wqleow 1 Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) After 2 years since being exposed to the world of rep and horology in general, here's a pictorial look at my modest collection. 1) Jaeger LeCoultre Master Geographic One of the very first reps I got off WI. This was after an initial period of buying cheapies from Silix before I went mid-range. It was also my first foray into rose gold watches. And to top it off, it was also the first time I went all out to get a strap and deployant just to match the watch. I loved the fact that for a sub $200 watch, this movement had both a power reserve and GMT function! 2) Rolex Master GMT II The only Rolex surviving in my collection, after selling off an Explorer II and a Sub. Love the ceramic bezel. I think it's much better than the metallic bezels on my Sub. The green hand is a nice accent. One of my very first super-reps and definitely a step into higher quality rep territory. 3) Panerai Luminor Daylight Chronograph (PAM 236) Officially my first chronograph. Heard so many bad things about the A7750s that when I saw that this baby was powered by the A7753 and that there is no sunken datewheel, it gave me the confidence to dive in and spend above the $250 mark. This was also the first time I bought from Hont, who proved to be a major TD for me. One of the best Panerai reps to get as it is solidly built. 4) Omega Seamaster Professional 300m I loved what the James Bond branding did for the Omegas. After I got my hands on the Omega PO v5 42mm and used it as a daily beater, I fell in love with the blue bezel of the Pro 300m. This was also around the time that Prince William and Kate had their firstborn and I realised that William wears this watch, given to him by the late Diana. I did a few strap changes before deciding to put it on bracelet. Fantastic daily beater. 5) Mont Blanc Timewalker Automatic A cheap rep with a simple classic design. It's not too ostentatious. Also a good daily beater. Recently sourced a good panatime strap. The white trimmings really sets the MB crown apart! 6) Patek Philippe Nautilus The only other rose gold watch in my collection. Fell in love with this model after seeing other forumers put up beautiful photos of the brown dial. I wear this mainly for special events and the thin watch profile is a delight for my small wrists. Love it so much that I'm hunting for a blue dial on bracelet as a daily beater. 7) Vacheron Constatine Overseas By this time, I was prepared to spend big money on high end reps. And this watch marked my foray into swiss ETAs. Before this I was quite happy with 21J and high beats asians. The ETA on this is so smooth. I'm constantly getting compliments on this watch. Definitely a keeper! 8) Sinn U2 Solebox By this time, I was getting quite seasoned in this game. Shortlisting, research, buying and selling. This was my second Sinn, after I sold off the Sinn U1 JR Edition. I love the AR on the Sinns. I love the fact that the brand name is low key and the gen was something I could easily afford. I swapped out the rubber strap for a leather strap. Figured an intact uncut rubber strap would be great resale value. In any case, I love the look of this watch on a dark brown strap. 9) IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Cousteau Diver Always have had a soft spot for IWC as a brand but found the pilot watches too boring and the ingenieur series pales in comparison to the AP ROs. The only models that appeal to me are the portuguese and aquatimer. This watch is very well built but wears large. In fact, it wears so large that I'm considering downgrading to a slevin which is 42mm instead. 10) IWC Portuguese Chronograph Did I mention I have a soft spot for IWC. The portuguese was a definite must-have. If only it didn't have the seconds@6 issue. So I settled for a quartz from WI. It looks great. Only wished it was an automatic. If I went gen, this would be it. 11) Omega Speedmaster Racing Chronograph I was buying watches every few months now and my watch box was overflowing. Told myself it had to be a one watch in, one watch out concept. Never did work. When this model first came out, I loved the colour accents. Looked into my watch box and decided it needed a splash of yellow. Plus the 39mm wears great on my wrist. Like all omegas, this was destined to be a daily beater. 12) Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15400 This has been a holy grail watch, along with the VCO and PP Nautilus. It looked great in photos. I loved tha design. So sporty and classy all at the same time! Went with a high beat asian instead of swiss eta as I have come to accept that asian highbeats are good enough. The bracelet is stunning just to look at! 13) Franck Muller Crazy Hours Lucky number 13 has to be the crazy hours. I love how the rep manages to do the jumping hours trick. I had earlier gotten the jumbo version, which was way too large for me. Jumped right in when I heard Silix has able to get this smaller size version. Decided on the white dial as I have too many dark shade dials. 14) Panerai Luminor Boutique Edition (PAM 390) Just in, traded my AP ROO Diver v3.5 with a fellow member here (apwatch1688). Did the trade in the middle of the night. I am falling in love more and more with this watch every minute. I think Pam-mania is back. That's the top 14! And I foresee many more to come! Edited April 15, 2014 by wqleow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrtsumoto80 0 Posted February 7, 2014 Fantastic Collection right there mate, congratulations! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marressey 0 Posted February 7, 2014 Nice collection! Thanks for all the pics and the stories to. Nice read, this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kopcap 0 Posted February 7, 2014 what a great collection ! lucky you i'm a newbie in REP watches and just started to order 2.... and now waiting to get them around my wrist ! enjoy your collection and wear them with care : beautifull pieces ! (i love the Jaeger LeCoultre : my favorite and actually searching one !) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwc 1 Posted February 7, 2014 Very nice collection. Very nice pic. Love that Sinn................. and everybody needs an FM Crazy Hours..............(color in my case). Congrats !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wqleow 1 Posted February 7, 2014 Thanks guys! It's interesting to see how my taste has changed in just a couple of years. From looking for rollies to pams to ap. I reckon a breitling's coming up next. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wqleow 1 Posted February 7, 2014 what a great collection !lucky you i'm a newbie in REP watches and just started to order 2.... and now waiting to get them around my wrist ! enjoy your collection and wear them with care : beautifull pieces ! (i love the Jaeger LeCoultre : my favorite and actually searching one !) Yes the JLC models are really nice. If only there are better reps of the master or amvox series around. Very nice collection.Very nice pic. Love that Sinn................. and everybody needs an FM Crazy Hours..............(color in my case). Congrats !! Agreed! Everybody needs a crazy hours, all in the name of fun! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Left Coast Guy 24 Posted February 7, 2014 Great collection and great post. Very similar tastes as myself, so I'm jealous! I'm also very much in love with the IWC Portuguese, didn't even think about the sec@6 issue, so glad you pointed that out. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the morning looking at Sinn's... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wqleow 1 Posted February 7, 2014 Great collection and great post. Very similar tastes as myself, so I'm jealous! I'm also very much in love with the IWC Portuguese, didn't even think about the sec@6 issue, so glad you pointed that out. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the morning looking at Sinn's... I didn't want to spend all that money to end up with a deadweight so I never bought the IWC Portuguese 7750. The quartz works great and for $90 bucks, was a steal. Sinns are really good value for money. Bordering super rep quality for less than $200. Highly recommend! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pseudonym 0 Posted February 7, 2014 Man o man... I really need a 390 in my life. Great collection. Simply great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daywatch 4 Posted February 7, 2014 Thanks for this nicely done journey through rep-world. Very well explained and pictured. VC, JLC and Sinn U2 for me but only if the others are in the house. This is a very reasonable and well mixed collection, loved it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wqleow 1 Posted February 7, 2014 Man o man... I really need a 390 in my life. Great collection. Simply great. I'm super loving the 390 now. My advice? Get one in your life now! The tobacco brown dial and gold hands are unbelievable! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myaz 3 Posted February 7, 2014 Niiiiiiicely diversified. You've wasted little time in 2 years. Superb mix of brands, shapes and colors for whatever occasion's at hand. ATM, I'm lusting for that bodacious AP and got interrupted by CNY to complete the deal with WI. I'll catch up yet!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wqleow 1 Posted February 7, 2014 Niiiiiiicely diversified. You've wasted little time in 2 years. Superb mix of brands, shapes and colors for whatever occasion's at hand. ATM, I'm lusting for that bodacious AP and got interrupted by CNY to complete the deal with WI. I'll catch up yet!!! Thanks myaz. What i haven't listed was the misses I've had over the past 2 years. Some of the cheapies I had and sold for pennies at flea markets. The better ones I sold on m2m at a fraction of the cost I bought them for. But that's what makes this hobby so interesting. I'm able to try so many brands and models before I settle on what I truly like. Even then these 14 watches may not be around in the near future, with so many other choices. The AP RO rocks! Hope you get yours soon and hope to see some wristies then. Niiiiiiicely diversified. You've wasted little time in 2 years. Superb mix of brands, shapes and colors for whatever occasion's at hand. ATM, I'm lusting for that bodacious AP and got interrupted by CNY to complete the deal with WI. I'll catch up yet!!! Thanks myaz. What i haven't listed was the misses I've had over the past 2 years. Some of the cheapies I had and sold for pennies at flea markets. The better ones I sold on m2m at a fraction of the cost I bought them for. But that's what makes this hobby so interesting. I'm able to try so many brands and models before I settle on what I truly like. Even then these 14 watches may not be around in the near future, with so many other choices. The AP RO rocks! Hope you get yours soon and hope to see some wristies then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheInthusiest 0 Posted February 7, 2014 Awesome collection mate! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyjynx 2 Posted February 9, 2014 Very nice, eclectic collection. Just like mine. Every good watch deserves a good story. You have both down pat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ape3192 0 Posted March 1, 2014 Wow, such a huge collection u have achieved in 2 years, bravo bro... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
machiavegli 6 Posted March 1, 2014 Great taste, if you need someone to look after them when youre on holiday I'm happy to volunteer! -Mach Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyKrush 16 Posted March 1, 2014 Nice collection. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pharmo 33 Posted March 1, 2014 A stunning collection there mate!! The yellow racing speedmaster looks fantastic. Maybe time to balance out the gen/rep ratio with a few seikos? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wqleow 1 Posted March 2, 2014 A stunning collection there mate!! The yellow racing speedmaster looks fantastic. Maybe time to balance out the gen/rep ratio with a few seikos? Thanks guys! Pharmo: definitely looking at some seiko 5s at the moment. Stalking for great deals in amazon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wqleow 1 Posted April 15, 2014 I wanted to do a series of mini-reviews on the watches I've owned and rather than have them all over the forum, I felt that I'll place them all within this same thread. First up I want to talk about my latest acquisition: IWC Portofino Automatic This was sourced by Sora from Shinewatch at RWI. I fell in love with the simplicity of the dial as I was originally searching for a good Glashutte Senator Sixties watch. The Portofino wears smaller at 39mm, but is perfect for my 6.5" wrists. It runs on a A2892 high beat movement, which seems to be the default movement for most thin dress watches nowadays. It's slim at 9mm thick. Other than looking for a dress watch, I was also looking specifically for a watch with gold hands and indices. The Portofino doesn't disappoint. Under the light. the gold really pops out. The only grouse with this watch is the stock leather strap. As with most dress watches, the stock strap is a let down as it looks and feels cheap. Although the deployant clasp is of good quality and clips in tightly, I knew I had to source for an alternative strap. In the meantime, I placed it on a spare leather NATO strap that I had in the drawers and I have to say, it does look quite good. One possible strap option in future is the mesh bracelet. I've seen that in the ADs but I'm not sure how I can pull that off. Old gold on the nato. Definitely a keeper, at least for now. Other close considerations included the Glashutte Senator Sixties, Patek Philippe Calatrava and A.Lange Sohn Saxonia. I happen to have pictures of the ALS Saxonia which I sold. The Saxonia runs on a manual wind movement (Unitas?) and wear larger (about 42mm). The caseback is beautiful to look at and the accented blue hands adds a really nice touch. But as with all dress watches, it has to wear well and I can't see myself wearing anything more than 41mm. Dress watches certainly seems to be the trend these days. Is there a death knell for oversized sports watches soon? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
machiavegli 6 Posted April 15, 2014 Fantastic collection -Mach Ps great pics too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wqleow 1 Posted April 16, 2014 For today, I want to cover on the PAMs in my collection. I have to confess that when I first started reading about watches, I thought PAMs were monstrous watches. I didn't understand the fevour and never thought I would get one. Well, I was wrong. Panerai watches are amongst the best repped watches and the quality of the reps are amazing. When I first got my PAM Daylight, the quality blew me away! Now I would say that every watch collector needs a PAM in their collection. ALE (@RWI) has the best comprehensive guide which really deserves to be published as a book really. And I always refer to his guide when deciding on a PAM to buy. I currently have 4 PAMs, of which the PAM 292 is under repair. The 3 PAMs I will touch on are PAM 288, PAM 390 and PAM 236. When I first started reading into PAMs, the design of the radiomirs really attracted me. Something about the large crown and wire lugs just appealed to me. Unfortunately the wire lugs proved too much of a trouble. For both my radiomirs, the wire lugs had a tendency to come loose and in the case of my PAM 292, the loose wire lug resulted in a nasty fall whereby the watch was quite badly damaged. Hence it's now a modding / repair project where I had to get a Jackson case to replace the damaged ceramic case. My PAM 288 almost fell as well. Now whenever I wear a radiomir, I feel the need to constantly check on the lugs. Radiomirs wear large due to the 47mm case and honestly I think I can't pull it off. This PAM 288 has been completely serviced by Spinmaster and runs like a champ now. So although I don't wear this often, I won't be selling this just yet. I traded my AP ROO Diver for the PAM 390 with a local RWI member. Never regretted it. The PAM 390 is just so beautiful in its simplicity. It has a great power reserve (72 hours). The tobacco brown dial really sets off the gold hands. The brown asso strap that comes with it is of a very good quality. Again, quite easily a keeper. It's a great alternative to the fiddy (PAM 127) for guys with small wrists. Lastly the PAM Daylight is easily my favourite PAM. The chronograph subdials are well spaced out and the tachymeter dial is a nice touch. It's such a versatile piece and I've had so many strap options with this watch, including the bracelet (which makes it a PAM 250). The 7753 movement resolves the sunken date wheel issue and makes this a great rep! If you are a noob that doesn't understand the charm of PAMs, you'll get it eventually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
