jnkay

If you are paying for a genuine ETA movement, go with Chris if he has the GMT-IIC. You will most likely wind up with a clone movement for the premium you paid for a genuine if you order from anyone else. I can verify that!

The one thing that looks rep to me is the hour markers. When compared to my two gen subs, the gold rings around the lume in the markers are much, much thicker than in the gens. The reps always have this problem.

Can't tell from any of the pictures whether the crystal is domed like the gen

There are a few good versions of the sub out there. The noobmariner is popular. It is a nice watch. That said, personally, the shallow rehaut always bugged me, so I would need a different model with deeper rehaut. That information is readily available here with detailed pictures and reviews that can help you decide. Researching a seller can drive you crazy, because there will always be the occassional unsatisfactory transcation, sometimes the seller's fault and sometimes not. Based upon the feedback, Eurotimez is a good seller. Just pull the trigger...and then wait by the mailbox!

My wife did NOT think it was funny when I swapped the screensaver of our new baby with the rolex YG sub download from rolex.com

CBR, I don't even know you, but I've enjoyed your posts and input. Best of luck "starting over." I have much empathy for what you are going through.

OK, I'll bite. Probably taking longer to decide which watch to wear to work some days than to decide which shirt, slacks and tie. And I guess when I go on a polishing binge.

I've bought some lower-end stuff from Joma and it was all good. I have also purchased very high-end pieces from AlanFurman.com who has an excellent, maybe the best, reputation as a grey market dealer. They sourced things that were not readily available down to the last spec. Also, they offer an excellent warranty. I also have experience with DeMessy, but they have a tendency to tell you something is in stock when it isn't, and then send you the next closest thing they can find it. He also had the balls to charge me a $500 restocking fee when I cancelled an order before he ever shipped it.

After reading The Zigmeister's post, I worried too, which is why I told the watchsmith to determine the robustness of the movement and component parts, keeping in mind this is an Asian eta clone. The Asian clone movements in my watches do not appear to have be the same inferior parts he had so many problems with, and the overall construction of the movement was better. Also, both movements were easy to regulate, which I recall was an issue with the movement The Zigmeister worked on. I have no explanation for the difference.

I want to add to Freddy's comments by saying that some of the movement problems that have been reported might have been remedied by a servicing. I had serious movement problems until I had it serviced. Then I bought a second GMT IIc and had it serviced within the first week, during which the GMT hand didn't work. Since the servicings, both watches are functioning at 100% and are more accurate than all 3 of my genuine automatics, regardless of whether I wear it or it sits in a winder or on a table overnight. And, I wouldn't have had either serviced if, after dissassembly, the watchmaker opined that the movement was a time bomb. BTW, both are Asian. I'm definitely not saying that servicing is the panacea for this watch because it does have an iffy movement. But I have to wonder how many of the reported problems would have been either avoided or fixed by a proper service.

Those day dates are incredible. They absolutely look of genuine quality to me. Did you replace the dials? Any other parts?

Well, I live in South Florida, and I've learned not to start sweating over 5 days forecasts, oh like the one currently directing Ike right to my doorstep. They are always wrong by at least a category and several hundred miles. Even 3 day forecasts are scarily innaccurate, and in these kind of storms, 50 miles or one category of intensity can make all the difference in the world. So there will always those who prepared for "nothing" and others who didn't prepare because they focused on the center of the cone of death. Preparing for these storms is a pain in the ass of the highest magnitude, especially if you have a house with lots of glass and no accordian shutters or storm glass (it took me 11 hours just to shutter my house before I installed some accordians). A pool, patio furniture and kids playground stuff, not to mention a 75 lb staghorn fern hanging from a long chain under your patio and waiting to become a wrecking ball add to the fun. So, when the storm doesn't come it's common to feel sort of let down, because you've been operating on adrenaline ever since that 3 or 5 day forecast was issued. The only worse feeling is to have dismissed the threat and then find yourself totally vulnerable when it turns out that, after all, you're about to get a category 3 spanking and it's too late to do anything about it. Latest computer models showing Ike trending to the south of SoFlo! Long live Dr. Jeff Masters!

This idea has been bounced around a little before, and it was the consensus that only the GMT hand would have to be replaced-not the minute, hour and second hands. However, the hour hand would act as the GMT hand and vice versa according to the last post on the topic, which makes sense to me.

There are AT LEAST three reasons people who can afford gens buy reps. 1) They are not big "watch" types, and don't see the value in spending several thousand for something that is repped for a few hundred. I know several of these people. They would just rather spend their money on other toys. 2) They are big into watches, and they own several gens, but cannot justify spending the scores of thousands it would cost to own all of the gen watches they want. 3) Out of principal because they dislike Rolex or other luxury brands. I fall into the second category.

Good stuff. Thanks!

I'd be all of over one if it is repped.

Excellent. Very helpful thanks.

I got mine serviced. In the month since, it hasn't had any problems. It cost me $115, and I think that is a small price to pay for a watch I intend to keep. Even so, I don't have a lot of faith in the modification made to the base 2836-2 to make it function like a GMT. Although any one of us may have good luck getting the GMT hand to work for years, there is no way to ensure this will be the case short of installing a 2893-2, which will be costly and require a different GMT hand and, from what By-Tor posted, possibly resulting in the GMT hand functioning as the hour hand and vice-versa. If my GMT hand fails even after servicing, I'm just going to leave it alone if the watch still keeps accurate time. Although I'd prefer the GMT hand to work, I bought this watch not because I expected a poorly designed modification to function in a dependable way, but because I like the ceramic bezel look w/ maxi dial and super case. If I really needed a GMT function, I wouldn't bother with this watch unless I planned on transplanting a 2893-2.

I've been concerned about the clasp failing one day, but in a different place: the actual closing mechanism where the two hooks meet. The reason is that the genuine clasp flexes quite a bit to make the two pieces glide effortlessly over each other, but the rep version barely flexes at all unless you consciously make it do so. So when I open and close it now, I make sure pull up on the end of the clasp while pushing down on the bottom part of the clasp to force it to flex as it is designed to do. Then the two pieces don't have to slide over each other.

Mine (ICHS) would stop periodically when worn. A servicing eliminated the problem and it now keeps perfect time. It also "solved" my stopping GMT hand problem. The caveat there is that if I mess with the GMT hand or even reset the time, the GMT hand may stop, so I have to try one of the tricks repeated in this thread. Once the GMT hand starts moving again, it will work perfectly as long as i don't mess with the crown. Prior to servicing, none of these tricks would work for any significant length of time.

S-W-E-E-T!

From the pictures posted on dealers\' websites and on this forum, they all appear to be sourced from the same factory. QC as far as inspecting and testing for problems is another story. However, other than the movement issues, few people have complained of egregious QC issues other than the known unlevel crystal and bracelet screw (which it seems has been corrected).

Beautiful watch, nice pictures. I love the way the shade of the blue dial changes with different lighting. The first scratches on mine drove me crazy. I quickly learned that you simply cannot even look at a watch with gold, esp. the bracelet, and not scratch it. I also learned that the easier the watch scratches, the easier it is to get the scratches out. So I got used to dealking with the number of scratches that typically accrue over a few months, in between light polishing of the center links with a Cape Code cloth and occassional spot treatments with finishing rouge for deeper scratches. It's enough to keep the bracelet and case shiny and in shopworn condition (which is the condition that many gold gens are sold in if you buy it out of a display case). I stop short of making the watch look brand spanking new because I don't want to remove so much metal that my polishing routine is not sustainable, so I don't try to completely eliminate deeper scratches in one shot. I find that its the gazillions of tiny superficial scratches that cause the bracelet or case to lose luster, and eventually, after many light polishing jobs, the less superficial scratches will be reduced in appearance or come out completely. So, enjoy and don't worry about the scratches!

Sure. Look under the 14. [http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc2080nr6.jpg][img=http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7198/dsc2080nr6.th.jpg]

The bezel is not make of ceramic, not even the surface. If I had to guess, I'd say it is relatively hard, high-gloss plastic or resin of some sort. The bezel can and will scratch, as there have been numerous reports, including mine, of scratched inserts. However, my bezel hasn't scratched from any wear and tear on my part; it was delivered that way. Very minor, but still, enough to let you know it is not ceramic.