Yet another "I just received my UPO" thread

[cbrendan]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum, and this is my first rep purchase, but after spending weeks reading every bit of info i could find, i finally bit the bullet last week and ordered a 45mm UPO (with swiss ETA) from Mary (watch-international).

It was posted on Friday and arrived to me in Melbourne, Australia today (Tuesday) and after only just having finished unwrapping it, i must say i'm blown away by the quality of this replica!

My father is a watchmaker by trade and strongly advised against the purchase of a rep after his dealings with the cheap and nasty reps people bring back from holidays to bali or thailand etc. But i have a feeling he will be VERY impressed with my UPO.

But enough talk, onto the pics! (along with a size comparison with my old Tag Formula 1)

And may i just add how ridiculously hard it is to take decent shots of watches! My Panasonic LX3, which i thought was a decent camera really struggled! (or maybe it was the photographer not the tool that was lacking!)

Edited August 11, 2010 by cbrendan

[cbrendan]

Ok, I've had it on for an hour or so now.

Really happy that i went for the 45mm, the initial size shock has worn off already and it feels like the perfect size.

My only complaint is the pearl location, it would have been nice to have it a little more centered, but a very small complaint in the scheme of things.

Edited August 11, 2010 by cbrendan

[Furu]

Great, the UPO is something special, my first rep. Right now i'm actually awaiting my ss-bracelet, after using it with rubber for a month i wanted to try the bracelet.

Congratz on a very nice rep

[FxrAndy]

Welcome to RWG

I would be interested to hear your fathers thoughts on the UPO, That is if he does not work for Omega I personally find the quality of many reps fantastic when you look at the difference in price to the genuine, some times you really do get 99% of the gen for 10% of the price.

[cbrendan]

Welcome to RWG

I would be interested to hear your fathers thoughts on the UPO, That is if he does not work for Omega I personally find the quality of many reps fantastic when you look at the difference in price to the genuine, some times you really do get 99% of the gen for 10% of the price.

I just showed my father, and got his help to remove 3 links.

His immediate reaction was how impressive it was, and his first words were "You certainly shouldn't be telling anyone its not real, because you will fool a lot of people with that!"

His opinion of it dropped a little when trying to remove the links, it was a bit of a struggle hammering the pins back in, and he was telling me when he usually fixed omega they slid in almost effortlessly, but this didn't seem to have the same precision, and was accordingly a bit difficult. But again he acknowledged the huge price difference and said it was a very small issue in the scheme of things.

He confirmed the movement was genuine Swiss ETA, and after hearing horror stories of filthy old movements i was relieved to have him tell me it didn't need a service.

Is he converted to the ways of the rep watch. No.

Is he thoroughly impressed at the huge leap in quality between the the reps he usually comes across my UPO. Without a doubt!

He went from shaking his head when i told him i'd ordered a gen, to giving the approving nod and saying how i'd done really well for myself after checking it out.

So quite a success i think.

[FxrAndy]

The pin issue is one but Gens POs can also be pretty hard as well. It looks like you will have a happy rep life with a watch maker close by, you will need him from time to time, but as he is impressed then i wont be hard to get his help.

[cbrendan]

He went from shaking his head when i told him i'd ordered a gen, to giving the approving nod and saying how i'd done really well for myself after checking it out.

I'm unable to edit my post, but for the sake of making sense, this should read "He went from shaking his head when i told him i'd ordered a rep" not "ordered a gen"

[FxrAndy]

I wonder if he would have realized it was a rep with out taking the case back off, if you know what to look for it is not hard to spot but if you are not expecting a rep then you would maybe not think it was.

[Guest tolis]

the UPO its great replica!!!!!!!the best of the best!and swiss eta real!!!!!from mary!!!!!!!!!!!i have mine 4 months and works great!!!!!!!

[andyc2]

the UPO its great replica!!!!!!!the best of the best!and swiss eta real!!!!!from mary!!!!!!!!!!!i have mine 4 months and works great!!!!!!!

Whilst CBrendan might not have to service his new UPO for a while, maybe you should consider a service for your keyboard? The exclamation mark key is obviously sticking.

[Jkay]

The UPO pearl sits low in the triangle. It's not supposed to be centered.

[cbrendan]

The UPO pearl sits low in the triangle. It's not supposed to be centered.

Thanks mate,

I've checked the gen pics, and i don't think the pics i've taken do it 100% justice, but the pearl on mine is at the right height in the triangle, just too far across to the left.

But again, not a big deal, and certainly not worth spending more than i spent on the whole watch, on a gen replacement bezel.

[landwomble]

I've a Narikaa 45mm which I'm pretty pleased with. How are these in comparison - gen Swiss ETA? Nice! What sort of price differential are we looking at?

Edited August 11, 2010 by landwomble

[Jkay]

Narikaa sells the best "value" versions of the Planet Ocean. They are very reasonably priced.

The UPO (45mm) and the PO v4 (42mm) are the current best reps of the Planet Ocean. They accept genuine parts. Replace anything you want with purchased GEN parts and they fit right in. You can make the perfect Franken Planet Ocean.

They are twice the price of the POrikaas (at the least)

[Furu]

Just spotted a few irritating details sitting here looking at old UPO reviews, gen pics and my own UPO.

We seems to have the same version and there are some small differences from (probably) earlier UPO:s.

- No bevel around the date window. (argh!!!)

- Our font for the 6, 9 and 12's is lacking the small, small serifs.

- Still happy feets of cause.

I've also realised that my crystal is a bit tilted in it's position, ever so little.

[Jkay]

It sounds like you need to have your dad drop in a genuine dial. See Cousins UK parts store.

Some people stare at their reps, looking for small problems and become more and more panicked. If you are that kind of buyer, you might want to stick with genuine watches for the sake of your own mental health.

[plaifender]

Narikaa sells the best "value" versions of the Planet Ocean. They are very reasonably priced.

The UPO (45mm) and the PO v4 (42mm) are the current best reps of the Planet Ocean. They accept genuine parts. Replace anything you want with purchased GEN parts and they fit right in. You can make the perfect Franken Planet Ocean.

They are twice the price of the POrikaas (at the least)

+1!! The UPO is the best watch to modify hands down. Parts are easy to find and 95% of parts fit perfectly. The only downside is that by the time all franken parts have been bought and installed.. you could have bought a genuine for just a few hundred dollars more.

Everything but the Bezel is interchangeable. The bezel insert is possible with some filing/sanding.. but the bezel itself won't fit without some machining...

Bottomline. You've got the best of the best, one thing you will HAVE to get changed eventually is the crown and crown tube. It seems that 85% of all UPO's i hear of end up getting stripped crowns/crown tubes. My watch crown stripped a couple of months ago. I'm waiting for a gen crystal to arrive next week.. and will be changing everything all at once. If ou got any Cbrendan.. don't hesitate to shout a holler to me or anyone of us here on the forum on how the process. The tube WILL strip eventually.. whether in 6 months or 2 years.. but it will happen eventually!

[Furu]

It sounds like you need to have your dad drop in a genuine dial. See Cousins UK parts store.

Some people stare at their reps, looking for small problems and become more and more panicked. If you are that kind of buyer, you might want to stick with genuine watches for the sake of your own mental health.

No, i love my UPO. I just wanted to share that the UPO:s have been subject to some downgrades. And the non beveled date window is for me a bigger tell than the happy feet logo.

Gen dial considered, matching hands. But that's it.

For the matter of my mental health I find gens kind of booring as a hobby, this is much better The pursuit after something really high quality is more fun than to just hand out a huge amount of money for it.

/Furu

[plaifender]

And the non beveled date window is for me a bigger tell than the happy feet logo.

/Furu

how is it that a flaw that almost needs a loupe to be seen(the beveled window) is a bigger tell to you than something you can see with your naked eye?

[Furu]

There is no need for a loupe for the bevel issue. Mine has just got a straight cut square hole, versus previous versions and gen. They have a quite large bevel, wich gives the date window a 40% larger impression. So IMHO that is a big difference.

I have to add that the lighting is a big factor here, in daylight it's very apparent. In the photos above it's almost impossible to tell.

Maybe it's just me beeing anal. It makes no difference to me, it's a rep after all.

/Furu

Edited August 18, 2010 by Furu

[Jkay]

There must be various sources for what we call a UPO. Mine has no window bevel either and it's 8 months old.

[plaifender]

There must be various sources for what we call a UPO. Mine has no window bevel either and it's 8 months old.

Just checked this.. mine has a beveled window. Are the dealers putting in new dials? You seriously need a loupe to see mine..

It looks exactly like RCKH's dial (except mine's with white numerals) I hope he doesn't mind me using his pic:

[Furu]

Just checked this.. mine has a beveled window. Are the dealers putting in new dials? You seriously need a loupe to see mine..

It looks exactly like RCKH's dial (except mine's with white numerals) I hope he doesn't mind me using his pic:

There is a clear difference between our dials, so yeah theres a new dial. You've got small serifs on 12, 6 and 9. And your datewindow has a 'frame' or bevel. I'm nearsighted and I have no problems to notice the missing bevel at an arm's length distance. But the serifs are loupe stuff.

I've also got the black and white version. Don't have any good close ups on mine and no good camera here.

But definitely we've got two different dials, of which the older is superior.

[Furu]

Did this little comparison between the fonts.

You can see the big difference in font type.

You can also note that there is a bevel on the new dial but it is very, very small and incorrect. Whereas the old dial has a noticiable bevel that is correct.

Edit: The photos are not mine but from this thread.

Edited August 26, 2010 by Furu

[OSRep]

.........and after only just having finished unwrapping it, i must say i'm blown away by the quality of this replica!

My father is a watchmaker by trade and strongly advised against the purchase of a rep after his dealings with the cheap and nasty reps people bring back from holidays to bali or thailand etc. But i have a feeling he will be VERY impressed with my UPO.

My EXACT feelings after receiving my first rep!! Its shocking how well made and accurate these watches are (in their own right - and $1000's cheaper too). I have yet to get me a PO (waiting for the eagerly expected ultimate 42mm PO), but im sure it will not disappoint.

Youve bagged yourself a beautiful watch. Now get modding hehe........