crystalcranium

Saw them profiled in WT and have seen their ads for years. My wife wants to get me a watch in the $700 price range for Christmas and I am looking for something outside the Hamilton/Tissot/Oris box at this price point. they have a 10 micron plated gold watch called the Pureal that has a pocket watch on a strap look like the FA Jones and some of the RGM pieces. http://www.dfreemontwatches.com/pureal.htm Opinions?

Big disclaimer here...I am no expert at picking out the flaws but I'll offer an opinion. yes the caseback is confusing and I always have reservations when it is a low transaction seller, and there are no pictures of the movement...however... The engraving on the caseback, even though "Rolex" is in the wrong position, is deep and looks genuine. Also, the lug holes look correct and unaltered. A re-drill is usually obvious. That dial ageing is pretty good if it's a fake. EDIT: Just read the seller's feedback...a customer was sold a fake Rolex...legal case pending! So much for lug holes and deep engraving!

That lume job looks like the icing on the butterscotch sponge cakes that are sold around here! When I started woodworking, some of the stuff I was so proud of was slopped together junk. A skill set that I was comfortable marketing to the public at large didn't show up until 5 years later. These "watchworker" wannabees are hacks looking to make some quick bucks or overly proud newcomers to the craft who haven't a clue that the idea is to get the screw out and return it to it's original position without leaving any evidence it's been touched. The idea isn't "get the soft headed, overly tightened, screw out by any means available. I think it's testimony to Ziggy's skills and integrety that he disclaims every lume job stating (paraphrased)"minute hairline scretches are unavoidable on the hands when removing old lume material and there will be slight iregularities in application, since it is done by hand." I've looked at the vintage luming he did to my 1665 MBW under a 7X loupe and this craftsman's idea of irregular and scratched is very different than mine. I cant find a flaw. In my woodworking, my client QC is driven by an obsessive perfectionisim. If it satisfiies me, almost no one will have issues with the quality of the work. Who ever did this work has an overinflated idea about their skill set,...or they just dont give a crap. Kind of person who would paint a car with a brush.

To his credit, he lists the regular price as $9000, but he's selling it for $1400...still, some $900 more than Homer..and I really dont see a detail difference fron the caseback shots except for the Tourous labeling. The warranty may explain part of the price differential but this is a California based importer named "Lu" who has been in the watch business since 2003. Is he more likely to be around than Homer in 5 years????????????????

http://www.tourbillonwatches.com/tourous-t...on-watches.html Lifetime warranty on the movement Looks like they re-work the base movement a little...don't know if they make any mechanical improvements. Nice looking watches

Well said!!!! I think the search for the Holy Grail is a vain attempt to make this $4000 vs $300 comparison moot. Certain replicas will be excellent visual reproductions and therfore attractive bargains for collectors who want a desireable design without paying the price. I think the obsessive detail nuts among us are more interested in the fantasy of walking into a Rolex AD some day saying "OK, let's go mano a mano...your genuine against my 1/20th the price rep...I bet you I have everything you have and didn't break the bank. Myself, I am somewhat put off by the "luxury" item marquee being the engine that is driving the Swiss watch industry's incredible comeback over the last 15 years but it saved the mechanical watch's ass as a viable product...it's just too bad that 35 years ago, you could buy a mass market Girard Perregaux Gyromatic at your jeweler for $75 and today...for an entry level GP...what are we talking??? 6K...10K????

I hope we can all remember that this test applies to the test watch only. With replica QC what it is, there's no guarantee a good test result here translates to accross the board product performance. What it might indicate is potential given design but I wouldn't rush to anoint the new SD the equal of the genuine in terms of performance just yet. Let's wait until the full measure of failure stories are on the board.

For the life of me, I can't understand why the replica gurus cant get this simple watch replication correct. It seems every time a certain issue is resolved, 2-3 others crop up. The Omega SMP Chrono is so much more complicated and so freeking close to the genuine that I have considered punting my genuine and getting the rep...why cant these guys get a 40 year old, three hand center post design right and do it consistantly? Does every Sub/SD replica have to come out of China with the wrong crown guard shape? Why can't these simple shape and detail issues be resolved?

Great replica...would hold its own, on its own...but it looks like a faded version of the genuine side by side...like all replicas. Excellent imperfect reproduction which is the best we can ask for.

I have come close to pulling the trigger of the TT DJ with the alleged solid gold midlinks, crown and bezel for about $600. Just cant do it. What's to stop these guys from passing 10K gold fill with a brass center and a 14K plating off as the genuine article? In 5 years when I see brassing...will dealer X still be in business...will he care...will he still have my $600???...hell yes. Rather take my $600 and get a Chase Durer PVD Underwater Demolition Team Chrono.

My God...you are obsessed, insane, OCD, crazy....and your watches show it...they are incredible. I'm just not into vintagizing my precious MBW GW. Can't bear to scratch it up however routine wear and tear has resulted in the loss of the replica pearl.

Sorry guys, I agree that the beat difference is negligible on viewing unless you are looking for it and are concentrating on discerning it. Besides, there is lots more than simply oscilation frequency that goes into the smoothness of a second hand. I'm willing to bet a neglected 28.8K ETA beats less smoothly than a freshly serviced 19K Rolex movement.

I just lost my third pearl, first on a rep bezel insert, the last two on aftermarkets, to routine, daily wear and tear. I think the biggest culprit is sinking my hand into the pocket on a pair of blue jeans. This seems to strip the pearl right out of the hole. What's the secret for genuines...stronger glues??...a different attachment arrangement???...or are they lost at a high rate also. On my Gen Omega SMP chrono, the bezel "pearl" is luminous material under the bezel hole. The Sub and sea-dweller pearls stand proud and unprotected. Aren't they just begging to be sheared off? BTW, this was my MBW 1665 that lost the pearl and despite thoughts to the contrary among "vintagizers"...I dont like the look of a pearless bezel.

B&M watches fall on the pricing break point for replicas i.e. replicas going for about 3-5X less than originals so not much of a market...and it's not enough of a known name vs replica bargain to make it worth it. Interestingly, this is what makes them such attractive genuines. Baume and Mercier, Maurice Lacroix, Oris, Sinn, Doxa, Hamilton, etc are all wonderful, desireable genuines well within the price range of those of us here with $500 in disposable cash to get an Asian 7750 IWC rep.

never really thought it through but probably about $25,000 if they were gens...not outrageous for someone of my means and isnt that the point????? No diamonds or solid 18k or platnum here...just good engineering and quality.

Gorgeous...ypu would think they would set the regulateur correctly...the second hand reads 3 seconds past the minute and the minute hand infers about 10 seconds to the minute. Get it right guys!

Amazing....a fantasy killed in 3 posts... "I have the most amazing replica in the world....so and so is the greatest dealer who ever lived...I have found the Holy Grail" "Dude...look at a pic of the genuine...notice the subdial spacing?" "Oh SH*%!!!!!...this watch sucks!!!!!" It's this kind of "irrational exhuberance" combined with the temporary loss of resolving power in the visual that drives this industry

Agreed...reps are a beautiful pit stop...but if you are a true timepiece lover...gens are the only place to be.

I have sold the rep collection twice to concentrate on the genuine collection. I only bought the highest fidelity replicas, very popular among the replica buying community, treated them like fine china (no pun intended), kept them tuned to perfection, and sold them here where their uniquiness and exquisite fidelity to genuine details was appreciated and well known. The result was something of a mini-bonanza with the pieces selling for very high prices. The genuines I collected are all a part of my present, growing collection. My experience is that if you buy good reps by doing your homework, they are not a bad place to "park" and enjoy your genuine collection savings. The reps are piling up again so it might be time for anither fire sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks cool but very expensive for a refinished dial http://cgi.ebay.com/Rolex-Movement-ref-166...VQQcmdZViewItem

ALERT...ALERT...DAUNTING MECHANICAL TASKS!!!!!!! Let me see...just how many of these have I screwed up in my watch destroying career??? Let's take them one at a time. Removing the caseback...yeah...even with duct tape or a rubber glove and caution, I've managed to mar a caseback and certainly I have screwed up marginally machined threads on closure. Removing the crown and stem from the keyless works...yeah...this is my most consistant offense in watch destruction...Ziggy was amazed at what I managed to do with just a toothpick to a 2824 KW. Releasing the movement from the case by removing the retaining ring screws and then...reassembling the sucker correctly without losing the screws in the movement. yeah...that's a tough one. Pushing out the crystal...ha!!!!!! snap.....Putting it back in....ha ha ha ha ha . and some people only worry about fingerprints and dust. They are amazing! Using Loctite on screws I can barely see without seizing half the free moving parts on the watch...tough one I have Ziggy's address memorized and I'm probably helping to send his kids to college but...no more destroyed watches for me!

looks like 10 atm wr...not diving suitable My rock is a 200M Seiko

Yes...twice a likely to break. Tourbis add absolutely nothing to the accuracy of a wristwatch...they are complete window dressing, in fact, a strong argument can be made that they detract significantly from accurate running. I want a GP TGB Tourbi Pocket watch...what are there, like 12 survivors from the 20+ Constant Girrard made...they go for like $2.5-3.0 million. Tourbis on a wrist watch???? Like putting a small steam engine on a 12 cylinder race car just to run the windshield wipers.

I forked out over $2K for a genuine Omega SMP chrono and avoided sweating in it for 2 years. This summer, I decided to take it into the surf...one big wipeout and I came out of the water without the bezel...gone forever...PTSD near the shower in a fine watch now. I'm done with all watches in H2O except for my Seiko Diver...absolutely bulletproof...and infinitely replaceable If you really think these reps are water resistant to 30 bar...check out the water resistance test in this month's WatchTime. Very expensive genuines with shattered crystals and movements stopping at test levels I venture to say no replica would stand.

The POS label I put on it refered as much to problems (OK, I'll start a partial list...lots of backlash in the bezel, bezel not lining up correctly, caseback engraving all wrong, caseback a screw off with faux screws, very loose analogue hands with backlash/impossible to hack accurately, analogue and digital quartz movements that are very innaccurate and will not run in synchronicity) as to fidelity. Not to mention the fact that this is supposed to be a titanium watch etc...you are welcome to your opinion...but this disaster is worth every bit of the $65 it sells for.