- 3/6/19
- 250
- 132
- 43
Hello everybody,
Today I want to share with you my experience, feelings and opinions on my IWC replica bought from the always professional Puretime. First of all some pictures of this beauty
First and confirmed feelings
The build quality is very good, the feeling is one of a quality watch with brushed and polished parts giving to it a pleasant look. The construction is also good (I swim many times with it and not a problem). The crown etching is superb, crisp and detailed and well polished.
Mechanically-wise the watch gives a good sound and tactile feedback (I have a Sinn 857 UTC which can be defined as a good quality watch and it has and ETA 2893). The manual winding is smooth and silent which is unusual for a replica, this one feels well oiled and precise. The ticking noise of the seconds hand however is not as silent as my Sinn or other gens, it is lower than a bothering level so I consider it to be acceptable. One possible criticism is the crown doesn't feel solid when completely extracted, however I think that any watch should be treated gently when the crown in the hacking position. I'm happy the watch keeps perfect time and i wear it weekly.
Under the loupe
Under high magnification is possible to see some minor imperfections (I do not expect a 428$ replica to be at the same level of detail of a 5K$ gen) of the IWC logo printing on the dial, there is a very tiny smear right in the first part of the letter W. I can not see it with naked eye so it doesn't bother me.
All the other printing are well executed with a high level of detail, the hands have a silky feeling to them and the black dial has a nice texture like the gen. It is really well copied. Some more photos:
Strap and clasp
The clasp is nice and well made, prong and buckle have a good texture and IWC engraving is perfect.
As you may see I changed the "original" leather strap with a custom one made from genuine leather. The replica leather strap is can be acceptable however I can not wear it comfortably during summer due to its inner panel made out of plastic, it has a horrible feeling. Maybe in winter it will be better however I do not trust any replica straps for the material they use. Further note, the filling of the strap is cardboard and with that said...the strap can easily be changed.
If you are planning to buy this watch on its nato strap do not even bother, the quality is worse than the leather one and the stitchings will break in two days. It looks and feel cheap and it is also very difficult to install due to its thickness. The only good point of it is that it gave me a second buckle to use with my aftermarket NATO straps.
Final thoughts
If you like this watch and you can buy it go for it! The quality of the movement is good and so does the construction and I can suggest this maker and model.
I hope you enjoyed this review.
Today I want to share with you my experience, feelings and opinions on my IWC replica bought from the always professional Puretime. First of all some pictures of this beauty
First and confirmed feelings
The build quality is very good, the feeling is one of a quality watch with brushed and polished parts giving to it a pleasant look. The construction is also good (I swim many times with it and not a problem). The crown etching is superb, crisp and detailed and well polished.
Mechanically-wise the watch gives a good sound and tactile feedback (I have a Sinn 857 UTC which can be defined as a good quality watch and it has and ETA 2893). The manual winding is smooth and silent which is unusual for a replica, this one feels well oiled and precise. The ticking noise of the seconds hand however is not as silent as my Sinn or other gens, it is lower than a bothering level so I consider it to be acceptable. One possible criticism is the crown doesn't feel solid when completely extracted, however I think that any watch should be treated gently when the crown in the hacking position. I'm happy the watch keeps perfect time and i wear it weekly.
Under the loupe
Under high magnification is possible to see some minor imperfections (I do not expect a 428$ replica to be at the same level of detail of a 5K$ gen) of the IWC logo printing on the dial, there is a very tiny smear right in the first part of the letter W. I can not see it with naked eye so it doesn't bother me.
All the other printing are well executed with a high level of detail, the hands have a silky feeling to them and the black dial has a nice texture like the gen. It is really well copied. Some more photos:
Strap and clasp
The clasp is nice and well made, prong and buckle have a good texture and IWC engraving is perfect.
As you may see I changed the "original" leather strap with a custom one made from genuine leather. The replica leather strap is can be acceptable however I can not wear it comfortably during summer due to its inner panel made out of plastic, it has a horrible feeling. Maybe in winter it will be better however I do not trust any replica straps for the material they use. Further note, the filling of the strap is cardboard and with that said...the strap can easily be changed.
If you are planning to buy this watch on its nato strap do not even bother, the quality is worse than the leather one and the stitchings will break in two days. It looks and feel cheap and it is also very difficult to install due to its thickness. The only good point of it is that it gave me a second buckle to use with my aftermarket NATO straps.
Final thoughts
If you like this watch and you can buy it go for it! The quality of the movement is good and so does the construction and I can suggest this maker and model.
I hope you enjoyed this review.
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