BKLM YM - How good is it?

[donaldejose]

I know the BKLM YM is expensive but it is so visually accurate that it could cost twice what he charges and still be a good deal because it is small fraction of the visually identical gen.

It seems hard to justify buying a gen YM, TT or LV when we have BKLM's available to us. Just look at the three theads I started and notice no one with a gen of any of these watches could point out any visual "flaws" in BKLM's products.

Soooooo, you better sign up, wait and get them while they are still available. I don't think production will continue indefinitely.

 

[dcsocal]

I could not agree more dj. I took Bk's YM to the watchsmith that services my Gen DSSD and he could NOT believe how close to Gen it is. It truly blew him away. And, considering Bk's YM only costs about 8% of the Gen, I would NEVER waste the money on the gen! No question about it.

I know the BKLM YM is expensive but it is so visually accurate that it could cost twice what he charges and still be a good deal because it is small fraction of the visually identical gen.

It seems hard to justify buying a gen YM, TT or LV when we have BKLM's available to us. Just look at the three theads I started and notice no one with a gen of any of these watches could point out any visual "flaws" in BKLM's products.

Soooooo, you better sign up, wait and get them while they are still available. I don't think production will continue indefinitely.

 

[donaldejose]

Here are some photos of a gen for comparison.

Look for the space between the top of the bezel numbers and the bezel surround.

Note the dial takes on colors from reflective light.

Notice the smoothness of the bezel surround between the numbers.

Notice the flecks in the dial.

Note the red color of the second hand.

Look for the height of the crystal.

Do you find any visual difference between this gen and the BKLM pics I posted?


BKLMs YM is quite an impressive accomplishment at about 10% the cost of a gen, isn't it?

 

[Maximos]

don, you are doing some fantastic work here. keep it up!

now, for the BK vs gen, I do have some observations.

1. the hour markers (not the lume, but the small dashes) on the gen are almost like 'I's. On the WM9 dial, there are more like straight lines. the same effect is noted on the dot in the middle of the dial at the bottom, between the words 'SWISS' and 'MADE'.

2. the red on the gen seems a little darker, unless my eyes are playing tricks?

Other than that, the two are shockingly similar. I have read that the gen is around 6 grams heavier due to the platinum content, however.

 

[donaldejose]

Boy, we really do have to get down to minute detail, don't we? Great eyes you have.

I just checked mine with a loupe and enlarged the photo of the gen dial. I believe you are correct on those hour markers. The gen dial seems to use a serif font capital I and the BKLM dial seems to use san-serif capital I, which is just a straight line.

Looks like you may just have found the one "tell" but you are going to have to use a loupe to see it!

On the red color of the second hand I believe you are wrong. I don't think the gen is a darker red. The deepness of that color will depend upon the saturation in the photo and the angle of the reflected light. You will see a deeper red on some of my photos than on the gen photos and you will see a slight variation in the red color in different photos I took of the same watch.

 

[donaldejose]

Red second hand and font used for hour markers

Compare these photos to the pictures of the gen above.

I don't think the gen second hand is a darker red.

But I do think the gen hour markers are serif capital Is (but the minute markers are san-serif) while the BKLM hour markers are san-serif capital Is.

So the next time you are out to dinner and the guy across the table is wearing a YM you can tell if it is a gen or a BKLM! HA!

The "no tell" "tell" because it is sooooo tiny.

This rep is amazingly perfect, isn't it?

I tried to enlarge the gen dial photo in my last post but couldn't copy and paste it into my photo editor. If someone knows how to do that perhaps they can enlarge it equal to the last photo here and post them side by side for a better direct comparison of the exact shape of the hours and minute slashes.

Perhaps someone with a gen can use a loupe to look at their hours and minute markers and let us know what they think.

 

[slied013]

I am wearing BK's YM now and it's amazing how close to gen it is.

 

[Maximos]

I don't know, don. I see the YACHT-MASTER font on the gen as a darker red. Anyone else note this? Maybe it's my monitor, or I'm color blind It doesn't even make a difference, as I'm fairly sure the gen has variance amongst its production numbers either way.

I have attached an enlarged portion of the gen dial for comparison.

 

[donaldejose]

Thanks for making the enlargement I couldn't do.

It shows those serif Is at the hour markers you and I have been talking about so everyone should be able to see them.

Yes, it looks darker from that angle to me also. BUT ......

Not from this angle.

Compared to this angle and without the crystal.

Notice the difference in color shade and darkness between these two photos of what I thought were the same gen dial I copied from a series of photos of a gen I found on the web.

Soooooo ........ Don't know for sure ...... Maybe depends upon the angle and whether or not you are looking through the crystal or just looking at the dial without the crystal?

Anyway, you have made very good observations and have sharper eyes than I do!

Thanks for your contribution.

 

[donaldejose]

I think with this version we are getting down to 99.99% (or better) visual accuracy!

 

[MMs]

too bad BK will be busy until November, I'm gonna have to wait for mine.
but it is well worth waiting for!

 

[Maximos]

I will have mine in my hands on Friday. It got to my house Monday but I'm not in town

I noticed one more thing -- it looks like WM9's rehaut reflects the markers a little more than the gen. What do you think about this?

 

[twon1970]

I have a BK WM9 YM, and I was about to sell it to raise funds. After viewing these pictures, I am not going to sale it now. I am going to give it a good polish since it is only 11 mths old.

Outstanding pictures.

I realize there have been some photos of this YM posted on RWI.
In fact, I posted some trying to show the flecks in the dial.
But this is my series showing the whole watch.
Spirit suggested I try less bling and more nature so I did.
But I just couldn't resist some bling at the end of this series.

You should realize the YM is a very reflective gray or silver watch.
It will take on color from light reflecting off its surroundings.
Thus, when it is photographed on brown wood, the dial tends to take on a brown tone.
In these photographs you will see the dial showing different tones.
The gray tones are the ones you will see on your wrist most of the time because the light hitting the watch will be blue/gray sky light.
But at times of the day when the light in the sky is warm, so will the dial be a warm tone.
It is just a feature of this highly reflective watch.
Also, in some of the photos the hour markers are greenish.
This is just the lume showing after a flash charged it.
You can see the height of the crystal, but I did not photograph the clasp because I don't like clasps.

I didn't try to show the flecks in the dial here because I have done that before with close-up shots.
But if you enlarge many of these photos on your monitor you will be able to see the flicks.

If you have a gen YM or good rep YM please compare it with these photos and post your comments.

This is not an easy watch to photograph because of its highly reflective surfaces.

 

[donaldejose]

Lord of the Rings

I thought someone would recognize it, but no one did!

The Sword I photographed this watch with is an exact replica of "Sting" from Lord of the Rings. Any Lord of the Rings fans out there?

 

[hk45ca]

here is my wife's gen.

http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/redirector.php?url=http://img135.imageshack.us/i/splatym.jpg/

 

[R2D4]

Wow BK and WM9 did good on this one. The small flaws I could live with. I actually owned a BK YM from when he started to go overseas and tackle the parts to make them look more gen. Here is a shot.

As far as these reps have come, I am still amazed at how well they looked not to long ago. God bless those who forge ahead to get it perfect.

 

[Member X]

This is a great comparison thread, thank you to everyone contributing

 

[donaldejose]

Look at the red on the photo of hk45ca wife's gen. It doesn't look darker than the red on the BKLM YM. I think those serif and san-serif slashes under the hour dots are the only real visual difference.

 

[hk45ca]

Look at the red on the photo of hk45ca wife's gen. It doesn't look darker than the red on the BKLM YM. I think those serif and san-serif slashes under the hour dots are the only real visual difference.

it's darker but bk's is the best you are going to get. keep in mind that ladies platinum ym is 8,100.00 with tax where i live, the 40mm is higher.



here are the best shots you will ever find for comparison purposes. this guy even modded it and put a daytona clasp on it. they should have that clasp to begin with. the clasp is the only thing on my wife's that looks and feels cheap, the watch rocks the house. when i compare it to my gmt2c or ss daytona the clasp is a cheap, stamped sheet metal piece of shit. it works great but it belongs on a 4,000.00 sub, not a 8,000.00 platinum ym.

http://www.watchwallpapers.com/16622.htm

 

[d4m.test]

Don:

Your photos of this YM are absolutely beautiful; an actual work of art. If I knew a way to do it, I'd make some of these my screen saver. Just as you did with the Invicta Pro Diver I sold to you, your photographic skills make the ordinary extra-ordinary.

dave