dabom

I think people have forgotten that these are, at the end of the day, fake watches (or replicas for our euphemistic sensibilities). High-end watches are not all about screwing the end customer. Many rep owners seem to by very cynical about the motivations of high-end companies. If you want consistent and perfect quality - you do have to pay the price. If you don't want to pay, you get a rep - but don't expect the consistent and perfect quality! People who can't distinguish this in their minds are clearly delusional.

but now that you asked.. a Mare Nostrum would be very very nice. The sub-dial arrangement is not that important (the Seagull Venus has them in reverse) - just get this watch out because it looks gorgeous!

It's so very very simple. Forget about doing the new ones - just get the old ones right, and it's so very simple to do it: 1) spring loaded crowns (with proper gaskets) 2) decent lume 3) proper crown guard and crown measurements we've seen moments of brilliance, but not everything in one package. Honestly, how difficult is it really?

that's some box you have there - looks like it costs more than the watches!

okay - I checked my pictures again, and I may be wrong about the rose gold. However, it clearly is a different colour. It is not the "light yellow" of the rep. It is a darker yellow. Either that or the shape of the hands make it look darker. The point of the matter is that the rep hands look cheap and the colour looks off. My point really wasn't about the name of the colour.

yes I know what the official literature says, but it's not yellow gold. It's an orange gold, whatever the heck they call it. Show me one picture of the 3714 that is properly lit that clearly shows it's yellow and I'll shut up. I've seen it in the flesh, I've got a bazillion pictures of it and it's not yellow gold. The rep on the other hand is clearly yellow.

tell me how you really feel finepics. so sue me for having an opinion. by the way, instead of making cryptic flippant statements like "go check www.iwc.ch", why don't you be specific, and I'll tell you specifically how you're wrong. At least we have someplace to begin a discussion. Unless of course, you just want to tell me how you feel.

umm... that's ROSE gold. The only yellow gold watches from IWC are from the PORTOFINO line, not the high end Portuguese line. Check out the close up pics of a gen 3714 - the hands are breath-taking. The rep on the other hand look a sickly yellow color with no depth to it. It's the same for replica Pateks - you just can't rep exquisite hands or dials. That's why rep makes should stick with easy ones like the 3706 and get it right!

I don't know if this has been mentioned before but the Portuguese never came out in yellow gold. This is a dead give-away. And I'm not aware of any genuine white dial with black subdial Portuguese. One has to wonder why these rep manufacturers would attempt something that is so difficult to rep, when they could have repped the more desirable 3706 and it would have been easier to do so. And if you think this is a good rep, then you don't know very much. There are many many dead giveaways. The main feature of the genuine IWC Portuguese is the hands and dial, and this is precisely what cannot be accurately repped because of the materials used. It's the same reason why Pateks and JLCs can't be repped very well either, since a lot of expense goes into the dial and hands. Yes yes, the case is very accurate, but that is besides the point. The Portuguese is not an expensive IWC line because it has the best case. That's why rep makers should have tried the 3706 first since it doesn't have the exquisite dial and hands, which are impossible to rep convincingly.

What level of detail are you going to? The IWC Portuguese might look a little convincing, but if you open it up you can tell straight away, plus the movement is highly modified (for example the replica sub-seconds hand is unlikely to be jeweled). Some Panerais on the other hand are very close the original and even the movement looks convincing. So when you say "decently repped" are you referring to the outside, or inside too? I have a rep of an Explorer 2 which is extremely close on the outside, but it still wouldn't compare to the original on the inside. It's the same with a kit car - the kit might look like a lamborghini on the outside, but one look under the hood and you'll know for sure. Watch companies like Tag Heuer & Breitling might make almost no modifications to the movement, but companies like Panerai, IWC and Rolex have very recognizably different movements. When you say "decently repped" are you considering what's under the hood?

Interesting answers. I guess the next question would be: If you buy a replica to testdrive a watch, and then buy the genuine because you like the replica - what do you do with the replica? It's basically the same question as what I was asking, but from a different perspective. The replica was so nice, that it made you want the genuine. So obviously you appreciate the genuine to a high degree and that would never compare with the feeling of a replica right? So what do you do with the replica?

Do you buy replicas of genuines that you own and adore? For example, if you had a treasured genuine and there was a fair replica of it out there - would you buy it, or would you think that would diminish your enjoyment of the real thing. Typically I buy replicas of watches I wouldn't buy in real-life. The genuines that are good enough to make me plonk down coin would appeal to me for the quality, and therefore it would be weird to me to buy a replica of something I already appreciate. How about you?

here is what will happen: watch sizes will normalize. In the past, watch sizes were very similar to one another. In the 30s-60s they were small. In the 70s they were big and ugly looking. Everybody followed the trend. Tomorrow what will happen is the extremely big and ridiculous watches will die off (48mm etc), but everything else will follow a bell curve. Most people will settle for 40mm, but there will still be an attraction to the 44mm and the 36mm in a decreasing demand fashion. Everyone will fulfill their individual tastes, and everyone will be happy. It is simplistic to suggest that suddenly the demand for 44mm will suddenly disappear. It won't. In the past, people wore watches because it was the only way to tell the time. Nowadays there are millions of ways to tell the time, and watches are mainly a piece of fashion. Because the watch is mostly a tool of fancy rather than a tool of necessity - its size will be driven purely by taste. In the past, watches HAD to follow the norm otherwise people wouldn't buy it. For practical people who bought a watch because they had to, they just bought something that didn't look out of place - which is why most companies HAD to follow the trend of the time. Now, people no longer wear a watch because they have to. If someone wears a watch at all, it is because of personal aesthetic taste. Therefore by definition they are wanting something that specifically fits a certain style, not necessarily a certain trend. The issue is not about fitting in, because the norm now is not to wear a watch at all. The issue now is just wearing what you like.

how do you know when the hands are put on properly? Thanks.

dang - I guess the answer is no. Just imagine the hands from a JLC Master Moon, without any cutout for the lume.

I have a watch with hands that have no lume. The hands have a triangular cross-section, in other words it is raised down the middle which "slopes" downward to the sides of the hand. (in other words, the hands are not flat but are raised down the middle). So I suppose you could put a layer of lume on the raised middle part, as long as it looks even. People who have lumed before: what do you think? Thanks in advance!!

that would bug me too. How big is your wrist?

Here's something to consider: those websites selling reps for $900 could be the ones trying to hit our dealers with paypal complaints. It is in their best interest to shut down our dealers. I do not recommend a maximum posting limit on the forums. What does that prove? Nothing! I think the first transaction of a newbie should be something other than paypal, then if the buyer is honourable, he is put on a good guys list and that list is shared amongst the dealers. I've had 4 good deals with EL and Joshua.

There's too many sites to keep track of! Which is the "primary" now? I don't have time for two sites! Thanks.

I think it's more important to keep a good guys list. EL and Josh - remember that I have had excellent trouble-free transactions with you guys! I certainly want to use paypal in future, and I think that's reasonable considering our trouble-free transactions!

I thought replica watch guide was dead, and everyone moved here. Now I find out that replica watch guide has been revived and revamped. Can someone give me some background info on what happened? Thanks!

I read it well the first time, but it isn't immediately clear that the original poster's intent was what sonystyle explained. I'm just trying to be helpful.

he was just saying all that to save face. I bet though that when he returned home he swore at himself.

It's not enough to state "do not". You also have to state "why". In my first transaction, I put in the information of the watch I wanted even though I was told "do not". Why did I do that? It's because I had no idea why not! Because it wasn't explained to me, I interpreted the "do not" in a different way. I think I interpreted it by excluding the information from the subject line, but put the information in the "details" section. I mean how the heck was I to know that the dealer did not want any mention or implication of a replica ANYWHERE - since there was no explanation given, nor any elaboration.

actually - my mistake. It's actually Eddie Lee's pictures that are being ripped off again.