Well ALL I can say is this:
Wanted to buy a gen Seamaster, bond edition, blue one for many many years...Finally when I had the oppurtunaty to buy a gen, and that is after owning a lot of reps I was REALLY, REALLY disapointed. Not that it was a bad watch...its really nice BUT I thought it would be a "wow" felleing having a gen. Now sadly that is not the fact. My Breitling skyland felt "more" of a watch. I mean the reps, Skyland, Steelfish and so on are great in build quality
After a few month i decide to get rid of the blue SMP and bought myself a black bond edition, automatic......AND when i told my girlfriend that watch costed around 3000$ she asked me if I was retarded??? Thats true. Also there no "wow" feeling. So that one is SOLD as well.
Of course...you can not compare with feeling that u wearing a gen contra rep.....BUT if u dont mind wearing rep, AND if u buy a good rep. MY personal opinion is that u get a HELL alot for money spend on a rep.
Nowdays I have Seawolf, rep....AND I can tell, by fact, that its better than my SMP....of course its not gen...BUT build quality is better and the watch feels more of a watch.. I dont want to start a fight with guys telling me this and that about history and so on of gen....THAT is just my opinion
I LOVE reps...good ones of course...and I prefer ETA movements....AND if U stick with that...U can have as good watch as the gen, if not better? hehe