fletch512

Only thing I can see is that the gen has 4 minute markers between the 5,6, and 7 hour markers. The rep only has 3. Everything else looks good. I'm sure the lume will suck, of course.

Trusty's old style VCO is even more expensive than Silix's new version. Anyone want to help a poor brother out and point the way to a dealer with a reasonably priced older version?

Yeah, I agree. The same old one step forward, one step back. Beveling is too wide. No mark over the "e" in Geneve. Hands are wrong. Font on "Automatic" seems a bit off.

Seconds hand was jerky when I got it. Then it died.

Like I said, from a rep perspective: same Asian 7750, same case style, same datewheel, rubber instead of steel band, etc. Sure, the bezel rotates, which is nifty and all, but I'm just saying lets have some perspective here. No question the gen Cousteau Aquatimer is a cooler watch than the gen GST chrono. However, you know the rep's going to have poor lume, a problematic Asian 7750, and problems with the datewheel. You know this because that's the same problems all the other IWC reps have. So add in the cost of re-luming, servicing the movement, putting in a new datewheel, just to get this rep up to par. All on top of what looks to be a very expensive rep. So again, why is everyone going bonkers over this watch?

What's with all the hype? Isn't this watch, from a rep perspective, just a more colorful GST chrono? Except it won't have the steel band and yet cost a whole lot more? Don't get me wrong; I'll pick one up if the price is reasonable, but with all the attention this thing is getting, you'd think it was a perfect AP ROO or some other holy grail watch.

I think he meant that he didn't advise buying the swiss movement. Those are indeed expensive for the power reserve. I have two asian 21j movements, and they both work great. Couldn't be happier.

Will this be produced with the numeral marker dial in the future, or just the stick marker dial?

I personally didn't like the Raymond Lee insert. While the pearl was fine (by that I mean better than the one that caem with my watch, but not near gen quality), the markings on the insert were still off-center and not any better than the insert that came with the watch.

Well, after a little under a week, my watch kicked the bucket and went to watch heaven. The watch worked fine in the beginning, although the rotor was pretty loud, and crown winding didn't sound very smooth, either. The seconds hand was a bit jerky and the watch lost about 5-6 minutes per day. Finally, friday night the watch stopped working altogether. I've contacted Jay about getting a replacement, so we'll see how that goes. Anyone else having a problem with the 7750 movement? At the very least, it sounds like it could use some oiling.

Or a bad year for IWC, depending on how you look at it.

For those that got the panda version, do you have concentric circles on the subdials? Somone posted a close-up pic with the circles, but mine doesn't seem to have them.

My sub-second hand is quite jerky, as well. You think oil will fix the problem?

It boggles my mind why people still cast aspersions at Neil. It's quite obvious that the same group of moderators and RWG/RWI/TRC… supporters will rush to his rescue no matter how valid the grievance with lavish praise normally reserved for spouses and close relatives. On the other hand, a quick search on this and other rep sites will show that Neil has garnered more complaints than praise. Moreover, the amount of complaints is totally disproportionate to his sales volume. What this all means, I do not know. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would say that certain people affiliated with this and the other sites support the dealers unequivocally and try to stifle any dissent. These being the same people that praise each new watch no matter how glaring the faults. But then again, I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I do know that in post after post, Neil has proven himself to be a rude, disingenuous wretch of a human being. Those that so vehemently support him do so at the risk of their own (and the site's) credibility. And remember, your money is your only real voice in this business. If you suppport Neil's antics, by all means buy from him. But there are many other dealers more deserving of your hard-earned cash.

I think I like the back of this watch more than the front.