calatrava

I was under the impression that there were a few problems. Crown too big, 3 6 9 12 too small, and date font. But that comparison was also from a while ago. Have those been fixed?

Get the one from PureTimeWatch.com, which has a shorter crown, and bigger Arabic numerals. The date font is the same, but that's not going to ever get fixed.

That's great. Do you know if they've also started using a more similar font, too?

No, it just uses the standard ETA date wheel. Changing the font requires a custom date wheel overlay, and there just isn't enough demand for that. Even the Rolex submariner from Noobfactory doesn't have a custom date overlay, so I would not ever expect that to happen with the VCO anytime soon.

This is what I'm planning on getting from DW. The photo is of a gen.

Watch eye candy:

http://www.minutemachines.com/

Thanks guys!! I just gave it to him at dinner and he was blown away ... He's wearing it on his wedding day

Excellent, I think that it is a perfect watch for a wedding, an honest, elegant gen, what better way to start a marriage?

For $1K vs. $850 from a grey market dealer, I would have done what you did and going with the AD.

40% off MSRP is a fantastic deal for an automatic Swiss Valjoux 7750 chronograph. Very clean, elegant, and subtle design. I heartily approve.

Gran, I assume this is a gen rotor, given that it's a photo from a gen watch website?

I guess if we're going the sky's the limit route, then the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2.

http://youtu.be/N0z4CtMxA0w

love that stuff. I use CC for light polishing and my dremel + jewlers rouge for heavier stuff

Do you have any recommendations for where to get polishing wheels and jeweler's rouge for the Dremel?

It would have to be the Patek 5140 Perpetual Calendar.

The Tissot Visodate is one of the best value watches out there at under £300.

Yes, the Visodate is an excellent choice is you're looking for a slightly vintage yet updated look.

I think Tissot is one of the best bangs for the buck for a Gen.

I would post a pic of my PRS200 but I'm a noob lurker and not allowed

I think Tissot is an excellent value in Swiss gens as well. This is a Tissot PRC200 quartz chronograph (the photo's not mine) that I used to have:

Here I disagree. The Hayek family who owns and manages ETA have decided to only produce ebauches and movements for their own trust. They did this to force Swiss watch manufacturers to diversify. Nicolas Hayek saw himself not only as a business man but also as a protector of Swiss economy. He thought it bad for the industry that ETA was that powerful on the market. When he decided to stop selling ETA ebauches to other manufacturers the Swiss antitrust office forced him to prolong sales for some years so that other companies could step up and fill the gap ETA would leave open. Sellita is one of those smaller companies that took the chance offered to them by Hayeks strategy.

The impression I got was that Hayek did this so as to force out of business the upstart Swiss watch makers who only focused on making pretty cases and marketing, who were eating into Swatch's market share. I wouldn't read anything altruistic in his actions, rather it was simply a business decision that the profit margin in selling Swiss movements is much less than the margin in selling Swiss watches, and Swatch wasn't interested in supplying their competitors with movements which ended up being cased in watches that competed with Swatch for market share.

My favorite gens for under $500 are:

Seiko SARB035

Tissot Le Locle

Orient 60th Anniversary Watch

Seagull 1963 Chronograph

doubt the chinese purchased anything

Noooo... they sent the Kung Fu Panda to steal it from the Swiss.

your VCO is a very good version. Note the correct shape for the date window and the generously sized maltese cross.

Thanks, I got this from PureTimeWatch. It is essentially the one Silix used to offer with double AR, but without the double AR coating.

they did a very decent job with the St19 venus chrono

This is apparently because Seagull purchased the original equipment for making the Venus movement from the Swiss when the Swiss discontinued production.

I wanted to share some photos of the replicas of the AP Royal Oak, PP Nautilus, and VC Overseas.

Group shot

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

Patek Philippe Nautilus

Vacheron Constantin Overseas

As a follow up, I finally got myself one of the AP Royal Oak Jumbos with the black dial, and it is indeed a beauty. I now have the big three of dressy high-end sports watches: the AP Royal Oak Jumbo, PP Nautilus Jumbo, and VC Overseas (as well as the gen of the VCO).

Of the three, I still like the VCO the best, which is a good thing, since I plonked down serious money on the gen before trying out the AP Royal Oak. Don't get me wrong, the AP RO is a classic, but is just a tad bit on the small side for me, and I like the more contemporary and refined design of the VCO.

In any case, note to self, try out the replicas of all the main contenders before committing to another gen.

H-factory, there appears to be reports of QC issues with the movement used in the H-factory models.

Hmm... I just received my Pam, but it's dead on arrival... Just contacted the dealer to see what to do about this.

Well, it's not altogether crazy, especially if there are rough edges which could break off and gum up the internals of the movement. But if it is competently machined, but not mirror finished, then that's only to be expected in a replica.

The 1:1 Nautilus also has an improved date wheel, which probably involves an overlay to shift the position of the date to fix the date window position issue. So, you're probably best off just transplanting the movement and dial from the 1:1, which avoids having to remove the hands.

If you do decide to do this, please keep us informed, I would be interested to see if it works out.

LOL... I can relate.

Okay, they swapped out the original watch for another one.

If nothing else, seems to have more accurate timekeeping. From what I see, the issue with the bottom left corner of the AP logo seems to have been resolved, and I think the dial is properly centered... there is a slight reflection at the edges, but I assume that is because the crystal is beveled at the edge, as opposed to a misaligned rehaut?

I guess the same questions as before, do the indices on the dial look properly aligned, and is the rehaut properly centered. Any other comments or observations would of course be helpful too.