've noticed the cheaper ones tend to have the older Miyota movement. 9937 Swiss Auto: MSRP $1295.00 - Typical seems to be about half. I started my search because I saw this watch in person at Zales, on sale for $849. Most reputable online stores will sell for as little at $600-625 w/ free shipping. I snagged mine for $325 on eBay, new in box (with fingers crossed it would actually show up). It was likely old stock purchased in bulk (watch stamped from 2010), and yes, my watch needed a good wind when I took it out of the box. So, it arrived... out of the box my first impression was "Wow, this is a gorgeous watch!" Really. The bracelet is beautiful, the case is very highly polished, and the heft of the watch feels excellent in the hand. I actually like this bracelet better than the genuine Submariner. Setting the time and date, the movement feels good and the date rolled over smoothly. Crown screwed back in nicely as well. Wore it around all day and I love looking at it. About 12 hours since setting it, I think it's running +2 seconds. Atomic clock confirms, we'll see where it's at after 8 hours of rest. The only thing I find to be poor on this watch is the lume. The lume on the markers and hands are slightly off-white with a slightly yellow hue instead of pure white during the daytime, and the light is dim when illuminating. It is definitely bright enough to read the time in the dark even hours after lights out, but I expected a brighter lume. Also the markers are not as bright as the hands. Overall, I'm very happy with the watch and will wear it for a long time. If you're going to get one, I advise you do not spend your money on the Quartz, and make sure you get either the 8215 Miyota movement, the NH35A Seiko movement, or the 9937. If the Rolex look is important in your decision, make sure you get one with a Coin Edge bezel as I've found nearly all models are available with both types of bezels, including the 9937. Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts, please share yours!
    2 points
  2. Not a lot of GEN watches come in from China. Especially marked as "toys" or some other innocuous item description.
    2 points
  3. I mentioned I paid a visit to a fellow apprentice of my seller in "Dial Maker and Pam Maker - TC's Progress Update Part II". Well, Sifu L is a walking plugged Wikipedia of both gen and rep watches. I wore a TC 16610 Sub v4 with gen insert when I met him. I handed over what I have achieved to the master when he asked about the watch. He looked at it for a few seconds then he pointed out a few places I overlooked the details. The "Date Wheel Overlay" being one. Rolex has slightly modified the date font into a more elegant, eye appealing font in 2009 or 2010. The mod was subtle but important. See, human eyes can accept more information than our brains could interpret to words. We sense the work of art and feel joy about it but few among us would be able to articulate the subtle differences. Sifu L is convinced that I am determined to get the classic Submariner 16610 perfectly repped. So he made a list of contacts I should pay visit to. My first stop is a printing company hidden in the overly crowded modern Asian city streets. The hostess first placed my gen 2010 16610 date wheel on a gigantic glass drum. Then she carefully placed the glass drum into this machine. It is a Crosfield 6250. What does it do? It scans the hell out of the DWO with high DPI out of the original script. Our usual home/office scanners output at 300 DPI, 600 DPI the most. This running antique output a scary 12,000 DPI. Here's a video I found on youtube of actual footage the machine scanning something. After the scanning is done, the Japanese contessa is doing her magic tricks on the scan. She pulled TC V2 DWO draft in red and layered it against the gen 2010 V Sub DWO scan in black. Now I want to make a note here, difference this subtle is very very hard to notice. Your eyes may see it, your brain will comprehend and enjoy the more elegant curve, font I mean, but you will not notice it in just 2.5 x magnitude. On the screen, it is 400 times of actual size of the DWO. Then she individually turn the numbers into semi transparent layer and gradually worked the draft to fully matched with the gen DWO scan for printing. Some members reported TC DWO V1 and V2 are a tad left justified. I do not think it is the print that is left justified. I've talked about the issue in "TC Submariner with Gen ETA 2678" It is more likely the dial feet have 0.01 or 0.02 mm variance. Simply give it a tap at the opposite position on the edge of the dial will fix DWO being, well seemingly, left justified. That is also why I encourage members to first practice with TC DWO V1. Let's hear the final verdict. TC DWO version 2. Gen 2010 V Sub. TC DWO version 3 pilot sample. Where the hell is the difference? You may ask. First of, take a good look at 2, you'll notice the font is different, especially on the upper level. TC DWO version 3 is a lot closer to gen. Then you'll notice the beginning and ending of 7 is totally different on the V2 and gen. V2 is more of a clean cut from the beginning to end while gen has more Roman-ish beginning and end. The V3 pilot samples have some rough edges, like leaked ink. I gave the printing company this feedback and they will work on it. My first batch of TC DWO V3 is scheduled to arrive in the second week of May. Apologies for the delay to members who placed orders recently. I'll be talking about this in the next episode of Project Update. Thanks for reading. TC 4/25/13
    1 point
  4. hey guys just bought my first gen so proud of myself wanted to share this joyous moment with all of you! Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk
    1 point
  5. Not sure what watch X-ray above is, which would be the same from a person looking at a scanner as packages go through, practically impossible to tell from and X-ray. But, like someone said before, it's all about the origin country and the packaging. I'm sure most everyone here has gotten a genuine watch shipped from a dealer or from the company. But for those of you who haven't , the difference is Night and Day I couldn't find a photo of a watch package from a TD, thought I had one, but it's lost in several thousand photos!! Here's what a genuine watch that comes through the mail will look like. If it's coming from overseas it will be declared for it's full value and will be insured for that amount. A 2K watch will be declared and insured for 2k. Now, contrast that with the typical package you receive from a TD. Soft non padded envelope, usually containing either a bubble wrapped watch, or at best a Styrofoam watch container. All this with a declared value of 20-50 USD, listed on the customs declaration as "Toy" or "Novelty watch". I doubt that the folks who work for customs are that stupid, that they are fooled into believing that any of our watches are anything but what they are. In this country, most aren't caught, simple because US Customs has bigger things to worry about, they are much more concerned with packages containing drugs, and any type of weapon or device that can be made to make a big BANG!! Another big priority is agricultural products. Any pest be it either plant or animal has the potential to eventually cause millions if not billions of dollars to eradicate or control if unleashed. Another thing, Customs processes literally hundreds of thousands of packages every day. If they took the time to stop and open every package that contained a watch, clock, or electronic device it would bog down the system to the point that in a few days they would have such a huge backlog, they would never catch up. So they have to keep the system humming along. Be happy, because if they ever decided to stop and check, they would make it very difficult to get reps into the country. At this point in time, I believe that they could care less about individuals bringing in one rep from another country.
    1 point
  6. I don't know much about watches and I know even less about Pams but I fell in love with this one for it's simplicity and elegance and its stunning movement. I hate the feeling of not having done any research. Did I make the right move here? The seller was a very great chap with a very large collection of pams and included two strap sets with the sale (I like the brown one on the watch although he says it's not great quality) I'm not too fussed if there are 'tells' because they are not too common but I'm wondering why it hung about for so long and was reduced so much? He wouldn't ship to CONUS after a failed delivery so perhaps this was the reason? Any thoughts gents?
    1 point
  7. Did you agree with the seller that the seller takes full responsibility if the package is lost in transit? Did you agree that a refund would be made just because the shipping is taking "too long"? Did you agree what constitutes "too long"? I'm guessing "not" in all three cases in which case the seller is under no obligation to do anything. If they're a kind soul they may agree to split the loss 50/50 if nothing has turned up after 'x' months.
    1 point
  8. GLWS?? ...I hope I never have to sell her
    1 point
  9. @dbane883, people would never pull apart a gen......tsk tsk rolex had it down with the vintage bezel construction, 4 pieces, push, lay, snap, snap, all done. gotta take it off??? where'd I leave that pocket knife??
    1 point
  10. That doesn't sound right, maybe some pictures with the case back open would help. That movement and dial should come out from the back of the case...
    1 point
  11. Must give monkey's Explorer some company...
    1 point
  12. just waiting on the midnight blue model
    1 point
  13. I hadn't even noticed but ya it seems he updated that area too. I looked back at the older pics and they don't seem as prominent.. Hmm, bonus
    1 point
  14. 1 point
  15. Of course, here you go... I polished the blue screws of the Asian 7750 movement to apear like gen
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...
Please Sign In or Sign Up