By-Tor

I recall that someone in the gen forums once measured the ExpII and said that the actual size is 39mm. Not sure though... but even if they both actually were 40mm, they wear significantly smaller than Sub & GMT due to the smooth bezel. Same thing with Daytona... it feels smaller than 40mm.

You really are a watch connoisseur Robbie! Where do you dig up these beauties? And I don't even want to know how much that VC costs.

WM9 for Thursday.

I thought it's continuously available through bklm1234. Check his section. Happy hunting!

I'm sure you know this already, but real success in life has little to do with your career/occupation.

Good Wednesday! Can't get this absolute STUNNER off my wrist.

Ebel 1911 Discovery = the most accurate rep ever produced. Even the day/datewheels use correct fonts and have perfect alignment. Black and white = both just as accurate. This watch is synonymous with the term "Super Rep". WM9 Sub v2 with BK crown is another good candidate.

Check the second article that I linked. It has the exact size requirements of the dial/case. Unfortunately there are 2 versions of this rep. It's the older one that takes the gen dial. Before you do anything, you gotta get the exact measurements of your dial.

Your ExpII is most likely THE version that takes genuine dial. The rep white dial is nothing to write home about, but with a dial & crown exchange this is an amazing replica. THIS is the frankenwatch that I own, and HERE is a general article of this model. The serial being the same as on Noobmariner is because it comes from the same rep factory.

Ditto about Speedmaster. That watch is simply a legend and it's something that will always hold up its value. Also second hand Seamaster Professionals and Breitling Steelfish SuperOceans are excellent choices. And of course TAG Link, Carrera and Aquaracer series. Oris also makes very good quality watches in that price range.

Here's a quick wrist shot.

Thanks Gentlemen. @Doc: I agree 100%. The bigger day-date version has more impressive wrist presence and is definitely more "macho". But I simply wanted this smaller one... just a personal preference. I think the 40-42 mm size is just perfect for sports watches. Anything that goes beyond it ruins the "balance". That's just how I see it... there are many watches that would be even more desirable if they just weren't that huge (like two-tone BCE for example). I probably just have more conservative taste. The bracelet is absolutely stunning on this one... the satin finish is really beautiful on the gen. Hang on there... gotta do some editorial work now but I try to put out a small rep vs. gen article with more photos later.

About 45.

This probably won't come off the wrist for a while. Will shoot some wristies tomorrow in daylight.

I will try to squeeze out some kind of rep vs. gen article soon. However they're not exactly comparable as the rep is the larger day-date model. But I guess you all have seen World Traveller's excellent comparison already.

Forgot to mention... got this beauty from Azerbyjam's son. Top class seller, the watch really was in perfect condition. Even the clasp still had the blue plastics attached.

Thanks guys! PS: I'm selling the rep. Preferably to someone in EU.

People who say that TAG isn't anything special are talking out of their arse. The finish and details on the gen are absolutely stunning. But still, the rep compares very well... it's one of the best reps ever done. Really difficult to believe it's a rep.

Always wanted a gen of this as it's probably my all time favorite sports chronograph.

I'm with Lani. Just strapped my WM9 on... amazing Sub.

That's surprisingly good looking rep (for a quartz as they're usually much cheaper looking). Nothing wrong with quartz, although you have a wrong impression of the reliability of Asian 7750. The new (unmodified) 28.800 bph version has turned out to be very reliable movement.

I've always loved white dial watches. They're not awfully popular among the members and in some ways I can actually understand why. If the watch hands and markers are silver, there seems to be some kind of "lack of contrast" and the look is very understated. I've owned a few white dial reps over the years. Let's take a trip back to the memory lane... Who still remembers this ancient review of my Ebel 1911 quartz chrono? Bought it from Richard Lawton in May 2005. If I remember correctly, it was my first watch review at TRC. I loved that rep and many ways I wish I still had it. However, the silver hour markers on it made it look extremely understated... but it had certain unexplainable charm. I would love to have a two-tone version of this model. In many ways the look was really similar to Stephane's Daytona that I reviewed much later. Definitely my favorite in the Daytona lineup. The black Daytona does nothing for me, but the white version with silver hands, champagne subregisters and markers is very, very nice. Another white dial watch that I really liked was my Broad Arrow Speedmaster. My brother always admired the watch and bugged me to find one for him. Then, we were spending a weekend at our summer cottage (drinking and partying) and he started talking about my Speedy again, I simply handed it to him and said "Damn, I've had enough of that whining. It's yours!" He still wears it every week as a "special occasion watch". Definitely one of the most impressive reps I've owned, with the transparent glass caseback and visually striking Seagull ST-19. Now a bit longer story: White Rolex Explorer II was never my favorite... until I saw the gen "in the flesh". A British collague was wearing one and I had a chance to play with his watch... I was totally sold and I absolutely NEEDED that watch. There's just something really special with the "Polar Explorer". It's a bit small (39mm) and it really wears much smaller than Sub and GMT. But it's the strong contrast between black hour markers, bright red GMT hand and white dial that does the trick... amazing looker and there's no other watch that literally reminds me of snow and winter. Rolex marketing has done perfect job with it. Naturally I bought the rep immediately but was very, very disappointed with it. I was well aware of the problem: the grey hour marker surroundings. But in the pictures those hour markers didn't look so bad as the dealers know how to hide this flaw and photograph the dials using correct light exposure. I thought that I could live with them. But when I received the watch I was bummed! In certain lighting it looked like this. My white one had a correct hand stack and it developed a serious problem after just 2 days of use. Fortunately PT took it back and I didn't have to see that awful rep ever again. That wasn't even the correct Noobfactory version, but a CN version with inferior everything. Then one day a fellow German member mentioned that he never wears his Franken Explorer II. I jumped on that watch like a shark and managed to net my most precious rep/franken possession. HERE is the article of my white franken Explorer II. White ExpII is very much requested model among the noobs, but trust me: don't even consider the replicas. You absolutely need the gen (or at least the gen dial) to fully understand the attraction of this watch. At least until the factories make a decent one. Since my brother "adopted" my Broad Arrow and didn't want to get the unreliable white Daytona, I didn't have a white dial chronograph. I had already decided that my next watch would be a chronograph with white dial. I considered the white TAG Carrera and Ebel BTR (7750 with wrong spacing) but then this beauty came up: Ebel 1911 case is probably my favorite watch case... perfect and unique shape, slim design, correct spacing (7750) and balanced 43mm size. "Panda" dial has an excellent contrast between dark brown/grey subregisters and gorgeous silver hands & hour markers. There's absolutely nothing that I don't like on this watch, it's a great white dial chronograph. Those big pushers remind me of Daytona, but on the wrist I like the Discovery much more. It's a great mixture of modern and classic style, and the size and strong double AR are absolutely perfect. HERE is the article I wrote about this watch. It's certainly true: If you want a "flashy" watch that many people notice, white dials definitely aren't for you. All watches that I listed here are very, very "low key". But if you like understated elegance and are a real watch connoisseur, then you might want to consider them. For some reason white dial watches won't get noticed that much... but that has never been any kind of factor when I think about new purchases. I only buy my watches for my own enjoyement. Hope you enjoyed. Please do share your own "whiteys" and tell us a bit about them.

I'm actually fond of the smaller size myself. For some reason I've been looking for smaller 40-42mm watches these days. That's the perfect watch size. And come to think of it, something like 41mm was considered XXL just a while back. Somehow all those 45mm watches have gotten a bit old for me. They might be trendy now, but they simply don't look "right" to me.

Excellent writeup Morlock. Breitling Guide has been updated with a new entry. Thanks man!

It's a small miracle how modern this watch looks even today. Large XXL size, and manufactured 1958! How many watches that old don't look at least a bit "outdated" today?