mick92627

I'll be there.

<Hate 'em> Wouldn't wear one, rep or gen, unless it was to win a bet as to how long I could stand to have one on my wrist. I would take a gen Rolex if it were given to me for free, but only on the understanding that I could sell it immediately and use the cash to buy (non-Rolex) reps. </Hate 'em>

That's very kind of you to say.

Try this. The Portuguese 1939 with black dial. The dial may look blue, but that's the AR in Josh's not so hot pics. It's has your 6498 movement, (which is a joy to wind,) with seconds at 6. Lanikai posted some great wrist shots just today that give a better idea of this piece! I have one in the cream face and I love it.

I did a pictorial review of the Railmaster that you can see here. There's an even better pictorial that Stephane did here. Got mine from Josh. I'm not aware of a better one.

OC here too. Costa Mesa. We have, oops, HAD the only Tourbillon shop in the US, until they opened one last month in NYC. Was in it the other day at South Coast Plaza looking at Ω PO 42mms while waiting on mine from Reg. Nice shop, but the lady couldn't tell me what I was getting for the extra $1,100 to buy it from her instead of Amazon.com. You think they would have at least SOME coherent response. I can't have been the first person to ask that question. But I got the Ω catalog and she invited me to an event later that week to meet the chief designer for Glash

I don't, but I'll get one. A few people have asked. Yes, same watch, but I got mine from Josh, here: http://www.jpc8118.com/000000iwpv10001-por...498-p-5854.html

Got mine yesterday - Looks/feels great.

Agreed. Yes, this is the strap that came with it.

+1

Fantastic pictures! Way better than the dealer shots. I felt the same way with the IWC Portuguese 1939. So much better in person. I might have to own one of these. Thanks.

The Portuguese of 1939 is a true watch legend that stylistically comes as close as possible to the perfect ideal of good watch design. As the first "wristwatch" it established the large size worn on the wrist that is very popular today. It was also the first to break the taboo of wearing a complete pocket-watch movement on one's arm. It was successful, and still is today for IWC. As many of you already know, it got its name from the fact that just such a watch was requested by two Portuguese businessmen at the end of the 1930s. They wanted a high-precision watch that would embody their proud tradition as a seafaring nation. From the start the "Portuguese", as it was only named years later, with all its features was an unofficial marine chronometer and laid out like a navigational instrument. Arabic numerals and graduations for the indices alternate, the actual measuring range is separated off at the dial center by another circle, the minute chapter ring is in the "chemin de fer" - railway - style very popular at the time. The same graphic elements also appear in the seconds display circle. The case (the rep is 43 mm, whereas the gen is 44mm,) with its fluted bezel and slightly pulled down strap lugs is in keeping with the original. Like the modern gen, the rep Vintage Portuguese does differ from the original 1939 in that it has anti-reflective sapphire glass over the dial. The rep is powered by the Asian Unitas 6498 Manual Handwind Movement, 21600bph, and is a joy to wind; it just feels so solid, and is, as some members here have remarked, fairly bullet-proof. Here too the elongated index, the so called "Jones arrow", which goes from the balance c*ck to the plate, is a reference to F. A. Jones, the boy from Boston who founded IWC on the Rhine 140 years ago. To this day, IWC is the only major Swiss watch factory located in eastern Switzerland, as the majority of the well-known Swiss watch manufacturers are located in western Switzerland. If you only go by the pics on Josh or Andrew's site, you'd be taking a leap of faith on this watch, as I did. I figured, at around a hundred bucks, what do I have to lose? But when I got it I was SO IMPRESSED by the look and feel. The face is gorgeous, the AR is faboo and it has a really nice heft to it. Lots of presence. I can always count on people noticing it and complimenting it. I'm well pleased. (I glommed some of the text above from other sites around the net.) Enough talk for now. Pictures.

Having found this little slice of heaven a little over a month ago, the Railmaster was the second rep I acquired from our good friend Josh, and I've been breaking it in for a few weeks now. The Railmaster is part of the Aqua Terra series which, in turn, is part of Omega's Seamaster line. It's extremely comfortable on the wrist and looks very sharp in jeans or a suit. Yes, I sprung for the wooden gift box. It sports a very glossy finish. These are the extras that come with the box, watch sold separately. I went with the croc strap. People seem to go out of their way to say what a nice watch it is. Full frontal. Backside The deployment clasp makes a satisfying 'SNAP' when you click it into place. I chose the Railmaster as my first Omega because it's so simple and so clean. If you want to see a MUCH larger version of the 'Swiss Eta' 2824-2 movement, point a browser HERE.

Pretty remarkable looking. Could one of the dealers get the factories to rep one of these? It's already made in China, so you've got a leg up. http://www.geekandhype.com/2009/02/02/face...ntre-a-la-fois/

Sweet ride. Thanks for the pics. Is the 42mm considered a UPO like its big brother? I was going to go for the 45mm, but it just seems so big. I think I might go for the 42mm even if it's not an ultimate, but I wanted to see what the informed consesus here was. Cheers

There are no stupid questions, (within reason,) only stupid answers; and most of us are somewhere on the noob spectrum. Do your homework and if you still have questions, ask. That's what I do. You'll have other questions on terminology, no doubt. Here's a good post that Watchdog put together: http://www.rwg.cc/members/Watch-movement-G...ary-t77684.html

I have the Railmaster too and it's, hands down, my fave.

Welcome. My first rep, (can it be only a month ago?) was the Breitling Steelfish Superocean super-rep. It's a stunner, and you'll be very pleased with it. I got the white face. I ordered it with the SS bracelet, but if I could go back in time, I would have gotten the calfskin strap, which is now on order. I have an IWC Portuguese 1939 on order as well. VERY elegant, (at least from the pictures, again, the white face,) though at 43mm, pretty good sized. I'll post pics when it comes in. And in between those two I got an Omega Railmaster, (not the XL,) which is my current fave, and then the TAG F1, which, with the 'Swiss' ETA working chronograph movement, is a ridiculously outstanding value. Habit forming? I probably should have gotten a cocaine addiction instead. Cheers

I'm with Bossart - Smaller, for me, is almost always better. It's so easy to make a hockey puck stuck on the wrist look silly. But, to each their own.

That's a beauty. Is that DSN's 01D, by any chance?

Good Day Gentlemen, I've been following the comments of members here as they discuss the pros and cons of the various reps that are popular today. The PAMs with their (well-deserved) cult following and lately the UPOs, Big Pilots, etc. Beautiful watches all; and I've got an SFSO that I just love, clocking in at 43mm. But I am interested in what the folks here get excited about in the smaller reps. For example, I have the (non-XL) Omega Railmaster. At just 39mm, (which doesn't seem that small to me,) it's my current fave. Having pored over the PAMs, (there's so many of them,) I've concluded that I'm shut out of that game unless and until they bring back a 40mm, like the gorgeous 048 that jitai posted recently. That's a lovely piece. So what say you, good men and true, of the RWG? When you don't feel like strapping a hockey puck to your wrist, what are the 40mm and below reps lately that command your respect? Cheers.

Could that be true?

I've heard the more senior guys here repeatedly advise folks not to bring a rep into an AD. I respect their experience, so that advice is good enough for me. But I am curious as to why it's a bad idea. I'd like to hear what the informed consensus is from the more experience members. Gentlemen?

Nice strap, Carl. Where do you come by it? You're not a deployment clasp kinda guy? I like the croc strap it came with from Josh, with deployment.