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IWC Aquatimer 3536-02 Review


eunomians

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IWC Aquatimer 3536-02 Review In Pics

It's funny to me that there's no love for the IWC Aquatimer 3536-02.

Afterall, it's the one that started off the modern Aquatimer line. Sure, there was a vintage Aquatimer, but it is exceedingly rare and quite different than the modern iteration.

Anyhow, the 3536 is one of the first modern attempts by IWC at creating a dive watch that most certainly was designed as a tool watch

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NIce pictorial review Euno :thumbsupsmileyanim:

I love the simple quiet elegant lines of this watch but couldn't persuade myself to pull the trigger due to the bad bezel finish. If someone could find a way to replace or mod the bezel I would definitely add it to my collection

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Great writeup & pics Euno! Thanks mate, very interesting read.

I think Pugwash purchased one of these. If that lazy bastard ever releases the IWC Guide (that he promised about a year ago) this should definitely get linked there. :)

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NIce pictorial review Euno :thumbsupsmileyanim:

I love the simple quiet elegant lines of this watch but couldn't persuade myself to pull the trigger due to the bad bezel finish. If someone could find a way to replace or mod the bezel I would definitely add it to my collection

Ditto with that, the case size.

If only there was a titanium rep... I guess it didnt sell well enough for more iterations of this.

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OEM is 42mm including the crown, the rep is about 41.5mm withthe crown.

Serious????? I thought the OEM is 42mm without the crown... and the rep 39mm without the crown?

That's at least why i didn't bought one untill now... so now you make me doubt again. Could you please look up your information and verify that here?

Also take a look at the side by side shot of the SD and the Aquatimer... here the gen Aquatimer looks bigger than the SD and this is correct... SD=40mm and Aquatimer=42mm (i think)

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Serious????? I thought the OEM is 42mm without the crown... and the rep 39mm without the crown?

That's at least why i didn't bought one untill now... so now you make me doubt again. Could you please look up your information and verify that here?

Also take a look at the side by side shot of the SD and the Aquatimer... here the gen Aquatimer looks bigger than the SD and this is correct... SD=40mm and Aquatimer=42mm (i think)

The genuine 3536 is approx. 38mm diamter minus the crown, approx. 42mm with the crown. The rep measures the same.

Take a look at this auction link: http://www.ebay.com.my/viItem?ItemId=290123190224

Compared to the SD, the 3536 appears to be bigger. In fact, the 3536 is strange: overall it looks much bigger than it is. But it is in no way as heavy, large or thick as the mighty Ingenieur.

Here are some quick pics compared to my genuine 5513, which is about the same size as the SD (but not as thick as the SD).

265499-4612.jpg

265499-4613.jpg

Overall, like I said, it is nowhere near as big as the Ingeniuer. It is sized more like a 40mm Submariner. I would go out and buy the real thing right now if it was sized as big as the Ingeniuer. But since it is not, a rep is fine for me.

Hope this post helps.

Cheers from your buddy Euno :euro:

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Thanks for the review.

I like the old Aquatimer, although I find it looks a bit blunt.

I understand that the real deal has a special "depress and turn" operation of the bezel, while the replicas have the usual "Submariner-type" operation. This is the main reason I have not bought this one. A minor niggle, I know.

Here is a link to a very nice comparison of the Aquatimer to the Breitling SuperOcean and a Panerai. :)

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I think Pugwash purchased one of these. If that lazy bastard ever releases the IWC Guide (that he promised about a year ago) this should definitely get linked there. :)

:whistling:

Yeah, I'll link this when I eventually get the guide done. :D

ps. Yes, I have one and like it, a lot. It was my first clean ETA 2824/2836 watch, iirc. I still use it as my standard of ETA-ness, whatever that is. I still feel like I've not taken a definitive photo of it yet. This is as close as I've got:

265553-4605.jpg

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Hey Pug, in regards to the bezel paint: I don't think it's hard at all to do it. I am inexperienced with refinishing though. What I mean is, painting would be a cinch, sanding off the paint on the bezel markers might not be so easy.

A nice matte flat black color would send this rep over the edge and make it a 'super rep' :D

Pug, if you have had any ideas, let me know.

Cheers

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Just picked one of these up Euno :thumbs:

Haven't gotten it yet but have always admired this Aquatimer model and wondered why it wasn't more popular on the forum? ^_^

Anyway, I plan to figure out a way to paint the bezel the correct matte color.

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  • 1 month later...
The genuine 3536 is approx. 38mm diamter minus the crown, approx. 42mm with the crown. The rep measures the same.

Hi,

I know it's an old one, but the diameter of the gen, without the crown is 42mm, not 38.

The rep is much smaller, and would not make so big compare to the SD.

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