Hammy1

I don't have a gen to show you but it should be plainly obvious at close range the difference between a rep and gen dials. The clarity of the markings and the texture should give it away. Sorry if that wasn't what you were looking for.

I had a Taka crystal in my V3 before I got my V1 and put it in there. No problems with either case. I did it myself so it wasn't a big deal.

I don't know about your rep crystal but there was a huge difference with mine between the clarity of the crystal itself even with the purple AR removed. The stock rep crystal was dirty looking and the Taka is crystal clear in comparison and makes the white markers on the dial look much better. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that you shouldn't take your rep crystal and spend big bucks on AR treatment if it's not a clean and clear crystal.

It's a beautiful watch and enjoy! I wish the movement in mine hadn't given out. It's just been sitting idle for a while now.

Yes, that's the latest and greatest. There is another version which is the same outside but with Asian movement for like half price though. Premium for "Swiss" isn't worth it. Gen co-axial movement is lower anyway. I don't know if Andrew carries that one but you can check around.

Have you read his opinion on Panerai?

A Panerai is child’s play -- a cheap toy worn only by clowns. Yes, I said clowns.

http://www.askmen.com/fashion/mens-watches_500/564_watch-snob-stop-wearing-panerai.html

:o :o

Looks nice. When is the rep coming out?

There is a good side by side review on the geek:

4. The lume.

The lume in daylight is a bit whiter on the REP, but ACTUALLY has a cleaner finish. The depth of the indicies is almost close, but the gen is somewhat deeper.

5. The lume in the dark.

The GEN is brighter, but REP is very very close. No big deal.

http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=130752

I asked for two spare crystals. Those can go to chief while I wear the watches. Let's see what they say.

If you can't get one from the dealer, I have an extra 3717 crystal. I swapped mine for a Taka crystal and don't need the spare. PM me if interested.

Snowflake Day

N_I_C_E Snowflake!

IWC 3717 V1 with Takashi 2Geeks AR crystal and ETA DDW

Steinhart straps are really nice. I believe I read somewhere Steinhart has their straps made by RIOS in Germany. I just ordered a RIOS padded dark brown buffalo strap for my 3717. I plan to order a German-made deployant (RDH, Axel Jobst, or similar) instead of the buckle if I like the strap.

Out of curiosity, what size buckle is the Top Gun?

Looks straight out of the catalog.

For which model? Post a WTB ad and see what kind of response you get. Good luck.

Sometime last year there was a SOSF wrist check thread (at least I think it was here in RWG). Do a search.

If you read up on the little white lies from some dealers, you'll find you are much better off buying an Asian movement watch and having one of the modders add an aftermarket movement. This way you'll know the providence and know what you are actual getting.

That said, I would buy the Asian watch and wear it with pride until there was a problem.

Hi all,

I am very new to repica world and I am looking for IWC top gun replicas . I have seen some pages in the net selling different kind of replicas.Some of them have topgun watches for about 330 dollars , some have 900 dollars replicas. Expensive ones have swiss eta 7750 valjoux machines ( web sites claim that ).I do not know the difference between asian 7750 and swiss valjoux 7750 , does expensive model deserve to be paid ? ( by the way it is v2 with full ceramic case with double ar coated sapphire glass ).I appreciate if I can get help about this comparison.

Thanks.

I've read all sorts of shady things going on with "Swiss" movements. Older models, used parts, using clone movements all the while charging premium pricing. Just get the Asian 7750 movement. If you love the watch and want to put a Swiss movement in it, have one of the forum modders put an aftermarket movement in. That way you know what exactly goes into your watch and not some Little White Lie. Probably cost you less anyway.

If he can spend a just bit more or find a deal used, check out the Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic and Ollech & Wajs watches:

Both are historical brands although O&W is probably more true to it's history still being a small manufacturer whereas Hamilton is part of the huge Swatch conglomerate.

http://www.gnomonwatches.com/Ollech&WajsWristWatchAll.html

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And if he doesn't want to spend that much, the Khaki is available in...gasp...quartz for much less.

@Hammy: The markers on that watch don't look bad to me at all. Maybe the lume dots are just "charged" in the photo. All rep SOSF lume dots are greenish (save the very first batches). But then again those were applied terribly.

That SOSF is actually pretty nice besides the completely lacking dial texture. But that's nothing new with blue dial version.

Thanks. If it weren't for all the pics of other versions (including your most beautiful gen), I would think this is a nice watch. There are others with lume that doesn't look as greenish as this one. BTW, it's not my pic but one out of Robert's ad (my camera skills aren't up to yours either) and the dial has some texture but not shown in the pic. Anyway, it's better than some and not as good as others but still pretty nice for my first rep. Especially after I put a well used but gen rubber strap on it. It's the perfect knock around sports watch to go with jeans on casual Fridays. We'll see what happens after my 3717 arrives though.

here are the pictures that were sent to me. I think there's a big difference between the swiss version of silix, versus the josh/angus/andrew version. I am going to email silix and see if I can get a refund and start over the search for my ultimate SFSO.

This one look closer to my T4D version (although mine has the arrow seconds hand) and may be the same factory. The font on the numbers and the flat greenish lume. The green lume looks completely off to me and ruins the looks especially with the blue dial. Mine is missing serial number and bezel B stamp but I think those are QA issues. It has me looking for another version so I would pass on this new version from Silix.

A ball of duct tape worked for my SOSF. Might work for you too. And no need to worry about scarring the case back with tape.

My question I suppose, is that spending an additional $150+ for the ETA 7750 really worth it? You'd have to get either movement serviced regularly going forward and either future service would be equal in price. Am I missing anything?

If you look at resale, gen ETA adds a lot of value. If you look at macro shots of the guts on the movements there is a huge difference in finish between the Swiss and Asian movements. Obviously, it's nothing you would see wearing it, but the movement is the "heart and soul" of the watch. So it's certainly not a waste of $150 but again, it depends on how much you want to put into it.

EDIT: I just remembered another benefit with the ETA swap. You can easily sell your A7750 (assuming there isn't anything wrong with it) making the cost difference negligible.

I found this on RWI while researching the same question:

Genuine ETA 7750 all variants (all):

Hour 2.00mm

Minute 1.20mm

Center Seconds 0.25mm

Subdials 0.17mm

Old Asian 7750 version all variants(21,600 BPH):

Hour 2.00mm

Minute 1.20mm

Center Seconds 0.25mm

Subdials 0.17mm

New Asian 7750 (28,800 BPH) Normal ones - NOT the Daytona model (don't have one to measure):

Hour 2.00mm

Minute 1.20mm

Center Seconds 0.20mm

Subdial 0.20mm

http://www.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/3717-and-swiss-movement-26754.html?t=26754

So as you can see, the old A7750 was a direct fit but the new one has some differences.

As to servicing the A7750 vs replacing with ETA, the A7750 service costs about $200+ and a new ETA 7750 can be had for less than $400. It depends on how much you want to put into it. The gen ETA has the advantage that it may come with the day/date wheels which are a popular mod for the 3717. Concepta had a good deal going on the ETA 7750 and he is in the EU.

I decided I wouldn't worry about it either way until there was an issue. That is...if I ever get this watch. I can't seem to get any response from the dealers.

My buddy at work picked up a Tag Monaco Steve Mcqueen quartz from WE. I'm a bit of a auto snob and recommend against it but he really liked this watch and bought it anyway. It turned out to be really nice, especially for $108. The strap was crap of course but other than that it looks like quality. Sure it ticks but most people doesn't know the difference, if they notice or even care. I wouldn't worry about fantasy watches either. How many people in the world have the entire watch catalog from a given manufacturer memorized. If you like it, wear it.

I wish the economics was there for quality quartz pieces. It seems you can get a great rep of $5000+ swiss chrono for $250. Don't you just wish you could find a nice rep of these $1000 quartz for $50. I'd have a couple.

I dont see any real need to upgrade the AR on a 3717 as rep is more gen like then chiefs, just that chiefs is better than the gen

That's why I opted for taka's crystal (and it's available now rather than months from now). It's not as disappearing as chieftang but supposedly made to gen spec and much better than rep. Some of the rep crystals have some yellow tint making the dial markers/hands look tainted. The takashi crystal lets the watch look cleaner. There are pics on 2geeks.net and search RWG for more info.

I see where you where going and it sounds good on paper if everything were the same except for the movement, but that's usually not the situation with these reps. A 3717 "Lite" if you will sound great. Unfortunately doesn't exist though. I've never seen closeups on the 21J but I would suspect the dial, case, crystal, etc are not as good as the v3 A7750 version even if it fit (which it doesn't).

So get a v3 with ETA day/date wheels and aftermarket AR crystal, you've got a winner. I have ETA date wheel, German day wheel, and AR crystal inbound from takashi on RWI. Now I just need to find a good price on a watch. I toyed with the idea of the ETA 7750 but that double the price of the project so decided it could wait. Can't see it anyway.

Love it!!! I've been in a bit of analysis paralysis with this watch but I just need to get over it and just buy one. It really looks awesome.