ryaku

All PO bracelets are tough in this.

As far as i know yes, Mary's SMP comes with a loupe effect crystal. It's still the best SMP around. No contest.

I asked the seller some more pics, fingers crossed

Also notice how the silver ring around the bezel is so much smaller than on the gen. Yeah, annoying as hell, I'm serious. Much more evident than other flaws. And too expensive to correct (gen bezel are crazy expensive) As for the 4th gen you forgot incorrect lugs shape for the 4th gen (too big polished area), an important structural flaw in my book. AR treatment un my 5th gen is much better than the AR in my old 4th gen but still not as good as the gen. Out of the box, I agree with you, 4th gen was a better rep but the 5th gen is a better starting point for a frankenwatch imho... but the question is: is it worth it? considering the price of a second hand PO this is questionable.

True, slightly better hv position. But worse lugs shape (too big polished area)

PO 4th gen?

Mesh looks good, really As for the link, uhmm ... difficult to say from the pic but it doesn't look exactly a quality piece, i'm afraid it might be even worse than ours. This one looks a little better: http://cgi.ebay.com/Stainless-Steel-Watch-Band-Omega-Planet-Ocean-20mm-/310294962032?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item483f055f70 But still, difficult to say from one single picture I was thinking I could try to buy a 45mm UPO bracelet and try to sand the endlinks a little bit (2mm since lug width is 22mm). Not sure though about the thickness and result, 42mm PO and 45mm PO have different cases so i wouldn't be surprised if also endlinks had different thickness.

Marcelo, afaik there are few options for ar chief in usa taka in singapore uwe in germany i'll let you have contacts later via pm

Marcelo, if you have a caliper, can you please check the exact thickness and diameter? Thanks mate

That's exactly my thought. How can people trust someone on ebay with 1 feedback (negative !!!)?? We're talking about a luxury watch for more than 1k $ not a paperbook..... I really cannot believe.

plaifender, I forgot to say 2 endlinks would cost more than 100usd. You're right, it makes more sense to save some money and buy a whole bracelet.

Rubber strap is not an option for me as I hate any rubber strap. I'm a bracelet guy, very extreme in this. We could try gen endlinks but who knows if they are going to fit the rep bracelet. Moreover I'm not even sure the part to replace is the endlink and not the first link. mumble mumble Have a look here: http://shop.ebay.com/luxurydeals8/m.html

No problem mate, I'm sure the incoming spare part will solve the problem. Right now i'm not wearing the watch but i'm gonna put some glue on it, just to prevent.

Hi all, I was wondering if someone found a solution for the well known issue. So far I've never seen a decent rep bracelet for our beloved 42mm PO and buying a gen bracelet is a too costy option unfortunately for me. There might be a chance to fit the rep bracelet with 2 gen end-links but there's no guarantee this would work and fix the issue. Have you got some tip? Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/Omega-Seamaster-Planet-Ocean-/150564094773?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item230e51c335 It doesn't look gen at all to me, what do u think?

Marcelo, I feel you, I have a spare crystal from a SMP chrono and I guess it's the same case and crystal size of yours. I have a caliper and i can check diameter and thickness for you. We just need to know the exact size of the 5th gen PO crystal.

Marcelo, you might be willing to shoot a PM to members who made frankens from theirs PO's. I'm also considering to buy a gen crystal but so far it's just a plan. Good luck with your search

Me too, I had a Panda Porto and I'd like to buy a all-black Porto .... maybe in few months

I wish it was that easy.

I was wondering the same since i have a spare SMP crystal i might use on my 5th gen PO. In the past I heard someone made it, but the crystal was from a 4th gen PO.

168.1651, right? I had the opportunity this morning to have a close look at a gen PO. The rep is structurally really well done, also the bezel clicks like the gen, almost the same sound and feeling. A gen dial, hands, crown and HV is the way to go. Also a new AR coating is mandatory although the rep coating is decent. A new bezel is too expensive, I'll just try to improve the pearl at a low cost. mojako, can you please check the crystal sizes (thickness and diameter) when you get it? I have one spare SMP crystal and I'm curious to know if sizes are close or very different. Thanks

mojako, I received the watch yesterday and I have to say the AR is not bad at all but still not at the gen level in my opinion. Still, I can't wait to see the review of the 2 crystals, I'm very curious.

I'm also considering 2 options: - recoating the rep crystal (AR is not that bad but not comparable to gen quality or aftermarket ar service) - buying a gen crystal After all AR service is around 70-80$ shipment included

Wonderful result!! I wouldn't care about accuracy too much, double AR improve the watch a lot:

yeah, sure