Bardamu

Very nice and original, I like this ! The price... hum... let me think twice before I place my order.

My job is in logistics. In don't know for the US, but in Europe there is a huge increase of shipments in December (so many people buying Christmas gifts on internet). So it's not surprising to see that some trackings are missing. Sometimes, because of a missing scan, a parcel is momentarily missing. It delays the shipment, but it should be delivered. Just be patient.

Paul

One comment about "fake trade". I took these pictures two years ago (even if they seem to be taken in the 50s), when I was working for a brand which produces quartz fashion watches. It was not fakes, but a real brand. So, this workshop is not something specific for production of reps.They work normally and officially for legal brands.

Anyway, it's possible that they also produce rep. I didn't see it in the case factory, but it's impossible to identify a brand from a naked case (unless it is a very specific case). It's easier to check with dials, because they have the name on it. When I visited dials suppliers, of course I was shown the dials produced for the brand of my company. But I'm curious, and I use to have a look aroud me. And I also saw dials printed Cartier, or TAG, or other luxury brands.

Conclusion : you can have a dial supplier, or a case supplier who has an official and legal business, and who also produces rep. Quite logical, finally...

Paul

But I thought Swiss watches were made by gnomes and elves in a shack on a hill eating Swiss cheese not by a faceless machine. I want a Chinese watch that is still made by craftsmen

Oh forgot I have a couple of them

Oh Andy, you didn't read the news ? All gnomes and elves have left Swizerland. They received higher salaries from Santa Clauss, to help him for Christmas. And in their new job, they have to work only one month per year, so they refused to go back to Swizerland.

Don't make confusion : these men are not watchmakers. They don't work on the movement, they just take care of the case. This is a job completely different from assembling a movement. And building dials is also something different. I visited dials makers, but was not allowed to take pictures. It's pity, because it's very spectacular. They start with a piece of brass, they cut it and little by little it begins to become a dial.

Few other pictures of cases production :

Here, workers are making holes in the cases for tubes and pushers. You can see dozens of cases in the boxes beside the case. As they have not yet been polished, they don't have special protection against scratch. Of course, after polishing cases will be stored in individual frame with foam to protect them.

Here, another view of the polishing room. Only one man is working at this moment (left, below).

Close up of the machine for polishing. As you can see, there is one central engine rotating, with brushes on each side. So two men can work side by side, or one single man using two different types of brushes. Note that they placed cartons to protect from projection of small pieces of metal. The incredible point (see picture in my first post above) is that the guys are not wearing protection glasses.

Of course when you have workers, you have team leaders to check and control !

Other part of the factory : the assembly room. In this place everything is very clean to avoid dust. That's where workers will assemble movement, dial and hands inside the case, place the crown and close the case.

Do you remember, in the Panerai film, it was explained that the hands were placed by a robot because it was such an accurate job, it cannot be done manualy ? Well... have you seen any of these robots in this room ? No robot of course, it's done manually ! That's probably the only difficult part in the assembly. If you don't place them exactly at the right position, hands will touch each other (or touch the dial, or touch the glass), and stop.

Sorry, I have no picture of movements assembly (the real watchmakers in the process), because I had no occasion to visit such a factory.

Hope you enjoyed the tour in the workshop. Only the smell is missing : hot oil, grease, and noise of the engines. In dials factories the smell is more painful, with paints, solvents and many chemical products.

Paul

Hum... A kind of warning which let us think that you had a bad experience, Phoband. Fun enough to share ?

Val, if the red wine taht "impulsed acquisitions" is the one on the picture below your signature, I cannot believe that you made wrongs buyings. I want to believe that great burgundy wines can only give very positive inspirations !

Paul

Thanks for this very interessing report. It's always fascinating to see how it is built.

It's also interesting to see the process in a luxury brand, with many automated operations, and to compare it with a more "manual" process. I've been in China, and had the opportunity to visit watch case factories. I'm sure you'll have fun comparing my pictures with the film shown above.

Do you remember in the film the first step with the case ? That's what they call "case blank". Here are the operations that follows, and which were made by a robot in the film :

And the final polishing :

Maybe you'll think that in such a factory they are just doing rubish. If you think so, you're wrong ! These guys are not working in a high tech workshop, but they are great professionals. And you'd be suprised by the quality of finishing they are able to provide. Specially with polishing, which is the last operation and the most difficult one. I takes years to train a very good polisher. And if he makes a mistake, the case cannot be fixed and goes to the dustbin (which means that all previous operations - and the associated production cost - are lost).

Case of your favourite rep comes probably from a factory which looks like this one.

Hope you'll find it interesting.

Paul

In my humble opinion it's ridiculous to spend so much for a bottle of wine - don't get me wrong, of course it's great to get such a present, but.... Maybe it's different in the US, but here in Europe you get the best of the best for around 30-40 euros (except those "grail" wines plaifender mentioned). Doesn't make sense to buy more expensive wines, you won't find that it tastes "better", just different. May even be worse, just because a wine is expensive doesn't mean it suits your personal taste. Personally I stick with 10-20 euro wines and have found a lot of true gems among them.

But I'd love to read your review, too!

Cheers (no wine glasses, sorry)!

Hum... I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that we cannot have the "best of the best" for 30/40 €. With that price, for sure you can find delicious wines. For sure, you can also find bad wines much more expensive. But real great wines (I said "great", not "good") cost at least 50 €, and most often more than 100 €. And I'm not speaking of "grails".

Just for fun... do you know where the most expensive wine comes from ? Not California, or Spain, or Italy, or France. It comes from Germany ! It is a sweet white wine, more expensive than legendary French Romanée Conti.

Paul

The difference with the AR is fantastic. It really upgrades the watch (one of my favourites).

Congratulations for this good job !

Paul

Nice strap ! Thanks for sharing.

I often appreciate the combo black dial / light brown leather.

How does the Eifel tower look like as a christmas tree these days.

Hum... the Eifel Tower ? To be honest, I didn't check if it is still there. Since I discovered this forum, I can hardly leave my pc.

I have some knowledge about luxury watches that I love, but they are unaffordable for me and I only use to dream in front of the windows when I walk around Place Vendôme in Paris. After just a few days on this website, it's incredible all informations I got about reps on this forum ! Last month I was about to place an order on a website, but I didn't because at the last second I was afraid of a scam.

Now, I'm suddenly discovering a new and AFFORDABLE world. What a merry Xmas !

Thanks to all of you for welcoming me, and for all this shared information.

Beautiful design indeed. But I agree with others above : thickness is too important (IMHO) for a dressy and very classical watch.

I'm noob in rep's world and maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that there are not so many reps of this pure and classical style. It's pity !

Paul

For sure, I will follow carefully this post. This watch is in the top 5 of my wishlist.

As it is just a "simple" three hands, I don't worry for the movement. Real ETA or Asian clone, I'm fully confindent it will work. But I'm very curious to see the actual quality level of finishing. With such a dial, that's the point that makes the difference in my opinion. Beautiful design, but if quality is not top of the top, for my eyes it would be like reading "fake" in bold red letters in the middle of the dial...

Paul

^{I would loooooove to find a very good rep of this one :}

^{But it would be a surprise, this model is getting old.}

^{Two years ago, I found one in China. I bought it, but it was poor quality with Chinese movement, not real chrono. Anyway, it allowed me to wear it and to feel how it is on my wrhrist. I liked it, but after six months it stopped.}

Some spaces remain empty in your box. How long will it last ?

Dear all,

I've been very interested in luxury watches for a few years now, and use to discuss about it on French websites. Looking for top quality replicas on internet, I discovered your site yesterday. And I just thought... WAOUH !!! Here is the information I need to avoid bad surprises !

Probably I will not post a lot of messages. My English is not so good, and I'm sure that 99.9 % of my potential questions already have the answer written. Just have to use the "search" function. Enough to read for a few hours, days, weeks, months !

I wish you a very happy Christmas !

Paul