Trusty Time Quality Review of the Planet Ocean 42mm

[KingBach]

Hi All,

 

I recently had a transaction with Andrew from Trusty Time (ttw888.com) and I wanted to provide a review of the quality of the watch itself and the level of service I have received from him.

 

I was contemplating buying a genuine Planet Ocean after deciding that it was time to buy a nice watch for myself. I was in the shopping centre and tried on the Tag Carerras, Omega AT and PO.

 

After a lot of debating I really wanted to go with the flagship model and went with the PO, this is not a review of the watched themselves but the quality (which I think everyone is more focussed on). I started doing some research online about replicas on youtube and I saw a video from a guy (evilcartman?) who was comparing two reps with a gen. After watching this video several times I was a little more confident as the copies seemed to be very close to the original with the main difference being the bezel, where by the pearl on the top of the triangle being the most obvious fault (in addition to the glow in the dark dial which is minor).

 

After looking at the different specced watches on the website, I ended up going for the 42mm PO Titanium with the Swiss ETA movement because that was the one that fit me best in the shops. The one I ended up choosing was the most expensive one in the range, I was going to go hard or go home I thought because I didn’t want a poor quality rep.

 

So after a few days delivery I finally received the watch. It was packaged well, it was ticking when I opened the watch so that was good, it meant that the mechanism is working well. But this is where problems started to arise…

 

Once I opened the watch I was inspecting the watch, as you do, and I noticed the following faults:

 

- the bezel was not the best quality, There were marks where it looked like the paint work scratched, didn’t look to be ceramic at all (though Andrew assured it was)

 

- the triangle on the top of the dial (where the pearl is located) has a mark on it which made the watch look like an obvious rep. It was not noticeable on the QC (Quality Control) Photos so I couldn’t comment. It was not consistently painted

 

- The alignment of the actual dial is not 100%, you can tell that it needs to be adjusted anti-clockwise slightly in order to get the 12, 3, 6, 9 into the N, E, S, W positions. This is not too obvious but just an observation.

 

- I thought that Andrew would happily send me another bezel so no biggie there

 

- I moved on to adjusting the bracelet and this is there it got a little more worrying. There was a screw missing on one links on the clasp which actually fell apart once I had removed the plastic that was wrapping the straps.  Luckily I had extra links after I adjusted the strap and used a screw from one of the other links (tip be very careful when adjusting the straps because the screws are tine and no wonder they forgot to put one in)

 

Trusty Time’s policy is to notify them of any faults upto 24 hours after signing for the package, I emailed him immediately after my inspection and we had some dialogue about the faults and I sent him many photos of the faults I notived (mainly the bezel). If I’m honest I couldn’t be bothered to send the watch back due to these tiny faults so I asked if he could send me a bezel instead. I had considered sending it back in exchange for a 45.5 PO but he decided against that and agreed to send another bezel. He also promised to send me an additional pearl as I had read these tend to fall off after some time, he agreed but didn’t deliver on that part.

 

The watch itself is currently keeping time very well, I will do a follow-up review in a few months time.

 

At the time of writing the review I am still waiting for him to send the part - I will update following this review.

 

I wanted to ask the forum whether anyone had had similar experiences and what the quality of the other watches are like. I am particularly interested in the Omega AT and the Rolex Milgauss.

 

 

[frankt]

You want perfect, buy gen's......And that's a nice as I can put it...  

[ryaku]

You ll get used to it or you ll stop buying reps soon there are QC issues and small flaws almost all the time, you got to deal with that and sometimes it's very annoying.

I had to get some basic watchmaking skills and tools to regularly fix or replace parts in my watches, no other option unless you have a local watchmaker you can rely on.

[KingBach]

Yeah I guess so. What other reps did you guts buy? I've had a few people notice NY nice watch when I fist out it on.

[Mike on a bike]

I would advise buying M2M AKA sales thread here for new guys. Most little things done or disclosed so you know if you can live with it, remember buy the seller not the watch.

[ceocorona]

Franken TC sub if you want to spend a few extra $$$ for a pretty close to gen look/feel.

[KingBach]

Hi all, by way of update I received the new bezel in the end but it's still not perfect, as in its not centre so I left the original one.

I wanted to also say that the watch is overall good quality, like any watch it keeps time well but does run a little fast, I would say it runs a minute or two too fast per month, I have just bought an aqua terra and constellation from trusty time and I'll let you know how those go when I get them. If you guys would like some pics let me know.

[PeteM]

It may help to understand what your issues are and if they are overly critical in rep terms if you were to post pics of your issues that you state...

 

 

A missing screw is something that can happen and isnt a biggie in my book but is annoying... my dealer would just send me more if needed..but most screws can be sourced with a little research or WTBs ...again its annoying but not a big issue as such..

 

The bezel issue is more subjective and can be an issue to certain guys and to others not so much.. but are you sure you bought what you thought you were intent on buying ? I am honestly not so sure you did reading your expectation relative to your comments... I am not trying to dismiss your concerns mate but i think you have fallen into a common noob trap/pitfall... I will explain further down.. if I am judging this wrong then generally

 

You tend to find putting aside the flaws etc..

 

That you need to check comments from guys who bought these and see if there are any consistent issues or qulaity failings... this can depend on the maker as some makers are better at quality than others... it can also depend on the dealer and his own QC checks ...and in course of that how they respond to resolving it... it can also be the quality of the pics and any QC pics hould always be treated with a sense of scepticism... ie if you know there may be issues with the bezel pearl and the angles of the watch in the pics seem to avoid showing the full detail or the lighting is oversaturated etc ..in that case it is worth asking for another pic even if you aint sure whjat you are asking for...

 

It also helps to ask the specific question if you cant judge it for yourself... and of course if you aint so sure you can ask for help from individual members or by posting the concern with a pic that you have...

 

You can then be certain to know if any issues that arise when you recieve and see the watch in your hand are what you might have expected as a rep and not a quality issue..

 

 

Buying the better movement of a watch which has versions with several movement options doesnt mean the quality with the rest of the watch is any different from say the Asian movement version...

 

The watches themselves will be exactly the same barring the movement..

 

However this is where you should be careful as the description might suggest the watches are exactly the same but they could be different makers... or different versions

 

The POs are made by several makers...now if i recall this right ...the best versions out of the POs are the noob makers version.... and if that is true then you have bought something else as Andrew and Josh do not sell Noob makers watches... because of a disagreement..in turn Angus say does not sell H makers ...

 

 

So you may have seen a guys thread with his PO latest version but what you have bought would be another makers rep not the noob... so unless you know who sells what when you are buying a rep you can easily buy a different makers version... or an old version etc etc Therefore the rep you bought may well be to the standard that is known across the forums (barring screw) so if you searched this makers PO ..you might have found that the bezel or pearl issue is reported by guys..however if you were reading about the Noob PO and you mistakenly bought the H makers then that would explain your disappointment with the watch...

 

The latest better ceramic POs in 42 coming out so far are the Noobs as far as I know mate...

 

I would think your disappointment is more based on your misunderstanding of the best versions and what you get when you go Swiss ... If that is as I suspect true then you need to do a little more research or at least understand how to research in this hobby .... and I would refer you to the intros and guides for new members and the other threads that would also be useful to you is the 'How things work in the rep world' ...Angus posted these long explanations in his Puretime section in the TD section. It gives you a perspective from the dealers side and common misconceptions including explanations of the use of Versions and makers etc.

[KingBach]

It may help to understand what your issues are and if they are overly critical in rep terms if you were to post pics of your issues that you state...

 

 

A missing screw is something that can happen and isnt a biggie in my book but is annoying... my dealer would just send me more if needed..but most screws can be sourced with a little research or WTBs ...again its annoying but not a big issue as such..

 

The bezel issue is more subjective and can be an issue to certain guys and to others not so much.. but are you sure you bought what you thought you were intent on buying ? I am honestly not so sure you did reading your expectation relative to your comments... I am not trying to dismiss your concerns mate but i think you have fallen into a common noob trap/pitfall... I will explain further down.. if I am judging this wrong then generally

 

You tend to find putting aside the flaws etc..

 

That you need to check comments from guys who bought these and see if there are any consistent issues or qulaity failings... this can depend on the maker as some makers are better at quality than others... it can also depend on the dealer and his own QC checks ...and in course of that how they respond to resolving it... it can also be the quality of the pics and any QC pics hould always be treated with a sense of scepticism... ie if you know there may be issues with the bezel pearl and the angles of the watch in the pics seem to avoid showing the full detail or the lighting is oversaturated etc ..in that case it is worth asking for another pic even if you aint sure whjat you are asking for...

 

It also helps to ask the specific question if you cant judge it for yourself... and of course if you aint so sure you can ask for help from individual members or by posting the concern with a pic that you have...

 

You can then be certain to know if any issues that arise when you recieve and see the watch in your hand are what you might have expected as a rep and not a quality issue..

 

 

Buying the better movement of a watch which has versions with several movement options doesnt mean the quality with the rest of the watch is any different from say the Asian movement version...

 

The watches themselves will be exactly the same barring the movement..

 

However this is where you should be careful as the description might suggest the watches are exactly the same but they could be different makers... or different versions

 

The POs are made by several makers...now if i recall this right ...the best versions out of the POs are the noob makers version.... and if that is true then you have bought something else as Andrew and Josh do not sell Noob makers watches... because of a disagreement..in turn Angus say does not sell H makers ...

 

 

So you may have seen a guys thread with his PO latest version but what you have bought would be another makers rep not the noob... so unless you know who sells what when you are buying a rep you can easily buy a different makers version... or an old version etc etc Therefore the rep you bought may well be to the standard that is known across the forums (barring screw) so if you searched this makers PO ..you might have found that the bezel or pearl issue is reported by guys..however if you were reading about the Noob PO and you mistakenly bought the H makers then that would explain your disappointment with the watch...

 

The latest better ceramic POs in 42 coming out so far are the Noobs as far as I know mate...

 

I would think your disappointment is more based on your misunderstanding of the best versions and what you get when you go Swiss ... If that is as I suspect true then you need to do a little more research or at least understand how to research in this hobby .... and I would refer you to the intros and guides for new members and the other threads that would also be useful to you is the 'How things work in the rep world' ...Angus posted these long explanations in his Puretime section in the TD section. It gives you a perspective from the dealers side and common misconceptions including explanations of the use of Versions and makers etc.

Hi Pete, thank for your message, very informative. I have no idea about who actually makes the watches etc so not sure about the noob PO etc. is there a link to the site with the best versions? I am generally quite happy with my PO apart from the bezel ... I will post pictures when I get the new watches.

The factory is a little slow sending the watch out as I can't track it yet... I hope I get it before Christmas.

[afrodesiac]

Hi Pete, thank for your message, very informative. I have no idea about who actually makes the watches etc so not sure about the noob PO etc. is there a link to the site with the best versions? I am generally quite happy with my PO apart from the bezel ... I will post pictures when I get the new watches.

The factory is a little slow sending the watch out as I can't track it yet... I hope I get it before Christmas.

This is the best quality planet ocean out now, It's not a liquidmetal (titanium) version and does have the clear caseback which is a dead giveaway because the 8500 movement is in another league, but other than that it seems near perfect. There is a thread over on RWI on it if you're registered there. I may buy it soon but apparently the Noobfactory is also bringing out an Aqua Terra which will hopefully be of similar craftmanship. Depending on the wait, i'll probably either get this or the upcoming AT.

 

Review Thread (RWI)

http://www.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=166276&page=13

 

Watch (puretime, noobfactory)

http://www.pureti.me/product/planet-ocean-professional-ceramic-bezel-42mm-11-noob-best-edition-on-ss-bracelet-a2836/