jnkay

Congratulations on your acquisition and enjoy!

Now that you [Freddy] posted pics of the gen and 2 rep versions together, it seems that in an attempt to rectify the minor discrepancy in font and thickness, the factories actually went a little too far. If you look closely at the thickness of the new insert numbers versus the gen, the new rep insert numbers are actually thinner than the gen. For example, there is more of the faux black ceramic material filling the center of each loop on the 8 in the new rep version than there is on the gen. Funny they got this wrong given how accurate this watch is in nearly every other respect. But who cares, this watch kicks.

What do you know. You're right. They are DEFINITELY thinner.

It wasn't. GMT conversion aside, it wasn't a swiss ETA.

I recently ordered a GMT-IIc with gen ETA movement from one of the long time collectors. Watchsmith opened the back, studied the movement for a bit and said it looked genuine. Then he took off the dial and determined it was 100% Asian. Just like the watches themselves, what the Chinese seem to have done is to rep the part of the eta movement that you can see from removing the caseback, but they haven't put the same effort into accurately copying the guts of it. According to the watchsmith, there are several discrepancies deeper into the movement. "They took shortcuts" was his comment. The moral of the story is, I'm not so sure you can tell for certain whether you really got a genuine ETA just by opening the case back. The Zigmeister has also said in an"about eta" post that you can't necessarily rely on one or two minor things like whether a gear is polished or not, but you have to look throughout the movement to determine authenticity. You might think twice about paying extra for a genuine eta unless you are one of the few here that have advanced skills and knowledge, or you plan on taking it to a watchsmith for verification, and feel comfortable that your dealer will make things right if the item was misrepresented or "he accidentally shipped the wrong version." Another reason to think twice is that the modifications to the movement are asian, and those parts cannot be sourced by a watchsmith, even if the bulk of the movement is genuine eta. For whatever it is worth, I did have the guy overhaul the asian movement, and he felt that the Chinese did a decent job of copying the eta, and that it was worth servicing as opposed to "don't mess with it and keep your fingers crossed."

I would buy one of these generics if I could find one with reasonably comparable quality to the Rolex Sub or GMT it copies. I'm curious; where did you find these generic homage watches? I've seen many from name brands that closely copy Rolex, but never a total generic. I'm especially curious about the GMT. Do you know what kind of movement it has?

This only concerns the status of my IHS Swiss.

Occassionally stops, just like my Asian version, and the GMT hand just doesn't work. Just had it serviced to see if the watch will function better. Received the news I expected: the watch which was advertised and purchased as Swiss does not contain a genuine ETA.

Occassionally, maybe every other day, it just stops working until I shake it around violently, and then it wakes up. So now I am in the habit of checking it often just to see if it is ticking. In between stoppages, it keeps excellent time and has a couple days of reserve power. Of course, it has the same issues that others cite.

There has been a lot of speculation, even (especially) on gen rolex forums, about whether the redone Submariner uses a different color blue dial or whether it's just the lighting of the pictures; and if it is a new color, whether it will carry over to the two-tone model. This past couple weeks, I talked with a couple of AD salespeople who are really into the brand. These guys work at two different stores, for two different companies, so when they say the same thing I tend to believe it. Both state that Rolex for some reason cannot duplicate the current blue color of the bezel in ceramic (don't know why), and once the redone sub debuts in Fall 2008 as a white or yellow gold model, the French Blue color will be the new standard. Interesting and horrifying at the same time. I hope they are wrong, although it might make my TT model more valuable one day. Meanwhile, the black dial SS and TT models will likely debut sometime in early to mid-2009, possibly together or spaced several months apart. Still no confirmation as to whether the center link will be polished or brushed, although all the salespeople stated they would be surprised if it didn't remain brushed. They expect the price of the SS model to slot in a bit below the GMT II, at around $6000, but I wouldn't put any faith in that number.

Agree, it looks like the -3. Thanks for the information, it made the classification of this movement pretty clear, and I wouldn't have known where to find it.

Update: I watched a video on the ShopNBC site (they aparently are the sole US distributers of this watch brand). It shows how the GMT function works; rather than a GMT hand, there is a timezone wheel forming the center part of the dial. You actually rotate the wheel to select the major city whose time you wish to track. So, it's not a 24-hour time function, but rather a 12 hour time function for the second timezone being tracked. Therefore, if transplanted into a GMT II, the GMT hand would likely do a 12 hour rotation just lik the normal hour hand. The watch does have hour, minute and second hands, plus the "gmt" wheel function. The only complication missing from this watch is the date.

Both are IHS

Interstingly, I have an Asian 2836-2 movement in my GMT IIc that stops all the time but have no issues with the GMT hand keeping sync, and I have an "ETA" 2836-2 version also that both stops and has a nonfunctioning GMT hand. I have been researching inexpensive potential donor watches I can canibalize for a ETA 2893-2 GMT movement. I'm aware of the Steinhard/Debaufre GMTs, but am having difficulty finding a used one. Then I came across the Philip Wisdom GMT and question whether it would do the trick. These are inexpensive at only $250, but the description states it uses an ETA 2893, and even describes all of the functions of this movement, but the watch doesn't have a date and may not have a second hand, judging from the picture. Is this some sort of stripped down movement, or could it run the GMT hand, second hand and date on a GMT-II? Any thoughts, suggestions? http://watchorbit.com/product/?familyid=J1...&storeid=20

Most of the classic Rolex models still sell like crazy, and I think that the next generation sports models and Day-Date will be the new standard for a long time to come. With the strongly noted exception of the Deep Sea and Yachty II, which I find over-the-top, the new models are improving on a tradition, not abandoning it. Nearly everyone believes the case, bracelet, bezel insert and dial are improvements in the new Sub and GMT, and what's not to love about a 40+ mm Day-Date and Milgaus? I have always liked day dates but for their diminutive size. Now its just the price that keeps from getting one

Update: my Asian GMT is D-E -A -D. Never had a rep movement die on me before this one.

Congrats. It's a nice watch. My gen rolies have been seeing very little wrist time since I got this one.

ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY my sentiment. After purchasing my 3rd gen rolex, I swore off reps. That was a year ago, and here I am again, after just buying 2 GMT IIc's. And I'm tempted by the Super Sea Dweller. Having some gens is reassuring, but doesn't mean you won't want more watches. Would I rather have a gen GMT? Yes, no question. The knowledge that it is totally reliable, is easily (if not inexpensively) repairable and has all the fine finish details and QC measures makes a huge difference. The feel and finish differences of the gen vs. a submariner or daytona rep are major. But the gens are several thousand $$, and I can't support my watch addiction with all gens! So reps will stay a part of my life, maybe coming and going with time, but still a valued part of my collection.

I'm going to have the "swiss" movement serviced and the asian replaced with a genuine eta. I will attempt to find a 2893-2 thru my watchmaker, or possibly bite the bullet and get a used ocean-1 gmt. It's annyoing enough when the GMT hand stops (mine stopped a couple times but never lagged), but its REALLY annoying to constantly second-guess whether the watch is telling the right time.

I find that on both my Asian and "Swiss" versions, the watch will just stop for a period of 5 to 10 minutes, then start going again on its own. It's very random. It usually happens at night. Sometimes not. It's happens on some days and not at all on others. Needless to say, I'm always checking it against my cell phone clock or pc clock to make sure it is correct. Maybe its a dirty and dry movement. The wierd thing is, it keeps great time in between stopages. Anyone else having this problem?

Very interesting! Thank you for the translation; it is easily understandable.

IHS

@jmt, I intend to put a 2893 into my GMT IIc, so I'd be interested in your project. Good luck and please share the results.

Nope, you're wrong. The GMT IIc bezel does not make the clicking sound of a submariner or older GMT II bezel. It really doesn't make a sound other than when it locks into place at each bezel stop, which is a very subtle sound. Go to any AD and try one on. There is no room for interpretation!