Seems like I’m the only one here who has it
Bought a 3KF from Popup recently and had it white-gold plated. Also had the Buff dial and the anniversary datewheel installed, similar to what
@zinduna has above. Also just received a stock PPF 5811. Had the opportunity to briefly compare the PPF to a gen 5811, 5711, 5712 and 5726 this past weekend. Will share a full review and write-up in the coming weeks, but for now:
1. Dial colour - no good options for the 5811 unfortunately, nothing really resembles the gen in my opinion.
@watchfreek the stock 3KF is both mine and my wife's favourite dial, but it is not faithful to the gen (different shade of blue). Nevertheless, the colour is still the most pleasing. The Buff dial is very dark, it looks almost black in most light - in terms of colour it is by far the least accurate, though paradoxically it is the most high-end and well-finished dial thanks to deep stripes and the thick, bevelled-looking hour markers. The PPF stock dial fares no better either - it is too dark, too dull, and the wrong colour as well. All the gens have colours, depth, sparkle and overall lustre that none of these rep dials come close to matching.
2. Case & bracelet - PPF wins the case category as the bezels are thinner and more accurate. Overall case shape and bracelet looked amazingly close to the gens I saw this weekend. I think it needs a little case work to smooth out a few rough edges, but otherwise the case and bracelet look quite good. In my opinion the PPF is most let down by the dial. If you are willing to mod the watch and do some case work, the 3kf might be the better base as it has better bracelet both in terms of the shape and feel of the links as well as the overall proportions compared to the case. The 3KF also more material to work with and currently the best available dial option (stock). The 3KF bezels are too thick out of the box and definitely need some work. One thing to keep in mind is that the case and bracelet on both the PPF and 3KF are very grey as they are stainless steel - both need to be white gold plated - this makes a huge difference and vastly improves the look of the watch as it significantly increases the overall visual contrast, making the dial pop. Both watches are pleasingly thin despite using different movements.
3. Movement - haven't properly tested either watch but this is a mixed bag as well. The 3KF is by far the more accurate visually, but definitely feels like a poorer quality movement. It's not easy to wind or set the time and date - there is quite a bit of resistance. It has a relatively quiet rotor, however. The PPF movement looks like trash and is very loud when spinning - but it is far more solid feeling. It is easier to set the time and date on the PPF, it feels more positive to use overall and is far more accurate out of the box.
Overall, as is usually the case, there no best rep here, only the best set of compromises you're willing to personally accept.
My thoughts:
Option 1 - If it's the look of a gen 5811 you're after, buy a 3KF, keep the stock dial, have the Buff hands and hour markers transplanted to the 3KF dial, have the case modded to thin out the bezels, then have it all white gold plated and serviced. I think this combination would be as close as you can currently get until new dials hit the market (I'm looking at you, SW).
Option 2 - If you like the look of the 40mm 5711 but find it a tad small (as I do), get yourself either a stock PPF 5811 or a 3KF 5811 (with stock dial, but with the bezels thinned). This would effectively give you a super-sized 5711 (and yes, that 1mm make quite a difference). Both the 3KF and PPF 5811 dials actually look far more like the 5711 than they do a 5811, so this could be a great option for guys with larger wrists who like the 5711.
Left: Stock PPF 5811. Right 3KF 5811, WG plated, Buff dial & hands, anniversary datewheel. The PPF looks much more grey as it is not white gold plated.
