cougar1

Great pic! So cool!

Hope so too asf, I'm was contemplating selling gen PO 2500 to get one, just can't quite get around the cost though, as I got the old gen cheap. Hopefully with the new rep, they get the dial features (raised numbers/logos etc) as above on proper matte dial with superlume for the ceramic, open caseback with some good geneve waves on the rotor at least, and somehow tackle the matte ceramic bezel right. It then should be interesting and wearable, as long as it doesn't cost $600+.

Yep it's the one from Hont, not sure these particular ones will sell well, everybody waiting for the new ceramic PO, shouldn't be too much longer for those hopefully, they are overdue at this stage. It should be good...well it better be

Just a quick few pics for any (few) PO old LM admirers. I saw this rep and was interested in picking it up because the dial looked very interesting. It's a copy of the now old PO LM 2500 caliber, not the new ceramics or new LMs but still interesting. It's lovely and slightly different than the PO 5th gen in the 5th gen caseset. It definitely needs some mods, but the dial is spectacular, which is really what I bought it for. Slightly glossy (the gen was very glossy) deep black laquered with great cut to logos and markers. The red seamaster lettering is cool. It has blue lume but not superlume, definitely needs a relume. The crystal has no AR so needs an AR job. The bezel isn't bad, but I don't like ceramic type bezels anyway (too shiny) and plan on replacing it with a 5thgen/modded/gen or similar. The pearl is dead centre on these (oh the irony!) but is awful, I'm sure a mod would make it much better if you don't like the idea of standard black bezel. Altogether with a blue relume of hands/dial, AR'd crystal, eta dw and bezel mod it will be an outstanding custom rep/franken/whatever?. For most people it is probably better to wait for the new PO ceramic reps, but the old PO LM has always interested me, the dial features more than the LM bezel even. Before people go "where is the open caseback?" etc ....again it is not the new PO ceramic rep! It is an mismash of the 5th gen case made to look like the old (first) Liquid Metal pictured below:

Right, that looks too good to miss out on, especially if the are getting rarer? Name that dealer please?

So does that mean those rare genensteins are worth more on the rep market now?

+1? Great QC pics, how it should be done!

Exactly spoonfed, the 2892 is an accurate copy, the 2824 seems to be a hack job from another factory...avoid that one.

It's probably not a bad strap, I seriously haven't broken mine in enough yet to fully get a proper feel for it, it's definitely comfortable, feels very good on the wrist, must wear my mark xvi a bit more often I also tried some peterwatch.cc straps recently and they seem outstanding for the price, can't comment too much on comfort as they will take a while to break in (quite rigid) but the graining is amazing.

Good stuff Rolexman, there is serious need for more quality AR options for the rep community!

Very nice collection Wimpie. Friggen hell how do you get round to wearing them all?, I once tried to have a collection that size, I managed to get to less than half your collection size and then realised in my case I was loosing the plot and needed to cut it down.

You could try to attempt a fix yourself, it may need new dw or if damaged parts the dw parts mechanism parts of the movement may need changing, as andy says take costs into account, might be just worth buying the 5th genPO in the end. If you like the watch though, the clone movements are cheap enough on ebay for a whole swap out.

Same watch, the dearer one has gen croc strap and antimagnetic cover, if these are important then go with the dearer version. Tbh it isn't worth the extra, who needs an AM cover and the gen croc strap is a little better but leaves a bit to be desired. I don't think the 3317 is a better rep, its a nice watch however. You should also consider the new ingenieur vintage laureus which should be out soon (month or so, hopefully!)

Definitely the mark xvi and spitfire are great reps, they look pretty damn close to gen all things considered, the dw can be a bit weak looking on the rep but still great out of the box. The new portofino is a very good rep also. The new JLC Navy Seals diver is a cracking rep as is the AP diver V3. The PO ultimate you can't go too far wrong with, well priced and a great wearer, it needs some mods to compete next to a gen (crystal and dial/lume) but as long as you don't compare side by side with a mates gen then nobody would notice the difference. Also consider the TC subs, you may not be into rolex but they are great very accurate watches for the money. Also the explorers I and II> You may also want to look at the Tag aquaracer 500m which is superb and also Breitling abyss/steelfish models...all superb reps! That lot should hopefully keep you going for a while, I'm sure there's plenty of others i forgot, I left out the pams and a7750s

Good info Pete, thanks for adding, hope Domi gets the go ahead for these new AR, we are in bad need of more AR'ers at the moment. Also cheers, fixen, forgot about Wiz, if he starts adding it aswell we will suddenly have loads of options.

...and lume Still they are a lovely rep though!

Yep absolutely, they are great reps for the price, if they were released now I'd say people would be crying out for superlume and clear ar, but then again, they'd end up dearer if those were added, at the price point they can be got at they are a great everyday wearer. Looking back at it since they came out; under $200 for an a2824 with full franken options is really a great bargain, hard to beat, these have been a great seller for a while now and probably will continue to be even after the newer ones are repped. That's a good example!

I dunno tbh, great rep no doubt, and the crystal definitely creates a big difference even from a distance, no doubt, but the lume on the gen dial is just so prominent, maybe not noticeable uncharged from a distance but as soon as the gen dial starts taking in light the differences in dials becomes very apparent. The gen dial is very noticeable when it has a small charge, even 1 mins outdoors on a sunny day and then walk indoors and it is ultra brite, the rep out of the box glows a bit, but not even quarter of gen dial brightness. Other than that the other 'tells' cant be picked up until the watch is in hand!

Congrats jeffers, it's a great gen to have, you're like me with PO's coming out my ears, I really have to cut them down a bit.

Great review Importr, finally a thorough review covering everything, its a superb looking watch, goes to top of the shortlist!

You got a good one denimhead, cracking dial and bezel. They definitely nailed that one. Some of the initial ones 1 out of every 2 or 3 had really shoddy triangle bezel lume, ...and I'm not a significant nitpicker with reps, but it looked like it was applied by a 5 year old child, which was a shame because the dials were amazingly well done. They are tiding them up! Enjoy!

Fantastic comparison, thanks for the review, great detailed pics also. V3 is not perfect but some very notable improvements.

Haven't been there in years but I did notice the last time I visited canal st in 08 it was pretty poor then, can only assume it got worse since then. Much better available on the forums, too much messing around with this hush, hush and cloak and dagger stuff to see anything worthwhile on the streets/markets anyway.

I'm not really paying attention to the watch...what is it? Who is she anyway? ....Christ, she can open that mouth wide enough, I'll give her that Edit: Ah now I see it, god damn she has lost weight! She can still open that mouth wide enough though! Hmmm!

Interesting read from TC about the mishap with the end portion requiring some shaving, not the end of the world, still quite happy with the V2. Not sure this V3 worked out exactly as hoped when it requires mods out of the box but fair play for TC for keeping us informed and being honest. Also at the current prices he is offering these with other versions combined, its a tempting buy. Edit, just seeing your pics now masters, the stampings look very very good.