IWC Pilot Chrono - Pics!

[Watchmeister]

-1. The guy's posts are depressing to read. Never has anything positive to say. My sense is that he truly doesn't understand the whole concept of reps or watches for that matter. Gens would not live up to his expectations. You know that crooked day on the Pilot, here is a gen IWC chrono you can purchase right now for $10-12k.

Anyone who buys reps or gens knows that if you want perfection buy a Seiko.

I am sympathetic as he has had every rep go bad. But any dealer who takes an order from him is out of his mind.

In short, either reps are not built for him or he is not built for reps.

[BigSlickAK]

Great looking product from EL! Congrats.

Edited March 14, 2007 by BigSlickAK

[jeff g]

I wonder what an IWC AD would charge to straighten out that Date wheel?

Perhaps we all should stay away from watches that feature days, dates etc. Just in case.

In fact chronos in general. I have even seen minute markers on some watches that aren't

truly properly aligned.

[woody]

So, here are the things that we know for sure thus far.......

1. the pilot chrono looks good, just like many other recent chrono reps.

2. the day/date wheel may not be perfect, luck of the draw.

3. the sky is blue.

4. there are a lot of people that watch this show called "American Idol"

5. chad will never, ever truly be happy with his pilot chrono, no matter what.

Chad, seriously, your expectations are just too high, it really may be time for you to get the gen. And even gen don't guarantee your perfect aligned datewheel, although they will kiss your ass, and fix it for you, that is what you get for paying for a gen. more ass kissing service. how are you going to get a close to perfect rep? just think of the factories worker that put together this watch, do you think they make anywhere near the swiss watchsmith that put together the gen chrono, and even then, mistakes can and will happen. just my .2 cents as I think you really may need to think about why you are buying reps. This watch is one of my favorites and I may really get it. Please don't let some imperfections disappoint you. I have complained about the datewheel alignment too, but I try to be upbeat about it, and of course, you can always take it to a good watchsmith that may be able to fix your potential problem.

On a side note, I thought that the sub dial chrono hands were supposed to be lumed, but I could not confirm it in the photos, can anyone confirm or deny that? Thanks in advance.

[Romp]

So, here are the things that we know for sure thus far.......

1. the pilot chrono looks good, just like many other recent chrono reps.

2. the day/date wheel may not be perfect, luck of the draw.

3. the sky is blue.

4. there are a lot of people that watch this show called "American Idol"

5. chad will never, ever truly be happy with his pilot chrono, no matter what.

Chad, seriously, your expectations are just too high, it really may be time for you to get the gen. And even gen don't guarantee your perfect aligned datewheel, although they will kiss your ass, and fix it for you, that is what you get for paying for a gen. more ass kissing service. how are you going to get a close to perfect rep? just think of the factories worker that put together this watch, do you think they make anywhere near the swiss watchsmith that put together the gen chrono, and even then, mistakes can and will happen. just my .2 cents as I think you really may need to think about why you are buying reps. This watch is one of my favorites and I may really get it. Please don't let some imperfections disappoint you. I have complained about the datewheel alignment too, but I try to be upbeat about it, and of course, you can always take it to a good watchsmith that may be able to fix your potential problem.

On a side note, I thought that the sub dial chrono hands were supposed to be lumed, but I could not confirm it in the photos, can anyone confirm or deny that? Thanks in advance.

Chad sounds like a kid who is too impatient to get something having the same annoyance factor as a little kid ona long trip saying "Are we there yet?" "Are we There yet?" etc etc

Just read through the IWC forum today and man you have made so many posts just be patient until your own one comes!

[rsv123]

On a side note, I thought that the sub dial chrono hands were supposed to be lumed, but I could not confirm it in the photos, can anyone confirm or deny that? Thanks in advance.

I can't find the photo now, but I'm sure a saw a lume shot in a gen forum that only had the 3,6,9,12 and the hour/minute hands lumed.

[chad]

Do not worry...

I will not be posting anymore in this forum as I stated before.

but as a last comment.....

I am stunned at the insulting posts and pms I have gotten.

Funny how in my last post about the date wheel how I say TWICE, that the watch looks great.

Also I just posted a glowing review for my big bang that has a missing screw!!!!

I know that eddie was very dishonest with me and for me that does not fly even if I get the watch.

Even in all my posts about him in most I say that I will be the first to post a glowing review for him and the watch when it gets here but that I was concerned with honesty and communication.

I never used childish insults or insulted anyone back in the forum.

I was only trying to improve the quailty of communication through our dealers.

As far as nothing ever being good enough, I am shocked I am flamed so hard about the date wheel. As much modding and money goes into making things right you would think in a hobby forum like this that if there are 1500 posts about a cannon pin issue that I would not get personally insulted saying that the date bothers me.

I can't find the photo now, but I'm sure a saw a lume shot in a gen forum that only had the 3,6,9,12 and the hour/minute hands lumed.

Edited March 14, 2007 by chad

[rsv123]

Do not worry...

I will not be posting anymore in this forum as I stated before.

but as a last comment.....

I am stunned at the insulting posts and pms I have gotten.

Funny how in my last post about the date wheel how I say TWICE, that the watch looks great.

Also I just posted a glowing review for my big bang that has a missing screw!!!!

I know that eddie was very dishonest with me and for me that does not fly even if I get the watch.

Even in all my posts about him in most I say that I will be the first to post a glowing review for him and the watch when it gets here but that I was concerned with honesty and communication.

I never used childish insults or insulted anyone back in the forum.

I was only trying to improve the quailty of communication through our dealers.

As far as nothing ever being good enough, I am shocked I am flamed so hard about the date wheel. As much modding and money goes into making things right you would think in a hobby forum like this that if there are 1500 posts about a cannon pin issue that I would not get personally insulted saying that the date bothers me.

Anyway.....good bye

I can only speak on behalf of myself, but I have no issue with your critisism of Eddie or any dealings regarding watches you have bought from him in the past that have problems. The forums are for open discussion, if they were not they would lose 95% of their value. When you get a watch that you have a problem with and the dealer does not make good, posting an appropriate bad review will help everyone (and hopefully will put pressure on the dealer to change).

The only thing that irritated was the datewheel issue. It's a known problem with the day/date Asian 7750, the original gallery pics showed the problem and some gens have it. I didn't feel personally insulted by your posts and I apologise if you felt personally insulted by my posts, that was not my intention.

Remember, these are just fake watches (although obviously there is money changing hands). Sometimes we lose our perspective!

[Aquaracer]

I can only speak on behalf of myself, but I have no issue with your critisism of Eddie or any dealings regarding watches you have bought from him in the past that have problems. The forums are for open discussion, if they were not they would lose 95% of their value. When you get a watch that you have a problem with and the dealer does not make good, posting an appropriate bad review will help everyone (and hopefully will put pressure on the dealer to change).

The only thing that irritated was the datewheel issue. It's a known problem with the day/date Asian 7750, the original gallery pics showed the problem and some gens have it. I didn't feel personally insulted by your posts and I apologise if you felt personally insulted by my posts, that was not my intention.

Remember, these are just fake watches (although obviously there is money changing hands). Sometimes we lose our perspective!

Wel you know- they're not "Fake" watches.

They're real watches, which are built to be near identical replicas of "Name" brand watches. Strip off the logo and you could sell any of these watches on ebay for double or triple what we pay- all day long.

Gen watches have issues- plenty. ALL mechanical watches have issues, period. I have had my gen Tag, Omega and Panerai watches serviced within their warranty period due to things like date wheel stuck, running 12 minutes slow a day, second hand falling off, rough grindy winding mechaism etc.

Any product made in China that is a fraction of the cost of the "Name" brand will be a lower quality item.

If you want to buy one good watch and wear it for 20 years- I think Tourneau is a better starting point than Wo-Mart.

[rsv123]

Wel you know- they're not "Fake" watches.

They're real watches, which are built to be near identical replicas of "Name" brand watches. Strip off the logo and you could sell any of these watches on ebay for double or triple what we pay- all day long.

Gen watches have issues- plenty. ALL mechanical watches have issues, period. I have had my gen Tag, Omega and Panerai watches serviced within their warranty period due to things like date wheel stuck, running 12 minutes slow a day, second hand falling off, rough grindy winding mechaism etc.

Any product made in China that is a fraction of the cost of the "Name" brand will be a lower quality item.

If you want to buy one good watch and wear it for 20 years- I think Tourneau is a better starting point than Wo-Mart.

I guess I was (unsuccessfully) trying to get across that they are 'just watches' and we sometimes get too worked up over them, relative to everything else that is actually important in life (I know, I know, life wouldn't be worth living without the latest IWC pilot chrono rep... )

P.S. I know that since I gave Chad a hard time about the datewheel, my pilot chrono is going to arrive with a datewheel so crooked the words are at 45 degrees... sods/murphys law.

[thomasng]

I would say that chad's behaviour is very similar to what a lot of us believed one time, even though we may not like to admit it. What I've learned after so many years of business study, is that people want the same product, but by paying the lowest possible price, provided even if they could afford the more expensive article. When they get the item, they fool themselves into believing that this "bargain" item is the exact same as the more expensive product, and they expect it to perform the exact same operations, have the same quality, when they clearly do not.

This is exactly what we're seeing here in the replica world. People see genuine watches they like, but either can't afford them, or want to pay the lowest possible price for a substitute that comes close to it, and when they get it, they want the exact same quality as the more expensive, $10,000 item, but of course we know inside our minds that these items will never be 100% perfect, especially in the context that they are made either in mass production facilities or are made by people who get wages 1/10000th of a Swiss watchmaker.

A simpler way to explain all of this is, people just simply don't realize "You get what you pay for". Except in this case with replica watches, we get a WAY lot more for paying maybe 5 cents on the dollar then you should with electronic items, etc. but of course we will NEVER get something that is exactly the same as a genuine article.

Lesson done.

[Aquaracer]

I would say that chad's behaviour is very similar to what a lot of us believed one time, even though we may not like to admit it. What I've learned after so many years of business study, is that people want the same product, but by paying the lowest possible price, provided even if they could afford the more expensive article. When they get the item, they fool themselves into believing that this "bargain" item is the exact same as the more expensive product, and they expect it to perform the exact same operations, have the same quality, when they clearly do not.

This is exactly what we're seeing here in the replica world. People see genuine watches they like, but either can't afford them, or want to pay the lowest possible price for a substitute that comes close to it, and when they get it, they want the exact same quality as the more expensive, $10,000 item, but of course we know inside our minds that these items will never be 100% perfect, especially in the context that they are made either in mass production facilities or are made by people who get wages 1/10000th of a Swiss watchmaker.

A simpler way to explain all of this is, people just simply don't realize "You get what you pay for". Except in this case with replica watches, we get a WAY lot more for paying maybe 5 cents on the dollar then you should with electronic items, etc. but of course we will NEVER get something that is exactly the same as a genuine article.

Lesson done.

Yeah but Chad's not wrong really- If we were all buying $50 Canal street stuff- Like the Silix cheapo stuff then we'd have no reason to [censored]- They'd just be costune jewelry for men.

But at $200 or close to FOUR HUNDRED bucks which is what this IWC costs a lot fo people who bought em- you really should expect a pretty frickin clean piece. I mean that'll buy you one hell of an Ipod or a 32" HDTV LCD TV or a Garmin GPS. So I think the $400 IS well spent on this IWC- It'll look bitching, and my experience with the new 7750's is they're pretty reliable. If I get a couple of years out of it beautiful- A Gen would need a servicing at that point for aorund $500-$600. Instead I'll throw mine away and buy the latest and greatest rep.

And yes both of my gen 80's Porsche design Orfina watches both have the crooked Day wheel.

[chad]

I'll chime back in since it has returned to a discussion and not a flame war.

First....about the date wheel....was not aware of gens having this problems and none of my reps have so i'll just retract that. I do not know everything and never claimed to be an expert.

Admin...

Yes I agree with what you are saying but my thoughts are this...

I am really impressed with the reps and cannot believe their accuracy....and only believing that would make me shudder at simple issues...

Take the big bang for example...the 10 and 20 are not lined up on the dial (a simple fix in whatever program they used to print the dials is the fix)

but look at the case and strap etc........AMAZING. I could not believe it when I saw it. You must also know when a screw fell out that was annoying too. Someone put all that hard work into this watch and some factory worker cannot do his job right. It is a shame that is all......nothing I am going to lose sleep over.

So my point is someone went to alot of trouble to make that case and they did an amazing job. It is a shame that the SIMPLE thing to get right things were left out.

If the case was bad I would never notice the subdials...

The iwc pilot looks fantastic in the photos....whoever did the dial and case did a great job. If the rep was crap I would have not even noticed the date being crooked. (i retract that this is a simple fix though based on all of your comments though)

One thing I say to friends is that with rep you get ALOT for your money. I believe that. My posts might make you think otherwise but that is not the case.

The fact that the reps are so good makes the easy fix flaws more painful. That statement certainly does not mean I am not satisfied or amazed with some of these watches.

Yeah but Chad's not wrong really- If we were all buying $50 Canal street stuff- Like the Silix cheapo stuff then we'd have no reason to [censored]- They'd just be costune jewelry for men.

But at $200 or close to FOUR HUNDRED bucks which is what this IWC costs a lot fo people who bought em- you really should expect a pretty frickin clean piece. I mean that'll buy you one hell of an Ipod or a 32" HDTV LCD TV or a Garmin GPS. So I think the $400 IS well spent on this IWC- It'll look bitching, and my experience with the new 7750's is they're pretty reliable. If I get a couple of years out of it beautiful- A Gen would need a servicing at that point for aorund $500-$600. Instead I'll throw mine away and buy the latest and greatest rep.

And yes both of my gen 80's Porsche design Orfina watches both have the crooked Day wheel.

[rsv123]

I'll chime back in since it has returned to a discussion and not a flame war.

First....about the date wheel....was not aware of gens having this problems and none of my reps have so i'll just retract that. I do not know everything and never claimed to be an expert.

Admin...

Yes I agree with what you are saying but my thoughts are this...

I am really impressed with the reps and cannot believe their accuracy....and only believing that would make me shudder at simple issues...

Take the big bang for example...the 10 and 20 are not lined up on the dial (a simple fix in whatever program they used to print the dials is the fix)

but look at the case and strap etc........AMAZING. I could not believe it when I saw it. You must also know when a screw fell out that was annoying too. Someone put all that hard work into this watch and some factory worker cannot do his job right. It is a shame that is all......nothing I am going to lose sleep over.

So my point is someone went to alot of trouble to make that case and they did an amazing job. It is a shame that the SIMPLE thing to get right things were left out.

If the case was bad I would never notice the subdials...

The iwc pilot looks fantastic in the photos....whoever did the dial and case did a great job. If the rep was crap I would have not even noticed the date being crooked. (i retract that this is a simple fix though based on all of your comments though)

One thing I say to friends is that with rep you get ALOT for your money. I believe that. My posts might make you think otherwise but that is not the case.

The fact that the reps are so good makes the easy fix flaws more painful. That statement certainly does not mean I am not satisfied or amazed with some of these watches.

The loose screws and great bracelet/lousy dial (or vice versa) seems to be just a feature of bad Chinese QC. What is annoying here is that just about everyone in the design/manufacturing process has done their best and then 1 person responsible for part of the assembly process (or checking the dial, etc) lets the side down. I used to think it was a conspiracy (to make you buy the next model) but I think it's just the "if it's good enough, most people will buy it" mentality...

[eddhead]

-1. The guy's posts are depressing to read. Never has anything positive to say. My sense is that he truly doesn't understand the whole concept of reps or watches for that matter. Gens would not live up to his expectations. You know that crooked day on the Pilot, here is a gen IWC chrono you can purchase right now for $10-12k.

Anyone who buys reps or gens knows that if you want perfection buy a Seiko.

I am sympathetic as he has had every rep go bad. But any dealer who takes an order from him is out of his mind.

In short, either reps are not built for him or he is not built for reps.

maybe.. and I probably would have reacted differently if the comments had been directed toward his posts as opposed to his person. Or even if the comment was directed toward the watch.. you know.. the flaw is minor for the price yada yada... but to say I have no patience for YOU... without any personal provocation is pretty personal and hurtful..

I mean, I do not want to go off on a rant.. .i get your point and all.. but there has got to be a better way to tell someone that their expectations are unreasonable than that.. anyway this is off-topic so I will go away now.

[Watchmeister]

Chad-

Very pleased to see you have come around. Reps are anything but perfect. Gens aren't perfect. But reps cost 5-10% of the cost of the gen. On that basis if the watch is in one piece you are ahead of the game. But if you invest in having a watchsmith (or yourself, if so inclined) go over your watch you can improve your rep life dramatically. IMHO, expensive (or any for that matter) mechanical watches never make economic sense. Mechanical watches, rep or gen, are for those who aprreciate them. I long ago accepted the fact that even within the most expensive watch categories each specific watch has its own eccentricities. That is one of the nice things about them. When we pay what we pay for reps which is exponentially more than what the factory receives there is no way that QC pays for the factory unless people refuse to buy them. In the new anonymous illegal goods through the mail world it would be very difficult to organize an effective boycott. The manufacturer has no idea who you are and you have no idea who they are. Even in our safe little world for all the screaming about dealer inaccuracies nothing has really changed except for a couple of descriptions and dealers ceasing to post anything here. We used to be able to come to the forum to see new things for sale first. Now you either search the dealer sites or see someone else posting the link.

Back to the IWC, I can't wait for mine.

[rsv123]

maybe.. and I probably would have reacted differently if the comments had been directed toward his posts as opposed to his person. Or even if the comment was directed toward the watch.. you know.. the flaw is minor for the price yada yada... but to say I have no patience for YOU... without any personal provocation is pretty personal and hurtful..

I mean, I do not want to go off on a rant.. .i get your point and all.. but there has got to be a better way to tell someone that their expectations are unreasonable than that.. anyway this is off-topic so I will go away now.

I think you need to read my comment in the context of the current thread and this thread. I was losing patience with Chad and not the watch, or anyone/anything else, which is why I addressed him directly. If the worst thing anyone says to me this month is that they have lost patience with me, I will consider myself lucky.

[chad]

well I have not "come around" people just like to take my pointing out flaws and run with them.

Ironically, my watch has been at us customs for 2 1/2 days. Never happened before with any order, usually scanned and out of there in 30 mins according to tracking. I had a feeling one way or another I might never seen this watch.

oh well.... i'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Aquaracer]

well I have not "come around" people just like to take my pointing out flaws and run with them.

Ironically, my watch has been at us customs for 2 1/2 days. Never happened before with any order, usually scanned and out of there in 30 mins according to tracking. I had a feeling one way or another I might never seen this watch.

oh well.... i'll keep my fingers crossed.

Yeah same with me- But relax-

I doubt IWC has a standing injunction with US Customs like Rolex, Panerai etc.

It's not a counterfeit watch- It's a watch misapproriating someone else's registered trademark. If you had a steamer trunk full of them even if it's a new brand that no one had ever heard of- they'd confiscate them because then you were in the business of importing counterfeit goods.

Custom only can get involved at the port if you are "Smuggling"- So if the documents say "Childs toy" and there's a wristwatch inside- they'll bill you (And me) for the retail value of that item- so we'd owe several hundred dollars in tax or admit that it's a replica which may or may not get it confiscated.

Probably just slow customs.

[chad]

I am not too worried....just a first for me...the customs delay

Yeah same with me- But relax-

I doubt IWC has a standing injunction with US Customs like Rolex, Panerai etc.

It's not a counterfeit watch- It's a watch misapproriating someone else's registered trademark. If you had a steamer trunk full of them even if it's a new brand that no one had ever heard of- they'd confiscate them because then you were in the business of importing counterfeit goods.

Custom only can get involved at the port if you are "Smuggling"- So if the documents say "Childs toy" and there's a wristwatch inside- they'll bill you (And me) for the retail value of that item- so we'd owe several hundred dollars in tax or admit that it's a replica which may or may not get it confiscated.

Probably just slow customs.