robpatte

Okay, next question about a gen Tudor that I bought 15 years ago. I remember being really impressed at the time of purchase with the lume, but as the years have gone by, the lume has faded to nothing. And a couple of years ago I managed to chip the sapphire (just under the cyclops, tiny but it's there) and one of the links in the bracelet has managed to buckle, not badly but it spolis the look. I'll post pictures when I get home. My questions are: 1. Is it worth having the dial relumed? Or is it just better being 'authentic' and lumeless 2. How much should I be paying to have the sapphire replaced? 3. A buckled link? How on earth am I gonna fix that? Can I actually buy a single link anywhere? Or am I in for a whole new bracelet?

Thanks ogladio!

Hey guys, forgive the noob question, but I've just bought a TT 1016. Very nice, but as advised I'm having JMB provide a gen spec bezel and T22 crystal. I've also got my eye on a gen bracelt clasp. But my questions are... is it worth changing the crown to gen? There's a few on ebay 5.3mm and 6mm, both claiming to be for a 1016. Which is right?

Just bought a gen one online. The 36mm version. Amazing price. Already own the standard full size (41mm) blue bezel SMP but was wondering what the verdict on mid size watches are? The full size looks good on my wrist, will the 36mm look like I've borrowed my wife's watch? She'll probably end up owning it if it does...

People come to RWG for a number of reasons. Most will be enthusiasts, some will be future enthusiasts (myself hopefully), a few will be looking for a 'fake' watch to impress their mates and one or two will be here to scam buyers and sellers. Research and dialogue is the way forward, noobs can feel reassured by a sellers expertise, and sellers can guage if the buyer has a genuine interest, just wants some fake bling or is a total scammer. Your desire to fund your next project will dictate the risk you are prepared to take on a noob.

All the watches we know and love have had decades of variations and refinements. We love the details, the sizing and spacing of numerals, the shade of a lume, texture of a dial. It's what makes REAL watches so compelling. Sure, the technology of shrinking an iphone down to wrist size is impressive, but would I want one on my wrist. No. Will Apple sell shedloads? Probably. But only to Apple fanboys. I'm a designer, so have a long history with their products, but can honestly say that I am totally underwhelmed by this. It doesnt help that Jonny Ive's voice is so irritating. You've designed an ugly watch Jonny, not discovered a cure for cancer. Rant over R

Okay, the missus has a friend who is minted (=rich for all my US brethren). And this lady has a particularly nice, white ceramic Chanel watch. With diamonds. Retails at around $5K. Now much as I love my wife, that is twice the value of my car. So she's not getting one of those. She's gonna get a rep. But a good one. But maybe not the one with diamonds. Too much bling, and too much to go wrong on a rep. That's where you guys come in. I need your valuable experience on available Chanel reps. I know Puretime do them, but I'd like some first hand experience. What should I be looking for? Should I be going for the Korean ceramic versions? Any help would be hugely appreciated. R

I'm new. And clumsy. Not the 'broke both arms getting out of the bath' clumsy, but more the 'managed to scratch my plexiglass on Day 1' clumsy So my question is 'Should I give the PVD watches a wide berth?' There's been a few PVD reps come up which I really like the look of, but not ever owning one (gen or rep) I have no idea if the coating lasts. Do gens have a thicker coating? I'm a desk diver, so it's not like I'd be wrist deep in a bag of bolts every day. Would my rep purchase still look tasty six months from now? Thanks guys! R

If I was being really picky (which is what I do best) I'd say the texture on the Miyota face looks better. It has clearly defined, sharp edged stripes, whereas the v3 seems to have a curved edges (kinda like corrugated iron). Anyone else see that? I agree the hands are a bit puny on the Miyota tho R

Okay folks, I'm in the market for one of these bad boys. Had a bit of misfortune with a M2M sale recently, but I loved the look and the size on my wrist. So I'm gonna go straight to a replica dealer. I've heard lots of good things about PureTime, PerfectClone and Kuvarsit. All are more or less the same price, although some offer water resistance, some offer a Swiss movement, some a leather strap, some rubber etc. TOO MANY CHOICES!!! What's the verdict on these replicas? I'm interested in any experiences, good or bad. Which replicas are closest to gen, and any I should stay clear of? What should I look for if I do go down the M2M sale route again? Thanks R

This is a replica forum, those look genuine...

Hey everyone Had a breakthrough yesterday. Seller has offered a refund. Possibly a chat with MoaB convinced him (I am in your debt my friend). Thanks for all your advice, and thankyou Daniel (P4GTR) for the offer of a replacement strap and for all the offers of help fixing the dial movement issue. I'm sure one day the time will come for me to open a watch and make an embarrassing mess of the insides, but for today I'm gonna take the money !-D In the end, this has turned out to be a really positive experience. Getting involved in the group, albeit to sort out a dispute, has convinced me that it's a good place to hang around. I'll be back, old and smarter. And once I get my loot returned I'll be on the hunt for a good B&R rep. Advice welcome! R

Just checked. Yep, you asked about the lume. For the record it seems pretty weak. And green, I believe the gens are blue (but I could be mistaken on this). My comparisons are a Noob Pam372 and a gen SMP. These lumes are really bright, the lume on the B&R is pretty weak beside these. Certainly not 'amazing' as the seller was claiming.

Wow Droptopman That was a close call for you. If you still want it, I'm open to sensible offers :-D R

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I posted here just to guage if my expectations were unreasonable, and thanks to your responses I am feeling that I was simply naive and the seller exploited this. As Mike on a Bike noted, there were a few red flags on his listing, ones that a noob like me wouldn't have spotted. Things like his not replying to other interested members very specific questions about the lume quality. I guess I just got burned by a pro, and it serves to note that even 12 positive feedback does not mean you care about what you're selling. As a further note, I got out the strap again to have another look this morning. Not only was it unwearable but it had a black PVD buckle. The watch was stainless steel. He said it was fine when he sent it. In which case I have a tupperware box when can PVD coat stainless steel. That's gotta be worth something!! R

Hey Everyone I'm looking for a bit of advice about a watch I received today after purchasing it from a RWG member. He's had 100% feedback so far (12 sales I think), so I reckoned he's be a good guy to deal with. He was selling a B&R BR01-92. Had a few pictures of it, not super high resolution but okay. He said the watch had a few scratches down one side, came with a leather strap and a rubber rep strap. Wanted £114 for it. I did a bit of research, looked at various rep dealers and thought I knew what to look for. I asked the seller for some extra info on the watch, mods, movement, age and water resistance etc. He gave a link to a rep site and said this would have all my answers. It seemed reasonable to assume that this was where the watch originally came from. Everything seemd to check out so I paid (Paypal gift) and the watch turned up today. First, the rubber strap was split so badly it was unwearable. Two massive (almost halfway across) splits across the strap. Second, the hex screws were laser etched on the back, not real screws. This is not a problem in itself, but he originally directed me to Perfect Clones selling a different rep, and insinuated that this was the watch I was buying. That's just plain dishonest. Thirdly, when the crown is pulled out to adjust the time the dial shifts a couple of millimetres in the direction of the pull. Then when pushing back in, it does the same. It seems the internal workings of the watch are loose. Does this seem normal? Am I expecting too much here? Shouldn't that be mentioned in the listing? When I messaged him about these issues, he said the watch was fine when he sent it. He admitted that the link he sent was wrong, but is now implying that I have tampered with the watch. I asked for either a refund, or a partial refund once I had someone look at repairing the crown/dial movement. He refused both, claiming that I have a faulty watch, and I'm trying to swap/scam him. I obviously have very little feedback cause I've only been a member for a few weeks, but I feel like I've been mugged. I'm not new to watch ownership, I have some very nice genuine pieces (Rolex, Omega, Tudor), but really like the idea of test driving my next gen purchase by buying and wearing a few replicas. But this experience, and the beligerence of the seller has put me right off. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have records of our pm conversations and photos his sale listing, and the watch I received. Thanks