Recently picked up my grail watch, AP 15400ST boutique Blue and thought I’d do a quick gen vs rep mini-review for the community.
I’ve done a few mini gen vs rep reviews in the past, the last one was a Hulk and I recall doing the SD4K prior to that. In all honestly I ain’t that good at spotting gen vs rep micro differences, I just review the overall look and feel and hopefully the pictures help.
Background:
I was in the market for a Nautilus (which had previously been my grail watch for many years) but then I tried on the RO.....and it was GAME OVER for the Patek. The Nautilus is nice (obviously) but the RO has so much more sex appeal. I have owned my fair share of luxury watches but the RO has to be THE most beautiful watch I have ever seen.....and the rep is actually very nice indeed, I am a big fan of JF, as you’re about to see below.
Firstly, please note that I only have access to the internet (and therefore the forum) via my phone (Tapatalk)....so I don’t have the means to do a more in-depth review.
Hopefully my iPhone pics suffice and do excuse the shit grammar....I’m using my phone and it’s a mission to keep concentration whilst typing this up.
Rep(bottom), Gen (top):
Let me know if you want any specific pictures/angles/lighting. I used a £3.50 shitty Amazon lens for the macros. Lol
Summary:
The JF15400v3 is a fantastic rep. Very beautiful and very well finished. You can even stop reading now and just get one, blind buy! It’s hard to believe that the gen costs THAT much more. On the wrist it’s hard, (near impossible) for typical gen owners to tell apart the two watches IMO. Obviously, there are some hardcore members on the rep forums that have the ability to spot a rep from space, but you ain’t gonna run in to the 100 or so of these guys in the real world, all I know, is that the rep is excellent and scary close to gen (on the wrist). My biggest problem with the rep is the thicker case and the not as clear crystal. Everything else I can personally live with....Rep dial is a little dull and doesn’t “pop” like gen. I imagine the dull dial problem is isolated to the blue dial watch, so getting black or white might be the better option for you?
Now, on closer inspection and in the hands, there is NO comparison, the rep doesn’t even capture 40% of gen depth, finish and beauty but it’s completely unfair to compare a £0.27k rep with a £16k gen.
Gen (bottom), Rep (top)
Rep(left), Gen (right):
The rep does come highly recommended by myself and others here, it gets lots of compliments and looks stunning on the wrist. It’s big and flash but not in a rude, in your face kinda way, just a very well designed and executed rep. I don’t concern myself with comparing small details on rep vs gen since there are many gen variations and I ain’t interested in finding out about them all. Lol.
Ps. Special thanks to Ken (@psychospike) from chazingtime for hooking me up with a v3 in record time. Thanks mate
Gen (bottom), Rep (top):
Gen (left), Rep(right):
Dial:
At wrist distance the dials are close. Any difference (at wrist distance) could easily be down to gen batch variations, different angle/lighting/reflections. JF have done a good job with the dial but it’s a little dull and doesn’t pop like gen.
Rep (bottom), Gen (top)
See how the rep dial can look a little dull (at certain angles):
Gen(bottom), Rep(top), low lighting:
Note: my gen is 2018 model and has updated AP logo at 12oclock. There are many gen batch dial variations so don’t get too hung up over micro analysing gen and rep dial colour differences
I just do a general comparison looking at overall “look and feel” between the two watches.
Gen:
Rep:
It’s hard to explain but the gen has more depth to it. It’s prettier and the colour is more complex and richer. It just pops better than the rep. I’ll let you compare tapp yourself, I haven’t got the dexterity to micro analyse the differences. The difference are also way to onerous for me to articulate on my phone Tapatalk, lol.
Gen:
Rep:
Both dials are very dynamic. Sometimes they look black, sometimes navy and sometimes straight up electric blue. The rep colour is lighter (gen looks closer to navy and rep looks closer to gray).
Gen:
Rep:
I have seen at least x2 different gen blue dial colours and nobody has committed them all to memory, so don’t worry about your rep not being exactly the same colour as the gen picture on the net. JF have done a good job but there’s no way a $400 watch is gonna have the same level of refinement as a $17k watch (or whatever).
Rep (bottom), Gen (right):
Gen minute markers are precise, bold and perfect. Rep.....not so much ......but meh I can live with it as it is a marked improvement over the previous JF versions.
Rep:
Gen:
Gen rehaut is also more shiner and compliments the blingy white gold hour surrounds. Rep does a good job here.
Gen:
Rep:
^gen vs rep rehaut difference ain’t as big as it looks in those pics....it’s just difficult to picture the watches at exactly the same angle and focus.
Hand + Markers:
Hard to tell the difference in the pics but in real life the gen hands look thicker and more 3D, edges look more crisp - They reflect light in a totally different manner from rep. I’ll try to post a video later. The rep hands are very well copied but up close the gen is in a different planet in terms of finish and beauty....but one would expect that given the price difference.
Gen:
Rep:
Gen:
Rep:
Rep:
On close inspection, the rep hands and markers look a little plasticy whereas the gen are precise cut white gold that sparkle in a very unique way. Anybody know what material the rep marker are made from?
Lume:
The lume paint on the rep hands is white and the hour markers are slightly green, gen hands and markers match perfectly (all white lume). Rep lume glow is decent but then again gen isn’t spectacular either:
Rep (note white hands compared to green markers):
Rep (left), Gen (right):
Rep markers are also dirty....possible fingerprints or glue smudges here and there. Hard to tell with the naked eye but I can see the flaws. All the Jf15400s I’ve had are like this. In the past I’ve paid people to polish rep hands and markers. It does help (a little) with improving the sparkle.
Caseback:
JF engravings are nice and deep. Close enough to gen. here are some macros:
Rep:
Gen:
Clasp:
Pics do the taking, not much to say really:
Gen:
Rep:
Crystal:
Hard to picture be difference but gen is a lot clearer (not x2AR). The rep crystal is probably one of the best crystals on any rep but can look a little milky at certain angles.
Rep(bottom), gen (top)
^rep bracelet looks pretty sic! They’ve done a very job here.
I’m worried be forum or my phone will crash so I’m gonna hit “post” for now:
To be continued.....
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve done a few mini gen vs rep reviews in the past, the last one was a Hulk and I recall doing the SD4K prior to that. In all honestly I ain’t that good at spotting gen vs rep micro differences, I just review the overall look and feel and hopefully the pictures help.
Background:
I was in the market for a Nautilus (which had previously been my grail watch for many years) but then I tried on the RO.....and it was GAME OVER for the Patek. The Nautilus is nice (obviously) but the RO has so much more sex appeal. I have owned my fair share of luxury watches but the RO has to be THE most beautiful watch I have ever seen.....and the rep is actually very nice indeed, I am a big fan of JF, as you’re about to see below.
Firstly, please note that I only have access to the internet (and therefore the forum) via my phone (Tapatalk)....so I don’t have the means to do a more in-depth review.
Hopefully my iPhone pics suffice and do excuse the shit grammar....I’m using my phone and it’s a mission to keep concentration whilst typing this up.
Rep(bottom), Gen (top):
Let me know if you want any specific pictures/angles/lighting. I used a £3.50 shitty Amazon lens for the macros. Lol
Summary:
The JF15400v3 is a fantastic rep. Very beautiful and very well finished. You can even stop reading now and just get one, blind buy! It’s hard to believe that the gen costs THAT much more. On the wrist it’s hard, (near impossible) for typical gen owners to tell apart the two watches IMO. Obviously, there are some hardcore members on the rep forums that have the ability to spot a rep from space, but you ain’t gonna run in to the 100 or so of these guys in the real world, all I know, is that the rep is excellent and scary close to gen (on the wrist). My biggest problem with the rep is the thicker case and the not as clear crystal. Everything else I can personally live with....Rep dial is a little dull and doesn’t “pop” like gen. I imagine the dull dial problem is isolated to the blue dial watch, so getting black or white might be the better option for you?
Now, on closer inspection and in the hands, there is NO comparison, the rep doesn’t even capture 40% of gen depth, finish and beauty but it’s completely unfair to compare a £0.27k rep with a £16k gen.
Gen (bottom), Rep (top)
Rep(left), Gen (right):
The rep does come highly recommended by myself and others here, it gets lots of compliments and looks stunning on the wrist. It’s big and flash but not in a rude, in your face kinda way, just a very well designed and executed rep. I don’t concern myself with comparing small details on rep vs gen since there are many gen variations and I ain’t interested in finding out about them all. Lol.
Ps. Special thanks to Ken (@psychospike) from chazingtime for hooking me up with a v3 in record time. Thanks mate
Gen (bottom), Rep (top):
Gen (left), Rep(right):
Dial:
At wrist distance the dials are close. Any difference (at wrist distance) could easily be down to gen batch variations, different angle/lighting/reflections. JF have done a good job with the dial but it’s a little dull and doesn’t pop like gen.
Rep (bottom), Gen (top)
See how the rep dial can look a little dull (at certain angles):
Gen(bottom), Rep(top), low lighting:
Note: my gen is 2018 model and has updated AP logo at 12oclock. There are many gen batch dial variations so don’t get too hung up over micro analysing gen and rep dial colour differences
I just do a general comparison looking at overall “look and feel” between the two watches.
Gen:
Rep:
It’s hard to explain but the gen has more depth to it. It’s prettier and the colour is more complex and richer. It just pops better than the rep. I’ll let you compare tapp yourself, I haven’t got the dexterity to micro analyse the differences. The difference are also way to onerous for me to articulate on my phone Tapatalk, lol.
Gen:
Rep:
Both dials are very dynamic. Sometimes they look black, sometimes navy and sometimes straight up electric blue. The rep colour is lighter (gen looks closer to navy and rep looks closer to gray).
Gen:
Rep:
I have seen at least x2 different gen blue dial colours and nobody has committed them all to memory, so don’t worry about your rep not being exactly the same colour as the gen picture on the net. JF have done a good job but there’s no way a $400 watch is gonna have the same level of refinement as a $17k watch (or whatever).
Rep (bottom), Gen (right):
Gen minute markers are precise, bold and perfect. Rep.....not so much ......but meh I can live with it as it is a marked improvement over the previous JF versions.
Rep:
Gen:
Gen rehaut is also more shiner and compliments the blingy white gold hour surrounds. Rep does a good job here.
Gen:
Rep:
^gen vs rep rehaut difference ain’t as big as it looks in those pics....it’s just difficult to picture the watches at exactly the same angle and focus.
Hand + Markers:
Hard to tell the difference in the pics but in real life the gen hands look thicker and more 3D, edges look more crisp - They reflect light in a totally different manner from rep. I’ll try to post a video later. The rep hands are very well copied but up close the gen is in a different planet in terms of finish and beauty....but one would expect that given the price difference.
Gen:
Rep:
Gen:
Rep:
Rep:
On close inspection, the rep hands and markers look a little plasticy whereas the gen are precise cut white gold that sparkle in a very unique way. Anybody know what material the rep marker are made from?
Lume:
The lume paint on the rep hands is white and the hour markers are slightly green, gen hands and markers match perfectly (all white lume). Rep lume glow is decent but then again gen isn’t spectacular either:
Rep (note white hands compared to green markers):
Rep (left), Gen (right):
Rep markers are also dirty....possible fingerprints or glue smudges here and there. Hard to tell with the naked eye but I can see the flaws. All the Jf15400s I’ve had are like this. In the past I’ve paid people to polish rep hands and markers. It does help (a little) with improving the sparkle.
Caseback:
JF engravings are nice and deep. Close enough to gen. here are some macros:
Rep:
Gen:
Clasp:
Pics do the taking, not much to say really:
Gen:
Rep:
Crystal:
Hard to picture be difference but gen is a lot clearer (not x2AR). The rep crystal is probably one of the best crystals on any rep but can look a little milky at certain angles.
Rep(bottom), gen (top)
^rep bracelet looks pretty sic! They’ve done a very job here.
I’m worried be forum or my phone will crash so I’m gonna hit “post” for now:
To be continued.....
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited:
