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Did I buy a really good PO fake? Hope it's Gen


HollyW00d

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At the end of the day though, the warranty card is of no real value if the 3 years are up

Unless the card is not filled, like it's the case here. ADs told me to only fill them after you need to send them for service for the first time, put 6 mo back as the purchase date to make it believable you have been wearing it.

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Brought it to my local rolex guy, he has the timing machine for various movements(although not co-axial.) Verified with him that if there was a fake movement (asian or swiss ETA) in there his machine would be able to record the beats no problem. The read out came all gibberish using all four readings, which means it's a co-axial movement. I didn't feel like driving 30 miles just to have a guy tell me the same thing, and I don't want to open the case back and void the warranty just yet. Was 90% sure thanks to you guys, now I'm 99.9% sure :)

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The watch is gen, at least the dial, bezel, hands, caseback, bracelet, crystal, DW - it would a very expensive franken and nobody would bother. I would NOT open the watch just to check the movement. It would void whatever warranty you might have and it would also compromise water resistance.

The case number should match the warranty card (mine does). Since the card is not dated you would have 3 years of warranty but I think you will have issues with the service center. I'd contact the seller and work this out.

+1 I'd say it's a gen. (but if it were mine I'd open it up. The 2500 co-axial is beautiful to look at. Prettier than a 2824-2 anyway.) CONGRATS !!

I just read you had it confirmed without opening it up....AWESOME...and again...CONGRATS

Edited by correctime
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Hopefully it has the 2500D and not the 2500C. I like the new ones with the 8500 cal with see through caseback. Not sure how which one would last longer underwater at extreme depths, but pretty sure the metal caseback would hold up better. Always loved the PO, but never pulled the trigger on a gen. I would really love to find someone that could build me a franken.

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I'm not as experienced as many of the other posters here, but I've spent a lot of time analyzing gens and reps recently. Even in the best reps, I can see the very subtle differences and this watch you have looks gen to me with the exception of the pearl being ever so slightly misaligned. Well, the mismatch in numbers would also concern me, but as far as the watch goes it looks pretty legit.

But that being said...this whole discussion is why I decided to buy a rep and not the gen. I had the option of 1) paying $4500 at the AD for the real PO that would be beautiful and perfect, and most likely last for years with the proper care and upkeep (expensive as it may be); or 2) pay $343 for a rep that looks, feels and works pretty damn close to the way the $4500 version does. So much so that threads like this exist to attempt to validate the legitimacy of a gen purchase. I mean for less than the cost of a service on the gen version of this watch, I can buy a new rep. And since there are so few people (including "experts") who can distinguish between the two watches, I have to ask, where is the value in the additional $4157 spent on the gen?

I'm not trying to be belligerent, I'd really like to know.

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Well to argue For gens, I've had a number of rep POs in the past, various mods, various levels of quality. Every one had at least one problem, be it inaccuracy, poor qc or just premature failure that just p*ssed me off enough to say: F*ck these reps, I want Gen.

There's been times when I've worn what I thought was a dependable rep and just when it mattered, the little bastard breaks on me.

Now, I can never say that about any gen that I've owned.

A well frankened rep will obviously perform better, but that is not the real subject of the debate.

To me, reps and modding are just a fun hobby, but I will never depend on rep in the same way as a gen.

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with the exception of the pearl being ever so slightly misaligned.

sorry but no, it's not :)

But that being said...this whole discussion is why I decided to buy a rep and not the gen. I had the option of 1) paying $4500 at the AD for the real PO that would be beautiful and perfect, and most likely last for years with the proper care and upkeep (expensive as it may be); or 2) pay $343 for a rep that looks, feels and works pretty damn close to the way the $4500 version does. So much so that threads like this exist to attempt to validate the legitimacy of a gen purchase. I mean for less than the cost of a service on the gen version of this watch, I can buy a new rep. And since there are so few people (including "experts") who can distinguish between the two watches, I have to ask, where is the value in the additional $4157 spent on the gen?

I'm not trying to be belligerent, I'd really like to know.

I only consider gens for function not cosmetics. I'm a diver so the water resistance on the gen PO is why I went from the franken to the gen.

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sorry but no, it's not :)

I only consider gens for function not cosmetics. I'm a diver so the water resistance on the gen PO is why I went from the franken to the gen.

I looked again, and maybe you're right. It's probably the shadow, but I thought it looked a hair to the left to me at first.

As for the gen, I can understand needing it to dive. I'd love a gen PO, and maybe I will get one someday. But I thought I try out a good rep first.

Edited by vandal.tbh
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I'm not as experienced as many of the other posters here, but I've spent a lot of time analyzing gens and reps recently. Even in the best reps, I can see the very subtle differences and this watch you have looks gen to me with the exception of the pearl being ever so slightly misaligned. Well, the mismatch in numbers would also concern me, but as far as the watch goes it looks pretty legit.

But that being said...this whole discussion is why I decided to buy a rep and not the gen. I had the option of 1) paying $4500 at the AD for the real PO that would be beautiful and perfect, and most likely last for years with the proper care and upkeep (expensive as it may be); or 2) pay $343 for a rep that looks, feels and works pretty damn close to the way the $4500 version does. So much so that threads like this exist to attempt to validate the legitimacy of a gen purchase. I mean for less than the cost of a service on the gen version of this watch, I can buy a new rep. And since there are so few people (including "experts") who can distinguish between the two watches, I have to ask, where is the value in the additional $4157 spent on the gen?

I'm not trying to be belligerent, I'd really like to know.

You are right, and make an interesting argument, some people will buy a gen for the true function, others just have money to burn, others will enjoy reps but just love the fit feel and finish that can be achieved with a gen that a rep will struggle to compete with. I have both gen PO and rep PO, there's really very little in the difference in looks, and with the frankens around they get even closer. I bought the gen because it was an extremely cheap deal 2nd hand which I couldn't refuse, I bought the rep because I wanted to see how it looked next to gen.

Differences without anymods are AR, Lume and pearl and finishing, also the gen loses a second a week whereas the rep 3 secs a day. Also I can dive with the gen without concern....ever. Not so with the rep. I could also dive with a seiko marinemaster and be quite happy. The vast majority of people will never see any difference between a half decent rep and a gen.

In a way you answered your question yourself, the extra $4157....it is markup, some R&D, executives wages, branding, george clooneys wages etc and public perception that sets the market etc. The whole swiss watch industry has been living off this illusion they've created that we are purchasing a beautifully and meticulously crafted work of art for years...and they are creaming it in. Most brands prices should be halved at least, then they could maybe justify it. Of late they've really gotten ahead of themselves and most have displayed near 40% increases in their products over the past couple of years, can't really be justified, Rolex churn out 1 million units a year on machines, Omega are going the same way... brand power is a wonderful thing!

Edited by cougar1
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