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What you mean is you are too well connected...

Has that rotor not just been switched from the ubiquitous Asia 21J movement.? Certainly looks like it! Oh, and those casebacks are priceless! 18K stainless steel

You beat me to it John!

I too have seen that briefcase, only in a different city! I am surprised though that you didn't make the connection earlier about the bloke in MBK!!

NO NO NO!! This place was once the purveyors of the best subs...

@Jkarpas - the dial is indeed genuine. The car.... is not VW or Audi @chieftang - it's a shame the hair isn't on my head

OK, so the picture is more 'mid-week wrist check' than 'TTK special', but quick and dirty will have to do for now as I'm busy with a million other things! They said it was rare and scarce and indeed my hunt for one proved difficult, but in the end a trade with a fellow member brought me this piece of loveliness. I'm not saying who, but I'll give you a hint - pay close attention to the dial.....

Indeedy. The distunguishing mark visually of a 289x movement is the larger rotor bearing, and it ain't just there for looks

Definitely 20mm.

TBH my first ever Asia 7750 suffered from a small failure after a few weeks of ownership. The repair however cost me less than a round of drinks. I'm lucky though to have a decent and honest watchmaker in my locale.

The phrase 'good money after bad' came to my mind at the time too! Not wanting to sound uncharitable, but some people did manage to land a little quiet windfall from it! Ken, don't cut yourself up over this - take it as a compliment that certain people were chosen not to get the watches. Jealousy and spite are terrible things.

Indeed. The bracelet problems are no greater than you can experience with other replicas (ever lost the mushroom off the clasp of an Omega, for example?), the advantage being that they are easily cured with some threadlock and decent springbars. The date font issue is slightly more involved and not to be tackled by a newbie, but is a simple matter of substituting the datewheel. I wouldn't be put off by either issues.

If I didn't already have the standard SMP 300m and I was faced with the same choice as yourself then I'd have no hesitation in buying the SMP Chrono. I see it as the perfect marriage of the Link Chrono and the Seamaster. As it is I have both the other models so I couldn't justify something that is conceptually similar to both, and an equal in terms of rep quality. I think your choice is made

Certainly smells that way...

The answer isn't straightforward as we do not know which version of the Planet Ocean you are talking about as the development of the rep has gone in several distinct directions (5th generation is unhelpful as there are 42.5 and 45mm version, each with their idiosynchracies). The most accurate is probably the so called "4th generation" 42.5mm cased version which is an excellent choice of watch. The rest unfortunately do not match the very high standard of replication that his model represents. The TAG Link Chrono on the other hand is undisputably a superb replica - about as good as replica watches get, with only two small flaws that are both correctible. Looks are a matter of subjectivity though, so I can't help you there, but in terms of which is the better watch as an imitation of the gen, then the TAG wins hands down.... PS. I have examples of both, and the TAG definitely attracts more attention

Eh? My lot won last night PS. Something I've kept quiet about until now, but the club team I support, the town my father, brother and sister were born in, and if my parents were the Beckhams I'd have been named after???.. Link.....

I like that Brilliant post for an erstwhile lurker BTW.

OK, I'll start.. Talk about hitting the ground running with this one. It's the standard I set the rest by and probably the reason why I now have such a small collection. I'll dig out the pieces I have left of the first rotten one (a TT sub vintage 1980something).

Clarkson wears a 'Bond' SMP 300m.

Hmmm. Have you tried operating the time adjustment past 12 midnight with the dial off? There should be a mechanism that engages with the teeth on the inside of the date ring clearly visible clicking on to advance the date. The mechanism should have a single 'tooth' and be up at the 11 o'clock position. It is mounted on to a larger toothed wheel and sits on it off-centre. If this is missing then that is your problem. Parts should be available and AFAIK are also interchangeable between 2824 and 2892 so you might be able to cannibalise a (cheaper) 2824.

All you have to do is obtain a datewheel, assuming the movement doesn't already have one fitted and it was simply obscured by the dial. A datewheel to fit a ETA2824 or 2892 movement will fit and work perfectly. 2836 datewheel will not work.

Does it count to mention that Mark Blundell, ex Indy and F1 racing driver and now pundit for ITV Sport wears a Navitimer? Oh, and I also saw his colleague Martin Brundle wearing a SS bracelet PAM on the grid at one race...

Shhh. He'll put the price up!! Anyhoo, kind of vindicates my campaign to support the 21J Asia movement in these. My Asia Planet Ocean has the same movement and there it doesn't even give the game away WRT beat!

There are far worse watches you could kick off your collection with. No-one here will slate you for buying the one you listed