By-Tor

The only thing that interests me in the Olympics is the football/soccer tournament. Argentina and Brazil both have superb teams. Not only those countries have the best young players in the world, they also have superstars like Messi, Riquelme, Ronaldinho and Diego in the teams. It'd be a big surprise if they didn't meet in the final. @Offshore: Australia-Argentina today.

That's very interesting. But there's only one way to know if it works... and it takes a few years.

It has been delayed because my "special request" watch hasn't arrived yet. It's not just another review watch, I want to buy this rep... but I want it without the engraving. I don't like the engraving, on the gen or the rep. Waiting for the non-engraved case version is the reason for this delay. I will definitely review it. Thanks for the interest man.

That UN is freaky good looking! The case & bracelet are very Rolex-like.

I'm with my mate Scoobs... TAG for me today as well. This is "Chinese made" though...

Uh... you can't adjust the GMT hand on the chs movement... you're not supposed to. You adjust the hour hand instead, just like on genuine Rolex.

That's a beauty. The tritium dial looks great on a white ExpII! How old is that watch?

@Stephane: That's a beauty. Did you ever even consider the white dial, or are you 100% black dial guy? Unlike black Daytona (which leaves me cold) I like both Explorer II's, but prefer white.

...so how about one pic of ExpII for a change? Here's full size:

UPO all the way... great rep!!!

Nice one Dave. I will link this to the Breitling Guide. If you want to add more information later, edit this post. Thanks.

The correct hand stack modification has nothing to do with the standard ETA 2836-2 "faux GMT"... it's a MODIFICATION. Just like seconds at '6 Daytona is a modification. These are technically and operationally two different functions. The problems are not movement related in both of these... they are related to the unnatural modifications, made by Asians. Please see the difference in this. "Correct" hand stack movements (correct for Rolex) are very rare. Most reps have the standard whs ETA, with the adjustable 24h hand. To be exact, the wrong hand stack is a modification too... but it's very light and simple one.

Wrong hand stack ETA 2836-2 is very reliable movement, if you really get a genuine ETA. I've owned many of them and never experienced any problems. The GMT function is faux, read this, it's not a "real" GMT movement, but serves its purpose. The faux GMT function has been achieved by using one extra gear, which is 2x bigger than the hour hand gear, so it slows down the hand 2x in relative to the hour hand. This modification is so simple that it shouldn't cause any kind of technical issues. I've heard that sometimes the GMT hand doesn't follow properly, but this is often just complaints from people who don't understand the function of the GMT watch. It is supposed to be twice as slow as the hour hand, and on GMT Master you read the 24h time from the bezel. The new wrong hand stack movements in the GMTIIc seems to ba hit and miss, and I have no idea what movements the dealers put into these watches. They might not be genuine ETAs from all dealers... but in the old days this movement used to be good.

Lighting... it's all about lighting.

You mean this? Good choice. And since you're in UK, you could ask UK-based dealers (Narikaa or Precious Time) to source one for you... to avoid all (potential) customs hassle. Good luck, happy hunting, and welcome to the forums Alan!

SFSO is probably my all-time favorite diver watch. Such a looker, rep or gen...

Thanks Robbie. The gen dial is really more "greyish", or more "cyan". Here's a photo of the rep. I use white fluorescent & filtered light for the dial in my studio setup. From other angles and in different light conditions it looks darker more "violet", probably due to the double AR. I agree that the blue is the least accurate... but who really cares? It's my favorite color on the SFSO.

Blue dial isn't exact on the rep. However, the dial greatly changes the color, depending the direction of the light exposure... I believe the 2xAR is the biggest factor.

Interesting. But you can always replace the movement when it breaks. It's probably easier and cheaper than servicing anyway.

Yeah, it looks cool... I've seen pictures. But I prefer all watches with bracelet.

Starting the weekend with the Breitling!

@MP: Yes I know... can't wait to see PES 09. Let's hope it's better than the disappointing 08. Just tried FIFA 08... The interface is better... and so is the penalty shootout. But the rest is not even from the same planet with PES... it's much easier, less finesse and it has more "arcadeish" gameplay and moves. Not impressed at all. Played with Pro difficulty... Argentina vs. Brazil (cpu) and I won 3-0... and it was my FIRST game!!!!! In PES the cpu still kicks my arse after all these years... and there are many more finesse tricks you can still learn when you really, really play a lot. PES 5 & 6 are still the best ones hands down.

Good guy, but the man has way too many black and white colored watches.

I'm giving FIFA 08 a go now. If anyone's interested in the rip of this game, here goes: http://fadysav.jeeran.com/saviola/archive/.../10/341292.html

Yeah I know... I act like a noob. But hey, you gotta admit... when it's about $4K it's a bit different than $300... or DVD's from Amazon.com.