Disappointed With Big Bang

[Guest TTK]

Not commenting on dealer or the rep....just an observation in general on the Big Bang.........I can't find anything attractive about this watch at all.......it looks t me like a botched up half assed plagiarised AP Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph / 259400k....without any of the redeeming qualities of the AP.......when Gerald Genta designed the AP in 1972.....he created a masterpiece.....the perfect blend of sports and dress watch......meeting perfectly his design brief......virtually every aspect of the RO is perfect ...from it's modular construction to the layout of the bezel.....the most striking of all the design features are the screws which are driven through the bezel, all in perfect symmetrical alignment and which hold the case, the six sided screws are synonymous with the Royal Oak and are it's most readily identifiable feature.

When you compare it with the Big Bang......well...let's just say...the BB shows it's lack of class and quality...how it won Watch of the Year ...I'll never know......someone must have been feeding biscuits to the jury's guide dogs......the bezel is the worst feature....with the double slot screws all over the place....I'd have booted the designer's [censored] if he had presented that as the finished article......as for the rest of the watch.......well.....to use an old Scottish phrase...."there isn''t a pun o' it hinging the right way"......you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear....and this is a porker.....oink ..oink.....!

As I said.....I'm not knocking the rep......it's trying hard to make a crap watch look good......JMHO....!

@Admin....knowing you as a hardcore AP fan.....I must confess I was a little taken aback to find that this was on your shopping list......what do I know.....huh...!

Edited January 6, 2007 by TTK

[thomasng]

@Admin....knowing you as a hardcore AP fan.....I must confess I was a little taken aback to find that this was on your shopping list......what do I know.....huh...!

Even I surprised myself.... I guess I bought the rep just to get a feel for it for a few hundred dollars, instead of paying for a genuine... I am willing to pay $26,000 for a RBII Offshore, but I wouldn't pay more than $2,000 for a genuine HBB.

Otherwise, I agree with you totally that it is a complete ripoff of the Offshore, especially the Montoya version. And the ridiculous thing is that the genuine piece doesn't sell that for much less than the Offshore (Once you include the discounting that comes with the ROO)! And don't forget, all there is inside is a poorly finished ETA movement, while the ROO uses a JLC movement with DD module. The design of the ROO is also much more practical, the screws on the front actually has purpose, and the bezel has perfect symmetry, while the HBB bezel's screws don't align in contrast to the Offshore.

What's even worse is the Bigger Bang Tourbillon sells for more than $150,000 and uses a Progress tourbillon movement. The Royal Oak Chrono Tourbillon in SS sells for less and has a much more complicated movement.

[eddhead]

Not commenting on dealer or the rep....just an observation in general on the Big Bang.........I can't find anything attractive about this watch at all.......it looks t me like a botched up half assed plagiarised AP Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph / 259400k....without any of the redeeming qualities of the AP.......when Gerald Genta designed the AP in 1972.....he created a masterpiece.....the perfect blend of sports and dress watch......meeting perfectly his design brief......virtually every aspect of the RO is perfect ...from it's modular construction to the layout of the bezel.....the most striking of all the design features are the screws which are driven through the bezel, all in perfect symmetrical alignment and which hold the case, the six sided screws are synonymous with the Royal Oak and are it's most readily identifiable feature.

When you compare it with the Big Bang......well...let's just say...the BB shows it's lack of class and quality...how it won Watch of the Year ...I'll never know......someone must have been feeding biscuits to the jury's guide dogs......the bezel is the worst feature....with the double slot screws all over the place....I'd have booted the designer's [censored] if he had presented that as the finished article......as for the rest of the watch.......well.....to use an old Scottish phrase...."there isn''t a pun o' it hinging the right way"......you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear....and this is a porker.....oink ..oink.....!

As I said.....I'm not knocking the rep......it's trying hard to make a crap watch look good......JMHO....!

@Admin....knowing you as a hardcore AP fan.....I must confess I was a little taken aback to find that this was on your shopping list......what do I know.....huh...!

I was just thinking the same thing when I read your post... to each their own, I guess, but to me, this watch is butt ugly

[Guest TTK]

@Admin......I bet the BB Tourby is built to order......'cos I can't see them stockpiling them.......and I can't see any dedicated rich WIS bypassing the Royal Oak or even better.....the Breguet Marine Tourbillon Chronograph at ONLY $134,500 .....I'm afraid Jean Claude Bivers design credentials won't pull a fairly mediocre manufacture ?.... such as Hublot out of it's depth.....no matter how many times Carlo Crocco or MDM Hublot use the epithet ...."la montre des montres"......because one thing's for sure....it ain't the watch of all watches.......not in the face of AP or Breguet....both of which are certainly much more desirable than Hoolop ( Thai).......and at a lesser price......

[tenacious_b]

send that crap back. If your dealer is worth a damn, he or she will replace it. I mean, sure we are lucky to have our dealers, but we should be able to expect to receive what we order, and have it be adequately representative of all they hype that the dealers collectively throw at us. Especially given the hefty pricetag of this model. My suggestion deal with Andrew next time. He doesn't drop ship, and can actually give you item the once over to filter out bad items.

[thomasng]

@Admin......I bet the BB Tourby is built to order......'cos I can't see them stockpiling them.......and I can't see any dedicated rich WIS bypassing the Royal Oak or even better.....the Breguet Marine Tourbillon Chronograph at ONLY $134,500 .....I'm afraid Jean Claude Bivers design credentials won't pull a fairly mediocre manufacture ?.... such as Hublot out of it's depth.....no matter how many times Carlo Crocco or MDM Hublot use the epithet ...."la montre des montres"......because one thing's for sure....it ain't the watch of all watches.......not in the face of AP or Breguet....both of which are certainly much more desirable than Hoolop ( Thai).......and at a lesser price......

No competition with that gorgeous Breguet, that's for sure. If you would take it in a Classique case (even better IMO) with the same movement, it's all yours for $65,000 preowned. Now that really makes the BB Tourbillon look like a pile of puke.

Heck, even the RM 002 Tourbillon is cheaper than the BB Tourbillon, and the RM 002 is one badass watch that I had for a week.

Basically, the Royal Oak is an unequalled and unparalleled watch in the high horology market. It was the first steel watch from the "Big 3", and everyone else followed them. They started the innovative monocoque case design, and the first idea of slapping a huge price tag on a steel watch. Then came the Offshore, another shock to high horology. The first oversized watch from a high end brand like AP also became the icon and set the standard for contemporary design among the top manufactures. The value in the Offshore comes from its history and its symbolic significance in the watch market, coming from arguably the top manufacture in Switzerland (Patek is falling behind in quality).

[r11co]

Not commenting on dealer or the rep....just an observation in general on the Big Bang.........I can't find anything attractive about this watch at all.......it looks t me like......

In other words, fugly (as eddhead said...)

[bigmouth]

My suggestion deal with Andrew next time. He doesn't drop ship, and can actually give you item the once over to filter out bad items.

I'm pretty sure Andrew is a dropshipper too. Received my Trustytime PO full of scratches on the bracelet.

[dylan]

As a consensus, yes, Admin, I think it should go back too. It would be one thing that it is the wrong model and that you can live with the mistakes, but it seemed that some of the mistakes, like previous posters said, may be a tad significant, and considered with the price that was paid on this piece, if I were you, I would. You just have to ask yourself, can you live with those mistakes day in and day out, based on the price you paid, on a model that you did not want. If not, then I would say contact the dealer and get the return going. good luck.

I am also having issues with preorder HBB rose gold version...I preorder with Angus at the inflated price before Josh/Andrew decided to low ball him by selling below retail.

I received it with many major problems...none cosmetic...my watch had a missing second hand on the subdial,

and a faulty minute hand...and when i say faulty i mean it was just flopping around like not on properly...

I contacted Angus and he immediately apologized and told me to send it back for a full refund...

During transit we were in good communication, but the watch was delivered to his watchsmith

Wang Do Ba and signed for on Jan. 4, at 9:53 AM. tracking no: EQ932729285US

Since then I have sent 3 emails to him and no response. So far I'm out $498...that is $478 for the watch $20 for shipping.

My last email informed him that if I got no response that I was opening up a dispute via Paypal.

Hopefully this prompts him to get back to me. I don't want to badmouth him at all and give him a chance

to make this right...but I wanted to put my situation out there.

Also I was told the first batch were faulty anyways...the maker of the watch has admitted that the chrono needles and

such were no good.

Any suggestions??

[flavor flav]

neil, i agree the AP is a much better watch. after AP, what is really better? but as far as design goes, i love the big bang! one of my favorite watches. i have not bought the rep yet and ive been considering the gen rose gold with black ceramic bezel. the AP while no question is of better build quality and the movement needs not words to describe it, but personally, i think it's boring and kind of ugly. i feel hublot took a great watch design idea and made it look good. to each his own. the BB seems to make you angry! LOL!

[ubiquitous]

Not a huge fan of the BB, but the Black Magic variation is intriguing...

[PureTime]

I am also having issues with preorder HBB rose gold version...I preorder with Angus at the inflated price before Josh/Andrew decided to low ball him by selling below retail.

I received it with many major problems...none cosmetic...my watch had a missing second hand on the subdial,

and a faulty minute hand...and when i say faulty i mean it was just flopping around like not on properly...

I contacted Angus and he immediately apologized and told me to send it back for a full refund...

During transit we were in good communication, but the watch was delivered to his watchsmith

Wang Do Ba and signed for on Jan. 4, at 9:53 AM. tracking no: EQ932729285US

Since then I have sent 3 emails to him and no response. So far I'm out $498...that is $478 for the watch $20 for shipping.

My last email informed him that if I got no response that I was opening up a dispute via Paypal.

Hopefully this prompts him to get back to me. I don't want to badmouth him at all and give him a chance

to make this right...but I wanted to put my situation out there.

Also I was told the first batch were faulty anyways...the maker of the watch has admitted that the chrono needles and

such were no good.

Any suggestions??

Dear David,

I am really sorry I had a 2 days holiday for myself because today is my birthday and I could not reply to your mails immediately. I will proceed the refund tomorrow.

And for the shipping, we never signed any parcel on 4th, the tracking says it is signed because the Post Man put the note inside my mail box instead of giving the parcel to me, only one of our colleagues has the mailbox key so I can only know what is in the mail when my colleague go to the post office and take it back, I was not lying to you that I have not received.

Again I am extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused to anyone who got problems with your HBB, this HBB is really nice but the factory did not do a very good QC on them, from now on all HBB shipped from me will be inspected PERSONALLY by me.

I will also refund Thomasng for his HBB, anyone who is not satisfied with the HBB can ask for a replacement or refund.

Have a nice day and wish myself a happy birthday

Cheers,

Angus

[lovepanerai]

Happy Brithday Angus

[zbig]

Angus happy birthday

[Maikel]

[PureTime]

Thank you ALL

[rogerthat]

Angus,

Any update on the date for the Black Magic and/or Rose Gold/Ceramic Big Bang???

Cheers,

M

Thank you ALL

[MikeC65]

Well they're not all defective. I got my RG HBB from Angus today (talk about fast shipping... went out on the 2nd and I got it today, the 8th in the USA) and it is perfect. The only problem I had was the clasp wasn't locking shut but it was just that it needed to be bent a tiny bit. Once I did that it locks shut just fine. The watch works great, knock on wood. None of the hands have fallen off and the chronograph works just fine. Also everything lines up perfectly. It looks GREAT.

Wonderful looking watch. To those who think they are ugly, they look much better in real life than in photographs. This is definitely my best looking watch and I include my gen Tags in that.

Angus!!! Black Magic and Rose Gold Ceramic, please!!!! I need these watches!

Edited January 9, 2007 by MikeC65

[thomasng]

I must end this thread with the result:

I paid $459 and all I got is $418 in return. Not to mention is I had to pay $17 in Paypal fees. I also had to spend $46.01 on returning the watch back. In addition, I've lost another $20 on Paypal's ripoff exchange rates. Overall, I am out more than $100 for a watch that wasn't right in the first place, that was faulty, and I never got a chance to wear it. I can't help but feel I was shafted.

I am asking for the other $41 back from the base watch and the promised $20 from the shipping back. It still doesn't change the fact that I will still be out $60 on this. I know it isn't much, but the fact just ticks me off.

[flavor flav]

Sucks when you get a new toy and then have to send it back to the store because it's broke?

Sounds like you're not too worried about the RG but the bezel and screws would be a deal

breaker for me unless I could get it fixed locally and have the dealer give me a break on the

next purchase to cover the reasonable cost. I bought a panny w/ ss bracelet that won't clasp

tight and I'm hoping I can file it or adjust something.. haven't really looked at it yet. There has

to be a way to fix that easily???

yours is an easy fix! inside the release buttons are tiny screws. loosen them up a bit or tighten them untill is locks right. it's adjustable.

[mossanti]

@Admin..Its very sad to read all your experience....even after you got your refund back not in full ...I hope Angus will settle this with you as a gentleman and as a good dealer and a responsible too.

I have not wear my HBB yet after the strap is open loose came out at one side. I only wear it for only 1 week after I got it , and now I;ve not yet can wear it. some problem with the Strap. I contacted Angus, and he promise to do something with my problem.

AS a responsible dealer , I hope he will do all the rights things for all his customer who had such a bad experience with their HBB and any other watches...