Pix Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 Hi all, I just received this beauty yesterday from Andrew. In this topic, I promised to review the watch as accurately as my (small) knowledge will enable it. First, here are some shots. I hope you will enjoy, the same way I enjoy it ! The Dealer : Andrew. Nothing to say, all went well, as for my other orders. I had to wait a little bit more, since I placed the order right before CNY, but once it was posted, it needed 4 days to reach me. New record ! Thanks Andrew, you're my favorite (and only) dealer. And I won't change a team that wins ! The watch is priced at 228 $ + 30 $ EMS fee What I got is what was advertized on the website. No bad surprise. As mentionned, it's my first "high end" (higher end?) rep, but I find it affordable still. That's about 175 Euros, the price of a correct gen (Festina, Lotus or that kind of thing). But except the price, nothing in common while wearing it !! Feeling, as a watch : it's 40 mm diameter, the perfect size for my wrist. It has a sapphire glass on booth sides. The only test I know to check if the glass is actually sapphire is the water drop test. And here it works. So I guess that this is truely a sapphire dressed watch. It's also supposed to have a thick (SIC ) white gold plating. Impossible to check. What is obvious is that it looks different from my other polished stainless steel watches. I would say darker, or "colder" (pic1 is a good illustration of it). It really reflects everything like a mirror. The strap which came with the watch is very standard. Not bad, but it looks like an alligator imitation...which it is actually. I replaced it by a better one from ZRC. Here's a pic of the original strap (sorry I already offered mine to a buddy). The movement is the so called "Lemania handwinding", which I understood to be a Seagull copy of the Venus/Lemania. I don't know how accurate the copy is (probably quite far from the original), but I read from many posters that it is bullet proof. The fact that it's not automatic and therefore has no rotor makes it absolutely gorgeous visually. I could look at it the whole day... It has working chronos. That's for me the first non quartz working chrono. I love it ! The small seconds hand really sweeps smoothly. But the main seconds hand (the one that is linked to the chrono) seems to stutter regularly, although it has an accurate measuring. I guess it should work some days before sweeping better. I'm currently letting the chrono run. I'll let you know the results later. Which is a bit worrying for me is how the chrono resets : it's very strong (violent ?), so strong that I can hear the noise of the hand resetting. That makes me worry about this hand falling once !! For sure, chrono is not the main usage I will do. And this behaviour does not encourage me to do so anyway. The general feeling is excellent. I could not see any issue in the "finishing" or details, as I did for all other reps I own. Everythings very well aligned, the movement winds witout problem and except this stuttering hand, I have nothing to remark. That sounds good ! I really feel like wearing a high quality watch and I have no hesitation handing it to anyone who wants to have a closer look. Today I heard only "oh" and "ah" at the office. That's generally a good sign about the general impression a watch gives... It's definitely a dressy watch, despite the chronos. It's supposed to be water resistant. Let's hope it's at least shower resistant, that would already be enough for me No AR coating, but it's not really missing, especially with the white dial. We had a little discussion about the colour with Ethan : although the 2 whites (main and subdials) are different, I cannot describe the main dial as cream. It's definitely white. I have a cream dial on my MontBlanc, and it obviously looks very different. Feeling, as a rep Well, we already had this discussion with Ethan in the other thread. It's far from perfect, but still it's a good rep. First some pics of the original. The first 2 come from Patek's website, the following from... ebay !!! Where it's sold for something like 55 000 dollars ! (who is nuts enough to purchase such a thing from the Bay ??! I'm currently tying to buy a copy of the depolyant clasp, I've seen some there. Well... I can only point out the differences from these pics, as I doubt I will ever approach the gen ! Let's start by the most obvious : the subdials are smaller on the rep. Also they are placed differently (that's normal, due to their size). The main dial seems quite accurate, but the "base" mention on the top is missing on the rep. The digits are correct but don't have the right colour : on the rep, they're silver, whereas the gen have darker ones (looks like glossy black or grey). Ethan told me that the crown and the pushers are also different, which is less obvious for my noob eyes. Now, let's talk about the back : of course, the movement is different, but for a "normal" person having a glance at the original pics, I doubt one would really make the difference. The "PATEK" name is missing on the Seagull movement. The rest of the case seems quite accurate, except near the crown. Oh, I forgot. My watch (yes, its MINE now ! ) is 40 mm diameter against 42 for the gen. I guess that the gen is in solid white gold (I hope, for the price !). Therefore it has the little stamps (I don't know if that's the correct English word. The French one is poin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt.watch.obsessive Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 Yup, I like this one. The small sub-dials are incorrect, but I think better looking than the "owl eyes" on the original. All the finishing is high quality. As an aside, even among the Patek WIS, this watch is regarded as severely over-priced. Basically an in-house Landeron for 50 large. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 But the main seconds hand (the one that is linked to the chrono) seems to stutter regularly Not to worry Pix; that's normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mglgal Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 very nice pitures and details!! the watch look great and i hope you enjoy!! i just oredered on last week as well and am looking forward to mine!! many thanks pix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 Looking good! GREAT post Pix, for sure. That's the right way to get started! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted March 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 Thx guys ! This time, the review is finished. I'm not unsatisfied with it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 Good review, thanks! There has not been many reviews lately, especially not of Pateks! I have had my eyes on these lately.. the ones with proper moonphase-indicator or power reserve indicator. Very nice watches, even though they are not as accurate as some of the new super-reps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted March 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 Sure. I will say nothing new while writing that some look for the perfect replica, and some for the perfect watch. For the moment, I always make my choice with my feelings, not my brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I thought it might be interesting having both gen and rep on the same pic, for an easier comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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