I received my 3K Aquanaut from Andrew at Trusty, yesterday morning. I have had time to look very carefully at the watch and examine the detail. I have also had time to think about how the watch occupies its position in Rep world and in watch world
Lets start with an overall perspective on it as a watch in its own right.
Holding the watch in my hands it has a feel of extreme quality. No sharp edges no poor finish The hands are well made, the dial is well finished. The weight of the SS watch on rubber feels just right on the wrist. Not too top heavy and not too light either. the rubber strap feels good and comfortable and doesn't seem to attract too much dust like the very cheap ones do.
Trying to forget for a minute that this watch is a copy and looking at it as a watch, I like it. It is a watch which can be worn equally with a suit or with jeans. You can jump in the pool with it ( I did this morning) it is WR enough and on rubber A great everyday wear which looks discrete and unobtrusive and at the same time exudes quality and good taste.
The feel of the watch in terms of function is good. The crown unscrews smoothly and the Keyless moves through its positions well. The date wheel turns over nicely and there is no play to speak of in the hand adjustment. It winds with a smooth and satisfying feel The rotor moves freely and without excessive noise. Date starts to move at 11.35 and is fully changed by 12.05. The dial is beautiful it has depth and a great smooth sunburst when it catches the light. The crystal is not milky and is unimpeded by AR coating which is not really needed on watches with dark mattish dials.
The polish and satin mix on the casework is truly excellent and the general fit and finish to to a very high standard.
Looking at the movement through to exhibition back. It looks very well finished with some nice anglage on the movement plates and has a general look of quality.
On my Timegrapher the watch is showing 292 amplitude 0.1 MS beat error and + 1 sec per day timing (these numbers are great )The movement feels and looks as solid as a rock It is early to tell, but my guess is the movement is pretty much bullitt proof .
Here are some more photos of the watch taken today
The watch as a Rep
This is one persons honest and objective opinion on this watch as a Rep. There will be many opinion on this watch, as it is a significant milestone in the Rep world, as was the Noob 4130 clone.
First of all if I had to express this in one sentence it would be " This is probably overall the best Rep I have ever seen"
They haven't made a copy they have made "The watch" in a different place. Granted they have made it with some concessions to cost and to practicality
Frankly to tell this from a Gen you need to be good and knowledgeable and you will need a loop and the watch in your hand. You will also need to really know what you are looking for. The movement is an almost exact clone.The case and dial are an exact clone. Of course there will be minute differences
The movement plates are laser printed not engraved. I accept this and I understand exactly why they have made this compromise. Unlike others have said, I don't expect them to change it. The reason I hold this view. They have made a perfect clone of the movement. This was costly The movement will be made in one place ( By someone ) and transported to another place for assembly. With no markings this can be done with almost complete impunity. To engrave it after assemble is utterly ruinous to the reliability and longevity of the movement. To laser print it is not a problem. The very minor impact this has on the watches integrity as a Rep, is almost insignificant in my view, compared to destroying the movement.
The dial is the right colour , the right shade and has the right handling of light.
The hands are great.
The lume is very slightly different
The case is incredibly close
Dimensions are all correct
Lugs are perfect in my eye
Crown looks right to me
Is it a Super Rep? IMHO yes it is
Is it NWBIG? IMHO 100% yes.
Another $18000 will buy you a slightly better finished movement which has been engraved. That's it !
I bought mine on a bracelet. This is because stupidly for some reason all of the non bracelet SS models have gold markings in the lug backs , the bracelet version doesn't. I hate bracelets , so put it straight on rubber when it arrived .
For those interested here are some photos of the bracelet . Which is really very good and well finished.
