First watch and a bit overwhelmed.

[Cmak2017 0]

Hello all, thanks for accepting me into the boards.  So I am about to buy my first watch, a Patek Nautilis Jumbo SS/SS Grey Swiss SW 40mm. Possibly.  

However I noticed a few sellers ( who are both on the Trusted Sellers list ) have them, and I have read bad reviews on both ( as well as good ).  Also heard that most likely, anything that says " Swiss" will be from China. 

How do you all decide on who to buy from and who has a quality product? Every dealer has Patek, almost every one has the same specs.  Just cost is different, and I am way to new to know who would create a quality piece. 

 

[iamonline 0]

it would appear that you have quite a bit of research to do, before spending that hard earned money. Believe me, it gets easier the more you read.

Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk

[mysterio 18]

Dealers don't make the watches. Factories do. Any TD can get you the same watch as long as it's available. Do some more research before pulling the trigger. You're not in a rush are you?

[PlanetZoom 1]

On the home page, on the right side, there are links to helpful resources for new members.

[ShovelnTC 31]

In order to end up with a satisfactory Rep purchase you must do your research.

There is no shortcut and asking a string of questions will usualy just anger many members as we've heard the same questions time and again.

Do yourself a favor and read up as much as you can from this link.

You will thank yourself later.

Cheers and welcome.

Start here!

 

[Cmak2017 0]

I agree, Dealers sell factory items. Not in a HUGE rush no. But holy cow! I am in awe of everyone here and there knowledge. So may factories, so many intricacies, it is quite cool yet mind blowing all the same.  I realize I am a total 1000% typical Noob, as I was thinking this would be easy. 

But seeing 3 Dealers with what I believe are the same factory watch at 3 different price points, as all their specs are the exact same, is daunting. lol 

2 minutes ago, ShovelnTC said:

In order to end up with a satisfactory Rep purchase you must do your research.

There is no shortcut and asking a string of questions will usualy just anger many members as we've heard the same questions time and again.

Do yourself a favor and read up as much as you can from this link.

You will thank yourself later.

Cheers and welcome.

Start here!

 

Thank you!

 

[Cmak2017 0]

Well! I will say, after reading a bit tonight. I have at least figured out! Miyota 9015, pretty good!. 

Thanks for the help guys. 

[PlanetZoom 1]

1 hour ago, Cmak2017 said:

I agree, Dealers sell factory items. Not in a HUGE rush no. But holy cow! I am in awe of everyone here and there knowledge. So may factories, so many intricacies, it is quite cool yet mind blowing all the same.  I realize I am a total 1000% typical Noob, as I was thinking this would be easy. 

But seeing 3 Dealers with what I believe are the same factory watch at 3 different price points, as all their specs are the exact same, is daunting. lol 

Thank you!

 

It's like drinking from a firehose.  One sip at at a time.  And it will take many sips to drink all the water.  If you enjoy the learning and appreciate the watches, you'll love this hobby.

[Cmak2017 0]

7 hours ago, PlanetZoom said:

It's like drinking from a firehose.  One sip at at a time.  And it will take many sips to drink all the water.  If you enjoy the learning and appreciate the watches, you'll love this hobby.

slowly but surely... 

[GenTLe 1,501]

Well! I will say, after reading a bit tonight. I have at least figured out! Miyota 9015, pretty good!. 
Thanks for the help guys. 

Good choice!

[jpohl402 0]

Welcome to the boards!!

Glad you love it here! There is tons of knowledge and lots of wonderful wonderful people.

Since you have been reading and trying, I will help. The watches (if made by the same factory), are the same.

So, if each dealer says “JF” and each has Miyota mvmt, for example, then they’re the same! Just make sure each you’re looking at is same factory & mvmt, so you’re comparing “apples with apples!”

Dealers can price however they choose, just like any business. Often variations are quite low, however. Larger dealers (with more recognition) typically price a bit higher.

That’s “the secret.”

 

All dials will have “Swiss” on them, obviously, as they’re REPLICAS (imitations/copies) of Swiss watches. I wouldn’t spend more for a “Swiss” mvmt, however!

Lastly, the “bad reviews” of TDs, are often from complete idiots, not familiar with this process here, not having read anything on these boards, having unrealistic expectations

A. expecting communications within 10 mins in WESTERN time zones

B. expecting to receive their watch overnight like a Fedex overnight within the states

C. drawing lines on QC photos and “determining”, at 20x magnification, that the 6oclock marker is SOO crooked since it’s 0.02 mm off when lines are drawn - so now the TD is horrible and product sucks

D. swimming with their new CHRONO, unwaterproofed, rep and sustaining some water damage

E. throwing their watch across the room and breaking it on purpose, then expecting a full refund or replacement from TD WITHIN 1hr tops of this happening

F. Not checking stock availability before placing order/sending money, then if out of stock not wanting ANYTHING else, wanting a refund instead, then getting mad when 2 things happen:

Refund isn’t processed within 1hr, and received (from overseas) by the 3rd business day

Once refund received, it was LESS than they sent, but due to foreign transfer & currency exchange fees, which TD never receives in the first place! But now TD has kept (some of) their money and ripped them off!!!!

Etc..... and the list goes on....!!

 

Those are the bad reviews... So, draw your own conclusions from those scenarios!

Have fun!!!

[McGilli 1]

22 minutes ago, jpohl402 said:

Those are the bad reviews... So, draw your own conclusions from those scenarios!

@Cmak2017 With what jpohl402 said - I'd like to suggest that before ordering - you go to a bunch of the feedback threads for TD's on this site. And read ALL of the NEGATIVE/BAD reviews. You can usually tell by the name of the review - and the amount of replies. Lots of replies means lots of discussion. People rarely reply to a review that was "great watch, great shipping, great TD". People love to reply to "TD ripped me off etc". These are what I read before placing an order through a TD. It will prepare you for what can happen. It's not like buying from Amazon. Shipping can take a long time. Your watch might not be available - after the TD says it is available and you have paid (some TD's never have this issue it seems - some have had it happen). Or you might run a A7750 chrono for 30 hours and freak out when the watch stops functioning properly. But as mentioned - it's almost always the noob buyer who isn't prepared to wait, or work with the TD on making the purchase happen.

Keep doing your research, Good luck.

[Xpletiv 16]

It's very nice to see so many willing to do research! So many different questions can come up while researching and so many of those get answered just by continued reading. And, as one finds out, so much of that info is very detailed.

Having a good attitude towards others, as shown above, greatly helps, too.

This is a great place, isn't it! 

 

Happy New Year all!!!

[Cmak2017 0]

It is fun to research as some of the internals are being used in brands found in stores commonly today. 

Learned a lot in the past few hours. ESPECIALLY how some reps are so close to the gens.  Wow. Just wow. 

As for me, I think that this is great. I am needing a few reps to replace some gens I have as I travel and am always worried about being robbed in some cities. Reps make it much easier for going to dangerous or high crime areas.  NOT that I do it a lot, but there are times work takes me to weird places. 

Think I may have found a few Patek nautilus jumbo 5711 TD's that I think... have a almost exact 1:1. 

 

More research needed. 

[mysterio 18]

4 hours ago, Cmak2017 said:

It is fun to research as some of the internals are being used in brands found in stores commonly today. 

Learned a lot in the past few hours. ESPECIALLY how some reps are so close to the gens.  Wow. Just wow. 

As for me, I think that this is great. I am needing a few reps to replace some gens I have as I travel and am always worried about being robbed in some cities. Reps make it much easier for going to dangerous or high crime areas.  NOT that I do it a lot, but there are times work takes me to weird places. 

Think I may have found a few Patek nautilus jumbo 5711 TD's that I think... have a almost exact 1:1. 

 

More research needed. 

Not particularly sure about Pateks as I have not read about something that is very accurate to gen (1:1 in dealer speak).  If you're just out and about with the Patek well I guess if it passes your judgement then it's okay. But if you're going to be meeting people who may know or worse own Pateks I would think twice. That's something about reps that you should read about.

There is a shortlist on RWI called the NWBIG (Not Worth Buying In Gen) which the thread starter/owner @Omagad posted generously on here. It's a quick and dirty guide if you just want to buy watches in a hurry. But to learn how and why each watch is classified as such, an interesting and educational activity in itself, then you'll have to spend more time in the respective brand sections to learn about them. Here is the thread I was talking about:

Enjoy reading.

[KarmaToBurn 1,419]

19 hours ago, PlanetZoom said:

It's like drinking from a firehose.  One sip at at a time.  And it will take many sips to drink all the water.  If you enjoy the learning and appreciate the watches, you'll love this hobby.

 

But this is how I drink from a firehose. Guess that's why I have so many watches. 

[hab3z 0]

5 hours ago, Cmak2017 said:

It is fun to research as some of the internals are being used in brands found in stores commonly today. 

Learned a lot in the past few hours. ESPECIALLY how some reps are so close to the gens.  Wow. Just wow. 

As for me, I think that this is great. I am needing a few reps to replace some gens I have as I travel and am always worried about being robbed in some cities. Reps make it much easier for going to dangerous or high crime areas.  NOT that I do it a lot, but there are times work takes me to weird places. 

Think I may have found a few Patek nautilus jumbo 5711 TD's that I think... have a almost exact 1:1. 

 

More research needed. 

There are typically 3 factories that make decent 5711s.

PF, BP and MK.

PF make the nautilus that has the closest thickness to gen.

If you don't mind a thicker than gen watch, BP and MK make 5711s too.

Here's my PF patek. Really happy with it.

 

[domsdaddy123 0]

5 hours ago, Cmak2017 said:

It is fun to research as some of the internals are being used in brands found in stores commonly today. 

Learned a lot in the past few hours. ESPECIALLY how some reps are so close to the gens.  Wow. Just wow. 

As for me, I think that this is great. I am needing a few reps to replace some gens I have as I travel and am always worried about being robbed in some cities. Reps make it much easier for going to dangerous or high crime areas.  NOT that I do it a lot, but there are times work takes me to weird places. 

Think I may have found a few Patek nautilus jumbo 5711 TD's that I think... have a almost exact 1:1. 

 

More research needed. 

Hey buddy, welcome! 

I have to chime in cause you just mentioned something that might become disappointing to you sooner or later and thats "1-1". There is no such thing in this Replica Hobby. Its just a bs marketing speak that dealers use loosely...No rep is 1-1..not even a little bit. Just doesn't exist. Don't get hung up on "1-1"..a rep doesn't have to be 1-1 to be utterly awesome. Some reps look more gen on the wrist than others and there are mods and gen parts that you can add to the watch to bring it closer to the way you want it to look. 

Now, just a litttle bit of unsolicited advise on buying a rep Patek 5711...understand, this is one of the harder reps to 1) pull off and 2) the simplicity fools in the pictures. What I mean is that, if you know what a Gen 5711 looks like up close, there is no rep that even begins to resemble the real thing. The level of finish on a gen 5711 is mind blowing in person. Its shocking the first time I held a gen Nautilus in my hand. Every single atom of that watch had been lovingly and masterfully crafted to absolute perfection. Pictures do not even begin to do justice. That being said, I do wear a rep 5711, but Im confident I wont bump into anyone who knows what a gen looks like. If you have your heart set on a 5711, go for it! Just know that if you happen to show it up close to someone who ones a gen or has spent time with a gen in hand, it wont fool them for a second. However, there are some guys here who do case work, who can take the whole watch apart and carefully add the details to the case and bracelet that is needed to help the rep be the best it can be...and I have seen some really nice modded rep 5711's but again, its like comparing a Lamborghini to a well kept Honda, there is nothing wrong with a suped up honda but its just not a Lambo...

With this in mind, there are some reps that with a litte bit of work can fool an expert and thats where the reading comes in...have at it, welcome and enjoy this awesome hobby!

[McGilli 1]

6 hours ago, Cmak2017 said:

I am needing a few reps to replace some gens I have as I travel and am always worried about being robbed in some cities. Reps make it much easier for going to dangerous or high crime areas.

Haha! Ok - I just have to offer you my own personal advice on this cuz I thought what you said was pretty funny.

Ahem

If you are going somewhere you feel is dangerous, where you are scared to wear a genuine piece of jewelry as it might attract people who will try to rob you ------ Then don't wear replica's that look like genuine's of jewelry that will make people want to rob you.

Haha seriously - I'm only saying that based on where I live - which is that many robberies end in people getting killed or injured. Better to wear a $15 Timex on those trips  so that dangerous people are not interested in robbing you.

[Cmak2017 0]

2 hours ago, McGilli said:

Haha! Ok - I just have to offer you my own personal advice on this cuz I thought what you said was pretty funny.

Ahem

If you are going somewhere you feel is dangerous, where you are scared to wear a genuine piece of jewelry as it might attract people who will try to rob you ------ Then don't wear replica's that look like genuine's of jewelry that will make people want to rob you.

Haha seriously - I'm only saying that based on where I live - which is that many robberies end in people getting killed or injured. Better to wear a $15 Timex on those trips  so that dangerous people are not interested in robbing you.

Yes I was waiting for this answer, I fully agree. But there has been instances ( I work in construction and mining ) where the higher ups want to "Show you the site" and we end up walking there thru town. 

Usually I will put my watch in my pocket ( I have a gen 5711 ). As I wear it all the time and forget.  I would rather not bring it at all, and hopefully come home to my wife still around and not sold my collection and left me.  HAAHAHAHA! I have been thinking of getting a less flashy watch, perhaps a cheaper Michael Kors (sp) or a Bulova. 

Edited December 31, 2017 by Cmak2017

[Cmak2017 0]

2 hours ago, domsdaddy123 said:

Hey buddy, welcome! 

I have to chime in cause you just mentioned something that might become disappointing to you sooner or later and thats "1-1". There is no such thing in this Replica Hobby. Its just a bs marketing speak that dealers use loosely...No rep is 1-1..not even a little bit. Just doesn't exist. Don't get hung up on "1-1"..a rep doesn't have to be 1-1 to be utterly awesome. Some reps look more gen on the wrist than others and there are mods and gen parts that you can add to the watch to bring it closer to the way you want it to look. 

Now, just a litttle bit of unsolicited advise on buying a rep Patek 5711...understand, this is one of the harder reps to 1) pull off and 2) the simplicity fools in the pictures. What I mean is that, if you know what a Gen 5711 looks like up close, there is no rep that even begins to resemble the real thing. The level of finish on a gen 5711 is mind blowing in person. Its shocking the first time I held a gen Nautilus in my hand. Every single atom of that watch had been lovingly and masterfully crafted to absolute perfection. Pictures do not even begin to do justice. That being said, I do wear a rep 5711, but Im confident I wont bump into anyone who knows what a gen looks like. If you have your heart set on a 5711, go for it! Just know that if you happen to show it up close to someone who ones a gen or has spent time with a gen in hand, it wont fool them for a second. However, there are some guys here who do case work, who can take the whole watch apart and carefully add the details to the case and bracelet that is needed to help the rep be the best it can be...and I have seen some really nice modded rep 5711's but again, its like comparing a Lamborghini to a well kept Honda, there is nothing wrong with a suped up honda but its just not a Lambo...

With this in mind, there are some reps that with a litte bit of work can fool an expert and thats where the reading comes in...have at it, welcome and enjoy this awesome hobby!

What would you say is the more likely reps to pull off flawlessly? other than Rolex, as I know there are some that are crazy good. 

[Hinclimincli 17]

On 31/12/2017 at 07:16, Cmak2017 said:

Yes I was waiting for this answer, I fully agree. But there has been instances ( I work in construction and mining ) where the higher ups want to "Show you the site" and we end up walking there thru town. 

Usually I will put my watch in my pocket ( I have a gen 5711 ). As I wear it all the time and forget.  I would rather not bring it at all, and hopefully come home to my wife still around and not sold my collection and left me.  HAAHAHAHA! I have been thinking of getting a less flashy watch, perhaps a cheaper Michael Kors (sp) or a Bulova. 

I travel quite a lot for business, and I mostly deal with senior officers inbanks or finance institutions as well as lawyers, so most of the time proper attire is required. This obviously means wearing a decent watch.

 

...except in Brazil. I usually take extra caution in LatAm (not in Chile or Argentina) and wear my gen black bay 36 as it's very sober and simple. But in Brazil all my clients agreed, even that watch could get me in trouble. No one was wearing any watches at all! So I ended up with my watch in the pocket for the whole trip. Gen or rep, I'd hate being shot for wearing a Chinese replica of an expensive watch...

[jpohl402 0]

On 12/31/2017 at 00:29, McGilli said:

Haha seriously - I'm only saying that based on where I live - which is that many robberies end in people getting killed or injured. Better to wear a $15 Timex on those trips  so that dangerous people are not interested in robbing you.

 

Where is it that you live?

Just curious.

[bora12 0]

On 12/31/2017 at 02:41, Cmak2017 said:

What would you say is the more likely reps to pull off flawlessly? other than Rolex, as I know there are some that are crazy good. 

Panerai replicas are hands down the closest to gen - certain models by certain factories of course. Some of them can give ADs and expert jewellers a hard time, even after opening the caseback.

Some franken rolexs look damn near perfect on the surface, but when you open the caseback and see the movement you will know. I'd check out the NWBIG list someone posted earlier, that list answers your question. Look under "super reps"