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Aqua Lung Big Date

Lliu31

Renowned Member
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Certified
3/2/17
792
196
43
NYC
Also have to mention, winding isn’t the most pleasant experience. Feels very “gritty.” Power reserve is a good 1.5-2 days. Accuracy is -12 seconds after 1 week. Experiences may differ? 2x AR crystal not needed because dial is ok and no real sunburst effect, but in natural lighting you see the richness- if that makes sense. Came with two rep straps- rubber/leather hybrid and rep gator. And deployant and tang buckle. All 4 interchangeable. I think the deployant clasp is incorrect because it’s meant for the Villeret model line and not the Aqua Lung. I wear mine on the rep gator and tang buckle. Rep gator is stiff. Looks better than it feels. Not plasticky and cheap, but feels like a $10-15 strap. It suffices.
 

WatchVoyage

Active Member
17/10/18
359
31
0
Thank you for the review, Liiu31 ! I would have bought the watch, but now cause of the really white arrows i`m considering it...
 

mimicry

Active Member
11/3/17
206
6
18
Lliu31 thanks for your update , how are the calendar numbers compared to the gen , is the font crisp , they look abit faint
 

Lliu31

Renowned Member
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Certified
3/2/17
792
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The white hour/minute hands are an initial disappointment. But after relume, it’s really not that bad. But considering that you’re dropping close to $500-600USD after purchasing from TD and relume cost, it seems a better value proposition to just buy a whole different watch altogether in my opinion. Date font is ok. Never had a gen to compare it to. But with online pics, looks decent by comparison. They key takeaway is that this is a super rare niche collector’s watch. Don’t worry about call outs, but rather how it feels for you. In hindsight, considering that I bought this new and dropped money modding it, I think I’d rather have the super rep Rolex Daytona or a gen Hamilton. Just my 2 cents.
 
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Lliu31

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3/2/17
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Karlus slight sunburst. But remember, it’s next to impossible to find a gen, and even slimmer to be called out with this. It’s very rare. Unless you’re wearing an ostentatious AP or Rolex, no one will question its authenticity. Besides, there are other more remarkable flaws to thiswatch than the sun burst.
 

Karlus

Renowned Member
4/7/17
705
320
63
Karlus slight sunburst. But remember, it’s next to impossible to find a gen, and even slimmer to be called out with this. It’s very rare. Unless you’re wearing an ostentatious AP or Rolex, no one will question its authenticity. Besides, there are other more remarkable flaws to thiswatch than the sun burst.

Yes, I saw the lume was no bueno and the fonts slightly fat. Anything else to watch out for? I'm thinking about snagging this and getting it relumed
 

Lliu31

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Certified
3/2/17
792
196
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NYC
Karlus fonts slightly bigger than gen namely the “3,6,9”. They lean more to the edge whereas the gen is centered. Also text is slightly thicker than gen. But very minuscule flaws in my opinion. A strap upgrade is necessary too in my opinion. The rep strap looks good but feels stiff. But you’re looking at $500+ after relume service. If that’s the watch you’re set on, it’s worth it. But for $500+, I could get a better watch ootb from the factories or even a good entry level gen like a Hamilton or Tissot or Frédérique Constante. Just my two cents.
 

korneevy

Renowned Member
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
26/12/10
657
22
18
I’ve got a gen of this model so can do a quick photo shoot if any of the rep owners want to compare and contrast.

From the looks of it, the rep got these things wrong:

- fat dial numbers
- fat dial inscriptions
- poor big date font - I see plots and missing paint
- case looks thinker
- deployant is incorrect, should be a folding clasp instead

The gen AR is double sided and pretty poor (Blapncpain would even swap for crystal for a much better, internal AR one during service for a nominal $50 or so), the lume also sucks.

The rest of the watch is super nice - the hand finished F.Piguet movement is just awesome - and it’s a high end piece, made to top specs, in line with the Aquanaut or AP Jumbo proposition of a sporty Everyday watch bit obviously missing the historic value of either.

Overall it is a pretty decent effort although not cheap for a rep.







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Rx4Time

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31/3/16
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I’ve got a gen of this model so can do a quick photo shoot if any of the rep owners want to compare and contrast.

From the looks of it, the rep got these things wrong:

- fat dial numbers
- fat dial inscriptions
- poor big date font - I see plots and missing paint
- case looks thinker
- deployant is incorrect, should be a folding clasp instead

The gen AR is double sided and pretty poor (Blapncpain would even swap for crystal for a much better, internal AR one during service for a nominal $50 or so), the lume also sucks.

The rest of the watch is super nice - the hand finished F.Piguet movement is just awesome - and it’s a high end piece, made to top specs, in line with the Aquanaut or AP Jumbo proposition of a sporty Everyday watch bit obviously missing the historic value of either.

Overall it is a pretty decent effort although not cheap for a rep.







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Please, post some pictures! It would help many, myself included.
 

korneevy

Renowned Member
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
26/12/10
657
22
18
Here you go folks - here are a few quick and dirty snaps of the genuine article - I’ve put the watch on a genuine BP villiret shark strap with spring loaded deployant as this is what you’d get with the replica, the original leman deployant is a single fold one which I actually prefer but the shark looks pretty good on this watch so I may keep it like that for a while before switching back to the rubberized calf that this watch originally shipped with...

Enjoy

1d27677995ac45468f893106dbb38ab5.jpg


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ddf7ae2b21d19f8803e155183de363cd.jpg
2d13a4d1671d1cec1d905e1ec549047e.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Genera74

Active Member
29/12/14
379
91
28
Thanks for the pictures! aside from the fatter fonts, the rep actually is quite decent in my eyes...
 

korneevy

Renowned Member
DO NOT TRADE WITH ME
26/12/10
657
22
18
Oh and the date on rep isn't very good too

The big date is actually an eyesore on the rep, based on the photos of course as I don’t have a rep. Given how prominent the date is on this 40mm case, you’d get to see the crap print quality in a large size every time
You look at the watch. However for the money, I’d say the rep is not bad - if you can leave with he faults, it’s a classy proposition. If I didn’t have my gen, I’d def grab it just to try it out
 

Genera74

Active Member
29/12/14
379
91
28
The big date is actually an eyesore on the rep, based on the photos of course as I don’t have a rep. Given how prominent the date is on this 40mm case, you’d get to see the crap print quality in a large size every time
You look at the watch. However for the money, I’d say the rep is not bad - if you can leave with he faults, it’s a classy proposition. If I didn’t have my gen, I’d def grab it just to try it out

you're right ... now that its pointed out, its a bit of a distraction :( How come number '2' looks so much worse than the other?!?
 

channeh

You're Saying I Can Sell?
28/6/17
53
27
18
I am in the market for this watch, so if anyone has one going for sale - please let me know!
 

Alfasud

You're Saying I Can Sell?
26/1/19
27
9
3
I've just received one in rose gold and the quality in very good.
No complaints at all !
 

Alfasud

You're Saying I Can Sell?
26/1/19
27
9
3
Just got the Rose Gold too. Very pleased with the quality. Font on the Big Date could be slightly crisper but overall it's a great looking watch.