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After 5 years of collecting, I have purchased some 15 reps. I must honestly say that I do not believe the rep factories use the steel quality they claim they use (mostly 316L, also referred to as surgical steel). This issue has been discussed before, but after the rep factories started with the 316F a while back, I feel the discussion is still very present. The resistance to scratches and wear and tear of 316L is not very high, but still not too bad. Rolex uses 904 steel, a harder alloy, but much more expensive. It is also harder to work with, thus they must spend more time when making the finish (polishing, or brushing). So I own a GEN SOSF (Breitling SuperOcean Steelfish, for those that are not acustomed to the board jargon) A17390. This is a watch made of 316L steel, brushed/satin finished, with some parts polished. The bracelet is all brushed/satin finished. I also own the rep of this model. The first signs of wear and tear of the rep bracelet started showing after quite a short time. No abusive use or rough handing what-so-ever, it just started to show signs of wear and tear almost by just beeing weared. Marks and scratches that make it look cheap. I cannot say the same has happened to the GEN bracelet. It shows almost no signs of wear and tear, expect some minor scratches on the clasp. I also own a few full polished reps (PAM359, Super Avenger). They scratch very easily. Even when I clean them with the softest of the soft cloths (i.e. non-reusable wet cloths used to clean LCD screens and plastic lenses), they scratch. The SA bracelet in full sunshine looks almost like a map of the Chile Nasca-lines! I am under the impression that most of the reps we buy today, are made of softer steel alloys. Thus the finish of these reps are very little resistant to daily wear and tear, and quickly show signs of less favourable appearance. Of course, on polished surfaces, it is possible to refinish the surface with cape cod or similar, but for those polished bezels, it is sometimes hard to reach all the small angles and avoid polishing hear the AR coated crystals. As most of you know, one does not want to touch the AR coating with a cape cod, if one does not have the intension of removing the AR! If some of you have good tips on how to clean polished surfaces without scratching, please let me know. I only know one method, that involves cleaning with soap and water, that is not something I want to try with my not-so-waterproof reps. But with the GEN SOSF with 2000m/6600ft waterresistance rating, that is a whole different story.