I've been wearing Rolexes, Breitlings and Omegas for 20yrs and I've never had anyone make a comment about one of my watches. None of my friends or family care about watches or jewelry in the least.
I've had three ETA SOSF reps (two from Silix) and all three of them have the "little box" in the proper location. I've held them side by side with my '06 gen and you'd need a 10x loupe to notice any difference in the second hands....other than the color of the tip, which is a bit brighter on my gen. There are quite a few other details that are much more obvious...such as the color/quality of the lume dots. Put the rep next to a gen SOSF and the second hand will be the last difference you notice.
If that little detail bothers you so much, then I doubt any rep will make you happy.
Very nice! All my gen Omegas wear stainless or NATO straps since they are heavily used/abused, but that croc looks very classy with formal attire. I'm impressed!
I've purchased several genuine Breitlings and Omegas from him, so I don't think he knows or cares. I certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to advertise the fact.
Yes, the gen SS bracelet is much nicer than the rep. Better finishing all around...much smoother and no sharp edges. But even a gen Breitling bracelet feels like crap compared to an Omega.
My AD sells the rubber strap for $135 if it has it in stock...or $170 if he has to order it. Don't understand the logic there.
However, after trying leather and rubber, I decided to put leather on my everyday SOSF and left SS on my gen. If I used it for diving, I'd probably get a rubber strap.
On the gen, the tip of the second hand reaches the middle of the "double ring" around the outside of the dial. I have three SOSF reps (two from Silix, one from another dealer...all three Swiss ETA) and the tips of the second hands reach the same point on the dial.
I've had the blue rep side-by-side with the blue gen and they were virtually identical. Both of them look different depending on the lighting...changing from a very deep, dark indigo to an almost cobalt blue.