By-Tor

Here's some facts to consider (just a few details about my watches):

New crystal for gen Breitling Steelfish Superocean: 280 Euros + 50 Euros to install

Complete service for gen Rolex GMT Master II 16710: 500 Euros

Rep Breitling Skyland v2 through a member trade = no QC issues, almost 95% visual accuracy, perfect flawless 2xAR, good power reserve and accurate movement = 130 Euros. Wears and feels like any of my gens and more. Yeah, if you examine the dial with microscope you'll see the misplaced lume dots.

But no worries, throw in an extra 2500 Euros, take the gen route and they're fixed. But if you scratch your crystal and damage your AR, it's going to be 450 Euros.

I love my gens but reps have many advantages. In many ways I love my reps even more.

There are days when only the classic black Steel Sub does the job.

Anyone know which version of SOSF has the best case?

Thanks!

I think the ETA "Ultimate" version had the exact same case since the day one. It hasn't changed.

It's extremely good. I didn't notice the shorter crown guards on the gen before I shot the watches side-by-side. Review.

Some other Fish reps have smaller pearl but in my eyes that's insignificant. Of course the gen Pro2 bracelet is much nicer but the rep bracelet ain't bad at all, either. Caseback markings are a bit sharper on the gen but you gotta look really closely. Crown is also a bit different and gen SELs are more recessed. The dial makes the biggest difference, rest isn't that big of a deal (imho).

I would buy that instantly if it was in the EU continent. And I already have one. You Americans are completely spoiled with great deals.

Wearing my favorite this morning.

Here's the first "real life" pic of the gen that I found. Blowers Jewellers already has one for sale:

Is this steelfish black or blue on youtube? I'm confused.

heh, I've been using youtube a lot lately to get the feel of the rep watches

That's black and it's gen. The violet tint comes from AR.

Gen blue model is very different. It's much lighter.

PS: Nice vid.

Very nice Breit Mike.

I have been thinking about that model too. I prefer it over blingy BCE any day of the week.

Enjoy!

Here we have quite a guy. His previous listings were removed but that doesn't stop him... this Einstein has plenty of Ebay accounts and now he tries to scam people with two fakes.

He thinks he's clever... he throws pictures of genuine papers and accessories to the mix. But watches are still China-made. Please report!

Fake blue Steelfish:

http://tinyurl.com/yz3yk79

Fake Sub (Noobmariner):

http://tinyurl.com/yht82zg

"No PayPal, sorry". Yeah I wonder why...

How did you remove the bezel? I couldnot get mine off and neither could me watchsmith. That's why I sold

my gen bezel. I had already done gen dial/crystal, but wanted the bezel.

I never removed the bezel. Just the old insert. I attached the new gen insert on the watch while the bezel was intact all the time.

Yeah, nice. But crown guards are still way off. Probably easy to modify though... just take the metal off of the insides. I don't know why the rep factories can't make decent cg's (save WM9 v2 ->)

But I agree, OTB they're much nicer than the MBW versions. The red version looks ok too. The print isn't "spot on" or anything but it's much nicer than the MBW version.

Link:

http://www.perfect-hour.com/rolex-c-55.html

@chief and ubi: I wish I could have been with you guys!

Wore my Bond Seamaster but just switched to this.

I think the AR is good. Of course I didn't remove it. It's quite gen-like (compared to my Fish). Blue isn't too apparent and I had to try hard to capture the hue in a picture.

Has there been any spectacular new gens?

I don't think so. Awful new fat lug Rolexes and and a few retro versions of the same old.

Most important watches and popular models have already been repped.

The key to happiness is to enjoy what you already have. There's still plenty of nice watches to consider.

I doubt it. They have different crystal diameters.

Skyland with yellow subhands is pretty cool.

Great choice!

It's Friday, let's see 'em guys!

Wearing my blue Fish in this fine morning.

Ah... you got that dial then. I had a local Scandinavian RWG friend bidding for it too. Damn...

Yeah that was the first one I ever saw. Someone would make a MINT if he found a source for gen Fish dials. I'd build 2 frankens instantly... black and white.

Where can you get gen Fish dials?

If you find any, let me know... I'd love to build a franken to keep my gen some company.

Lovin' that Zenith Daytona!

The ELP black version is much nicer than the modern one.

Damn that's an adventurous color. Congrats for having guts to be different.

I'm not sure if I like this model. But it has nothing to do with the rep, it's the design of the watch. Two things: Pearl is awful on both gen and rep, and also the way bracelet connects to the case is just weird.

But I guess this is another piece that takes time to get adjusted to.

The rep is pretty decent, apparently. The sunked dw thing is not an "issue" because there's no way to replicate it properly anyway. That wouldn't bother me.

Thanks for the pics. Very informative.

Only in RWG.

And Ubi is the best. But we all knew it already.

You know, after concentrating more on the gens lately, very few reps manage to impress me anymore. Many times it's those tiny little details that start to bother you. On Fish it was the dial, on SMP Chrono it was definitely the pearl. The gen pearl has very characteristic appearance.

Actually it started to bother me more after I got my gen (non-chrono) Bond Seamaster. It's just different, and every time you look at the watch you can't help but notice it. The gen insert "perfected" this watch, imho. Of course the watch is not 100% accurate but it doesn't have any apparent flaws anymore.

This is truly under appreciated super rep. It's actually crazy that it didn't sell more than it did... it's MUCH better replication than the best non-chrono SMPs.

Maybe it's partly because the gen isn't that expensive. Actually I quoted a bit too low price tag for the preowned ones but I guess you can find a good one for $1.5K.

Whenever I put this watch on, I'm impressed. When I compare it to my gen Bond SMP there aren't many details to tell a rep from the gen ("feel" wise). It's way more fascinating than my gens because it's a China-made forgery. How amazing is that? It's even more amazing that some people still believe that reps of this quality are composed in dark basements by 10-year old kids.

Thanks for the interest guys. And thanks again MJ, it was an amazing gesture which I won't forget.

@BT -- if you get a chance sometime, can you shoot some pix of your blue gen fish in natural light outdoors...grey and/or sunny sky...your studios are stunning - but day/day lighting really alters how it looks in the wild...thx!...R

Anything for you mate...

The dial changes color a lot, depending on the lighting conditions. I doubt you can get more accurate ONE shot of the dial color than this.

If you shoot it from a different angle, it can appear more "violet" (a bit like the rep) because the AR is actually purplish blue. And from another angle the blue is very light, greyish.

RobbieG's photo:

I was a bit lazy and borrowed RobbieG's famous natural light shots of the watch. Robbie is my main inspiration in photos these days... I have mastered the studio photos but Robbie is the "king of wrist shots".

Here's another shot that I found (this is the older model with polished middle links but the dial is 100% same).