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$128 Ultimate vs Gen Sea Dweller


Gw4k

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Reps have come a long way since I last played.

What can $128 buy you? Lets take a look (Green arrow for Gen, Red for Rep):

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First Tell is the Pearl of the Bezel Insert. But to this day, it is the most common mistake on a rep:

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I bought a Clarks Replacement Bezel insert :

http://www.ebay.com/...#ht_1240wt_1396

But I do not know yet if I am only taking the pearl or replacing the bezel. Because the Bezel Font is spot on:

0-15 minutes:

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20 minutes:

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30 minutes:

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40 and 50 minutes:

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In fact, most of the watch face is spot on:

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Slight angle to show the Hour Marker Surrounds are correct thickness:

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Even the lume is accurate:

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Bezel Teeth is correct:

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Now on to the case:

The second biggest tell is the Escape Valve. The Gen is polished while the Rep is dull: [bLINK]CORRECTION:[/bLINK] I have been informed that later SDs have matte escape valves, so this is accurate per serial #M of the rep.

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Crystal is just slightly taller:

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Crown position is lower than gen:

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Lugs are pretty close:

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The Caseback is the closest/ best I have ever seen, correct font and Rolex Crowns:

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On to the Bracelet:

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This is where it fails, but no one will see it:

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Clasp:

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Weight and feel is EXACTLY the same:

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Video of Movement sweep:

https://vimeo.com/42226379

CONCLUSION:

Overall a GREAT OUT OF THE BOX BUY FOR $128 + shipping from ANDREW of Trusty.

I bought it here:

http://www.trustytim...roducts_id=9252

With minor modding, Change the Pearl (or Pop it out) you have a great rep. I liked it so much, I ordered a 2nd one as a backup. I always have a backup to my favorites.

Others have swam in the pool with it and have no problems. I have not tested that, yet.

UPDATE: NEW PEARL ON FACTORY BEZEL

I just changed the Pearl. Took the pearl from an ebay aftermarket bezel for my 14060:

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CHANGING THE PEARL

I used an exacto knife to lift the old pearl out of the bezel. I chose to do this over taking the whole bezel out. I am really good at mauling inserts trying to insert them back.

BEFORE:

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After "lifting" the bad pearl out and comparing to Gen and the New Pearl

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New Pearl sat too high, hand drilled with a drill bit, ONE TURN AT A TIME. Shave and test set the pearl, shave and test set.

Try to shave while forcing more pressure on the BASE of the upside down triangle so you can keep most of the TIP of the triangle.

Took me 2 turns only.

You want the friction of the bezel vs the cup of the pearl as the main source of holding it in. I added a dab of crazy glue around the cup for insurance.

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AFTER:

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5/29/12 UPDATE: POOL TEST

Whats Memorial Day without BBQ and Pool time! I swam with the SD shallow and Deep End, NO PROBLEMS whatsoever.

I just checked again (day after) and no condensation inside.

BUT ALWAYS RINSE your watch (gen or rep) after going into the pool to wash off the salt or chlorine from the O-rings.

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Crown guards are an easy fix on this one imo. The crystal would bug me a lot more. Rehaut is a little fat, too, but nothing that couldn't be turned down. If it would take a gen crystal this would be an awesome rep!

Thats the funny thing about us reppers, we are a paranoid bunch.

The Regular Joe Schmoe would not notice the difference.

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This clearly shows :

- You made an amazing comparative works :D Thank you very much !

- We are a way too much anal with these details

- Rolex prices are indecent !

For $128, it is clearly awesome to have this level of details...

PS: I do not agree with the teeth of the bezel... there are absolutely not machined the same way :) :)

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Nice writeup and comparison :)

Thats a bargain at that price. Overall it's very close.

The main thing that bothers me is how tall the crystal is.

I guess it's the first thing that I noticed when this one was released.

It's a shame none of the modern SeaDwellers can take gen crystals.

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It's a shame none of the modern SeaDwellers can take gen crystals.

1:1 bla bla bla ... gen fully disassembled bla bla bla ...

You remember ? :D

The day the Chinese will take care about the real specs of the case... and not only the visible specs... it will be a great day for sure !! :)

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Great review. I had a feeling it was very close, now I am pleasantly surprised and I'm glad I picked this one up.

To those that take issue with the crystal height, just know that it is absolutely stunning on the rep. Maybe the only "flaw" on any rep that makes it superior in some aspect to the corresponding genuine.

The Pearl is abysmal.

The beat rate is meh. Does anyone know if a Sellita SW200 will drop into this SD?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

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Seems the rep's crown guards are much, much shorter than the gen (see pic).

Not much shorter actually. Stumpier, and a tiny bit shorter, but not much shorter.

It looks "much shorter" in that pic because the CGs are a tiny bit short, but mostly the crown is way too big.

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Great write up, thanks for taking the time :) Seems the rep's crown guards are much, much shorter than the gen (see pic). That would not look right to me, same with the crystal/rehaut issue, Still great value though for a daily beater.... 2ebfed3f.jpg

I think it may be a partial illusion since the rep crown looks bigger than the gen. If you replaced the crown with gen, it may not be that bad.

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The beat rate is meh. Does anyone know if a Sellita SW200 will drop into this SD?

It'll physically fit, no problem.

Just like every other 21J to ETA swap, you'll need movement, hands, and stem. You could cut the dial feet and glue it, but it's easier just to source a dial as well. Movement holder, screws, clamps, and DWO can be re-used.

Honestly, the easiest thing to do would be to buy another one. You can mix and match parts, keep what you like, and assemble what's left into another whole watch and resell it. You can probably do the swap a lot cheaper that way. That's what I usually do.

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For a while I'd thought that the SD wasn't being made anymore... Fantastic to see that they're still available :tu:

For a while you were right. It is available - again.

This is a new version.

(BTW: This is a GREAT comparison.

Only ................I really, really do not need another Rolex.................really...........)

Edited by mbjoer
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For a while you were right. It is available - again.

This is a new version.

(BTW: This is a GREAT comparison.

Only ................I really, really do not need another Rolex.................really...........)

Collection redundancy? ;) For me, I want one of these as the base for a custom project :victory:

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