You would think that Rolex QC would get the obvious flaw on the pearl....so I would have the say that definitely a rep....only the QC in the pearl room next to the dust and wool QC would pass this one.
Fire chief walks into a burning room to find 2 firemen butt f***ing each other. The first fireman says "Sir, this man's got smoke inhalation". The fire chief says "Then why didn't you give him mouth to mouth resuscitation?". The second fireman says "Sir, how did you think this shit got started?"
Yes to some degree. I like chronos and the ones that I really like I take the extra step to swap in a swiss movement. Its just a bit more bucks and any doubt of it crapping out in the future goes away. If it does break, it is comforting to know that there will be part available to fix it unlike A7750.
There is a thread here on gens with imperfections...rolex mostly but i believe this is pretty common for any brand. One just have to go through a new purchase with a fine tooth comb.