Update continues.....................
This is a review of my Noob 45cm CrPO for those of you who have not seen the other thread.
Following a somewhat arduous journey my CrPO finally arrived and having had it for almost 1 week, I decided to review it.
Having worn my much admired watch now for a few days I thought I would write a quick review on how I have found it measures up.
After much deliberation and reading around the forum I finally decided that it was the Noob 45mm CrPO SS numbers on SS bracelet that was going to be my watch of choice. Right from this initial point of decision I had place high expectations on this watch and despite my attempt to remain somewhat neutral in my pre-opinions, I found that remaining fairly neutral was becoming increasingly difficult due to all of the previous reviews and opinions portraying the watch in such a positive light. Needless to say, this had indeed left me excitedly anticipating the eventual arrival of my watch.
From the day of ordering and paying for my watch to the actual day of delivery took precisely 101 days. It was a rollercoaster ride of anticipation, excitement, false highs and perseverance. With the support of fellow forum members rallying around offering their much welcomed guidance and the well-founded support provided by Trevor throughout the whole experience, I was able to keep my quintessential British stiff upper lip and my sense of humour long enough for my undying patience to finally reap their rewards. On the 28[SUP]th[/SUP] of July 2014 my laborious and most arduous wait came to a very much appreciated end.
On first look out of the box the watch met with the high expectations I had placed upon it and it did indeed look fabulous. The pearl which is always something I am drawn to initially despite the make or model looks wonderful. On some other models of Omegas the pearl sits lower down within the triangle, however, on the CrPO Gen, the pearl is equally proportioned within the boundaries of the silver triangle and is equally distant from all three sides. The pearl on this Rep is equally proportioned giving it a very accurate look. The pearl is well recessed into the bezel and if you run your finger over the portion of ceramic bezel and pearl you can feel that it is actually raised very slightly. In actual fact, the amount it is raised is minuscule and not notable to the naked eye. The picture below is an enlarged section of the pearl with added red lines to give some idea of the overall centralisation. I fully concur that this watch is in no way shape or form a Swiss engineered masterpiece. However, from scrutinising this timepiece extremely closely, I can say with a degree of certainty that to the naked eye this pearl is a very well copied piece of workmanship.
The ceramic bezel is just as good as the pearl it has encased. When the bezel is in the default position (pearl at 12) the numbers and line markers on the bezel match up to the corresponding inner dial very accurately. Furthermore, they continue to flow, correctly proportioned, to the opposing lines and numbers on the other side of the bezel. Even taking into consideration that the pictures will have some degree of natural distortion from the camera lens, and not forgetting that all these pictures have been taken with a CrapBerry, the amount of misalignment is so minimal, I would debate that even to a well astute watch admirer that the bezel is very well aligned and proportioned. The bezel is unidirectional as per Gen and moves effortlessly with just enough resistance to guard it from any unwanted accidental movement. To rotate the bezel in 1 full circumference takes precisely 120 clicks. From the photograph below you can see how the markers line up once the red lines have been added to the picture.
The HE valve is correctly positioned as per Gen and if you so desire, you can unscrew it. I did this once to ascertain if it was indeed a functioning valve or if it was just ornamental. It does indeed perform a function in as much as it will unscrew and tighten up again. As for functioning as per the Gen, well I guess if you do not ever intend to be using the Gen watch in any capacity that would warrant the use of the HE valve, then the Rep HE valve is as per Gen as you are ever going to get it.
Moving on to the crown, I would have been a little concerned if this wasn’t correctly positioned chortle chortle, however, thankfully it is in the right position. It is screwed down so if you need to adjust the time and date you need to unscrew it. The crown unscrews with ease and once it is pulled out into position 1 you can move the date wheel around with an ease that requires just enough effort so as this wouldn’t be done accidentally. That being said, I don’t know why you would unscrew the crown and accidentally forget to screw it back in after you had made any necessary adjustments. Pulling the crown out again into position 2 you are able to move the hands around with the same ease as before with maybe a little less resistance than is needed with the date wheel. Once finished with all your adjustments, the crown screws back down with little effort.
The dial is crisp as are the minute markers that encompass the outer edge of the dial. The minute markers look to be evenly spaced with the hour markers sitting evenly in-between the minute markers.
The Lume on the hour markers, hands and pearl are correctly coloured as per the Gen. After a few moments of exposure to daylight, and this need not be direct sunlight but merely daylight, they give off a wonderful efferent glow that makes you want to stare idly as it reflects against the silver boarders that contain the Lume. The hands and pearl are equally proficient in their luminance quality and the contrast of the energetic lightening blue against the vibrant green is a wonderful vision. This picture shows the Lume after walking outside for a few minutes before returning inside.
The duration of the Lume is good and the time can be read throughout the night with ease even through the sleepiest of eyes. . Even after several hours of non-exposure to any external light source, such as a dark room at night, the Lume is still easily read and you can differentiate between the pearl, hour, minute and seconds hands with ease. Apologies for the out of focus shot here, but it was dark when taking this picture
Having said that, the above crispness of the Lume does loose its effect after you have been in a dark room for an hour or so and it then takes on an even green glow that remains for several hours.
The date window has a slight bevelled edge to it as per the Gen and the numerals are all well space so they sit central within the date window when moved around. Incidentally, the font used for all the numbers on this date wheel are the same. I only mention this because I have seen some reps with date wheels that have differing fonts and boldness for the 31 numbers on its wheel.
Looking at the proportion and placing of the number 12, OMEGA Logo and the lettering below it, it is once again all in alignment and is well proportioned.
The “SWISS” and “MADE” are positioned correctly also.
The case feels well-made and has a sturdy, heavy feel and quality to it. The back has a visible case so the movement can be seen as per the current Gen advertised on AD sites, however, as the movement in the rep is an obvious tell you may not want to be whipping it off in front of the more astute Omega enthusiast. I have also not yet removed the clear protective film on the back of the watch which is still visible in this picture.
The watch overall including all of the links that it comes with weighs a total of 231g.
The bracelet has the same well-made and sturdy feel to it as the case and the links are secured together using pins running through the links with screws at either end keeping the pins from falling out. It has been mentioned by several members that the screws often have a predisposition to coming loose under their own accord resulting in watches falling off wrists and the loss of the screws and pins. After adjusting the bracelet to fit my wrist I went round all of the screws and made sure they were tightened sufficiently to warrant against such a charade. However, having said that, I have taken the advice on board and have ordered myself a pot of Loctite 222 which I will duly apply once arrived. The clasp on the bracelet is of the same good quality as the rest of the adjacent material. It operates by compressing the 2 pins on the outer edges of the clasp which then counter move the inner components beneath the clasp enough that the ball on the opposing section of the clasp mechanism fits into the space with ease. Likewise when opening the clasp you apply the same technique. The clasp overall feels sturdy and having read that BP make the better bracelet in several reviews I can only marvel at how impressive it must be because this bracelet from Noob is of a fairly decent standard for a Rep'd bracelet.
Before moving on I do want to mention that the bracelet comes with several etchings and markings adding to its attempt to exude authenticity. These are nice touches and to any lay-person I am sure they would indeed induce confidence in its legitimacy. With that in mind however, I cannot envisage any scenario where I would be taking off my much admired timepiece and passing it around to aforementioned lay-persons trying to coax out of them some exuberating sighs of approval.
The clasp on the bracelet has a very well etched OMEGA logo and inscription. It is crisp and the font seems to be as per Gen. The divers extension is fully functioning and an ease to operate. The divers extension is another part of the bracelet that seems to have been somewhat problematic for some members in as much as issues surrounding the functionality and quality of the workmanship pertaining to the ceramic balls that facilitate the ease with which the extension is operated. In all fairness, after operating it once to check it was able to be opened and subsequently closed again, I can now say with a degree of certainty that I will not be requiring it's service again.
The AR coating is as per the Gen and offers as much good quality as you would be expecting from one of the higher priced Reps. It reflects the light well and takes away the initial crispness you would normally expect from a bright light source falling upon clear glass. What it also does well is allow the light falling on the crystal to refract and illuminate the outer edges of the hands and number markers. When caught in the right light, the outer edges illuminate in a wonderful silver glow producing a rather pleasant inner gleam that contrasts nicely against the slightly duller sheen of the ceramic bezel. The below picture is a poor attempt to catch this effect and in all honesty, it is something that is much greatly appreciated with the naked eye over even the greatest of pictures.
Regardless of all that has been discussed here, the most important thing to speak about is how the watch holds up with regards to the quality of the timepiece. After all, you may well have an item that looks just as good as the genuine thing, but if it “tick tocks” wildly and loses 10 minutes per day, you may as well be wearing a £5 mickey mouse watch. So with this in mind after receiving the watch on the 28[SUP]th[/SUP] July 2014 I first adjusted the bracelet then I adjusted the time to correspond to an Atomic Clock application on my phone. The movement itself is the 2836 (2800000 bph) Automatic movement and I have heard of other members receiving watches where the movement has had a “drag” or “slumber” type movement when the seconds hand is negotiating its cycle around the face. Although this was something I was not overly concerned with, it was something I had kept in mind to check once the watch was up and running. I have to profess that the movement itself is not a Swiss engineered movement crafted in a multi-billion pound factory by a time-served watchmaker. However, despite this, the movement in this Rep holds up very well. Today, the 02[SUP]nd[/SUP] August, the watch is running 19 seconds quicker than when I initially set it 5 days ago according to the Atomic clock. The watch has been worn for the majority of that period only being off my wrist for approximately 12 hours on one of the days. So going off those calculations, the watch is averaging a discrepancy of just less than 4 seconds per day. If it continues to perform with such accuracy, despite not being a Gen movement, I will be thoroughly delighted with those kinds of figures. As for the concerns over any drag or slumber type movement with the seconds hand, well I am delighted to say that it has not once exhibited a laboured type movement and it continues to sweep exquisitely throughout its cycle. Below is 1 complete rotation of the seconds hand.
To watch the seconds hand moving you need to click on the picture below.
A good test of a products marketability is the approval of those with it and the desire to own it for those without it.
Having been on both sides of the scenario, I have both desired and been fortunate enough to appreciate this watch. In my honest opinion I think this watch ticks a lot of the boxes when you are looking for a decent Rep. I concur it is far from being perfect and this is clearly reflected in the cost. You are paying a mere 5% of the Gen and for that money I would say that the watch is well worth the price. I would also debate that if you are looking to enter the world of Rep collecting that granted, at around £215 or so, it is not as cheap as some of the other Reps available, however, for those of you able to wait till you have saved the full amount or for those wishing to take another step onto the Rep ladder after purchasing a cheaper model, this watch is an ideal place to start and you could do a lot worse than buying one of these CrPO watches.
Update concludes................
This is a review of my Noob 45cm CrPO for those of you who have not seen the other thread.
Following a somewhat arduous journey my CrPO finally arrived and having had it for almost 1 week, I decided to review it.
Having worn my much admired watch now for a few days I thought I would write a quick review on how I have found it measures up.
After much deliberation and reading around the forum I finally decided that it was the Noob 45mm CrPO SS numbers on SS bracelet that was going to be my watch of choice. Right from this initial point of decision I had place high expectations on this watch and despite my attempt to remain somewhat neutral in my pre-opinions, I found that remaining fairly neutral was becoming increasingly difficult due to all of the previous reviews and opinions portraying the watch in such a positive light. Needless to say, this had indeed left me excitedly anticipating the eventual arrival of my watch.
From the day of ordering and paying for my watch to the actual day of delivery took precisely 101 days. It was a rollercoaster ride of anticipation, excitement, false highs and perseverance. With the support of fellow forum members rallying around offering their much welcomed guidance and the well-founded support provided by Trevor throughout the whole experience, I was able to keep my quintessential British stiff upper lip and my sense of humour long enough for my undying patience to finally reap their rewards. On the 28[SUP]th[/SUP] of July 2014 my laborious and most arduous wait came to a very much appreciated end.
On first look out of the box the watch met with the high expectations I had placed upon it and it did indeed look fabulous. The pearl which is always something I am drawn to initially despite the make or model looks wonderful. On some other models of Omegas the pearl sits lower down within the triangle, however, on the CrPO Gen, the pearl is equally proportioned within the boundaries of the silver triangle and is equally distant from all three sides. The pearl on this Rep is equally proportioned giving it a very accurate look. The pearl is well recessed into the bezel and if you run your finger over the portion of ceramic bezel and pearl you can feel that it is actually raised very slightly. In actual fact, the amount it is raised is minuscule and not notable to the naked eye. The picture below is an enlarged section of the pearl with added red lines to give some idea of the overall centralisation. I fully concur that this watch is in no way shape or form a Swiss engineered masterpiece. However, from scrutinising this timepiece extremely closely, I can say with a degree of certainty that to the naked eye this pearl is a very well copied piece of workmanship.
The ceramic bezel is just as good as the pearl it has encased. When the bezel is in the default position (pearl at 12) the numbers and line markers on the bezel match up to the corresponding inner dial very accurately. Furthermore, they continue to flow, correctly proportioned, to the opposing lines and numbers on the other side of the bezel. Even taking into consideration that the pictures will have some degree of natural distortion from the camera lens, and not forgetting that all these pictures have been taken with a CrapBerry, the amount of misalignment is so minimal, I would debate that even to a well astute watch admirer that the bezel is very well aligned and proportioned. The bezel is unidirectional as per Gen and moves effortlessly with just enough resistance to guard it from any unwanted accidental movement. To rotate the bezel in 1 full circumference takes precisely 120 clicks. From the photograph below you can see how the markers line up once the red lines have been added to the picture.
The HE valve is correctly positioned as per Gen and if you so desire, you can unscrew it. I did this once to ascertain if it was indeed a functioning valve or if it was just ornamental. It does indeed perform a function in as much as it will unscrew and tighten up again. As for functioning as per the Gen, well I guess if you do not ever intend to be using the Gen watch in any capacity that would warrant the use of the HE valve, then the Rep HE valve is as per Gen as you are ever going to get it.
Moving on to the crown, I would have been a little concerned if this wasn’t correctly positioned chortle chortle, however, thankfully it is in the right position. It is screwed down so if you need to adjust the time and date you need to unscrew it. The crown unscrews with ease and once it is pulled out into position 1 you can move the date wheel around with an ease that requires just enough effort so as this wouldn’t be done accidentally. That being said, I don’t know why you would unscrew the crown and accidentally forget to screw it back in after you had made any necessary adjustments. Pulling the crown out again into position 2 you are able to move the hands around with the same ease as before with maybe a little less resistance than is needed with the date wheel. Once finished with all your adjustments, the crown screws back down with little effort.
The dial is crisp as are the minute markers that encompass the outer edge of the dial. The minute markers look to be evenly spaced with the hour markers sitting evenly in-between the minute markers.
The Lume on the hour markers, hands and pearl are correctly coloured as per the Gen. After a few moments of exposure to daylight, and this need not be direct sunlight but merely daylight, they give off a wonderful efferent glow that makes you want to stare idly as it reflects against the silver boarders that contain the Lume. The hands and pearl are equally proficient in their luminance quality and the contrast of the energetic lightening blue against the vibrant green is a wonderful vision. This picture shows the Lume after walking outside for a few minutes before returning inside.
The duration of the Lume is good and the time can be read throughout the night with ease even through the sleepiest of eyes. . Even after several hours of non-exposure to any external light source, such as a dark room at night, the Lume is still easily read and you can differentiate between the pearl, hour, minute and seconds hands with ease. Apologies for the out of focus shot here, but it was dark when taking this picture
Having said that, the above crispness of the Lume does loose its effect after you have been in a dark room for an hour or so and it then takes on an even green glow that remains for several hours.
The date window has a slight bevelled edge to it as per the Gen and the numerals are all well space so they sit central within the date window when moved around. Incidentally, the font used for all the numbers on this date wheel are the same. I only mention this because I have seen some reps with date wheels that have differing fonts and boldness for the 31 numbers on its wheel.
Looking at the proportion and placing of the number 12, OMEGA Logo and the lettering below it, it is once again all in alignment and is well proportioned.
The “SWISS” and “MADE” are positioned correctly also.
The case feels well-made and has a sturdy, heavy feel and quality to it. The back has a visible case so the movement can be seen as per the current Gen advertised on AD sites, however, as the movement in the rep is an obvious tell you may not want to be whipping it off in front of the more astute Omega enthusiast. I have also not yet removed the clear protective film on the back of the watch which is still visible in this picture.
The watch overall including all of the links that it comes with weighs a total of 231g.
The bracelet has the same well-made and sturdy feel to it as the case and the links are secured together using pins running through the links with screws at either end keeping the pins from falling out. It has been mentioned by several members that the screws often have a predisposition to coming loose under their own accord resulting in watches falling off wrists and the loss of the screws and pins. After adjusting the bracelet to fit my wrist I went round all of the screws and made sure they were tightened sufficiently to warrant against such a charade. However, having said that, I have taken the advice on board and have ordered myself a pot of Loctite 222 which I will duly apply once arrived. The clasp on the bracelet is of the same good quality as the rest of the adjacent material. It operates by compressing the 2 pins on the outer edges of the clasp which then counter move the inner components beneath the clasp enough that the ball on the opposing section of the clasp mechanism fits into the space with ease. Likewise when opening the clasp you apply the same technique. The clasp overall feels sturdy and having read that BP make the better bracelet in several reviews I can only marvel at how impressive it must be because this bracelet from Noob is of a fairly decent standard for a Rep'd bracelet.
Before moving on I do want to mention that the bracelet comes with several etchings and markings adding to its attempt to exude authenticity. These are nice touches and to any lay-person I am sure they would indeed induce confidence in its legitimacy. With that in mind however, I cannot envisage any scenario where I would be taking off my much admired timepiece and passing it around to aforementioned lay-persons trying to coax out of them some exuberating sighs of approval.
The clasp on the bracelet has a very well etched OMEGA logo and inscription. It is crisp and the font seems to be as per Gen. The divers extension is fully functioning and an ease to operate. The divers extension is another part of the bracelet that seems to have been somewhat problematic for some members in as much as issues surrounding the functionality and quality of the workmanship pertaining to the ceramic balls that facilitate the ease with which the extension is operated. In all fairness, after operating it once to check it was able to be opened and subsequently closed again, I can now say with a degree of certainty that I will not be requiring it's service again.
The AR coating is as per the Gen and offers as much good quality as you would be expecting from one of the higher priced Reps. It reflects the light well and takes away the initial crispness you would normally expect from a bright light source falling upon clear glass. What it also does well is allow the light falling on the crystal to refract and illuminate the outer edges of the hands and number markers. When caught in the right light, the outer edges illuminate in a wonderful silver glow producing a rather pleasant inner gleam that contrasts nicely against the slightly duller sheen of the ceramic bezel. The below picture is a poor attempt to catch this effect and in all honesty, it is something that is much greatly appreciated with the naked eye over even the greatest of pictures.
Regardless of all that has been discussed here, the most important thing to speak about is how the watch holds up with regards to the quality of the timepiece. After all, you may well have an item that looks just as good as the genuine thing, but if it “tick tocks” wildly and loses 10 minutes per day, you may as well be wearing a £5 mickey mouse watch. So with this in mind after receiving the watch on the 28[SUP]th[/SUP] July 2014 I first adjusted the bracelet then I adjusted the time to correspond to an Atomic Clock application on my phone. The movement itself is the 2836 (2800000 bph) Automatic movement and I have heard of other members receiving watches where the movement has had a “drag” or “slumber” type movement when the seconds hand is negotiating its cycle around the face. Although this was something I was not overly concerned with, it was something I had kept in mind to check once the watch was up and running. I have to profess that the movement itself is not a Swiss engineered movement crafted in a multi-billion pound factory by a time-served watchmaker. However, despite this, the movement in this Rep holds up very well. Today, the 02[SUP]nd[/SUP] August, the watch is running 19 seconds quicker than when I initially set it 5 days ago according to the Atomic clock. The watch has been worn for the majority of that period only being off my wrist for approximately 12 hours on one of the days. So going off those calculations, the watch is averaging a discrepancy of just less than 4 seconds per day. If it continues to perform with such accuracy, despite not being a Gen movement, I will be thoroughly delighted with those kinds of figures. As for the concerns over any drag or slumber type movement with the seconds hand, well I am delighted to say that it has not once exhibited a laboured type movement and it continues to sweep exquisitely throughout its cycle. Below is 1 complete rotation of the seconds hand.
To watch the seconds hand moving you need to click on the picture below.
A good test of a products marketability is the approval of those with it and the desire to own it for those without it.
Having been on both sides of the scenario, I have both desired and been fortunate enough to appreciate this watch. In my honest opinion I think this watch ticks a lot of the boxes when you are looking for a decent Rep. I concur it is far from being perfect and this is clearly reflected in the cost. You are paying a mere 5% of the Gen and for that money I would say that the watch is well worth the price. I would also debate that if you are looking to enter the world of Rep collecting that granted, at around £215 or so, it is not as cheap as some of the other Reps available, however, for those of you able to wait till you have saved the full amount or for those wishing to take another step onto the Rep ladder after purchasing a cheaper model, this watch is an ideal place to start and you could do a lot worse than buying one of these CrPO watches.
Update concludes................