AlanH Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Hi guys, Just received my new Carrera from Eurotimez. This was my first rep purchase and could not fault the Eurotimez service as everything went very smoothly and the watch only took a couple of weeks to arrive. I ordered the Carrera based on the number of good reviews here and the fact that it seemed to be one of the most accurate reps available. I agree it is very good indeed. However, I have noticed a couple of things 1) The mechanism is 'very' noisy and suffers from a great deal of noticeable vibration which I'm sure wouldn't be the case if you had the genuine watch. 2) The Blue coating on the crown end has been applied very poorly indeed. This means the crown looks deformed or ellipse shaped. I would have thought this would have been noticed on Eurotimez respected quality control checks? Naively I expected the watch would look and certainly 'feel' just like the original (but naturally without the expensive precision movement / mechanism found in the original) but I feel let down in this department. However, all in all I cant really complain as it is just a rep! Anyway, it has made me think twice about buying another rep in the future. I'd be interested to hear your comments? Regards, Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McRae Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Isn't the blue "coating" really a plastic protection cover?! I.e. take it off... It's only there to shield it from scratches before delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Isn't the blue "coating" really a plastic protection cover?! I.e. take it off... It's only there to shield it from scratches before delivery. Yup...scratch it off. It's like paint. As to the movement feeling shaky or noisy...that's the nature of the A7750 movements in general. Noisy Rotor and Grease/Oil A7750 Spinning Rotor...is it a problem? A7750 Power Reserve and Rotor Spinning Problems Gens are generally not as noisy...and some reps are often not as noisy as others. The problem is solved with a proper servicing...or you just ignore it. If you can't deal with either servicing or coping with the noise...you'll need a gen Swiss movement. BTW...nice avatar!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 As an additional note...you said "but naturally without the expensive precision movement / mechanism found in the original) but I feel let down in this department" As The Zigmeister has noted, the A7750 movement is an excellent, and reliable movement, which with proper servicing can be made as accurate, and durable as the ETA 7750 found in the gen Carrera. The problem is they arrive dirty and dry for the most part, so should be serviced around the 9 month mark to ensure no premature wear and tear on the parts so you don't need parts replacements. The issue is finding somebody who can do a proper servicing and can source parts, and wrapping your head around spending on servicing close to what you spent on the whole watch. Get a servicing done, and the watch will in fact feel and sound like a gen. This is your first rep...so you have a couple options to bring things up to the next level. Some people are thrown off by the feel of rep bracelets compared with gens...so they either oil, dremel, or exchange them with a gen. To me...I would rather spend the money on the movement as athe rep bracelets/straps I have are good enough for me. Some people throw in gen Valjoux 7750 movements...which will bring your piece up in price about $500-700 after swapping hands and getting somebody to do the work. This will get you very close to a gen (aside from the water resistance reliability of course). If these things still don't turn your crank...the rep world might not be for you. Remember...you are often getting pieces that are extremely close to the gen...but at 1/10 or less in price!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopypants Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 The Blue coating on the crown end has been applied very poorly indeed. I don't care who you are, that sh*t is funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulanito_uk Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 You might have another thin bit of plastic coating over the outside bezle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokedose Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Wear it for a while without the crown protection paint and wait until someone asks to look at it and then bathe in the glory of knowing RWG is a place only determined people find Be lucky @ll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deemaster Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 That's great... and kind of funny about the crown... not in the "you're a noob" way because it's a logical thing to freak out about on your first rep, but in a "phew, now it looks correct" kind of way. I really like the piece! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Hi everyone, Thank you for taking the time to provide so much useful information and advice. Boy did I laugh when I read all your messages about my crown concerns! OK....OK.....yes...I am a total plonker! I'll try scratching off the blue coating later today. Sometimes I just cant believe how wonderful you all are. Your messages have made me believe in buying reps again! Based on toadtorrents reply I may just send the watch for a proper service and pay the fee as I'm not confident at doing the necessary work myself. All I need to do now is find somewhere that will do work on reps. Any recommendations would be helpful. I live in south east London but anywhere in the south of England would be ideal? Now you wont believe this but I had a nightmare yesterday trying to get the strap made smaller. I noticed several guys on RMG recommended the Timpsens franchises for this as they don't mind working on reps and do it while you wait. With this in mind I took the watch to my local branch. After a few minutes the guy handed the watch back to me saying, eh...I cant get the strap pins out because they are 'really, really' stiff. He then showed me the standard tool he used and said trying to get them out had snapped the tool...it was now on two pieces! He recommended taking it to another branch so I'll do that later today. Wish me luck! By the way, happy Halloween. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azerbyjam Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Now you wont believe this but I had a nightmare yesterday trying to get the strap made smaller. I noticed several guys on RMG recommended the Timpsens franchises for this as they don't mind working on reps and do it while you wait. With this in mind I took the watch to my local branch. After a few minutes the guy handed the watch back to me saying, eh...I cant get the strap pins out because they are 'really, really' stiff. He then showed me the standard tool he used and said trying to get them out had snapped the tool...it was now on two pieces! He recommended taking it to another branch so I'll do that later today. Wish me luck! Alan You might want to consider investing in one of these: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Watch-Strap-Adjuster...%3A1|240%3A1318 Ebay is awash with them and you'll find it invaluable for sizing all the other reps you're bound to buy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 You might want to consider investing in one of these: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Watch-Strap-Adjuster...%3A1|240%3A1318 Ebay is awash with them and you'll find it invaluable for sizing all the other reps you're bound to buy I've got one of these...works alright...but certainly not as good as the much more expensive pliers. But hey...how often are you resizing straps and bracelets? Start buying more reps...and you'll soon find out. Hah hah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted November 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 thanks guys, finally got the strap sorted and it looks great! Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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