- 20/9/18
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- 16
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I've recently begun posting and I wanted to write up a review of my newly-arrived rep, as well as a review of the buying process. Maybe someone who's on the fence about buying a rep can use the information. Also, I notice we're light on Speedmaster reviews on this forum, so here goes. Go easy on me. PHOTOS BELOW- All photos mine except gen photo at bottom.
PURCHASED: Omega Speedmaster 2013 Racing "Tin tin" on stainless steel band
BUYING EXPERIENCE
I purchased from this forum's list of trusted dealers (TD), and in this case, Asian7750 (otherwise known as "Tony") I did the whole transaction via email and did not use the website at all, per the excellent instructions here. From my initial "cold-call" email asking about availability, to at-home delivery was 24 days. Tony was excellent, though concise. Meaning this is not Amazon and you're not going to get 5 emails a day with up-to-the-second statuses. Tony would always answer within a day. He answered all my questions (I didn't ask a lot) and was 100% honest in everything promised and delivered.
We didn't haggle. His prices were the lowest on this particular watch. He gave me a total price with shipping and offered 10% off for wiring money through Western Union. It was a little stressful to go to the nearest Western Union and send cash to some unknown name in China with nothing more than an email, but I trusted this forum and did it. He said he could ship it within a week, and he did. He sent QC pics within a few days; nothing fancy, just the basics.
SHIPPING/RECEIPT
I paid $30 for shipping which was a bit high in retrospect because he shipped the watch China EMS which is "slow-boat" for sure (depending on your destination). I won't elaborate on how it was packaged or shipped since it might be detrimental to the TDs so I'll just say it was shipped well-protected, and arrived without a hassle. It was about 14 days to the US after receiving a tracking number from Tony.
QUALITY
The watch is beautiful. The band is well-made and the whole watch came protected with plastic film. It came from the "JH" Factory, per the stickers and hang-tags. The crystal was perfect and the band and parts were all as promised.
The Speedmaster reps, as everyone knows who frequent this forum, are not great. They are very, very nice, but suffer from a few "tells" for those looking for perfect 1:1 reps. The subdials are the biggest problem in the the gen has 3 subdials spaced very close to the center of the watch. The rep subdials are more widely spaced toward the perimeter of the watch face. On the Tin tin, the subdial placement means that the hash-marks at 3, 6 and 9 are not there. The gen has pronounced white hashes at those positions.
The subdials don't all work as on the gen. the 6-o'clock subdial simply matches the hour hand, though the other two function. The minute and hour hands are a tiny bit thinner than the gen and the hash-marks at each hour are a bit thinner. It's only noticeable to an expert on Speedies.
This watch comes with the "Lemania" movement which, as most here know, is the same as the Seagull ST-19. In fact, it is likely the ST1903 movement. It is a manual (hand-wind) movement that is robust and has a good reputation on this forum.
SUMMARY
Great experience (my first buying a rep). It's a gorgeous watch (to my eyes) and, though a rep, brings a lot of satisfaction and none of the worry a gen would bring, with current prices at nearly $9,000. I'd buy from Asian7750 again, and it's a solid TD.
TIPS:
1. Be patient.
2. Don't ask 250 questions, and don't constantly ask for reassurance
3. Take the plunge with confidence. Sometimes things go wrong, but TDs will help you
4. Read this forum first- especially the newbie topics
5. Do your own research- look at all the websites
6. Don't expect perfection in every facet.
7. Relax
A COMPARISON OF MY REP TO GEN:
PURCHASED: Omega Speedmaster 2013 Racing "Tin tin" on stainless steel band
BUYING EXPERIENCE
I purchased from this forum's list of trusted dealers (TD), and in this case, Asian7750 (otherwise known as "Tony") I did the whole transaction via email and did not use the website at all, per the excellent instructions here. From my initial "cold-call" email asking about availability, to at-home delivery was 24 days. Tony was excellent, though concise. Meaning this is not Amazon and you're not going to get 5 emails a day with up-to-the-second statuses. Tony would always answer within a day. He answered all my questions (I didn't ask a lot) and was 100% honest in everything promised and delivered.
We didn't haggle. His prices were the lowest on this particular watch. He gave me a total price with shipping and offered 10% off for wiring money through Western Union. It was a little stressful to go to the nearest Western Union and send cash to some unknown name in China with nothing more than an email, but I trusted this forum and did it. He said he could ship it within a week, and he did. He sent QC pics within a few days; nothing fancy, just the basics.
SHIPPING/RECEIPT
I paid $30 for shipping which was a bit high in retrospect because he shipped the watch China EMS which is "slow-boat" for sure (depending on your destination). I won't elaborate on how it was packaged or shipped since it might be detrimental to the TDs so I'll just say it was shipped well-protected, and arrived without a hassle. It was about 14 days to the US after receiving a tracking number from Tony.
QUALITY
The watch is beautiful. The band is well-made and the whole watch came protected with plastic film. It came from the "JH" Factory, per the stickers and hang-tags. The crystal was perfect and the band and parts were all as promised.
The Speedmaster reps, as everyone knows who frequent this forum, are not great. They are very, very nice, but suffer from a few "tells" for those looking for perfect 1:1 reps. The subdials are the biggest problem in the the gen has 3 subdials spaced very close to the center of the watch. The rep subdials are more widely spaced toward the perimeter of the watch face. On the Tin tin, the subdial placement means that the hash-marks at 3, 6 and 9 are not there. The gen has pronounced white hashes at those positions.
The subdials don't all work as on the gen. the 6-o'clock subdial simply matches the hour hand, though the other two function. The minute and hour hands are a tiny bit thinner than the gen and the hash-marks at each hour are a bit thinner. It's only noticeable to an expert on Speedies.
This watch comes with the "Lemania" movement which, as most here know, is the same as the Seagull ST-19. In fact, it is likely the ST1903 movement. It is a manual (hand-wind) movement that is robust and has a good reputation on this forum.
SUMMARY
Great experience (my first buying a rep). It's a gorgeous watch (to my eyes) and, though a rep, brings a lot of satisfaction and none of the worry a gen would bring, with current prices at nearly $9,000. I'd buy from Asian7750 again, and it's a solid TD.
TIPS:
1. Be patient.
2. Don't ask 250 questions, and don't constantly ask for reassurance
3. Take the plunge with confidence. Sometimes things go wrong, but TDs will help you
4. Read this forum first- especially the newbie topics
5. Do your own research- look at all the websites
6. Don't expect perfection in every facet.
7. Relax
A COMPARISON OF MY REP TO GEN:
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