baltic

Aye welcome! You'll like it here, but your wallet won't...

I think the only difference between them is that the 1861 has a rhodium plated bridge which gives a silver look while the 861's is gold plated, otherwise they are exactly the same. I'm now actually after a display back for it. @By-Tor I'm honoured to be linked to the Omega guides!

Hi Rob, Thanks very much. The differences are only really noticeable if you have lived with the watches and are a bit obsessive about Speedmasters (guilty as charged...!). Mines the 1861 movement, it changed from 861 to 1861 in 1997.

There were the same number of links in each bracelet to start with, however when I weighed them there was one more link in the gen's.

Bloody right I am mate It's not every day I spend £1k+ on a watch... @ JSW, I've just posted the gen v rep comparison on the Omega photo page Did I mention I've just bought a genuine one

I thought I'd take a few photos of my gen and rep (before it moved on) Moon Watch, for info and to show how damn close the rep is! Ok here goes first a dial up side by side (gen on left): The dials are close although the printing on the gen is much sharper. The rep's subdials are recessed but less than the gen's. The gen's dial also slopes down from the minute tick marks to the end of the dial, only noticeable if you have the watch at the end of your nose! Next the gen: the rep: From dial up, apart from the obvious sub-dial spacing and shorter markers at 3, 6, 9 on the rep, the hashes on the tachy scale on the gen don't extend across the black bezel insert, Swiss Made is in a wider font and the rep has a wider silver 'ring' around the dial; when you examine the gen it has a collar the same colour as the dial that angles up from the dial to meet the inside edge of the case. The cases are near 1:1 in size. Crown to crown (gen on top): You can see that the reps lugs are slightly thicker with a pronounced curve towards the end. The crown is a good match on the rep but has more 'flutes' (don't know the right term!). The bracelet links are fatter on the rep. The cases for both seem to be the same depth, but I didn't measure them. Side by side back up (gen on left): Obviously the rep has a display back. The polished underside of the gen's lugs are finished to a higher standard (which you'd expect as it's 10x the price) but only noticeable side by side. The reps serial number is completely bogus and doesn't tally with OMEGA'S sequenceing. Bracelet catch (gen below): Practically identical in size, the gen has 'Professional' engraved on it and it's engraving is clearer than the reps, again only noticeable side by side. Gen bracelet curve: Rep bracelet curve: The gen's bracelet is flat without the rep's noticeable curve. The rep's bracelet is extremely high quality and has a more satin shiny finish than the gen. Together at home: They weigh within 5g of each other (rep being the heavier!!). To my eyes the biggest tell apart from subdials is the 'silver ring' around the dial of the rep as it doesn't have the angled 'collar'. I hope you find this interesting, if you have the rep you have a damn fine watch in itself, but the gen 'spoke' to me more. Cheers, Baltic

26/22 means it's 26mm at the lugs and 22mm where the buckle fits. If you want a more imposing strap go for a 26/26, but remember to get a buckle that'll fit i.e. 26mm width

I can really recommend this watch, In fact I liked the rep so much I went and bought the gen! The running seconds hand is at 9, the chrono minute repeater is at 3, the chronos second hand is the large centre one and the sub-dial at 6 merely tracks the hour hand. I got this 6 o'clock subdial frozen.

Thanks once again people. It's really weird finally getting something you've been after for ages! @ Watcher I'm a Newcastle lad, Berrys is always a place I window shop, until last w'end that is @By-Tor, thanks mate. I'm planning to do a rep v gen piece as I took some side by side shots before I sold the rep Moon Watch. Hope it lives up to your excellent work. Cheers

44mm will look fine. If you got a 40mm you'd soon wish you'd gone for a 'proper' sized PAM, oh and welcome aboard. As for movements it depends on your budget. I get 'Swiss' ones for my PAMs just to be sure, although others swear their CN mvmts run fine. Pick one of our trusted dealers (Eddie, Josh and Precious Time are the 3 I've dealt with and they were spot on) and you won't go wrong.

Thanks for the compliments lads, I still can't quite believe I've actually got one!

If you want to know the choice I made take a look in the OMEGA photo section (there's a clue if ever I saw one )

Hi all. If you've been following the Watch trader section for the past few weeks you may have noticed I've moved a few of my reps (well 5 in total!). You may have wondered why, you may not but stick with me... The reason I will reveal in this post. I've been after a genuine Moon watch since I started getting into watches, to me it is THE classic watch, hardly changed in appearance for 40+ years, untouchable history, still used by NASA, great brand, fantastic movement etc etc. The first rep I got was an EL Moon watch that I loved, but everytime I walked past an AD I'd stare in at the genuine article and dream... I carried on getting and modding reps and really enjoyed it until the day I looked through my Paypal history and realised how much I'd spent on them It was approaching what you could buy a gen for (not a Moon watch but still a significant bit of cash). That was it I made my mind up to sell the reps that weren't getting wrist time, and even my beloved Moon watch rep and put some savings into a gen. Anyhoo the time came and into a very posh AD in town. I knew what I wanted, I knew what price I wanted it for and so began the 'dance' with the sales assistant. He was a genuine WIS, knew everything about watches (unlike in another store where I was asked if I wanted to see a Quartz Speedmaster !) Showed some LE Speedmasters he had in, involved my wife in the conversation (which impressed her) and let me try on POs (the 45mm is HUGE) and even a PAM (for size comparison). Then it was crunch time - 'What's your best price then?' 'Well if you buy it today sir, I can give you 15% off as we want your business.' I couldn't get the credit card out fast enough. Then it was in the box, in the bag and out to the nearest pub for a couple of calming pints. I had my Moon watch, my piece of horological history. Now if you've stuck with me so far I'll put some photies up to reward you. Firstly the obligatory bag shot What's in the bag? Does that say OMEGA? A box within a box Goodies She's revealed A bit closer On she goes I'll leave you with this one To follow a gen v rep comparison of the Moon watch...

I was thinking of getting a BOB strap. Are the Vertigo straps good value, better than the Sportivo?

@ Panerai 153, thanks for those suggestions, very interesting. Well, I've made the decision... I'll post the piccies once it's in my hands, watch this space...

That's very nice gives me an idea for the wife's chrissy pressie! What movement's in it?

Nice choice

Looks excellent. What strap is that? Where did you get it from. thanks

I'm currently rationalising my collection - 10 down to 6 at the moment, maybe one more to go. The remaining have/will been modded (PAMs lume and pin fix, Omega gen parts). I'm freeing up money to spend on a gen and the moonwatch is one I'm seriously considering... I think £250-300 max on a rep if you have it modded and serviced and if it's a reliable movement then you've still got a good watch that costs £300 but looks like a £3000 one!

Funnily enough I'm looking at the Sinn website in another window!

Thanks for the suggestions so far, unfortunately I'm not really a Rolex fan so I'll have to give them a miss. And that's me 100th post!

Hmm, some excellent suggestions lads (& lasses?), keep em comin'

That seems a canny price! [edit] £2000 for a watch ye gods...I must be mad [/edit]

@ Swatchman Really interesting info that, thanks mate. Aye Get Carter is one of my favourite films, being filmed in my home town too Don't mention the Sly version How Caine agreed to star in that I don't know...

I wish I could, PAM 111 is £2400 in my local AD! Rolex Exp 1 is at least £2.5k £2k would be my absolute max. No wonder we like reps...