asiparks

So what's the street price of a Tag Aquaracer these days, and how much is that rep ? At cost value relationship of $500 to $2000 i'd agree but where did you pull a figure like $500 from.... I'd buy a $278 version of a U1 in a heartbeat, not sure why you think it should cost nearly 2X more than an ultimate PO rep. My PO chrono that has a decent functioning asian 7750 in it, very nicely finished case and strap cost $238. Again, I might be in the minority, but I'd pay up to $350 ish for a rep of the 757, based on that same movement. I honestly don't care about the end "gen>rep" price ratio, be it 50:1 or 5:1, I still find satisfaction in getting a good looking replica that boadens the range of watches I'm able to wear/collect. I could buy a $278 on a Rolex GMT, spend another $500 on tweaking it and still have something that a lot of people who see it will assume is a replica or just another Rolex, but I'd have something unusual, different and, in my eyes, rather handsome, that people will ask about... I've got an order going in for a Mille Miglia and a Breitling heritge soon, for those very reasons.

http://www.puretimewatch.com/index.php?productID=429 of course, the CHS costs $200 extra....

Sinn make some of the most functional tool watches around from the U divers series to the EZM's for the german military. If they're making decent reps of a lesser known, some might argue, lesser looking, brand like Graham, why not some Sinn ??!! a couple of examples...

Indeed, my Bell and Ross Space 1 is a rebadged Sinn 142. I also have a Sinn 144 GMT which was sold as the B&R Space 2 GMT. AFAIK they were also suppliers to Kobold back in the day....

I don't believe so...I have a gen SMP chrono and the PO chrono rep, both using a 7750 and it pushes the dials to far out from the center....if you try to increase the radius of the subdials to give them the appearance of being closer togther, they start to impinge on the main dials minute markers...

never mind, my gibbon brain found it....

as mentioned, on the gen, from 12 around to the srail # at 6, the "X" in Rolex always lines up to a 5 minute marker. After the serial #, going back up to 12, it's always a "R" at the 5 minute markers... The biggest tell for me, is still the numbers on the bezel. On the gen, the numbers appear to be cut out of a thick layer of the black ceramic, so the inner edges of the numbers appear dark. On the rep, the numbers appear engraved into the metal with a thin layer of black applied over the top, so you have a sort of silver edge to them that the light catches, giving the illusion that the numbers are fatter.....maybe the next generation of reps can dupe the effect... That said, i really, really want one of these bad...like others, I'm not a big rolex fan, but I'm kicking myself for not ordering one of the first ones...if they become available again with the correct hand stack i won't hesitate....

I just received my 06 Cousteau Diver from Ruby (pictures forthcoming....).. Quite delighted with Ruby and the watch. Everything alighns properly on the inner bezel without having to do the 1/2 click thing, the AR on the crystal is amazing and the dial printing is spot on ! My only gripe is that the white portion and numbers on the inner bezel no longer appear to be lumed at all ! The hands and indices aren't at all bad, they're quite bright and readable in the wee hours, but the overall effect isnt as impressive as this pic by Audemarsfan: Not sure if it's just the way they make them now or not, but as everthing else on the watch is in good shape, I'm not sure it's at all worth sending it back...

I just got an '06 from Ruby..she sent multiple pics of the actual watch she was sending me, and answered all my questions quickly. Her prices were very good and included shipping !

so are there already 2 versions of this watch out there ? Lanikai states in his review that he has only 12 clicks to his bezel, not 24, and that his bracelet doesn't have the 3 micro adjustments that are clearly visible in your pics..... I was really looking forward to getting in on the 2nd batch of these, but if they're not going to be correct hand stack versions, I won't.....does it make fiscal sense for the factory to engineer this movement for so few watches, then stop ? Watchmark claims to be getting this model in too...is it possible that Josh/Andrew just got first dibs on distributing the 1st batch ?

Hi all, I just received my PO chrono from a trusted dealer, and, though it might be as faithful to the original as a bag of old twigs, it is a darned handsome watch ! Now, the chrono works nicely, the lume isn't completely horrible and it seems to be keeping time quite nicely...my concern is the crown. When I unscrew it from the case and extend it to either set the time or date, it wobbles around like a bobble head on crack. It feels within a wobble or two of coming off the stem. It also makes it difficult to rescrew into the case as it's frighteningly easy to misalign the threads... Anybody else have this watch with this problem ? It's the later version with the 22mm lugs, correct date font etc. much appreciated !

sadly I don't own this watch...looks to be some sort of ultimate GMT version...... Adndreww...are yours all UPO's or different generations ?

sorry for the noob question, but... I'm about to pull the trigger on either a Cousteau or an Aquatimer, but I notice that some dealers state "functioning chrono" on their sites for the larger and less expensive Cousteau's and some don't, whereas all the smaller (and more expensive ) Aquatimers all seem to have the working chrono... Can someone confirm that all the Cousteau models do, in fact, have a working chrono ? I like the look of the '06 much better than the '07, but I actually would like to make use of the chrono feature... cheers !

Nah the B&R is real, it's an early "Space 1" with the unprotected chrono pushers. later models had a protective ring around them. It's from when Bell and Ross didn't design their own watches, they just slapped their logo on german Sinn timepieces and then basically doubled the price...the sinn equive is the Sinn 142...Movements a lemania 5100, my fave, but the latest Sinn versions use a Valjoux 7751 i believe... www.watchbuys.com

thanks fellas ! I've posted a couple of fairly shabby pics above, I'll post more (and better) in the respective forums....

I'm a newb to replicas, honestly never thought I'd get one as my only prior experience was a couple of well sketchy quartz rolexes many, many years ago. But then a couple of things happened that have made me want to learn as much as I can about them... I've got a few gen watches- see pics below, all of which I've bought used either from the Watchseller.com or bernardwatch.com..but I've honestly not been that impressed with the quality. My Sinn 144 has had problems with the chrono function and the leather band was a bit rubbish, my Bell and Ross space 1 has had the top chrono pusher fall off twice and the lum on the hands faded, well before the indices, and my OSM has had the closure break and more recently, needs to be manually wound and the central chrono sweep hand doesn't reset properly. Bell and Ross were excellent and got everything ship shape very quickly and at no charge- kudos to them ! Omega on the other hand.....well I was looking at probably more than $500 to have it sorted . I was about to send it off, but got sent on a work trip to HK and Vietnam, so I didn't have a chance....Anyway, I'm in HoChi Minh and right accross from the hotel is a shop selling replica watches, i casually browse for a moment and a couple of things catch my eye...first is a speedmaster Schumacer (sp ?) which looks balls-on real, the second is a panerai Daylight chrono, which, although I don't really know the brand, just looks and feels like a really nice watch....So 4,000,000 dong ( $240 ) later i have a large Panerai sitting on my wrist and a big smile on my face....( i went back to get the Schuey too a couple of days later but it had gone ). I also picked up 2 rolexes for $50 the pair, both are autos and seem fairly decent, but I don't know enough and at that price, they're probably not the best....but my wife loves her stainless Datejust and I quite like my Sub.... I am relly really impressed with the Panerai though. It's got what i guess is an asian 7750 and it works flawlessly, the chrono is perfect and the hand sweep is very smooth....I think I've been bitten...next I need to find that schuey, an IWC aquatimer and a planet ocean chrono....