atomic_doug

2014-01-17 22:13:00 GUANGZHOU Despatch from Sorting Center I think I made it in time, but will be gnashing my teeth if it sits on the dock for a month.

That is a toughie. Personally, I've been waiting for the Blancpain for years so it'd be a no-brainer for me. Ask yourself this: had you been lusting after anything else more than the Mille Metri? Had you been hunting for a Mille Metri for years or did it just sort of fall in your lap. I've had rare pieces fall in my lap that I bought because "hey, how often will I get a chance to buy one?" but usually flipped shortly thereafter because they didn't speak to me. I bought them because they were for sale, not because I actually wanted them.

I think it is a lot of hype. Charging more implies that it's worth more, a higher-quality product. Granted, I think more work and exotic materials goes into a ROO than a Sub, but it's not that much either. Then the prices of the ROO Diver or the new RO Jumbo are, I believe, set according to the pricing standard set by other ROOs.

My word, Marlin. This is going to be very special indeed. A lot of guys with beautiful pre-v builds are going to be watching this one with bated breath.

If I decide this one's a a keeper, I'm tempted to pick up another one for spares and I'm pretty much set for life then. (Spare movement, spare handset, spare dial, spare crown, spare plexi.)

I have a wrist between a little narrower than 6.5". It's relatively flat, though. Here's my wrist with a 372. The ends of the lugs are about even with my wrist. Wearing a big watch is about attitude, not size.

Thanks. I think there must be multiple factories making straps because the product is always all over the map. I try not to count straps as a serious 'for' or 'against' though, since I typically swap them out immediately anyway. The only rep strap I've ever had that was truly good was an Assolutamente. Durable, comfortable, indistinguishable from gen after a few days of wearing.

Note: for a more detailed review of the movement itself, please take a look at Rolexman's truly excellent dissection of it. So I purchased the P.3000 SuperClone version of the 372. I'm not normally an early-adopter type, but I've been lusting after the 372 for years (but I'm not paying 10k USD for one) and this one was close enough for me with the cloned movement. Here's a rundown of what I've found: The Dial & Hands Very good. The hands look slightly more reddish to me and the engraving of the lettering seems a mite thinner than gen. (If I'm crazy, tell me, but I swear that the R's and A's in "LUMINOR - PANERAI" are thicker.) The color of the paint for the lettering is correct. The shape of the numbers is spot-on, as is the color of the lume. The lume is strong, for fauxtina lume. Like the gen, it takes longer to charge up than the C3 stuff and never quite gets as bright, but it holds charge for a long time. I was easily able to read the dial in the darkness at 3 a.m. when my upstairs neighbor decided it was time to vacuum. The Case, Crown & Crown guard The shape is accurate to gen. The polishing is well-executed, even in the normal tricky spots between the lugs. The screws that hold the lug bars in are polished and rounded, the screws that hold the crown guard in are polished and rounded as well. The engravings on the lugs and sides of the case, crown guard and caseback are crisp and deep. The lever opens and closes with a secure, positive snap, though I did have to file the feet of the crown guard a little to have it press on the crown a little harder. The lever pin is polished and sits flush with the crown guard body. The lever does not wobble in the guard, nor is it over-tight. (The scratches on the lever are my fault.) The Plexiglas crystal sits appropriately tall above the bezel. Operation The advertised three days' power reserve is incorrect, this thing will run for 6 days. (6 days, seriously) It is mostly accurate, but with only 5-minute indices, accuracy is never that discernable. The crown pulls out and in smoothly and setting the time is easy. The gen feature of being able to set the hour hand independently in jumps is not in this movement. The winding action was a little rough out of the box and felt quite stiff. I gave the piece to my local watch maker and he told me it was clean, but dry as a bone and needed to be oiled very badly. The gaskets had been greased at the factory, though. After he serviced it, the crown wound much more smoothly. He did not test it for water resistance, but remarked that it should be at close to as water resistant as the 100m promises. (Don't go swimming with it, but you're safe wearing it in the rain or on humid days.) The Strap, Buckle, and notes on wearing it It's a rep strap, of course it's terrible. It's floppy and feels dried-out. The buckle is nice and well-finished, without the typical razor-sharp edges of normal rep buckles. The tang sits flush in the buckle body, the engraving is deep and crisp. I have a nicer strap on order already, anyway. I have a small wrist, at slightly less than 6.5", but it's flat. This watch does not wear as big as 47mm would suggest. The acrylic crystal means it's considerably lighter, and the lugs do curve down to hug the wrist. It wears a lot more comfortably than the 127, which has straighter lugs and weighs more. It is no harder to wear than a normal 44mm Luminor. However, you never forget that you're wearing a very large watch. People who comment on it (and they will comment) also don't let you forget it. Final comments I bought this from Toro and his service was rapid and excellent. Was it worth the approximately 100 dollars over the Unitas version? I believe so. The clone movement, while not itself 100% accurate is closer than anything else out there and makes the watch on a whole feel more special. On the downside, parts availability will clearly be an issue until this movement becomes more common and people know what it is and who makes it. (Which it will be. Why develop a brand-new movement for only one watch?) Quick Pros & Cons + Looks very close to gen, including movement + Ridiculous power reserve + Good strong lume + Surprisingly good finishing from a rep maker - Movement needs servicing, heaven help you if you need parts - Dial engraving may be too thin...I think...I don't know... - Rep straps... - Pricey

Disappointing. Looks like the wait continues....or just buy a used gen. I agree with Andreww that they should just do a perfect 6-9-12 version.

The problem is the straps: LW's strap system is quite unique and AFAIK, the only source for them in Linde Werdelin themselves. (And they are not cheap. The basic black rubber strap is 200GBP. )

We can debate charging thousands for a 316L steel case with a 50 dollar movement all day but a Panerai watch is a Veblen good. As it stands, if the OP were to purchase that piece at 3600AUD, he shouldn't have any problem selling it for at least as much, should he decide he wants to move on. That's how I interpret fair price.

If that's not gen, then it's a really good rep. If it is gen and in that condition, then that's a fair price, even a low-ish price. New, the 112 is now 6300USD The cheapest is still the 000, which is now 4900

372 with P.3000 clone movement. God, my hands shake a lot.

I'm confused. So which version is this? Is a correct 9.8mm thick one even coming out?

You'd think there'd be more of a fuss about this. I'd like to know the exact case dimensions.

At a local jeweler's. It cost me 40 bucks.

which one?

White gold has a slightly different problem as yellow gold: it gets dingy. As jpz said, a lot of white gold is a gold-nickel alloy with a rhodium plate, which will wear off and make the whole thing appear slightly dingy (and eventually, yellow) Better white gold is alloyed with palladium and isn't reliant on the rhodium plating. Typically white-gold plated reps are just nickel and rhodium plated. No gold used. The good thing is, though, that a rhodium plate isn't that expensive. I had a steel DJ rep with a fluted bezel. Fluted bezels are always precious metals, so I had the steel rep bezel plated with rhodium, so it looked just like white gold when I re-installed it.

The medium Tank Anglaise in steel is my next purchase. I've tried them both on in the Cartier boutique. The large is enormous. The medium looks a little better. (Is it just me or are Cartier's supposed to be a little on the small side?) The rep medium has an A2671. The gen uses the Cartier 077 mov't, which is just a dolled-up ETA2671, so franken'ing becomes a possibility.

The new Cartier large size Tank Anglaise, the gen of which has the same movement as the Tank MC has also been released. I think the Tank Anglaise is a better rep anyway, but the movement in that is a Miyota 9105, whereas the MC has an unknown movement, due to the subseconds of the MC's dial.

Thanks. Good to know. Hopefully, my local guy shouldn't have a problem with this movement.

Looks pretty decent. The movement is a little dodgy, though.

DSN's current pre-v generation of tubes and crowns are good. Get two of both, just to be safe.

Rolexman, after you serviced yours did the winding smooth out? I've been very happy with mine, it keeps good time and has the ridiculous power reserve, but the winding action seems...stiff and almost grinding.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm not sure the Miyota is the answer. I've had a couple of gens with 9105's and it's not the replacement for the 2824 or 2892 that it's claimed to be. Rotor noise is quite noticeable even through a closed caseback, and these are movements that have come out of an OEM's QC, not rep shops'...I guess we can call it QC. It's also unidirectional winding, so it's got a rotor wobble like a 7750.