Victoria Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 SWAMI TeeJay! What a write-up, baby! I was expecting a half of this effort, and no where near as crisp, luscious pics as presented (going by the earlier photos in the Wrist-Check. *gg*) Thoughts: First, I don't see any difference from this lower-priced rep than to the one's contrasted below, by others. The quality seems to be almost the same, and by far my favourite photo was the closed clasp one -- where you can see the high-end aspect of its design. I would also like you to know that if it doesn't speak to YOU, it does speak to me ON YOU, since that wrist-shot photo looked made you look so elegant, I can't even express how much. I personally think this watch is the kind a man could easily wear on his wedding day: a watch which states quietly, but impressively, "I'm special". But it does nothing for you, and that's ultimately, sadly what counts. I can only imagine that 6 months from now, maybe around Christmas time, I will open the Trade Section and see you flogging this beauty to the highest bidder. Shame, TeeJay. Give it some time. It may grow on ya! Again, thanks for the enormous effort in bringing this invaluable review to RWG.CC. It's professional, print-ready reviews like this which make this place so very special... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertieng Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 VCO surely is a beauty. But don't you dare ever to touch the screws, no matter are those on the caseback or those on the bracelet. 99% of the screw head are stripped and stuck. You can easily kill the heads while unscrewing and you are done as that screw will stuck inside forever. Resizing the bracelet is a nightmare. I have killed the bracelet already while resizing, bearing in mind I used professional Swiss made screwdrivers to do the job and still failed. The screws are simply so fragile and vulnerable. Another issue is the polished area on breaclet between the links is 100% coarse. Silky mirror finish jsut does not exist. This is one of the most painful eye-catching part of the watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 It does in French. Well, only an ex-brit in Paris would notice that. So I'll correct : Vacheron Constantin won't pronounce as Valentine, in English. That's the "no excuse" I was referring to : http://www.rwg.cc/members/VC-Overseas-on-order-t38388.html Might be helpful for other VC fans (And, no, Omega will never pronounce Omeega ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 SWAMI TeeJay! What a write-up, baby! I was expecting a half of this effort, and no where near as crisp, luscious pics as presented (going by the earlier photos in the Wrist-Check. *gg*) Thoughts: First, I don't see any difference from this lower-priced rep than to the one's contrasted below, by others. The quality seems to be almost the same, and by far my favourite photo was the closed clasp one -- where you can see the high-end aspect of its design. I would also like you to know that if it doesn't speak to YOU, it does speak to me ON YOU, since that wrist-shot photo looked made you look so elegant, I can't even express how much. I personally think this watch is the kind a man could easily wear on his wedding day: a watch which states quietly, but impressively, "I'm special". But it does nothing for you, and that's ultimately, sadly what counts. I can only imagine that 6 months from now, maybe around Christmas time, I will open the Trade Section and see you flogging this beauty to the highest bidder. Shame, TeeJay. Give it some time. It may grow on ya! Again, thanks for the enormous effort in bringing this invaluable review to RWG.CC. It's professional, print-ready reviews like this which make this place so very special... I'm glad you liked the review and the pics Indeed, there is no difference between this rep and the others, other than the movement... Given the water test mentioned, I think it's safe to assume that it is a saphire crystal... Indeed, the watch is growing on me, but it was only ever purchassed for formal wear, so I won't be selling it, as it is perfect for the purpose I intended it for My next review, will be of The Bond Watches... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty47 Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 VCO surely is a beauty. But don't you dare ever to touch the screws, no matter are those on the caseback or those on the bracelet. 99% of the screw head are stripped and stuck. You can easily kill the heads while unscrewing and you are done as that screw will stuck inside forever. Resizing the bracelet is a nightmare. I have killed the bracelet already while resizing, bearing in mind I used professional Swiss made screwdrivers to do the job and still failed. The screws are simply so fragile and vulnerable. Another issue is the polished area on breaclet between the links is 100% coarse. Silky mirror finish jsut does not exist. This is one of the most painful eye-catching part of the watch. I am now on my second new and upgraded Black Dial VCO from Silix. I purchased it soon after reading the extensive Trhead started by Richard Tracy last month. My first one died because of moisture that somehow seeped into the dial and movement. I believe it was caused by a defective screw down crown that was discussed by Austin and me in another Thread. Jay replaced my dead VCO very quickly and it has been running flawlessly for 10 days. Regarding the screws, my experience varied between the two different watches. The first one had to be re-sized by my local watch repair guy. When I had problems with the movement he took the back off and that too was a struggle. He wasn't able to get it running again, but he did confirm that the movement was an ETA 2824, just as advertised. When I received the replacement from Jay, I was able to re-size the bracelet using my cheap old tools-no problem for a rank amature. So I guess this screw problem can depend on the particular watch. As far as the mirror finish goes, mine is at least 95% spot on. The end pieces are perfect. The polished parts between the links are excellent on the wide sections that you see when looking down at the watch on your wrist. When I take it off and look at it closely with the naked eye the finish is still silky smooth. When I take the watch off and closely examine it at the center polished parts, some of them are a little rough while others are smooth. Of the 17 links, only 5 show any roughness at all. The good news is that you do not notice these while the watch is on the wrist. Like I said they are only noticeable when the watch is off and inspected under a direct light. Note: this is th every latest upgraded model VCO and cost me $278 shipped via EMS, so maybe the old saying about "getting what you pay for" applies here. One other observation, I expected it to look larger. I think that is because I am used to the thicker sport and diver watches like Panerai, IWC and Rolex Subs and Daytonas. The case on the VCO is substantially thinner that those watches. My first impression wasn't a similarity to a Citizen, but rather a Seiko-mainly because of the thin case. But make no mistake, whether it's your cup of tea or not, this is a truly outstanding replica and my 30+ other watches have just stayed in their display boxes since this one arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tracy Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Regarding screws,.. Many replicas will suffer from the 'tight' problem, however I have found that as long as the quality of the steel is quality hard, then, as long as you have proper sized screw driver heads with handles that can be gripped properly, oil, and patience, you can get the job done. I resized, and removed the caseback on my Silix VCO, and if I can do it,.. anyone can... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk45ca Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 (edited) i think these are beautiful watches and i would love to have one with a white dial but i am having trouble finding one with the correct date window, crown, brushed numbers, correct cross on the dial all on the same watch. also i can't find any information about the gen having ar coating. the vc web site doesn't mention it and i can't find a review of a gen that talks about it. where is the info saying the gen has ar? i have done a google search on them and have searched 4 gen forums and still haven't found where it is mentioned at all. it still looks like jay's is the closest version. Edited July 29, 2007 by hk45ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Face it HK, you are looking for a genuine. These ae rep's, you have to live with some flaws Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk45ca Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 so you are saying they shouldn't have made the steel fish or the evolution? i don't understand your comment. we shouldn't look for an accurate rep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted July 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 so you are saying they shouldn't have made the steel fish or the evolution? i don't understand your comment. we shouldn't look for an accurate rep? By all means look for an accurate rep, but expecting to actually find one is another matter... If you want a watch that looks 100% like the genuine watch, either a ) buy the genuine watch, or b ) find the closest rep, and budget to have it modified. Expecting a rep to be 100% flawless 'out of the box', is a little unrealistic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk45ca Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 the things i listed doesn't make this a perfect rep. i am not even sure it would put it on par with a sfso or an evo but it would have been good enough for me to live with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted July 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 the things i listed doesn't make this a perfect rep. i am not even sure it would put it on par with a sfso or an evo but it would have been good enough for me to live with. But the point which I believe was being made, is that there is not a rep which currently features those aspects, so the next logical route is either modifications, or buying the gen item... To be honest, why do those features matter to you? Are you likely to encounter anyone who's even heard of the VC Overseas, let alone handled one enough to know the flaws on the available replicas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk45ca Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 But the point which I believe was being made, is that there is not a rep which currently features those aspects, so the next logical route is either modifications, or buying the gen item... To be honest, why do those features matter to you? Are you likely to encounter anyone who's even heard of the VC Overseas, let alone handled one enough to know the flaws on the available replicas? those features matter to me because thats what i would require to spend my money on one of these. there has been so many versions of these i was trying to make sure if these problems had been addressed. i would have been willing to spend the money to mod the ar but i haven't found anything yet from vc that says it has ar. their site doesn't mention it one way or another. i searched several gen sites and every review that google would bring up and still couldn't find anything that addresses ar. the only thing any of them addressed was that it had a sapphire crystal. this watch could easily turn into a 500.00 rep to fix all of these problems and if i could find one that had most of them addressed i would be willing to consider it but it doesn't look like it exists yet. as far as i can tell it looks like jay still has the best version of this watch. i am simply doing research on this model to see what improvements have been made and to see if i think it is close enough at this point to work with. if i buy one of these it won't have a unlimited budget for mods, if i am unhappy with the flaws that that remain when it is finished it will have been a waste of time and money. if the hour markers can't be brushed i am trying to decide how badly that shows up on a white dial with heavy ar. i am quite sure it is much more visible on a black dial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty47 Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 so you are saying they shouldn't have made the steel fish or the evolution? i don't understand your comment. we shouldn't look for an accurate rep? Personally, I think the Steel Fish and Evolution are ugly watches. But I am not a Breitling fan. On the other hand my latest and upgraded Black VCO rep with an ETA movememt is beautiful. IMHO. It may not be a perfect rep, but I can certainly live with the one visible flaw-the shiny numbers (which aren't all that shiney, just not brushed). The accent mark over the second E in Geneve is a non starter to me because it is not visible without a magnifying glass. For less than $280, it's a bargain. So I would rather have a rep of a beautiful watch that is 95-98% accurate than a 100% accurate rep of a watch that I personally don't think is attractive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllergyDoc Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 I like VC dials. It's the bezel on this one that bothers me. It reminds of a caseback, i just can't remember which one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRiddle Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Flavor's pics but now my watch Thanks Flavor...still love it to death. is that right..? a BLUE dial? all i see are white/black.. where'd you get the blue..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobico Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 I agree with Richard VC is one of my favourate watch for so long, and yet, its my most comfortable watch now. Regardless how much it is, its comfort level is away higher than the HBB and APROO I have. I do not have the newer version yet but now I am considering of ordering one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve G Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 is that right..? a BLUE dial? all i see are white/black.. where'd you get the blue..? It's a black dial..that pic shows the AR coating hue, which is making the dial look sort of blue. That's Flavors pic, so I'm not sure how much photoshoping went into it to enhance that effect. But I assure you it's the black dial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted August 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 those features matter to me because thats what i would require to spend my money on one of these. there has been so many versions of these i was trying to make sure if these problems had been addressed. i would have been willing to spend the money to mod the ar but i haven't found anything yet from vc that says it has ar. their site doesn't mention it one way or another. i searched several gen sites and every review that google would bring up and still couldn't find anything that addresses ar. the only thing any of them addressed was that it had a sapphire crystal. this watch could easily turn into a 500.00 rep to fix all of these problems and if i could find one that had most of them addressed i would be willing to consider it but it doesn't look like it exists yet. as far as i can tell it looks like jay still has the best version of this watch. i am simply doing research on this model to see what improvements have been made and to see if i think it is close enough at this point to work with. if i buy one of these it won't have a unlimited budget for mods, if i am unhappy with the flaws that that remain when it is finished it will have been a waste of time and money. if the hour markers can't be brushed i am trying to decide how badly that shows up on a white dial with heavy ar. i am quite sure it is much more visible on a black dial. I appreciate the point you are making, but my point was why are those details actually important to you? Who is going to notice? Is it for yourself, or is it so others will think it is genuine? If it's the second option, seriously, save your money and don't bother. VCs are obscure enough that people wouldn't know a real one if it was slapped round their face, so they certainly won't question a rep of one, as it simply wouldn't occur to them that it would be a watch worthy of replication. In terms of 'the best watch around', as pointed out in the discussions below my review, the only difference between the watch I have, and the watches others have bought from recommended dealers, is their watches have ETA movements, mine has an Asian movement. Other than that, the other elements of the watch are identical. The water-drop test (which I'd never heard of) confirms that my watch has a sapphire crystal... Is an ETA really worth $130? In terms of modification, I am sure that there would be someone (possibly different people) who could perform the various modifications you require (such as brushing the markers) Indeed, I wish you the best of luck in your search, but don't forget, that for 100% perfection, you are going to have to have a watch modified in some manner to bring it into line with the gen, and, for the rather limited awareness about the VC amongst the general public, I personally feel that extreme mods like those would be a waste of time and money, as no-one would notice them, or even realize what they are looking at... Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellomen Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 @Teejay... thanx for the great reading material It's a nice review, partly of the genuine, partly of the replica. I was wondering though... i have exactly the same verion of the VCO. Of course the flaw of the caseback is obvious, the ship has no relief but is polished. Furthermore the dial is off white and i thing the gen has a white/silver dial... Can someone confirm this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted August 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 @Teejay... thanx for the great reading material It's a nice review, partly of the genuine, partly of the replica. I was wondering though... i have exactly the same verion of the VCO. Of course the flaw of the caseback is obvious, the ship has no relief but is polished. Furthermore the dial is off white and i thing the gen has a white/silver dial... Can someone confirm this? No problem, I'm glad you liked it In all honesty, I was just doing a review of 'the watch', irrespective of it being rep or gen. When you say the ship has no relief, which watch are you refering too? The ship on my caseback is raised and polished... Same for the waves... As for the dial, off-white was just the easiest 'label' for the color, and depending on how it catches the light, it could be described as silvery... Indeed, if anyone can confirm the gen details, that would be great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellomen Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 No problem, I'm glad you liked it In all honesty, I was just doing a review of 'the watch', irrespective of it being rep or gen. I thought so... nice way of handling this When you say the ship has no relief, which watch are you refering too? The ship on my caseback is raised and polished... Same for the waves... Just the ship part on the gen has relief windows or canonholes in it. As for the dial, off-white was just the easiest 'label' for the color, and depending on how it catches the light, it could be described as silvery... Indeed, if anyone can confirm the gen details, that would be great Nobody... i'm pretty sure the off white is not correct... but i'd love to hear the opinions of the experts on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk45ca Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Personally, I think the Steel Fish and Evolution are ugly watches. But I am not a Breitling fan. On the other hand my latest and upgraded Black VCO rep with an ETA movememt is beautiful. IMHO. It may not be a perfect rep, but I can certainly live with the one visible flaw-the shiny numbers (which aren't all that shiney, just not brushed). The accent mark over the second E in Geneve is a non starter to me because it is not visible without a magnifying glass. For less than $280, it's a bargain. So I would rather have a rep of a beautiful watch that is 95-98% accurate than a 100% accurate rep of a watch that I personally don't think is attractive. so the numbers aren't exactly polished to a high luster? if they are some dull i imagine this wouldn't be very noticeable on a white dial, especially with some heavy ar. i think these watches are absolutely beautiful. the design of the bezel being mimicked in the bracelet it just stunning to me. very classy. to me it is something one would expect from vc. it is the dressiest sports watch i have ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk45ca Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 I appreciate the point you are making, but my point was why are those details actually important to you? Who is going to notice? Is it for yourself, or is it so others will think it is genuine? If it's the second option, seriously, save your money and don't bother. VCs are obscure enough that people wouldn't know a real one if it was slapped round their face, so they certainly won't question a rep of one, as it simply wouldn't occur to them that it would be a watch worthy of replication. In terms of 'the best watch around', as pointed out in the discussions below my review, the only difference between the watch I have, and the watches others have bought from recommended dealers, is their watches have ETA movements, mine has an Asian movement. Other than that, the other elements of the watch are identical. The water-drop test (which I'd never heard of) confirms that my watch has a sapphire crystal... Is an ETA really worth $130? In terms of modification, I am sure that there would be someone (possibly different people) who could perform the various modifications you require (such as brushing the markers) Indeed, I wish you the best of luck in your search, but don't forget, that for 100% perfection, you are going to have to have a watch modified in some manner to bring it into line with the gen, and, for the rather limited awareness about the VC amongst the general public, I personally feel that extreme mods like those would be a waste of time and money, as no-one would notice them, or even realize what they are looking at... Best of luck it is just for me, think about it, nobody here would by a sub is the dial had that many noticeable flaws. i don't mind the small stuff but the dial is what you look at and we have people here complaining about the accuracy of the ship engraving on the case back., nobody can see that but you. if we didn't care about the details we would just buy canal street reps and save ourselves allot of money. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted August 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 I thought so... nice way of handling this Thanks, I'm glad it made enjoyable reading Just the ship part on the gen has relief windows or canonholes in it. Ahh, no such detailing on mine. That said, if someone was thus inclined, they could probably have such details engraved into the ship... Nobody... i'm pretty sure the off white is not correct... but i'd love to hear the opinions of the experts on this. Ahh, now, I was looking at a gen sales site the other week, and the dial of the watch definitely looked silver, but as if it was actually metalic, rather than the strange off-white silveryish color of the one I have. But. This 'silver dial' VCO was labelled as a 'new release' or 'revamped'.... I forget the exact phrasing, but it indicated that it was the latest version of the watch, so, as with the differences between the Omega SMP 2531.80 and 2220.80, those details could be down to a redesign, which the available reps are not copies of. Take Submariners for example. Mine is a copy of a Y Series. Rolex are notorious for changing design details. Watches made in the first phase of the Y Series, have lug holes. The later phase of the Y Series has solid lugs. Both watches are correct, it is just a case of which specific version someone is looking at and comparing to. Try showing a 2531.80 and a 2220.80 to someone who knows nothing about watches, and they'll either, not notice the differences, or wonder why one is different to the other... it is just for me, think about it, nobody here would by a sub is the dial had that many noticeable flaws. i don't mind the small stuff but the dial is what you look at and we have people here complaining about the accuracy of the ship engraving on the case back., nobody can see that but you. if we didn't care about the details we would just buy canal street reps and save ourselves allot of money. lol If it's for you, then be prepared to spend the money on some extensive modifications... With regards the Sub, personally, I'd say it depended on the flaws and how noticeable they are I wouldn't buy a Sub which identified itself as a Bolex, but, I probably wouldn't mind buying a Sub with a Maxi Dial, as those are the kind of details that only a fellow watch enthusiast would notice. This was why I asked why the details were important to you. If it was for other people, chances are they wouldn't even notice, so it'd be a waste of time or money on having details corrected that in every day life, would simply never be noticed or discussed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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