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2018 new Santos

nelll

Horology Curious
18/1/16
7
10
3
To those that were waiting for this post, and for the rest that may not have a Gen Santos, here is my Santos Large 3K version side by side with the Santos Large Gen with gold . Honestly there are very small differences on the outside. I am very happy (so far) with my Rep. Time will only tell.

Differences:

- Smell of the stainless steel material (funny but true. It does not stink but comparing the rep to the gen they do not smell the same. LMAO).
- Case (The case have slight differences, Rep is a bit wider and larger than the Gen, not very visible to those that do not know about Cartier watches. The Crown guards are slightly different as well, but it does not bother me. Again, without having a Gen side by side people won't be able to tell, unless your friend is a Cartier watch maker or a member of this forum. lol).
- Movement (The rep movement, at least on my rep is louder than the gen).
- Bracelet (Tightness of the bracelet on the Gen is second to none. Very solid and without any noise. Honestly the rep holds it very good, but if you can get a Gen bracelet will be way better, in my case I will keep the Rep the way it is). Also I tried the Gen brown leather bracelet on my Rep and it fits like a glove. No issues at all, on my watch, do not know about other Reps).
- My rep changes the date at 1130 PM (do not care about that).
- Time (I do not care if the Rep is accurate or off two seconds, I have a casio for that. lol). Power reserve is very good, at least on my rep, is more than 24 hours. If you always wear your rep you wont have to set the time Vs. if you stop wearing your rep for days or weeks.
- Dial color it is a bit off, Rep vs Gen but not significantly off. I went to the store to get a new leather bracelet and I had the rep on my wrist and the store people could not tell.
- Crown (The blue stone is brighter on the Gen vs Rep. Again, not a big deal for me).
- Dial Fonts (very small differences that only a person that knows about Cartier watches will tell, the regular Joe would not be able to tell. However, my guess is that under magnification things will be way different. But I do not care about that either).
- Date Window (This will never be the same, I do not know what the heck Cartier does, but the date window is unique, very difficult to replicate).
- Other (You guys may see more differences but honestly, they do not bother me at all. Also, I would not do a water testing on a Rep, so talking about water resistance is out of the question. lol).

I see the trends here in this forums, and I was a victim of it as well. " The search for the perfect Rep." sorry to burst your bubble, there is none. Let's us be honest, unless you are a hard-core RWI member, or into mods, most of this Reps are good for most people. Maybe this side by side match up is directed to those like me, with no so much rep knowledge. I have learned what I know by investing 100s of hours of my time reading this wonderful forum (almost five years to be exact). Many thanks to the Staff, Vendors, and members of this big rep-wiki power-house for educating me on this great hobby. I digressed. Anyway!

I have been to many gatherings since then and people are not able to tell which is my Gen Vs Rep. They do know it is a different watch because one is all steel and the other had gold, that's it. So guys, as long as it is a good rep, enjoy it, and do not let perfection get in the way of "Good enough." Just my two cents.



See Pics below and Enjoy:

jpXBFc.jpg
jpXCvb.jpg
jpXp8i.jpg
jpXlAX.jpg
jpXTzp.jpg
jpXXY5.jpg
 
Last edited:

Repworld

Mythical Poster
27/12/16
6,344
1,533
113
To those that were waiting for this post, and for the rest that may not have a Gen Santos, here is my Santos Large 3K version side by side with the Santos Large Gen with gold . Honestly there are very small differences on the outside. I am very happy (so far) with my Rep. Time will only tell.

Differences:

- Smell of the stainless steel material (funny but true. It does not stink but comparing the rep to the gen they do not smell the same. LMAO).
- Case (The case have slight differences, Rep is a bit wider and larger than the Gen, not very visible to those that do not know about Cartier watches. The Crown guards are slightly different as well, but it does not bother me. Again, without having a Gen side by side people won't be able to tell, unless your friend is a Cartier watch maker or a member of this forum. lol).
- Movement (The rep movement, at least on my rep is louder than the gen).
- Bracelet (Tightness of the bracelet on the Gen is second to none. Very solid and without any noise. Honestly the rep holds it very good, but if you can get a Gen bracelet will be way better, in my case I will keep the Rep the way it is). Also I tried the Gen brown leather bracelet on my Rep and it fits like a glove. No issues at all, on my watch, do not know about other Reps).
- My rep changes the date at 1130 PM (do not care about that).
- Time (I do not care if the Rep is accurate or off two seconds, I have a casio for that. lol). Power reserve is very good, at least on my rep, is more than 24 hours. If you always wear your rep you wont have to set the time Vs. if you stop wearing your rep for days or weeks.
- Dial color it is a bit off, Rep vs Gen but not significantly off. I went to the store to get a new leather bracelet and I had the rep on my wrist and the store people could not tell.
- Crown (The blue stone is brighter on the Gen vs Rep. Again, not a big deal for me).
- Dial Fonts (very small differences that only a person that knows about Cartier watches will tell, the regular Joe would not be able to tell. However, my guess is that under magnification things will be way different. But I do not care about that either).
- Date Window (This will never be the same, I do not know what the heck Cartier does, but the date window is unique, very difficult to replicate).
- Other (You guys may see more differences but honestly, they do not bother me at all. Also, I would not do a water testing on a Rep, so talking about water resistance is out of the question. lol).

I see the trends here in this forums, and I was a victim of it as well. " The search for the perfect Rep." sorry to burst your bubble, there is none. Let's us be honest, unless you are a hard-core RWI member, or into mods, most of this Reps are good for most people. Maybe this side by side match up is directed to those like me, with no so much rep knowledge. I have learned what I know by investing 100s of hours of my time reading this wonderful forum (almost five years to be exact). Many thanks to the Staff, Vendors, and members of this big rep-wiki power-house for educating me on this great hobby. I digressed. Anyway!

I have been to many gatherings since then and people are not able to tell which is my Gen Vs Rep. They do know it is a different watch because one is all steel and the other had gold, that's it. So guys, as long as it is a good rep, enjoy it, and do not let perfection get in the way of "Good enough." Just my two cents.



See Pics below and Enjoy:

jpXBFc.jpg
jpXCvb.jpg
jpXp8i.jpg
jpXlAX.jpg
jpXTzp.jpg
jpXXY5.jpg

Thanks for this comparison, yes it’s very close and 3k the winner in my opinion, I hope maker can fix pearl color and crown guard miyota position.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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nelll

Horology Curious
18/1/16
7
10
3
Thanks for this comparison, yes it’s very close and 3k the winner in my opinion, I hope maker can fix pearl color and crown guard miyota position.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Repworld. I agree 100% about what you said.
Unfortunately, since Cartier is not as popular in the world of Reps like Rolex, evolution will take time. Factories will continue to get the most out of this good enough reps. I am very happy with mine.
 

Repworld

Mythical Poster
27/12/16
6,344
1,533
113
Thanks Repworld. I agree 100% about what you said.
Unfortunately, since Cartier is not as popular in the world of Reps like Rolex, evolution will take time. Factories will continue to get the most out of this good enough reps. I am very happy with mine.

I agree, but maker own gen samples for both sizes , I’m not movement experienced but maybe another movement can match crown guard position, i can accept pearl color but crown position Big deal breaker for me.


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nelll

Horology Curious
18/1/16
7
10
3
I agree, but maker own gen samples for both sizes , I’m not movement experienced but maybe another movement can match crown guard position, i can accept pearl color but crown position Big deal breaker for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I understand what you mean. It can be a deal braker for some people. With that fixed, and a crispier dial and a more robust bracelet, things could become serious. However, price would increase.
 

Repworld

Mythical Poster
27/12/16
6,344
1,533
113
I understand what you mean. It can be a deal braker for some people. With that fixed, and a crispier dial and a more robust bracelet, things could become serious. However, price would increase.

I think I’m enough with flawless V6 old one .


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Omar9

You're Saying I Can Sell?
14/12/18
38
16
8
3kf did arrive yesterday. Silenced it and now i am good.[/QUOTE]

Looks good however the screw on the top right looks like it may come out? I had the same issues with loose screws on the gf bracelet with some falling out. Was going to order 3kf but looks like it may suffer the same problem.
 

leo6929

I'm Pretty Popular
2/5/16
1,660
1,061
113

bigtiddygothgf

Active Member
7/10/18
303
137
43
3kf did arrive yesterday. Silenced it and now i am good

Looks good however the screw on the top right looks like it may come out? I had the same issues with loose screws on the gf bracelet with some falling out. Was going to order 3kf but looks like it may suffer the same problem.


Unless I'm missing something, screwdriver + loctite = problem solved?
 
Last edited:

Omar9

You're Saying I Can Sell?
14/12/18
38
16
8
Unless I'm missing something, screwdriver + loctite = problem solved?

That's what I thought but on the gf bracelet they are not actual screws and are stuck in, some were secure and some would just spin around making it hard to take out and glue back etc. I only found all this out after I looked at the bracelet and a screw was missing after wearing it for 5 minutes lol.
 
Last edited:

Rearview

Horology Curious
25/7/21
7
0
1
That's what I thought but on the gf bracelet they are not actual screws and are stuck in, some were secure and some would just spin around making it hard to take out and glue back etc. I only found all this out after I looked at the bracelet and a screw was missing after wearing it for 5 minutes lol.
Anyone know if the 3KF uses actual screws, or similar fake screws to GF?

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
 

bigtiddygothgf

Active Member
7/10/18
303
137
43
That's what I thought but on the gf bracelet they are not actual screws and are stuck in, some were secure and some would just spin around making it hard to take out and glue back etc. I only found all this out after I looked at the bracelet and a screw was missing after wearing it for 5 minutes lol.

Wow, that is seriously fucked. how much harder would it have been for them to just use real screws, wtf. Thanks for clarifying that though. Did you buy from a TD? Are you sure your watch was a GF?
 

Omar9

You're Saying I Can Sell?
14/12/18
38
16
8
Yes it was via a td and I have shipped back for a refund as I'm sure a fair few would have dropped out with time as I wore the watch and after some research this has happened to others. Was considering to order a 3kf but waiting for now.
 
Last edited:
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Alex22

Active Member
12/2/18
495
42
28
Anyone know if the 3KF uses actual screws, or similar fake screws to GF?

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
but does the gen use real screws on the bracelet? It would seem very strange to me honestly. Does the GF 35mm, besides the defects of the character (too thin) and of the round second hand, have other defects? Is the mechanism reliable?
 

Alex22

Active Member
12/2/18
495
42
28
Can you tell me if the medium size (35mm) has a bracelet sufficient for 19cm wrists?