Pugwash

Jay said he will replicate a watch by buying a gen and copying it directly. Do you think he can pick up rare vintage rolexes to strip down and copy?

You keep saying this and you keep missing the point. Gens are serviced just before they're put in the box- Reps aren't. That is the sum total difference between the movements. You're not the only one saying this, as this is pretty much understood as a given here. Yes, QC is lower and there are no warranties, and this is reflected in the price.

... and Jay is supposed to buy one of these where?

Dead Easy: ... but tonight is an Omega night as I go to see Casino Royale again.

If you're looking at a Panerai rep, you can get an Asian one that should last for $110, or a Swiss one for a bit more that will last (if you take care of it with services, like the gen) as long as a gen.

This is what I was afraid of. You're comparing replica Panerais with Gen Automatics, and that way only leads to pain and despair. This is the apples vs oranges I was trying to avoid. A watch with an ETA movement that's the equivalent of your Tissot is $150-$185. For replica Panerais, you need to compare them with equivalent Gens, like the $1000 RWX. Yes, if you compare replicas with equivalent gens (Rolex Sub rep vs Tissot Seastars or Panerai Fiddy rep vs RWX) then the replicas come out at better value for money.

Apparently so. I don't see how I missed it, unless it was secretly announced without warning and run at 2am for only 90 minutes ... Still, this way I didn't lose any money.

If this were my criteria, I would wear the Navitimer. I've been asked about that watch more times than any other.

Hear hear!

I have never paid $300 for a rep. However, let's pretend that your $399 (delivered) grey-import Tissot is $300 and that a $185 ETA Sub is $300. In this case, the Tissot is a better option as it's warrantied and serviced. To get the Sub to the same spec would cost the price of a service. The ETA reps we get are good, but may require a final service to be as good as a gen. Apart from that, I'd put a $200 rep against a $300 gen any day.

I get this one. Nice post.

Paul Picot? Eww.

Before I go off on a long diatribe, can you clarify some things for me? What $300 ETA reps are you talking about? Also, where can I get a decent Tissot with an ETA 2836/2824 with Sapphire new for $300? I just want to make sure you're not expecting an apples vs. oranges debate.

Howay an' [censored], ya bam. nat noo.

I'll not bother picking this apart as it's a US partisan thing and I just don't get that. However, Liberal and Conservative do not respectively mean Democrat and Republican.

Seeing as it's apparent my first choice is already on the cards, I'm going to cheerlead this one now. Why? Because Neil put a convincing argument together and so far, apart from my Aquatimer rant, no-one has really said why we should support their choice. Oh, Neil, you say you're a little upset at the unoriginality of the choices? Really? Remember that these are the people that will buy every single noobmariner you can get your hands on. Is it that shocking really? So, come on folks, if you want your choices to be listened to, be realistic like TTK says, and convince us.

There was a lottery? Congrats, Ken.

Gimme the Slevin!

I reckon regular readers here would have already filled in what By-Tor and Ubi would have chosen, and just to keep them happy, they guessed mine right too. ps. New post-franken pics due soon!

If the Aquatimer is being removed, then absolutely.

The reasoning behind going for regular brands is the appeal. The more people likely to be interested, the better for Jay. Having said that, something like the 50 fathoms or the Sea Hawk would appeal to me.

Excellent. The more choices, the merrier!

Angus, will this herald replicas for the entire Aquatimer range? The case design is the same. I will be buying the plain versions as soon as they are available.

If people post their choices like I did (without duplication) then I can set up the poll. If, however, this turns into the same thread as the other, it'll be impossible. No need for a kazillion pictures of each watch, as just one of each will do. Don't make this a chore by posting multiples or reposts and we can get the Poll up.

Here's some images: My non-Chrono suggestions My Chrono suggestions: