POSTED with permission from ebzen02 , who asked me to post it here to share with the member's of RWI!!
Here is his award winning review
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The story started with the original big pilot watch produced in 1940 for none other than fighter pilots. The original watch weighed in at 183g, had a 17.5mm thickness and had a 55mm diameter- the largest watch ever built by IWC. It had an 18,000 BPH and a 16j movement . The crown was made large so that pilots could operate it with their gloves on and it had an extra long strap so that it could be worn over their flying suits.
The BP 5002 was produced in 2002 as a tribute to the Vintage Big Pilot watch. I will not get into specifics on the history of the Big Pilot because I think Niko over at Repgeek did a fabulous job. But I will say this, I think that there are two versions of the 5002: the 5002-1 and the 5002 transitional. Shortly after the Transitional 5002 came out it was discontinued and replaced by the current 5004. The only difference I see from the 5002-1 and the transitional is in the Crown. The 5002-1 has the Fish emblem whereas the 5002 transitional has a Probus crown.
Probus scafusia Crown (meaning good solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen)
Onto the Review:
Before I start here is my rating system
EBzens 5 point system
1-Horrid! Please put it back on the stand you bought it from in China Town
2-Good enough to fool the total noob that has never seen a nice watch
3-Okay but could be better, nice enough, but no were near 1:1
4-Can fool a watch enthusiast/rep nerd at arms length and could pass as gen to about 99% of people
5-It’s so good you can sell the damn thang on ebay as gen and no one will notice unless they open the case to view the movement.
REP INFO
MOVEMENT: Decorated Asia Auto 25J (21,600bph)
CASE DIAMETER: 46.2mm
THICKNESS: 15.8mm
DIAL COLOR: Black Dial with white markers (Lume on Hour Indices)
CASE MATERIAL: Solid Stainless Steel 316L
BRACELET: Premium Thick Leather Strap with Deployant buckle
FRONT GLASS: Sapphire Crystal with Swiss Standards Double AR Glass
BACK GLASS: Solid Case Back with detailed engraving (Inner and Outer with correct wordings)
HACK MOVEMENT: Yes
CLASP TYPE: Deployant Buckle
DATE INDICATOR: At 6:00 position (Same Correct Date Font Date Wheel)
Weight
I will give this a high mark because the gen weighs in at about 150g and the rep at 144g (as adverstised by the rep dealers). IMHO this is such a minuscule amount that I don't think anyone could tell unless you weigh them on a scale.
Score: 4.5
Hands
REP
GEN
To my untrained eye they look identical. Perfect replication here!!!
Score: 5
Case
REP
GEN
Pure perfection here!! Could not find a flaw and as you can see it is the same as gen
Score: 5
Caseback Detail
REP
GEN
Gave this a fairly high score although it could go higher depending on what picture you take from the internet. The gen’s engraving is deeper and thicker, but not by much. To my eyes they look almost identical. I actually like my rep's better--must be the pic.
Score: 4.5
Crown detail
REP
GEN
The screw -down crown has the older fish engraving, 5002 transitional models have the Probus engraving. Anyhow, the crown looks great and firm when unscrewed. Beware, there is a tendency for these crowns to strip, so be nice to it I would have preferred the Probus engraving. But fit and finish on this crown is excellent in my opinion.
Score: 4.0
Date Window
Serious props given to the dealers for addressing this and the fact that it is not sucken anymore. Mine seems to be a little on the dirty side.. but fixable.
Score: 4.0
Lume
I suck at lume shots so I am taking points off. Nah! It's better than fair of rep lume but not Vac or gen. Although, I keep on hearing that the Gen’s lume sucks. I’ll give it lower score as compared to Vac standards.
Score: 3
Dial
REP
GEN
Unless you are a WIS you could not tell the difference. I took 1 point off because of the non-functional PR and the fact that the could be a bit more space between the PR indicator 15min marker See pic 2.
Score 4.0
AR
I have not been impressed by any of the gen pictures I have seen. I scored this one high and perhaps I should have given it a 6 because I think it’s even better on the rep—strange but true. Could also be that the photogs out in Gen-land are horrible. I didn’t not compare it to the AD because the pics they have been photoshopped I think.
Score: 5
Conclusion
TOTAL SCORE: 39/9= +/- 4.3
The overall score indicates that this watch could easily pass as a gen to 99% of people in my opinion (as long as they don't use a magnifying glass) since I think it's 98% spot on. Is it a super rep? Well that is up to interpretation and there are those that say that since it does not have a working power reserve it is not such. However, my standards are simple, if you can look at a picture and cannot determine the real from the fake then it's pretty super to me. As a result, I think this rep deserves a Super Rep right out of the box title-- at least in my books!!! BTW, this is my first review ever...so be nice FYI.. I didn't review the strap, but it is a little better than the typical Rep strap. I have an aftermarket strap, but I'll post some pics of the rep strap if requested.
Here is his award winning review
WORLD PREMIER
THE IWC PILOT REVIEW
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A Very Brief History
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The story started with the original big pilot watch produced in 1940 for none other than fighter pilots. The original watch weighed in at 183g, had a 17.5mm thickness and had a 55mm diameter- the largest watch ever built by IWC. It had an 18,000 BPH and a 16j movement . The crown was made large so that pilots could operate it with their gloves on and it had an extra long strap so that it could be worn over their flying suits.
The BP 5002 was produced in 2002 as a tribute to the Vintage Big Pilot watch. I will not get into specifics on the history of the Big Pilot because I think Niko over at Repgeek did a fabulous job. But I will say this, I think that there are two versions of the 5002: the 5002-1 and the 5002 transitional. Shortly after the Transitional 5002 came out it was discontinued and replaced by the current 5004. The only difference I see from the 5002-1 and the transitional is in the Crown. The 5002-1 has the Fish emblem whereas the 5002 transitional has a Probus crown.
Probus scafusia Crown (meaning good solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen)
Onto the Review:
Before I start here is my rating system
EBzens 5 point system
1-Horrid! Please put it back on the stand you bought it from in China Town
2-Good enough to fool the total noob that has never seen a nice watch
3-Okay but could be better, nice enough, but no were near 1:1
4-Can fool a watch enthusiast/rep nerd at arms length and could pass as gen to about 99% of people
5-It’s so good you can sell the damn thang on ebay as gen and no one will notice unless they open the case to view the movement.
REP INFO
MOVEMENT: Decorated Asia Auto 25J (21,600bph)
CASE DIAMETER: 46.2mm
THICKNESS: 15.8mm
DIAL COLOR: Black Dial with white markers (Lume on Hour Indices)
CASE MATERIAL: Solid Stainless Steel 316L
BRACELET: Premium Thick Leather Strap with Deployant buckle
FRONT GLASS: Sapphire Crystal with Swiss Standards Double AR Glass
BACK GLASS: Solid Case Back with detailed engraving (Inner and Outer with correct wordings)
HACK MOVEMENT: Yes
CLASP TYPE: Deployant Buckle
DATE INDICATOR: At 6:00 position (Same Correct Date Font Date Wheel)
Weight
I will give this a high mark because the gen weighs in at about 150g and the rep at 144g (as adverstised by the rep dealers). IMHO this is such a minuscule amount that I don't think anyone could tell unless you weigh them on a scale.
Score: 4.5
Hands
REP
GEN
To my untrained eye they look identical. Perfect replication here!!!
Score: 5
Case
REP
GEN
Pure perfection here!! Could not find a flaw and as you can see it is the same as gen
Score: 5
Caseback Detail
REP
GEN
Gave this a fairly high score although it could go higher depending on what picture you take from the internet. The gen’s engraving is deeper and thicker, but not by much. To my eyes they look almost identical. I actually like my rep's better--must be the pic.
Score: 4.5
Crown detail
REP
GEN
The screw -down crown has the older fish engraving, 5002 transitional models have the Probus engraving. Anyhow, the crown looks great and firm when unscrewed. Beware, there is a tendency for these crowns to strip, so be nice to it
I would have preferred the Probus engraving. But fit and finish on this crown is excellent in my opinion.Score: 4.0
Date Window
Serious props given to the dealers for addressing this and the fact that it is not sucken anymore. Mine seems to be a little on the dirty side.. but fixable.
Score: 4.0
Lume
I suck at lume shots so I am taking points off. Nah! It's better than fair of rep lume but not Vac or gen. Although, I keep on hearing that the Gen’s lume sucks. I’ll give it lower score as compared to Vac standards.
Score: 3
Dial
REP
GEN
Unless you are a WIS you could not tell the difference. I took 1 point off because of the non-functional PR and the fact that the could be a bit more space between the PR indicator 15min marker See pic 2.
Score 4.0
AR
I have not been impressed by any of the gen pictures I have seen. I scored this one high and perhaps I should have given it a 6 because I think it’s even better on the rep—strange but true. Could also be that the photogs out in Gen-land are horrible. I didn’t not compare it to the AD because the pics they have been photoshopped I think.
Score: 5
Conclusion
TOTAL SCORE: 39/9= +/- 4.3
The overall score indicates that this watch could easily pass as a gen to 99% of people in my opinion (as long as they don't use a magnifying glass) since I think it's 98% spot on. Is it a super rep? Well that is up to interpretation and there are those that say that since it does not have a working power reserve it is not such. However, my standards are simple, if you can look at a picture and cannot determine the real from the fake then it's pretty super to me. As a result, I think this rep deserves a Super Rep right out of the box title-- at least in my books!!! BTW, this is my first review ever...so be nice
FYI.. I didn't review the strap, but it is a little better than the typical Rep strap. I have an aftermarket strap, but I'll post some pics of the rep strap if requested.
