loosely they are abbreviations I guess that are used to differentiate between makers... some makers produce better or lesser reps... all dealers sell these watches (with a few exceptions, but generally speaking) Its too much to explain here all the variations... but once you decide on the brand, the model, the budget... you choose the maker (if there is more than one) usually and if you are lucky there will be one maker that stands above the others for your particular watch choice... (or maybe only one, in which case its a no brainer) anyway then you find out with research on here in relevant sections which maker makes the better version and which version is best of them... like V1 or V2 etc... or ZF maker or Noob maker etc Once you know then go to a few of trusted dealers and see which one you would prefer to buy from in terms of cost of watch and cost of shipping and payment methods to suit... also check reviews of both watch and dealer... if you arent sure when looking over the dealer sites then its easier to email them direct and ask them specifically they will know what your talking about and will get back to you with price and shipping etc as you might want triangle shipping to minimize customs risks etc Some TDs like Sead have EU stock limited but some decents ones and again like Sead he doesnt have a website or only has small website with limited list of watches and if you find one dealer is cheaper than another generally but you cant find the particular watch you want on his site then you will still be able to get that watch from that dealer if you contact the dealer direct and ask him and it will still likely be cheaper You can find price variations that can average around 40/50 bucks higher or lower and about 15/20 bucks with shipping higher or lower... some dealers advertise discounts like with the current ZF sale and others dont in the hope you buy at the higher price... It really comes down to getting yourself around the forum and like I said in first post make certain choices about what you want before you hone into which is the better version and best place to buy.. ( I would also suggest you have say a list of 3 that you are looking for as you might find the rep of the watch you want aint great or it might be out of stock etc so its good to have a fallback choice) The more I type here the more I am feeling like I am answering a "Who has the best sub...?" thread ;)