Went to and AP Dealer today

[panerai153]

My wife and I are on a cruise right now, doing the shore excursion thing in a couple of ports(lots cheaper to pay for a beach excursion than a day shopping in places like Georgetown Grand Cayman)!!!! Well this morning walking through the shopping area at the cruise dock in Falmouth Jamaica, I noticed a jeweler with and AP sign. Thought it was a little odd, small shop, cruise port that pretty much caters to RCI. On the way back this afternoon, had a few minutes to kill so we went into the store. Surprisingly, they had quite a good stock of AP's. New Tour Auto, Safari, 44mm FC, and the one I was really interested in, the new SS Diver with the open Caseback. Salesperson was very nice, took it and the Safari out and I tried them both on, primarily focused on the Diver. I have my V7 with me, but another watch on today.

One thing I noticed, the dial seemed a little more gloss than the V7, although it could have been the lighting in the store. Other than that, there wasn't a whit of difference. My watch has an AR Crystal from guru on RWI, and the difference between it and the gen or microscopic if at all. The open Caseback is nice, and the movement is really a thing of beauty. The rep manufacturers attempts at duplicating the genuine movement pale in comparison. Since mine is the closed Caseback, that isn't a consideration. Here's the kicker. Walk out the door price, 14450.00 USD, discounted from over 16k. I probably have around 1k or a bit more in mine including the Powermatic 80 movement, guru Crystal and Donerix shark strap and the cost to get the movement swapped out and the Crystal installed. My final conclusion, if I won the powerball lottery, inherited a fortune or was already pretty well off, then I might go for the gen, but for me, there isn't a 13k+ difference in these watches.

Wish I could have gotten a wrist you of the gen, but I felt like that might be pushing it a bit! So here's mine.

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[droptopman]

Hope you guys are enjoying yourselves. Trip to the AD is always fun. Nice pic.

[Legend]

 

 

My wife and I are on a cruise right now, doing the shore excursion thing in a couple of ports(lots cheaper to pay for a beach excursion than a day shopping in places like Georgetown Grand Cayman)!!!! Well this morning walking through the shopping area at the cruise dock in Falmouth Jamaica, I noticed a jeweler with and AP sign. Thought it was a little odd, small shop, cruise port that pretty much caters to RCI. On the way back this afternoon, had a few minutes to kill so we went into the store. Surprisingly, they had quite a good stock of AP's. New Tour Auto, Safari, 44mm FC, and the one I was really interested in, the new SS Diver with the open Caseback. Salesperson was very nice, took it and the Safari out and I tried them both on, primarily focused on the Diver. I have my V7 with me, but another watch on today.

One thing I noticed, the dial seemed a little more gloss than the V7, although it could have been the lighting in the store. Other than that, there wasn't a whit of difference. My watch has an AR Crystal from guru on RWI, and the difference between it and the gen or microscopic if at all. The open Caseback is nice, and the movement is really a thing of beauty. The rep manufacturers attempts at duplicating the genuine movement pale in comparison. Since mine is the closed Caseback, that isn't a consideration. Here's the kicker. Walk out the door price, 14450.00 USD, discounted from over 16k. I probably have around 1k or a bit more in mine including the Powermatic 80 movement, guru Crystal and Donerix shark strap and the cost to get the movement swapped out and the Crystal installed. My final conclusion, if I won the powerball lottery, inherited a fortune or was already pretty well off, then I might go for the gen, but for me, there isn't a 13k+ difference in these watches.

Wish I could have gotten a wrist you of the gen, but I felt like that might be pushing it a bit! So here's mine.

 

 

 

 

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I agree. The AP diver is not a gen I would buy even if I have the money. Yes, differences do exist, but like you so wisely said my friend, its not $13k worth of mistakes. If there has to be a value put on the VISUAL differences (excluding movement quality), I would list the sum as within $1k, mainly down to finishing of the case and bezel screws, finishing of the dial, and the construction of the inner bezel lume. When it comes to a rep like the recent divers, the only real mod needed is actually not to the watch, but the wearer; Drape on some confidence and wear it like a gen, and its very very unlikely that you would ever get called out. Yes, there are always mods one could carry out to the watch to bring it closer, but hey, I HAVE seen gens with beat up cases and bezel screws, being sold at secondhand dealers'. 

At the end of the day, to me, a watch is a statement, and an extension of the wearer persona. Statements do not differentiate between whether a dial is more glossy or whether the bezel screws are well constructed. As long as one is comfortable wearing his or her watch of choice, and is loving every moment that the watch graces the wrist, what the rest of the world thinks of it does not really matter. The uno numero mod to any watch should be wearer attitude. A V7 diver on the wrist of someone who exudes life and confidence is much more believable than a gen diver on the wrist of a huckster peddling reps in a suitcase. 

[jason6168]

I agree. The AP diver is not a gen I would buy even if I have the money. Yes, differences do exist, but like you so wisely said my friend, its not $13k worth of mistakes. If there has to be a value put on the VISUAL differences (excluding movement quality), I would list the sum as within $1k, mainly down to finishing of the case and bezel screws, finishing of the dial, and the construction of the inner bezel lume. When it comes to a rep like the recent divers, the only real mod needed is actually not to the watch, but the wearer; Drape on some confidence and wear it like a gen, and its very very unlikely that you would ever get called out. Yes, there are always mods one could carry out to the watch to bring it closer, but hey, I HAVE seen gens with beat up cases and bezel screws, being sold at secondhand dealers'. 

At the end of the day, to me, a watch is a statement, and an extension of the wearer persona. Statements do not differentiate between whether a dial is more glossy or whether the bezel screws are well constructed. As long as one is comfortable wearing his or her watch of choice, and is loving every moment that the watch graces the wrist, what the rest of the world thinks of it does not really matter. The uno numero mod to any watch should be wearer attitude. A V7 diver on the wrist of someone who exudes life and confidence is much more believable than a gen diver on the wrist of a huckster peddling reps in a suitcase. 

Very well said from my bro A. Fully agreed .

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[panerai153]

Mr. A,

Very well said sir. I have always thought the same about reps, unless it's one that is so blatantly bad that you can spot it from 20 feet away, it's going to boil down to the credibility of the wearer. Either you can or you can't, and of course that varies with reps. Pretty much anyone that has a decent job can afford a genuine Rolex sub or and Omega PO or a Panerai. Most of us could, with a little stretching, afford at least one gently used AP. When you start getting into the rarified air of Patek and Richard Mille tourbillions and some of the other 200k plus complications, I know that I would feel uncomfortable wearing that type watch, because I know there isn't a chance in Hell that I could afford the genuine. So if you are comfortable in your own skin, and are confident that what you are wearing is in your budget range even if it stretches it a little, then you won't have any problems wearing nice reps.

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[highoeyazmuhudee]

theres one shop in saint maarten that sells it all in one place. unusual to see omega and rolex in the same shop these days, they also had tudor, cartier, AP, JLC, panerai. i guess they had some good leverage to be the only shop to represent all these brands

[508-Fanatic]

 

Thoughts on this piece? It has swiss movement, has been serviced / AR'd and lumed also the screws had been worked by Domi. How's it look, any improvements I should make? I prefer it on it's metal bracelet for comfort. Might consider a Donerix tho.

Happy to get feedback on it and suggestions

[martijnp]

Very interesting read, thanks for sharing this experience. I think the Diver is a great watch and they did a great job on the rep! So the first thing to update on my Diver is the double AR? 

Enjoy the holiday mate!

Edited October 9, 2015 by martijnp

[Legend]

Very interesting read, thanks for sharing this experience. I think the Diver is a great watch and they did a great job on the rep! So the first thing to update on my Diver is the double AR? 

Enjoy the holiday mate!

To me, the type of AR you want to install is a matter of personal preference. 

If you want it to be accurate looking, remember the gen diver does not have double AR, but excellent single AR on the underside of the crystal.

The early AP ROOs did not even have AR on their crystals!

[panerai153]

508,

Yours looks pretty good sir. Is that a V5 or V7. The Crystal on mine is a single AR, one of guru's over on RWI.

AFA these divers, you probably aren't going to fool a very knowledgable person selling genuine AP's especially if he can get them side by side. Outside of that, at arms length, they will pass muster. Again like was discussed in another topic started yesterday, a whole lot depends on the person wearing the watch.

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[panerai153]

theres one shop in saint maarten that sells it all in one place. unusual to see omega and rolex in the same shop these days, they also had tudor, cartier, AP, JLC, panerai. i guess they had some good leverage to be the only shop to represent all these brands

Seems to be the norm in several of the Caribbean islands, especially the ones that get a lot of cruise ships in. I believe that some of the owners must have a lot of clout to get several top brands in the same store, but like Kirk's Freeport in Georgetown, Grand Cayman they have been in business for a long time, have very nice stores, and obviously have the resources to finance a huge watch inventory.

What was surprising to me was to see this small shop that sells AP, IWC and several other slightly lesser brands. Surprising, because they are inside the gated area of the port, and only cruise ship passengers are allowed inside. Also this port was financed by Royal Caribbean and it is only used by other cruise lines when there are no RCI Ships in port.

My wife asked me, who in the world off a cruise ship is going to walk in a store on a cruise nod and buy a 17000.00 USD watch? I told her that the diver I tried on was probably the cheapest AP In the store!! Obviously, they are selling some, or they couldn't stay in business.

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[highoeyazmuhudee]

 

Seems to be the norm in several of the Caribbean islands, especially the ones that get a lot of cruise ships in. I believe that some of the owners must have a lot of clout to get several top brands in the same store, but like Kirk's Freeport in Georgetown, Grand Cayman they have been in business for a long time, have very nice stores, and obviously have the resources to finance a huge watch inventory.

What was surprising to me was to see this small shop that sells AP, IWC and several other slightly lesser brands. Surprising, because they are inside the gated area of the port, and only cruise ship passengers are allowed inside. Also this port was financed by Royal Caribbean and it is only used by other cruise lines when there are no RCI Ships in port.

My wife asked me, who in the world off a cruise ship is going to walk in a store on a cruise nod and buy a 17000.00 USD watch? I told her that the diver I tried on was probably the cheapest AP In the store!! Obviously, they are selling some, or they couldn't stay in business.

 

 

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women just dont get it

i tried an AP on in st.thomas, the guy working there let me step outside the store to see how it looked in daylight. was taken back by his level of trust. in north america you need to be let in to see the rolex watches, and most places here have security guards eyeing you.