omeega

I've taken several of my reps into AD's and shown them to them, they love to see them and even try and spot the flaws with the gen side by side. But this is the US, sounds the the EU is a different story!!

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

I recently purchased a retro GMT, and I'm pretty happy with it. The only real problems are the loose-clicking bezel, which sounds simple from what I've read, and the crown seems dangerously loose and off-center when I unscrew it. I'd like to replace the bezel insert and the crown/tube, but after searching I can't find anything that says definitively if these gen parts will fit with the Retro version. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

The SMP I got has a slightly misaligned pearl and bezel. Overall yours looks great, and just remember that if you wear it like a rep should be worn, you'll probably scratch or dent it anyway. This really is a great rep, FAR better than the standard SMP and black SMP chrono I have. It just feels so darn real.

That's happened to two of mine. The repair was $30 US and they've worked like a charm since. Can't remember what the flaw was. Also, I may have a HE valve, pm me if interested.

I own an SMP, and my best friend has the UPO both from Josh. Go UPO first, MUCH better rep out of the box, plus I just like it more because it's a more classic dive watch and the overall quality is outstanding.

The bracelet is completely wrong as well. This watch has its own bracelet that is thicker with a duller finish than any others.

Does the caseback have the cross hatch pattern inside the circle? PT told me this is missing in some of the new versions. I really want one, but I'm afraid I may have missed the boat as far as the great versions released earlier this year.

I don't have access to a gen enough to make a good review. But the construction of the case, bezel and crystal are all great. There isn't AR/not enough AR on the rep as the gen, thats for sure. The bezel is aligned, but again the subdial spacing is way off as well as the chrono pushers are too far apart. High quality, not super accurate rep.

For anyone who has purchased the black Chrono Seamasters that were released a while back, you probably know the steel bracelets are not correct. The ones that come on them are from the speedmaster line and have polished middle links. the real black chrono has a much beefier, tougher looking band that has no polished links on it and a seamaster clasp. With my rep, the polished middle links bothered me a lot, so I went to Home Depot hardware store and bought 400 grit sand paper and a another rough 320 grit sponge material I found in the paint section. I used the 400 grit to brush the entire bracelet taking off the polished sections and followed with the 320 grit which was actually softer just because of the material. I also made sure to sand in a straight line, the way the "grain" of the metal was originally. If you don't it will look terrible. But the result was a wholly brushed bracelet whose color was a bit closer to the gen but still has a bit more shine. I was also lucky enough to have a seamaster clasp lying around and swapped that out. Not perfect, but much better "feel" to the watch now. If you're a big fan of this watch like me, the brushed bracelet adds a much more gen feel for very little work. Sorry these pics are really bad, its hard to even see anything but if you look closely you can see the polished middle links are duller and the entire color has changed a bit. Before: After:

I am posting this everywhere so new members hear about my experiences. I have not tried to work this out with the dealer, last time I tried that I spent 20 dollars sending the watch back only to wait a month and have it returned in the same condition -- non-functional, does not tell time.

Well, looks like I'm out of luck. After a half day of very light use, the Seamaster Chrono has died already. It stopped early in the day, I revived it by winding and shaking a bit. Later on it kept dying and now it's completely frozen. I read the instructions for the Asian 7750, I didn't break any of the "rules" and the watch is dead after the first day. The same thing happened to the blue SMP I purchased from Josh after about a month, and now this from Andrew (ttwristwatch?). I know they are friends/partners, and it seems as though their source is not trustworthy. There could be nothing I did after a few short hours to stop this watch from working correctly, there is a movement problem. I am now 0/2, two watches ordered, two non functional watches. There is no point in wearing a watch if it does not tell time. If I am wrong and there is some simple solution, go ahead and offer it. But buyer beware.

Well, looks like I'm out of luck. After a half day of very light use, the Seamaster Chrono has died already. It stopped early in the day, I revived it by winding and shaking a bit. Later on it kept dying and now it's completely frozen. I read the instructions for the Asian 7750, I didn't break any of the "rules" and the watch is dead after the first day. The same thing happened to the blue SMP I purchased from Josh after about a month, and now this from Andrew (ttwristwatch?). I know they are friends/partners, and it seems as though their source is not trustworthy. There could be nothing I did not stop this watch from working correctly after 4 hours of use, there is a movement problem. Buyer beware.

I tried taking some pics, but they weren't high enough resolution to be worth it. I did do a very quick comparison to the gen and the major flaws were: -Subdial spacing is glaringly obvious as mentioned before -Subdial spacing makes 3 and 9 o'clock markers too small on rep -Chrono buttons on gen are less angled, making them appear closer to the crown -Entire bracelet is totally wrong on rep, not just clasp. Gen bracelet is the same "speedy" design, but the center pieces are not polished as much The gen I saw may be the newest model, and perhaps the rep was based on a previous years design. But the overall effect of all the differences is pronounced, and it almost looks like a different watch to a trained eye. The question, then, is if you like this watch as much as I do, do the "flaws" matter? To me, no. I actually like the rep better! The subdial spacing actually looks aesthetically better to me on the rep, on the gen they seem too close and the chrono buttons being less angled makes the whole watch seem more slim, which I don't like. I also like the rep bracelet better, the polished pieces add something to the watch that the gen doesn't have. I'm very happy with my purchase. As long as it remains functionally sound I'll probably be done buying watches for a while....Maybe.

I will post pics soon, I promise, but i'm working a 24 hour shift today, won't be done until tomorrow 8AM PST. I say it's far better than my blue SMP for several reasons. The bezel on my blue one was first of all not aligned correctly, which I expected, but I also couldn't remove it to fix it. It also clicked oddly and wouldn't quite line up right with the hour markers, it was half way in between. It was also missing the 3 o clock hour marker which I did not expect, and there was a bit of lume or something on the edges of the hands as well. The clasp on my blue one was also very loose, it and the divers extension would always pop open. Most importantly, my blue SMP would stop at random times, something was wrong with the movement. I tried winding everyday, didn't work. The estimated repair was around $100 US. I think I was a bit disappointed in the blue SMP not only for these reasons, but also because I really wanted this black chrono to begin with. I'm willing to live with a flaw like poor subdial spacing because I like it so much, and it's functionally sound -- good bracelet, solid and aligned bezel, and the movement is accurate thus far. I think I got into the blue SMP when the models being released were becoming poor in quality due to its popularity. Oddly enough, my blue SMP met a fitting end: it fell down an elevator shaft and was pretty much destroyed. The crystal popped out, the band tore in half, and the hands were bent. Luckily, the outer clasp engraved with "seamaster professional" was not damaged, so I can swap it with the incorrect speedmaster clasp on my new one If anyone needs an SMP case let me know, or the malfunctioning movement I will get rid of as well. Again, pics soon, possibly against a gen.

Just got my black Seamaster Chrono today. It is excellent, far better than my blue SMP. Of course it has excellent weight and feel, the bezel is aligned and clicks smoothly and solidly. The chronos work perfectly and the helium valve doesn't not totally unscrew like the old SMP's, it unscrews and stops. The subdial spacing is off, but since I like the gen so much it doesn't bother me. The bracelet uses pins and does indeed have a speedmaster clasp, but it looks like it can be traded out for the correct clasp from an SMP without any problems. I'm going to compare it directly with a gen and post pics soon, but if you're considering getting one, do it.

I just ordered this, which is my favorite watch even with poor subdial spacing. I have a seamaster clasp to replace the speedmaster if they are interchangeable. I'll post pics when I get it!

So Josh is awesome enough to take a look at my watch. I had a dealer check it out before sending it and he said there was a problem....can't remember the name of the part but he said it would be like $90 to fix it. Not cool, I'm hoping Josh has a solution. What I'm wondering is if there is any way that running with my watch on or jostling it a bunch could foul up the fine movement of an automatic? I tend to wear mine ALL the time.

The latest development in my saga is that my watch is slowing or stopping intermittently. It will keep perfect time for a day or so then I'll notice it's 30-90 minutes off. I reset the time and it will proceed in the same manner. I've tried winding the watch daily with no help. I really want to like my watch, but it's getting very difficult. My friend's PO from Josh is perfect, no problems. Should have bought one of those.....

I recently purchased an SMP ETA and it seems to keep perfect time for a day or two, then I will look down and it's 30 minutes to an hour and a half slow like it stopped when I wasn't looking. I do wear it running sometimes, I'm wondering if that could mess up the movement. But yesterday it slowed down at work just wearing it normally. Any ideas?

The very newest gen model has the silver outline, but the previous gens do not. The replica you bought is a replica of the older models, not the very new one with the silver border and red writing on the dial.

Wow, you guys really are ridiculous. So I posted the very first day I had my watch about how the hour marker was missing. I did accept the flaw at the time and I did and still do praise the watch for how cool it looks overall. But then I tried to remove the bezel like 1000 posts here have described doing and I ended up scratching the bezel and case. Then my helium valve fell off randomly, thus I became very frustrated. That's when I posted this thread. I'm not "riding the storm" or whatever the hell you guys called it, nor am I accusing Josh of anything. I'm merely expressing my frustrations to the only watch-geeks that will understand and maybe even sympathize. Now continue hijacking the thread.

Just to update and clarify, I wasn't really mad at Josh, just upset that I've had a little bad luck. I chose the model I bought because of all the great info on this site -- I just expected the dial to be accurate and that I could easily align the bezel because I think it makes a distinct visual difference. If I hadn't read so much here I wouldn't have expected so much.... Josh, to his great credit, is going to send me a new valve. He also got my friend a very nice, accurate PO that completely fooled an AD. Ironically that's what I was going to buy....should have went with my gut.

So, a few weeks ago I ordered an Omega SMP expecting that the bezel would be misaligned and the bracelet would have screws. Both of those were true, but when I got the watch the 3 o'clock hour marker was missing and the bezel wouldn't pop off like everyone is explaining. Everytime I tried it would scratch and dent the bezel so I stopped trying. Yesterday the Helium valve fell off just during normal wear and I can't seem to source it. Cousins replied to my inquiry with a part that costs $70 and I'm not sure it's the right part. I have yet to hear from Josh. So is this just bad luck? My whole day is ruined.....

Looked at my watch and it was gone. I've searched and seen posts about people looking but never any results. I emailed cousins alreaday, anyone know of a a definite way to get one?