Watchmeister

Now here is a wacky idea - how about taking a no-name latest gen tourbi adding "RWG and making it a limited edition 5-10 piece RWG watch. Actually, I am not sure I am kidding. I know it would never happen but it would be pretty damn cool. It would be even cooler if we priced it at cost plus a donation to RWG. With all the money I have spent on reps (and I know there are others who have been as silly as me) it isn't as dumb as it sounds.

Since I did that one too I guess I violated my own rule.

I vote for tonneau in SS. I was just in the Muller store and saw a couple of Cortez's. They are beautiful but the solid gold makes the watch. Gold plating will not cut it.

Boys, sorry to miss it. Got stuck in round the clock negotiations for a deal that blew up. But I do hope everyone had fun. All I want to know is who came and what watches did they bring.

Other things are as good or better when modded but Out of the Box: Old school - Chrono Avenger with open 4's. New school - 3717, Aquatimer or BCE with newer dial. Not that they aren't modded either. Can't include any PAM's as IMHO they require superlume.

Oops, looking at the old Showbox site on this computer. It is expensive but at a price of $750 or so I have alternative uses for the movement and I can't find a 7753 movement for under $550-600 ( in fact I have had difficulty finding a stand alone one at all) so I viewed it as very little downside.

Well I actually received mine today. Pics will not be forthcoming for several days as I am away from my camera. The pics above are dead on anyhow. And interestingly, it has now disappeared off of King's web site. The good news is that it is definitely the 7753 version with decent AR coat. However, it is clearly the later case on the $250 version in other respects though. The 1000 on the dial should be brighter blue, the "He" should be engraved not raised, engravings on case back are not nearly as deep, not individualized serial numbers and too small crown guard. The bezel is 60 click but not nearly as solid as on the Honpo. None of this is surprising as it is priced at what I would guess is the cost of the movement at retail plus $200. So mine will be undergoing some transplants from the Watchonpo version. Did anyone else order or receive this piece?

I suspect Ziggy was ready to kill me after my last stunt. But it does make a difference. I actually went to the AD at lunch yesterday and made them pull out the Cousteau they have in stock and it clearly has a uniform lacquer coating around the inner bezel so this will be an improvement. Euno- Glad the movement is running well. I have bought more than a dozen from the seller and the six that have been mounted are all performing beautifully so far. There is nothing better than a true Swiss movement. None of this swiss movement subcontracted out to Asia stuff.

These are all from the same seller who we did our group buy with. http://www.rwg.cc/members/PAM-Crown-Offering-t30228.html According to him he had bought out a professional watch smith's estate and had well over 100 SS and another 50 or so PVD. To date RWG members have accounted for the majority of the demand and bought well over 50. Our cost was $67.00 each including the first round of shipping. He has consistently kept the ss price at around $100 but the PVD's have now dropped substantially as there is much less demand. We will never know with 100% certainty whether they are gen but here is my rationale. First, these crowns have better turnings and gasket fit than most gen crowns and certainly a quantum leap better than any rep crowns out there. Second, they match up perfectly from an aesthetic perspective against the gen 2893 crowns. Third, they have a larger underlip which is consistent with the larger case tube in a gen case. If anyone could actually tap the crowns for a 1.2mm stem you would have a fantastic case/crown combo.And finally, the seller has offered me other crowns in quantity for other watches of that time period including the Mille Miglia crowns and a couple of others. I actually have one of those but don't know what size it is for. The argument against them being gen is that there is at least one other seller that Kbiz encountered who was offering a few although he may have bought them from our seller.

Do they grow teak in Switzerland.

3-black and 2-white.

If You have the skills, Ubi has the right idea.

Ziggy can order those parts. He got them for my 3717, GST and Aquatimer (white of course). You need to schedule with him and if you are a new customer I suspect he would want payment for them when he buys them. But ask him.

Very beautiful watch. What is the size?

Exactly - its all relative.

A rep is not a rep and a gen is not a gen. A watch is a watch. I always love the references to $20,000 gens. If you have ever owned one or have friends who do you know that it varies greatly. Many reps I own keep better time than significantly more expensive gens. The only thing a Patek Perpetual calendar ever did for me was get sent back and forth to Switzerland perpetually for servicing. The wife's Breguet is perpetually losing time. A colleague's Patek Tourbillon is currently serving as a paper weight. Funny, but not that funny. Ever compare a genuine $15,000 FM Vegas to the $99 rep. The rep's roulette mechanism is substantially better. I am not saying that a rep is as good as a gen. Two entirely different concepts. Gen's have substantially more attention paid to the detail and build quality as they should. But a properly serviced watch (not $50 novelty item of course) which does not have fundamental design flaws should last a lifetime irrespective of who made it. And I absolutely factor in the the rep/gen ratio. It is not the end all and be all but what it does protect you from is ending up investing $500 in a watch you can buy for $1,000. And we all know a number of reps that fall into this category.

Looks great. Wear it well.

What was in that tea? Keep drinking it.

I definitely lean toward the rep/gen ratio approach and away from absolute dollars. But IMHO in order for it to be relevant you have to be able to get that rep very close in terms of aesthetics and functionality. My ratio tops out around 10-12% with the same functionality and a serviced movement. I will go higher for original movement and strong aesthetics. A 7753 196 for $650 plus another $100-200 for relume, datewheel and improved crown leaves you at a 13-15% rep/gen ratio and very good as relates to functionality and aesthetics. I would rather save up for that than buy the Asian 7750 version for $250-300. Other watches like Ultimate PO and Inge work out to about the same ratio after mods. Every once in a while you will find that fabulous anomaly like the VC Overseas or SFSO which even after a mod or two will come in well under 10%. So for me $ are irrelevant other than I can buy fewer if I am going after more expensive ones. Whatever you budget is it is. We all have one. If a rep is not reasonably close to the gen I top out at $100-150 because then it is more of a novelty item.

Agreed. Today a Lexus compares more than favorably with those brands it seeked to imitate and arguably has better aesthetic design than some of the current BMW's and certainly a better service record than Mercedes who until this year had one of the worst service records in the U.S. Hyundai had a better record here. It probably is a good analogy.

Tribal- It takes me a while but I do eventually get it. Needless to say I went downstairs to look at Falco's 5513 and lo and behold - no bezel.

Wow! It may not have been your watch and actually I am very thankful. It looks so good. I had sent a shot of the gen when illuminated and the reality is that two coats of Ziggy Lume is definitely luming brighter and more consistently then the gen which is silk screened but still shows "soft spots" on the inner bezel when illuminated. IMHO, it does not get better than this.

Pug - Now I see your point. I guess it is an optical illision. I take it that it is actually the gap beween the top of the domed pearl and the insert itself.

I am taking a pass on the 2007 CD. Owning the Mellow Yellow and an Orange PO I have learned my lesson. IMHO, odd colors relegate a watch to weekend wear only. The Slevin is a very subtle and elegant watch. In my case I am just not sure what it adds for those of us who have followed the IWC craze and own both a CD and 3717. At 42mm the 3717 is a more versatile watch with both a bracelet and leather strap option. And how many rubber strap IWC's do you need? I am full of crap though. I am still seriously considering it. This time I will wait for someone else to buy it first.

R- I absolutely appreciate the value of gens. But not when they can be so readily repped. There are a number of brands and movements which justify the gen expense. In general, IWC is not one. And yes, I am grateful for all the marketing dollars they have spent. On the movements - watch out. The latest tourbillon movement being produced in China is far more reliable than those from Patek and other premium brands. The few people I know who have owned Patek or Breguet tourbillons have either sold them, returned them or use them as paper weights. People who own the latest Chinese tourbillon appear to be much happier. Just remember there is no such thing as Swiss workers - just guest workers. No one there has actually worked in 20 years. And on the design element just give it a little time. Look at how the Japanese started in cars. Now their designs outsell everyone.