Edge's Guide To Replica Forums

[Edge]

Edge’s Guide to Replica Forum’s Part I

An Introduction to RWG and Other Replica Forums and A Dealer Member Trade Outline.

This is a guide to using this and many of the other forums. My aim in writing this is to better educate members as to the effectiveness of this forum is saving $$$ for hundreds and hundreds of members. Most people here will have at one time seen or fallen victim of Idealwatches or suchlike so do not fear reprisal for mentioning the fact that you almost did/did business with them, these sites are very well designed and would fool many people. The members here and on the other forums, have had the benefit of being educated by other people as to how much to pay and what to look for.

I am not by any manner or means an expert in this field, I have a lot to learn, and I learn new information every time I log on. The key is to read as much as you can before posting questions, if someone has posted it before in an appropriately named thread it should be easy enough to find, and there is masses of information contained within these here walls.

First things first:

I strongly advise ANY of you to read this, it is a book called The Replica Watch Report and it is regularly updated and is an excellent informational tool.

Replica Watch Report

Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves and say that the forums that have been set up for us are the ONLY places that you will ever need to go to find out about replica watches. There are many trusted dealers, whom have been tried and tested by many people before you. All members are actively encouraged to post a review after a transaction, whether it be positive or negative.

If a dealer is not reffered to positively within these forums and has not been verified or has not become a dealer at the forums, please do not bother trying to buy from them. For the sake of the $50 you might save it’s worth the peace of mind that our dealers have been here and done that, and their service is absolutely excellent.

I am going to attempt to stay away from the personal overtones that are sometimes attributed to these kind of threads/posts. I do not intend to personally vouch for ANY dealers and I am ultimately not responsible for any experiences you have. I am merely going to outline the basics of the forum to try and simplify things for new members and existing members alike.

Dealers:

I will not bother mentioning them each by name as they vary from forum to forum and can each be found in the respective Dealer Section.

RWG Dealer Section:

Watch Dealers –

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=19

Accessory Dealers –

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=68

The dealers in these sections have been tried by MANY members before you and have been evaluated based upon performance by members and their experiences posted in the dealer review section.

Dealer Review Section –

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=11

Please take some time to read this section to make yourself aware of any pros and cons of working with ANY dealer.

Also please note that Dealers are there to help you out, they happily answer to PM’s and Email’s. Please be sure to check whether the dealer in question accepts the form of communication that you choose, some wont do PM’s and some prefer them.

Please take time to familiarise yourself with a dealer’s guidelines as to what happens should a package be damaged/lost.

ALWAYS try and sort any problems with a dealer in private until satisfactory completion, in many cases resolution is promptly found, however there are occasions where a resolution cannot be found and advice must be saught from the members and it as at this time and this time ONLY that you announce any problems to the board for advice.

Then after a satisfactory resolution is found, or an agreement is reached, please feel free to write a FULL and Comprehensive review of your dealings, whether that be positive or negative, censorship of reviews only leads to ill informed members.

Member Trade:

There is a member trade section of the board, which is relatively self explanatory.

Member’s Trade Section –

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=18

Where you can trade Watches, Straps and Bracelets, Tolls and Parts and Other Item’s. Please take time to get references from the member you intend to deal with. Has he/she traded anything before? How did it go? And suchlike.

This is a very important part of the forums, and we pride ourselves on trying to help each other out, but please be careful, remember the old adage

“If it looks too good to be true, it is!!”

We have many trusted members and do many trades on a daily basis, so it should be relatively easy to find a good deal with a member who will come through for you.

Please guys remember that a member is not responsible for variables outwith their control. If an item is damaged in transit or, God forbid, lost, then the member will no doubt try to help in any way that they can but remember these people aren’t high street vendors, they are themselves small time collectors like you, and cannot afford to refund you in full if they have done the best they can to make sure there are no problems. REMEMBER, there is an inherent risk involved in all transactions conducted with members/dealers as this is not a mainstream hobby.

Many good deals are to be had from buying from members, and usually some form of trade will be acceptable where you each send some goods and cash as appropriate. These trades are usually mutually beneficial.

Anyway enough about buying and selling…….

Watch Repair and Upgrade:

On the forums we have a few resident watch repair and upgrade guys, they are superb at what they do. Each has their own specific genre and niche. They can be found by reading in the Knowledge Base Section, and also a couple have their own areas.

Knowledge Base –

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=55

Also contained within the Knowledge Base section are MANY FANTASTIC knowledgeable posts from a lot of different members, all of which are worth a good read.

Watch Repair and Upgrade Section –

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=7

Where The Zigmeister Zone and RBJ’s Corner can be found, as well as many Watch Repair and Upgrade Posts from our membership.

Feel free to read, read and read some more in thee sections, should you have any questions that have not to the best of your knowledge been covered then go ahead and ask, both The Zigmeister and RBJ have Q&A sections in their area’s, and you can also post a new thread to ask the opinion of the members, many of whom readily opine lol.

Other Issues:

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first…..

Who has the Best…………?

Answer:

Guys this is not EVER a good question, simple as that. There are too many variables in which there is too much ambiguity, to give a definitive answer to this much maligned question. Each version of each watch is usually very similar, in many cases the watches come from the same supplier. However different dealer’s do on occasion get different versions of the same watches, and NOONE can say which is BEST. There are different flaws in each and the best is a personal point of view. Something that you find unbarable as a fault might mean NOTHING to another member, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Don’t ask who has the best anything. It is usually responded to with, frivolity and sarcasm, so just read as much as you possibly can about each version and draw your own conclusions.

Some members are extremely helpful and will go out of their way to help out some others aren’t as helpful, you will quickly learn who’s who and you will no doubt make a plethora of friends.

There are many other sections….

RWG News, Photo Gallery, General Discussion and Off Topic to name but a few, these are all relatively self explanatory and I don’t wanna ruin all your searching fun.

Please take your time to read as much as you can, and feel free to add any knowledge that you bring with you to our vaults of information.

Some Further Reading:

Please do not be disappointed if one of your threads is not listed here, if you feel that anything should be added then please let me know. There is so much info that I couldn’t possibly link all of it. The key is to do related searches and just read read read.

Ubiquitous:

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=3302&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=4472&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=1216&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=5743&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=1066&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=107&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=109&hl=

By-Tor:

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=3392&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=426&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=4509&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=927&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=429&hl=

Pugwash’s Photo Tutorials:

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=825&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=826&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=3994&hl=

Pugwash + Edge:

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=884&hl=

Edge:

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=4275&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=4855&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=3715&hl=

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=420&hl=

There are many other VERY VERY valueable topics to read from MANY other extremely knowledgeable members, Please take the time to read as many posts in the knowledge base and the watch repair and upgrade sections as you can.

If I have left anyone out please feel free to post a link to the topic and I will add it to this.

I hope that this guide has been helpful to new members and older members alike as a general outline of the forum set-up and Dealer/Member Trade. Please look forward to Part II in the series in which I will delve slightly further into our Forums.

Thanks

Edge!

[jraines87]

Great post.

I'm gonna pin this chris..

Edited June 9, 2006 by jraines87

[lancelot]

Hey Edge great post

[Faide]

Great Post Edge, just what us Noobs need.

Thanks

_Faide

[jonthebhoy]

He's trying, he's trying!

JTB

[Edge]

He's trying, he's trying!

JTB

At least it's a bloody good effort lol.

Chris

[KB]

Yeah and I would say a bloody good effort at that

Ken

[Pugwash]

I feel all priviledged to be amongst that illustrious company.

[jonthebhoy]

Well........as I won't be here for the run up to the PoM announcement, there can be no nationalist favouritism. I do not envy my fellow mods as there are several excellent contenders, for what is a most wonderful prize donated by Aspire.

And returning to topic...........I agree, this is a most excellent post, especially for all newbies.

JTB

[cornerstone]

Well........as I won't be here for the run up to the PoM announcement, there can be no nationalist favouritism.

I heartily agree. That is why it is so nice to see us Tunisians and Lybians united in support!

It would be "unbarable" if this was overlooked!

More seriously, great post! Thank you!

Oh, and while I'm here, what's the best PO?

[fitmic]

Oh, and while I'm here, what's the best PO?

Yeah, and where can I get the best Rolex sub?

[Pugwash]

I heartily agree. That is why it is so nice to see us Tunisians and Lybians united in support!

Well, those flags were useful for what, a week? Now they're another reason to confuse n00bs.

[r11co]

Well, those flags were useful for what, a week? Now they're another reason to confuse n00bs.

Are you slagging off my flag?

[dadog13]

@Edge for president!

really great post...this is a must read for all newbies....

there should be a test with questions based upon this guide....

and all newbies should pass the exam before becoming members...

[cornerstone]

Well, those flags were useful for what, a week? Now they're another reason to confuse n00bs.

Oh, what!! I've been going around Tripoli telling everyone that the Union Jack now proudly flys over the Arc de Triomphe....

[Edge]

Edge’s Guide To Replica Forums Part II

Who has the best……..???

This instalment in my guide to replica forums workbook is an attempt to alleviate the questions of “Who has the best………??”

Such questions tend to anger the general populous and end up in members getting flamed. The very simplistic approach that many members take is what I like to call the

“Seek and Ye Shall Find” Response:

Usually consisting of comments of the order, “Jesus Noobie, use the Search function!!” or just “Search”, usually something of that kind. This is neither an answer to the question nor a flame, it is a directional repose to much maligned question.

There is also the;

“AAAAAHHHHHH, Jesus We HATE NOOBIES!! Response:

Which I feel is pretty self explanatory, people will FLAME and flame hard if they find you asking a “who has the best??” question.

Now for my approach, well you are reading it lol. I am writing this to try and educate the new members as to what is likely going to happen should you happen to ask this question.

Please do not ask a who has the best question as they are not usually dealt with amicably.

Now for the crux of this post.

If you want to try and decide who has the best then you will have to research any updates to the information given in this post, as I will not be updating it regularly.

Submariner –

The modern Rolex Submariner Replicas have become VERY accurate. So much so that from the distance that someone’s wrist is away from you it is almost impossible to tell.

There are different variations on the Submariner;

With Date:

16610 – Base Stainless Steel Submariner

16610LV – Commonly known as the LV, 50th Anniversary Green Bezel Black Dial Variation of the Standard Stainless Steel Submariner, comes with a maxi dial, meaning that it has bigger indices.

16613 – Two Tone Yellow Gold/Stainless Steel Submariner

16618 - Solid Gold Submariner 18k Yellow Gold

1680 – Vintage Submariner, Standard Stainless Steel, but has Red Submariner Text instead of white (Red Line), many were later serviced by Rolex to have the Red Text replaced with white, so there are both red and white variations available.

16800 – Is a transitional submariner between the 1680 and it’s newer descendants.

Please note that Genuine parts for the 1680, 16800 and 16610 are Generally NOT interchangeable, as they have different crystal variations.

No Date:

5508, 5512, 5513, 5514, 5517, 6200, 6204, 6205, 6536,

6538, 6538A, 14060, 14060M

Of note:

5512/5513 – First “superlative chronometer” Submariner’s Can come with standard submariner dial or with so called “Explorer dial” with 3,6 and 9 indices. Supremely rare and very sought after.

6536/6538 – The Much Adored so called “Bond Subs” these are the watches that were made famous by James Bond in the early Bond Films. Connery (Sir Sean to most of you) was a big fan of these watches and wore them in his Bond films. They lack Crown Guards and are also Very Rare and highly sought after.

In general the Rolex submariner is the most sought after replica watch, as most of you who come here are originally looking for a Sub……Aren’t You??

It is from then that taste in other watches develops or is UNLEASHED lol, with a massive Panerai and Omega craze the buying never stops.

The main differences between the Vintage and the Modern Submariners are the crystal type and also the pearl. The modern submariners that most of you know and worship have Sapphire Crystal and metal surround pearls. The pearl for those of you who don’t know is the bit of lume (white bit) at the 12 O’clock index on your bezel.

In the vintage models this pearl is surrounded by acrylic and NOT metal as in the 1680, and the crystal is raised and called a “Tropic”, which protrudes greatly from the watch to give in my humble opinion a FANTASTIC look to the watch.

Now to the dealers……..

Most of our dealers carry MANY variations on the submariner, including Date and No Date, Modern and Vintage. The main thing that you have to decide on is what variation that you want, Two Tone, Stainless Steel, Full Gold…..Blue, Black, Green….

The options are vast but you will decide on one. Then it is time to decide upon Who has the best??

There are in MY OPINION 3 different versions of this watch…..

Asian, Swiss (ETA), and MBW.

Asian –

Most of the dealers will carry some subs in Asian movement variations, they usually run at about $100-130 and are aesthetically very accurate. The Crown Guards and Insert are generally not bad and the dial is acceptable. They generally have all of the same characteristics of the more expensive ETA models but with the cheaper movement.

Asian movements are as far as I am concerned a gamble, completely hit or miss. Some people swear by them, some people swear at them. If you do choose to go with the Asian version you will have a very nice looking sub with a movement that usually works but is a touch unreliable, best to get it serviced quickly, as after a service it would appear that most of the issues are solved and they will run for a substantial amount of time.

Swiss (ETA) –

So Called Swiss movement which is in truth no more Swiss than fly in the air, however in replica terms an ETA is a Swiss movement. These are EXTREMELY reliable movements which are routinely used in Genuine watches, so reliability is much much higher. The cosmetics of the watch are ostensibly unchaned. Price is usually $200-220

There are now Josh’s perfect Sub and PT’s Ultimate sub, both of which claim to be as close to gen as possible, they have extremely nice crown guards and bezel inserts, and the general look of the watch is very close to the genuine. There have been some alignment issues with the Cyclops on the PT version, but that is easily fixed. These editions usually run for more as they are closer and generally thought to be very good quality almost that of MBW’s, they usually run at approx $280

MBW (Maria’s Best Watch)/WM (Watchmaster) –

Now Maria was a dealer here who provided very High quality Rolex reps. This mantle has now been taken on by Luckyyy and George. MBW watches are widely regarded as the most accurate replicas available along with WM replicas these are the most sought after variations on the submariner. Watchmaster makes very similar watches to MBW and both are considered as good as it gets. They are cased 1:1 so the big benefit is that they accept Genuine Rolex Parts, and modifications are a common occurance. The bezel insert will readily accept a genuine pearl and they will take Genuine Inserts, and even crystals and suchlike.

Be prepared to drop $360 on MBW watches and regularly prices for these are in Euros at approx €300.

Who has the best???

This all depends on what you are looking for. The Asian versions are very good if you are looking for a watch that is pretty close in appearance and wont cost you too much money, they are generally pretty accurate and have had good review’s about value for money. They have reliability issues and are NOT as close as some of the other versions to genuine, but very good for the money, and good for those on a budget or wanting more watches.

The Swiss Eta Versions are more reliable and generally slightly better made, IMHO. They have none of the reliability issues that the Asian versions have and are again pretty close to the genuine. They too have there problems including crown guards, bezel insert, pearl and dial, all of which will allow for it to be spotted on CLOSE inspection. Also the datemag is often not 2.5x on the Swis and Asian standard sub reps.

PT/Josh versions are more accurate with better insert and far improved crown guards. They are more accurate but on occasion need the Cyclops aligned. The general appearance apart from these alterations is the same and they are basically slightly modded ETA versions. ETA versions are IMHO perfect for those who want an accurate watch that will keep on ticking for years, without ever really worrying about it’s small inaccuracies and without really wanting to mod it.

MBW/WM versions are considered the crème of the crop especially as far as Vintage models go, they readily accept genuine parts and are more accurately cased. They too have pearl problems and also need croen guard work, and are of course more expensive. Perfect for the modder who wants to create his/her own Frankenwatch to suite his/her own tastes. These are the most expensive versions but are also the easiest to modify, some of them having as many genuine parts as replica.

So…..

Only you can decide who has the best version FOR YOU!!! There is not a set standard as some of you will be looking for the most accurate some of you will be looking for accuracy but with a budget, all sorts of things must be taken into consideration, and for that reason we do not have a standard BEST.

What is important to you may not be important to someone else, and PLEASE PLEASE EVERYONE REMEMBER……..

THEY ARE STILL REPS……

No matter how good they look, someone will always be able to tell the difference, if they know what they are doing , and remember if anyone ever sees inside your watch it’ll be a dead giveaway so NEVER EVER TRY AND PASS A REP AS GEN.

Never try and put it on a genuine watch website such as Timezone or suchlike as it’ll be outed within MINUTES, no matter how good you think it is it’s STILL A REP, and NEVER AND I MEAN NEVER try and sel your rep as a Gen. This is completely uncalled for and I will personally be over the moon should you get jail time.

I hope this helps and please from now on don’t bother asking who has the best, whether it be subs, planet oceans or whatever you have to do the research on the different models and then MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND, what’s important to you?? Then decide on a watch, NOONE else knows what you want so we don’t have standard BEST editions, each to their own.

A rep is a rep, and ALWAYS remember that.

Who has the best sub???

Rolex so buy a Genuine if it bothers you that much!!

I hope you have found this informational and also that it will make you realise that you CANNOT get an individual answer tyo a who has the best question it will always be personal preference.

Enjoy

Edge!

[alfa1]

Edge,

Kudos to you Sir, well done.

[Jimster]

Edge,

Kudos to you Sir, well done.

A very accurate review by a consummate rep professional!!

Jim

[Jetsons]

Very well done, Chris! It took me a long time to learn at the old RWG the information you have thoughtfully summarized. Darn lucky newbies.

I'll just add that an additional difference between the modern and vintage Rollie sport models are the beautiful matte dials of the latter. IMO, beats the heck out of the modern dials with the appllied markers.

Cheers,

Jet

[Edge]

Thanks for the kind words guys all input and comments are more than welcom for this EPIC!! hahahahah!!!!

Hope you enjoyed it.

Chris

[DRVJA]

WHO HAS THE BEST NEWBEEIE REVIEW

]EDGE DOES

[jens]

A very good summary, thank's a lot for doing the legwork for us noobs

Re. the ETA's and reliabilty - you state that they are extreemly reliable, whilst my impression reading threads on this board is that this is only true after they have been serviced. This due to big variations especially with respect to lubing of the movements when delivered from the factories. I also understand it the way that there are different scources or quality grades of the same type of ETA, but I may have missed something here....

Any comments?

PS. This guide should be pinned

PS2: Then next step - Who has the best Daytona ?

[silvio]

This is great Edge. Well done!

[ehtolcad]

quick suggestion:

move the asian swiss mbw section closer to the top. many wouldn't read that far into the post to get there.

overall a nice write-up (obviously)

[Usil]

Edge - your post counter says 666.

This is spooky since the Omen remake is coming out soon. What is going on here????

usil