atomic_doug

I think the rehaut might be a little shallow, but that might be the pictures. A proper side-by-side will surely come sooner than later. It didn't particularly jump out at me. This one looks good. Having worn the gen (didn't buy, tho) I can say for a fact that this thing wears a helluva lot bigger than 41mm.

Well, I never thought I'd see the day one of these was repped. (Too unknown and too crazy a case.) It actually looks really decent, though. http://pureti.me/product/pre-order-the-one-ss-silver-dial-on-rubber-strap-a2892/ What do you guys think?

So you only did the dial, Dutchguy? Any details on how/what you did? What you used?

I have a non-quickset Datejust, so yes. It's a PITA, but that's what a winder is for. More concerning for me is inconvenience of the swap itself. As I understand, the A7753's datewheel is very different from anything else.

That's what makes the exercise interesting. It's inevitable that something important would be left off. ...like the Submariner. As successful and even iconic as it has been for its entire existence, it's not necessarily a "first" like the Fifty Fathoms was. Rolex had been doing water-resistant for a while already. They basically built their own copy of the Fifty Fathoms. Rolex, however, marketed their piece much more effectively. That cannot be argued. I guess a lot of this also depends on how "legend" is defined. I prefer to think of it as a piece that changed the game, so to speak. The only piece on the original list that isn't actually that spectacular is the Speedmaster, but it was present at the apex event of human civilization thus far, so it gets a pass.

Lhooq, no 1016?

I think maybe a part of it is that the gen is soooo common and relatively affordable, particularly on the second-hand market. (They've been making them by the boatload for the past 40 years) Add to that the pain of having to clone the movement, I don't think it's a massive priority for them.

This year I believe I'll pick up an Omega Speedmaster Pro. They can be had quite reasonably on the second-hand market.

Gotta say, 2013 wasn't the best year for me, watch-wise. I bought a couple pieces and flipped them pretty quickly. The only one I kept was a Casio G-9300.

I agree that they are all significant watches in terms of design. The Pilot watch and the Sub were particular points of contention. The Pilot watch just wasn't anything special enough to displace anything on this list, despite being a dial design that's lasted nearly a century. The Daytona really wasn't anything until the 80's when Italian collectors exploded the price. The Nautilus, while arguably prettier than the RO, was a direct response to the success of the RO. (And Genta, himself, considered the RO to be is best work.) The Sub. That was a tricky one. While it's an absolutely timeless design and the watch that spawned a thousand imitators (and reps). My contention was that the Fifty Fathoms was the 'new' design. (Oversized, automatic, shockproof, luminous, uni-directional rotating bezel all in the same package.) The high degree of waterproof-ness was already a Rolex invention. It's obviously a legend, but I can't really think of a thing I'd replace on my list for it. As for the Santos. I don't know about it being a hairdresser's watch. Usually, when I think 'Cartier Santos' I think of 80's Gordon Gekko-type d-bags. Maybe the quartz Tank Francaise...

So I was having a discussion over a couple of bottles with some watch-nerd friends of mine about the living legends of watchmaking. It got a little heated, though the wine may have contributed more to that. In the end, we weren't able to agree but hashed out this list. Basically, they had to be significant and had to still be in production (or a very direct descendant in most cases.) I want to know what are yours, because this is not going to be settled among my friends and I. In no particular order, here's what we had: 1. Omega Speedmaster Pro. Worn on the moon. That counts more than anything else about the watch. Moon. 2. Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. The first modern recognizable dive watch 3. Rolex Datejust. The date complication, but also far more durable than it needed to be. 4. Cartier Santos. Basically the first real men's wristwatch 5. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Made us re-think luxury watchmaking. 6. MDM Hublot. Made us re-think using new materials in luxury watchmaking. 7. Zenith El Primero. The automatic chronograph 8. Longines Hour Angle. The first pilot's wrist computer 9. Panerai Radiomir. The first purpose-built dive watch 10. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. The first sport-watch The first contention is that there were so few Rolexes and no Pateks. To me, the Submariner, for example, is a feature-added Oyster Perpetual. We really couldn't think of a Patek that really stood out enough to be on this list. One of my friends complained that there were no Japanese watches and only one quartz watch. I'll take the fifth on that one. The Cartier Tank was left off because I felt it was an evolution of the Santos expressed in a then current Art Deco fashion. There was no "Pilot's" watch (B-uhr) style on the list either. Were they anything particularly groundbreaking? Anyway. Let's hear your thoughts.

Nearly 5 days now?! You think they're going to re-use this as an 8-day rep too?

Rolexman: what do you think the potential for reliability is, given the "wobbly gear train" as you put it?

This is a little after the fact, so forgive my thread necromancy, but I'm looking at doing this for my XVI as well. Did you do it yourself or have it done professionally? To that end, has anyone ever used these kits? http://www.ofrei.com/luminous-paste-for-watch-hands-and-dials.html

Anyone know if we'll ever get a decent JLC Reverso? I think I remember some chatter on that a few months ago.

Getting a watch face relumed can be done by hand if you're willing to experiment, or sent off to one of our trusted watchsmiths. They typically would use Super-LumiNova blended to the color used by the OEM. (Don't ask me what they charge, I've never had a dial relumed by them.) The upgraded lume would be permanent

I'm holding my breath, but not hope. The basic 45mm 5015-1130-52 is too simple. It'll be the chrono or the hideous Bathyscaphe version with the transparent caseback or something.

On gen dials the lume is a torch. Charge it up for a few minutes and it will be legible all night. Sourcing gen dials is very difficult. They pop up for sale every now and then, but never the model you want and typically very expensive. Your best bet would be to have your rep dial re-lumed. Then it can have gen-like luminosity.

Great review, Rolexman. Thanks for this.

A minor inconvenience in setting the watch is worth it to avoid the sunken datewheel look.

Does it, by any chance, have the function of the gen where crown position 1 changes the hour only?

Man, that looks really good. I think I might have to re-evaluate my "Panerai reps don't interest me anymore" position. Apparently, it's a 72 hour power reserve too. Maybe it's a really simple movement and easy to copy.

Apparently, a new Cartier Tank Louis rep was released in September. It looks pretty good, except for the crown. It's a basic quartz-powered model. I don't know that it mimics any specific model Tank 100% faithfully. It looks like a little bit Tank Solo and a little bit Tank Louis. Still though, considering how long Tanks have been around and how regularly they are changed, it doesn't really scream fake to me, particularly if you upgrade the strap and hands set, both easily available on fleabay. Your thoughts?

As a rep, it's pretty darned good, verging on perfect. As something to wear daily...if you're the kind of guy that can pull off an Offshore, any Offshore, then too much is never quite enough.

Thanks for the pics and the comparo. What year is your gen case from? I have a 1520 and (relumed) gen dial and I've been considering the Yuki case for the project. This makes it much easier to see where the work needs to go. The 5513 was produced for so many years with so many slight variations and so many cases have suffered so many varying degrees of abuse that I think it may be impossible to definitively have a single perfect rep case. No matter what you do, some guy will show up with a gen that will be different.