Here is a pic of my gen. There is a necessary gap between the case and first link edges too. As to the difference (if any) I’ll leave it to you to judge and accept.While doing my last review, I've noticed that the straps are quite loose and there's a big gap on the first link to the case of the watch.
I'm not sure if it is just because of the way the watch is held.
It’s always good not to get hung up on small details and realize that nobody in this world can spend $500 to get an Audemars Piguet watch. But what you can get, is really good imho.