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Omega Aqua Terra 8500 Gray Dial Rep vs. Gen Comparison

NedtheHead

You're Saying I Can Sell?
26/12/12
53
15
8
Omega Aqua Terra 8500 Gray Dial Rep vs. Gen Comparison

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My new Aqua Terra arrived the other day, with the decorated Japanese Miyota movement designed to look like the Omega 8500. I thought it would be good to do a side-by-side comparison of the two.

Thanks to sead/supermirrors for the usual great transaction.

Gen is on left or top, Rep on right except when stated.

The Case: Finishing and polishing are excellent, very similar or exact to gen, with no major noticeable differences as far as I can tell.


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The Crystal: The rep has an excellent crystal with great Anti-Reflective coating. Compared side-by-side in person, they both seem extremely clear. The rep certainly does not display any of that “obvious rep because of bad AR†deficiency. This is good because one of great things about the gen AT is the quality of the crystal, which really makes the unique dial and the markers “popâ€. I’m happy to say that the rep demonstrates this quality as well. However, in difference from the gen, the rep has more of a slight tint on the AR, whereas the gen is colorless.

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The Dial & Hands: The gray color is good, close to gen. It is kind of hard to determine this though because of the way both watches dials shift shade from light to dark depending on the light and angle. There are some more noticeable differences though. The reps’ teak pattern is deeper and possibly slightly wider (in terms of the width of the cuts) than the gen’s, which is subtler. The most noticeable difference here is probably the hour hand. On gen it is more beveled, with the bevel sloping up some distance before becoming flat. The rep, is more flat, demonstrating a short bevel that is hard to see with less of a three dimensional effect. The date wheel and date font are comparable, at least on this version of the AT. Dial printing is slightly thicker and of higher quality on the genuine. All in all though, this is a very accurate try.

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The Movement – Caseback Display: Obviously, compared side by side, there are some differences. I will try and list the biggest ones to the extent of my knowledge. Obviously I know that some of these cannot be corrected. I also would like to commend the factory for putting in effort into the movement, instead of just slapping a decorated rotor on as we’ve come to see. Some of these differences would be able to be corrected, some most likely not.

  • The balance wheel is not directly at 6.
    • In fact is seems like the whole movement is shifted slightly, because “Barrel One†and “Barrel Two†are also shifted.
  • The balance wheel is gold instead of black. – Seems like this could be an easy fix.
  • The gems are more recessed on the gen.
  • The Waves pattern on the entire movement is shallower, less deep than the gen. This makes it harder to see in certain light. Also, the gen gets a rougher engraving near the “deeper†part of the waves than the rep does, possibly leading the great visual prominence on the gen.
  • Various screws, positions, etc. (See pictures)

Gen
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Rep
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The Movement – Feeling & Operation: Feels like a 21J. Not much more to say than that. The gen moves like butter when operating & set the time. The rep…not so much. Also doesn’t have the Hour Vision (date jump) feature like the gen does. The actual beat of the movement and the sweep of the second hand actually doesn’t look that different between the two. I think they are probably closer now than if the rep would have been a standard ETA clone.

Gen
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Rep
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The Bracelet & Clasp – The bracelet could certainly be better on the rep. It is very flexible like the gen, but does not have that same quality feel. It just feels cheaper. The clasp is pretty solid, has some slightly different markings from the gen. It closes securely and solidly, and holds ok. Also, the Omega logo on the gen is more deeply engraved and thicker in width.

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Conclusion – This AT is a good piece that will not be called out on the wrist. It has approaches gen look and feel for the most part. The price may be off-putting for the movement, but it has a quality feel that is demanded of a rep in this price range.

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redherrings

Banned member, the goat does not approve
Banned
6/1/14
40
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0
WOW! Awesome! Thank you for the pictures and review!
 

OmegaPOFL

Renowned Member
10/3/09
638
1
18
Thanks for the great review.. love the new aqua terra reps


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jcagara08

I'm Pretty Popular
9/1/11
1,156
101
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Nice review mate! Last week I really was checking out the gen version in an AD but to me it seems so simple that the rtotal feel is not quite like the planet ocean line..its more of a casual dress watch that can be worn at any time and i think the rep is just fine except for the movt and its decoration..


Sent from my iPhone 5S using Tapatalk
 

nutbar

Known Member
7/11/13
169
1
0
very very nice to seem it side by side with gen, aesthetically this watch is amazing, i usually love/hate rep-gen comparisons cos flaws are picked out that i never noticed-but not this time! I love mine and its been on my wrist for over a week now. and don't be put off by the movement, yes its a 21j-but NOT the same as we get in cheaper reps like the dg2813...the miyota in these is a solid workhouse used in many gen watches.

great rep/gen comparison!
 

mfernico

Known Member
21/3/13
186
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0
Great review. How's the lume on the gen/rep?

Seems like a great candidate for a leather strap.
 

SUMIKITO

Supporter and Senior Purveyor of YouTube News
Supporter
5/4/13
5,574
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San Marino, California
Great review on that Omega ! This is how a great comparo should be done ! Side by side with the real McCoy! Pictures speak louder then words ! Thanks for this great review! ...............................now to order one of those........
 

Mr. Pap

Section Moderator
Section Moderator
5/6/08
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Very nice comparison shots and review!

Thanks for taking time into making and sharing it!!!
 

whyser

Active Member
19/6/10
278
4
0
Can you confirm whether the second hand sweep looks similar. I know you mentioned it in the review that they look pretty much about the same, but looks a bit choppy in the Puretime Vid on their site.
Not sure if the gen's sweep looks any smoother or not.

Great review though, makes me want to consider one, seeing how close they are to each other. Thanks for taking the time to compare the two!!
 

NedtheHead

You're Saying I Can Sell?
26/12/12
53
15
8
Thanks for all the replies people. I will try and address all of your questions.
 

NedtheHead

You're Saying I Can Sell?
26/12/12
53
15
8
Great review. How's the lume on the gen/rep?

Seems like a great candidate for a leather strap.

The lume on the gen actually isn't as great as one would expect. Good, but not glowing like a Pam would.

The rep is a slightly different shade than the gen, and less powerful.
 

NedtheHead

You're Saying I Can Sell?
26/12/12
53
15
8
Can you confirm whether the second hand sweep looks similar. I know you mentioned it in the review that they look pretty much about the same, but looks a bit choppy in the Puretime Vid on their site.
Not sure if the gen's sweep looks any smoother or not.

Great review though, makes me want to consider one, seeing how close they are to each other. Thanks for taking the time to compare the two!!

Gen sweeps smoother, no question, but it does run at a strange beat like 25,700 or something like that. So the rep will be less smooth than that. I am not sure that it would be possible to get a rep to run like the gen, but I can't say that I am an expert.
 

Bardamu

I'm Pretty Popular
29/12/11
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Great review, and great rep !

No doubt, it will be mine soon. I'm sure we can have very nice combos with leather straps.