Toadtorrent

That's funny about the correct answer on this one. I would say I failed in a big way. I got the pin mod, cyclops, datewheel, polished bezel and gen dial and pearl lume sort of...didn't get that it was done with tritium. I know the The Zigmeister lume is waaaay smoother usually than this gen dial untouched...but the colour was so close to the aged tritium mix that you do R I thought you had a special request to do the dimpling of the surface to make it look more aged. With the T48 crowns...how can you tell the difference between gen or custom crown? I can't tell the difference between crown guards...but that The Zigmeister pin job is fantastic. I failed on what lume was used, the CG and the hands. Nice work!

The Bro-mance is bringing tears to my eyes...Real Man Tears of course. Welcome aboard...you just found yourself the most knowledgeable and happening forum for watch nuts around. Read the Noob Guide linked in my signature and that will get you up and running quickly...even faster than you are now.

The SSD V2 has the brushed Ti look to it. That is correct. Whether or not the gen has this is a different matter...but the rep does.

The first high quality reps were just released. Do a search and you'll find a couple threads talking about them. They are likely in the "other brands" subsection. Welcome aboard.

Same. I was careful with the crown winding too doing the counter-clockwise turn with pressure until the threads engaged before screwing it in...but still the problem appeared. Now it's great. I just have to be careful not to over tighten the crown as the tube is glued with epoxy and overtightening will rip it out of the case.

Welcome aboard. Your questions have been asked and answered many times before so to make your life easier...read the Noob Guide linked in my signature and read the threads on the A7750 movement. The Aquaracer and Oris reps are excellent. Unserviced, member experiences has a7750 powered watches lasting a year to a number of years without problems. If you want the watch to reliably last a long time get proper servicing...expensive relative to the cost of the watch but it's what is required. Read the Noob Guide...you'll find answers there.

Beautiful watch!! I wish my phone could take pics like that!

Great stuff. I'm with you on the Asian movements. Great value!! That Daytona is great!

It is really a beautiful watch. If they could ever fix that movement...life would be good.

Crazy money!! Swiss ETA motors are asking for premium prices with the collectors these days. I think the Ulysse Nardin is a much better deal considering what they had to do for that rep to make it. I'll definitely stick to my Skyland!

Yeah...the Lemania copy I've wanted because of the movement. I came close a few times buying a gen VC moonphase for my wife...and also a Calatrava a couple times...got talked out of it believe it or not.

No sweat. The journey has to begin somewhere...and better here than some other place where you get hosed. What you'll learn here is that reps come in all varieties...some cheap, some not...some accurate, some not...some beautiful, some not...some cheap and beautiful...some expensive and ugly...some inaccurate and beautiful...and vice versa. So...to say "what is the best <insert brand/model of your choosing>..." is impossible to answer as it could mean so many things as to what is best: out of the box, potential to be 100% visually accurate with gen part compatibility, just plain stylish, most convenient due to forum member local pickup, hard to find rep, etc... You have to decide what your priorities are (maybe it's the brand, particular model, price, movement, etc)...and then move from there. Good luck...don't take the ride too seriously...and have fun. Remember...they're reps...

Good one Lani! I definitely would not say I'm an old school member...but I certainly fully appreciate and respect all that! Excellent.

Does sticking the film around the pin help stop the flop??

Where's UncleJay?????? Not knowing PAMs at all, the ONLY thing I'm really sure on was the pin mod! The rest was me fishing!!

Beautiful piece and great pics as always R!! For someone with massive guns like yours...you have a mastery shooting the small stuff!! Great work. This is the first B&R I've been really intrigued by!

...and on this wonderful journey...to your left is the Eiffel Tower...Rob the King of Tour Guides!! BTW...that Malte Chrono is beautiful. I never really looked at that one before. I was thinking I should add a Seagull "Lemania" movement piece to the stable and was siding on the Speedmasters in spite of the subdial spacing issue (unlike most on this board, I like the 50th Anniversary Speedmaster...AND the inaccurate subdial spacing MORE than the gen narrower spacing)...but that VC is quite a different style piece. Did you have the SS or the WG version? I can't imagine the white gold one being worth the extra expense. VC's gen rose gold is unbelieveable though...especially in a full skeleton tourby. WOW. I tried one on about 2 months ago...fantastic as a collector's piece...but a little too "elegant" for me.

I was getting my SLs mixed up. As The Zigmeister explained, the BGW9 that Ptolomeo was talking about above is the new blue lume, and is supposed to be the second brightest lume on the market next to C3...but as indicated above, the C3 is yellow. As I understand it, The Zigmeister uses a mix of C1 and C3 to create his aged Tritium look. If you read The Zigmeister's post from dluddy, you'll see that he doesn't see the initial brightness of the BGW9 to be as intense as the C3 which is contrary to the datasheets. HOWEVER, if you read the thread of responses to Lani's Deep Sea review HERE which is the 3rd page of comments, you'll see that people seem to find the lume doesn't really start to glow until after a couple hours of daylight charging. This is likely not required each and every time, but just to get it going after shipping. Lani says regarding off-colour (i.e. greenish rather than blue) lume in his opinion may be a result of needing "...a day or so before the lume is fully charged.. so don't worry". Will The Zigmeister's lume be better than out of the box? Almost definitely...as lume is expensive...more than gold by the ounce. So...rep manufacturers will skimp on this wherever possible. The Zigmeister's lume jobs are the standard market rate in terms of price but he uses the best lume on the market, and his results on this forum speak to his experience, skill and hours of practice.

I'm looking forward to it.

I'll go with: Gen dial - relumed with your aged tritium mix and dimpled to age it Gen hands Lello datewheel New cyclops Jimmy CG with new pin T crown Polished bezel Lumed pearl with SL and glaze

The Zigmeister...you are doing wonders to those Grahams. Wow!!

Josh is Perfect Clones. I've had no problems with him...other have...but this can be said of EVERY dealer. Josh has been great to me...fixing problems quickly when they arise. Read his review section and you'll see lots of positive reviews. Do search on "cartel" and "drop shipping" and you'll see another side. Use this information TOGETHER to make your decision. Again...I use him and would again without hesitation...but YMMV.

According to RC Tritec: C1 Colour "C1" for white C3 Colour "C3" for yellow C5 Colour "C5" for greenish-yellow C7 Colour "C9" for blue-green The Zigmeister is doing testing on a new version of the C3 which glows brighter than the normal C3 (in yellow). The RC Tritec colour swatches are HERE. The blue lume that glows blue appears white but a different white than the C1. I'm not sure of the number "code" on this one. Some literature I've read says they say 7 hrs of good glow. On my Skyland's basic rep lume...I can still read the time in a dark room 8hrs+ later. The blue lume appears to need some "priming" in daylight to glow better. Check Lanikai's Deep Sea review for details on this. I'm having The Zigmeister do some inaccurate lume work for me by doing my Cousteau Diver in blue lume instead of the green glow. I'll get that back in a few weeks.

There's big...then there's big in the other dimension. The Breitling Skyland is 18mm thick...I consider that what makes this watch seem BIG. The Bentley 6.75 is 47mm in diameter...that's a whole new level of big but not quite as thick as the Skyland. The Super Avenger is big AND thick. The Graham Oversize is not just big...but with the pistol chrono lever may seem much bigger than the "case diameter" measurements. The IWC Cousteau Divers are big in appearance because they have so much "dial" and very little visible case...but are not really that big in measurement. PAMs seem big because their design is somewhat "blobby" and square-ish but in measurement are not that big at 44mm and smaller for many.

I don't know anything about that site...so can't say what you'll get...if anything at all. Members here...for the most part use only the collectors "endorsed" by the forum. Others like TeeJay use Watcheden and some others on cqout with good success and swear by them...but for the most part, the OVERALL experience is positive for all the collectors listed in the links section. This isn't to say that people haven't had bad experiences with each and every one of them...but you won't get hosed. You will get a watch...it won't be over priced...and they will ensure you get one that works. You may end up with a dud that needs to be sent back to China for repair or replacement on your dime...that's just how the rep game works (read the Noob Guide for details). BUT...the collector will fix it and send it back to you on their dime. Reps have quality control issues. Some members have never had a dud...some have had constant streams of them...luck of the draw. As to the one you linked...most say stay away from the gold watches if you are looking at one to wear regularly as the gold can "wear thin" with regular use. How long this takes is anybody's guess. It depends on body chemistry, climate, how hard you are on your watches. Some have had gold watches looking fine with regular wear for years, others say months...do a search on gold reps here, and you'll see people's experiences.