ninjagaiden

Guys After some thought I have decided I am going to get a Blackbird. I prefer the 2008 style brushed SS case http://www.1-pc8838.com/bl00102-blackbird-date-black-asia-7750-running-sec300-p-3889.html but I am absolutely torn between the SS bracelet and the lovely leather strap version http://www.1-pc8838.com/bl00101-blackbird-date-black-asia-7750-running-sec300-p-3443.html So I emailed Josh to ask for a price with both straps. Before I buy the trigger, are there any reasons why I would be *much* better off getting the 2009 or the 2010 model of this watch. I'm not fussed about the case back, or a few extra marking on the subdials... Thanks N

Folks. Please can I ask your help. I have previously purchased a sub $100 Pam 297 on a leather strap. A few weeks after I got it I saw a real Pam in the store and was convinced my rep was a toy because it looked nothing like it. Now I've been looking in more detail at some pictures of Gen Pam's and there seem to be two types of case style: First a Gen Pam 005 Then a Gen Pam 212 : this is sooooo much nicer to my eye! Then my Rep 297 So I am now very confused because I though the main 'tells' of my rep (polished SS case throughout, crown guard lever pointing upwards, 'thick' case side, flat crystal) are all to be found on a gen 005! I'd like to get this straight in my head before getting a rep 286J. Thanks N

Looks like an Alessi watch, only a lot more expensive. Coming from the UK, if you like gen swiss manufacture without the swiss prices, would you consider a Christopher Ward? Very keenly priced with COSC watch costing around £600.

What's the definition of a super rep??!?? Josh confirmed that this watch was designed from pictures of the 2011 Exp II, building on the 40mm ExpII. It was not made by taking apart a real watch and duplicating it piece by piece. They have done a good job though...

Folks, Here are the lume shots. Quite interesting. First shot I left ExpII and seamaster in a tungsten lamp lit room, switched off and took the photo. You can clearly see that the Seamaster lume has done a better job in 'ambient' indoor light. Second shot I left both watches in front of a superbright 80 Ansi lumen LED torch for 10 seconds then took the picture straight away. The rep is a little better when its lume is saturated. In both pictures the ExpII is running and the seamaster is not, so ignore the blurry second hand (4 second expossure) Bottom line - if you want that glow in the day effect it will need a relume.

Guys Absolutely right about AR cib0rgman. No comparison when placed next to my spectacles, however the flat(ish) crystal means reflections are not too bad, similar to my gen Tag. Got my verniers out and the case is in fact nearly 43mm across (not including CGs of course). Hope this helps bruce79 I don't know much about C3 superluminova but the lume is not as strong as any of my gen watches. However the blue lume is really cool in the dark. Will try and get a side by side shot with my Seamaster this evening. As for the orange GMT hand - it might not be your cup of tea but to my eye none of the current 40mm reps get the red colour on the GMT hand right. They are all too dark compared to the gen which has a really zingy red. I think the rep orange is closer to the gen. I went for the white dial because I like the contrast of the black edged hands and lume dots against the white. In the black dial these details are not so apparent. I can't see beyond my nose without my glasses so the extra contrast might be helpful for me. Hope this helps. Will try and get a lume shot soon. For my first non-toy Rep I am pretty pleased. N

Cripes they are expensive links - nice though. I'll have to wait for the rep to come out!!!

Folks, My Exp II 2011 arrived from Josh this afternoon, so I took some pics to share with you. Overall I am very happy with the watch. The dial, hands and lume are all good, crown is centred in CGs and the movement feels smooth. GMT hand setting has a nice positive click action. The AR is really good and the lume whilst not superbright so far is quite uniform. Cyclops placement over date window is good, and date numerals all look okay. Rehaut engraving is not bad. R of rolex does not quite line up with the hour markers but it's not noticeable. Imprtant thing is that the letters are in line. It's quite a chunky feel at 161g on my wrist (though my gen seamaster is pretty close at 155g) and whilst all the edges are nicely smoothed and poliches, it is quite an edgy design on the case. As for dial colour - difficult to say but I think it has a very slight cream tinge to it. Only problem is that on the bezel a little flake of black paint has come off on the number 14. Pretty sure I can re-ink this myself if it becomes bothersome though. Anyway - what do I know. Have a look at the pics yourselves. Will try and get a good lume shot when it is dark. Enjoy...

Ahh. Loving those cufflinks. Mind if I ask where you got them?

Title says it all really. I just noticed a lot of the watch videos on Josh's site have come back up as he's moved them to Vimeo. Time for an early lunchbreak!!! Regards N

Thanks Guys that's really helpful about the BB. @luv2watch - your case & bracelet look very shiny. Is that brushed or polished ss? Here's a picture of the BB just down the road from me. Could do with a polish

Welcome from a fellow noob who is just outside the M25 Here's to absorbing all the knowledge on the forum and getting very little work done in the next few days mate! If it helps you justify the cost, consider this - a noob factory LV sub costs the same as two full tanks of diesel for my car... Best N

Folks, I'd love to get a Breitling as my second ot third rep watch (A PAM 286J is the main competition for second place), and I am after one that has the stealthy look of a SA, SOSF or the Blackbird in stainless steel (not PVD), SS bracelet and a black dial. I have looked over By-tor's excellent review but I realise that the reviews and images relate to previous generation reps which you can't get anymore. I think the best example currently available from Josh is this SOSF, because of the Lume and double AR http://www.1-pc8838.com/bl02004-superocean-steelfish-black-swiss-28362-p-2603.html I would *Love* to have a blackbird, if only to travel three miles down the road and take a wrist shot of it in front of a real SR71A Blackbird, but sadly I don't think it is as good a rep. I would go with a SA if it was a *much* better rep than the others but I am wary of the 48mm case size on my wrist : the size makes it look too blingy! Also what is the PVD like on these Breitling reps? Josh has some on his site and the pics don't look very uniform in terms of colour / coverage. I used to own a Lum-Tec Bull 45 watch and the PVD on that was really nice and inky black. Would appreciate your thoughts N

Prof Google doesn't bring up mcuh for Orloff Watch Straps. Few on sale from other members here. Any pointers as to where I can see a selection of Orloff straps? Thanks N

Guys, Lining up one of these PAM 286J's from Josh as my second rep purchase once my Exp II clears customs. Any comments on the Rubber strap vs the leather strap with the blue stitching on this one? I like the blue stitching on the leather strap but the double deployant clasp on the rubber strap looks sooo much nicer! Cheers N

No you get QC pics with your order number stuck on the watch and your EMS airwaybill visible behind the watch. He also send a calibration pic as well. It's very impressive!

Josh sent QC pics today but asked that I don't post them. He's been fabulous and I will of course respect his wishes. Face and hands look very good as does ss casing. Can't wait to see it in the flesh! Go EMS!

Yep White face is the one I ordered. Like By-tors review I don't like the black dial on an exp. No QC pics yet but will post as I get them N

Just ordered from Josh. Very polite and helpful comms. Will post unboxing pics on arrival (good excuse to break out the 5D2 & macro lens)

Folks, could you help a noob out? I'm stuck with which of these three watches to get as a noob rep around the $300 mark, likely from Josh@ perfect clones. I want a 40-44mm size SS watch with ETA movement, which is distinctine without being too showy. I'd like a good finish on the watch, even if it is not that faithful a rep, and a fairly idiot-proof mechanism with some longevity to it. I'm unlikely to mod this first watch with Gen parts - I'll save that for another purchase! Before finding RWG I bought a couple of 'toy' reps at the $100 mark which I didn't like, and a couple of PAM reps which were better but the mechanisms were rubbish. Having read the forum for the past 5 days (and not done as much of everything else as I should) I have these choices in weak order of preference: (Please put the dot back in after the www on the links - I haven't enough posts to be able to add proper links yet!!!) 40mm LV Sub ETA 2836-2 www 1-pc8838.com/rlss10003-black-dial-50th-anni-swiss-28362-p-1023.html The black bezel subs aren't really my thing but I do like the LV version. This goes top of list because it strikes me that Subs are the most repped Rolex and you get a lot of detail for the money. Also given the lack of modifications to the mechanism it should be more robsut. 40mm GMT Master II ETA 2836-2 Coke rather than Pepsi, non CHS version www 1-pc8838.com/rlgs10001-master-blackred-bezel-swiss-28362-p-2552.html It just looks so pretty! Definitely top of my list in terms of visual appeal. Shame about the dark red on the GMT hand but I can live with that. 40mm Explorer II ETA 2836-2, white dial (noob factory version) www 1-pc8838.com/rlex01001-explorer-series-updated-white-swiss-2836-p-5883.html To my eye and from reviews, this is quite a good rep. I have slight concerns about the GMT function hence I picked the non CHS version - is it robust or will it fail like it did in my cheap pam luminor GMT? 2011 Explorer II Asian ETA 2836-2, the one with AR and Blue lume www 1-pc8838.com/rlex00021-2011-explorer-42mm-ssss-white-a2836-p-10628.html OK so I got drawn in by th blue lume and the AR but also it has a nive bright red on the GMT hand. I would appreciate your comments on my choices. All other things being equal, which one of these four would you take and why? Thanks guys ... N

Guys thanks so much for the responses. I should have framed my question more specifically, in saying that I could tell the other differences between these two watches (mechanism, crystal etc), but I couldn't see a difference in the quality of the steel case itself. Maybe they'll add some Platinum and rhodium like they do to real catalytic converters I can understand not worrying about the steel grade, but will the higher grade watch have a *real* swiss ETA movement? I've been Googling to try and find out how much the mechanism itself costs but I can't find an estimate. I would appreciate your thoughts ...

Sorry JKay I can't add links until I get 5 posts, but if you put the dot in between the www and the rest of the URL you will get there! 316L version, $205: www silix-prime.com/rols065-p-1873.html Stainless Steel version, $67: www silix-prime.com/rol111-p-2029.html

Hi Folks, Bit of a noob question here. Been looking at Silix and Perfect-clones websites where quite often they offer a low and and high end version of the same watch. The low end is labelled stainless steel, whilst the high end is 316 stainless steel. I've been looking at a Rolex Explorer II 16570, and from the pictures the watch cases look just the same to me for low and high end versions. Anyone know if the high end 316SS looks & feels better in the flesh? Thanks N

Tomsk, Thanks for the info. Mind if I ask which watches you chose for your first purchase?