mezzanine

Great picture comparison. I'm someone who would be right on the 'borderline' as far as whether it would fit, and the uPO comparison is good, because the uPO *just didn't fit my wrist* as bad as I had wanted it to. Whereas, the Heritage would fit my wrist fine, probably similar to the 44mm Pams although slightly bigger-

I think the post above ^^ is a good suggestion. I don't think that you'd notice much difference between the gen and rep bracelets if you were to condition the rep bracelet in the fashion described above. The only difference between the gen and rep bracelets in appearance is in the sheen of the metal. Not exactly something that's easy to pick up on...if others have noticed more differences, hopefully they can chime in.

I don't know if spending $600 on a bracelet for a $80 rep makes a ton of sense.... Not as though it makes a whole lot more sense to spend that kind of money on a $400 rep, but still....

Good call on the decision to upgrade. I didn't understand why it was necessary for us as a group to contribute to the running of the site until I learned about the unique economics of keeping this forum going. Can I suggest that you make use of the membership right away and get in touch with some other members with any questions you might have, before you decide to drop any $$ on a watch? The beauty of being a newb and recognizing the value of a membership before you buy anything is that you'll probably save a lot of money if you have the patience to let the more experienced folks give you some guidance.

Wow. I have yet to own a watch that functions with that level of precision. It's an amazing piece. What I love about this hobby is that through education, you can achieve the best of both worlds. Sometimes I feel like this is all going to come crashing down at some point, as it feels unnatural to be so lucky as to have the choices that we have to reach horological nirvana.

Welcome!! If there's any questions you have that you'd like some help on, get in touch with another member via PM and they'll be happy to help you out. The trick with pictures is to upload them from your computer to a hosting service (I use photobucket.com) and then linking them to your posts. You can copy the URL directly and include the

You know, I haven't even done a lot of looking at the GMT that NDtrading offers- I'd just assumed it was 1:1 like their SD and supposedly their vintage sub and explorer. If it's not suitable as a base, then it looks like the idea of an easy to adapt GMT is even further removed from possibility than I'd originally believed. I agree that it's not worth it to go overboard with mods and $$ trying to get a chinese rep to achieve the same effect as the better options. I have tried to avoid the idea of going into the dangerous territory of the DW daytonas, but I have a feeling it might be the best choice given the options and potential $$ involved. I'm not sure if you'll still be checking this one, toomuchgear- but if you could give me some of your thoughts on the decision you made to go with a DW, I would be glad to hear what your reasoning was at the time...and whether you'd completed your sub projects before you lept off that bridge.

There are others here that should be able to give some good feedback about the logic of what you're suggesting- you might be correct, and it might be verifiable without needing to get to the level of accusation on that basis. On a broader level, and not specifically relevant to the OP's problem, but I have found that the vast majority of watches one purchases through the membership will come with undisclosed issues. I'm speaking purely objectively, and based only on the % of watches received that had issues that I believed the previous owner had been aware of and chosen not to mention it.

I'm more curious about what the deal is behind this "Time Shop" and more specifically, their Hublot Big Bangs... Weird that no one has heard of this dealer before, he seems to be using TrustyTime fonts or watermarks (I guess it's called) on his pictures.

Unbelievable watch, my jealousy knows no bounds, but then again that's nothing new after drooling over those bloody Sea Dwellers for so long. I wouldn't be surprised if Chief's new coating, when used single-sided, would be nearly as good as most double-AR's anyways... I'll eventually make my way towards one of these beauties, but I'm in no rush. I could add nothing to the 'agenda' for the entire coming year and still be quite occupied with projects and finishing up pieces that are nearly done...so it will still be a while yet. That being said, I'm thinking I'm going to be after one of the ETA pam chrono's as my next 'big watch'.

I can't imagine a true watch enthusiast wouldn't be intrigued with the idea of being able to wear the best watches of every major brand. With the quality of the reps that are available nowadays, I can't imagine if I had $2000 to spend on a watch, why I wouldn't go for three or four exceptional reps. There just isn't enough difference any more to justify the difference.

I personally believe that the shortage of ETA movements will be an anti-climactic situation that ends up being solved before it really comes to a head. It's sorta like Y2K all over again....

Hopefully if a couple of the guinea pigs who have taken a chance on these can post a review, we may still be able to put something like that together.

How is it that watches seem to have a strange quality of being able to grow on you even if your initial response wasn't positive? If I see a girl on the street that I don't find attractive, chances are that I'm going to feel that way in a month, too. For some reason, these paradoxical little devils seem to be able to evade that general rule. When I look back on my first response to the 'deep sea', I think that part of my initial disdain was being influenced by the Yachtmaster II, and some of the other designs that they've released alongside the new SD that cast an ugly shadow over its novel look. When I ask myself why that could be, I'm left with By-Tor's observation about the 'spirit' of the watch still being in tact, when you consider where they've gone with some of their other 'tool' watches in the design revamp.

That's what I noticed, too. I like the watch, but without the patterned dial it would be too much like a standard sub dial for me to be tempted. If there was ever a rep god, he/she would find a way of getting me the closed factory '007' before my days are done... Interestingly, I don't collect gens, and I don't have a single 'Omega' in my rep collection right now, but if I were to commit to go for a gen, I can't imagine that I would go for anything other than an SMP.

While I think the rep market is really itching for a well-done IWC dress watch, I don't know if this is going to be the one that fills that vacuum. I think it's a very nice watch- the type of errors it looks like it has would not be a bother to me, but based on my perceptions of how the average buyer would respond I don't think they will be as forgiving.

JoJo, your watches are awesome. Was there a reason you decided to sell the 1680? I believe that the 5512 is your most recent addition, so would I be correct to guess that your tastes have shifted a bit towards the no-date subs? I'd also be interested in learning about your thoughts on the cost/benefit of going with a genuine movement. I guess this isn't the thread for it, in the sense that it's probably intended more as a pictorial...but it's something I've been wondering for a while. My philosophy has always been that it's the 'visible' parts that should get priority, in terms of achieving the effect.

If you're right about the GMT's going up recently along with the rest of the vintage world, then I may have to look at at switching to an Explorer if something were to materialize with the vietnamese thing. I like the McQueen better than the GMT, but figured that if the GMT's were still half-way reasonable, then it would make more sense to do the economical thing. The rep gods would never allow such a thing, I should've realized... Your point about how sometimes you can find yourself with an extra watch is something I have experienced too. Sometimes in the parts collections phase, I'll end up with duplicate parts for whatever reason. I realized a while back that I could've put together a fully modded DRSD just with spare parts. I thought long and hard about it, but decided in the end that the cost of actually putting it all together would've been too expensive. Awesome work, and I'm looking forward to what may come in the future...

I'll be watching- if I had the cash I'd take a flyer on it. The Rose gold model with polished ceramic is the one that I'd be after.

I actually was quite impressed with the way this one looks on the wrist. It was a little bit of a mystery to me as to how it would look actually on a wrist, as some of the less conventional designs can look impressive until you see it on someone. Personally, I'd put the Chrono fighter into that category, as the crown protector assembly or whatever the hell it is, simply makes it impractical as a functional daily-beater type of watch. Thanks for the review, D4M. I'm going to be waiting to see how this one develops, but I have optimism that it might be a bit of a surprise and a success for the rep makers (assuming they can correct the minor stuff). It's funny, I don't mind waiting anymore for new releases to get revised and the price to come down a bit before being tempted to jump on the latest rep. I like the freedom to be highly selective that you get once you've got your core collection figured out. Any new additions are subject to intense analysis before they make the grade!

I think I remember seeing a new one available for $750, but I'm not sure that's how much the OP paid.

Wow...I'm surprised at the price. And is that what that is on the caseback? I don't know what to say. It's a very strange synthesis they're trying to accomplish with these watches. I'd rather a complete redesign that would incorporate the "modern aesthetic" that they obviously want to introduce, rather than this aborted attempt to combine those contrasting and oppositional elements. Look at the Breitling Heritage. That's a beautiful, classic design that incorporates some of the newer materials/technology in a way that remains tasteful and connected to the history of the brand. Rolex should've included the size increase, should've started double AR coating their crystals, and the ceramic bezel inserts should've been the last modernizing touch. Maybe the titanium case back can be included. Maybe.

After re-reading this thread, and looking at the pictures again, I think that the Deep Sea is not as bad as I'd initially thought. I agree with repaustria that the coronet looks brutal and rep-like, and I wondered about the thickness of the font in the "Rolex" but I think it's just my eyes playing tricks on me. I felt By-Tor nailed it when he talked about the changes in terms of the "spirit" of the watch. I can still appreciate the spirit of the SD with this latest iteration. The fact that it's still attempting to push the envelope of it's supposed function as a dive watch can off-set the stylistically questionable choices. I agree with what Ubi said about some of the design choices, especially the bracelet width issue on a 42mm case. I'm not sure how balanced that will look on the wrist. It's the GMT that has been totally severed from it's ancestral origins. I also think the sub is a step in the wrong direction. But even with the wonky rehaut engraving, canal street CG's, and all of the questionable changes, the Deep Sea at least seems less style-driven than most of the others, which are now officially "fashion watches". No need to lie on the customs form anymore! If a customs agent opens up one of these watches they would totally believe that it's value is less than $50. Maybe Rolex will drop the watch heads altogether, and will go full into the niche of men's "fashion bracelets". Just as it seems ironic that Rolex seems to be copying the rep makers, maybe we can take advantage of this when trading them in the used market by not having to worry about them getting stolen or thought to be 'real' by outsiders.

For me it's the personal project watches that are the most jealousy-inspiring. I can conceive of buying the latest HBB, but the type of frankens that some members have created are something else entirely. Once you've done one of these types of projects yourself, you realize the type of time and $$ and committment that is required to be able to bring one to completion. That's why these special watches are even more personally valuable to their owners than a genuine would be, $$ not withstanding. It's not BS, these folks are being dead-honest when they say that they wouldn't trade their frankens for their genuine counterpart. There is so much more character and history behind those watches. I believe it's the most relevant sub-section of the watch world, in terms of genuine experimentation and the type of thought-process that was vibrant in the hey-day of the mechanical watch.

I like the HBB and the Cousteau. I sold almost all of my collection recently, with the exception of a few pieces. It's a good experience, in the sense that you learn what your favourite pieces really are, when they're gone. The pieces I miss the most are the Cousteau, and probably the MBK Nautilus.