MasterLuke

Can anyone suggest anyone in the UK or better still London who would do this mod given the parts? PM would be great. Thanks!

Agreed - Better AR and day / date font would be a very nice touch, I'd go for it if it was a reasonable cost and I didn't have to send through customs again. And of course everyone would like 100% perfect straight off if they could get it, everyone here cares about that stuff to a pretty large extent or they wouldn't be here at all. But as you say, I can live with it, it's far from being a dealbreaker. No way would I miss out on this beauty just for that! edited 'cause i can't spellll

Well there's a suprise.... ask me again next xmas.

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, Trunk21, it is from Eddie, I don't think anyone else has this. deltatahoe and alt.watch.obsessive are right, it looks different in person, it's hard to catch it's charm and 'presence' in a photo... though I'm sure some expert around here will manage it. I had the chance to do a quick side by side (or side by shop window anyway) comparison with a gen today. I'm no expert, but for those who'd like to know, here's what I noticed. The AR on the gen seemed a lot more effective, as you might expect, but then one was in a display case, it wasn't a very scientific test. Tiny differences to the join of strap and watch, nothing that makes any practical difference really. I would bet that the engraving on the clasp logo is a bit cleaner on the gen, I couldn't check, something you'd never see unless you had a really close-up look in good light. The real 'tell' is the day-date windows, as mentioned in Ryaku's thread. The font on the gen is much bolder, in fact you can read the day and date more clearly on the gen from 3 feet away than you can on your wrist with the rep. When you see the gen, this looks correct, in keeping with the boldness of the minute numbers and hands - this is a very easy-to-read watch, as you would expect from a pilot. However, viewing the rep in isolation, the day-date font doesn't jar as it ties in with the scale of the sub-dials instead. Actually, considering the slight (and outside of macro photos really not noticable on mine) day-date alignment issues that go with the movement, this might just be a blessing in disguise. With the bolder font, misalignment would show from across the room! As it is, the day and date really disappear into the background. But this is already the first target for modders... So, overall, a very fine job indeed, the differences are minimal and the whole effect keeps the 'wow' factor high. I'm very happy with it and would wear it in any company. And better still, it's not a R*lex so I won't have to listen to people asking me if it's 'real' all day... Hope everyone else's arrive soon, you have a good day coming!

Well, my IWC chrono just turned up, and let me say... wow! This really is something. I'll have to leave it to the serious photographers round here to capture just how great this one is in the metal, and no photo could really capture the weight, feel, and presence of the actual piece. Yes, you could find tiny details comparing with a gen if you really had to, but IMHO nothing that should detract from the overall impact, and your enjoyment wearing it. Thought you might like a quick wrist shot. NB I have very slim wrists! [can't seem fix the shrinking picture thing... sorry if there's fix I ought to know about!]

Yes you are quite right... Though the vibe is quite different to the IWC somehow, in spite of the obvious similarities. That's your 3000 bucks, I guess.

The archimedes have a similar-ish vibe (to my eye anyway) and really are affordable for gen ETAs. http://www.archimede-uhren.de/EN/Collection.htm

I doubt this is news to you, but Miami Vice also stars some some IWCs as best supporting actors. And is better than you might imagine!

That would, I think... (types IWC Slevin into google), be the Aquatimer. Reference IW372301 - The Aquatimer Split Minute Chronograph in titanium with titanium bracelet. Correct me if I'm wrong on that! EDIT - actually maybe it's Reference IW371928 - The Aquatimer Chrono-Automatic in stainless steel with stainless steel bracelet, not the split minute version, before someone does correct me on that...

Oh no! So the watch I received the other week is... um... a replica of a replica? I've been had! Seriously though, it seems to refer to RW CC (as opposed to rwg.cc) - I couldn't find a message board matching that, is anyone aware of what they are referring to, or do they really mean here? Are the mods aware of this? Maybe you should post in the main forum... Oh and welcome (from another noob!)

Good advice I'd say... the original with the SS is a small fortune more expensive than the croc, and on a small run this might be your only chance to get one, you can get another croc strap any time. The strap itself on the gen is a wonder to behold, it feels like silk in your hands, quite the most lovely metal strap I've ever seen, in my somewhat limited experience anyway. Unusually thin too. I hope they've really nailed it. I would have gone for the croc based on pics but not after trying on a gen, and I didn't even think I liked metal. I had a hard time handing it back to the shop assistant, let me tell you... at least, until I remembered it cost about as much as my car!

I would have thought it would be worth having a new, non-exploding version of any seconds-at-six model, such as IWC Portuguses Chrono. That really would be a rep revolution.

Not yet...

Thanks, that's interesting. From the lack of responses I was starting to realise this one really didn't really light a fire for the serious Panerai heads round these parts. Now, I haven't got the Panerai bug yet (please don't kill me!), but I do quite like Ferraris... I actually do like the look of the watch, but in a very different way from the more 'serious' reps. It would play well in the trendy and ironic local bar scene, rather than at the captain's table!

An ETA version would be interesting, no? Though I hate to think what it would cost...