Gen or rep ?

[alterego]

End of the year and wiht Christmas around the corner, the question is always there, should I buy aanother rep to treat myself or save to purchase a nice gen watch ?

 

Here is one of my  my latest purchases. Very moderately priced ($ 150) an od school Explorer II. It maybe not a perfect copy of the original, but I consider a fair rep.

 

I'd have to spend 20 plus times the amount I paid for it if I want a gen on my wrist.

 

 

Cheers !!!

 

Alter

[dazzie_99]

The dial and hands give it away straight away as a rep. If your happy thats the main thing, and as you say if you want the real deal your going to be paying a lot more that you paid for a rep.

I've just bought a couple of reps, I also have a few genuine watches, to be honest I wear the reps all the time now, you work that one out, lol.

Enjoy it, and wear it in good health m8.

[fraggle42]

At the moment I'd have to say gen.

 

I'm discovering there are so many affordable gens out there, brands I've never heard of, designs that look brilliant (and that may look like a homage to something a lot more expensive) that I've got more gens than reps now.

 

I am wierd in that I'm not bothered by the name on the dial, so probably best to ignore me

[Mike on a bike]

fraggle same here as Reps I like hit the $350 and over price point I find myself buying gen also. Getting first quality movements and reliable water resistance for the same price is a no brainer to me. As with you the name on dial not such a big deal.

[dazzie_99]

Have a look at the Panerai watches m8, simply stunning :-)

[Nightwatch]

 

The point being reps hitting prices where a variety of gens, Seiko and Steinhart included offer: nice casing, warranty, reliable waterproofness, reliable movement, instruction booklet, fast shipping, well aligned dials and You get a replacement/ refund if something doesn´t work or You don´t like it. In the rep segment over 420 usd (including shipping) meanwhile there are really fantastic reps and some of them are really top-notch but often You still get misaligned dials, falling off hands, breaking stems.... These are the first posts I read where everybody doesn´t immediately scream: go buy a gen..... And yet, sometimes lucky: Yesterday got an AP Diver V5 from Toro - astonishing, really impressed by overall quality, including smoothness of stem working.

 

The 1991 16570 Explorer II says Swiss t-25 as the one above, later versions just say Swiss Made. Can somebody specify what´s wrong with the dial and hands? Maybe the GMT hand has a little darker red...  Looks good to me, compared with gen pictures, its a less blingy very nice watch anyway.

 

Gen:

 

 

[Mike on a bike]

"Night Watch" what he said + 1

[panerai153]

I suppose it's all about what you are comfortable with. I agree that there are some really nice genuine watches out there for less than 1K. that might sound like a lot, but honestly, guys, how many of us buy a 400-500 USD rep and then spend that amount or more modding the watch? Add a gen crystal, maybe a gen crown/tube, relume and movement service, and you are looking at a 1K rep!! Don't get me wrong, you aren't  going to get a genuine of most of your reps for 1K!! I have been wearing a really nice AP FC V3 diver for the past few weeks, cost me a little over 500 USD, but this is a 20K + watch in the genuine model. Same as my vintage Rolex models. most of the genuine models  are 5-30 K. So there is something to be said for reps that are less than say 1K representing a 20-30K watch. On the other hand, a lot can be said in defense of a less expensive genuine watch. as a poster above said, there is a great "peace of mind" that comes from buying a watch that has a warranty, was assembled in a "real" watch factory, with "real" quality control, well adjusted, clean and oiled movements. And most of all a company that will address issues and problems post sale.
 
I have a mix of genuine and rep watches, 12 reps and 14 genuine. This is really and insane number, because in actuality, you would be hard pressed to have more than say a 5-6 watch rotation. My problem is I find it very hard to get rid of watches, unless  they just don't resonate with me at all from the get go. I digress from the original topic though, here are  a few really nice genuine watches that probably a lot of folks have not heard of, small companies but really nice watches.
 
First off is MKII Owned by  Bill Yao, building some really ,really nice homages to vintage Rolex and a couple of others. MKII owns the names and all the rights to Tornac Rayville, and is planning a reintroduction of that watch in the future.

Two versions of the MKII Kingston



MKII Stingray


Next the offerings from a little watch company based in Florida, Ocean7

LM7's their homage to the Omega Ploprof

Professional 1 Stainless steel version


Professional 2 All Titanium, very light and a great dive watch!!


Ocean7 GMT (watch came with Sword hands originally, I had the hands replaced with Mercedes hands)


So here we have 6 watches from 2 small manufacturers that were all priced under 1K when new

[AKTime]

I suppose it's all about what you are comfortable with. I agree that there are some really nice genuine watches out there for less than 1K. that might sound like a lot, but honestly, guys, how many of us buy a 400-500 USD rep and then spend that amount or more modding the watch? Add a gen crystal, maybe a gen crown/tube, relume and movement service, and you are looking at a 1K rep!! Don't get me wrong, you aren't  going to get a genuine of most of your reps for 1K!! I have been wearing a really nice AP FC V3 diver for the past few weeks, cost me a little over 500 USD, but this is a 20K + watch in the genuine model. Same as my vintage Rolex models. most of the genuine models  are 5-30 K. So there is something to be said for reps that are less than say 1K representing a 20-30K watch. On the other hand, a lot can be said in defense of a less expensive genuine watch. as a poster above said, there is a great "peace of mind" that comes from buying a watch that has a warranty, was assembled in a "real" watch factory, with "real" quality control, well adjusted, clean and oiled movements. And most of all a company that will address issues and problems post sale.

 

I have a mix of genuine and rep watches, 12 reps and 14 genuine. This is really and insane number, because in actuality, you would be hard pressed to have more than say a 5-6 watch rotation. My problem is I find it very hard to get rid of watches, unless  they just don't resonate with me at all from the get go. I digress from the original topic though, here are  a few really nice genuine watches that probably a lot of folks have not heard of, small companies but really nice watches.

 

First off is MKII Owned by  Bill Yao, building some really ,really nice homages to vintage Rolex and a couple of others. MKII owns the names and all the rights to Tornac Rayville, and is planning a reintroduction of that watch in the future.

MKII Stingray

Domineca (4)a.jpg

 

 

I was never a big Fifty Fathoms fan but that it was one good looking watch right there. That sub homage is nice too. I really like their minimalist approach to the original. I would wear both of those with pride.

[panerai153]

I was never a big Fifty Fathoms fan but that it was one good looking watch right there. That sub homage is nice too. I really like their minimalist approach to the original. I would wear both of those with pride.

It is a very nice watch. I have worn it and the two Ploprof homages diving all over the Caribbean and they are all very nice. The main thing with watches like this, you know from the onset that they are water resistant, because they are all checked before they leave the factory. they all have Swiss movements, the older one's have  brand new Swiss ETA movements, the titanium Ploprof has a Sellita  movement. The GMT has a Swiss ETA 2893-2 movement, which is the standard for GMT's in this price range.

[alterego]

I like older reps especially good ones more convincing sometimes, of course if this was a 1991 watch it would not have SEL strap but apart from that looks nice. 

 

 

I like older reps especially good ones more convincing sometimes, of course if this was a 1991 watch it would not have SEL strap but apart from that looks nice. 

Thank you all for your comments on my question I know it's a metter of personal decision and funds. I would never spend 4/5 K on a gen explorer like the rep I own. IBut I own a few gen watches, which I enjoy a lot, among these a Explorer 1016, which I bought at a rediculous price ($1.200) from a retiring watchmaker. I also own a gen 1675 GMT and Perpetual Date mod. 1500,  an Omega Chronostop, a Tudor Submariner, a MIdo Ocean Star,  two longines and a Doxa 750. My rep collection of about 30 watches include  six Rolex Subs,  aBreguet Aeronavale, a Rolex Oysterquartz,  a few Panerai,  IWC Ingenieur, Patek Nautilus, Blancpain Flywheel, Omega Speedmaster, Rolex Daytona and many others.

 

At this point I think I'll wait in case I run into an exceptional rep or a rare gen at an afordable price. ( Eberhard Chrono, Zith El Primero or 40 mm Panerai Radiomir)

 

Here's a pic of my Explorer with the "correct" strap, without SEL.