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1st Time Rep Buyer...


vinhle37

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Hello Everyone,

This is my first post on any watch forum and I've been a registered member at a few forums for quite some time now. However, I haven't posted any topics due to the fact that I'm just a "newb" in the rep watch world and would rather remain in the dark and just do as much reading as my time permits. Moreover, I've always been fascinated by all of the reps available to the community, thanks to all of the watch dealers, but I am still not an owner any of them. This will soon change though, because I have finally decided to purchase a few reps to begin my watch collecting journey.

I've been wanting to get a Breitling Navitimer (Black or White face) on a leather strap, an orange bezel 42.5 or 45mm Planet Ocean, or a PAM 111 (still don't know the difference between 111H, 111G, etc...). These are all sport or casual watches. As a little side info, I'm currently 21 years old and am attending college (business school). My wrist is around 6.7"... which watch would suit me best considering my age and wrist size. Also can I wear these watches with a suit?

Another set of questions that I have, is in regards to my older brother. He currently owns a gen AP Royal Oak gen Datejust and gen Daytona. However, he wants a new dress watch to wear for work so we went to Tourneau and he was strongly considering getting a Patek Philippe (not sure which model). I then proceeded to telling him about rep watchs and all of these forums... he got all excited and told me to purchase him a few reps instead. My question is which Patek Philippe rep should I purchase for him. I showed him this watch and he fell in love with it but, is it a reliable and worthwhile watch? FYI, he meets with a lot of people on a daily basis and most of them are fairly wealthly.

Patek 18K White Gold Chronograph

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v646/jos...8KWG%20Lemania/

The other watch that he wants to get is the IWC GST Stainless Steel ( tried to convince him to get the TI but he likes the stainless steel more)

I'm sorry that this post is so long... but any help that I can get would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

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Hi there,

Just quickly want to reassure you about a couple of things. I have both an orange PO (42mm) and a PAM 112h (very similar to the 111 but without the seconds dial) - the h series have a sandwich dial whilst the g has a flat dial. Have a look at pictures side by side and you'll see the difference if you look at the numbers. Anyway, I wear both with casual clothes and with suits and they look great with either. Can't comment on the Breitling as I don't have one (and I don't want one :D ).

With regards to the higher end watches I'm probably not the best person to ask. I'm not fabulously wealthy so would draw too much attention if I suddenly turned up wearing a 20k watch - up to 4k or 5k is not unreasonable. Hence I've never really investigated their accuracy. However your brother sounds like he's got the cash so would be worth investigating these higher end watches.

Hope this helps a little!

Good luck with your purchase - and by the way, I have similar size wrists and have no problems with the larger Panerai's!

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Thanks for quick reply.

I just pulled up the 111h and g pictures from trustytimes website and ..... :p .... sadly I couldn't spot the difference at first but after staring at the two watches for a while, I finally noticed that the 111h has a dial made up of two different plates... is that correct? :g: Is one better than the other? or is it just preference? Does the gen have a sandwich dial or a flat dial?

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Thanks for quick reply.

I just pulled up the 111h and g pictures from trustytimes website and ..... :p .... sadly I couldn't spot the difference at first but after staring at the two watches for a while, I finally noticed that the 111h has a dial made up of two different plates... is that correct? :g: Is one better than the other? or is it just preference? Does the gen have a sandwich dial or a flat dial?

The 111h has what you describe as two different plates, this is called sandwich dial. Also note that under 6 is L SWISS MADE L

The 111g has a "sausage dial" written on a single plate. Under 6 is L SWISS L

The movements look completely different from each other.

Can't say that one is better than the other. It's just a matter of looks.

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The 111h has what you describe as two different plates, this is called sandwich dial. Also note that under 6 is L SWISS MADE L

The 111g has a "sausage dial" written on a single plate. Under 6 is L SWISS L

The movements look completely different from each other.

Can't say that one is better than the other. It's just a matter of looks.

Fitmic speaks the truth! It's all down to personal preference. Me, I like the sandwich dials, and a clean simple look in my Pams so went for the 112h.

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Unfortunately, there are not many good Patek options available.

In the end, I went with EL's Patek 3919 and put an OEM strap and buckle on it. It looks beautiful but it still needs anti-reflective caoating on the underside of the crystal and some nice and thick gold plating.

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Unfortunately, there are not many good Patek options available.

In the end, I went with EL's Patek 3919 and put an OEM strap and buckle on it. It looks beautiful but it still needs anti-reflective caoating on the underside of the crystal and some nice and thick gold plating.

I wonder why this is? I love Patek watches but I haven't found a decent rep. This is a high horology brand that does have some cross over awareness with the general public so it's not in the same catagory with other small premium brands. You would think there would be a market for high fidelity reps of their more well known models. I wish the manufactures would stop putting display casebacks on them to show off ETA movements when a closed caseback with accurate markings would be much more convincing. I'm afraid to buy a manual wind with a plated crown because of the wear issues. I cant find a manual that isn't WG, YG or RG plated. Something simple with a good quality movement in stainless would be wonderful but so far, no luck.

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I wonder why this is? I love Patek watches but I haven't found a decent rep. This is a high horology brand that does have some cross over awareness with the general public so it's not in the same catagory with other small premium brands. You would think there would be a market for high fidelity reps of their more well known models. I wish the manufactures would stop putting display casebacks on them to show off ETA movements when a closed caseback with accurate markings would be much more convincing. I'm afraid to buy a manual wind with a plated crown because of the wear issues. I cant find a manual that isn't WG, YG or RG plated. Something simple with a good quality movement in stainless would be wonderful but so far, no luck.

Does the gold plating fall off easily? Also have you ever been called out on your Patek watch? Is the quality decent at least or does it just feel like a cheap asian replica.

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The existing plating has been fine so far and with it being a dress watch, I do not expect any problems. However, to me and from what it sounds like with your brother, it would probably be worth the extra expense to get more gold put on for peace of mind when meeting with clientele.

I've never been called out on it and have made good friends with my local Patek AD (how I got the buckle, strap, selvyt cloth, Patek magazines etc).

I think the quality is nice but keep in mind I have put a lot of money into it and without it being solid gold, it is not heavy like a genuine. So I would never take it off, of course.

That is about all I feel comfortable saying because I am about to be forced to sell it and I do not want to seem as a cheerleader trying to sell my watch.

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I should also say when wearing it in an AD, I always only let it peak out from beneath my shirt cuff. I want them to get a glimpse of it but I'm not looking to let them pick it apart :D

Good luck with your search!

Thanks for input.

Now on to my the watches that I would like to purchase for myself (keep in mind i'm still fairly young), which watch would suit me best. 111h, 113, or Breitling Navitimer. I love the looks of watches on leather straps and i think that all of these watches will look great on leather straps. Anyways, for my age... which one would you guys choose. Thanks! :D

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