Toadtorrent

Like Rosnik said...there is the issue of poor Asian quality. I've had some serviced where they came back silent, and others come back definitely quieter and smoother but not silent. This could be because of different factories making the movement and different levels of quality.

Picante

Also...read the Noob Guide linked in my signature. It will introduce you to the rep buying experience and some of the things that need to be considered. When you say Swiss reps...remember...all decent reps are made in China. Only some have Swiss movements...and these movements are almost all made in China too in Chinese based ETA factories. Go figger! Chinese reps can be good...look at the reviews and wrist-check threads on this site, and you'll see that there some STUNNING reps out there...and moreso, RWG is a Community of watch enthusiasts...not just The Shopping Channel.

I have vintage leather PAM strap that's quite nice...miles ahead of the rep straps. The stitching is angled so doesn't look like a lot of hand stitched straps...but I don't believe this is the case with the IWC ones. It's a different style.

From Gisbert L. Brunner's fantastic article "The Fall and Rise of the Valjoux 7750" from the June-2008 issue of Watch Time: "In addition, some wearers are conscious of the sound the rotor makes. It occurs because the large oscillating weight with its heavy metal segment can reach very high speeds when rotating in its non-winding direction. The sound is unavoidable, however, and shouldn

Interesting. BTW, do you have the punch sets O/S? I still have to put my order together...hmmm...no time!!

Strings

Lani's said it all. You picked an awesome start. And, WOW...great first rep post. Awesome. More importantly, you put back to the community that helped you out...and that goes miles. Well done...and welcome aboard.

Ok...that's pretty cool. Very nice piece...

Beautiful. What a treat. Fantastic photos.

Even the gen is noisy...but not as noisy as the Asian version. The solution is proper servicing. Look at the link on the noisy rotor in the Noob Guide linked in my signature.

Hate to break it to you...there are no CDN Dealers worth looking at. Sorry. We have a lot of VERY experienced rep buyers, modders, and watch aficianados on this forum...and they will eventually chime in likely and repeat this. The dealers here are all generally good. I'm from Toronto...and have ordered from most of the recommended dealers here and have good experiences with all of them. Read the dealer reviews in the review subsection of the forum, pick the one that you feel best with and your good to go. There have been next to no customs seizures in Canada (see my Noob Guide for links to more info). I've only heard of one person having problems. AND...read the reviews here...get psyched...and buy with confidence...or search for members in Canada/US selling them personally. Good Luck. Check these out: AP ROO Survivor Read any of the reviews in my signature...all bought from China...(well almost all...some were bought from members)...and read the reviews in the the signature of sql_pl who wrote the post in the link above for how good some of these watches can be. Welcome to the forum. We help those in need...with the hope you'll be active members on the forum. Read the Noob Guide linked in my signature for more info on rep buying.

Wow...that is a nice piece...great pics as always. How does the caliper work or is it non-functional?

Skip his watchmaking skills...everyone knows about that stuff...but him and J are great people...and that's huge in my books.

I know it's not what you're looking at now...but look at the buckles at wotancraft. Stunning.

Welcome to RWG...I have to be quick here...limited time. The PO Chrono movement is a seconds at 3 tricompax vs. the seconds at 6 tricompax on the modern Daytona...different beasts. Zig's reviews of Secs at 6 and 3 Francisco's got reviews here for the new PO Chrono review

I actually like the Chronomatic 49...but it's too big for me. I would like to see something new. A lot of the new developments were slowed last year because of eh economic crunch...but there are rumours of interesting stuff ramping up this year. What that is? Only Lanikai knows

I'm not so bothered by the incorrect subdial spacing. On the moonie I think it's actually harder to spot as there is the mid-sized moonie which has the same subdial appearance (though in a smaller case) than the full-sized one with the narrow spacing. I know true Speedie afficianados would poo-poo my inaccurate (questionably) preference for the display back, because the movement is so beautiful to look at. Given that there were variations with the display back in the gen form, and that the movements between the Seagull ST1902 and the older Omega cal. 321 are similar because of the chronograph bridge (of course the current ones have a different looking movement and the sapphire crystal like yours likely has...but I'm sure you get what I'm saying) I'm not bothered by these issues. BTW...the 40th Anniversary one has the eagle moon landing silver medallion on 9-o-clock. As to how to freeze the 6-o-clock subdial, check out the guide in my signature. Awesome!! Love the piece and congrats for getting it, and contributing back to the forum by making this post.

This is excellent. You are a man after my own heart for this kind of post. I don't know enough about Breitling movements to provide any real technical feedback...but I know the effort involved on these things. Great post from a pretty new member. You my friend, are what this community is all about.

I actually don't find the rep that bad. The coronet is off as is often the case, and the tach markings are more cramped on the rep, but overall, I find it pretty good.

Very interesting read. Now I have to pull out my old 1980's Casio...

I like it too...but another 48mm watch? That is massive.

Wow...that's gorgeous.

Welcome to the forum CJR. As others have said, the info has been posted on various threads on the forum, but if you're new to this place it can be a bit overwhelming to get the info you need...so, we're all about community here so I'll give you a quick overview here. There are a few expense scenarios: ASIAN NON-CHRONO COST OF WATCH: ~$180 (incl shipping) COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: $15 - 40 COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$75 CONCLUSION: On a cheap Asian, servicing is not possible as no replacement parts exist and replacement movements are so cheap that would be the only route to trouble shooting if the root cause of a problem is not immediately apparent. A movement swap is doable if need be, but can be expensive to have a watchsmith perform it given the initial cost of the watch. Many have had cheap Asian reps last years with no problems. I have a couple that are a couple years old that are going fine after minor repairs ($20 if paid for but I do them myself). Consider them disposable...or do what many do...buy one, to test the waters on a the quality of the case (the movement may or may not be good), get yourself a beginner toolset from Offshore here on the forum, and do a movement swap yourself to learn the skills. ETA NON-CHRONO COST OF WATCH: ~$300+ (incl shipping) COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: $100 - $120 COST OF SERVICING: $150 COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$75 CONCLUSION: Many have found ETA's from China to be surplus and dirty so not as reliable as a new one from a North American supplier...so an unserviced movement may not have the traditional reliability of a new-from-the-bubble-wrap movement. Either way, they are serviceable, with parts readily available...and any watch repair person should be able to work on and repair these. It's not worth a movement swap (unless you get the Asian ETA clone)...but servicing can cost about $150...a little less than the replacement movement + the swap...so you can go either way on choosing to service or swap...but remember...repairs can be done...so you may not need a servicing for many years. Mechanical watches should all be serviced every 5 years...ETA or not. Many don't do this and have had watches run fine for DECADES...so YMMV!!! ASIAN 7750 COST OF WATCH: ~$200+ (incl shipping) COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: ~$150 COST OF SERVICING: $200 COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$100 CONCLUSION: If you get a cheap one like the Skyland linked in my signature, you can have yourself a great, well built disposable watch that can last many years unserviced if you're lucky. Unserviced, the movements have been known to fail anywhere from 6 months to 4 years or longer. So, if you're lucky, you may have a well running watch that lasts as long as a gen unserviced. If you're not lucky, you may replace the movement yourself to save the swap money after it fails the first time, and then get another dodgy unserviced movement (as new Asian 7750's are still from shoddy clone factories with poor QC) that fails prematurely...making it a costly watch due to repairs. You could swap it out for a $350 - $450 gen Swiss ETA which will be serviceable by SOME repair guys who can work on complex mechanical chronos (not all can)...that can make for an expensive watch...costing close to $1000. You could service the watch after a year or so (the recommended initial cycle) and you should get yourself a watch that is as reliable as its gen counterpart for $200. The problem with A7750's is not their reliability after servicing, it's finding somebody who can work on them and not bugger them up because there are some idiosyncracies with the Asian version of the 7750 compared to the Swiss 7750...so finding somebody who can work on a mech chrono is one thing...on an A7750 is another!! REMEMBER...ALL mechanical chronos should be serviced every 5 years...INCLUDING gen ones...and the cost of gen Swiss servicing is the same as an Asian 7750 as they are mechanically the same. Initial cost - ~$200 minimum (depends on the watch) Initial service - $230 (with shipping) Cost of watch after 7 years ownership with servicing - $430 SWISS 7750 COST OF WATCH: ~$700+ (incl shipping) COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: ~$350-400 COST OF SERVICING: $200 COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$100 CONCLUSION: Initial cost - ~$700 minimum (depends on the watch) Initial service - $230 (with shipping) Cost of watch after 7 years ownership with servicing - $930 Initial premium for the watch is high and you will still possibly get an unserviced or dry and dirty Swiss 7750 that needs servicing before the usual 5 year cycle. SO, you end up paying for the Swiss movement and still have to pay for servicing so it's expensive. The big push to go Swiss is that they are serviceable by more people because of the availability of parts. Hope this helps.

Yah beat me Andy.