Graham chronofighter oversize

[dread100]

Hi I am new to the forum and am new to reps in general. I use to get those that were about 100 bucks but became interested to find out more about those that were of really high quality. In particular I thought the Graham were really good replicas from the pics. But I'm not so sure of the movements.

I am also wondering why some have v1 and v3 suffix with quite a big jump in prices although they seem to have the same spec. Anyone can advise me on this. Thanks in advance

[dovo1695]

As for version numbers, reps generally work like software. The newer the version, generally the better the rep. Not always the case of course, sometimes the older versions are better than the newer version. It's a good idea to do some real research on the model you want to buy using the search function. For most watches, you'll be able to find in depth reviews that compare the relative merits of the version. V1 may have great crownguards but lousy lume, v2 might have lousy crownguards but great lume (speaking generally/hypothetically here, not about the graham).

 

Don't rely overly on the rep dealer "specs", they're generally accurate, but there is a whole lot of puffery. Find a review of the watch version you're looking for done by a veteran member; that's where the best info generally comes from.

 

As far as movements go, that's a whole topic unto itself. In fact, there are probably hundreds of threads devoted to that question right here on the forum. Many watches have a cheap asian 21j movement. I generally avoid these because they're a bit unreliable, and when they die, it's not possible to transplant a genuine ETA (same movement most gen makers like Omega and Breitling use).

 

Higher up the food chain you have asian built replicas of ETA movements. These vary widely in quality and although somewhat unreliable, have served me pretty well over the years. I have asian 7750 movements (chrono movement) that have lasted beautifully and kept great time for 4 years with no trouble. The nice thing about getting an asian ETA is that the are much cheaper (generally $100-$150), and if they die, you can buy a gen movt on the internet, and do a movement swap with a genuine swiss ETA which will last you a lifetime.

 

At the top of the food chain are the movements listed as "genuine ETA" by the rep dealers. This adds $100 - $150 more to the cost of the rep. The trouble is, there isn't really a way of knowing whether you're getting a genuine ETA. Sometimes you do, but very often it's a genuine ETA that's be refurbished by a chinese factory.

 

That's the 30 second overview. I hope it was moderately helpful. The best advice I can give you is that the search function will become your best friend if you want to buy a great rep. Read "edges guide to replica forums" and a couple of the other posts that are "pinned" at the top of the general discussion forums. It takes a lot of work and research to get up to speed in the Rep world. But that's half the fun!

 

Best of luck.

[dread100]

Thanks dovo1695. Very helpful review. Now onto my search for the Graham then

[neuhoover]

If you're curious, I bought a Graham Chronofighter Oversize Diver Tech Seal Scarab V1 from puretime about 7 or so years ago that is still looking and running great.  I wear it at least once a week, usually on weekends, and have had no problems with it.  To be fair, I'm easy on my watches -- don't bang them around; take them off when I'm doing something that might be rough or have potential to cause issues...  Since I purchased the watch I've done nothing to clean or overhaul the movement, but it's still doing well with no problems.  The watch itself still looks amazing and I get comments now and then from people when they see it.  I've compared it with a gen at a local store (very discreetly) and it's soooo close.  I haven't seen a V3 of the Scarab, but when I compare the Graham Oversize Diver Tech Seal V1 and V3 on puretime's site, the difference is negligible -- seems to be mainly dial-face fonts.  Good luck.