looseends

That's what stands out to me.

Just going to throw in a plug for a Patek rep I am trying to get rid of - but it doesn't fall into the thin range talked about here. And the crystal kinda ruins it on thinness as well. Just putting it out there.

I just heard back to my inquiry as well - it was in my spam folder. He replied in less than a day. I'm going to order from PT soon.

My first time dealing with Angus - I just sent a question via his new site, curious to see when/if it gets answered. I'll update here with time frame of my experience with him.

I've been here a couple weeks. There are definitely a lot of scam sites out there, and the troublesome part is they look like the reputable ones (well, there are some differences you'll notice). Anyway, browse around the forum, I'm sure you'll find the info you want and find the site that's right for you. Research is the #1 obstacle between you and that Tourbillon!

Bingo, bango! I got my new insert and fit it in! Special thanks to By-Tor for pointing out the right insert (earlier in thread) - it did require sanding of the edge. A few passes around and it fits seamlessly, no glue either. I'm a little paranoid that it will pop off, but I can't easily get at it, so I'm thinking it's pretty secure. I'd also prefer the ease of prying it up should I want to get other inserts and change the look once in a while. Okay, pics. The numbers are too close to the edge I think, but I prefer the font. EDIT: Actually, the printing is way too close to the edges. The 18, 16, and arrow all overlap into the inner ring. The more I look at it, the more I can't stand it. I've contacted the ebay seller about it, the auction image was clearly not the same. We'll see what happens. Cue By-Tor "Now get to work on those CGs. Did I make a tutorial for nothing?!" One day By-Tor, one day.

You keep saying WD50, are we talking about the same thing? I didn't rinse it, just wiped it clean. Several passes with a microfiber cloth, and then again, several passes with a clean part of the cloth, being sure to get all the excess from between the links. There was no oil on it to the touch, I made sure of that. The important part is working the oil into the screws/links where the friction occurs (out of sight). If you're getting friction between links, i.e. the links butt up again each other, you may need some sanding there as well.

I read up on this a bit, and I decided to use WD40. I saw suggestions about baby oil, but I hate the smell of it. And soaking the bracelet seemed unnecessary. I imagine auto wax would be hard to work in, and I'd think it would dry out as well. So I removed the bracelet, and simply sprayed WD40 between the links, and worked it in by rotating the links back and forth. It was pretty much soaked without having to stick it in a puddle of oil or anything. Wiped off the excess, again getting as much between the links as possible, all the while still rotating back and forth. This cleared up some "tightness" between the links, and the smell went away pretty quick, I didn't even notice. It even made it possible to get a stripped link screw out that wasn't causing a problem - it was holding - but knowing it was there bothered me. Oiled up it slipped right out, and I used an extra link in place of that whole link. I think there will be some good answers to your other questions by the experienced members. And don't give up on search, it's your friend.

Agreed, probably look 100x better with SS case and bracelet.

This confirms a theory of mine (well, a lot of others have the same theory): even a gen owner can't call out a rep when only a couple feet away. My thought is that gen owners buy the real thing, and don't really think about reps. Perhaps somehow they think a fake is obvious (I've been reading on the intarwebs about 'spotting a fake' and they're woefully under/misinformed compared to what I read here). We're the ones who obsess over the little inaccuracies. I bet just about any gen owner, unless a true 'enthusiast' who owns the same model as your rep, will not be able to call it out as a fake. Now in side by side comparison they'd probably catch you easily, but who, aside from fellow rep owners, is going to say "let's compare"?

Nice, I think it compliments the watch well. It takes a rep to a new level where it's not a rep, it's your own creation.

Now I'm just a n00b, but what looks different (to me) between your photos and the perfect clones photos are the CGs look too small the crown looks too thick But the angles could be tricking my eyes.

Very nice, but I'm no expert. I'll definitely get one if it's pretty close to gen. As others have said, real ceramic would be a deal closer.

Hi everybody![/drnick] Well, I got the GMT Master first - and I love it. This forum was tremendously helpful in getting me over my fears. I mean, c'mon, replica watches? Yeah, crappy ROLECKS you get on a NY street corner for $20. Nobody makes replicas. So I needed that first one to make it all real, I guess. Without the forum I never would have chanced it. But now that it's real, I've ordered the two others I had my eyes on - a Bell & Ross BR02, and a Patek Perpetual calendar. I don't expect these to be as good of quality (cheaper $, you get what you pay for), and I read a bad review on the B&R, but I figure I need to try some things out - everyone here collects what they want and shares the experience, so I'll do the same. But I'm thinking that will be my 3 for a while. I can feel the addiction, but nothing else catches my eye quite yet. Next is probably learning more about the movements, servicing, modding. This is a great place.

By-Tor is the expert so I'll defer to him - for my GMT he recommended this bezel insert - if that's what you mean by date wheel overlay. He said it was important to get the 16700 for sapphire crystals. I had previously got a 16750 - that definitely didn't fit.

This is sad news, I want to get a BR02. I was looking at the steel one. There's also a PVD black one now.

Eh, I say go the other way, get a gen RQLEX. Awesome GMT, I hope to get mine close, one day.

I'll mail it to the Vatican. Ask for "Benny" - he'll be holding it for you.

A-ha! Yes, I think I got the 16750 originally. I would say it was too small, it seemed so close to 'snapping in' but I couldn't do it. But you're talking about this one.

Thank By-Tor, alligoat, toadtorrent. I've seen By-Tors threads - awesome info - I actually ordered before I saw those in particular (more worried about vendors). So luckily I did get the watch with a lot of potential. Any recommendations on bezel/insert replacement at the same time? Those are probably the most glaring issues in my eyes. FYI I did get a bezel insert from ebay, perfect color and font looked right, but that is the one I screwed up. So now I'm thinking to replace the bezel and insert at the same time, but knowing my luck I need someone else to do it. Thanks for the compliments everybody. By-Tor, you rock.

Just made my first post a few minutes ago. http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=74462 This place is great, looking forward to being a little more active - and not lurking - in the future. I guess I didn't feel like I belonged until I had my first rep on my wrist. So now it's there, and now I'm here. So "hi!".

So I've been lurking for a few weeks - just waiting for my first rep. After discovering the forum(s) (both RWGs), I read up a bit and settled on Andrew/Trusty Time as my dealer. I always wanted a GMT Master - big Magnum fan, and I prefer Pepsi to Coke, too - so I ordered the $238 with ETA 2836-2 movement, and waited. And I can't begin to describe how helpful the forum was - I probably would have bailed on the purchase without knowing how Trusty takes payment, and then I would have been racked with anxiety waiting for it to arrive. Thankfully the experiences posted here helped me out a lot. So here's my timeline: May 8 ordered May 9 confirmation/tracking email received May 12 shipped (also about when info available on EMS Site) May 14 customs JFK May 19 released! May 20 at my door And it is exactly as pictured, and almost exactly as described. It's listed as a uni-directional bezel - but it actually is bi-directional! This is awesome, because it was one of the larger "flaws" in my eyes. The other issue for me is the bezel insert font - more on that in a minute. So here's a couple pics, pardon the lack of quality. So the bezel font... I purchased a replacement with the right font, and I just spent about an hour fooling with it. I'm horrible at this kind of detail work, so I shouldn't have attempted it. Long story short, I'm back to the original insert as I couldn't get the other one to fit well (sanded, etc.) and now I have a nick in the original. It's all very frustrating, don't ask me to explain. I'm actually not clear on the gen font anyway, serifs or sans-serif? Depends on gen year? See, I don't even know. But I'm very happy with this watch. I feel I've gotten quite an education here on what some of the issues are rep vs. gen, but these are things I would have no way of noticing otherwise. As far as I'm concerned, it looks authentic enough. If I wanted gen, I would have bought one. I couldn't reason the $$$, which is why I started looking at reps. Thanks again to everyone for making this great community. I'll be hanging around, as there's a couple other reps I want now Bell & Ross BR2, and a Patek Phillippe if you must know.