subbiesrock

we are so lucky to have these guys on board here

Couldn't agree more

Brilliant lesson Red, I've had my eye on the Portu series for a while, and this is indeed a unique piece.

Is the movement a decorated 6498-style movement? The very long adjustment lever looks distinctive. To get the effect as in the gen would require custom machining of the bridges - not an easy feat but doable.

The only dealer here who I know %100 carries only top grade stuff is Bergie. I know WatchEden has a softgoods area but really ... it may be a false impression but I always think of W.E as lower-end.

The impression is warranted, nuff said

*drools*

We can agree that they're all Brilliant

Cool watch

...is it?

And they sell good liquor... (at least I *think* I was at Costco when I took this shot).

You Yanks should consider yourselves lucky to pay so little for top quality booze... The Aussie dollar is .95 to yours at the moment and we pay double these prices, minimum.

I couldn't get these prices Duty Free...

As for the Flying B, not my cup of tea in particular, but they're going for 13,000 on FeeBay and similarly on other websites.

The mere fact that this question provokes such passionate discussion is very interesting to me... In my limited experience, having admired luxury watches from afar and only fairly recently gotten into the rep world, it seems that they really are the truest reflection of status, and Rolex have certainly captured that essence through clever marketing and positioning and, let's be honest, their watches aren't bad

In terms of comments, the Breitlings always get comments like 'what are those numbers around the end for?', the Panerai always gets the 'why is that metal circle covering the windy bit for?' but for me the skeletonisation reflects the true artistry and passion of mechanical watches, watching the escapement oscillate back and forth is utterly mesmerizing... Mechanical watches are cool ;o)

What an interesting gizmo. Definitely a vacuum tester if it involves a pump in that configuration, maybe it's so that any air is released from the watch rather than into the watch, but I assumed most testers worked in that way?

Either way, a great buy, let us know if you find out what on Earth it does.

I contacted Seagull in China in English...and was able to pick up a few...but I don't know if that's a consistent thing as the contact I passed onto another member was unsuccessful in getting a reply!!

PMed for contact details.

I'll hunt around for an online catalogue.

Cheers

Fellow RWGers,

I've been having a look at various places trying to find a reasonably comprehensive online catalogue of Seagull movements available for retail purchase. Most of what I find is in Chinese and seemingly aimed at bulk purchases.

Do any of you know of a place where you can buy single Seagull movements including in various levels of skeletonisation and gold/silver finishes? For example, Getat has mainly 6497s available in nickel and PVD with two skeleton options but seeing some of the offerings on the Bay, there are many more out there.

Cheers guys.

For daily office wear. Elegant, classy, yet sporty: Navi Montbrillant Datora - not sure if this is technically a Navitimer...

For a bit of evening bling: Navitimer World

But the grail is the original and best: Navitimer Tricompax:

These did not come from you....

I purchased actual rep straps with two deployant buckles....

You know mine were not reps.....except for the buckle...

I guess you still think I am talking about the coach custom?

Would you two like a moment?

Absolutely... You get a vibe, one guy was buying really random 99 cent items and then reselling a Panerai strap as GEN. I don't think so.

Another guy's previous purchase was a woodgrained Mercedes Benz E Class steering wheel for 1500 Euros and was reselling a strap... At least the second guy was semi-plausible

In every case, receipts receipts receipts. If they can copy a rubber strap and engrave metal to such stunningly precise accuracy, then they can certainly copy a barcode and some printing for a sticker to put onto a ziplock bag...

Buyer beware!

eBay?

Everything on there is fake mate... Deployants and rubber straps are difficult to tell apart and there's a massive trade on eBay for such items. PAM and Breitling parts are so expensive and their REP counterparts very cheap and of good quality, it makes sense.

Funnily enough, the only relatively safe place to buy GENs is at a place where people know the difference, ie, RWG ;o)

Ok. Just received my rep straps with Deployants. Major difference on one of them is the engraving of the logo. Rep is very shallow and does not exactly have the same details as Gen. However, this same deployant has better engraving inside of the clasp and matches the Gen very closely if not the same. On the other one, the engraving is spectacular on the logo. However the engraving inside is heavy handed and too thick where it says Breitling. The engraving where is says Model Depose looks as if it was silkscreened and not stamped/engraved.

As Mike says, the curve is slightly different rep to gen. I think quality control is one of the big thing that seperates Gen from Rep and I have two rep buckles that are vastly different in quality. If I switched parts between the two buckles, I would have a very near perfect one indistinguishable from Gen and a horrible copy that would stand out a mile away!

Hope this helps!

I had exactly the same experience. The sikscreen effect you talk about is actually a method of laser etching. The technology is relatively cheap and does a very precise job, but it looks nothing like machine engraving.

I came across two buckles, one etched inside and engraved clasp, and the other engraved inside and etched b wings on the clasp. Swapped parts, the engraved one is 95% to the OEM. Loke everything GEN and REP, there are obviously differences (like quality of engraving etc) that can distinguish the two. The laser etched ones are clearly not GEN-like. Also, the finishing is evident, I've found the reps are not burnished properly and have sharp edges, a GEN would never have this. I had a closing issue on mine, a simple bending and it's OK now.

The dead giveaways on eBay? When a person claims in their post that they are selling a personal GEN item for whatever semi-plausible reason, and their selling history reveals about 15 similar sales with precisely the same listing... Who buys 15 straps and realizes that 'they just aren't for me'?

Common sense prevails, some Rubber straps in particular are almost 100% like the GENs, it males sense that there's a roaring eBay trade on such items.

Authenticwatches.com is probably all real, but thei markup is absurd and well over Breitling AD retail.

I have lived all my childhood by the swiss Border and go there very often and I have never ever witness this !

Wow... You'll never know what you will see down the fruit juice aisle

Name of seller applies: shabby-deals :-)

HAHA!

His slogan:

'you're ALWAYS guaranteed a solid deal at Shabby-Deals.com...

...

...NOT!'

Welcome from Melb, lots of Aussies here it seems, and most important - you'll be poor in no time ;o)

I like the serial number - xxx/1000

Agreed, it's unfortunate that people are so gullible. Buying a watch on eBay should always be prefaced by a read of this forum ;o)

PAM California Dial

Brilliant read, thx for posting!

Thanks. When I asked about pleats I meant for a business suit, I'd instinctively never wear pleated trousers casually!

Then your instincts will serve you well, young paduwan...

Haven't had the chance, but I'll get some more info up, might help, but you seem well equipped with those instincts, many lesser mortals would not have a clue why pleats are hideous...

Pleats are for your grandfather - properly tailored flat front trousers are the way to go, much more slimming than pleats. In some styles they're necessary, business pants for example they take the width of the leg as it flattens when you sit down, which is why they're infinitely more comfortable to wear during the day at work, but flat fronts are much dressier and generally look a lot better. Use them when you need them. This is, of course, not a fixed rule.

My taste happens to be two-button, I like a lower V in the jacket, again a matter or personal preference. I judge a suit's cut on the shape and placement of the lapels, American designers seem to place the notch very low, in some cases, almost to the chest, it's gaudy and hideous, the Italians have sorted suits out.

Shirt cuffs. Hit me up for some T&Co cuffs, I have plenty of spares, I'll deck you out

As for cuff shape, personal preference. Most important, make sure when you have a jacket on, and standing with arms to the sides, that the shirt peeks from the jacket. Otherwise your jacket sleeve is too long. A good rule is the jacket should come to the lowest line on your wrist, and the shirt - 1-2cm lower, usually enough so a little T&Co blond pops out. The girls love the T&co, great convo starters, not that I know...

Suit, stick to dark, neutral colors, grey, brown, black of course. It's daunting at first, but it gets kind of fun

Shoes: make sure you get a few nice belts with similar colors and textures to some nice shoes. Black, dark brown, light brown/tan, try ones with wooden soles. Go to www.aquila.com.for ideas on shoes.

I'll finish this toomorrow, hope this helped a little

- better than 40k for a rep, I suppose...

...too soon?

Or are you thinking of a genuine dial with the a7753??

*winks*

Maybe...

I stockpiled some Gen tricompax dials in the hope that one day they'd rep the 7753... like Nostradamus, I could see into the future, and that future is now...