I recently read on the Chinese forums that one of the factories has been working secretly with a Swiss engineer who was previously employed by AP. More specifically, he was working on the concept movements, so it is expected that the said factory will be releasing a 1:1 copy of a recent concept timepiece. So I will keep my hard earned cash until that new model is released.
Now, jokes aside, JF and their updated versions of the good old models are a good entry point but they lack respect for the cusromer: there are so many flaws that no matter what improved cyclops or datewheel they invest in, these will never be at sufficiently good level to be more than 80-85% acceptable. The few real
exceptions are the hated diver and the FC models (esp. the 44mm ones). Why they choose not no pursue the development of a proper base movement (2 year old rumours of a new movement have been just that: rumours) is beyond me; charging $400-600 for a rep and selling 4-5 figure numbers a year should be sufficient motivating factor if I were a factory. But alas, I’m not and I wouldn’t care to be
So not holdind my breath (sadly)