elisiX's Collection - Past & Present

[elisiX]

Hi Guys,

Over the past year or more that I have participated in this hobby, I've taken quite a number of pictures. Most have been terrible, particularly in the beginning, and some more recently a little nicer. Of the watches I've collected and ultimately sold, some have really been grail pieces to many in the community and it's been such a pleasure to have owned them at some point. I've always tried to ensure they go off to people who will truly appreciate the work involved by some of our most experienced modders. I thought I might put a single thread together full of my favorite pictures for you all. I like to think that I've improved somewhat since my early beginnings but there is a long long road ahead to being competent with the camera.

Some of these watches have been modded to extremes with painstaking attention to detail. For me, this hobby was always about the pursuit of perfection and some of these watches have come damn close. As of today, I don't own any reps. However that will change of course. I guess I've just come to a point where I see the true value in owning a few key genuine pieces which bring a smile to my face each day. With the quality of pieces coming from Little Hero and the factories (Brietling particularly), there isn't the scope to mod like there once was.

Anyway, here you go. As I said, some pictures will be better than others depending on the time they were taken (skill level).

Panerai 183G

Modded by Flav

Full Re-Lume Dial + Hands

Best E Series Movement

The 183G with old E series movement is by far, perhaps the most accurate Panerai from the factory. The dial is the biggest advantage. With all the revisions that LH has made to his 111 dial, this one was basically 100% correct from the factory. I wore this watch on a number of straps including a custom baseball glove strap made by member rcrscom. The ultimate strap for this watch was always the Micah Brindle as shown in the following pictures.

Breitling Bentley 6.75

Chieftang AR

Genuine Calf + Deployant

Updated Maroon Font

The 6.75 is a killer watch - in genuine form of course, but in replica form as well. Another highly accurate piece with its only real letdown being the terrible AR from the factory and the date wheel. While its not sunken, it is too bright (red). An updated version was released in a more maroon color but it is still a little too bright to be totally accurate. Even so, its a stunning rep and wears very nicely on the wrist if you can pull it off. I wore this on the genuine brown calf and deployant.

Breitling Super Avenger

Jakub AR

Genuine Bezel + Dial

Genuine Calf + Deployant

ETA 7750

This Super Avenger was the first really big watch I bought. And man was this thing big!. Modded with as many genuine parts as you could get your hands on for a V1, this watch was just incredible as the pictures will show. The genuine bezel can only be fitted to the V1 SA and while it was a little loose and the screw heads a little long, it really made a nice difference to the old rep bezel. This was of course before the V2 came along and blew us all away. I wore this on black genuine calf and deployant.

Brietling Chronomat Evolution

Chieftang AR

Lello Date Wheel

The Breitling Chronomat Evo V2 was a killer watch in its time. And today the V3 has just taken it one step further. An essential mod to this watch was the Lello Date Wheel which was not always the easiest thing to come by - how things have changed.. NOT!. Out of the box the BCE is such a great watch. It wears nicely and the rep bracelet was actually not all that bad. With a little oiling it became nice and smooth and was certainly miles ahead of the current ProII rep bracelet.

Breitling Skyland Avenger

Genuine Ocean Racer

Rubber+Deployant

This is what I was getting at earlier. Breitling reps that are just about perfect out of the box. The only mod to this piece was the addition of a genuine ocean racer rubber strap and deployant clasp. There was nothing more to do to this piece. I actually bought and sold 2-3 of these before I found one with perfect, and I mean perfect lume dots. It was quite rare but after wearing the Super Avenger, felt very small - if 44mm can be considered small. Everyone really should have one of these in their collection. For the money, its a bargain.

Breitling SuperOcean Steelfish

Modded by The Zigmeister

Full Re-Lume Dial + Hands

Genuine Calf + Deployant

One of my very first reps (besides a Tag Carrera Chrono) and one of my all time fav's. This watch went to The Zigmeister before it came to me and had the dial re-lumed. I hadn't owned a modded watch before but this struck a cord with me. From that point on, I wanted the best and nothing short. Fitted with a genuine deployant+brown calf, this was incredible comfy to wear. Today I'd consider it way too small for my wrists but its such a versatile and cost effective piece. Very accurate to boot also. Lovely watch.

Nixon 51-30

Genuine

All Black SE

The first waterproof I owned in a long time. lol. Bought this to take away with me on holiday. Managed to get some great usage out of it. A stunning watch and absolutely massive at 51mm. Much like a U-Boat but for a fraction of the price. Has some of the most incredible wrist presence of any watch I've owned.

Omega Seamaster Professional

Modded by The Zigmeister

ETA 7750 Movement

Genuine Dial + Hands

Genuine Bezel + Insert

Genuine Bracelet + Pushers

The first very expensive ($1k+) replica I bought. Filled with genuine parts it was easy to justify. I wore this watch like it was made of solid gold at the time. Absolutely loved it. I believe this watch truly opened my eyes up to the possibilities of this hobby. This was well before I discovered Panerai reps and turned dramatically. I'd actually still love to own a genuine SMP Chrono one day I think. They're not too expensive and they have such wonderful wrist pretense. The weight in this watch was amazing also. It felt 100% genuine even though it was actually only about 90% there. lol.

Panerai 001B

Modded by The Zigmeister

Full Relume Dial + Hands

Re Polished Case + CG

Sitting on TedSu

The 001B replica took Panerai reps to a whole new level for me. The Zigmeister put this one together and his hand painted dial work is just amazing. There is almost no one I would trust to do a better job on a painted dial. The crown guard was modded, polished and fit perfectly to the case and appears 1:1 to the real deal. The watch really came alive on Ted Su Golden Gator which I believe the new owner still pairs it with. A killer combination which really impressed. The movement was nice and smooth and the detail top notch. Some nice franken versions have hit the boards recently which took this down a notch, but for a good while, this was king.

Panerai 111H

Modded by DSN

Modded CG/Pin

Sitting on SC Historic II

A very nice rep from one of our modders, DSN. Early days so while by today's standards its not perfect, it was great for its time. In fact, I shouldn't discount his work still to this point. While the dial isnt the most accurate, DSN can provide you with a blinding re lumed dial and great workmanship for a great price. Everyone should own a DSN modded Luminor at some point or another.

Panerai 127 - Fiddy

Angus Ultimate

Full Re-Lume Dial + Hands

Best E Series Movement

What needs to be said about the fiddy. The ultimate Panerai for so many and this was a very very good example. Best movement, nice dial + hands re lume and a killer strap. For the money, you really cannot go past this watch if you can find one set up like mine was. Very comfortable on the wrist even at 47mm with that big crown guard. Wore it mostly on rcrscom baseball glove but it came to me on that Micah Brindle I was raving about earlier. Lends itself well to many different strap combo's. A very classy but tough looking watch IMO.

Panerai 176H

Modded by Vac

Full Vaclume Dial + Hands

Perfectly modded CG

This 176 was my first ever Panerai. It got me seriously hooked on this hobby and again into modded watches. I could see the real potential with this watch in the way the CG was modded so well. I pretty much always wore this watch on a SC Veiter which was Tan but it also went nicely with a dark Historic. The Ti finish is very smooth and could be worn very casually as you would expect, but also dressed up on occasion which I was surprised to find. A nice swiss movement from DSN and this watch came together very nicely. Gotta love those base dials!

Panerai 188G

Modded by The Zigmeister

Full Re Lume of Dial + Hands

Genuine Crown

ETA 7753 Movement

Genuine Black Croc + Buckle

Another very expensive ($1k+) rep which passed through my hands. A very much highly sought after watch which is as rare as the movement it was paired with. The white dial is not normally very popular in Panerai watches but the 188 was an exception. Particularly with the 7753 and correct old dial and case. I really never wore this on anything other than the Genuine croc and buckle which complimented the white dial so well.

Panerai 201/A

Modded by DSN

Refinished V CG

With the release of V's Crown Guard, the Pre-V watches became more and more popular. And not wanting to fall behind, I had to jump on that bandwagon and get something, anything, modded with one of these CG's. An incredibly detailed watch with a custom dial. This was before FGD's dials came out. With one of these dials, this watch would be just about unstoppable. Only really sold it as I wasn't all that keen on the custom dial (C3 lume) but overall, the finish was perfect.

Panerai 202/A

Modded by DSN

Refinished CG

MF Tan Strap

Another Pre-V model which caught my eye and my first PVD. The finish of the PVD is great from DSN and short of having Avitt do your case, its the best out there. Such awesome wrist presence in this watch with the contrasting strap and case. The dial looked incredible and had a different finish to what I was used to. And the aged tritium look lume was nicely done also. Again, FGD dials take this watch to a whole new level and this would've been a perfect candidate.

Panerai 232

Modded by DSN

DSN Dial with Andrews case

DSN New Dark Dial

This 232 was a combination of the best DSN dial with superlume paired with Andrews correctly shaped case. I would love to own the genuine one day and it's certainly in my sights. Not to everyone's tastes but this is a killer watch and at 47mm, sits large but comfortably. The brown dial was something very different but also incredibly nice to look at. Matched with the gold hands, its awesome.

Panerai 250

Modded by The Zigmeister

Full Re Lume Dial + Hands

Bracelet for 236

Genuine Crown

Lello DW

ETA 7753 Movement

Another awesome and very expensive replica. Mostly due to the ETA 7753 genuine movement but also due to the very rare parts used such as the Lello DW. This watch was chunky, particularly with the bracelet in 236 form. I loved the fact that I essentially owned 2 models for the price of 1. The chrono while again not to everyone's liking, was awesome and I really enjoyed it. The Daylights are great Panerai, even if not very historic or popular in the genuine world.

Rolex GMT-IIC

No Mods!

How awesome is this replica. No mods at all for a super accurate Rolex replica. Nothing's perfect in this game but this watch came very close. If its wasn't for its very small size (compared to what I'm used to), I'd have kept this watch in my collection. I'd really like to own a genuine Rolex at some point but this DSSD doesn't do it for me. If this GMTII-C were larger, I'd most likely jump on one.

Edited May 12, 2009 by elisiX

[robertk]

Wow. quite a collection. You've got some real gems.

[fotoman]

fantastic, allow me to introduce you to my friend Chief Tang

then it will be unstoppable

all crystals should have double AR mind not if the idiots at the gen company forgot to put it on

[lazarini]

Splendid pieces and great presentation!

Always loved ure watches and ure quality photos m8! Thx for this nice documentation of what passed through ure wrists on the way to some superb gens!

LAZ

[StormTooper4]

WOW

Awesome post of some most excellent watches. I think You've enjoyed yourself with that lot

ST4

[elisiX]

Thanks guys. I certainly have had a LOT of fun with this bunch.

About 1/3 of the way through collecting I decided that I would buy enough to switch to a Gen and continue that pattern.

Thing is I ended up with about 14 reps at one point and just couldnt let them go. It was very hard to sell them.

It was only when I became within reach of the 111 and SA together that I decided to make the move.

Even then I still kept 5 or so reps. But once the 233 was within reach, all over red rover. It was serious Gen time.