rangers158 Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 What leather? There are none at all! Its all plastic with a thin weeny layer of fake plastic leather! Lol.... I thought I would be impressed by the strap going by some of the earlier reviews but I guess no reps will ever come with decent thick leather strap. I am also not impress by the quality of this piece either. Mine came with some residual glue on the date window frame. I had to open it up to clean it. And whats that? a little 2 marking on the side of the case??? Giving me a little extra work to clean it off??? The AR, although looks great at first glance is actually not so good if you look closely. After opening mine up to clean the date window frame and remove a few specks from the dial, you can clearly see small scratches on the AR. Not as good as it claims to be, like swiss double AR. Other super reps like concord and HBB has much better quality AR, at a higher price point of course... Nonetheless, after cleaning it up, it looks reasonably ok... Just need to change the strap! Just sharing my little findings... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TmeShare Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Actually, the use of the inter-plastic could be true of the IWC OEM version also. I have the OEM Brown Buffalo BP strap and was very surprised and diappointed at the quality of the leather and the military brown color for the money (the black croc IWc OEM strap is much better). I actually have a few aftermarket BP straps from HK Tan, Strapluxe, etc that I would rank as better than the OEM BP strap for color, custruction and cost. TiemShare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 genuine IWC strap is best quality and 100% genuine leather - no plastic. FOR SURE - i have 5 genuine IWC big pilots straps. wooow the date wheel in this rep is heavely sunken... never saw it so much like on your picture. the scratches on AR coating are normal when you like the blue color on the glass... more blue color more scratches. I have the same problems with my genuine watches... the people like it with MUCH blue print and heavely AR on glass... but then they are worry about the scratches... and you will have a lot of scratches in few days on this AR... you can see it only from the angle in the sun... but looks bad!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchturbo Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 yes, the iwc bp oem straps are all leather. disappointing though that the oem straps are hard and stiff. your bp rep does look pretty nice. now u need a comparable strap to pair with it now. and i agree with Timeshare about the Strapluxe aftermarket straps being better than oem. highly recommended by me too. i havent torn up my strapluxe strap yet cuz i just got it, but when it does need replacing, i'll open it up to see if its all leather built as i think it is. (www.strapluxe.com) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADRED7 Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Hey rangrs... seems you have the same watch I got.....the same glue at the datewindow, the same #2 between the lugs and I have the same power reserve But you are right, the strap looks good for a rep strep....but when I changed the strap (upside-down) for comfort I noticed the torn lug-parts... I will deffo have a look at strap-lx site.... Theo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 from which country will this "strapluxe" straps shipped? I ask because of customs isssues for genuine alligator skin... but if they comes from EU... this would be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takashi Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Rangers, that's really fake leather. Never seen such a crappy leather before. Surprised as many claimed that this BP has good straps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TmeShare Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 from which country will this "strapluxe" straps shipped? I ask because of customs isssues for genuine alligator skin... but if they comes from EU... this would be fine When I bought my straps from strapluxe they came from California. TimeShare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangers158 Posted September 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Hey rangrs... seems you have the same watch I got.....the same glue at the datewindow, the same #2 between the lugs and I have the same power reserve But you are right, the strap looks good for a rep strep....but when I changed the strap (upside-down) for comfort I noticed the torn lug-parts... I will deffo have a look at strap-lx site.... Theo Looks like the quality differs for different batches. Other have not reported such issues. The glue can be cleaned off with micro-fiber clothe and some alcohol solution if you thinking of cleaning it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangers158 Posted September 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Rangers, that's really fake leather. Never seen such a crappy leather before. Surprised as many claimed that this BP has good straps. Nice to hear from you again. Looks like whatever the dealers states on the website, we really have to take it with a huge pinch of salt. Its thick alright but they never tell you what it is made of... Crap... haha. Still undecided if I should spend almost an equivalent amount of money on a decent strap.. hmmm.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takashi Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Well... I can suggest Bob's strap for cheap and good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hoopty Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 If you don't mind me asking can you take the hands and dial of to show the surface plate of the watch if the date wheel can be fixed. Thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchturbo Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 from which country will this "strapluxe" straps shipped? I ask because of customs isssues for genuine alligator skin... but if they comes from EU... this would be fine Why don't you ask them for a 'favor' when you order? That problem should be an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangers158 Posted September 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 If you don't mind me asking can you take the hands and dial of to show the surface plate of the watch if the date wheel can be fixed. Thx The recessed date wheel should be least of your concern. The printing on the date wheel itself is quite thin and bad to give it away. Unitl I open it up again for some reason, I will not know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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