Often when you see those gens up close in day light they will have slight hair lines all over the place - I tend to agree with OP, that a slight wear and broken in feel makes all the difference in a rep. Sure you can find near mint specimens in the gen world, and I got lucky with my gen LV (although it does have a few scufss and hairs now that I have worn it daily for a few months) but when you are wearing a rep, and KNOW it is a rep, it just seems so more plausible and realistic if the watch feels used. Also - a new TC is stiff and sharp in all aspects, much different feeling than a brand new gen, and this can be remedied with some hard work to bracelet and case.
My thoughts exactly [MENTION=63638]mrtoulouse[/MENTION] - I work in an industry where gen 16610 are very common. I ate lunch friday and counted 5 LNs on various wrists in the staff restaurant.
I have asked to look at some of them over lunch in the past few months, and they ALL have tiny hairline scratches.
For all I knew (and I'm not a total newbie at this) they could have all been TC V6s because they "fitted". The story matched the watch every time.
I have one friend I work with who got a 16610 as a gift from someone he worked for as a reward, and he hates it !
He hasn't had it serviced in years (probably since he got it 10 years ago), and the thing is beaten to death !
I don't know what you think of my case softening, [MENTION=63638]mrtoulouse[/MENTION] , but I'll post some more pics when it's all finished.
What's the best way to soften the bracelet edges? Same as the case - slowly and very carefully ?
Cheers