nice dress watch

[samurai dave 7]

hi guys, i am after a nice dress watch that is a manual wind and slim enough to fit under my shirts. I have a nice rep sub but it is too thick to sit under the cuff if my shirt. I like the iwc and pateke philepe. Would like them to be in the spirit of the gen and with a reliable movement. Thanks in advance. dave. Ps trying to type thison my phone is a pain. Sorry.

[Dendo 93]

This is not an original thread mate, there are lots of similar ones out there if you search.

 

Anyway here are my dress watches.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[samurai dave 7]

thanks dendo. No it might not be a new post but it good to hear peoples recomendations. Which one is your favourite! Thanks for posting pics too. :-)

[Tits McGee 7]

[Ollifl 0]

That skeleton Breguet looks fine, have to get me one. Nice collection.

[Dendo 93]

That skeleton Breguet looks fine, have to get me one. Nice collection.

Long story mate.... I will tell you at the East Coast GTG - 19th November - Philly.

 

Shameless advertising, I know

[honeybear 0]

Love the JLC Master Tourbillon. My stainless steel version says hi:

 

 

Some other dressy options:

 

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15300

 

Cartier Calibre de Cartier

 

Patek Philippe Calatrava 5127 (incoming)

 

Patek Philippe Nautilus Jumbo

 

Vacheron Constantin Overseas

 

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporary

 

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Chronograph

[Turbo 0]

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporary

 

WOW. Now THAT is sharp !

 

 

May I ask where you bought it?

Edited September 26, 2011 by Turbo

[honeybear 0]

WOW. Now THAT is sharp !

 

May I ask where you bought it?

 

That Vacheron Constantin Patrimony is a quartz watch, the lack of a second hand makes it much less of an issue that it's quartz. I got it from Taobao.com, so there's probably no easy way to get another one, although you might try showing that photo to a bunch of dealers to see if they can get something similar for you.

 

There is something very similar in an automatic version from Watcheden, which with their $20 discount coupon comes to $88 shipped:

 

http://anonym.to/?http://www.watcheden.net...-37645-p-1.html

 

A while ago, I wrote something about decent low cost dress watch replicas, which I am reproducing below:

 

This is my attempt to provide a guide to decent low-cost dress watch replicas. I will start with some general comments:

 

1. In looking for good budget replicas, one should focus on simple (2 or 3 hand) watches, where there are no non-functional subdials, pushers, etc. Open-heart movements which try to be faux tourbillons, dial markings without the corresponding hands, chronograph subdials and pushers which only activate the date and day displays, those are all things I would avoid.

 

2. Particularly for high end brands like Vacheron or Patek, if one wishes to stay at the budget level, it really is an instance of keeping it simple but elegant. Avoid poorly engraved casebacks, and display casebacks whenever possible as well.

 

3. To me, unless a replica is extremely close to a specific genuine model, a fantasy model can be even more credible, at least if it adheres to the design ethos of the brand. One additional thing to keep a look out for are fantasy models which have the design characteristics of one brand, but is labeled as another. To get a sense of what the design norms of a watch brand are, browse their website, and the preowned watches being offered on chrono24.com.

 

4. A common issue is the location of the date window, since this is constrained by the date wheel location of the movement used. Consequently, no date, solid caseback models tend to be the most accurate.

 

5. A good way to instantly improve the credibility of many of these low cost dress watch replicas is to replace the replica band with a high quality genuine alligator or crocodile band. Make sure to measure both the lug to lug size, as well as the size of the buckle end, so that you can reuse the replica buckle.

 

For convenience, I have drawn my examples from Watcheden.net, but this should not be taken as an endorsement of this dealer. Your favorite trusted dealer should be able to source any of these models if they are still available. Look at Timesshop.net, and the Economy section of Silix-Prime for other low budget dress replicas.

 

Patek Philippe Calatrava

 

1. http://www.watcheden.net/patek-philippe-cl...-78739-p-1.html

 

A decent replica of the 5119. The concentric engraving on the petite seconds subdial should not be there. The display caseback is a downer, but the movement looks slightly better than some others, and the buckle is correct. Patek buckles should be engraved on the inside, as opposed to the outside (a common issue).

 

 

2. http://www.watcheden.net/patek-philippe-cl...-95158-p-1.html

 

This is a decent replica of the 5127, with the smooth bezel, and decent looking bracelet. The dial is a bit off, in particular the date window and location, but quite plausible. Not so keen about the display caseback. There is also a variant with a decent bracelet but different movement:

 

http://www.watcheden.net/patek-philippe-ca...-31399-p-1.html

 

 

3. http://www.watcheden.net/patek-philippe-ca...-35092-p-1.html

 

This is a blend of a Patek 5117's case, hobnail bezel, and crown guard, and the dial of the 5127. Nevertheless, it is a plausible replica. The main issues are the display caseback, and the engraving on the buckle (should be on the inner surface).

 

 

4. http://www.watcheden.net/patek-philippe-cl...-71563-p-1.html

 

This is a replica of the Patek 5296, the main issue is the date window placement. This has a solid caseback, but has huge laser engravings on the back, as opposed to deeper, and more subdued engraving on a gen. Actually, the gen of this model has a display caseback, but that to me is an even bigger tell on a replica. The buckle is engraved on the outside (should be plain on the outside).

 

 

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony

 

1. http://www.watcheden.net/vacheron-constant...-51930-p-1.html

 

This is a replica of the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle. There is a display caseback, but the movement decoration seems quite decent. At 42mm it is quite a bit bigger than the gen at 38mm, and the petite seconds subdial is a bit too low. There is a smaller (40mm) variant:

 

http://www.watcheden.net/vacheron-constant...-86840-p-1.html

 

but the petite seconds subdial lacks a silver border, and is too high. The decals on the movement are a bit overdone.

 

 

2. http://www.watcheden.net/vacheron-constant...-21598-p-1.html

 

This is a replica of the older style Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle. The dial looks pretty good. The engraving on the caseback looks a bit disappointing, but at least the metal part of the caseback is gold plated as well.

 

 

3. http://www.watcheden.net/vacheron-constant...-37645-p-1.html

 

This is a replica of the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine. The main downside is the display caseback, but is otherwise a pretty good looking replica.

 

 

4. http://www.watcheden.net/vacheron-constant...-30494-p-1.html

 

This is a replica of the Vacheron Constantin American 1921, which is quite a unique watch. The solid caseback seems nicely done and is very understated.

 

Edited September 26, 2011 by honeybear

[subiim 0]

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb321/...vc/DSC_1480.jpg

 

That is sweet!

[honeybear 0]

 

That is sweet!

 

Thanks, that's incoming from Trevor, it has an Asian ETA 2836 clone movement. I also have a cheaper 21J movement version, which I think is actually more accurate, but I wanted something with a high-beat movement. It'll be interesting to see if I can swap the dial and movement from the asian ETA to the 21J... we'll see. Anyhow, this is a photo of the 21J version:

 

[Mystery Shopper 5,887]

I love the VCO. Honeybear's write up of his gen vs rep VCO was one of the great losses of the great outage of September 2011.

[honeybear 0]

I love the VCO. Honeybear's write up of his gen vs rep VCO was one of the great losses of the great outage of September 2011.

 

That's very kind of you to say. I think I recovered most of that discussion of the gen vs rep VCO in this thread:

 

http://www.replica-watches-guide.com/forum...showtopic=18963

 

You just have to scroll down a bit, beyond the AP RO, Patek Nautilus, and then you'll see the photo comparison of the cartel VCO and the gen VCO. I also talk a bit about what I think it the best version of the VCO currently available (essentially the Silix version without AR, available from Puretimewatch).

 

There is also an excellent review by rc42, which actually got me interested in the VCO to begin with...

 

http://www.replica-watches-guide.com/forum...p?showtopic=141

 

rc42, if you're around, you were responsible for me putting down serious coin for a gen VCO...

 

There's also a nice writeup of the gen VCO:

 

http://www.thepurists.net/Patrons/members/...s/overseas.html

Edited September 26, 2011 by honeybear