Buying a rep and finding a new one better is 50% happiness 50% displeasure... and I want to say just few words for those who haven’t buy yet a 5711 and has the intention to buy it...
First of all congrats on having the chance to own a gen and the majority of us cannot argue with your statement because of that. But I must say that I have a different opinion since I did encounter a gen while wearing my rep. I'm not saying that you or anyone else is wrong so don't take this the wrong way
. I hope that I also don't add more confusion to those who are still looking to purchase a 5711.
I own a MKF V5 and I had a chance to meet a gentleman who owns a gen a few weeks ago when I was at a restaurant. He was nice enough to let me inspect the watch while it was on his wrist and I did have my Nautilus at the same time so I was able to do quick a comparison. I obviously could not have him hold his wrist up the whole time so I looked for things that stood out to me naturally.
Immediately, first tell for me was the way the bracelet and case shines compared to my rep. It had a brilliant shine, almost gleaming in a way. I do take care of my watches and wipe them down after I wear it so there is very minimal scratch (or nonexistent) blemishes that would affect how light reflects the material. But even then the gen just reflected light differently. Was it obvious? Yes but only if you own a rep, because I'm sure to him my Nautilus was as good as gen.
Second thing that stood out was the gradient and hue of the blue dial. Is the blue on the V5 accurate to gen? To my eyes it's very close. Although if you really pay close attention the gen is a bit lighter...and by "a bit" I mean that very conservatively. I can say that the MKF did an excellent job with the blue to black gradient because it was spot on.
Third thing is obviously the DW.
Overall, I think it's passable (or wearable some would say) and I would even go as far to say that the MK looks pretty damn great despite its flaws (DW, crown guards, misspelling,etc).
Now I have not own a gen nor have I seen any other gen IRL than the one I mentioned above but from my short experience alone I was able to point out those very apparent characteristics at first glance. To me comparing something that cost a fraction of the price to a $2X,XXX time piece is not something to fuss about.
For those who are still looking to get one, keep in mind that there will never be a perfect rep. Buy what looks good to you and what you're happy with. There's nothing wrong with going after perfection or making your watch as close to gen as possible but are you pleasing yourself or are you pleasing that small percentage of people who might know what you're wearing (depending on your surrounding of course). I mean don't get me wrong if someone is able to produce an aftermarket DW to replace the factory ones I'd jump on it right away but I still enjoy wearing the watch as it is...with all the known flaws and even after knowing what it lacks to gen with my own eyes.
Despite the reps not having the "accurate" dial color, we need to keep in mind that there are also different variations of blue dial on a gen. So to me it seems like we're trying to shoot a moving target because unless someone can document a side by side comparison of a gen and a rep that it was intended to imitate then we will never have 100% accurate comparison.
Enjoy this hobby as it is!
