King of Kings!..Vote

[promotersf]

So many good watches, I've owned close to 60+ reps and this is my list in no particular order and sold almost all of them over time...

1) Breitling Skyland. I've owned the rep and own the gen...this is a Very accurate rep. In fact I owned the rep twice and sold them each after having The Zigmeister superlume them. I am keeping the BS as it satisfies my "darkside". A relume will fix the misplaced lume dots and give you proper lume. This is a very surprising watch for the price and build quality and should be on everyone's list.

2)) HBB Ceramic...love it, don't wear it enough but it's one of the few reps I have kept. Some watches have the it factor...the HBB does. The ceramic bezel sets the watch off...

3) Cartier Santos 100 7753 Chrono...I wish this was still available, sold mine to a member overseas who is enjoying it. Dead on in all ways, same movement, proper dial...put a gen Cartier strap on and I challenge you to have someone call you out. It feels like it should...I would have another one if they were still around. There are a few lucky members out there that have them...you know who you are.

4) IWC 3717 first generation from Eddie Lee...after an eta 7750 swap(this also swaps the day/date, superlume and a Chieftang AR...you have a stunner. Sold mine to a member who got it for his brother graduating from college...nice brother. The first generations were the best and are long gone...regret letting mine go.

5) Frank Muller 2892 SOLID GOLD Casablanca run made by Eddie Lee back in the day...sold mine to Uncle Jay. This is the small exclusive run orchestrated by Archibald...solid gold case in 18k with the same 2892 used in the gen...miss it, Uncle Jay got it because I haven't gone small again since I started wearing PAMs.

6) Breitling SFSO Swiss...I let this go only because it wasn't getting enough wrist time. I went for white and slapped a gen black rubber strap on it and it was good to go. AR is very good for a rep, had mine relumed by The Zigmeister as well as the pearl. Beautiful piece that's solid and should be on the list of any newbie just getting in.

I own 4 gen Panerais, but in some respects, I actually love my modded reps more...because of the journey of putting them together...sourcing the parts, sharing hookups and the friendship with other valued members, and having a true artisan like The Zigmeister create these beautiful babies...these are the ones I love most.

7) PAM 196 7753 old case from EL. After a The Zigmeister superlume, Chief single AR, Lello DW swap, gen crown install, it's an amazing watch. The twin brother 188 in white dial is awesome as well, but I think the black dial 196 is more accurate...I own a gen 188 and wish I kept it, but let it go during one of my watch cleansing moments. I feel good about it going to The Zigmeister himself...obviously Rob knows a good watch when he sees, er...works on one These are long gone, the new cases are not the same.

PAM 063 2893. Gotta love those silver seconds hand sweeping! Same movement as gen, gen Crown swap, The Zigmeister tritium lume, Lello DW swap and cyclops swap, and you have a PAM you'll love. Long gone, some older members occasionally let them go to other members. I made this mistake after doing all the mods to one before(I think I sold this one to Dani), but regretted having a GMT...so got a chance a year later to pick one up by luck.

9) PAM 27 2892. Awesome silver arrow power reserve with soprod movement just like the gen. Add a The Zigmeister tritium lume, gen crown swap, Lello DW swap and cyclops swap, and you have one of the very few big arrow power reserves out there.

10) PAM 28 2892. After getting this beautiful hobnob dial, send it out for a proper PVD treatment...mine went to the special spa where the Panerai used to send their watches for PVD which returned an amazing grey PVD color. Another awesome silver arrow power reserve with soprod movement just like the gen. Do the same The Zigmeister tritium lume, gen crown swap, Lellow DW swap and cyclops swap and you'll have a PVD masterpiece on your hands.

We can easily do a TOP 25 list as there are many other amazing watches that can make everyone's list...

dave

[nnomad]

Thanks all of you for the great reading and all the info shared.

im starting to like you guys!

Cheers

A.

[richard lawton]

Hi All,

Well after some consideration, these are my 10 selection (Not really in any order)

1. Cartier Santos 100 chronograph Swiss 7753.

2. Breitling Black Steel.

3. Breitling Steelfish Superocean

4. Chopard Mile Miglia GTXXL Limited Edition Grey.

5. Baume Mercier Riveria XXL Chrono.

6. Graham Chronofighter Classic S/S Black.

7. Omega Double Eagle Mens S/S Black.

8. Corum Bubble Chrono Limited Edition.

9. Ebel 1911 Discovery Chrono S/S.

10. Tag Carrera Racing Chrono Swiss 7750.

Regards

Richard Lawton

[jonthebhoy]

Let us know what you go for in the end.

[Toadtorrent]

So many good watches, I've owned close to 60+ reps and this is my list in no particular order and sold almost all of them over time...

...

We can easily do a TOP 25 list as there are many other amazing watches that can make everyone's list...

Those are some pretty impressive watches...and with the mods, definite top shelf stuff!!

Unfortunately...7/10 of the watches are either not available...or very difficult to obtain (proper movements like 7753, or 2893 based watches)...and almost all of them are made amazing with between $200-400 in mod work (or more if installing gen crowns and what not)...so I'm not sure if they're all that practical for this thread. Nice thread though!!

As far as TOP 25 reps in general...we could throw in all the gen dial Ingy's, super-frankens, etc...not practical for the common-man's collecting purposes...but spectacular nonetheless.

[TmeShare]

One that is missing Breitling Flying B Chronograph. The mother of pearl markers and dial is spot on.

TimeShare

[nnomad]

Let us know what you go for in the end.

Sadly...both my choices for now arent all that imaginative......and i have to study a lot of the stated choices......but.. oh well.......

Here goes nothing:

I have an UPO (rubber strap, white numerals) and one Sea-Dweller V3 ordered directly to PT .. ... those are my 2 orders..problem is.... thanks to this Post and all your great answers..well.....im starting to fancy the Skyland PVD (i cant believe im saying this..i allways hated brietlings!!!....)..

Keep posting..i still have one to order!..

A.

[V]

Yes as delta and dadog said the Ferrari 008 is IDENTICAL to the genuine watch... There were not even the smallest flaws on it. Movement is crap but on the outside it is THE best rep.. Too bad not many people like the watch.. I like it though.. dont wear it much but staying in my collection

[nnomad]

Yes as delta and dadog said the Ferrari 008 is IDENTICAL to the genuine watch... There were not even the smallest flaws on it. Movement is crap

not a single line of arrogance here..trust me....but it is a question i do have!.. how do you define a movement as crap?..i mean.... maybe the seconds flow a bit more soflty than others...but...... how can you define a crappy movement?..(im considering the usual 21j one....)

[Pugwash]

how can you define a crappy movement?..(im considering the usual 21j one....)

If you're going for a 21j replica, you're not going anywhere near the best.

[Pugwash]

what about the V3 3717, or the slevin, or the CD aquatimer

Firstly, I'll assume you're talking about expensive Swiss 7750 replicas, otherwise the difference is obvious: The Asian 7750 isn't an ETA.

Secondly, IWC replace rather a lot of parts in their 7750. Even the Swiss 7750 movement isn't the same as an IWC 7750.

The proper Swiss SFSO had an ETA 2824, which was the exact same part as was in the genuine Breitling.

As for the FM Conquistador with the 2892, you'd have a hard time finding a new one these days that's not got an ST18 in it instead of the gen Swiss part.

[nanzabo]

Thank you, this is a thread that has been very interesting...

[lanikai]

These threads are a constant reminder of the quality of reps getting better and better..

Not too long ago the list wasn't as large as it is today ... we were talking "Top 3"

http://www.rwg.cc/members/What-s-Top-3-Picks-t88730.html

it really is a testament to where the rep world is headed... if we had started compiling our Super Rep list back then .. oh well,... better late than never..

but we do need to take care of how we define the best of the best otherwise 'Our" standards will diminish

Cheers

Lani

[jeff g]

Great thread.

Of many of the featured watches the SOH is as close to the gen as ANY of the watches shown.

The Heritage and the SOSF are the best OOTB reps of 2008.

Seems rep Breitlings take the prize.

[tessa]

it would be nice if somebody updated this thread

[mastrmindalliance]

Ok, here's my current list based on the reps i own/have owned:

• Ploprof V2 (the most accurate rep i own, without doubt)

• Soh V2

• Pam 288k

• Pam 005k

• Pam 318

• pam 26k

• Tag calibre 1

• Omega Speedy date (mostly overlooked but super accurate)

• FM King Conquistador

• IWC Slevin (own the gen not the rep, but have met a couple reps - very hard to tell its rep - even for a gen owner).

I love the DSSD - it's probably my favourite rep of all time - but i dont think it belongs on a list of best reps, sadly.

[plaifender]

Here's a short list in no particular order... Some people would also debate the SuperOcean Heritage.. but i hate the way that watch looks so I'm biased.

breitling Steelfish Superocean

Chopard Mille Miglia 7750

Sinn U1

IWC 3717

IWC Top Gun V2

PAM 005(2011)

Rolex Milgauss Green

Breitling Blacksteel Skyland Avenger

Omega Ploprof V2

Hublot Big Bang series

Omega UPO no happy feet