Indyclmbr

Nanuq the giant! Did you have to special order that seatpost to get the saddle that high? You need to replace that front tire with a ski!

Nanuq, I do love it! Fat tires and disc brakes! And you have a great mountain view when you ride to work! I'm green with envy. I have an old Specialized FS Extreme. It's not great for commuting, but it's a tank--rolls right over everything in it's path. I think the "Extreme" refers to the extreme green color as it's brighter than your green machine! Nice ride. Keep it upright!

I occasionally use the chrono on my 192 to time my commute as well Unfortunately, my commute is not on my mountain bike! It used to be, but not for the last 5 years! I'm jealous Nanuq! Otherwise, I hardly use the chrono function. Just like to check it from time-to-time to make sure it's still working. I have a running watch that has a chrono I use when I run. I almost never wear my reps when running. Climb on.

I'm with Pugwash. 6.75 in. wrist and 44 PAMs are fine. Anything bigger would look cartoonish on me. My personal preference is between 40-44mm, and a lot of that depends on the face of the watch. My 063 has a bigger face than my 192, both 44 mm watches. In my opinion, the 192 wears smaller for this reason. Still, I like 'em both!. Climb on.

Missed the debate the first time around, but I had a similar situation come up with a watch I had listed. It actually got to the point that I had offered the second person in line a chance since it had been several days without response from the first, and literally seconds after sending the PM to the second person in line, the first person came through. I felt like a jerk having to go to the second person and backpedal. Personally, I like the guidelines because I think it would have helped me handle the situation better. As it stands, there's a fellow RWGer out there that I made a deal with and then pulled out, because I promised someone else first chance. I sincerely apologize for that. Thanks for the effort in establishing some community guidelines TT and for everyone weighing in on an important topic. Climb on.

To each his/her own, but that's a pretty vague answer to the question. Personally, the top limit for me is $450 and I have two in that range, both eta 2893 movements, one an Exp II and one a Pam 063. I've spent more on the 063 to get an updated crown, a cyclops and I'm on the list (I think) for the datewheel when those come out and I'll gladly pay extra for that. However, I too have had the same thoughts. I have bought and sold several other reps. In the process, I've spent enough to buy two or three nice gens. The problem is, the gens I could have bought for the money I have spent on reps are not the gen watches I would most want. For me, spending upwards of $500 or more for a modded 063 is worth it since I wouldn't spend the several thousand that watch commands for a used gen. I could sell three or four of my reps and pick up a gen Tag GMT, which I think is a stellar looking watch. I also think it is terribly overpriced at $1600 for what you get using basically the same movement. Plus, I'd be giving up a few watches to buy one. The way I've rationalized it is this. If you look at genuine eta 2893 based GMT watches, the cost is going to be around $1000 on the low end and much more on the high end. For approx. $400-$500 dollars I can have a similar eta 2893 gmt watch with, in my opinion, better styling than a Glycine. For someone looking at one of the 7750 chronos with a swiss movement, I can see $600 not being out of the question, but that comes back to each his or her own. Personally, I think it has more to do with individual style preference and cost/benefit than gen vs. rep. Yeah, I could buy a gen, but am I willing to spend the amount of money the genuine watch I would really want goes for? As evidenced by my collection of reps, the answer is no. I love the Exp II, but the new prices are listed at $5000. I have a very nice facsimile at $425 with a solid movement that keeps great time. I could have a Tag and an Omega, or I could have one Explorer II, but this way I can have an Exp II, a Pam 063, 192, a GMT II, Sub and a Tag Link for less than I would have spent on one gen. Just my thoughts. Climb on.

I was just at the AD a few weeks ago. The Explorer was listed at $3750 then and that seemed a bit excessive to me. The Exp II was listed at $4500 or something like that. Both are very nice watches, but those prices are ridiculous. I understand the value is determined by the buyer, whether they want the name or appreciate the intricacies of the mechanical movement, but at those prices, there are lots of other, imho, nicer watches to be had. I should add, that the Exp II is one of my favorite all-time watches. Climb on.

Nice looking crown and a fair price. I have one of Palp's crowns for my 063 and it was worth the price, for me. I visited the AD recently and I've mentioned this in a previous post, but in my opinion, after looking pretty closely, crowns on the gens differ in thickness. The manual wind crowns looked thicker to me than those on the auto watches. Nice find V. Climb on.

Great watches. I didn't know those could still be sourced. I have a 2893 Exp II that is my daily wearer. It was pricey, but it keeps fantastic time, spot-on. Definitely have to get pics up so we can all see. I'm especially interested in seeing the red/black on a strap. @nguyendd-not the same movement as the gen, but a very good one, used in a lot of other gen gmts, including old Pams, Omega, Glycine and Tag to mention a few. Congrats and wear them well. Climb on.

Mis-aligned dials/markers Date fonts/mag Lume I agree with everyone about the false chronos as well. Climb on.

Definitely a nice watch. Climb on.

I too have been contemplating picking up a gen. Last week, I was at home with my youngest daughter and although I may regret it in the future, I took her to the AD. (She's only 7 months old, so I hope it didn't make a lasting and expensive impression!) I took off my rep before heading in. I didn't want to try anything funny, just wanted to look closely at a few gens. I told the sales woman that my Eco-Drive died and that I was looking to upgrade. (Not a lie, my Citizen up and died. Still keeps time, but the date doesn't change at all. I've tried an all reset several times, but no luck! And no more Citizen's for me!) Anyway, I was really interested in the Explorer I and II. The EXP II has been my dream watch. All they had was a white dial version, the one I chased on RWG for a long time before settling on a black dial version. One concern on the white dial EXP II reps was the datewheel gap. The gen I saw yesterday had a gap as well, similar to what we've seen on the reps. I also looked at a TAG GMT and some Panerai. These are my observations. My rep Explorer is really close. The etched crown is a give-away as is the second hand. The second hand on the rep has a bigger bubble than the gen I saw at the AD. Otherwise, it is very close. I'm not commenting on movement or quality control or aftermarket support, but from a holding it your hand/wearing it on your wrist perspective, I simply do not see or feel a significant enough difference to justify the difference in price. I do agree the gen seemed a little lighter. The quality of my 2893 EXP II is awesome too. There are a few visual tells that it's a rep, but after handling the gens, I'm confident it won't get called out on my wrist unless I run into one of you guys! I should add that I'm no WIS. I'm sure more knowledgeable or discerning man or woman than me could tell. One nice thing about collecting reps is that if I do go to buy a gen rollie, I will get the black dial Explorer II. I just like it so much better than the white dial version after seeing the gen in person. I'm glad I have had the opportunity to figure that out. The real observation I walked away with is that our reps are pretty close! The finish is not as high, but I feel confident it is negligible when viewed on the wrist. I think when we are used to looking at pictures of watches blown up, the flaws jump right out. In person, it would take a fairly close inspection by a WIS to see them. Now onto the Panerai. They didn't have a lot, but they did have a good mix-which I think works to our advantage. Even the sales woman mentioned their exclusivity. If not that many people have them, and not that many people know about them, then there are fewer people to call us out. Of course, those that do know about them and have them tendency to be very knowledgeable. Here's what I noticed. The H-series definitely has a thicker crown. I do not have and have never had an H-series rep for comparison, but on the gen that crown is thick! As for the others Gens, and this especially goes for the autos, the crowns are not all that noticeably thicker than what's on my 192 and my 2893 063. We have some incredible reps guys! The date font is much thicker on the gen, but we already know that. I feel confident that when my 063 is fitted with a new datewheel and cyclops, it could be worn into the AD or any social situation without concern. They did have a 184-radiomir style GMT that was simply gorgeous. When I break down and buy a gen, that will be it! I'm not a WIS, this is just what I noticed as an avid amateur appreciator of watches, reps and gens. Climb on.

OK, so I've been at this rep thing for a little less than two years and I have been contemplating picking up a gen. Yesterday, I was at home with my youngest daughter and although I may regret it in the future, I took her to the AD. (She's only 7 months old, so I hope it didn't make a lasting and expensive impression!) I took off my rep before heading in. I didn't want to try anything funny, just wanted to look closely at a few gens. I told the sales woman that my Eco-Drive died and that I was looking to upgrade. (Not a lie, my Citizen up and died. Still keeps time, but the date doesn't change at all. I've tried an all reset several times, but no luck! And no more Citizen's for me!) Anyway, I was really interested in the Explorer I and II. The EXP II has been my dream watch. All they had was a white dial version, the one I chased on RWG for a long time before settling on a black dial version. One concern on the white dial EXP II reps was the datewheel gap. The gen I saw yesterday had a gap as well, similar to what we've seen on the reps. I also looked at a TAG GMT and some Panerai. These are my observations. First let me say, the quality of my 2893 EXP II is awesome. There are a few visual tells that it's a rep, but after handling the gens, I'm sticking with my reps, at least as far as the rollies are concerned. My rep Explorer is really close too. The etched crown is a give-away as is the second hand. The second hand on the rep has a bigger bubble than the gen I saw at the AD. Otherwise, it is very close. I'm not commenting on movement or quality control or aftermarket support, but from a holding it your hand/wearing it on your wrist perspective, I simply do not see or feel a significant enough difference to justify the difference in price. I should add that I'm no WIS. I'm sure more knowledgeable or discerning man or woman than me could tell. But even after fairly close inspection, I won't be buying a gen rollie anytime soon. As a matter of fact, I'd say the same with regards to the Tag. Both the rollies and the Tag I handled and tried on felt very light, especially the rollie bands. But that's been covered. I've been considering picking up a TAG Link rep based on the high praise here in the forum recently. Then genuine did not strike me as an $1800 watch. The real observation I walked away with is that our reps are pretty close! The finish is not as high, but I feel confident it is negligible when viewed on the wrist. I think when we are used to looking at pictures of watches blown up, the flaws jump right out. In person, it would take a fairly close inspection by a WIS to see them. Now onto the Panerai. They didn't have a lot, but they did have a good mix-which I think works to our advantage. Even the sales woman mentioned their exclusivity. If not that many people have them, and not that many people know about them, then there are fewer people to call us out. Of course, those that do know about them and have them tend to be very knowledgeable. Here's what I noticed. The H-series definitely has a thicker crown. I do not have and have never had an H-series rep for comparison, but on the gen that crown is thick! As for the others Gens, and this especially goes for the autos, the crowns are not all that noticeably thicker than what's on my 192 and my 2893 063. We have some incredible reps guys! The date font is much thicker on the gen, but we already know that. I feel confident that when my 063 is fitted with a new datewheel and cyclops, it could be worn into the AD or any social situation without concern. They did have a 184-radiomir style GMT that was simply gorgeous. When I break down and buy a gen, that will be it! Otherwise, I'm sticking with the reps. Just thought I'd share my observations. And remember, I'm not a WIS, this is just what I noticed as an avid amateur appreciator of watches, reps and gens. Climb on.

This thread is mesmerizing. Who needs a what? Climb on.

I'm with Jet on this one. I understand the temptation. That's a lot to have wrapped up in a rep, but the 063 is a thing of beauty and as about as good as they come in this hobby. I have the Palp crown and the cyclops for mine and I'm just waiting for the datewheel. I've been surprised to see a couple of these, along with a couple 029s up for grabs. Still, I guess if you don't wear it, not much sense to keep it. $550 is a very fair price. Steep for a rep, yes, but for this rep, worth it. Good luck and climb on.

Looks fantastic! Good work Edge. Climb on.

The non-chrono TAG Link from Joshua or Andrew looks great. Good movement, great looking watch and you can mix up the dial color from your chrono a bit with choice of white, black, or silver I believe-could be wrong on that last one. If you're looking for a chrono, the IWC GST Ti is a good recommendation from Ryaku as is the 6262 lemania. This might be the perfect time to buy a PAM 192! It's gorgeous. Climb on.

I have a yellow/black as well that came with my 063. It hasn't been used. I'll let it go for $30 as well. Wheaton's has to go first though. Climb on.

My thoughts are based on a comparison of my Citizen Eco-drive to any one of my eta based reps. First, they are all comparable in price. The 2836s a little less than the Citizen. The 2893s a little more. The Citizen showed signs of wear much sooner than I would have liked. The braclet showed scratches early, the mineral crystal scratched, etc. My eta based rep, the one I wear everyday shows a lot less sign of wear. The bracelet has a few scratches on it, but not nearly as many as the Citizen. The crystal in the rep is Sapphire, so no scratches. The Citizen is a quartz watch and the 2893 rep keeps time with the Citizen. Overall I think the rep is a better watch and a better value than the Citizen. If you look at what you can get at the same price point of an eta rep, there really is no comparison in my opinion. Even the Swiss Army watches using the same movements go for a few hundred more, and then you don't get a sapphire crystal. Just my 30 cents. Climb on.

Well this is well-worth blowing my 192nd post of a picture of my 192. Congratulations and best wishes to you and your family Andrew! That's fantastic! Enjoy the little one. Climb on. Indy

192.

Yeah, usually they couple that photo with the EXP I. RLX has done a good job of tying that climb and the EXP I together. Hillary and Tenzig never said who summited first. Hillary has been said to be wearing a Smiths I believe, which suggests Tenziq was wearing the Explorer. I can't imagine a Sherpa of that time wearing a rollie. Who knows, it may not have made it to the summit. Perhaps it was just other members on the team wearing them. Still plays to those emotions though. I have an Explorer and and EXP II and I love them both. It's all about the packaging. On a non-watch, but related note, good article on the debacle that is Everest in this months National Geographic Adventure. Climb on.

I like the 111H too, but if I were going to get a gen, I would want a date so I'd go with Relaxman on this one-104. Simplicity of a 111 but with the date. If you have an eta 2893 063 rep, no need to get the gen. Just pick up a cyclops. Good luck.

Rolex Explorer I sold for $200 in the 1950s. I don't know what that equates to in today's dollars. I discussed that article with my watchsmith a while back. Actually, it was quite embarrasing. I started talking to him, acting like I knew what I was talking about. (That gets me into trouble every time ) He disagreed with the article, saying that Rolex is known for their finishing. He also has years of experience working on them, so he has seen the inside of a bunch of them. My take-away was that for the most part, they put out a high quality watch, but with some occasional duds. Do they spend a lot of time and money marketing it?--Hell yeah! And it works. I have my National Geographic Adventure magazine that I recieved in the mail yesterday. When I get it, I always flip through to see which Rollie they're advertising. This month, its' the black dial Exp II with Tenzig Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary on Everest. I look at that picture and I look at my EXP II rep and I get a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Is the watch + that feeling worth $4000? Depends on who you are? Now I'm going to go grab a Coke!

A great gesture from the individual and from you too Ubi to publicly say thank you. I agree with your observation about the differences between the gen and rep communities. I especially like your phrase "Some of the most genuine individuals are here." Very true, very true. Climb on.