chrgod

Nothing special for me today. Just the Asian SFSO on rubber strap from b16045.

Cool comparison! The pearl is the only real tell.

I too missed this good review the first time. Worth a bump! I had the black 3-6-9 version.. it was stolen, but I am tempted to buy it again, even though I seldom wore it. A "flaw" on mine was that the bezel/glass assembly did not have a good fit to the case.

The Air-King looks genuine to me.. The "g" in "King" is usually a little bit different on the replicas. At least on the Silix'es, the lower part of the "g" is slightly angeled, while it is horizontal on the genuines I have seen... But the AK has been in production for so many years that there must be a great varity of dials. The Timezone Sales Corner is usually a safer place for buying gens. It is not more expensive than the Bay, actually cheaper sometimes. I just picked up a nice 1969-model silver dial Oysterdate, 6694. Good luck with your search, Vbarrett!

The GST is still available as far as I know. This was maybe the first of the Super-reps. I like the base design of the IWC, almost like the evergreen Omega Speedmaster. But, I don't like the way they have substituted a part of the tachymeter scale with the "International Watch Co." in Italic... To me, that does not fit well with the technical/ functional design of the rest of the watch. Nevertheless, a nice watch. I prefer the Inge though. But the Gerald Genta design is not for everyone.

Chubbchubb.. You make my mouth watering! What a great collection of Breitlings.. Breitling really had some nice dials in the late 1990ties. Your Crosswind is almost as beautiful as my "Holy grail", The blue dial, two tone Chronomat Vitesse...

Well.. I think I have been converted to get the Blackbird instead.. But hopefully the Aquatimer will be worth the wait. Maybe a good version of the non-chrono verison will surface someday also!

Great comparison! I guess the version from PT was the ETA-one with AR? Wear it well!

Wow... I am amazed by the response this thread has received! It indeed is a need to keep track of the "affordable" good replicas, which don't get as much postings and reviews. I can take the little challenge of expanding the list and include reviews and some basic dealer info. ( Guess I should make a new post??) Of course the stock and prices from the different dealers changes frequently. Smaller bargain-dealers as Silix, River and Ruby are usually cheaper, but the ordering process is often not as streamlined as the more expensive dealers with better web pages and smooth ordering process. The PO "Ultra-light", PO Chrono, and Seamaster GMT are sure candidates for the expanded list! @Pugwash: Yes the standard Panerai leather straps usually feels rubbish (like the stock FA Jones strap), but after the bleaching process you have a nice vintage leather strap. I added a picture of my Marina Militare with the bleached version of the stock strap.

I can't really believe that the Chinese have repped the 3035 in silence without hearing at least some rumors here on the boards. I would have expected it to be launched with a big bang. But, you newer know with the rep makers.. The Carrera rep was launched in silence.

Thanks for the comments, guys! @giorgio: I forgot about the PO Chronograph.. Amazing that you can get a 7750-based chronofor 150 USD.. ETA Air Kings and Explorer ones don't go below $178... if they do... may I ask from which dealer? Yes, Silix is the guy for cheap ETA Rolex'es, the vintage 5517 with sword hands for 140 USD is also a gem... But please dont spread the word, or he will raise the prices...

Wow! Thanks for the review. I have been looking for a decent replica of the basic Colt, but I did not know that this was out. The size of your watch actually reminds me of the old Seawolf. Quite big and far from the humble Colt.

UPDATE DECEMBER 27 2011. Updated with Sinn U1/U2 & Vintage Rolex Submariner and Explorer II. UPDATE AUGUST 8 2009. Updated with IWC Portugese 1939. UPDATE JUNE 7 2009. Updated with Glashutte Senator. UPDATE FEBRUARY 20 2009. Updated with Tag Heuer Formula 1 Chrono (Quartz) and Omega Planet Ocean 42mm, Asian movement. UPDATE APRIL 20 2008. Updated with Franck Muller Crazy Hour. UPDATE MARCH 25 2008 The guide is extended to include the new Breitling SuperOcean Heritage and IWC St. Exupery with Asian movement. Both which still can be bought for less than 150 USD (perhaps even with shipping included... With the low value of the US dollar, some of the other watches are now more expensive. However, as they still are good buys I keep them in the post. In spite of all the new, expensive "ulitmate" replicas, there are still quite a few bargain-watches out there. There was a similar thread about this some weeks ago, but this deserves even more attention. While the Cousteau, Big-Bang, Bentleys and other USD 280 ++ 7750-based chronographs get most of the limelight, a number of other excellent reps are living in the shadows. I hope this can bring more attention to some of the the good, cheap watches below 150 USD. This is a short guide, mostly for the newbies, to show that you dont have to buy the USD 300+ Super replicas to get a good quality, accurate replica. Pros and Cons when buying a "cheap" replica: You normally don't get the latest "hottest" watch. Most mechanical chronographs, moonphase-complications etc are too expensive to fit in this category. You miss out on fancy functions, but that also means you get a more robust movement. You normally don't get an ETA at this price (although some sellers ( Silix) still have excellent ETA non-date Rolex'es like the Explorer I below 150 USD. Grab them while they last!). The manual wound Chinese Unitas Copy movement in the FA.Jones, Railmaster and Panerais are considered to be a good movement. These watches have a display caseback, which shows off the movement. On the replicas, the "engravings" are normally stickers. On some, like the "Jones", these are very well made. The "Asian Automatic" which is the normal dealer description of the movement in many of these watches are often a Miyota Copy movement or an ETA-Copy. These movements are generally considered to be good. In my opinion, the dealers with the best bargains are smaller collectors like River, Silix and Ruby. Sometimes the ordering process is a bit more complicated that the webshop-ordering from Trustytime or Perfect-clones. But, then agian, this is down to personal experiences. Others have good relationship with other dealers. Choose you dealer, then the watch! The following is my personal Top Ten. ******** TOP TEN! ******** 1. Breitling SuperOcean Steelfish, Asian movement. White, black or blue... You can't go wrong with either! The SFSO should be well-known to the RWG-members. The Asian version usually runs at about 100-130 USD plus shipping. An excellent buy. Great build quality and very accurate to the gen. The two-three times more expensive ETA version has in addition Sapphire glass and good AR-coating. The ETA-version has also higher beat (28800) and feels a bit smoother in winding and setting. Stephane did an excellent Review of Asian Steelfish 2. Chopard Mille Miglia GTXLR. I bought this two weeks ago, for my GF, and it was the inspiration for this post. This can be bought for less than 100 USD shipped!! A big watch with a unique and eye-catching design. For you AR-freeks out there, this actually has a very nice one-sided AR. It gives the watch an expensive look. Display caseback with a nicely decorated movement, which is a 21 jewels Valgranges copy (correct me if I am wrong). Supposedly 21600 bph. The rotor spins freely both ways. Much more easily than on a 7750. It appears like the text on the rotor is actually engraved/ painted. Excellent date magnification and very good overall finish to the dial, crown and case. The rubber strap is thick and with a secure clasp with twin-button release. Of the flaws, the "Chopard" on the dial is a little brighter on the genuine and there is a weird misspelling on the crown. For some reason they have spelled "MIGLIA" backwards! Also, if you look for it, you can see the edge of the plastic spacer through the display caseback. Still; This is a hell of a watch for 75 USD! In terms of best value.. I actually find it even better than the SFSO Weird misspelling on the crown. In reality, you need a magnifier to see this. 3. IWC F.A. Jones. The Jones was a big hit when it came out a year ago, but are now in the shadows of more recent releases like the 3717. The use of the almost bulletproof Unitas-copy movement makes it a safe buy. Big, classic design. The strap is from Chinese plastic crocodile.. The skeleton version is quite a attention grabber, my girlfriend really likes hers! The replica FA Jones with its decorated movement caused a stir on Timezone when it was launched. 4. Omega Railmaster XL. Cool, big 47mm Omega with the same movement as the FA Jones and Panerais. The big-boys Railmaster has for some reason not received much attention here. Still, it is a good replica, with a nicely decorated movement. Available from moste dealers for about 110 USD. *Update June 08: This model seems to have been discontinued.* Pictures by Ruby 5. Panerai I am not a great Panerai-fan, but most of the basic Unitas-copy powered models like Luminor Marina, Radiomir and "Fiddy" can be bought for about 110-130 USD. Some Pams models with working power reserve are also well below 150 USD. These are big, heavy watches that are good value for money. The watch below is a basic 47mm Panerai "Marina Militare" with lefty crown. It runs for about 110 USD. This has actually become my Friday-watch, when I feel for wearing something slightly odd at the office. The standard strap feels crappy, but it is actually leather, which is painted with brown "plastic-paint". A simple bleaching (Chlorine) gives it a nice vintage look like this. 6. Rolex Submariner "Noobmariner"/ Yachtmaster "Noob" Another well-known watch, and maybe the best Submariner yet! Go for the version with the ETA-copy movement! Picture by By-Tor Noobmariner review The Noobie version of the Yacht-Master has also received very good reviews! The Yacht-Master is a difficult watch to get 100% correct. It has a distinctive and flashy style. You either love it or hate it. Picture by By-Tor Yacht-Master Noob review 7. Rolex Explorer I and Air-King. These smaller Rolexes might be the most accurate Rolex-replicas out there, thanks to the simple design without date, date magnificaton and crown guards. The no-frills Air-King is a personal favorite of mine.. The ETA-version of these can still be picked up for less than 150 USD (update October 2008: The cheapest ETAs is now about 180 USD). The Asian versions are dirt cheap, and usually has a decent movement. Rolex Explorer I review. 9. TAG Heuer Indy 500. The only chronograph in the top 10. This usually sells for a tad above 100 USD. The replica is powered by the same ETA-quartz movement as the original, with a 1/10 seconds totalizer. (Some sellers have a jap quartz version). The latest version has a more accurate logo on the dial and is quite accurate to the gen. It appears to be missing the "TAG Heuer" on the side of the case.. but I would not be surprised if there is a version/batch without this. There is also a white dial replica which is very good looking, but does not exist as genuine. Picture by Azerbyjam. This has been on my shortlist for a while. For some reason I am actually more tempted by this, than the new Aquaracer or the 3717.. Read "Azerbyjams" review of his Indy 500 HERE.. ( Bytors excellent Guide to TAG Heuer replicas are also worth a visit!) An excellent replica of the "normal" Tag Heuer Formula 1 chronograph was revealed in 2008. Being powered by the same ETA-quartz movement as the gen, it is a very safe buy for less than 150USD! Read my review HERE. D¤M has a great review HERE. And finally Morlock has a great review with movement information HERE. Normal replica flaws for this watch are slightly grayish TH-logo, different clasp and shorter running seconds hand. There is also a newer version of this, with racetrack dial. Replica versus catalog picture. 10. TAG Heuer "Golf" Another quartz. Its unique character and the qualities of the latest version of the replicas gives it a place in the top 10. . Keyhole has an excellent Review of the TAG Heuer Golf Picture by Keyhole *** Bonus section! New additions to the original Top 10*** 11. Breitling SuperOcean Heritage As I know, the SuperOcean Heritage was a project by Silix. Another project where a genuine watch was bought for replication. According to reviews and side-by side comparison pictures, It was well done. At 46mm, it is a very big watch!! Comparison picture from Silix. The gen is to the right. The beautiful mesh bracelet is sadly not yet available as replica. The minor flaws on the watch is slightly different date font and different thickness in the "Automatic" on the dial. Sharp eyes will also spot that on the genuine, the "p" in SuperOcean touches the "a" in Automatic, while on the rep, the "p" touches the "u". Nevertheless, well worth its 130 USD. As with the SuperOcean Steelfish, the Asian version is similar to the ETA-powered, except for the movement and crystal. The Asian version has mineral glass without AR, where the ETA-version has AR covered shappire. Seadweller4000s review of the SuperOcean Heritage should tell you all you want to know about this watch! A long discussion about the SO Heritage replica, with some inforamtion from Silix. 12. IWC St. Exupery This IWC (Reference 3201), is a limited edition launched in 2007. It is another watch in the series hounoring the French Aviator. The caseback has engraved a map showing the air-mail route from Toulouse to Dakar. St. Exuperys adventures transporting mail on this route is the background for his novel "Currier Sud". The watch measures 44mm and is made in 250 examples in white gold and 1178 in stainless steel. Pictures from Kingwatch and Perfect Clones The replica hit the streets in early 2008. It has double AR, working Power reserve and rather good caseback engravings. The biggest tells are that the Power reserve subdial sits slightly lower and that the caseback has 6 notches, not 8 as on the genuine. They have used the 001/250 serial number from the white gold version. A weird flaw is that the replica uses a date font close to the ETA-type, while IWC on this one uses a date font similar to the usual Asian style.. well well.. All in all, an interesting, big watch for small money. 135 USD. Check out these threads to know more: New IWC replica: St Exupery Power reserve Lanikais excellent review of the St. Exupery! 13. Omega Seamaster GMT Another very well made "Diver" which can be bought for about 100 USD with Asian movement. There are several different versions of the Seamaster. Usually, they have the great bracelet and well made construction in common. The GMT-version gets my vote for "Best buy" of the bunch. Picture from By-Tor. Check out By-Tors extensive review on the Asian Seamaster GMT Pugwash' pictorial 14. Franck Muller Crazy Hours If you want a cheap replica that looks and functions like nothing else, as well as will get lot of comments... Look no further than the Franck Muller crazy hours! This replica uses an Asian movement with real jump hour function. A real eye-catcher which can be bought from less than 150 USD from most dealers! For the ultimate look, go for the "Color Dreams version! Picture from Toad. Read Toadtorrents Crazy Hours Color Dream review. Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 42mm It went a long time before we received a decent replica of the UPOs little brother, the 42mm PO. Finally, as one of the first good replicas of 2009, Nariika started to supply a good version of this watch. It is a long discussion of this watch in THIS Review. This bargain replica sells for less than 100USD. It has a few flaws: "Professional" engraving on the clasp, which only the 45mm UPO should have, slightly wrong edge on the bezel and date font. Still, the fundamentals of the watch is right and it has become a popular watch. This is powered by one of the sturdy standard Asian movements. Other dealers like Trustytime also has this watch. The new 42mm PO replica, picture by Nariika. Glashutte Senator Sixties The Glashutte Senator replica is a big dress watch, measuring 43mm where the original is 39mm. Its design echoes the classic 1960ties style and it has a manual wind Asian movement which is nicely decorated. Best news is that it costs only 100- 120 USD, where the genuine costs about 5600 USD. Read Condemores review or b16a2s review2, b16a2s review1. The Glashutte Senator replica, pictures by Condemore. IWC Portugese 1939 Another big IWC, in the same style as the F.A. Jones. This watch use the same Chineese Unitas movement, but unlike the Jones, it has AR coating on the crystal. AR is rare on a budget replica. Picture by Lanikai A great buy for the 108 USD it costs from the major vendors! Check out THIS thread for pictures and reviews. Sinn U1 and U2. This German brand is not usually associated with replicas, so it came as a surprise when the first batch of U1 and U2 replicas hit the web. These German Submarine Steel watches are though looking pieces, and are recognized as good replications. The first batch of U1 had correct white lume hour markers, while as far as I know the rest has slightly greenish lume. Good AR on this. The screws on the crown has proved to be a bit weak. One particular thing I like is the good caseback engravings.. By the way, the replicas all seems to have the same serial numbers on the back. With an Asian DG2813 movement, these cost less than 150 USD (ex shipping), which must be good value! The DG2813 movement has a design issue, with an indirectly driven seconds hand, which might cause the seconds hand to "skip", compared to the 2824/2836 design. More info in this thread. There are also the Hydro UX replica, which uses a mechanical movement where the genuine has a quartz. Here is "unregistered"s excellent U1 review and comparison with a genuine U1. "Raguse"s U1 review: Rolex 1680 and 1655 Vintage Rolex replicas have come along way recently. There are quite good out of the box replicas of the 1680 and the 1655. With Asian movement, these cost less than 150 USD. Proof that more than four years after the initial article was written, you can still get a good watch for less than 150USD. Even though the ETA-movements are beyond the limit by now, the Chineese movements have improved. :-) Chiman12s excellent Asian 1655 review Several people have used the 1655 as a basis to build a vintage 1675 GMT-Master replica! * Other bargain buys might be the Asian-powered Omega Seamaster GMT or the Bond-Submariners.. The PO-lite seems to be discontinued? Feel free to fill in YOUR best bargain buys! :-)

Silix ( among other dealers, I think) has this for sale.. The movement is a soviet-design Poljot non-date alarm movement, which is also used in some decent Jaeger LeCoultre Memovox replicas httX://www.watchsilix.com/product.asp?id=1497

Some impressive pictures in this thread! Breitlings are very flashy. I have had quite a few Breitling replicas through the years, and two genuines. In Chronological order, I started out with this one, bought on a study-trip in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2002.. Well.. From this, it can only get better. The next one was an analog/digital from Silix. One of the very first I bought after joining TRC and RWG1 in 2004. Even though it is a fantasy, it was well made and got a lot of comments. Cool with gold on black digits... I once had this watch on a date, and the girl commented that "My dad also has a Breitling" I made a mental note about not wear the watch if I ever were to meet her dad.. The next were the Navitimer Fighters speciale and a Ti Chrono Avenger.. Nice watches, which I had great expectations for, but they did not really do it for me. Especially the Ti Chrono Avenger was a disappointment. I thought I had ordered one of the last of the good batch, but ended up with one of the inferior ones. Bad pearl and wrong "4" on the bezel.. The Ti is also very light and cheap-feeling.. Then, I wanted to try out the real deal. Many collectors don't give quartz'es a second look, but I belive they are the natural choice for pilots watches. Lots of functions, accurate and rugged.. Just as a Breitling should be! I bought this 1991 Breitling Navitimer Quartz with a broken lcd-display, but original box and papers. The Pluton-series was early ancestor to the Aerospace and was powered by a Miyota movement. Thanks to the information here on the forums, I traced a similar powered Pulsar and swapped the movements. Nice watch, unfortunately it was one of the watch which were stolen last months. The Navitimer Quartz and Ultimate Chronomat Evolutio The Pluton series was produced up to 1999-2000, by which time it was very old-fashioned compared to the Aerospace and B-1.. However, the last of the line "Intuder" had a totally new case and were very good looking. I bought this 2000 Intruder for the insurance money, to make up for the loss: Interesting to see the improvement in design and finish from the 1991 watch. Especially note the crown guards.. This was intended to be a keeper, but I got a very good offer and sold it just after a week.. Hope that I wont regret it. There are finally some Breitling replicas which are good enough. The black 3-6-9 Navitimer which came out late 2005 is very good, despite the that the slide rule does not align. Very sharp dial and slim datefont. I bought this on the board, from member "ajoesmith" I think. Unfortunately, this rep is also gone from my collection now.. I am thinking about picking up a gen.. And then the Ultimate BCE for which I made the Review, which was the first replica to blow me away. Just gorgeous! Caseback engravings and case finish are stunning. It is still let down by some minor speckles on the dial and defects on the pearl. A true toolwatch, appropriate to wear when doing some work around the house.. Very crisp dial printing. The circular pattern on the dial is only visible close up. Asian Steelfish. Great watch, and the best "Bang for the Bucks" at the moment! Initially I bought white dial, as the lack of AR is less noticeable. A bit flashy for a diver.. Black dial is more sporty! Still on the fence about buying the ETA-version though.. What is next? Maybe the Blackbird?

Hmmm.... This could be the greatest news in the rep world for a while! I had a Yacht-Master rep a while ago.. A fabulous watch, but not my style.. I still miss it once in a while, the model has a certain flair.

Thanks for posting this! A lovely Crosswind.

Welcome! Just have a look around this place and you will soon understand that this place is different from replicacenter and other scam places!

Great news! A nice change from all the basic 7750 chronographs. This is the only big-date Breitling I really like! The Zigmeisterzumba did an excellent Review of the seconds@3 movement and found it to be a well executed conversion. I don't know about the Big Date conversion though.. Misaligned date would bugger me a lot!

Very nice! Cool strap.

@Jetsons, Nice old Heuer Diver. Now I know where the Chinese got the inspiration for their Submariner crown guards.

Yes, FED-2 it is! Well spotted indeed! The best rangefinder camera second only to Leica M3!

Legendary watch, which will keep its value! Congrats! I actually prefer the solid back and plastic crystal. It is more "Professional".

Thanks for the mini-review. It is a heavy piece of steel.. With the best bracelet I have ever seen.. I miss my UPO, which was stolen. I am still on the fence considering either to buy the Swiss SFSO or another UPO...

Wow, I once had a nice replica of yours, quartz.. but my first "good" rep. It was stolen last month! My vintage gen Carrera... was also stolen. Calibre 12, with lefty winding crown. It never caught on to me, so I was in the process of selling it anyway. My very first TAG Heuer rep! It was well used Carrera CV2010 My brothers Link replica next to my old Link Chrono: New Link Chronograph CJF2120. .This is one of my daily favourites: