The 324 super clone movement released by 3kf is indeed a milestone in the PP rep industry that propels the 3kf PP5711 to the forefront leaving the rest (eg PPF) that sports a Miyota 9015 decorated to look like a 324 way behind.
I am well aware that in the rep industry, perception and preference for gen-like are major factors that drive the desires of the buyers. The 3kf 324 SC has been marketed to be a 1:1 replica while the decorated Miyota is a second class.
But are we really better off with the 3kf 324 SC ? Let's look at it from different angles.
1. Resemblance to Gen. Indeed the 3kf 324, at a glance resembles the gen better than the decorated Miyota. Both will be good enough for the uninitiated and casual collectors. Nevertheless, any discerning Patek enthusiastic will be able to call out the decorated Miyota and the 3kf 324 regardless of their degree of resemblances to gen, probably within 2 arm's length for the former and one arm's length for the latter. So, the resemblance argument of the 3kf 324 plays more into the mind of the rep buyer than anything else.
2. Thinner profile. Common perception is that the decorated plates over a stock Miyota add height to the movement and this may result in a thicker case being used. From the TD website, a 3kf PP5711 is 8.5mm thick while a PPF PP5711 is 8.6mm, both are slightly thicker than the 8.3mm of a gen. But the difference between the two reps are negligible.
3. Reliability. A Miyota 9105 is a trial and tested movement that has been around for a long time (since 2009) compared to the recently released 3kf 324 SC. Though I don't have any data to prove one being more reliable than the another, I can certainly attest that a properly serviced and calibrated Miyota can easily run for 10 years or more. On the other hand, there are comments abut the questionable quality of the parts being used in the 3kf 324, the most common being the winding stem which is made of low quality metal.
4. Serviceability. A major fault of the 3kf 324 is that it is NOT an exact replica of the gen movement, the parts are not similar and hence you cannot replace a faulty rep parts with the gen parts without tooling and modding. I fail to understand why 3kf took such an approach when it decided to replicate the Patek 324 resulting in the end product being a different construct from the gen. Hence we would have to depend on 3kf to support us by making spares available for the many years to come. This is indeed a tall order as we all know 3kf may be closed down tomorrow. On the other hand, you can easily buy a Miyota 9015 from ebay at less than $100 now and reasonably expect to be able to buy it in 10-20 years later too.
So, which is better for YOU ? Despite all the arguments made above, there is no one right answer for everyone. As I said earlier, it is all about perception and preferences. So, would like to hear what others got to say.
I am well aware that in the rep industry, perception and preference for gen-like are major factors that drive the desires of the buyers. The 3kf 324 SC has been marketed to be a 1:1 replica while the decorated Miyota is a second class.
But are we really better off with the 3kf 324 SC ? Let's look at it from different angles.
1. Resemblance to Gen. Indeed the 3kf 324, at a glance resembles the gen better than the decorated Miyota. Both will be good enough for the uninitiated and casual collectors. Nevertheless, any discerning Patek enthusiastic will be able to call out the decorated Miyota and the 3kf 324 regardless of their degree of resemblances to gen, probably within 2 arm's length for the former and one arm's length for the latter. So, the resemblance argument of the 3kf 324 plays more into the mind of the rep buyer than anything else.
2. Thinner profile. Common perception is that the decorated plates over a stock Miyota add height to the movement and this may result in a thicker case being used. From the TD website, a 3kf PP5711 is 8.5mm thick while a PPF PP5711 is 8.6mm, both are slightly thicker than the 8.3mm of a gen. But the difference between the two reps are negligible.
3. Reliability. A Miyota 9105 is a trial and tested movement that has been around for a long time (since 2009) compared to the recently released 3kf 324 SC. Though I don't have any data to prove one being more reliable than the another, I can certainly attest that a properly serviced and calibrated Miyota can easily run for 10 years or more. On the other hand, there are comments abut the questionable quality of the parts being used in the 3kf 324, the most common being the winding stem which is made of low quality metal.
4. Serviceability. A major fault of the 3kf 324 is that it is NOT an exact replica of the gen movement, the parts are not similar and hence you cannot replace a faulty rep parts with the gen parts without tooling and modding. I fail to understand why 3kf took such an approach when it decided to replicate the Patek 324 resulting in the end product being a different construct from the gen. Hence we would have to depend on 3kf to support us by making spares available for the many years to come. This is indeed a tall order as we all know 3kf may be closed down tomorrow. On the other hand, you can easily buy a Miyota 9015 from ebay at less than $100 now and reasonably expect to be able to buy it in 10-20 years later too.
So, which is better for YOU ? Despite all the arguments made above, there is no one right answer for everyone. As I said earlier, it is all about perception and preferences. So, would like to hear what others got to say.
