The Alpha and the Omega - A Comparison

[Leifhaus]

Hello, this is my first post and thought I'd share some new pictures.

I received a new PO rep from Andrew (5 days from order to delivery) and have some photos below comparing it to my Alpha PO.

I know that the PO bracelet is hard to do without risk of f-ing up, so I took the watch to the jewelry store this morning to have the bracelet sized. Sizing no problem, however the jeweler wanted to try and fix the diver's extension as it wasn't staying in, he said that, "his own watch had the same problem sometimes". Basically diver's extensions are all a pain in the axx I'm guessing. He couldn't fix it and said that it was defective and "what a shame for such a nice piece". I didn't want to say anything at that point. He didn't say anything about the watch itself, he's been in the business 50 years or so, but his daughter said when she first saw it, "oh that's one of the new ones"? Well since her question was vague, I thought to myself, "well yes it is a new one" and left it at that. He charged me $12, which considering that I couldn't do it was fair. He once regulated my O&W Mirage III for free! As far as the diver's extension, I got back to the office and super glued it shut so it works fine now . I may eventually order a gen clasp.

Anyway on to the pix. Here is my Alpha PO. I paid $31 plus $25 shipping from Chin (3 weeks delivery). Andrew is much faster. I took the watch to the beach and walked right into the ocean, fully expecting it to flood, didn't flood, I've had it in water and showers since, no fogging no problems. It's keeping +5 a day. The second hand sweep is very jittery and not smooth, but still it's a great watch. The Omxga rep is 5.9 oz. Compared to the Alpha which is 4.8 oz. This is after the bracelet has been resized.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00246.jpg

The alpha is really a fantasy rep. as it doesn't have the ridiculous HE valve like on the gen. watch, which is a fantasy item. I mean how many people in the world will really use the HE valve.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00264.jpg

Here are the two side-by-side. The alpha looks bigger, hard to tell without measuring.

The bracelets. I actually like the Alpha bracelet, it's comfortable except a little sharp, brushed not polisehd, not as heavy.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00258.jpg

another shot of the bracelet clasps. I like the Alpha push button release, very easy and works well, not finished well on the inside, but who cares about the inside.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00259.jpg

The Alpha Rehaut much thinner.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00262.jpg

The Omega Rehaut much thicker.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00263.jpg

The famous defective diver's extension on everyone's PO. This is right after I superglued it shut! That's the nice thing about REPs. You can do whatever you want because they don't cost a mortgage payment!

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00247.jpg

The logo on my PO is pretty straight, and there is a gap between the logo and letter.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00267.jpg

The Alpha logo is pretty straight too

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/ze...PO/DSC00268.jpg

The PO is running 8-12/day fast (so far), the Alpha is +5.

Conclusion. I would say that if your not sure of buying a gen PO, try a rep PO, and if your not sure about a rep PO, try an Alpha PO.

Oh couple of other things. The pearl on both watches are exactly same quality, the Alpha case is not as streamlined, you can see that in the rehaut pictures above.

Please if anyone has changed out the clasp for a gen, please post and let us know how it worked out.