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A Huge 'Tell' No One Ever Seems To Mention


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hate to break it to you guys, but pretty much every watch with a display back and 'blued' screws looks like (insert your favorite word that refers to excrement.)

Any real watch with blued screws---the process is done with acid and its a very deep dark even color.

Reps use paint, it's very light, and looks bad.

Stickers with cote de geneve 'waves' or whatever look nothing like the real highly finished movements.

now...of course no one's going to see it unless you let em etc so its not like you'll be 'called out' if you should even care (you shouldnt)

but all this talk of 1:1 reps and 100 PERCENT INTERCHANGEABLE stuff lately reminds me of the old AAAA+++ vs AAA stuff :)

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Bluing screw is done by heating.

But anyway, the watch is on your wrist, so the movement is not visible. Plus, one has to know what to look for and know how it compares to gen. Even so, I see a lot more true cotes de Geneva instead of stickers nowadays.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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^yep it can be done with heating as well, check youtube vids of people using 'heating salts' and gas burners to do home-bluing of gun parts.

i meant it can be done with cold-bluing using many types of solutions in the same manner.

You are right, the refinishing of movements is getting better, we are a long ways away from the PANERAIPANERAIPANERAI stickers of just a few years ago :0

Funny if you look at some of the rarest 'Pre-A' PAMs used undecorated movements you can buy from Otto Frei for a couple hundred bucks ;/

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hate to break it to you guys, but pretty much every watch with a display back and 'blued' screws looks like (insert your favorite word that refers to excrement.)

I'd disagree with that to a certain extent, sure many don't look like the gen, but some can look like good as a standalone movement, nothing at all unattractive about a nice ST19:

prs5-9.jpg

but all this talk of 1:1 reps and 100 PERCENT INTERCHANGEABLE stuff lately reminds me of the old AAAA+++ vs AAA stuff :)

Agree with that totally, I believe there are whole swathes of new recruits to the rep scene thinking that every $400 1:1 is basically the exact equivalent of a $6000 gen it is copied from, ....while there is absolutely nothing wrong with a quality constructed rep, this whole 1:1 stuff is being entirely misconstrued by far too many....this usually leads to disappointment somewhere along the line!

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If you are new at this game, they all look 1:1 until someone knowledgable points out all the flaws. I have to agree, by and large, the reps are getting better, but all this 1:1 reproduction is pretty much marketing BS

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You forgot to mention.... 'Replicated from the genuine...'

Even gens arent 1:1 in a consistency or QC sense... Just look at the way these are done in batches creates variations as we all know..

But anyone that believes any comment saying 1:1 needs to contact me.... I have a great investment opportunity ;)

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hate to break it to you guys, but pretty much every watch with a display back and 'blued' screws looks like (insert your favorite word that refers to excrement.)

Any real watch with blued screws---the process is done with acid and its a very deep dark even color.

Reps use paint, it's very light, and looks bad.

Wher did you hear that from??????????????????????

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I must admit I have never gotten over open casebacks and generally avoid them for that reason. But in truth for 99.9% of the world they won't know the difference on some of the better and newer reps and as folks say...it is sitting on your wrist. At the end of the day everyone has to choose what is more important. Over an 8-10 year period I have moved my thinking toward a bifurcation of watches....those that are and will stay reps (because they can never be that good) and those that you can amass gen parts for and ultimately make a project out of it.

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I was about to post a long reply about our dealers and the "creative" sales adverts they post on their websites. But i deleted it, i started to sound like a troll.

But i dont like when they lie, especially when they are here as trusted dealers. They are here for a reason right?

Anyway.. back to staring at my 112 n000ob. Love it!

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You forgot to mention.... 'Replicated from the genuine...'

Even gens arent 1:1 in a consistency or QC sense... Just look at the way these are done in batches creates variations as we all know..

But anyone that believes any comment saying 1:1 needs to contact me.... I have a great investment opportunity ;)

well said.

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Wher did you hear that from??????????????????????

Didn't hear it from anyone, i'm just a hobbyist who fiddles around with metals and jewelry.

Taken apart many reps and only the tips of the screws are done with paint.

Real bluing is down with chemicals and or heat, sometimes both.

Check out this at-home bluing kit for guns:

http://www.cabelas.com/solvents-lubes-bluing-blue-gun-bluing-kit.shtml

Some bluing is done by 'baking' the metal in salts over a hot burner.

Some is done solely with fire.

Check out this FAQ for a short bit about the types of bluing:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6745649_types-gun-bluing.html

If you've seen this finish a bunch you can tell if it's good or not.

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Also, what I meant but didn't get across I guess in my original post is that if you've ever seen the level of finishing in a gen movement, a rep movement looks crappy in comparison.

It doesn't make a rep movement 'less cool'-- all watch movements to me are interesting. However anyone who's ever seen the back of a Patek knows a painted Asian Seagull movement looks nothing like it.

there are some exceptions to this rule: the newest Panerai reps come pretty damn close, especially with the recent changes to the swan neck regulator and baseplate finishing.

some gens have rather pedestrian movements (or the same movement!) and can therefore be repped easier.

If you know even a little bit about cars from a mechanic's perspective...

and you popped open the hood of this

watchcaronline.blogspot.in-+Ferrari+California+Automotive+Cars+(9).jpg

and saw this

smith_anthony_1965_03b.jpg

you'd be like 'wait, what?'

not knocking the Chevy 350 v8, its a great engine...but I would know instantly that it was a Chevy v8, not a Ferrari v8

Then there are those that say a Ferrari with a V8 isn't a gen Ferrari :) :) :) :)

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Also, what I meant but didn't get across I guess in my original post is that if you've ever seen the level of finishing in a gen movement, a rep movement looks crappy in comparison.

It doesn't make a rep movement 'less cool'-- all watch movements to me are interesting. However anyone who's ever seen the back of a Patek knows a painted Asian Seagull movement looks nothing like it.

there are some exceptions to this rule: the newest Panerai reps come pretty damn close, especially with the recent changes to the swan neck regulator and baseplate finishing.

some gens have rather pedestrian movements (or the same movement!) and can therefore be repped easier.

If you know even a little bit about cars from a mechanic's perspective...

and you popped open the hood of this

watchcaronline.blogspot.in-+Ferrari+California+Automotive+Cars+(9).jpg

and saw this

smith_anthony_1965_03b.jpg

you'd be like 'wait, what?'

not knocking the Chevy 350 v8, its a great engine...but I would know instantly that it was a Chevy v8, not a Ferrari v8

Then there are those that say a Ferrari with a V8 isn't a gen Ferrari :) :) :) :)

Lol, doesn't look like a ferrari.

Definitely wouldn't sound like one.

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If a dealer posts up accurate front, side, back movement views of a watch, and you buy it, and you get exactly what was pictured, the only 100% factor at that point is your responsibility for looking at the pictures before you bought.

I happen to like the ST-19 movement, even with lacquered screw heads (yes, it's lacquer). And it is truly a 1:1 of a Venus 175 since the Chinese bought the rights and the machinery from Venus in 1962. That info was posted here years ago.

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