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Does an SMP exist with proper seconds hand & pearl?


Canuck88

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Looking for a black bezel version - all of the examples I've seen have terribly huge pearls and a short seconds had... anyone have a rep that's close??

ttk has pics of a , for my eyes, perfect electric blue smp - good pearl, long hands, close to perfect HEV, and (hard to say from his pics) good CGs. a good black one i don't know.

unfortunately he never answered me, so no idea if its still available

Edited by Hok
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I belive that there was a factory which made almost perfect Omegas, with correct long hands and good pearls. The factory were busted, and all current reps have the same faults... :( Maybe it is just an urban myth..

There were a used black SMP with long hands on the trade board some days ago, so they do turn up once in a while...

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I belive that there was a factory which made almost perfect Omegas, with correct long hands and good pearls. The factory were busted, and all current reps have the same faults... :( Maybe it is just an urban myth..

Not quite an urban myth. There have been two excellent versions of the SMP in the past - a slightly inferior version of the second is still available.

The first 'really excellent' one available 12-18 months ago was the 007 variant with a (replica as it turned out) 2892 movement and correct He valve placement. The use of the 2892 movement meant the caseback could be as shallow as the genuine article (which used a Calibre 1120 movement which is based on the 2892 and is 1mm tinner than the ubiquitous 2824/2836). Its major flaws were the 'Seanaster' print on the dial, incorrect model and serial number engravings on the back and a pearl that was too raised. Substituting a genuine face and bezel insert gives you a 99% visually accurate replica.

The second 'excellent' one was the standard SMP available 6-8 months ago. Using the 2824 movement meant the case back was a little too deep, but the dial print and hour markers on this model were 100% accurate. Major flaw was the He valve placement (which was actually correct for a chronograph version of this watch whch presumably they were intending to produce). Minor flaws were a date window that was a fraction too small, and for some reason they all came with a misaligned bezel insert. (A 007 version of this watch was also available, although still calling itself a Seanaster and having the wrong font used in its dial printing).

Both are now sought after, especially the former.

The currently avialable ETA movement blue SMPs are derivatives of the second one. For some reason they have been 'cheapened' by the use of single piece end links for the bracelet (as opposed to a composite 5-piece end link as per good reps and the real thing) and the substitution of a Rolex Submariner rep pearl which is way too big for the Omega. Also, the dial print has gone oversized. There is also now a GMT version of this one with modified 2836, which actually has a VERY accurate dial and the correct sized date window, although the other flaws are still present.

The black version seem to have been more variable, with problems such as crown guards that were too big, misaligned bezel inserts and incorrect fonts used on the dial print. There has however been an excellent Asian movement black SMP with correct He valve placement. Only minor flaw was short hands.

Edited by r11co
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The currently avialable ETA movement blue SMPs are derivatives of the second one. For some reason they have been 'cheapened' by the use of single piece end links for the bracelet (as opposed to a composite 5-piece end link as per good reps and the real thing) and the substitution of a Rolex Submariner rep pearl which is way too big for the Omega. Also, the dial print has gone oversized. There is also now a GMT version of this one with modified 2836, which actually has a VERY accurate dial and the correct sized date window, although the other flaws are still present.

So, my crappy beater has a better strap than the fancy ones? It's got 5-part links and a long second-hand. I still refuse to believe I've stumbled on a holy grail Seamonster, but it's nice to imagine the small victories even if my dial is crappy. :)

15994-3324.jpg

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Carry on, there are more faults. I'd like to know all of them.

It's got the Sub rep pearl. Did you do that swap yourself?? :p

It's not the worst I have seen by a long stick. Substitute that bezel insert for a stainless one with black print and you'd have a passable copy of this...

16006-3321.jpg

Edited by r11co
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jsph

The 007 is the 2892, the Black Seamaster is 2824.

007 measurese 12.01, Black Seamaster 13.31, could be wrong, didn't know that they ever made the black Seamaster with 2892, other than 1.4 mm too thick, yes it is the next to near perfect that everyone talks about, got it from Sean (ETA Swiss about two years ago). I knew it was a bit special as soon as I opened the package, well made and heavy, and I've never seen another bracelet that comes close to this model, very heavy and thick.

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that is absolutely terrific. congratulations on both of them.

i had the impression they had the 2892 black ones as well (2254.50), since i did see some comparison shots at some point, but maybe i was wrong about the movement. marrickvilleboy has since outfitted his reps with genuine movements, but it's a bit of a shame that the 2824 cases are noticeably thicker and no mod can fix that. (this marrickvilleboy character is something else! another current thread shows off his stuff. amazing.)

it's a real shame how these reps wax and wane in quality and so on. glad you were able to snag one. i guess at that time i was still naive as to there even existing a rep community, so nourishing my habit with affordable regular watches (seiko, citizen, etc) while thinking my grail watches would be forever unreachable. well, they still are, but there are some darn good reps, aren't there!

wear it well, as they say! good stuff! take care,

jsph

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