professor_yaffle1

Welcome to the wonderful world of reps........good luck with your first purchase. BTW, nice avatar

Wow, fantastic! Nothing else to say, other than " sell me this watch"

I agree with several others that it depends on both the watch and the wearer, my own preference is for larger watches, at 6' tall with 8" wrists, I can wear most 44/45mm watches quite comfortably, but I wouldn't really want to go much bigger than 47mm. My daily watch is the 45mm PO, and I absolutely love it - it's relatively flat profile sits perfectly on my wrist, and fits under all of my work shirts, whereas my SFSO feels top heavy and awkward. I really like some of the old vintage rollies, and would love a 5512 or 1655, but when I tried to wear a sub, my wife laughed and commented that it looked like a 'ladies watch'; but that could just be that she's so used to me wearing oversize watches, or that she just wanted the sub for herself Its interesting to see that some maintain this notion that 40mm is the optimum size - where did this come from? Don't get me wrong, I'm not disputing that this may well be the optimum size, and, statistically speaking it may cover up to the 90th percentile, which would be sufficient ground to support such a claim, but...... if we went back to first principles and did a clean-sheet design for a watch, today, it's size would be a factor of several components, mechanism size/type cost average wrist size of target market dial/hand size for readability use, i.e. would it need to be waterproof, shockproof etc. The variables inherent in each of the above would seem to indicate that the resultant design solution would either be a 'one size fits all' broad compromise, or several different designs. Wear whatever makes you happy

Wow, that is one seriously cool watch! First I really wanted a Swordfish, but I held off because I'm not sure I'd have the balls to go out wearing one - due respect to Lani though, you must have answered many a question from strangers by now - and then when I saw pics of this on the dealer sites I thought, no, that won't look good in the flesh - bad PVD finish, poor dial/markers etc. - but I reckon this is the one to have. The stealth finish combined with the Victorian engineering look is just very cool - very "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" Hmmm, now where did I put that black cape.....

Sorry to hear of your frustration BT..........and I hate to mention this, but presumably you've heard of the new Heathrow terminal, T5, and the chaos that ensued when they transferred the first flights to it? Well, they're in the final phase of flight transfer, so maybe this is contributing to the delay that you're seeing? I've had no luck with airsure either, but international signed for has always been very good.

Yes, very good choice - I'm wearing my DSN 111 at the moment solid movement, good lume, etc. It's on rubber today, was on bracelet yesterday - very versatile. You do realise though, that your current dilemma, and the whole "should I get this one, or this one" question will soon fade into insignificance when you realise that, a) you want them all and b ) you can buy as many as you can afford Happy hunting and good luck!

Both great looking watches Dave I'm curious, and forgive me if I've completely misunderstood your previous posts, but did you buy this to create a 196, (given the rarity of the 'old' case's), or are you just planning to fit a gen ETA 7753 to this? If the latter, then why not buy the 7753 version in the first place bit confused, but I'm sorely tempted to buy one to satisfy my own curiosity It was a 196 that got me into this rep game............and I still haven't bought one!

I'd be very interested to know which dealers are offering these - had a quick trawl around the usual suspects but couldn't find any mention of it? I realise that Jay has them for sale with the watch, but wasn't aware that he would supply them seperately. PT doesn't have these yet and isn't expecting them for a while. Desperate to get one, and still contemplating coughing up for the gen , and would order today if I knew where from.

Class, pure class

Try lonestarwatches, they sell the well-regarded mesh bracelets from Staib in Germany, $150 or thereabouts. I'd be interested if you buy one, as I'm still undecided as to whether to pick one up for my Heritage, or save a bit more for the gen Ocean Racer rubber dep strap.

Great post! You've certainly researched your topic fully; distilling and sharing that knowledge with the forum is a very generous gesture PS, I'm still a relative newcomer when it comes to Breitlings, so if you feel like penning a similar guide.......

I'd agree with all the previous posts, and congrats on your decision, but I'd be wary of rubber straps that are on ebay, particularly at $100; you can source the gen strap from Ofrei for $176 plus $22 for the buckle.

Hi Lani, great review So good, in fact, that I've just ordered a black one from Andrew, this despite the fact that I already have one that I sourced throught PT last month looks like I'll be selling one soon. Double AR? Yep, I'd say it's a definite, and I'll be sending mine off to Jakub shortly after it arrives.

Yep, I'll second that, Aaron's pretty much the only one that builds these......I looked everywhere else, but short of stumping up for a gen, he seems to be the only other option. It could be a long wait though

SNAP! :D Well, apart from the hands................not bothering with a new crystal as Jakub's already made this one disappear. Only thing now is the wait for the parts, and then the wait until my spot with The Zigmeister. If you want to see some good pics of a similar project (well, in fact the one that inspired me), have a look here PO..genuine dial; crystal; crown vs. Rep, comparison of genuine parts look forward to seeing the completed project! prof

Yep, I'd definitely go for the PO chrono - better looking (imho), and a better movement.

Great projects Lani! There certainly seems to be a pattern that once you've sated your thirst on the readily available modern reps, that sourcing and building a vintage, whether it be franken or not, is the next step in this hobby.........at least that certainly seems to be the case for me

Great idea for a thread Stephane, my thoughts recently have been running along similar lines, with this model, but also a no-date sub. The 'vintage' itch has kicked in....

Well, they say that nothing's new under the sun, and I seem to recall football and basketball straps on Europelli's site last year. Who knows who first cottoned onto this concept, but I like the idea of recyling old leather items, whether sporting or otherwise; in fact, as soon as I can source a vintage baseball mitt, I'll be looking for a skilled strapmaker to do something creative with it (note that this is not my idea, Aaron did a fantastic one-off last year from a Wilson Ball Hawk).

Hi Tom, For unknown reasons I tend to keep all the packaging (including all the twist wraps,plastic bags, transit caps, etc.!) whenever I buy electrical equipment, and, as it happens, I bought a black 30Gb video Ipod in 2006 PM me your email and I'll send some pics, prof

Yes, definitley no reps.......probably should add that my brother already has two gens, a Pam 005 and an IWC Aquatimer Cousteau Diver. Datejust and a De Ville, good choices.

Hi folks, Well, my brother recently got engaged, and, when the subject of engagement rings came up, his fiance suggested that if he didn't want a ring, she would buy him a watch instead - he could choose, but it would have to be white-faced (to signify the engagement), under

It's sad to see Admin having to post this question again, (seems to be every few months?), but as ever, I'm happy to chip in, and don't consider it to be a drain on my personal finances.........rep watches are, but that's my own choice to take those gambles. The point has already been made by others, but it takes enormous commitment to set up and run a forum such as this, and I for one am extremely grateful that Admin did, and continues to do so.... :clap: I don't often contribute to this wonderful community, but I really enjoy the time that I spend here, and value the huge resource of information that is collectively held, and contributed to, by all members, so I can appreciate that there are some ethical issues to resolve before a solution is found. As another member so astutely observed, it's the cost of a cup of coffee, (and in my local Starbucks, a small cup at that (London prices..)), that is being suggested as a subscription price-point, and surely if you've got enough disposable income to buy 2-3 reps a year, then you can definitely afford a cup of coffee once a month. Prof

Very, very nice...........

The second one, that battered/weathered tan strap looks the nuts.................in fact it looks so good that both the watch (which is actually a Steinhart Triton over here in Europe), and that strap have been on my list of 'must haves' since I spotted it whilst browsing your trade section Hope you've got some of that leather left..........