Watchmeister

Yes he will relume it. I presume you are asking because of the lume on the inner rotating bezel. I showed him a picture and he seemed to think it is possible. Anyone who can perfectly lume a gen conquistador dial can certainly do this one. But I will not know for sure until he sees it.

Euno- If you are talking about gen crowns (do not want to steal the thread though) I did find one of my PVD's is 1.2. I have spoken to the seller and asked him to look through all he has left and I will take all the 1.2's immediately. Please no PM's but folks better show up for these before my wife checks the bank account. She has recently figured how much I have spent on this "hobby" and it is going to cost me.

Gens are. No these ones aren't, but they are well made.

I would definitely keep it.

Pug- That was either incredibly profound in the genre of John Cage's 3 Minutes of Silence (which I have actually seen performed) or you forgot to write something.

Ziggy- I didn't know you still read after taking on that fetching assistant. And we know she is out of town.

Very common problem. The escapement lever is permanently up. Try Ziggy on that one.

Easy, I got mine along with the Aquatimer from Angus. And by the way I heard from Ziggy that it relumes better than the original rep dial as the lume "dots" are flat so you can shovel it on better.

It's a matter of honor. Hey, what was the original question?

While we are at it, I know that the 44mm bracelet tapers from 24 to 22. Does the gen bracelet on the 40mm taper down from 22 to 20? I know Michael always has one for sale but it is 90 degrees and I am lazy today.

No I know he hasn't lost anything. I am just having a heck of a time getting him to do anything. We gotta get him his girlfriend back. Here is a profundity - chicks suck. Especially when they get in the way of our rep collecting. Oops, bad analogy. That is actually a good thing.

Sss- Do white things look bigger than black ones? Just don't tell our significant others. Oh yeah, back to the topic at hand, Pug's idea is a good one. By a cheapie and see whether you like it.

I got mine. What did you do with yours?

Very easy to get to the crystal. If you are going to collect more than 1 or 2 PAM's. I would recommend picking up a dedicated aluminum case back opener from one of the dealers. I have no skills and with that one even I can get it off without scratching the back.

I have the Jetmid T-shirt from the original California GTG. I wasn't there but E from RWG I was nice enough to send one. I would definitely get one of these too. Now can anyone with a straight face say they have worn their Jetmid? By the way, glad to see the loop is still open.

Start with 40mm PAM 50 or 51 or one of the 42mm Radiomir chronos. See how they fit. Next thing you know 47mm.

TT- Kick ass strap. Is it comfy on the wrist? D- I thought you were nuts when you did that one but it is stunning. By the way PVD looks great within the realm of PVD (you know what I mean). I am guessing TiAln?

I put the same color croc on the watch and it really brings out the dial.

Why thank you TT. You don't suppose a couple of gen crowns might spruce them up? By the way if you have a pick with the gabo on it please put it up. I love those straps.

I am going to pile in on YM's review as I got mine a few days ago. It is an incredible rep of a $7,000 watch. The minute I got it I marched into Tourneau and compared it with gen IWC's including standard Aquatimer and the new ti Cousteau ,. This one is incredibly close and the weight and feel is excellent. I have to second YM's comment that it is far and away the best rubber strap I have ever seen on a rep. Frankly it is better than my gen PAM, and Breitling Rubber straps. The concern on the line-up on the numbers on the inner bezel relative to the dots is unfounded. The inner mechanism is exactly comparable as the one on the new gen Ti Cousteau. The caseback although not perfect is damn good. The new 7750 movement has been running for sseveral days now is keeping COSC time. And by the way within 3 days my day date wheels appeared to have settled in to reasonably good alignment. Anyone who doesn't think this is a great rep just doesn't get it. For $400, if you like IWC's, there is no other rep I would buy which is currently out. In my case, it is a long term keeper so I will swap out the movement, have Ziggy re-lume and swap the day date wheels for standard ETA (very close to standard IWC date font). I will be into it for approximately $700 and for 10% of the cost of the gen I will have a fabulous rep. In fairness, I did not have any QC issues so I can't comment on that. Thanks again to Angus.

Ziggy did it on mine but it depends which version of the 188 you bought. If you got it new from one of the dealers it mostl likely has the improved dial with thicker hour font. It may not need it. Mine is one of the first gen with better case but crappier dial. In fact I just received the new dial to put in mine a couple of days ago. On the Pandas the matte spray is a must as it dulls down the sub-dials on both versions to make it much closer to gen prototype.

Looking very nice. I am planning on getting all of mine together in the next 2-3 months. It is a fun addiction though.

F- Looks fabulous. Wear it well. I am loving every second of mine.

If it is PVD on the reps it is more durable than the PVD on gens. That is part of the problem. The cold process would make sense as it is more durable. But as other people have said the coloring can vary dramatically. Here are two crowns which both have PVD with dramatically different results. And they ain't our typical rep crowns.

Wear it well.