brianrheffron

The answer to the last question is that the original doesn't have a screw down crown either so the rep is accurate in that respect.

About a week ago I got an XXL from Ruby at a cost of only $119 including courier postage to UK and I have to say I am VERY pleased with it. The case, face, hand, crown and display back are all excellent in that the quality, fit and finish are first class and to my eye are very accurate. The visible movement is also beautifuly finished although I am not sure if it is "Swiss" or "Asian copy" ETA. In the week that I have had it it has gained only 2 secs a day. That is COSC standard, I think. I can't answer you question about the crystal except to say that mine has no AR. The brown croco-leather strap is pretty good as is the clever deployment clasp. I had the gen. on my wrist in an AD very recently and I have to say that the rep. gives very little away to it in build quality and general feel. I also have three gen. Omegas (a Speedmaster Professional Mk111, a Seamaster 30 and a Seamaster Deville) and the XXL does not feel out of place beside them. I have spotted two flaws. The stap finish is very shiny whereas the genuine croco-leather is quite matte and also the rep. has brown stitching, not the correct white. The movement is engraved "OMEGA 2201 Swiss Made" but the engraving is out of position. I think that both of these flaws are minor and if you really wanted to go to town an Omega strap is $70 from an AD and probably less on ebay. As you probably know the watch is huge at 49mm diameter but I like big watches and this one looks terrific on the wrist. I had always wanted an XXl but couldn't justify the AD cost and so was very pleased to find this rep. with help from this forum and others. Like you, I wondered just how good it could be at the price but I have to say that in my opinion it is up there with the other "super reps.". At that price what have you got to lose! By way of a cautionarytale, before I found this forum with it's excellent advice I bought an XXL rep. from a site called "amatorybiz.com" and got royaly ripped off. The copy is inaccurate with wrong subdial position courtesy of the "rubbish" Asian auto movement visible through the wrong back engraved "Speedmaster Professional Micheal Schumacher". It also came on the wrong type of stainless bracelet which fitted very badly to the case and was engraved "Seamaster Professional". For this badly made toy I paid $230. I think the XXL is undeservedly overlooked on the rep. forums. The original is a fine looking classic Omega and the rep. more than does justice to it. So forget your Submariners, your Panerais and your Planet Oceans and treat yourself to an XXl. I don't think you will regret it. On the contrary I think, like me, you will be delighted with the best rep. bargain out there.

I got my SMPO 45 mm ultimate from Andrew about a week ago and was going to do a detailed review but this post caught my attention first. I was a bit warey of buying this watch because amongst the good posts there seemed to be plenty of people who had got watches with fairly significant flaws. Commonly reported were stripped crown threads, misaligned bezels and awful pearls. The pearls were either not central on the "12" marker, were protruding and uneven, or both. The remaining common faults were loose clasps and uneven gaps between the bracelet links. The good news is that my SMPO has a perfectly aligned bezel and the crown screw, like yours, feels smooth,well constructed and solid. The bracelet is perfect with even gaps and the clasp, an area not often done well on reps, is first class with a nice positive snap and no sharp edges. It's a good sign when even the unseen parts of the watch are well detailed and finished. The only minor flaw I could find was that the pearl, although centred and "level", protruded slightly above the surrounding metal ring and had a rough feel as you drew a finger across it. I corrected this as follows:- First I masked around the pearl with ordinary masking tape then carefully buffed it down with a ladies nail buffing file. This file had three grades of abrasive ranging from fine through very fine to super fine stuck to a sort of semi-rigid foam backing strip. I managed to buff the pearl down to the level of the metal rim then give both a super smooth polish. It looks and feels great now. As a litttle aside, I have also used the same sort of nail buffing file to remove scratches and dings from stainles steel watch cases and find it works very well. The finest part of the nail buffing file gives a mirror finish. So either we were both lucky or the quality control has improved. Either way I am very pleased with the watch. Quite the best rep I have seen.

Thanks for the replies. The note on the XXL was my first post ever and I am pretty new to this Group. As yet my attempts at photographing watches have been pretty poor but with the hints from this and other Groups I will give it another go when I get time. To add to my comments, the lume when I went to bed last night was bright enough to read the numbers on the face and in the morning although the intensity faded the hands and the hour markers were still bright and readable, the hands in particular. By way of comparison, the lume was every bit as good as on the SEIKO divers watch beside it on the bedside table. It is early days but this watch does not me disappoint in any way. The movement does not "hack" so I can't check to time in the usual way to the second so I checked it against a Quartz stopwatch and it was +2 secs over 24 hrs. Forthe money this watch is ridiculously good.

1. Today I got my XXL from Ruby and I am hugely pleased with it. This is a top quality rep. The case,face, hands and lume, crown and display back are all very accurate and the brown croco-leather strap and deployment clasp are pretty good too. I tried this watch on in "Watches of Switzerland" in Glasgow, Scotland a few days ago and I can honestly say that the rep. gives away very little in fit, finish and general feel to the original. I have three gen. Omegas ( a Speedmaster Professional Mk 111, a Seamaster 300 and a Seamaster Deville) and the rep. does not look out of place in their company. It really is that good! Dealing with Ruby was a pleasure. My E:mails were replied to promptly, I was kept informed at all stages of the transaction and the watch was on my wrist 11 days after the payment was made. I can't imagine better service. Best of all was the price. I paid $119 including courier post to my door and at that price this watch is a steal. I feel, as they say in Scotland, that "I have won a watch", a phrase used when you land on your feet, get a stroke of good luck or a pleasant surprise. 2. How lucky we are to be watch geeks at this time. The quality of reps. is good and getting better and the prices are just so keen. Let me put it in perspective. In the UK a medium coffee and a muffin in starbucks is