TeeJay

This isn't my watch, but it gets my vote

My sinuses are playing up at the moment too, so you're not alone... Get well soon

Well the the UK, conterfeit products are treated almost like stolen property, and if the copywrite owners get a hold of the watch they will "take care of it",

Key word there, being 'if'. As was mentioned above with the Cartier, that was destroyed because it was sent from the AD to Cartier. In order for that to happen, the AD has to take possession of the watch somehow, and, also as mentioned above, any attempts to confiscate a rep will open an AD up to theft charges.

potentially even sue you for it.

Are there any instances of this actually happening? I remember once reading about a tourist who got caught with a bag full of reps, and being given a customs tax on them as if they were genuine, but I haven't heard about a manufacturer suing a rep owner... To be honest, I can't even see what they would hope to gain from such action. Suing the rep manufacturers, sure, but the owner, it seems pretty far fetched...

The AD I would imagine is a different case because he is an independant who doesn't own the copyright, he doesnt want to deal with the hassle so will most likely turn you away after embarassing you.

I'd still like to browse through a Graham dealers collection though to see how well my rep fares against the gens.

And also has no legal power to If you want to look at a collection, all you have to do is put your watch in your pocket before going in

That's a fine looking watch, bro

I found my PAM 029a got the most compliments from the ladies, both young and mature At one point, it got my wrist grabbed by a rather hot female friend, and at first, I thought she was just trying to see the time, but no, she was actually checking out the watch Hell yeah

I'd say something nice and simple, like an Omega Aqua Terra or a Rolex DateJust

I would imagine if the AD asked to look at it and you were stupid enough to hand it to him, he could confiscate it.

Nope, they have no powers of confiscation at all. While it is bad form to wear a rep into an AD, they have absolutely no powers to do anything to the watch. It is not illegal to own reps. A rep watch is as much your personal property as the shoes on your feet or the shirt on your back. Any attempt on the part of an AD to take/keep/destroy a rep, is quite simply, theft. They would get in more trouble for seizing it than you would for owning it. Okay, in the case of the Cartier which was then sent 'back to base', they mght have some power of destruction, but I would not be too sure, and while it might be hard to claim damages for the loss, it might be possible if the owner was to claim ignorance that it was a rep by claiming it was a gift, but of course, it's much better to avoid any situations by simply not taking reps into that brand's AD

Good to see you back, amigo

If the colleges can use the money to give more scholarships to people who would not ordinarily be able to afford tuition, then that can only be a good thing

Welcome indeed

I changed my name when I got married, as I wanted to take my wife's surname rather than keep my own. Changing my name was the easy part... Getting companies to use it was the hard part At least all my ID and official papers are now correct

I believe the line from Coming to America was "A man has the right to change his name!"

Fantastic watch

If they ever release a decent rep of it, I could be tempted

OKay, I'm not actually wearing it at the moment, I just put it on for a wrist shot, but I'm quite liking how this combo came out. A kind of Sub does DateJust

Polar bears FTW

[edit to add]

From one of my favorite movies:

A toast...

To the cubs winning the World series

and big tits.

Okay, my GMTSub really wasn't in any condition to join in

So for the group shot, I'm putting the prize GMT in as a proxy

What're we looking at... From the left, we have my Project Sub, which is in a constant state of flux, not as near completion as I'd like, but still active. I installed the Yacht-Master's bracelet on a whim, and as a Sub isn't as blingy as a Y-M, I feel the bracelet simply add's a little extra class, rather than being OTT... Next is my Yacht-Master. A purchase inspired by a childhood watch, and the Ulysse Nardin MMD. I've pretty much butchered and re-built this watch since receiving it I initially put it on the bracelet from the GMTSub, because I wanted to tone it down a bit, and didn't want it looking blingy. Since then, I have had to replace the white gasget and crystal with the ones from the GMTSub (as I butchered the others with cyanoacrylate when trying to waterproof the watch ) It wouldn't look good under a loupe, but is quite acceptable on the wrist. I can see this watch being my beater for the forseable future. Lastly, we have the 'coke' GMT, fitted to a mystery bracelet. I honestly can't remember what watch the bracelet is from, but it replaced the factory-installed bracelet, which had some gibberish stamped into the leaves. This watch has also been completely broken down and re-built, and is as good as I can get it, before it finds itself a new home, with whoever wins the activity (to be decided) at my best friend's stag in Tokyo. Having had this in my custody for a few days now, I actually really like it. I wouldn't go so far as to say I prefer it over the all-black insert, but it is definitely a watch which I could wear as a beater, if it were mine (I'll just have to win it ) Of course, it's place in the lineup will eventually be taken by V2.0 of the GMTSub, which will technically, be a GMTIICSub, but obviously I need to buy some watches to cannibalize for the parts to build it

An awesome duo

DUDE!!

Long time no chat.........hey for the money, I really dont think you can go wrong!!!

It'snbeen a while, bro, I hope all's well with you Indeed, for the money, you really can't go wrong I just put the watch on my rubber strap, to prevent the bracelet getting scuffed up during the shakedown period, and I think it looks awesome I really like the Yacht-Master I got from the same dealer, but it's going to be hard parting with this one when the time comes

They may be reps, but they're still made of real metal, saphire and rubber I've always feared mechanical failure of the movement more than a structural failure from the watches taking a few dings

Cool!!

Some people often forget what this hobby is all about: Fun!

Enjoy your nice "budget" GMT my friend.

Thanks, bro, you're quite right, at the end of the day, the hobby is all about fun, and I have to admit, modifying this watch is probably the most fun I've had with a watch for quite a while I know it's not perfect, but for the price, I wasn't expecting it to be a Super Rep I'm certainly going to enjoy it for as long as I can while I evaluate it's performance, I guess I'll just have to try hard to win the stag contest so I get to keep it and if I don't win, well, I'll just have to buy myself another one

Hey TJ!

Couple of things; what do you mean by "bezel locked?" I thought it rotated freely with no clicks on a GMT master

and also the printing on the clasp, you say it may not be correct for this model but is that font correct for any gen rolex at all?

Just a little curious!

I'm not sure how free floating the GMT Master II bezel is, although I know the GMTIIC bezel has 'soft clicks'. The bezel on this watch rotates in the same manner as a submariner, with absolutely no play in it at all. When it clicks into place, it is solidly in place until being clicked further forwards

With regards the clasp, externally, it looked fine, it was simply the lettering in the internal leaves which was gibberish. Externally, it looked fine, that's why I saidthat someone might be able to ignore it, as chances are they wouldn't actually check that detail often I simply replaced the parts so that the new owner wouldn't have to explain any incorrect spellings

Anything with Rolex on the dial (which friends notice as being new) is going to get the question "Is that real?" That's not because they think that you personally are wearing a rep, but because everyone knows how copied Rolexes are, so it's more a case of curiosity as to if it's a real one or not, rather than any intention to call someone out. To be honest, you are unlikely to ever hear anyone ask, and if they do (and it's clear they're trying to call you out) then it's just a sign of their lack of class. I think the key thing, is if you would say that the watch was a replica, or if you would try and pass it off as being genuine...

Welcome to the party

Excellent watch- especially for the price!

I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprized. Okay, sure, some of the things, like the caseback, clasp leaves etc, weren't great quality (but for that price who's complaining...) but they were easily modifiable, so an acceptable watch for someone either getting into reps, or looking for a 'fixer-upper'

20 quid??? haha not bad at all in that case!

wear the watch well bro!

Yup, 20 plus a fiver for postage The question now, is do I only wear it long enough to 'evaluate' it, or do I substitute something else as the prize and keep it for myself

If I'm not mistaken that is Tesco 'Cola' in the background...not atcual coke haha

nice write up dude!

Looks alright for twenty notes!

You're not mistaken No brand-name colas for me, I like the generic That said, Sainsbury's .18p Econocola tastes like dishwater

Thanks for the feedback, amigos, it's much appreciated I think the key thing to remember with this watch, is 'budget pricing'. If it had cost $108, I think people would have been frustrated by the spelling errors, and possibly even sent it back. I'm not sure if I would have sent it back, but I think I would have been disappointed (but not too much to prevent me wearing the watch, or modding it ) but for

Okay, this is going to be slightly different to my usual reviews. I'm not actually going to be grading this watch in any way, simply making some observations and showing a few photos of it. I'm sure folks are more than familiar with my bastardized GMTSub, and how, once I put it on a bracelet rather than a strap, it was my beater until I murdered the movement through nothing more than impatience and sloppiness. Fear not, there will indeed by a V2.0. Faster, better, and stronger than ever (well, not necessarily faster, but hopefully better, insha'allah ) From that, you would be safe to assume that I really like Rolex watches with a GMT function. I used a Panerai 029a with GMT on vacation in Spain last year, and, it was actually pretty cool to know the time at home (even though it was only an hour different ) and I actually like the Rolex GMT even more. For anyone who travels or needs to track a second timezone for any reason, a GMT is a must for your collection. I never intended to buy this specific watch for my collection, but rather as a prize for my best friend's stag do in May. I'm not sure yet what we're going to be doing, darts, karting, batting cage etc, but, I said that if we do something competitive, I'd provide a prize, and, given how many of my friend's friends travel, I figured they would benefit from the GMT function, so I thought this would be an ideal fun gift (and not expensive for me to provide). I've always stayed away from the bi-colored GMTs in the past, thinking that the all black insert, being closest to a Submariner, would look the best for when the bezel is set to a different timezone, ie, the 'level' of the colors would not change, just the position of the numbers, where on the bi-colored inserts, once set to another timezone, the 'level' is altered. I didn't think I would actually like how that looked, but, now that the watch is actually in my hands, I actually really like it.

My reference material for this, was By-Tor's excellent review, as that showed me some things to look out for, as well as providing first rate photos to compare the watch to.

This watch was purchased very cheaply, and, although out of the box, it had some flaws which folks might not be prepared to accept, it immediately struck me as a very nice watch.

The bezel has nice sharp teeth, and ratchets cleanly and solidly, with no sloppiness or 'wobble'. This really is a case of 'locking in' the timezone

The crown is well marked, and easy to operate, with a very positive action with the movement. No 'slack' on the operation at all. On the far side of the case, is an etched coronet. I know this is a tell, but it would certainly not be difficult to buff this out, or even simply ignore.

The caseback is a bit of a dog's dinner... The sticker is a mess, and the etchings have an incorrect spelling (as well as this being the wrong caseback for this model watch ) The gasget was actually badly crimped, so that had to be replaced. A little frustrating, but not a problem.

The bracelet was actually not too bad, but the leaves had gibberish stamped on them, and the leaves of the diver's extension would not lock closed. Something someone might be able to ignore, or modify. I don't think people would accept such a level of detail from a 'trusted dealer', but, given this did not cost as much, it is certainly acceptable for the price paid, especially if modifications are planned.

The watch has a Maxi Dial, but only regular size hands... Still, not bad. The lume of the hands and markers is a good match, and quite a strong glow. The dial markings themselves are all clean, correctly spelled, and evenly printed. Of course, to an expert, this kind of rep could never pass for gen, but, to the average Joe Sixpack, it does not scream 'fake' due to any spelling errors or other poor presentation.

As mentioned above, this watch is to be a prize, rather than an addition to my collection (unless I win it ) and the spelling flaws are the kind of thing which a non-collector would likely be put off by, and could lead to embarassment, so I figured it was in the best interests to modify the watch.

First to be replaced, was the caseback. I'm not sure if this is the correct back for this model, but, it's sterile, so at least it has no spelling errors which could draw unwanted attention...

To correct the issue of the incorrect spellings on the clasp leaves (and because the diver's extension would not lock) I replaced the entire bracelet.

Again, probably not accurate for this model, but, at least these parts are functional, and have correct spellings...

I also reset the insert position so it was 100% in line with the dial markings when the bezel was locked.

This was the end result:

Overall, I am very pleased with the quality of this watch. It was certainly good value for money

As for price, this was