Pix

Welcome in the SFSO world !

Tempting : I've learnt to like this watch after our members reviews some months ago (together with the AP RO). That make this unique Patek model a bit more affordable, even if it's not an MBK. Unfortunately still a bit overpriced : should be more in the 250 range. I found an Asian 21J with display caseback on cqout. Might be an option, although it's still expensive for an Asian movement and not as accurate from the crown point of view. Hope the closed case one also comes with this Asian 21J. It would do the job, as I don't expect such a simple movement to fail. http://www.cqout.com/item.asp?id=3069803 Mods, delete my link if it's against the boards policy. Must be not too difficult for a watchsmith to remove the seconds hand and make it further more unique. Here's the non jumbo version : http://www.cqout.com/item.asp?id=3018062 And guess what : the seller is from BKK.

Thx TWP, I hope I'll be able to deal with you in the future : you're one of those who cover a large range of price, included those I'm interested in : the low ones !

Well worth mentionning : the last 2 reps I bought on iOffer were sent by EMS (same as our dealers) for 19 USD... And guess what : it came exactly as quickly... I will buy from those who have affordable nice reps, whoever and whereever they are. This may include the "Cartel" dealers, or exclude them. I was glad to deal with them always, for the reason that I felt much safer with them. In the meantime I learnt that there are other reliable dealers who only ask to earn new customers.

This problem justifies that you invest in some...rep rings !

I see

See... When I'm in Belgium, I behave as any tourist. Doh !

Hi Vric, I thought about a SS version too, but finally went for the RG. Here's what is currently online over there. Slightly different. I don't think the dials are faithfully replicated, but at least they don't have the same flaw as mine. Not the same (reliable) seller however. There are also black dial versions, although I would not go for them due to the lack of AR. Hope this helps.

These are positive posts, thx ! I'll wear it for some days and decide when my brain has cooled down...

Even if I first found the Breitlings a bit too complex in their design, the quality of replication and the attention on every small details made me love their style and finally want to have one on my wrist. The SFSO was a natural step, as it's a non chrono version. I chose the Asian version for the reasons which have already been often discussed here. The Swiss version is definitely close to perfect (movement + AR) but I was a bit reluctant in going in what was at that time a high price. I may change my mind the day I have some additionnal cash. The Navitimer is for me the limit of what I am ready to wear. Very complex, but still something classy and harmonious in it. I found the Two-tone very attractive : I've always wanted gold in one of my reps, but was afraid of the bling effect. I swapped the shiny bracelet for a leather one, to reduce this The rep strap is simply awesome, and one can get crazy when hearing the price : 15 dollars !! For financial reasons (and some fear about a too complex movement and its inherent risks), I went for quartz...

Thx BT to give us a chance to take new shots of our babes ! I'm going to make up both ladies, and be back tonight...

Well, it seems there's strong fluctuations on the HBB stock exchange... That's the very proof that buyers are gauged by the dealers. As far as the lite versions are concerned : why did they choose to revive a problematic movement to justify the price difference ? Is this a kind of punishment ? I will wait (again). I like the HBB design very much. I will get one...once. But the current offers are not acceptable. So I'll continue the "cheap" way Dealers, don't forget competition will raise, as reps became much easier to get than in the past. Don't gamble that much with your reputation : sooner or later you'll lose the game. BTW, don't you feel we're taken for idiots ? I mean, we're all led to lie in our life/job, but when it's so obvious and done without any tact, I just find it insulting. And that make the dealers I repected hen I started here just loose all my trust, as I feel they behave like crooks...

Very soon ! Is Leon really that bad ? Well, have to still make up my mind if it's too big or not. Objectively it's the biggest of my dressy watches, for sure.

Rek001, no Tony's on CQout, that one is from Seikomark on iOffer. @BT : thanks ! Here are some comparison shots. And the missing wristshot.

Hi, it's been a while I've been searching for it. I've always liked the simple beauty and sex-appeal of the Portuguese chrono, but as many of us, I was somehow afraid of the 7750 version with seconds@6 : it is more or less obvious that this variation of the 7750 has some conception mistakes, although lucky members never met any problem. How to invest 250 to 300 dollars in what I saw as a gamble ? Having no taboo with cheaper reps, and especially quartz, I thought that would be a fair solution, as many quartz movement (the simplest Miyota OS20) have seconds@6. The problem was to find a dealer carrying it, and as usual, most of our known dealers avoid this cheaper field. I saw WBK (dealer on RWI) having an approaching version, but I did not like it as the caseback looked pretty cheap, and, real sin for the Portuguese design, it had a date@3, which I found to completely kill the harmony of the watch. Even the watch hunters like Ruby or TWP could not find what I was looking for. Brand9avenue had a YG version for 135 dollars shipped, but I belong to those who are reluctant ordering from them. I won't go in the detail. Finally the Graal came from iOffer where I've been wandering a lot these time (see my previous purchases) ! And here it is. Hope you like the shots. So... How is it as a watch ? When ordering 100 dollars range reps, there's always a risk to get really bad finished things, despite the long time spent in looking at the pictures very carefully. Fortunately, this has not really happened to me yet, and for the Portuguese, I think I was really lucky : the watch looks great ! I mean it. As the dial is white, there's no reflection on it, so that all the details and digits really pop up. The mix of brushed and polished rose gold is just right : I was afraid of a "cupper" look, as it often happens for RG. Here it is perfecly balanced : it IS rose, and not red. The crown markings are nicely executed which make the thing look good. However, I don't really like the choice for yellow gold. Maybe I'm a bit anal about coordination of colours. I am very satisfied about the caseback which is engraved. I definitely try to avoid the laser etched ones, as it gives a "cheap" feeling, at least in my standards. The center of the caseback is highly mirror polished. The result is great, but unfortunately it will probably scratch easily. The choice of SS colour is clever in my opinion, as this is the place where usually the plating will fade very quickly. The crystal is slightly doomed (let's say curved) and the water drop test says sapphire, although I'm not sure really. Nothing to mention about the movement : it's quartz, therefore most reliable. And as the seconds subdial is tiny, you won't notice too much that it's ticking and not sweeping. A special good mention for the strap : that's one of the rare strap I got without having to buy a new one, as most often rep strap just s**k... This one looks and feel great, the alligator pattern is particularly well done and I like the black inner leather that will show less smudge after a while. Then you may ask, is it perfect ? Unfortunately not. There are 2 points which make the picture a bit worsening : first, the seconds dial. I have no clue why it is marked from 1 to 10, whereas it would have been so easy to have the standard 15/30/45/60 digits. I knew it while buying the thing, and some models had the correct subdial, but not the RG one. Basically it's not disturbing, except for those ((like me) looking at every details of a watch. The second point is linked to my...anatomy ! The watch is 42mm...and the dial looks huge on my wrist ! It is almost 41 mm. That would not be disturbing on a casual or sports watch, but it is (in my mind) for a dressy watch. I have a Montblanc Timewalker which is 42 mm too, but this one look a bit smaller as the dial is not that large, and also because it's black. That's very disappointing for me, as I am reluctant in wearing it, especially after several remarks about this watch looking really big. Well... such a long time spent in looking for it, and now I have to realize it's just not for me. And from the rep point of view ? The spirit of the Portuguese is definitely here. I can say that looking at it is just looking at a very pure and classy design. Here's a picture of the gen, which you all know. And it's only by looking at this picture that you will notice the differences. As there's no obvious point that will make you called. - subdials graduations are wrong, but their size and alignment are pretty good - the quartz wording replaced the automatic one, which make sense - the base of the pushers don't have the right color All the rest look good to me, at least good enough, not to scream fake. It's more difficult to judge the crown and the caseback, but if I compare them to the automatic 7750 rep, they are not accurate. Anyway they are well finished, that's the main point for me : a rep must first have some presence and give a quality feeling, before being accurate. Again, that's only my humble opinion. Conclusion I've been looking for such a long time for this very watch, and now that I could finally grab one, I had to realize that it's too big on my wrist... That's the reason why I am likely to sell it very soon. I hope this experience will be useful for some of you. Great rep, small wrist

I find the rubber strap to perfecly fit the watch style, much more than the leather one. Great.

So, they're just out (a RG version unfortunately missing). The datefont looks strange. Otherwise it seems just as promised. Mmm... I am very hesitant.

Ryannon, first I want you to know that I was not reacting against you, but against the idea that you (or some) think there exist some kind of hidden conspiracy from the French media against Americans. I do believe that's not true, but I don't want to argue that much on this topic, as it really calls more guts than reason. Moreover I do not want to look like your foe or anyone's. Let's conclude we just disagree. Regarding French weapons, sorry for the new off-topic : France, as the USA belong to the largest weapons manufacturers, so inevitably you find them killing (even French) people over the World. Let's not start this debate. I was just mentionning that it was absolutely needless for the concerned american soldier to say "hey, that's a French MD weapon" whereas : - it was NOT (may I remember these MD weapons have never been found and that Iraki's soldier probably used US weapons too) - the remark was just increasing the "hate" in a frame where Bush administration was already entertaining some resentment against France for not being their allies in this very matter (President Bush refused to sleep in France during the G8 meeting that was held at that time, isn't that childish ?) Then, as Pug said, let the history (not the media or even us) decide if 9/11 has to be remembered over years, and also do not beat a dead horse. What I understand from France (and French media) is that this event was and still is considered as serious, but was not "printed" in the collective memory (at least not as much as in the US), as the event simply did not take place here. Well, if that's fair or not is surely an other story. Just look at how countries also forgot about the GB or Spanish tragedies that followed. There's no conspiracy either. Back to the broadcast concerning American liberators, I do not think there actually is any French resentment regarding these facts. We must not forget, but must forgive. And I think that's done already. Otherwise, how would I live 20 km from the German border, and how would I do business with German people, who I respect and put on pretty well in my daily life. Hating them for historical reason would be as stupid as saying "hey, remember Lafayette..." Some facts are too old to be used as arguments to justify today's politic situation.

September 11th was a true drama, and lived as such in France too (may I remind that France regularly suffered of Islamic terrorism since the Eighties..?) Ryannon, you know that introducing the French against Americans topic can only lead to feelings speaking louder than reason... And that's what I have to do now : I have to answer you, as I feel your understanding of the French attitude is partial or biased. This "anniversary" was largely covered in all French TV news. Besides, France 5 (an other State owned TV channel) had a special event on September 11th, which I followed, as I still feel very concerned by this horrible event. They also made an hommage to "the forgotten" : american firemen who died this day. Needless to make a long listing of who spoke about this topic or not, and needless to say that even in France, there are regular and detailed TV broadcasts about 9/11. Reading your post, I have the feeling you mean "France doesn't bother". It's wrong. I was shocked at the very beginning of Irak's War about a broadcast on CNN where I saw an american soldier showing some socalled "massive destruction weapons" adding "it's French made"... and these were actually even NOT weapons. How idiot this guy was, and he surely did not realize he explained to millions of Americans that France supplied MD weapons to Saddam... There are many examples like this illustrating the partiality and resentment of some American people against French, just because the French Government decided not to support Bush's administration in their vendetta against Saddam Hussein. I can't agree with your perception of how 9/11 was NOT recalled by French Media, it's just not true. It gets worse when you seem to say that France3 decided about their "disturbing" broadcast on purpose on that particular day, as if they had to show something, some kind of revenge or call it as you want... Do you really believe that ? I feel much more disturbed by the 2004 Tsunami's anniversary not recalled at all... More than 200 000 people died on December 26th. But who cares 3 years later ? They had the misfortune not to be westerners

It's true we are guessing, argueing and supposing a lot... without knowing. But one thing is sure : the "we thought that price is too high" is not a white lie, it's close to BS (sorry). The proof for that is that they're back for sales at what was just asserted as an indecent price for the valuable consumers we represent... Did I miss something ?

Hi, as you maybe know, new HBB versions will be available soon, for about 300 dollars, using a PVD coated bezel instead of the ceramic one. Who would buy the expensive ceramic bezel then ? Some "purists" I guess. Those very same who would expect a gen 7750 in the rep. Needless to say that's not the majority. The other explanation is also that since Hublot seem to have hit their ceramic bezel supplier quite seriously, it is likely that the source of "genuine fake bezels" has vanished. Therefore the version as we know it will probably not be produced anymore. That's just a guess, but make sense IMO, as I have difficulties thinking that the choice of carrying this or that model is related to an acceptable sales price. 800 was already not acceptable for some (which I belong to). See the glass half empty or half full. As far as I'm concerned, I'm glad we finally see an affordable HBB coming. Because that's a damn sexy watch !

The old 7750 has more or less disappeared in recent reps. Do you think it is the same "beta" (unreliable ?) one or a new version ?

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=48986 Curious on how different it will be.

Well...Just withdrawn the CD from my wish list...

The wristshot shows that's the right size for the B&R : not too small, not too big. I like it a lot.