Smab

BP DSSD - still wearing it today:-)

Here's a pic!

One other seek of advice: I reckon you can tell by the pictures, the HE valve is not recessed as it should be on this BP model (above is a pic of a GEN). Pics from dealers sites, show recessed HE valve, as per GEN. Mine is more or less opposite, sticking outside of the edge of the watch case. Any easy fix? Luckily, the QC pics did not show this particular part of the watch, or else I might have rejected it.

Oh, I forgot to answer - as you can see by the pics, at least from the edge of the DW, the dial appears somewhat semi-glossy. But, from what I have heard, there are several versions of the GEN dial. Both matte and glossy, and with different fonts on the writing. The dealer is one of our TD. I will not reveal, since I have unadressed issues. But this item is carried by several of our trusted dealers.

Here are some pics. I will make a decent Review when I get the time. Remember this is only cellphone pics, so please forgive the lousy quality.

Hello dear Community. I just received my new BP DSSD. This is the latest release with better (bigger) hour markers, better ceramic bezel inlay and better overall finished bracelet (supposedly). Since I already own a Noob DSSD (v5, v6 or something) with a Sellita movement (400 USD ish), this time I picked up the cheapie, with the new breed A2813 High Beat movement. Got it at a bargain, with free freight for 218 USD. Since I have not found any review of this BP DSSD as of yet, I will try make one my self. This is not the review, only a first impression and ask for advice post. First impression - this looks way better than the older noob version! The overall finish is way better, especially the finish of the bracelet and clasp. The watch and the bracelet has a very nice sheen to it, almost like a GEN. And the pearl is near spot-on, as well as the bezel inlay markers! The sapphire appears to be near in alignment with the bezel inlay, and looks like it is much thicker than the one on the noob. It also looks to be more domed. The dial looks to be "deeper" down in the case, as if the overall rehaut is higher/deeper than the noob version. Imo it looks more realistic as a "3900m" diver. If this is true to the GEN, I do not know, but perhaps. Only side by side comparison can reveal. Also the dial appears bigger, because of the deeper rehaut and the larger hour markers. Secondly comes the but's.. it appears as a "too-good-to-be-true beautiful woman"! Almost like the old Alfa Romeos, if some of you have knowledge of such - very beautiful, but unreliable like hell! It seems the glidelock lever and clasp has an issue. The glidelock lever pops open with the slighest vibrations, like when you ride your offroad bicycle on a bumpy dirt road. It does not seem to keep in place. Also if you pull the bracelet slightly, you are able to pull the glidelock lever open. This is not very good, I reckon it is a production flaw, perhaps it is fixable (someone have any advice???) Also the caseback teeth and engraving is not very good. So, the watch is very nice, but the flaws are not visible at first sight, almost like in a Alfa Romeo or a beautiful woman you may have met at the wrong place:-) Also, the locking clasp itself is loose, almost like it is not firm enough to stay put in the spring bar it is attached. So it comes loose every time I open it. Major bracelet issues (clasp issues)! Third impression: the movement has major issues. The second day I wore it, it just stopped, almost like the PR had not gained during my first day of wearing. So I wound it and it started again. The third night, it seemed to have stopped, but the second hand was still running! Only the minute hand and hour hand had stopped, 13 minutes before midnight! What kind of **it movement is this? I have never before encountered a movement that still runs, but where the hour and minute hand has stopped! I am not crazy about sending it back, but I will experiment with the crown down, face up, or some other position during the night, to see if this occurs again. It runs fine now. On the other hand, it should be possible to fix or replace the glidelock and clasp assembly, the bracelet is otherwise very nice indeed.

Just came to my mind - why does not Angus (PureTime) carry the CrPO from H-Factory (or is it BP factory??), he has only listed the limited Liquid Metal 42mm Noob on this site, and a couple of other totally off socalled ceramics. None of the standard 42 and 45mm SS and Ti models, seen on TT and PC sites.

Looks like a great rep. If you compare to real photos of the GEN, you notice they've made the pearl slightly too large. On some reps also the position a little too low. I do not think it will be visible on the wrist, seen by the naked eye, though. Also the metallic markers, 6, 9, 12 are a little too fat, and on GENS pics, it seems they are made a little more sophisticated (somewhat rounded, not completely flat on top, like the rep). Also the Omega logo under 12, seems a little too fat, and the two lines in the greek letter *omega* is too short on the REP logo. Neetpicking, but hey, it is still a great REP. I think the color looks spot on!

For the time, there does not exist any known rep movement, that can replicate the Caliber 9300 Omega In-House Movement, used in the Ceramic Chronograph (with two sub-dials, the sub-dial at three o'clock counts for both minutes and hours on the chrono, the chrono seconds at the central second hand, whereas the running seconds subdial is at 9 o'clock (date at 6). As you can see, the subdial at 3 has two hands, one white and one orange. The minutes in orange and the hours in white. There is no such thing as an stock swiss or asian movement, that can replicate this. Hence, there will only be a quartz version of this, until (if ever) they make a dedicated asian clone of the 9300 movement (with colum-wheel, I think they will not).

I guess I have major issues with my Juan Pablo Montoya (Ti), purchased last summer from PT. Guess I must have fu**ed up something, when I have carefully winded manually now and then. Have not used it much, until recently. Since it gained very little PR from one day to the next, it usually stopped during the early morning (when I wore it the day before), so I tend to wind it manually in the mornings, when it has been laying unused for some days/weeks. After a while, it felt like something "slipped" when I wound it, so I stopped dooing that. After a while it started slowing down. About 3-4 minutes during the night. And the crown seems to have stripped treads (or the crown tube?) - I fear the treads are Ti as well, and if so, there is nothing strange with the treads beeing stripped, since TI is a rather soft material. As you might now, it scratches quite easily. So now I have a movement that needs service, and possibly I need to change the crown (an easy fix, if one can aquire spare parts) or the crown tube (is it possible to change this?). Crown is not totally busted, it is still possible to screw it in, but only the inner couple of treads are good. So you screw it only 1/4 turn, and it is screwed all in!

Hah, look at the "Tachymettre" scale! Is it not supposed to have only one T in Mettre? And the placement of the 1000km/h is almost at the 10th second marker! So one should suppose to take 10 seconds to move 1km if you are travelling at 1000km/h? On my Rep Juan Pablo Montoya, the 1000km/h is placed between 3 and 4 seconds, as you move 277,77 metres per second, you should use about 3,6 seconds to travel 1km. Now it says "sold" for 3000USD on the add. Poor sucker that paid 3000 USD. I'd say 30USD would be a fair price.

I try to use the search function, but after a while I got a doubt - when even the word Diver does not have any hits, my conclusion is the search function does not work at all!

Ok, not bad guessed! SOSF - PAM292/380 Ceramic custom (with superluminova), DSSD. The SOSF is gen. The PAM has a fantastic bright lume, but the DSSD is the longest lasting. Pic shot with a Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 (8MP camera).

I get so frustrated when I read this, "summer is around the corner"! It snowed here on Sunday, and today it is a freezing 2Celsius (about 35 F). So much for summer, it is not even springtime here yet:-) Last year we did infact have snow in the mountains on 20th of July (above 3000 feet altitude) and some 5 C here at sea level! So in 2012, we had snowfall in all 12 months here in Norway! Nice watch tough:-)

Recently there has been quite a few ceramic case reps getting on the market. Some PAMS, some IWC's among others. When I first ordered what I believed was a ceramic PAM380, I only later found it was infact a hybrid model, released by H-Maker, offered by Perfect Clones and TrustyTime among others. As they state on their websites, "PAM380 custom installation in 292 ceramic caseset". So the result is among the coolest dials (with the sea&sky logo) sausage dial (not sandwich, like the true PAM292 and PAM292J "pig dial" should be), hi-beat 21600 manual movement, and superlumed markers. Even it is a fantasy model, I think Panerai should have released this beauty them selves, I feel it is a model they are missing:-) Or "the ceramic PAM missing link"! Here it is:

Hi guys! Tested the ability to take photos in low light conditions with my new Samsung Galaxy Note II. I think the result got quite good - anyone who can see what models these 3 babies are? Tip: two of them are reps...

Finally I think I have found the correct strap combo:-) This is a PAM292 case with PAM380 dial. So it is a fantasy model, custom installation by the H-Maker. 21.600bph manual wind. Also note the button, I think the watch and the button make a great pair:-)

I've also found that 316F steel is softer than 316L, 149 on the Vickers scale, while 316L is 155 on Vickers scale. Because of the lower contenct of Molybdenium in 316F, it supposedly is a tad whiter than 316L, so the intention was to get it to look more like the Rolex 904 steel, that has a higher content of nickle (almost twice that of 316L) and a bit copper. The sheen of a GEN Rolex is however never rivaled by the finish of a rep Rolex, as I come to understand it will still not look the same, even with 316F. Since a modern Rolex made of 904L steel has about 23 % nickle, and the 316L only have about 12 %, one can clearly see that these alloys will look and behave differently. So when it comes to hardness, I would prefer 316L, and problably have a longer lasting finish to the watch. But then again, I doubt they use either of the two, easiest way is to remove the bracelet from your watch, then test it with a magnet, if it is 316L (or 316F) it should not be magnetic. Do not do this test while the bracelet is attached to your watch, as the magnetism can harm the movement, since magnetic resistance to these reps are highly questionable. If the bracelet however, is clearly magnetic, it may perhaps be some knife blade steel of some sort, like 440. One clearly does not want any magnetic material in a mechanical watch, all the parts should be as little magnetic as possible.

After 5 years of collecting, I have purchased some 15 reps. I must honestly say that I do not believe the rep factories use the steel quality they claim they use (mostly 316L, also referred to as surgical steel). This issue has been discussed before, but after the rep factories started with the 316F a while back, I feel the discussion is still very present. The resistance to scratches and wear and tear of 316L is not very high, but still not too bad. Rolex uses 904 steel, a harder alloy, but much more expensive. It is also harder to work with, thus they must spend more time when making the finish (polishing, or brushing). So I own a GEN SOSF (Breitling SuperOcean Steelfish, for those that are not acustomed to the board jargon) A17390. This is a watch made of 316L steel, brushed/satin finished, with some parts polished. The bracelet is all brushed/satin finished. I also own the rep of this model. The first signs of wear and tear of the rep bracelet started showing after quite a short time. No abusive use or rough handing what-so-ever, it just started to show signs of wear and tear almost by just beeing weared. Marks and scratches that make it look cheap. I cannot say the same has happened to the GEN bracelet. It shows almost no signs of wear and tear, expect some minor scratches on the clasp. I also own a few full polished reps (PAM359, Super Avenger). They scratch very easily. Even when I clean them with the softest of the soft cloths (i.e. non-reusable wet cloths used to clean LCD screens and plastic lenses), they scratch. The SA bracelet in full sunshine looks almost like a map of the Chile Nasca-lines! I am under the impression that most of the reps we buy today, are made of softer steel alloys. Thus the finish of these reps are very little resistant to daily wear and tear, and quickly show signs of less favourable appearance. Of course, on polished surfaces, it is possible to refinish the surface with cape cod or similar, but for those polished bezels, it is sometimes hard to reach all the small angles and avoid polishing hear the AR coated crystals. As most of you know, one does not want to touch the AR coating with a cape cod, if one does not have the intension of removing the AR! If some of you have good tips on how to clean polished surfaces without scratching, please let me know. I only know one method, that involves cleaning with soap and water, that is not something I want to try with my not-so-waterproof reps. But with the GEN SOSF with 2000m/6600ft waterresistance rating, that is a whole different story.

Finally, the Bucket was working ok this morning. Was not able to upload any photos during the weekend. Here is the final (for now) result:

Hi again. I just finished a custom strap combo for the C1. It was not easy, but I managed. I used a 14,4V electric drill to make holes in the strap for the screws. Then I covered the hole for the screws in the strap with some furniture sticker dots (as you can see on the pictures). It was much more comfortable than the original strap with deployant buckle. Since this is a very thick strap (about 7mm) I reckon that is the reason it was suitable for this custom fit. Pics are uploaded now...

I purchased the C1 back in 2009, but it has not gotten much wrist time due to uncomfortable rubber strap and deployment buckle. So, yesterday I removed the two screws on each "lug side" and the strap came off very easy with no hassle. Some have written that the strap was "fused" to the case, that is not true to this rep. Each half of the strap has a small metal tab, that enforces the attachment to the case, but it is in no way glued or loctited to the case. So I was thinking of using a heavy 26mm strap and drill two holes to fit on the C1 case, it will not be a custom fit, but I want to try it. This is a strap I am not planning to use anyway, so I might just as well ruin it with the drill. Any one else tried this one? Secondly I was playing with the idea to have a metal work shop I know, make a customized metal (steel or aluminium, perhaps eloxated, insert with 26mm lugs and attachment of the kind PAMs have, where you can use screw in springbars (like the PAMS have) , which can be attached with the two screws, and then you can use all standard straps on the market. What do you think of the idea? Have anyone else been thinking the same thing? I have searched the web for aftermarket straps, but have found nothing (0, zip, zero) that can replace the OEM fit strap, that I hate.

Another thing about size of the Deepsea: The size of the dial and crystal diameter also makes the size up or down. When it comes to Deepsea, I feel a wide bezel makes the size look smaller, but if it is a black divers bezel, it looks larger, than say a ss bezel like the SuperOcean. Regarding the bracelet of the Deepsea, which has only 21mm lugs, even tough it is a large watch - Some feels the Deepsea has an unbalanced size between case and bracelet because of that. I reckon Rolex has made it this way due to comfort reasons. They always stribe to make their designs so comfortable as possible. A larger bracelet would also make the Deepsea significantly heavyier. Because of the very robust case design (water resistant to 3900 meters) and thick crystal (some 5mm) it already has properties to make it heavy just within the case itself. It probably did not need a heavy bracelet as well.

I hear they say the latest Explorer II white 42mm is quite good. It also has AR coated cyclops and superlume. Because of the complication (GMT), it can turn out to be less rigid than the simplest (only time and date) ranges. If you are looking for the Sport range, you can look at GMT-MASTER II Ceramic, I would also suggest the Sub, even you are not into it at the moment. The latest sub with correct case and crown guard shape looks quite good. Also with superlume. Look out for the previous ceramic subs, most of them have wrong shaped crown guards (too small, since they used the case of GMT-Master II ceramic initially, to replicate both the GMT and the sub). Studies of the GENs show they are not exactly alike, even at first glimpse, one might get that idea. Remember the DeepSea is quite a large watch, even it is only rated at 43mm. It has quite a thick case (height above the wrist is significant, some might think it is not so comfortable to wear, it does not easily slip under the cuffs of your shirt), and weighs in excess of 200 grams. Some also feel it is too top heavy, but since it has the slide lock clasp, it is easy to adjust perfectly to fit the wrist in any conditions, hot or cold weather, and adjusted just right, it will not wobble on top of your wrist. But it is not a watch you want to wear loose. The ceramic sub is rated at only 40mm, but wears quite nice on most averidge wrists, but if you are into the Omega and Breitling sizes, the sub and GMT are maybe too small for you. The Explorer II 42mm has a rated size a little over, but the design of the case and the bezel probably make it look about the same size as the sub and GMT. One thing to remember about sizes, the 40, 42 or 44mm (and above) can wear quite different that rated. I have a PAM162F (44mm) that wears significantly larger than my GEN Breitling SuperOcean Steelfish, which is also 44mm. Both on a steel bracelet. Also the lug width of the watch will make it look smaller or larger. PAM has 24mm lugs, Breitling has 22mm. In comparison the sub and the GMT (also the Explorer) has quite narrow bracelets, with lugs only 20mm. The Deepsea has only 21mm, even it is a large watch.

Wow! As far as I can tell, this should be the exact same one as Josh has on his site as well. But on the pictures on those sites, the case does not look 1:1, since I think the crown guards and lugs are still underdimensioned compared to the pictures you have presented here. Is the picures old, or are there different versions? Look at a GEN CER SUB. The crown guards are very overdimensioned, compared to the older one with non-ceramic bezel. The crown guards on the SUB is also bigger than the crown guard on the GMT-Master II Ceramic, that they used as reference for the old versions of the ceramic sub. Therefore the recent (older) versions of the Ceramic sub has always had wrong shaped CG's. But this one looks real good, and also the pearl looks more like the GEN, at least as far as I can tell from these pictures. Also the Cer SUB has fatter lugs than the Cer GMT, and this one you have gotten from Trusty seems to have correct shaped lugs as well. Are you sure this is not a GEN you have pictures of here?;-) So is this one (with correct shaped CG) the actual watch you get, if you order this new model from either PC or Trusty, or is it just from Trusty you get this model? I think the pictures from PC looks to have the wrong shape more pointed CG, that used to be the case with the Cer Subs based on the GEN GMT-Master II case that they dissected to make these replications in the past. Funny thing, tough. The Full Gold version of the same watch from PC seems to have correct shape CG on the website pictures, not like the SS version. I reckon they use the same case for both SS and FG, only applying gold plating?