- 28/2/17
- 9
- 3
- 0
Hi everyone,
First a bit of my history.
I'm a total newbie to the Rep world but have lurked here for a while and done a lot of reading both here and elsewhere . My previous experience with Reps came in the early 00's buying a couple of really bad Tag Monaco for me and some mates and a DJ for my dad in a Bangkok market. Only my Monaco survives and it only winds via the rotor and so I consigned Reps to the 'tried it, didn't work out' bin for a decade or more.
A few years ago I became more interested in horology in general and spotted a Parnis Portuguese homage that tickled my fancy for not much money and gave it a go. The quality was way above the Tags I bought and on reading further I discovered that reps in general had stepped up their game hmm interesting....
So on the the main thrust of this post. I love Audemars Piguet, specifically the RO Diver and RO 15400 boutique blue dial. Sadly my champagne tastes are not even backed up by a lemonade budget, council pop is more my speed given the young family, mortgage, credit cards, etc that modern life deems we must have, so once again the idea of a rep raised it's head. Looking into things A JF factory Ap Rep would be brilliant but at 3-500 UKP it's still out of my price range (or what she who must be obeyed will let me spend anyway) so I started wading out into the murky waters of a certain Chinese sales site (can I mention D*Gate? not sure on the forum rules here, I'm not going to mention sellers anyway so hope it's ok).
Most of my reading said don't do it but I like a bargain and taking a change so though I'll give it a go and if I get a bad 'un then I'll consider it paying for an education.
I decided on a 15400 at this price range as I'd read that some divers did not have the rotating bezel etc. working correctly and searched the site for something appropriate. Best advice here is to buy the seller, look for one that has a lot of transactions and good feedback. Eventually I zeroed in on one, pressed the button and waited... and waited.. and waited... china post is slow isn't it? Eventually a package arrived and I got my watch.
Generally to my novice eye quality seems good.
* Bracelet is nice.
* Date ticks over bob on midnight.
* All indeces and logos look straight.
* Hands line up on markers.
* Screw heads align correctly.
Bad points?
* Rotor is loud.
* White printing on dial and date wheel is a bit 'flimsy'
* Some edges are a bit 'sharp'
And the cost of all this? A massive 58 UKP.
Here are some pics
First the beauty shot.
Bracelet and Rear
Closeup front
So I'm pretty chuffed with it, I'm sure the experts could pick out many places where it's awful but I love wearing it, I've already had a few compliments regarding it, just as it being a nice watch from people who have no idea what an AP is and feel I've been very lucky to get what I consider to be more than what i paid for.
So what have I done now? Well in the quest to see just how far I can push things I've ordered a Cartier 100xl and Rolex Exporer for the combined princely sum of 18 UKP. I fully expect things to be just awful but I was just curious how low a price would still get me something that i'd willingly wear on my wrist.
First a bit of my history.
I'm a total newbie to the Rep world but have lurked here for a while and done a lot of reading both here and elsewhere . My previous experience with Reps came in the early 00's buying a couple of really bad Tag Monaco for me and some mates and a DJ for my dad in a Bangkok market. Only my Monaco survives and it only winds via the rotor and so I consigned Reps to the 'tried it, didn't work out' bin for a decade or more.
A few years ago I became more interested in horology in general and spotted a Parnis Portuguese homage that tickled my fancy for not much money and gave it a go. The quality was way above the Tags I bought and on reading further I discovered that reps in general had stepped up their game hmm interesting....
So on the the main thrust of this post. I love Audemars Piguet, specifically the RO Diver and RO 15400 boutique blue dial. Sadly my champagne tastes are not even backed up by a lemonade budget, council pop is more my speed given the young family, mortgage, credit cards, etc that modern life deems we must have, so once again the idea of a rep raised it's head. Looking into things A JF factory Ap Rep would be brilliant but at 3-500 UKP it's still out of my price range (or what she who must be obeyed will let me spend anyway) so I started wading out into the murky waters of a certain Chinese sales site (can I mention D*Gate? not sure on the forum rules here, I'm not going to mention sellers anyway so hope it's ok).
Most of my reading said don't do it but I like a bargain and taking a change so though I'll give it a go and if I get a bad 'un then I'll consider it paying for an education.
I decided on a 15400 at this price range as I'd read that some divers did not have the rotating bezel etc. working correctly and searched the site for something appropriate. Best advice here is to buy the seller, look for one that has a lot of transactions and good feedback. Eventually I zeroed in on one, pressed the button and waited... and waited.. and waited... china post is slow isn't it? Eventually a package arrived and I got my watch.
Generally to my novice eye quality seems good.
* Bracelet is nice.
* Date ticks over bob on midnight.
* All indeces and logos look straight.
* Hands line up on markers.
* Screw heads align correctly.
Bad points?
* Rotor is loud.
* White printing on dial and date wheel is a bit 'flimsy'
* Some edges are a bit 'sharp'
And the cost of all this? A massive 58 UKP.
Here are some pics
First the beauty shot.
Bracelet and Rear
Closeup front
So I'm pretty chuffed with it, I'm sure the experts could pick out many places where it's awful but I love wearing it, I've already had a few compliments regarding it, just as it being a nice watch from people who have no idea what an AP is and feel I've been very lucky to get what I consider to be more than what i paid for.
So what have I done now? Well in the quest to see just how far I can push things I've ordered a Cartier 100xl and Rolex Exporer for the combined princely sum of 18 UKP. I fully expect things to be just awful but I was just curious how low a price would still get me something that i'd willingly wear on my wrist.