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I finally got in some 2824 16200 cases, it was a really long wait as they have been unavailable since about Feb of this year! Dimensionally these appear to be the same although the machining tolerances were not as tight as older batches. Progress, right? I snapped some pics of the steps these go through to make 1016 cases although I forgot to take a pic of the rough machined case before drilling any holes. I start out with a plain "vintage" style 16200 case They then spend some time on a little CNC lathe I built and get the tops of the lugs machined to give them a thinner profile. You notice the burr left side of the lug top. All of these burrs have to be removed by hand with a file and sanding. After they come off the lathe they head to the mill where the lug get "ventilated. I set up on the right, drill hole, rotate case 180 degrees and drill another hole. When they are all done I set up on the left and repeat the process for the remainder of the holes. When this is finished I finish de-burring the case, brush the lug tops, and it's ready for either a polished or aged finish. Here is a comparison between the original and re-shaped cases. I hope this sheds a little light on the process.

The diver reps, both stainless steel and forged carbon, and even the ceramic, have been touted as the best out of the box AP reps in the hobby. And yes, that is true if you look at the number of flaws in the ROO chronograph series. But yet, closely replicated as they are, flaws still exist in the diver reps. For the sake of brevity, let us run through the list of flaws Movement: The previous generation of reps uses the A2824 movement, which beats at 28800bph, but is better and more reliable than the current generation of miyota powered replicas. Miyotas can be noisy when the watch is shaken, and cheap looking/sounding. However they are fairly reliable too, and easily replaced. The gen uses a low beat 21600bph caliber 3120 AP movement. The beat difference is hardly noticeable on the wrist between 28800bph and 21600bph unless you have them side and side, and scrutinize closely. The beat of the rep movement can be modded to 21600bph as well. Dial The gen diver dial is glossy and more intricate in details, and the rep is somewhat glossed over, but not to the same extent. The difference is hardly noticeable again, but the rep dial can be gloss-finished by hand to look like the gen. Of course, dial print is sharper on the genuine diver, but not by much compared with the V7 diver. Inner dive bezel For the stainless steel, the lume construction for the numbers are significantly different, and this is a noticeable difference once pointed out to someone. For the FC, the numbers on the inner bezel are closer to genuine. Hands There is a slight difference between the shine and finish of the genuine hands vs the replica ones. But not enough to warrant any modification. Datewheel The genuine watch (before the i series) uses a serif font which the Noob (first v4 batch and earlier) replicates well. The font is nonetheless slightly smaller than the gen one. This can be fixed by installing an aftermarket datewheel. Case construction No significant difference between gen and rep here for the recent models. Any perceivable difference would not be something you can spot on the wrist. The rep FC case can be polished and buffed a little to look better, but not necessarily closer to gen. The FC material is rather organic, and each case looks different from the rest. I have seen a variety of finishes for the genuine FC cases. The glossed up pictures on the internet makes us all paranoid at times, but if you have a chance to take a look at FC case finishing on the genuine, you will be surprised at how flat (little or no marbling) some will look. Bezel screws It is a myth that bezel screws on the genuine diver are always sunken and aligned. This is not true at all, I have seen genuine divers that look otherwise. The bezel screws on the replica can be carefully aligned, polished and sunken evenly for aesthetic purposes. Crystal Bear in mind, that the gen comes with a single AR crystal. Applying double AR on a replica does enhance the look of the dial, but does not make it more accurate looking. This is a personal choice for the owner, and nothing right or wrong about it. Straps The rep rubber straps are decent, but with the host of aftermarket straps available, many choices are available at the owner's disposal. So when one mentions "best diver that money can buy", it is subjective to each owner with regards to what "best" means. Here is a fully modded diver. I’ve converted it from a miyota movement to an ETA low beat one and retained the hands. Notice the dial finish, the case finish and the datewheel. I consider this a reasonable rendition of the stainless steel diver without going franken or gen. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a legitimate 1958 Submariner and it's well worn. I built its big brother from the same era, and over two years' time I nearly have the patina to where it looks almost sorta the same-ish, kinda, a little bit if you close one eye. The eye is incredibly astute and it picks up fake wabi instantly. If you got it, keep it!

I wouldn’t touch either. I have a real thing for holes in the lume on hands and as the big guy says, it’s hard to reproduce convincingly

Boy I dunno, if it was up to me I'd leave that Breitling dial and hands alone. Legitimate "wabi" is verrrrry hard to reproduce and you've got it there. Give it some time and you might find you prefer the tatty look.

Legno pieces somewhat done Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

“The Dark Side of the Force is the pathway to many abilities some consider to be.... Unnatural” Senator Palpatine Tell me again, which nation was it that invented the concept of mass production of horological fakes? ?? Many of us own and appeciate the genuine, but this hobby teaches one to appreciate more of the detail of genuine watches than a lifetime of collecting gens ever would. Besides which I have met far more genuine people and made more real friends here on the dark side than I have in all the gen forums I frequent