Watchmeister

That was where I picked it up.

Very nice find. That is what slowed me down from building mine. Can't wait to see the results. Will the date wheels fit the ETA movement?

There you go. Josh is giving the right response to an honest mistake. And if you are wondering how it happens dealers often immediately print out a shipping label as their form of order control. If someone slaps the wrong shipping order on a box it doesn't mean you weren't getting what they showed you. And there is never anything wrong with revealing the dealer. Everyone is entitled to a mistake. It is whether and how they rectify it.

Crown looks good to me. CG's look odd. What do folks think of the dial?

I don't know that watch but assuming it is lume that sounds about right. It will still glow after several hours, the glow is a fraction of what it was in the first 15-30 minutes but it would certainly be readable in the dark for several hours. As for the reps it is a function of the quality of the lume. The 15-16 hours and still bright is not possible with lume though.

Exactly.

I agree. Looks like a real mishmash. But I look forward to other expert opinions.

The other issue which some folks care about and others don't is the clear caseback - that ain't no AP movement.

Wait for an expert to weigh in before you kill it. There may have been two versions. Although for me the new version lost interest the minute I learned that the bezel was the incorrect material. If you can't get the basic case material correct - what is the point. But that is my pet peeve.

No I am not a shill for the magazine. But I just came back from vacation and had the opportunity to actually read the latest Revolution issue. For those who are interested it profiles the top 10 folks in the watch industry over the years - including Hayek, Stern, Biver, etc. If you take the time to read through the various profiles it is a great way to piece together the renaissance of mechanical watches post the quartz era and who did what to whom as the great watch names and movement companies consolidated. There are also a couple of interesting articles including one on Panerai and their early leadership in the use of alternate materials and coatings but I found the issue particularly interesting from a historical perspective.

I always vote for the Gummy croc for Hublots if it is available. It dresses up the watch and no one expects you to swim or shower in a croc strap. And although I don't own it I do know that it uses a titanium bezel rather than tungsten on the gen. The other thing I recall is that the Ice Bang did not come with the newer movement but that may have changed. Obviously wait for someone who owns one to chime in as well. I haven't bought a Hublot since V1.

Jkay has it exactly right. Can you read the watch in total darkness after 7-8 hours - yes. Is it glowing like a torch - heck no. You will be surprised at how quickly the brightness tones down. I have always found it interesting that the brightness and length of glow can vary dramatically based on the color of the lume. It is not an accident that Panerai initially stuck with C3.

Revolution had an article in their most recent about Jay Z and his watch history. The claim is that Hublot had been pursuing him and Jay Z used that to pass off the spokesperson title at AP to his buddy LeBron. They are partners in a big charity.There is another pic in the watch magazine of him wearing a Richard Mille among others. So I think he bounces around like a number of the ballers to various watches. Usher has been wearing a bunch of different stuff as well. He has been sporting Panerai lately.

You clearly haven't seen the prices. A number of folks do buys select items like cases or dials for very high prices and for specific reasons like completing a grail high end franken, On the complete watches not only are they expensive but they can be very iffy. More than one person has spent $3-4k for a franken only to find that the movement is not attached to the case or it is so worn that it is a ticking time bomb.

So do I but I'm just saying...

They can write whatever they want to write. I can tell you as an owner of a number of gens and C3 relumes by Ziggy there is no difference. And in truth there is a higher grade of lume which Panerai doesn't use which glows better and longer.

I have nothing substantive to add but is this the model which should be ceramic but the rep is actually DLC'ed?

Teejay- I am in full agreement that people have to take responsibility for their purchases and using common sense as to when to post pics as a sanity check. But I gotta say that I am nevertheless thankful for QC pics.

I actually subscribe to the theory that the Chinese factories will take a rep to whatever level makes the most sense economically. The best thing that ever happened to the rep industry was the factories catching on to the fact that a 1:1 can sell at a premium. And no I don't think the reps of the better watches will ever hold a candle to the gens. They may for our purposes but the quality of the materials, the machinery and its tolerances and the trained personnel using those materials will not be the same. You can make a rep pretty damn good but no one should kid themselves. All you have to do is go look at any gen eta based movement (other than the piece of crap PAM 318) and the amount of rework done to the movement. We may be able to improve a rep so that for our purposes it is equivalent but it ain't.

Great shots. And with Jay Z becoming their spokesperson we may just see a few in the real world. But you gotta go with gold. I am actually torn on this one. It is cool but just too reminiscent of the MDM and other older models. By the way, if you are interested there is an article on the founder in the latest Revolution.

I suspect both points of view are true. Someone may well take a stab at another Navi but it probably won't be up to snuff. I am convinced that there are only a finite number of factories making high end stuff and the new models only come out when the factories want to do it. My real fear is the new Navi's come from a lower end factory. I suspect the factories who actually invest in the little developments may not be convinced that the Navi's will have enough demand to sell thousands because that us what it takes to get a decent factory to do any development work.

I have owned a strap or two from Peter. They are high quality. On the crocs those are the OEM's I love to buy second hand. They have a nice patina and don't get as beaten up as leather.

+1

Life in the IWC rep world is going to get a lot harder if they have in fact moved to an in house movement. I do like that latest top gun version.

PAM's can certainly be made to be relatively waterproof. I too swim with them but never before I have them checked out. Your rep may be fine out of the box but you will never know until you find out the hard way. Virtually all of the PAM's are swimmable provided they are properly greased and sealed. You just have no idea what kind of shape your watch is in when it comes from the dealer.I can tell you I have been surprised more than once by watches that are and aren't waterproof.