As everyone, or almost everyone, knows the YM is supposed to have platinum flakes on the dial which reflect "specks" of light. About a year ago I had a "noob factory" YM which tried to replicate the specks of light in the dial with specks of lighter paint. While it was interesting and nice in its own way, it was not a good replication of the gen dial. You can see the gen dial on the Rolex website. Spirit recently posted a review of a great YM rep he found and it contained good pictures of a dial with the correct "specks." He did not post the price or movement inside the rep so all one can do is copy the photo and ask a dealer to find the same watch. Surely, it came from some factory in China because Spirit bought it from a rep dealer and the factory must have made thousands more as close to Spirit's watch as that factories tolerances and quality control allow. Spirit's review is here:
forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/review-16622-9819-yacht-master-50537
The dial seems to me to be very good. Look closely at this great photograph of Spirit's to see "specks" or "flecks" of light on the dial.
BUT, is the Bklm/WM9 YM dial better than the one Spirit found? I just purchased a Bklm/WM9 YM and offer the following photos of the dial in an effort to see if any other reps now can be found with as good a dial or is this one still "heads and shoulders" above all the rest? Here are the photos. I used different lighting conditions in an attempt to best show the "specks" or "flecks" of light on the dial. Perhaps Spirit can comment as to whether or not the dial in these photos is the same as the dial on his rep. It seems to me both dials are about equal.
See those "specks" or "flecks?" It seems to me they create the "look" of the YM. The current price for a Bklm/WM9 YM is $725.00. I am well aware of all the other special features which make many people call this, and other Bklm builds, the most accurate to gen Rolex you can buy. I don't disagree. But I am just focusing on the dial in this thread. Do any RWI members or dealers know of a rep with the same "specky" dial in the $100 range, in the $200 range, or in the $300 range? I know in some parts of the world people have access to reps starting at $50 but I didn't include that price range because I think most of us cannot go to local rep markets so we have to deal with chance and postage and higher prices. However, if someone knows of a good YM rep for such a low price please post the details. I am not just asking if you can find photos on line, which may or may not be accurate. Can you confirm similarity to the above photos because you own the rep or have seen the rep? A YM rep could come with a 21J or an Asian copy ETA or an ETA. Spirit seems to have found one so there should be other good options out there for RWI members who want that "look" without paying $725.00. If anyone knows of such options can you post the details and some photos?
A few additional comments: I know I am accused of being "overly enthusiastic" and "not as knowledgeable" as other members. To both counts I plead guilty. I am very impressed with the beauty one can find in reps for such inexpensive prices. I argue there should be a place on RWI for members other than those who only value closeness to gen. I suggest there should be a place for those who are looking for a quality watch at an inexpensive price and who don't really care if the crown guards are shaped quite right or the SELs are as tight as those on a gen. We all know even gen owners usually don't know about those things. And I don't think "inexpensive" watches are always correctly referred to as "cheap" watches. Quality doesn't alway mean closeness to gen or ETA movements or high price. For example, one can consider "bang for the buck" and obtain 90% of the look of a gen for one fifth the cost is takes to obtain 98% of the look of a gen. Moving up that additional 8% can more than quadruple the cost and that isn't worth it to all people. As long as the less expensive watch is beautiful, reliable, durable, can be counted to arrive in the mail functioning, it can be considered a "quality" watch or a "great value" to me without applying the "closeness to gen" as the sole test of a watch's worth. I know this is a philosophical point and RWI members have divergent opinions on this matter.
For those with the value of "closeness to gen" it is my understanding that this $725 YM is the best one can buy. Is it too expensive? A gen YM will cost ten times more and to perhaps 99% of people it won't look any different. Is this replica worth only one tenth of a gen YM? I don't think so. I think a good argument can be made that if the watch is visually indistinguishable and contains a nearly equal quality swiss movement, it should be valued at much more than one tenth the value of the gen. Why shouldn't it be "worth" one fifth the value of the gen? That would place its value at about $1,500 which is still less expensive than many gens using the same steel and the same movement. So I think one can argue this very "expensive" replica is actually a very good value.
For those who don't hold "closeness to gen" at such a high value and only want a good looking reliable watch that 95% of people will not know is a rep, I suggest they are better served by lower cost reps. For example. a Fakemaster build usually costs around $120. It is beautiful and durable and comes with great customer service. One can easily argue that for $725 a person would have more fun with 5 Fakemaster watches than with this one YM. Many members can obtain good reps from dealers in the $100 range and having 7 of them may be more fun, more "bang for the buck," than owing one $725 rep. So to each his own. Neither value is wrong; both are right.
And to some people who I will call "horological purists" only a gen has all the features of the gen; so it is worth the price to them. That too is fine. Maybe some day I will buy some gens, especially if I can get them used. But for now I would rather have many, many reps to enjoy. It is also ok to have a foot in different camps; owing a gen of one, a high cost rep of others and inexpensive reps of yet others. Different strokes for different folks.
There have been some recent threads about the YM. I am interested to see if RWI members can find and post options for the YM. Can one get the right speckly dial "look" at different price points for those who have different values and different budgets?
forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/review-16622-9819-yacht-master-50537
The dial seems to me to be very good. Look closely at this great photograph of Spirit's to see "specks" or "flecks" of light on the dial.
BUT, is the Bklm/WM9 YM dial better than the one Spirit found? I just purchased a Bklm/WM9 YM and offer the following photos of the dial in an effort to see if any other reps now can be found with as good a dial or is this one still "heads and shoulders" above all the rest? Here are the photos. I used different lighting conditions in an attempt to best show the "specks" or "flecks" of light on the dial. Perhaps Spirit can comment as to whether or not the dial in these photos is the same as the dial on his rep. It seems to me both dials are about equal.
See those "specks" or "flecks?" It seems to me they create the "look" of the YM. The current price for a Bklm/WM9 YM is $725.00. I am well aware of all the other special features which make many people call this, and other Bklm builds, the most accurate to gen Rolex you can buy. I don't disagree. But I am just focusing on the dial in this thread. Do any RWI members or dealers know of a rep with the same "specky" dial in the $100 range, in the $200 range, or in the $300 range? I know in some parts of the world people have access to reps starting at $50 but I didn't include that price range because I think most of us cannot go to local rep markets so we have to deal with chance and postage and higher prices. However, if someone knows of a good YM rep for such a low price please post the details. I am not just asking if you can find photos on line, which may or may not be accurate. Can you confirm similarity to the above photos because you own the rep or have seen the rep? A YM rep could come with a 21J or an Asian copy ETA or an ETA. Spirit seems to have found one so there should be other good options out there for RWI members who want that "look" without paying $725.00. If anyone knows of such options can you post the details and some photos?
A few additional comments: I know I am accused of being "overly enthusiastic" and "not as knowledgeable" as other members. To both counts I plead guilty. I am very impressed with the beauty one can find in reps for such inexpensive prices. I argue there should be a place on RWI for members other than those who only value closeness to gen. I suggest there should be a place for those who are looking for a quality watch at an inexpensive price and who don't really care if the crown guards are shaped quite right or the SELs are as tight as those on a gen. We all know even gen owners usually don't know about those things. And I don't think "inexpensive" watches are always correctly referred to as "cheap" watches. Quality doesn't alway mean closeness to gen or ETA movements or high price. For example, one can consider "bang for the buck" and obtain 90% of the look of a gen for one fifth the cost is takes to obtain 98% of the look of a gen. Moving up that additional 8% can more than quadruple the cost and that isn't worth it to all people. As long as the less expensive watch is beautiful, reliable, durable, can be counted to arrive in the mail functioning, it can be considered a "quality" watch or a "great value" to me without applying the "closeness to gen" as the sole test of a watch's worth. I know this is a philosophical point and RWI members have divergent opinions on this matter.
For those with the value of "closeness to gen" it is my understanding that this $725 YM is the best one can buy. Is it too expensive? A gen YM will cost ten times more and to perhaps 99% of people it won't look any different. Is this replica worth only one tenth of a gen YM? I don't think so. I think a good argument can be made that if the watch is visually indistinguishable and contains a nearly equal quality swiss movement, it should be valued at much more than one tenth the value of the gen. Why shouldn't it be "worth" one fifth the value of the gen? That would place its value at about $1,500 which is still less expensive than many gens using the same steel and the same movement. So I think one can argue this very "expensive" replica is actually a very good value.
For those who don't hold "closeness to gen" at such a high value and only want a good looking reliable watch that 95% of people will not know is a rep, I suggest they are better served by lower cost reps. For example. a Fakemaster build usually costs around $120. It is beautiful and durable and comes with great customer service. One can easily argue that for $725 a person would have more fun with 5 Fakemaster watches than with this one YM. Many members can obtain good reps from dealers in the $100 range and having 7 of them may be more fun, more "bang for the buck," than owing one $725 rep. So to each his own. Neither value is wrong; both are right.
And to some people who I will call "horological purists" only a gen has all the features of the gen; so it is worth the price to them. That too is fine. Maybe some day I will buy some gens, especially if I can get them used. But for now I would rather have many, many reps to enjoy. It is also ok to have a foot in different camps; owing a gen of one, a high cost rep of others and inexpensive reps of yet others. Different strokes for different folks.
There have been some recent threads about the YM. I am interested to see if RWI members can find and post options for the YM. Can one get the right speckly dial "look" at different price points for those who have different values and different budgets?
