HBB IWC 3777 Review

[Mirage 0]

Sorry for you guys that have seen this post over RWI and RG, but I thought some other guys over here would be interrested in this review.

 

 

The first feeling of the watch is really good, feels massive and the edges are smooth but not too much.

 

+ The bracelet is really fantastic. The finish of the clasp is smooth and polished. It opens and closes firmly and seems to be solid and of great quality. The micro ajustment is simply a thing that I wish all my watches had. Operates nicely and effectively.

Some edges could have been polished of buffed but it is not exagerated.

 

The dismantling is somewhat tricky, you'll need a toothpick and a plastic edge. Press one of the release button of the links and seperate the link from the bracelet using your plastic edge so you dont damage the finish.

 

- The crown on my watch seems to have the threads already semi-damaged. One time out of two it tends to cross thread when scring it back. The IWC probus scafusia logo could have been more deep and sharp, but it is very similar to my Top Gun 3799.

 

+ The Case Nothing to say here, finish is real good and the thin bezel makes the watch really stand out.

 

- The Chronos Push buttons are nice, but the retaining screw that is accessible from the inside was loose on both. Be carefull not to lose them.

 

+ Back cover is also really well done.

 

+ The Dial Finish is amazing! Never seen a Gen, but I cannot imagine how better looking than this is can be. It really turns from pitch black to texturized charcoal when light angle varies.

 

- The Markers They seem to be glued on the dial and not applied evenly. The famous triangle is crooked on my watch so is the 6 oclock marker. I tried to straighten it, but ended up damaging the dial surface. It looks like the dial surface is a sticker and that I streched it. A wrinkle appeared to the right of the marker as I was trying to rotate the marker to an acceptable level of crookness.

 

- The movement was very dirty when I first opened the watch. Finger prints, dust, grease. Looks like it was assembled by a apprentice. Operation of the chronos is exactely like on Puretime's video, which means the seconds hand move a bit backward when pressing the start button.

 

- The Hands Well made, but poorly installed. 2 out of 6 are misaligned.

 

- The crystal after taking the watch apart, I noticed that when I put the crystal in front of the light, it is not completely translucid, looks like there is a fume of some sort of coating. Is it the ar that is not evenly applied? Is that normal? My Montblanc ARed crystal was not this way that is for sure. I tried to clean it up, but it wont go away. You cannot see the fume when the watch is back together

 

Sumary: It is a stunnig watch, but craftmanship is not the best. A good cleanup, a new AR and a gen Dial would make this watch a real stunner.

 

Eventhough I am disappointed by the assembly quality, It is now one of my favorite watch!

 

[ShadyManc 0]

Thanks for the review and thanks for sharing. This is on my list, perhaps Vac will offer a modded one soon, if he doesn't already.

[SSTEEL 0]

This will be my next rep after the AP Diver. Quite impressive replication.

[cromag 0]

Thanks for the details on your impressions of the 3777 HBB.

 

My first impressions are as follows;

 

Bracelet is a bitch to size, but might be easier once I lube it. It feels lighter and kind of cheap. The clasp rattles. Hopefully I can do something to fix all of this. Also the color of the bracelet does not match the watch head. Seems like a totally different material. It also looks like some of the links are stretching but I find that hard to believe so soon. I'll keep an eye on that. ALSO, mine came without the tiny ring/fastener that holds the button/pin in the clasp. It fell out and I asked my TD for a new ring.

 

AR/crystal is not impressive and kind of milky or just not clear and does not make the black pop. This is a high contrast dial and I think the crystal/AR make is have less contrast. It's easy to see the difference went next to my 3717 rep.

 

The dial on the other hand is amazing! I'd like to compare it to the gen but it looks very nice, as does the case.

 

First impression is I like it a lot and look forward to buying the other maker's 3777 soon (when is it due out BTW?).

 

PS - I'd share some pics but the forum has disabled uploading pics thru Tapatalk.

Edited September 28, 2013 by cromag

[t0ny 0]

great review! cheers mate i think ill invest in one of these !

[twofake 0]

Nice review and I liked the pictures as you took it apart.

Nice looking rep.

[gran 198]

Thank you for this detailed and informative insight!!!

[WPoste 0]

Great review and excellent photos. Thanks for sharing.

 

Although new to rep watches, it seems like the crown is often the Achilles heel for rep watches.

 

 

[Stuvetjee 17]

Great review and thanks for sharing!

[bluesme519 0]

awesome watch and its pics

great thanks

[tesmith2112 0]

I really enjoy the IWC brand! I'm eyeing a gen now, but after seeing the quality of these reps, perhaps not.

[babengu2010 0]

Anyone else got this?

[Jonnybaws 5,280]

Anyone else got this?

 

Indeed, not with my yet, its on it way from Trusty Times..

 

Top review BTW.. Looking forward to receiving mine even more now

[prb 0]

You REALLY killed it with those photos, dont know how you made that crystal look SO clear!

[elconquistador 46]

I have a source on gen tubes and crowns for the 3717. Don't know if those will work here. He has others but you need to order by part number.

[diaby2afc 0]

I have a source on gen tubes and crowns for the 3717. Don't know if those will work here. He has others but you need to order by part number.

 

3777 crown and tube are different than the 3717. It may fit but most likely not. Definitely different size

[Rockzz22 0]

Thanks for taking time to post

[Trüffi 0]

Very nice Rep.

Ordered that One two days ago

[wrenches&watches 0]

Here's mine, just in today. Similar problems with my triangle and 2 out of 6 hands being misaligned. Same conclusion, one of my new favs, feels and looks fantastic. A gen dial and eta with maybe an AR job and she will be a 5 figure watch to me!

 

[frostnyc 0]

Here's mine, just in today. Similar problems with my triangle and 2 out of 6 hands being misaligned. Same conclusion, one of my new favs, feels and looks fantastic. A gen dial and eta with maybe an AR job and she will be a 5 figure watch to me!

 

 

Just out of curiosity, do the issues with the hands and triangle show up in the QC pictures? This along with the bad AR, and required fix for the pushers (I'm a novice at watch repair) have me on the fence with this one..

[higginsd 0]

Mine, a just born franken with gen dial and gen crown:

 

Edited April 11, 2014 by higginsd

[Odyseus 1]

So where do you get a genuine dial from ??

[JSJ 0]

Firstly may I say what a great review the OP did. Thank you . I thought maybe it would be worth adding my experiences.

 

I'm lucky in that mine was either a later version or was maybe assembled by an experienced operator - luck of the drawer perhaps. I don't really have any of the issues mentioned. The bracelet is the best rep bracelet I have, bar none, and feels gen to me. Sizing I found easy and the micro-adjust is superb, easier to use than the Rolex glidelock. All the hands were aligned perfectly and I can see no issue with the markers. The crown feels fine. Inside the watch was relatively clean and the screws were present and corectly tightened (very rare I'd say) The AR is fine although I have had the faint film issue on other reps. On those, it has cleaned off with an alcohol medical wipe. I always wipe the inside of a crystal and case with one before reassembly anyway.

 

I have regulated the movement down to less than a second a day although it does vary, occasionally it will have a spurt and gan two whole seconds in a day and very rarely will it lose a couple. On average over a couple of weeks, it gains or loses zero seconds and this is over about 3 months now.

 

Mine, a just born franken with gen dial and gen crown:

 

I'm not sure what would be the point of changing the dial to a gen, except if you had wonky markers - then I get it completely. The gen crown in the picture looks thicker and that makes sense. I would change that if I could find one, so I am very interested in the source too. I have to say that the sweep second hand in higginsd's pic looks off but I know that can be the parallax of the pic. I also know it is very difficult to get spot on first time on a 7750 and relatively easy to fix.

 

The biggest tell by far for me (pointed out by another member) is that the tubes in the centre of the hands are silver colour on the gen and brass colour on the reps. That is the only tell for me on the dial and hands. It doesn't scream at me though. If I could change the subdial hands or mod them I would but I believe the gen hands will be slightly larger diameter tubes so that would only makes sense if changing to a gen ETA7750. If I could get a gen handset, I might even consider doing that.

 

I have plenty of great watches (most recent is the 3717-12 Laureus) but none of them displace the 3777 from my wrist for long. I will buy a spare 3777 at some point because if the dreaded happens and I damage this one, I know I will miss it so much. That is the only watch I have where I am even thinking about doing that.

 

What a fantastic watch!

[higginsd 0]

Changing the 3777 rep dial to a gen dial is like buying platinum instead of silver... Just to have it and to KNOW it is gen. You are right, the rep dial is nearly perfect. But I can see differences. The fonts are more "crispy", the black is a bit more black, the little dots under the 10-30-40 markes in the subdial at the 12 are better, the line going down in the big 7 (from top right to down left in the cipher, don't know the correct word) is a bit thicker, all on gen dial.

 

Nearly invisible differences and you can't really show on pictures, you can only see it if putting the rep and the gen dial side by side.

 

The flaw with the color in the center of the hands was new to me, thanks for the - expensive - advice! Now I see it every time I look at the watch... Grrr! Have to change to a gen ETA or 79320 soon to get rid of this flaw. :-)

 

But you are complete correct: this is a fantastic watch, it has a great presence, much, much more presence than my BigPilot 5002 e.g., even if you put them side by side. I cannot really explain why this watch has this presence, but IWC did a fantastic job and a very good update on the 3717!

[Boneventura 0]

Could one of you guys share the lug size on these? I'm thinking of getting the bracelet for my franken 3717. Also, are end links solid? Thnx!