Help me choose my first!

[godsent93]

An IWC virgin here, i recently purchased my first rep off a fellow forum member (a rolex explorer l bamford fragment) and it was beautiful.
Needless to say, I now have an itch that can only be scratched by purchasing more reps.

Ive been lurking for the past 2 weeks or so and narrowed my first IWC rep to one of these three gorgeous timepieces namely the 3717, 3777 and the Laureus 3233.
My deciding factors would be [ 1) Wrist Presence 2) Reliability 3) Accuracy to Gen ] in that order.

Right now im more settled on 3777

 

[higginsd]

The wrist presence of the 3777 is unbelievable! Much more presence than the BigPilot! Don't know why. The 3777 is one of the most accurate IWC reps. Buy it with bracelet (BTW one of the best rep bracelets I've ever seen) and buy a very good strap from one of the leading strap makers if you like to wear it on strap. Jacob in spain or HKTan for example. Or choose a gen gator strap with gen buckle. Reliability? The A7750 inside is a robust and accurate movements if you keep the usage advices in mind: don't play too much with the chrono, don#t press chrono reset with running chrono (always press stop and then reset), don't quickchange the date between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

It's also cheap to change the A7750 against an ETA 7750 or gen IWC 79320.

I would go for the 3777. OK, if you plan to full franken it the 3717 is the better choice because gen parts are much more easy to source for this watch.

 

[godsent93]

Thanks for the detailed breakdown higginsd! I plan to do little to no modding or frankening on my part and just enjoy it out of the box

What would be the downside (if any) to get the 3717 though? I understand its a 42mm as compared to the 3777's 43mm and my wrists are not particularly large

 

[higginsd]

IMHO the dial design of the 3777 is more modern. The 3717 looks more "classic". But that depends on personal preferences.

 

[ariffza]

My first IWC was a 3717. But the 3777's build quality is leaps and bounds beyond the 3717. Unless your wrist is smaller than 6.5" then the 3777 will suit you just fine.

 

[godsent93]

Thank you gentlemen for your input! Ive decided to pull the trigger on the 3777, probably the v6 is the most recent ive heard?
Anybody knows if theyve fixed the pusher problem yet, im not too confident about the whole loctite process being a newbie and all

 

[higginsd]

A good decision!

It's called the V1, from the "HBB V6 maker". This is the best version. Ask your TD wether the pusher problem is fixed at your watch. Normally all new 3777 have fixed the problem. But you can't see from the outside, you'll have to open the case and check yourself to be really sure.

 

[godsent93]

Sounds great higginsd, i wanted to grab a laureus to go with it but I was informed that its currently unavailable a real shame
Guess ill grab the 3777 and a black bay midnight blue from tudor to go along with it for now hehe

 

[godsent93]

Sorry higginsd, just popping in here to mention that coincidentally it was a photo of your 3777 franken project with the grey gator strap and blue stitching that helped me make my mind up! And i didnt realise it was your project until 5 minutes ago. You have absolutely great taste!

I just asked my TD if hes able to source the IWC deployant buckle, cuz I heard it doesnt come with the rep right?

 

[higginsd]

Yes, the 3777 on strap comes with a normal buckle. But the TDs can sell you an IWC BP deployant for 30$. Take it, it's worth the money. And possibly buy the 3777 on bracelet. So you have the bracelet for just 20$ more. Better than the freaky rep strap.

 

[godsent93]

Hmm my TD just informed me that parts are hard to come by at the moment so ill have to wait for the IWC buckle, he suggested I order elsewhere.
Ill get the metal bracelet and make do for now i guess

Edit: Lucky me! found a possibly local reasonable deal for the deployant and leather strap!

 

[higginsd]

I don't see the problem... http://www.pure-time.com/product/iwc-deployment-buckle1/

 

[godsent93]

Ah i was too late with the deal and didnt get it, maybe ill get it from pure-time.
Ill give it a few days and see if any local singaporeans are selling the deployant clasps with strap

 

[godsent93]

So i pulled the trigger and got the 3777, just received QC pictures from Ken the man. Im no expert here so what do you guys think? Any problems?

Looks good to me!

 

[Liamborghini]

Nah mate good watch

Not a 100% expert but no major flaws that I can see

 

[godsent93]

Its beautiful... i think im about to shed a tear or something. Thanks to everyone who's helped me! Im truly grateful

 

[higginsd]

Perfect! Take it!