By-Tor

I don't really have a beater because I try to swap the watch every day... so none of them really get abused. But my brother isn't as easy on his watches. Here is his SMP Bond rep from Paul. It was purchased in spring 2005 and it still runs like a champ despite all heavy wear.

I agree... very good case. I really like the crown guards. Perhaps you could swap the bracelet from the "old school" SMP rep there and put a gen insert on it. Those mods would finish it nicely. PS: That Electric Blue is a beauty.

GMT IIc HORROR STORY As the guy didn't post any pictures... well... it could be a troll too.

Perhaps my all time favorite wristwatch for Tuesday.

I believe Eurotimez and Narikaa can get the Noobmariner as well.

I love that particular model of GST. I remember when this came out and I would have purchased it but I heard the bracelet wouldn't fit bigger wrists... so I never did. Very classy!

Thanks Kruzer. Yeah, I'm quite amazed how well the good old Sub (finally) got replicated. I mean, it has been the most requested watch since the day one. I believe the Chinese will have a hard time selling their inferior wokky POS Submariners to our membership now. Very simple watch, yet they never made it even remotely correct. It was always a mystery to me... why? It took an "outsider" (WM9) to finally answer the bell. About the bracelet, still: I wonder how many members have attempted this: Besides oiling the bracelets, I always polish them with Turtle Wax and it immediately creates this silky and smooth "feel" on the surface. Give it a try, it really makes a difference.

I have performed crown guard mods successfully without removing the crown. It's not difficult at all on some watches. Most of them just need the "insides" straightened out. Just unscrew the crown to the hack position, which leaves just enough space between the tube and guards to operate there... then put some protector tape over the crown and bezel and use very thin hand file like this to straighten the guards. Just be very slow and careful and it goes ok. I did at least 3 watches using this method and the end results were very satisfactory. Note: This GMT is not my gen.

Let's get the new week going! This has received a lot of wrist time lately and it's my watch choice for Monday too.

Bad rep.

The differences between these good Sub reps are actually minimal... and only matter to the HC guys. Euromariners are very good... I'm not that familiar with the newest updates but even the older versions were excellent. I say go for it. With Asian movement Euromariner is very good value for money. 8 or 9 out 10 definitely.

Anyone selling his genuine date-only blue Aquaracer chrono? The day-date rep is almost perfect but I have still decided to buy the gen as I like the smaller date-only model even more. I just missed a deal at TZ... a good one was sold for $900 only. Lovin' this watch.

Stunning watch! Try shooting it in natural lighting outside. Would like to see some better shots of this beauty.

Somehow this finds its way back to my wrist very often. So... the 'Racer for Sunday!

WM9 Sub v2 and WM9 YM the best ever otb Rolex replicas, and superior to anything else in the market. I thought I made that pretty clear in my article.

This for Saturday.

Good point AD. I forgot about that. Yes, that's definitely the best option right now (if you want to save some $$ and still get a great Sub).

It's WM9 version 1. Still an excellent replica / excellent option if you don't want to put $500 on the v2. It's the same base watch minus the superluminova dial, improved pearl, cg's and hollow link bracelet. You also have to mod the cg's but that's easy. Only the insides need a tiny bit of straightening. Even I thought long and hard before upgrading to v2 as v1 was really good already.

Well I don't know Robbie... I'm still not totally crazy about this watch and I prefer the classic models more. But I think I'm slowly getting used to it. I checked the gen when I was in my local AD and the clasp feels a bit better on the gen. Visually there is very little difference (the bezel is shinier on the gen though) and overall I think this replication is amazing. I don't know... maybe I get used to these bulkier cg's, more square case and polished middle links eventually. When it comes to Sub I definitely like the classic 16610 too much... if I had to buy the gen I would definitely get the old one. You'd better get the rep first and see if it's really the watch for you. Just my 2c.

GREAT shots Robbie! That's always classy Cats! I'm giving this some wrist time today.

This for Thursday:

Sometimes I wonder about this endless debate about "quality" and "better value for money" thing. I have my gen Rolex and rep Rolex here side-by-side and they both keep excellent time, feel at least 95-99% the same. If your rep has a genuine ETA movement in it, it's not one of those few "bad apples", the function and sweep are the same. I don't see the "dramatic" difference that people always talk about. Sure... you need to make some precautionary things occasionally, like glue the bracelet screws in, oil the bands and maybe even do some mods... etc. but that's just fun. Yeah I see some visual differences in the finish too, because I'm a watch fanatic, and those are visible in the zoomed pictures (if you're lucky and the lightbox settings are optimal). What is "quality" and how do you actually measure it... if the watch functions and keeps good time? I understand when we're talking about watches like Patek, Breguet and JLC... reps can't compete. But mass produced brands like Omega, Breitling and Rolex... what's so special about them, besides (often) the amazing design that the replicas forge? Especially stainless steel Rolex... as much as I love my gen I simply don't see the dramatic difference here. I own some reps (like the SFSO) that easily surpasses the feel and "quality feel" of my gen Rolex and gen TAGs (that I used to own). I'm afraid 70% of of the membership in the replica community comes here for their quick Sub fix and then disappear... or might eventually get interested in watches a little during their search process. They're not hardcore WIS, but their main motivation is impress someone. In that sense I don't see brands like Hamilton being any kind of threat to high end reps (on a larger scale anyway). This went a bit OT now though...

And not to mention all those important features on a Navitimer. No 747 pilot can land his plane safely without constantly checking things from his bezel slide rule. And we all use the tachymeter on our chronographs of course... very important feature, although checking the tachymeter and simultaneously driving a car 300 km/h is pretty challenging. Wonder if Raikkonen, Schumacher and Hamilton all wear their Rolex Daytonas during the F1 races... All these are pretentious features and common sense doesn't have anything to do with our watch obsession. But then again world can't be that serious. It's nice to be a kid forever and enjoy our nice, mindless toys.

By the way Dluddy, which one is your favorite? You never got the SMP Chrono, right? Shundi's Electric Blue is amazing. Definitely a great choice for a gen. @Fred: The gen dial looks great!

YES. I'm not sure if I like the white on Aquaracer though.