Pesman 9,461 Posted March 18, 2023 Morning all, as I nervously await the arrival of my inbound Omega Big Blue, I have, not surprisingly, been lusting over various pics and reviews on line. On Time and Tide (who loved it) they said… ”The case and dial of the Big Blue are made from pigmented zirconium oxide powder that’s sintered into an ultra-hard ceramic, then machined with diamond tools and plasma-treated to its final shape “ How the hell do they even get close to that in a rep factory? I have owned and still own, a number of rep ceramic watches and the cases and clasps always felt ‘real’. Obviously, I have never handled a gen…so am I being fooled by a clever paint job or do they actually source genuine ceramic cases? Here's some Omega pics of the ceramic stages...rough to polished.. The rep Omega ceramics cost a fair chunk more but not the £8k premium the gens command over similar steel models. TD sourced ceramic VSF watches (when you can get them) are around $100 to $200 more than a similar GMT in steel Omega sources it’s ceramic know how from its Rado sister-brand. How do they the rep makers do it?…. Below is[mention=104991]Intresting[/mention] Deep Black Red up on m2m..showing quality of rep 'ceramic' And finally my IWC Mirimar ceramic..which feels smooth and gorgeous... Thoughts…experiences of ceramic….I sense imaybe trying to buy my old ones back! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyh7 224 Posted March 18, 2023 What would be really interesting to know would be the manufacturing cost of the gen. But they ain't telling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GingerApple 7,273 Posted March 18, 2023 It's Gen advertising blurb. All they're doing is cooking some powder in an oven, then scraping bits off and polishing it. Rep makers do the same but with less words 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pesman 9,461 Posted March 18, 2023 It's Gen advertising blurb. All they're doing is cooking some powder in an oven, then scraping bits off and polishing it. Rep makers do the same but with less words Proper blurb...this is from ablogtowatch's review..."Both Rado’s HyperChrome and Omega’s ceramic manufacturing process begins with a mold into which “a special zirconium-based powder” is injected. That light blue, large piece you see wrapped in glass in the top left corner of the image above is how the case looks at that stage. It is rather accurately in the case’s final shape, already incorporating all openings for the bracelet, side inserts, as well as the crown and pushers (on applicable case designs). The injected zirconium oxide inside the mold is then subjected to an extremely high pressure of around 1,000 bar and then cooled down and removed from the mold......As such, the initial high-pressure treatment is followed by a sintering process at 1,450 degrees Celsius (2,642° F), further strengthening and shrinking the material that now even more closely resembles the final shape and is now ever harder and more scratch-resistant.Omega explains: “for such a tough material, it then takes diamond tools to add the defining edges and grooves while also being lubricated and cooled by high-pressure oil solutions. A three-hour plasma treatment in a 20,000° C furnace then paves the way for precision laser-engraving.”Suspect the factory has a back-door...??Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tribefan 6,768 Posted March 18, 2023 https://ceramtek.en.made-in-china.com/product/mdXxWMBlbakU/China-China-Factory-Industrial-OEM-Fine-Yttria-Stabilized-Ysz-Ultra-Precision-Custom-CNC-Machining-Technical-White-Zirconium-Oxide-Zro2-Zirconia-Ceramic.html This took all of 5 minutes to find on google. All you need is a CAD file and you are good to go. Make many pieces, long long time. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deju 1,861 Posted March 18, 2023 So once you debunk the fantasy of there being a rep factory and understand that they have parts manufactured usually on the sly in legitimate factories, then once all parts are sourced the "rep factory" is really an assembly line putting all the parts sourced together. If a genuine factory in china produces something.... the "rep factories" have access! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tribefan 6,768 Posted March 18, 2023 39 minutes ago, deju said: If a genuine factory in china produces something.... the "rep factories" have access! Coming soon to a theatre near you..... https://seesternwatches.com/f/full-titanium-watch 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
processengr 13,334 Posted March 18, 2023 1 hour ago, tribefan said: Coming soon to a theatre near you..... https://seesternwatches.com/f/full-titanium-watch Wow! That looks great! I have their $180 Doxa sub homage, it is very well made. I wonder what this will sell for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NCRich 13,746 Posted March 18, 2023 1 hour ago, tribefan said: Coming soon to a theatre near you..... https://seesternwatches.com/f/full-titanium-watch I'm trying to figure out how a recently released watch can be legendary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tribefan 6,768 Posted March 18, 2023 3 hours ago, NCRich said: I'm trying to figure out how a recently released watch can be legendary. I don't know about legendary, but the gen one's are going for $5K. I'll take a $300 version please. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NCRich 13,746 Posted March 18, 2023 1 hour ago, tribefan said: I don't know about legendary, but the gen one's are going for $5K. I'll take a $300 version please. Well duh. That's why you are here. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
