calatrava

See my QC photos of the Nautilus Jumbo rep:

Hi, I just received QC photos for a new Jumbo Patek Nautilus, with the decorated gold rotor, more accurate date font, and date window location. Let me know if it looks okay, and if the date font looks good. I believe this is the same watch advertised as the new updated Jumbo Patek Nautilus by Joshua and Andrew. I was anxious to get one, and with the repeated delays, I ended up getting it from a trusted dealer on the RWI forum, since he seemed to be the only other dealer who was able to source it for me.

I think that is intentional. See the photo of a gen here:

For reference, this is a photo of a genuine Patek 5127:

No, that photo is of the replica I have. The tell is the position of the date, which is a bit too far from the edge. I purchased it on TaoBao, which is the chinese version of eBay, for 240RMB: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=3201731965 The metal bracelet wasn't very accurate, so I replaced it with a nice leather strap.

Okay, just emailed Joshua, and he's quoting $418 as well, but isn't quite sure about when it'll be available. It should be soon according to him.

I suspect the $8888 price is just a placeholder while they decide on actual pricing. I sent a photo of this to Silix, and he quoted me $418.

I've been quoted $418 for the black dialed model with the metal bracelet from Silix. Will probably wait to see what the cartel is offering it for.

I have a cheap replica of the Patek 5127 with an asian 21 jewel movement. I was wondering if there was a high quality replica of this model, with a Swiss automatic movement, or failing that, whether it would be possible to do a movement swap on this watch. Any suggestions and hints are greatly appreciated.

I'm waiting anxiously for the one with the black face and metal bracelet. Hopefully, it follows the trend with the other Nautilus replicas on the Perfect Clones website, and have the same price for both the version with the metal bracelet and the leather band.

The one I ordered from Watcheden looks very much like Joshua's $348 model, except that it comes with a 2836 movement as opposed to a 2824 movement. The $248 version from Joshua is on a leather strap as opposed to a metal bracelet. Apart from that and the movement, the $248 model and $348 model are both supposed to have the same case and dial. The main difference between the one I ordered from Watcheden and Joshua's $348 model appears to be the 2824 vs 2836, and the fact that Joshua's movement is nickel plated. It doesn't seem to be worth the almost $100 difference for what are equally reliable movements, except that the 2836 has an extra day wheel which is not being displayed.

Okay, I ended up rejecting the watch, and asking that they find a replacement with a straightened cross. I'll post new photos once they source the replacement.

This is the link to the watch: http://www.watcheden.com/vacheron-constantin-overseas-swiss-eta-movement-with-white-dial-s-s--version-i-46622-p-1.html

Thanks, I noticed the cross as well, but it might be due in part to the fact that the watch itself is very slightly misaligned in the photo (by about 1 degree). Where would one obtain a replacement cross?

Hi, I just received QC photos of my Vacheron Constantin Overseas from Watcheden. Let me know what you think, and if it looks okay to accept. Thanks. Took advantage of their CNY sale ($25 off coupon), so it came up to $253 (with free shipping).

It does look nice indeed, if anyone gets one, I would certainly be interested in looking at photos, before possibly getting one myself. To the experts, what are the obvious tells, from looking at the photos?

I'm also interested in getting a VC Overseas, but would prefer the current model. I've been in contact with Silix, in part because he seems to be the only dealer which sells a model with double AR, but apparently, the factory which makes this model has stopped doing so, which is a real pity. The one he showed me appears similar to the one available from Joshua, but I could be missing some subtle differences. There is a discussion of some differences between the replicas and the genuine watch on another replica discussion site (registration required): http://www.replica-watches-guide.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=141

Thanks. Yes, it is a 18mm brown leather strap from Hadley Roma, with alligator grain.

It is on a brown leather strap, with a deployant clasp. See the attached photos.

Wonderful purchase, congratulations. I got the exact same watch just in time for X'mas as well. The signed crown and sapphire crystal are a nice upgrade over the older iterations of this model.

Also, this is a photo of a genuine Overseas (with black dia), which I found on eBay.

Okay, I guess I'll have to create a saved search on eBay. The samples of Chief AR do look amazing, in particular, there is one of the Vacheron Overseas which is simply mouthwatering.

It does remind me of some of the poor fakes I have come across on TaoBao, which is the chinese equivalent of eBay. The thick gold lettering on that black ring just makes everything worse. The movement itself is quite uninspiring, which is why on the new Swatch mechanical chronographs, only the balance wheel is displayed in the caseback. It is quite disappointing, given that the excellent Seagull 1963 mechanical chronograph has this beautiful ST19 mechanical chronograph movement, based on a Venus 175: all this for about $200. Granted it doesn't have automatic winding, but one nevertheless wonders about the value proposition of the new ETA chronograph movement.

You're welcome. If you ever are interested to learn more about Chinese mechanical movements and watches, I highly recommend watchuseek.com's chinese mechnical watches forum: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f72/ There is a surprising variety of non-replica watches made by very established Chinese watch companies. Seagull is a particular standout, and makes an astounding range of mechanical watch movements.

You can get the 2836 movement in either the original Swiss ETA, or an asian clone movement (probably a Seagull ST21 movement). The movement which is of concern is the Rolex 3135 asian clone, which is a modified 2836 movement, made to look like a Rolex 3135 movement. Unfortunately, the modifications appear to be poorly done, which compromises the reliability of the 2836 movement. As for the choice between the Swiss and Asian clone versions of the 2836, one of the concerns is that ETA (which is owned by Swatch) has severely curtailed the supply of movements, and as a consequence there is a shift to Swiss movements made by Stellita (for example the SW200). This is why BK on his sales forum mentions that the noobfactory Swiss movements will likely be Stellitas instead of ETAs. There seems to be several issues with regards to the movement choices: 1. Asian 21J 2. Asian 2836 clone 3. Swiss ETA 2836 4. Asian Rolex 3135 clone 1. If properly oiled (potential QC issue), and cleaned, these movements appear to be very robust, and the main issue is that they are 21600 beat movements, which means that they tick 6 times a second, as opposed 8 times a second on the 2836 movements, and hence tend to have a more jerky second hand sweep. 2. Between the asian and Swiss 2836s, I would certainly prefer a factory fresh ETA 2836, primarily because of the improved QC. The main issue, as I alluded to above is that the Swiss ETA movements available currently may be unsold movements that have been lying around for some time, or recycled movements. Stellita movements appear to have had some issues initially, but these appear to have been worked out, but their long term reliability is still to be determined. 3. The Seagull ST21 movement (asian 2824/2836 clone) is equally reliable (compared to a Swiss ETA) if properly oiled and cleaned (see discussions on watchuseek.com for comparisons), but again the issue is that the QC is a bit more uneven. If you're thinking of having your watch serviced by a professional watchmaker before extensive use, then an asian 2836 seems like a wonderful choice. Alternatively, you could just run the movement to the ground, and replace it with a properly sourced Swiss movement at a later date, since it has the same sized holes on the watch hands, and is therefore a plug in replacement. 4. The asian Rolex 3135 movement should be avoided because of the reliability issues. If someone is going to the extent of removing the caseback on your replica, then the gig is up anyway, clone Rolex movement or otherwise.