mrbrown1 Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 (edited) Charging $1500 for a fully serviced/waterproofed RBII Rubens Barrichello with gear mod, satin skeletal plate with white-gold plating. Too expensive? Trying to monopolize the idea at the moment, all work done by a very competent watch maker from Singapore. Will post pics up. EDIT: Each watch will also be fully disassembled, movement cleaned and oiled case is waterproof tested then reassembled. Watch after the work is finished will be 98% close to the gen. One of the replicas we made was shown to an AP dealer in Hong Kong (good friend) who was floored by what he saw. Him, like most people have never seen an Rubens Barrichello in the flesh, thought was genuine until told otherwise. Edited June 19, 2009 by mrbrown1
specialvat Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 If you were going to do a cote de geneve on the plate the price may hold, I m well away from being able to afford it. Also the EOD is near release I m told, lots want that watch and it may hurt any your chances. Certainly get some pictures, they do speak a thousand words (except if there my pictures then they just grunt)
kronos twin Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Wow. I'd love to see what this looks like.
Mickey Padge Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 $1500 for a fully serviced RBII with a modified plate seems a very steep price to me You can pick up the rep for $600, pay $200 for a full service, that leaves a lot of spare change to create a plate mod, based on your pricing.....
Watchmeister Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Can't wait to see it. Best of luck with the project. I am redoing my one AP Franken project as I write this.
Guest Sql_pl Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Yup - i'd be very interested but at $1500 thats way too crazy. I know it probably takes some work to take care of that plate but other things like service and waterproofing are not that expensive. Also if you'd buy watches in bulk you'd probably be able to get them for $500.00 per piece without bigger problems. Please post some pics of the finalised version, reconsider your pricing and we can talk. And I am sure I am not the only person interested in it.
ubiquitous Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 I'm very curious to see pics! Based on the description, it sounds like it will be a beauty! However... I am unaware of being able to plate in white gold. Do you really mean that it will be rhodium plated?
Chronus Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Yup - i'd be very interested but at $1500 thats way too crazy. I know it probably takes some work to take care of that plate but other things like service and waterproofing are not that expensive. Also if you'd buy watches in bulk you'd probably be able to get them for $500.00 per piece without bigger problems. Please post some pics of the finalised version, reconsider your pricing and we can talk. And I am sure I am not the only person interested in it. Agreed... and what about those who already have one ? How can they get this done? Customs issues for those outside Singapore?
Mickey Padge Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 This guy would be better off just selling the plate alone.....
iceberg1459 Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 well for 1,5k i hope cyclops is also modded like gen
mspeed Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 $1500 sounds reasonable to me. yes he is making $ from the servicing but its alot of labor and time, r/d investment show pics of finished product and if the quality is good you will have buyers for sure.. just prob not many on this board since they are enthusiasts who would rather mod themselves
Guest Sql_pl Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 $1,500 sounds reasonable?? 300% of initial value for modified plate? I know it also includes servicing, waterproofing etc etc but the plate mod is the most important part of this package. I am sorry but even though I used to spend much money on some special reps in the past, now I feel that $1,500 is too much especially for an asian 7750 rep with sec at 12 modification... double that and you have a gen Panerai. And let's not forget that even with full $1,500 package we still have some other flaws to fix. Datewheel, lume, chrono subdials that are too shiny in replica. We also need a new strap then and probably also new buckle as rep ap buckles are not too good. I really do not want to crap in your thread but you asked for opinions and this is mine. However I'd really love to see some pics of the product.
jfreeman420 Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Way ou of the ballpark. These watches at $600 are already overpriced. I'd much rather have a gen something or another for $1500. However... I am unaware of being able to plate in white gold. Do you really mean that it will be rhodium plated? You are correct. White gold is rhodium plated to get the white color. There is no such thing as white gold plating.
mspeed Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 well i guess the rb2 has been a grail watch for me for quite some time.. prices have come down a bit lately and I was shopping for one.. i first saw the replica when a grey market seller presented it to me as genuine, so..
mrbrown1 Posted June 20, 2009 Author Report Posted June 20, 2009 One thing I'm worried about is people trying to portray the watch as genuine (like mspeed said) and then selling it to make money, hence I would probably be limiting the watches to only a few pieces.
arrowax Posted June 20, 2009 Report Posted June 20, 2009 I just got myself the gold version in this watch. I am very interested in this watch but an extra $1000 for a modded plate is very expensive indeed. If it were 200-300 I would be the first on the list.
mspeed Posted June 20, 2009 Report Posted June 20, 2009 if someone has seen a real RB2 in person they will not be fooled. but i think not so many have seen a genuine rb2 so, ya
thomasng Posted June 20, 2009 Report Posted June 20, 2009 (edited) I ended up buying one of these replicas, as I just couldn't resist. I had previously owned a genuine and sold it for $52,000 when the economy was good and made a nice profit after wearing it many times. My opinion is modding it is kind of a catch 22. People who know the watch will be able to tell it is fake anyways (cyclops too far to the right and not AR coated, also too shallow and lacks the depth the genuine has) and the fit and finishing of the case isn't quite there yet. The clasp is not titanium and the wings of the clasp are supposed to be sandblasted titanium. The bezel screws aren't aligned like the genuine (this can be easily fixed). I also think the crown and caseback is stainless steel as it doesn't have that titanium look (I want to be proven wrong though). People who don't know the watch won't be able to tell the difference between a modded and a unmodded $600 piece. The watch alone has gotten many compliments from strangers who don't know what an AP is. So in reality, it doesn't really make a difference between modding it or not, except for your own satisfaction. Given the bad economy, the genuine can be had for about $40K and can be easily resold as it's still a hot watch among AP collectors. There's a lot of potential to make a profit off a genuine even after wearing it many times. Just my 2 cents after a long hiatus. Edited June 20, 2009 by thomasng
Watchmeister Posted June 20, 2009 Report Posted June 20, 2009 Thomas - Good to see you back. Hope all is well.
arminvanbuuren Posted June 20, 2009 Report Posted June 20, 2009 1.5k?? mike said the gear mod is easy.. certainly not worth 1000
coolfire Posted June 20, 2009 Report Posted June 20, 2009 Can't wait to see it. Best of luck with the project. I am redoing my one AP Franken project as I write this. I'd rather see yours, anytime....
ubiquitous Posted June 20, 2009 Report Posted June 20, 2009 I'd rather see yours, anytime.... I have it on good authority that if kruzer is able to get his going, it will be an amazing piece!
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