Total noob looking for help with AP

[RL1924]

Hey guys, been around for a little while now. My current collection I have 3 gens
Breitling Seawolf II
Omega Speedmaster
Tudor Black bay

After joining the forum I picked up two ARFs one Daytona and a Datejust 41, but of course, I have a ton more I would like to add to the collection. Im currently looking into a Offshore 42mm possibly 44mm
https://puretimewatch.io/watch-bran...n-white-dial-on-black-rubber-strap-a7750.html

Now I'm not looking to be spoon fed in the least, I understand searching, but from what I see there are so many different models when it comes to the Roo it is really hard to narrow anything down, and they don't seem to get as much attention as some of the other watches available out there.

So am I crazy for looking into this model anything specific that I haven't read about yet? Also what are the big keys when looking at QCs. I learned with the Rolex's it is a big to look for SELS and date window alignment, I assume the date window is across the board. Again I hope im not asking too much, but just looking for a little guidance on a first time AP buyer.

 

[legend]

The classic Safari. Nice.

Welcome to the AP section and I will take time to answer your questions and hopefully be able to help you out a little:

1. This ROO has a closed caseback and thus eliminates the flaw of visible faux decorations and the wrong caliber present in the see-through caseback models.
2. This is a good starting choice. Usual ROO rep flaws apply (date window position and depth, hands base size and shape, thickness of watch, date font and magnification, subtle dial and tachy print differences vs gen, crown position etc)
3. As for things to look out for in QC, you may wish to look for bad dial/tachy print, like fading or smeared text, usual dirt/grit/scratches anywhere, misaligned bezel screws which fit poorly into the slots, and general state of the watch. If you need help, you can PM me with the QC pics and I will be happy to help you out personally.

I am doing this because it is refreshing to see someone who has awareness of the the desired forum culture and asking in a nice way. A stark contrast to the "who has the best 15400" newbie who ask a question and then vanish thanklessly.

 

[WATCH HACKER]

The classic Safari. Nice.

Welcome to the AP section and I will take time to answer your questions and hopefully be able to help you out a little:

1. This ROO has a closed caseback and thus eliminates the flaw of visible faux decorations and the wrong caliber present in the see-through caseback models.
2. This is a good starting choice. Usual ROO rep flaws apply (date window position and depth, hands base size and shape, thickness of watch, date font and magnification, subtle dial and tachy print differences vs gen, crown position etc)
3. As for things to look out for in QC, you may wish to look for bad dial/tachy print, like fading or smeared text, usual dirt/grit/scratches anywhere, misaligned bezel screws which fit poorly into the slots, and general state of the watch. If you need help, you can PM me with the QC pics and I will be happy to help you out personally.

I am doing this because it is refreshing to see someone who has awareness of the the desired forum culture and asking in a nice way. A stark contrast to the "who has the best 15400" newbie who ask a question and then vanish thanklessly.

This guy is the AP GOD, so you are in good hands RL1924

and +1 to everything he just said. It's my 1st time to see someone in here asking politely

>>>

Now I'm not looking to be spoon fed in the least, I understand searching, but from what I see there are so many different models when it comes to the Roo it is really hard to narrow anything down, and they don't seem to get as much attention as some of the other watches available out there.

Kudos to you sir =)

 

[RL1924]

Appreciate the information, as well as the respect ????. I was part of a car forum where every day a noob would make a new post " what mods give the most horsepower..." unfortunately it's not that simple. Similar to who makes the best rep.

As far as the roo, I noticed some of the other models have a V2. Is it worth looking at those or minor details. Personally I understand I wont get perfection nor am I searching for that. But looking forward to a little modding of course ????

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[RL1924]

Those ??? Were supposed to be emojis, haven't used tapatalk in a while

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[mskwatch]

there's no limit to modding actually, most v2 have an improved date wheel, here's for reference my modded panda to give you an idea on most common mods you can make https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...03835-eu-supermodded-royal-oak-offshore-panda

 

[legend]

there's no limit to modding actually, most v2 have an improved date wheel, here's for reference my modded panda to give you an idea on most common mods you can make https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...03835-eu-supermodded-royal-oak-offshore-panda

Your panda is a good example of the mods you can put on an AP ROO I agree. Nicely done.
I personally see the limitation in the watch being the A7750 modified movement. This inhibits (out of the box) the correct thickness, the date window position, the hands type, the crown position and other aspects of the watch.
Visually you can mod any rep ROO to resemble the gen on the wrist from a distance away, but the reliability of the stock movement is always an issue for me.

 

[SuperLory]

Welcome to the point of no return.

It pains me to tell you this but...why don't you get an AP diver instead ? Less headaches once you notice the flaws..

This or get a fully modded like mskwatch specimen


PS: current situation sees the ROOs sold by JF being extremely thick regardless if 42mm or 44mm, for this reason I would suggest a brand new 44mm ROO (FC ? Panda ?)v2 with updated cyclops and dw. I repeat: if you want to purchase right now straight from factory.

 

[legend]

Welcome to the point of no return.

It pains me to tell you this but...why don't you get an AP diver instead ? Less headaches once you notice the flaws..

This or get a fully modded like mskwatch specimen


PS: current situation sees the ROOs sold by JF being extremely thick regardless if 42mm or 44mm, for this reason I would suggest a brand new 44mm ROO (FC ? Panda ?)v2 with updated cyclops and dw. I repeat: if you want to purchase right now straight from factory.

When you say thick, I want to know if you mean quarter pounder thick or big mac kinda thick.

 

[Tompa]

Welcome to the point of no return.

It pains me to tell you this but...why don't you get an AP diver instead ? Less headaches once you notice the flaws..

This or get a fully modded like mskwatch specimen


PS: current situation sees the ROOs sold by JF being extremely thick regardless if 42mm or 44mm, for this reason I would suggest a brand new 44mm ROO (FC ? Panda ?)v2 with updated cyclops and dw. I repeat: if you want to purchase right now straight from factory.

Agree. Forget the 42mm AP’s. If you cant find an old noob or old JF in m2m. Go for a diver. SS or FC. Realy nice replicas.


Skickat från min Sputnik satellit

 

[legend]

Agree. Forget the 42mm AP’s. If you cant find an old noob or old JF in m2m. Go for a diver. SS or FC. Realy nice replicas.


Skickat från min Sputnik satellit

I agree T.. thats why we have so many guys around wearing the SS, FC and other variants of divers lol.
When I see most divers divers on someone's wrist, I will assume its rep until otherwise proven. This is a compliment to the progress of the hobby: the creation of near 1:1 looking divers make it not worth the price to get the gen one, if you aren't a serious collector.

 

[SuperLory]

When you say thick, I want to know if you mean quarter pounder thick or big mac kinda thick.

I’d sqy shamelessly thicker than they used to be. Trying to find that smurf blue diver i told you i saw in one of our local boutiques i spent a good time browsing my own photos tagged as #watch by my phone (~3700 now down to ~3000 after some pruning) and i saw the caliper measurements of my stock old Roos and the thickest being the EoD at 15.6 while generally hovering ard 15.1 and 15.2 mm

now call yourself lucky if you find anything below 16mm . Ya know how thick that is ? No matter how much you shave you’ll never go down to 14.1mm. Never. It’s a shame.

 

[srhoque]

Hi RL1924 - I am also a beginner on this forum. It is great to read the AP "Gods" chime in on the options available. legend is indeed the AP God (actually he can work on Daytonas and Pateks with the same level of proficiency as well ). Not to mention he is an absolutely gentlemen!! SuperLory and Tompa are highly knowledgeable on APs too. Both of them have an AP collection that will kill you with envy

Let me give you the perspective from a "total Noob". I was in the same dilemma as you - About 18 months back looking to get my first AP Rep. Having read the forum, it was quite evident that APs don't have the "super clone" finish yet as Rolex (which is what I primarily had) - either there are issues with thickness, case finish, movement flaws with open casebacks, hand finish, bezel etc etc. So rather than focusing on the looks of an AP watch ootb, I narrowed my search down to watches that had the most modding potential (and being able to do these mods in a cost effective manner) to give it the gen like looks. With this as the objective, here is the sequence of how it went:

1. I first got myself an JF AP 15400 because the RO is the most iconic and the "must have" AP. Now even XF make them. Since getting the watch first, I had it frankened/modded with a bunch of mods (case thinning, polish etc.) + a gen dial.
2. The next few watches are the divers as mentioned above. The divers come with gen like thickness and with a few mods (low beat conversion, Prof cyclops and 1xAR crystal and potentially DW change) they become indistinguishable on the wrist. So I got myself the XF FC 15706 and the JF SS 15703 and did these mods.
3. The next one is the JF Bumblebee. Again - it needs mods (movement service, swiss mainspring, hands thinning, bezel shave (if you want) etc.) but it is one of the best AP replicas made. You can actually enjoy this watch OOTB on the wrist but once you start getting deeper into APs, you will want the mods done.
4. The final 2 watches that I ended up getting were the JF 44mm FC ROO and 44mm Titanium ROO. They are pretty well made OOTB but needs a few mods like movement service, swiss mainspring and hands mod. Again, You can actually enjoy this watch OOTB on the wrist but like the Bumblebee - once you start getting deeper into APs, you will want the mods done.

As a "noob", this completes my AP collection. I am very happy with what I have. There are a lot more APs (like the ZF 15202, many other 42mm ROO models, 15500 ZF etc.) that are potential keepers but we have to stop somewhere. Good luck with your AP journey!!

 

[RL1924]

Appreciate all the advice guys! Honestly I was first in love with the 15400 and about to purchase one, but being I just recently picked up the datejust 41 in blue they "resemble" each other in such a small collection that I currently have compared to others.

As for the flaws with the APP offshore 42mm I'm not totally concerned. I'm not in the search for the perfect rep, I understand it's not a gen, and honestly the other two reps I have give me the feeling I need when I put them on. So as long as the watch has the "feel" of the quality of a gen, the miss spacing and thickness doesn't bother me a ton.

I MAY sell the gen Tudor black bay and scoop up two reps and pocket my self some money. I also have my eye on a 44mm offshore!

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[SuperLory]

As for the flaws with the APP offshore 42mm I'm not totally concerned. I'm not in the search for the perfect rep, I understand it's not a gen, and honestly the other two reps I have give me the feeling I need when I put them on. So as long as the watch has the "feel" of the quality of a gen, the miss spacing and thickness doesn't bother me a ton.

LoL we ALL had that initial phase..

 

[RL1924]

So.... looks like the safari and multiple others I was interested in are all out of stock! Do you guys know are the only models in stock the newer 2014 with clear case backs? I only reached out to puretime, but if you guys have any recommendations or do I have to wait it out to jump on an m2m?

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[tinitonsi]

So.... looks like the safari and multiple others I was interested in are all out of stock! Do you guys know are the only models in stock the newer 2014 with clear case backs? I only reached out to puretime, but if you guys have any recommendations or do I have to wait it out to jump on an m2m?

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Go for the Diver with closed caseback as 1st AP like the advices you got above

 

[RL1924]

Go for the Diver with closed caseback as 1st AP like the advices you got above

Haha I totally get it that they are a superior rep, I actually purchased a 44mm forged carbon. I haven't recieved it yet but cant seem to get the 42mm off the mind so the search is on.

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