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Thx Admin ! On the other hand, this system avoids useless posts (negative or positive). It should someow help the database to be lighter.

Hey, true Victoria.... RATING IS BACK ! (and he is not happy... ) THANK YOU ADMINS, that was missing so much that for a while I did not feel like having a look at the wristshots anymore... Back to "normal". That's fantastic !

Thx Lanikai ! Actually I sent it to K2222 for AR coating

Great idea to have the Monster in black !

:wub: Why is this d*mn movement so unreliable ! I've tried many Quartz versions, but have never been 100% satisfied. It's definitely the 7750 one I need... but I'm so scared to spend 300 bucks for a movement that will die in the year. And this blue dial, OMG, it's a pure candy. Needless to mention that K2222's AR coating makes it desirable. May I ask what sounds like a detail : is the crystal flat or doomed ?

The first is always the most difficult step... Great choice !

Victoria, this Louis XIV avatar makes me understand you finally chose Versailles over Windsor ? I love skeleton watches... It's true that the Asian sun gives the watch an "offbeat" style.

Nice one, I find the bracelet being of rather good quality for the price (I used to have the black 007 SMP). And I agree, simple Asian movements are good enough for reps, if not very good. Take the Miyota 8215 clone, it's even VERY good.

Thank you TTK ! Well, when I look at your pics, I realize how still long is my journey to perfect pictures... And yes, two-tone watches are definitely smart.

I did not expect such a success on that one... @St

Thx both ! NSM : I'm going to PM you the seller. Corgi : thx, coming from you that's a real compliment ! I have learnt everything from our photographers here, especially Pugwash and his tutorial on how to take good pictures, and from Jiro and for their Photoshop basic corrections. I'm not unhappy with the results and I'm glad you enjoy them as well : that's what I love in this hobby ! Here's the link to all things we must know to make our reps even more desirable... http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showforum=166 I have one rule on the lighting : I get the best shots with daylight. Maybe I'm using bad lamps

The Omega De Ville Co-axial Chronograph joined the team... Review, see my signature.

Why not use Hublo instead ? Or deliver the T later...? Besides, Hublot is not only a brand, it's also a common name that means window (porthole) in French... Can this be forbidden ? I think that printing the name Hublot (under a shape which is obviously not a logo) is legal. It's applying the thing on a watch which is illegal. And that's the customer's issue. IMHO

Hi Folks, step by step I manage to issue the reviews for all my recently aquired reps... Still 2 to go before all's cleared. Am I buying too much ? Definitely yes, as 2 other ones are on their way This time I am staying in the "not so popular" models : I'm going to review a dressy model from Omega, a brand we know and discuss more for their SMP. Well, I was recently offered the 2007 Omega catalogue, and was surprised on how many models they carry, and especially how many dressy watches exist. That's good for me ! I discovered the De Ville Co-axial Chronometer by chance on iOffer, looking for something else. But I immediately liked its look. It just could be branded Vacheron Constantin... A nice way to change brands without changing style The special price I was offered made me definitely decide it would be mine. Otherwise I don't think I would have gone for it. That was what we may call an impulsive purchase, and I never took any opportunity to check the replication accuracy. Actually did not care about it, as those models are quite rare. Let me start with some pictures : I hope they'll illustrate the reasons why I bought the thing in a heartbeat... Seamaster ? Hidden 7750 Strap & clasp : 100% non Omega Two-Tone : a smart way to stick to gold without too much bling Slightly misaligned hand. Resets well now So... How is it as a watch ? Question of taste, personally I love dressy watches and wear them more than others. That one is definitely very classy. It sure is the "good old" 7750 chrono layout : but the mix of rose gold, stainless steel, blue hands and various shades on the dial make it very attractive...without being "too loaded". Size : 38 mm. 41mm including crown. Height : 13 mm. Excellent proportions for that kind of style The general fit and finish is good. I've seen better ones, but I can't find unpleasant details. Polished case, brushed without flaws between the lugs, half brushed/half satin rose gold (plated) bezel and finally a really great looking caseback, containing an Asian 7750. That was a surprise, as I am more used to see this movement in larger cases. In fact it's pretty well hidden by the rotor. Difficult to recognize the thing at the first glance. Looks and sounds like a 21.6 Kbph. The markings on the rotor seem to be engraved. They could have been more sexy... But actually nothing wrong nor nothing croocked. Finally pretty heavy (approx. 100 gr) for this style, probably due to the movement. As usual, the strap and (rose gold) clasp which came with the De Ville were far from my expectations. Even, I think the clasp was not closing properly, but as it anyway had some flaws, I replaced it by a neutral one : best idea, as I had this exact size waiting in watchbox for a while. I chose a Croco grain leather strap with white stitching, in a quite close colour to what was delivered. I think that burgundy or dark brown is definitely the way to go. The dial is not really white, it's somewhere between white and silver . The concentric circles in the subdials make them look glossy, still very readable. The recessed date is acceptable and the lume too, although I feel it's really not an issue there. And...how is it as a rep ? I would say that it might look like the real thing on the wrist. But if someone who knows the model look at it or if you make a side by side comparison, it will not take him long to spot the flaws. There are quite many. Here's one picture of the gen, found on Omega's website. Actually I have no idea how the real case back looks like, but the single Seamaster marking is enough to make an Omega fan wonder about the watch. That's a dumb mistake. It did not prevent me from buying the thing however. The gen diameter is advertized at 41mm, which is close to the values I gave before. The problem is that I don't know if Omega include the crown-guards or not in their case measurement. Second big tell is that this model is a two-tone, whereas it seems to exist only in full YG or RG or SS... The crystal should be doomed, and the rep has a flat one. I must say I have a preference for flat crystals, which avoid magnifier effects. It's sapphire, and that sounds good, as I think I'll have it AR coated. BTW, the gen is 100m waterproof, and I have the big luck to have one advertized at 300m !! And finally, the subdial size and layout is not correct as well. But this is the kind of things you can only notice when you have both models in front of you. So, my conclusion : an other dressy watch I'll enjoy wearing, although it's far from accurate in the replication. I consider this as the "old style" replicas, far from the current trend of very accurate replication methods, based on genuine samples *cough* Am I reading too much blah blah ? Here's the final wristshot

My "small" Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Still wear it often. The clasp tends now to pop up more easily... Still acceptable. @Watchmark That looks great ! Typically my style of watch. I may contact you for this...

Actually I don't know HBB owners dissapointed. Nor I don't know first time buyers disappointed. Those who spent a lot in the expensive versions surely felt it was worth. And that's the main thing... What fixes the value of a thing is what you are ready to spend in it without having the feeling you are forced to. I have always loved the Big Bang, but was not ready to pay that much. That's why the lite version was the best thing that happened to me IMO. I agree on the bracelet version, although I'm very happy with the strap. For the movement, I read in the past that the old 7750 was easier to swap than the latest versions. As my lite one has the old version (which was said to be compatible as far as the hands are concerned), I thought it was easier to imagine the swap. But as I feel extremely satisfied (I mean it) with this "old" one, there's no reason to undertake any movement change for the moment.

Here's the excellent review from Swatchman. http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=66429

Thx for that complete review ! It's really nice having rare reps reviewed. For the pushers, all my 7750 based reps have this behaviour, which I would describe as normal. Difficult to judge. I was not aware that the star on the bracelet was stuck and not engraved, good finding. For the bracelet, I am a bit more positive : I find mine to be obviously better finished than what you experience. I did not notice the raw edges on the clasp, although it's a really delicate point for me (I had a terrible experience with a Patek Nautilus). Now that you mentionned that, I checked again the thing on mine, and found that it was light enough that I did not see it the first time. Are the pictures emphasizing the problem or is the reality as average as what you show ? It would be interesting to have a third opinion on the bracelet, as also I did not notice sharp edges. So we should try to know if it's (as it may happen) a bad batch or a real issue on all the watches. Overall an excellent rep IMO, although you're right, the datefont and cyclope could have been better... Great macro shots !!

Sure. The thinner font is already changing avlot. Besides the fact that it tends to look gen, it is said to hold better than simple stickers. And it's worth, just because the rep stickers are not absolutely well aligned...

Black is beautiful...

Actually I have never seen the result on a watch... I was rather thinking on how correct it looks on eyeglasses : all my glasses are greenish AR coated. But again, I'd rather spend double price for an "approved" coating

Well, the eyeglasses Ar coating is something probably acceptable (I know what I'm talking about...) :-) But it's true that the greenish colour might disturb some of us. And there's one thing which is unique with K2222 : you send him the whole watch, he takes care of the rest. No crystal pop-up issue : for a reasonnable price, not mentionning the high quality, as Chieftang mentions it.

Hi, as I had the opportunity to open the caseback, here's a shot of the movement and the engraved rotor. As expected, it's excellent.

Same old story. Was the price difference explained by only the AR coating (50 dollars) and the "genuine" bezel ? Surely not. But there were customers for this. Not me I'd however like to source the new "ceramic" like bezel which can be found on the newer reps : it looks more gen than mine. Overall, for less than 300 dollars the socalled lite versions are good reps.

BTW, just sent it to K2222 for AR coating... He told me that this bold font looks genuiner than the usual one we see. I was not aware of that. I can't really see this on Hublot's website. If anyone has pics of the gen, I'd be interested. Also, having the "dummy" regulator on the old 7750 obviously make it closer to the gen than what I expected. Suddendly thinking about a mod for the ceramic bezel and thinner printing on the rotor... See here : http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...mp;#entry391730