Fliegeruhren.
The Big Pilot 5002
(picture property of Lanikai)
This is the flagship product of the genuine Fliegeruhren line. Die große Flieger uhr (big pilot's watch).
We all waited a long time for this replica to show up - now it did and it seems pretty nice.
Lani, whos picture I've borrowed for this guide wrote a fantastic review of it. Read it here.
However there are two versions of this watch, one with a fake and one with a working power reserve. I for my part would stick to the glued on powerreserve, as it might be a little more reliable - but that's just me. Both versions have their strenghts.
Naturally it was just a matter of time until the successors of the 5002, the Big Pilot 5004 line hit the repmarket, made with a different dial that suits right into the modern black/red IWC pilot design.This is also including the Big Pilot Gold Tourneau IW500408 of which Daytona4Me has made a beautiful pictorial. See it here.
Please note that the 5004 replica has wrong hands and a bad datewindow. This is the reason why most members go with the 5002.
IW371701 Fliegerchronograph
(Picture courtesy of Pugwash, check his out his beautiful wallpapers here and here)
It is probably the most popular IWC rep at the moment. It is quite accurate, if you don’t mind the lack of double sided AR and the bad datefont. arminvanbuurens great review can be found here
It is available with the new high-beat asian 7750, as well as with the slow 21.000bph asian movement. Last one is preferable if you want to swap it to a gen ETA 7750.
There are some members who have done some AR treatment and a day- and datewheel swap. Check out Spl_pl full modded 3717 here and see Stephane’s beauty going through heavy mods here and here.
Check out also Scoobs1971’s review on his nice watch.
IW371702 Fliegerchronograph Spitfire
Another replica from the Pilot line brought to my attention by Toadtorrent who wrote a remarkable review here.
It has some more flaws than the IW371701, mainly in using a caseback which is inspired by a 3706 and a too long minute hand. And there are rumours this watch is discontinued.
(Spitfire picture is courtesy of Toadtorrent as well)
As for the Special St. Exupery Editions I can strongly recommend you to read Taka’s community review on his gorgeous IW371711.
There is a PVD "Top Gun" replica, which looks nice but is fairly inaccurate.
You can check it out in Pug's review.
IW3706 Fliegerchronograph
The antecessor of the 3717 replica has been the 3706, which is not as accurate and slightly smaller. The genuine was discontinued by IWC in 2005.
Pug wrote a very nice review on this
“Fliegerâ€.
IW3253 Mark XV
Picture taken from Eunomians, check out his great posts regarding his awesome Franken Mark XV Fliegeruhr, here and here!
Be aware thet the genuine uses an ETA 2892-2 instead of a 2824. It is therefore 12mm instead of correct 10,5mm thick. The lughorns should be 18mm wide and the Caseback is taken from an UTC. Nevertheless a fantastic dresswatch – especially when modded like Euno’s.
The Aquatimer family
IW378201 Aquatimer Chronograph Cousteau Divers 2006
One of my favourite reps and probably one of the best replicas out there. But there are quality issues and the repfont looks awful. However, most flaws can be solved.
Check out my review here.
If you want to see how it looks relumed, check out Kruzer00's Aquatimer.
Read also Yellowmen’s IWC Aquatimer Cousteau Divers, the review...
Please read Takashi's cool camparison of it with the Slevin on RWC: here.
Finally, Toadtorrent has managed to put up what I call a really thoroughgoing review of this fine watch, here.
IW378101 Aquatimer Chronograph Cousteau Divers 2007
I haven’t found much about this watch, I think it has the same issues as the 2006 version.
Until someone writes a decent review on it, check out pizzanooo’s cool pictorial here.
IW3719 Aquatimer Chronograph "Slevin"
It's nickname comes from the movie "Lucky Number Slevin", where it plays a pretty big part for a watch. This watch has been waited for a very loooooooooooong time and the first to get it and managed to put up a very good review was Eunomians, which you can read here.
A second very well written and informative review from Pugwash can be read here. The yellow version is out, but it is made of stainless steel instead of titanium - which is a dead give away.
Please read Takashi's cool camparison of it with the 2006 Cousteau on RWC: here.
IW3536 Aquatimer GST 2000m
Picture courtesy of Eunomians. Read his stunning review here.
IWC constructed this line mainly in titanium, but the replica is made from stainless steel. Ajoesmith brushed his watch to make it appear as ti and I think it looks very cool.
However, There has been a badge from IWC in stainless steel, made until 2001 (apoximately 600-800 pieces) with white dial, gold hands and indexes. The watches out of that badge had their dials changed to common black ones pretty often. So the rep is not that off, as most of us think. The weak point is the bezel, which needs to be pushed down to turn on the gen.
Note that also the lughorn size is too small, it should be around 2mm wider.
Pugwash has written another really good review on this watch, to be read here.
IWC 3707 GST Chronograph
One of the nicest replicas ever made, truly one of the first “super-reps†before that terminology even occurred the first time. The lack of AR does not matter, as the gen was not glareproofed, neither. Some members have theirs AR coated non the less, for they like this watch so much. I can understand that.
Pugwash’s beautiful Franken can be found here.
It is also available in stainless steel.
Read my test on my modded GST Chronograph Ti here.
The Ingenier family
IW322701 Ingenieur
This is my favourite watch at the moment. Note that the replica does not come with the correct datewheel and AR. So you need to upgrade it yourself.
Read my own review here.
Check also out the pictorial of Pizzanooo’s fully modded Ingy, or Eunomians’ Ingenieur Pictoral Review. Pix has managed to create a very nice "Tribute Pictorial" which this watch really deserves.
Finally we got the ultimate comparison from Andy between his modded replica and his BEAUTIFUL genuine. Read it here.
IW3227 Ingenieur AMG
Another very good rep in full titanium, but as the stainless steel Ingenieur, it needs some modifications to be close to perfect. The only review I found is fortunately a very nice one:
Stephane made the effort to put this up: here.
IW372501 Ingenieur Chronograph
Picture courtesy of Flaver Flav.
The rep is very nice and it does not have a datefont issue, but the dial is not as accurate as the non-chrono though. The dimensions and bracelet are the same as the non chrono version. The drawback to this watch is the chrono-module which is pretty vulnerable. Do a search and you will find dozens of movements with seconds at six that broke down. But you can also be lucky and get a good working one. It would still need to get AR coated - it looks awesome, when the job is done. Just have a look at Yellomen's modded beauty, click here
Read Taji’s review over at the Dark Side, here.
IW372503 Ingenieur Chronograph AMG
Funny, but I am not able to find a decent picture of this fine watch. Please PM me when you have one to spare…
Same as above, again Taji managed to write review, read it here.
IW5442 F.A. Jones Portugieser
This watch is available in two different movement versions, a plain ETA 6498 and a decorated one. You can get it in stainless steel and rosé gold plated. The dial is not as nice as the genuine, but still not bad at all. Remember we’re comparing a $180 with a $8000 watch.
As I’ve never held it in person, I highly suggest you to read the review of Taji.
Read it here.
Also have a look at Eunomians’ beautiful Franken Jones, or Flaver Flav’s "Vi@gra Jones" on genuine Gator: here.
IW3714 Portugieser Chronograph Automatic
Very good replicas and some of the most beautiful watches I have yet to see. But again there is the bad chrono-module which may kill the movement after some time. If you get one, you should have it AR coated by Chieftang, the result is amazing.
Probably the best review was made up by b16a2 which can be read here. It also contains a lot of basic information to this model.
Verbal had it done and more of the result, next to the picture above, can be found here. See it from Cwai02 without AR. Still very nice: 3714-04 Portugieser Chronograph - Black Dial.
Also very nice is the more flashy appearing version IW371401 with golden hands and numerals on a white dial. Check it out, Buzz made pretty nice pictures of it here.
Same watch from Timepiece on black strap.
There is also a rep of the fancy limited edition IW371432 Portugieser Laureus which is limited to 2000 pieces (genuine).
You can have a look at it, here.
I like it a lot.
Well if you would like to avoid the chrono-module, check out Pix cool review on his quartz Portugieser.
The Portofino Chrono
(picture property of Lanikai)
Another remarkable replica of an underated, but beautiful dresswatch. Again, Lanikai managed to post a beautiful pictorial of it here.
This guide is inspired by By-Tor’s Breitling and Omega community-guides, which I think are a tremendous asset to the community. I tried to put everything in, but the information is overwhelming. Please drop me a PM if you find something I have not seen in my research on this. I will try to keep this updated.
However this Guide is in no way complete, nor will I be able to find you the perfect rep. So please do not PM me asking which watch I’d suggest to you, or which dealer is best. You need to find out your own.
Note that most pictures are the courtesy of other members , who I’d like to thank – also for their effort to write all these terrific reviews…
I hope you find this post useful and enjoyed the read. I learned a lot whilst writing it up.
Regards,
SD4K.
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