REPOSTING REVIEW I PUT ON REDDIT
Today I give you my first review of a new-ish release, the M+F Tudor Pelagos FXD Marine Nationale.
I've owned the gen for over 3 months, and it's been a quasi daily wear for me – needless to say, I love this watch. With this rep coming in, I wanted a proper beater version of this watch – I know “wear it” etc, but my gen FXD has special significance to me, so I was willing to explore the rep option.
So here we go for a Gen vs Rep review, with I hope enough pictures to help you make up your mind on it.
Disclaimer:
I bought the watch from Andrew at Trustytime. After my first purchase with him (BPF 16610LN) I was very happy with his services so I ordered this Pelagos Rep from him to do the review. Needless to say, I was happy with the transaction again and will go to him again in the future
1. First Impressions
Upon taking the watch out of the box, first impressions:
It really feels like the real thing – I will have no problem wearing it for its intended purposes, and no significant difference on the wrist
Colour is ever so darker on both the dial and bezel – noticeable when side by side, a lot less so taken separately
Movement noise: you can hear the rotor on both the rep and the gen, slightly (barely) louder on the rep, and different given the Miyota will let the rotor free spin given it's a single direction wind, whereas the original Tudor movements spins loudly one way or another. Part of this is due to how titanium reverberates sound.
And here I'll cover the only instant tell of the Rep: the lume on the bezel is thicker and is shiny. You can only notice in some light reflection cases, but you do notice it.
On the Gen the bezel lume has little volume protruding from the ceramic bezel insert, whereas on the Rep is almost looks painted on top of the ceramic.
On the Gen it is the same matte surface as the ceramic, on the Rep it is a rounded protrusion and shines.
It is an instant tell for somebody who knows what to look for (otherwise, and like so many tells that people focus on, it's not an issue).
Crystal are equally clear on both watches, with excellent AR – the crystal is slightly thicker and the Rep, which is a tiny tell
2. Dial, Indices, Hands, Bezel
Bezel lume: Gen beats Rep. Rep lume print is slightly thicker than Gen
Bezel insert: no difference in finish
Bezel alignment: very slightly off on both Rep and Gen
Indices: Rep beats Gen! Lume on Rep is evenly applied, with clear white edge around the lume. Lume on Gen looks like a blotch of lume material and uneven edges
Index alignment: Rep is remarkably good! 12 o'clock index is a bit crooked on both, not fully aligning with the center of the Tudor shield
Hands: Rep beats Gen! Same comments on the lume being better applied on Rep hands vs Gen. On Rep, the second hand has shorter blue paint than the hour and minute hands – this is a mini tell
Text print: Gen beats Rep. Gen text is crisper and thinner than Rep
3. Finish - Gen is superior, but Rep is good
Dial recess: On the Rep, the chapter ring and dial sit lower, further away from the crystal – this is a small tell when you know what to look for
Brushing: slightly coarser brushing on the Rep, making it shine a bit more – the Gen is exceptionally finished making is dull on purpose
Bezel action: not great on the Rep, with ~0.3mm play, and is very easy to turn. On the Gen it's perfect
Bezel edge: Rep beats Gen! The coin edge is shaped slightly differently, with the teeth being deeper on the Gen – however, machining finish is better and finer on the Rep
Crown: excellent on the Rep, though the slope down is too straight compared with the Gen, and the shield is ever so crisper on Gen
Caseback: no difference to the naked eye, though the lettering is slightly thicker on the Rep. Caseback brushing on Gen is vertical, in line with the text – don't know whether this is a tell
4. Lume Strength and Colour
Lume shots done after 5min under an artificial white light, under complete darkness, immediate, 20min after, and 60min after - not using any night shot or long exposure
Lume strength:
5. Size and dimensions
Lug to Lug including fixed bar: on par
Lug to Lug at the tip: on par
Diameter without bezel: basically on par
Diameter of bezel: 0.3mm difference
Case to crown: 0.3mm difference
Thickness: on par
Bezel thickness: 0.2mm difference - basically the crystal on the Rep appears taller because the bezel is flatter, and is visually thicker by 0.2mm because it tapers differently to the base, allowing overall thickness to be the same
6. Fabric strap
My first impression of the fabric strap was that it was equally good as the real one
On closer inspection:
7. Rubber strap
I’m not a fan of the stock rubber strap on Gen - the Rep is functionally just as good, I just don’t like it
In comparison:
8. Conclusion
Positives:
My wife knows my Gen watch, she finds the finish to be impeccable, and she has a sharp eye - but when I gave her both, she thought the Rep was the Gen! (she found the prussian blue to be prettier than the raw cobalt blue of Gen)
I have no problem wearing the Rep as a beater, though I do wish the bezel action could be fixed. I used to wear the Tactical Frog FXD as a beater, and this M+F is miles ahead in terms of reproduction of Gen feeling, the strap is also better (though bezel action of 90 clicks was better on the Frog)
I think that if the bezel lume is made flatter and less shiny, and the dial recess was done away with, we have nothing short of a NWBIG here.
If you want a FXD and are hesitating about the Gen, you can confidently go with this M+F Rep
Thanks again to Andrew at Trusty for a great transaction
Today I give you my first review of a new-ish release, the M+F Tudor Pelagos FXD Marine Nationale.
I've owned the gen for over 3 months, and it's been a quasi daily wear for me – needless to say, I love this watch. With this rep coming in, I wanted a proper beater version of this watch – I know “wear it” etc, but my gen FXD has special significance to me, so I was willing to explore the rep option.
So here we go for a Gen vs Rep review, with I hope enough pictures to help you make up your mind on it.
Disclaimer:
I bought the watch from Andrew at Trustytime. After my first purchase with him (BPF 16610LN) I was very happy with his services so I ordered this Pelagos Rep from him to do the review. Needless to say, I was happy with the transaction again and will go to him again in the future
- Dealer name: Trustytime
- Factory name: M+F
- Model name (& version number): FXD MN with Miyota 8N-24
- Timeline:
- paid by bank transfer on 22nd June
- QC received on 29th June
- tracking received 3rd July
- watch received 11th July
1. First Impressions
Upon taking the watch out of the box, first impressions:
It really feels like the real thing – I will have no problem wearing it for its intended purposes, and no significant difference on the wrist
Colour is ever so darker on both the dial and bezel – noticeable when side by side, a lot less so taken separately
- Gen is more Cobalt blue
- Rep is more Prussian blue
Movement noise: you can hear the rotor on both the rep and the gen, slightly (barely) louder on the rep, and different given the Miyota will let the rotor free spin given it's a single direction wind, whereas the original Tudor movements spins loudly one way or another. Part of this is due to how titanium reverberates sound.
And here I'll cover the only instant tell of the Rep: the lume on the bezel is thicker and is shiny. You can only notice in some light reflection cases, but you do notice it.
On the Gen the bezel lume has little volume protruding from the ceramic bezel insert, whereas on the Rep is almost looks painted on top of the ceramic.
On the Gen it is the same matte surface as the ceramic, on the Rep it is a rounded protrusion and shines.
It is an instant tell for somebody who knows what to look for (otherwise, and like so many tells that people focus on, it's not an issue).
Crystal are equally clear on both watches, with excellent AR – the crystal is slightly thicker and the Rep, which is a tiny tell
2. Dial, Indices, Hands, Bezel
Bezel lume: Gen beats Rep. Rep lume print is slightly thicker than Gen
Bezel insert: no difference in finish
Bezel alignment: very slightly off on both Rep and Gen
Indices: Rep beats Gen! Lume on Rep is evenly applied, with clear white edge around the lume. Lume on Gen looks like a blotch of lume material and uneven edges
Index alignment: Rep is remarkably good! 12 o'clock index is a bit crooked on both, not fully aligning with the center of the Tudor shield
Hands: Rep beats Gen! Same comments on the lume being better applied on Rep hands vs Gen. On Rep, the second hand has shorter blue paint than the hour and minute hands – this is a mini tell
Text print: Gen beats Rep. Gen text is crisper and thinner than Rep
3. Finish - Gen is superior, but Rep is good
Dial recess: On the Rep, the chapter ring and dial sit lower, further away from the crystal – this is a small tell when you know what to look for
Brushing: slightly coarser brushing on the Rep, making it shine a bit more – the Gen is exceptionally finished making is dull on purpose
Bezel action: not great on the Rep, with ~0.3mm play, and is very easy to turn. On the Gen it's perfect
Bezel edge: Rep beats Gen! The coin edge is shaped slightly differently, with the teeth being deeper on the Gen – however, machining finish is better and finer on the Rep
Crown: excellent on the Rep, though the slope down is too straight compared with the Gen, and the shield is ever so crisper on Gen
Caseback: no difference to the naked eye, though the lettering is slightly thicker on the Rep. Caseback brushing on Gen is vertical, in line with the text – don't know whether this is a tell
4. Lume Strength and Colour
Lume shots done after 5min under an artificial white light, under complete darkness, immediate, 20min after, and 60min after - not using any night shot or long exposure
Lume strength:
- Gen never felt as being lacking in lume
- initial lume strength is stronger and brighter on Rep - with a greener tone (photos don’t capture colours well enough)
- after 20min, lume on Gen is stronger
- after 60min, remnant lume remains stronger on Gen
5. Size and dimensions
Lug to Lug including fixed bar: on par
Lug to Lug at the tip: on par
Diameter without bezel: basically on par
Diameter of bezel: 0.3mm difference
Case to crown: 0.3mm difference
Thickness: on par
Bezel thickness: 0.2mm difference - basically the crystal on the Rep appears taller because the bezel is flatter, and is visually thicker by 0.2mm because it tapers differently to the base, allowing overall thickness to be the same
6. Fabric strap
My first impression of the fabric strap was that it was equally good as the real one
On closer inspection:
- the strap fabric has deeper grooves where the sewing went, making it look overall less
- flat - this is a small tell
- buckle shape is different - edges, holes are different shapes
- Shield engraving is crisper, and the groove is cleaner, on Gen
- Velcro is different, and is more solid on Gen
7. Rubber strap
I’m not a fan of the stock rubber strap on Gen - the Rep is functionally just as good, I just don’t like it
In comparison:
- the rubber feels the same on bends the same
- texture is cleaner and more fabric like on Gen
- colour is deeper on Gen
- buckle shape is a big wrong, and slope / taper isn’t right on Rep
- shield is smaller on Rep
8. Conclusion
Positives:
- only FXD Rep that exists for now
- !!indices and hands are basically better than Gen!!
- basically the wearing feel of Gen has been very faithfully reproduced
- case is basically identical - differences of 0.3mm are imperceptible
- very clean machining work has gone into making this Rep
- strong lume - not on par with Gen but almost as good
- good Miyota movement that doesn’t make more noise than Gen
- good crystal
- well reproduced straps
- text / lume printing / caseback engravings are all marginally thicker on Rep - not visible to the naked eye
- tells:
- Instant tell with shiny bezel lume
- imperceptible differences in bezel and crown taper slope
- gap between crystal on chapter ring
- fixed bars are slightly thicker on Rep
- poor bezel action
- colour is slightly off - though some might find it more attractive
My wife knows my Gen watch, she finds the finish to be impeccable, and she has a sharp eye - but when I gave her both, she thought the Rep was the Gen! (she found the prussian blue to be prettier than the raw cobalt blue of Gen)
I have no problem wearing the Rep as a beater, though I do wish the bezel action could be fixed. I used to wear the Tactical Frog FXD as a beater, and this M+F is miles ahead in terms of reproduction of Gen feeling, the strap is also better (though bezel action of 90 clicks was better on the Frog)
I think that if the bezel lume is made flatter and less shiny, and the dial recess was done away with, we have nothing short of a NWBIG here.
If you want a FXD and are hesitating about the Gen, you can confidently go with this M+F Rep
Thanks again to Andrew at Trusty for a great transaction
