Mitton Mar

I have it on good authority they 'they' are 'reps', but not the correct size. Unlike the TG which is of course the correct size....

Very nice and must say good pics too.

Z3Ko - Really liked your strap, and was a bit bored by the nylon one mine came with, don't have your contacts so: Took an old (battered and well used) leather 3717 strap I had kicking about in my parts drawer. Got me some red saddle thread and some leather needles: Careful putting it on: Has The IWC Buckle: It's better than the nylon I think. Still has some wax on the inside which will scrape off after a few days. First go at doing this, amazed how little time it took - about forty minutes from start to finish: Only trouble is - last night I let Mademoiselle Mitton (my better half) try it on and I think It is going to be nicked... Anyway thanks for the inspiration!

That is quite funny but not rare - an ignorant racist. IIII is absolutely fine, as any ten year old should know.

Not a rep, but appropriate?!

Seems appropriate:

That's very peculiar indeed, your seeing those rings that are on the V2 on a gen in an AD, because I went to an AD on Sunday afternoon where I tried on the gen and I looked very closely at the subdials and in absolutely excellent lighting conditions I could see no rings on the gen I tried on - none, right enough I AM A BIT BLIND (maybe I should get new glasses) and perhaps the one I tried on was V1 Gen and the one in your local AD is a V2 Gen? Possible I suppose?! But it seems that I am wrong, totally, and do need new glasses. As this is a Detail from a Jap Watch Site showing the rings clearly on a GEN : One small detail that is different (on the gen I tried on - not saying it is on all gens...) as can be seen above....is that that the middle pins on the subdial and main hand holders of the gen are silver(ish) coloured rather than brassy coloured like both V1 and V2, this is similar to the old IWC3717 problem of having dark coloured tipped pins as opposed to the gen's gold hued pins. These are very minor differences of course which can be ignored, biggest tells are (to me) the poor side engraving on the V1 Rep and the wrong colour crown on the V2, being markedly too dark. Interestin' stuff, great model this V1 or 2

Great review! I've been hanging around RWG waiting to see this. I do like the photographs. Thanks for sharing, the engraving is better on V2 as is the strap, and to these eyes the dial overall on V1 is better, but there are faults on both maker's efforts. One thing though, I am a little surprised about your comments about the Concentric Rings (which look like they have been lifted from a Moonwatch) on the subdials, as detailed in your pics: Should they be there at all? I say that because from evverything I've seen Genuine Watch does not appear to have any concentric rings, here's a couple of pretty detailed pair of pics of two different gens: I dunno if that's a fair comment, as to the naked eye the rings on V2 will be invisible, but thought I'd mention it. Well, at least we'll know in the future which one is which on the sales boards. Thanks for sharing again. Mitton

RG visitor here: Are you trying to give us an inferiority complex? Great Post, thanks for re-posting. Great pics as well. Q - How long have you been modding? Coz this seems a lot beyond what I would attempt. EVER

Thanks Chris, well answered, I've always recommended you to others and I always check your site when I am 'shopping'... Good Luck.

Am I wrong or has there been a serious hike in your pricing? Just lookin' at various models at random it seems prices have gone up at $30 to $40 and for the same models as others offer. With the present climate and the recent problems I don't really get that. Correct me if I am wrong.

I've got a rep and a gen: Here''s a few comparison shots I did a while back. In the above foto you see my gen has SWISS and not SWISS MADE, that's because it is an older gen. As you can see the rep is not fantastically accurate and has used a SD case, the movement is a weird one as well it's a ETA 2783 which keeps PERFECT time. BTW I know about the movement now... I do not know about the ones on offer from the links above, but the rep I have, inaccurate as it is, is a great watch and to tell you the truth no one has ever been knowledgeable enough to tell when I am wearing the rep or the gen. I only bought the gen because I can't wear reps at work, and I did want a gen Rolex to fill out my gen collection. If you like this model, my advice would be to go for a rep, see if it suits you then buy a second-hand gen, the new ones are wildly expensive, I got mine for about half what a new one costs.

You do have a point, .... in the land of the blind .... though this is informative this post, I'd never seen the reversed thing before so it is interesting.

Hi Eddhead, I do appreciate your level-headed and eloquent reply, and believe me I do empathise with any suffering that may be reported in the article, it has hit a nerve with you, and I will not argue further on the point that it is not just China - you appear to accept that as I accept that you are only bringing this up in this forum because you feel it is directly related to this rep hobby. I do hope, however, that you may empathise with someone who is heartily sick of China being continually depicted in a negative light, while the great things that China is doing are all but ignored, I've seen this for years and I feel, with some justification that such coverage such as the NYT article is indeed negative propaganda which is never counter-balanced by an equal amount of coverage on the massive strides that China has taken in improving their people' lives. There are gullible people out there who do not think for themselves and swallow this nonsense, you, it appears are not among them. Personally, the thing that bothers me more is the FAKE trade in general. I recently watched a National Geographic (PBS) programme from the states which was shocking and another equally disturbing programme from the UK's Channel 4, it's not just watches, trainers and fake handbags and it's not just China, it's medicines, car parts, wine, foodstuffs, electronics and even spare parts for planes - that, more than reports of bonded slaves working in Chinese factories has made me ponder on this rep thing.... that is much more distressing, because it is growing, worldwide. Take care Mitton

Hi eddhead, I am not attacking you personally I am pointing out that you appear to me to be insular, I have read the article and your comments very carefully and I while it is a pity, regrettable and in a perfect world it would not happen, the fact is that is the way the world works - not just China. I object EVER SO STRONGLY to western media criticising China without any thought of balancing the argument by pointing out the absolute FACT that children and adults in so-called civilised nations such as the UK, in Europe, and the USA are kidnapped and sold into forced labour every day of the week. You don't seem to be posting about that or mentioning it either? Why post about a report from China? Just GOOGLE stories about the sex-trade in the UK where thousands of Eastern European children have been sold to brothels here over the last few years, or the hundreds of cases of immigrants coming into Europe have to pay-off their 'fare' by working for "gangmasters". In the USA it happens as well - with sex trade workers and agricultural workers as well as tens of thousands of illegal immigrants working for unscrupulous bosses in every branch of the economy. If you do not think this is true, or choose to think this only happens in China, Africa or India think again. The report was badly written, poorly researched and REEKS of some other anti-Chinese agenda. Please note that I have been to China over twenty times in the last ten years and I am not so naive as to think that the 'socially-audited' factories are the only ones whose goods who end up on Western shelves. But I have seen a massive rise in both living standards and indeed in social conditions, believe me, China is tackling social problems, but they have 1.1 billion people to feed and it is a slow process there will be horror stories for years to come, but you have to look at the bigger picture. You should support the efforts of the Chinese people, not swallow the propoganda you read in the NY Times. I know you will not agree with me, but please do think about the relevance of this ONE article and the complete omission of a balanced view.