Slight variations on 42mm 5th Gen PO?

[drbollocko]

Could somebody please help clarify something on the 5th gen PO 42mm, since it came out we've had a few variations 'out of the box' on this but I find it difficult to see what dealer has what version? Seems a bit of 'pot luck' on which you'll receive.

Here is what I mean:

First release of the 5th gen and the one still stocked by most dealers, jandrew etc:

Omega logo directly on top of OMEGA writing, pearl a bit more protruding and prominent!

Then there was a period where there was some dial mishaps with missing words and some got sent out to forumites:
Notice the location of the Omega logo here, much more centred on dial, still not where the gen is but much better 'balanced' than the first edition.
Pearl is still shi**t

And now there's this one but still seems to fairly rare only stocked by select dealers, I personally think it's the best I've seen, with
2nd version omega logo, more flushed pearl, hard to see exactly in first pic but 2nd pic is better example:

Thanks to S3g0y for this pic!

So my question is! What the fcuk is going on? How come some of these 42mm 5th gen are clearly a newer variation than others?...and who has them...or is it a secret?

 

[Bonesey]

Minor manufacturing differences in product batches perhaps? Different dealers calling different factories watches the V5 etc etc.

 

[Q5?]

Not sure on who has what, but I like that last one.

 

[drbollocko]

That last one can be got from tony @ 7750.
As far as other dealers doing it I don't know, I'm looking for some clarification on whether this is the unofficial 5th gen version 2 or as Bonesey says maybe it's just a manufacturing quirk. It seems most dealers don't have it and are still shipping the original picture 1 version above.

This recent one seems to be a good version nonetheless, most accurate looking to gen so far.

 

[drbollocko]

Here's another pic of same watch....it is the first and only time I've ever seen a PO straight 'out of the box' with pearl that is almost (almost!) gen like. I hope these become the version that all the dealers ship.

 

[ratpatrolteam01]

what are the errors on the latest 42mm reps? are they better than the 45. 45.5 reps?

 

[Wiz]

It's not uncommon to see manufacturing differences. There is no official specs for what we call a V5

 

[Pakz]

what are the errors on the latest 42mm reps? are they better than the 45. 45.5 reps?

Well the largest "errors" are the crown and He valve that are a bit too 'long', and the pearl on the bezel, a bit too low.

Another problem (very limited, I'd say) is that on the bracelet, the number faces the wrong direction...
There are as well some minor differences in the spacing between the writing on the dial, albeit you really need a microscope with meter to capture that!

 

[Mr. Pap]

Here's another pic of same watch....it is the first and only time I've ever seen a PO straight 'out of the box' with pearl that is almost (almost!) gen like. I hope these become the version that all the dealers ship.

I think this pearl is one of best,if not the best, that i have seen... still not perfect but very good... DO you ahve a straight pic to see how the alignment is?

 

[drbollocko]

I know the He valve is off, and the crown, that wasn't even in disscussion
....one step at a time and all that

Yes the dial and pearl are much improved, to get genlike lume it still needs new dial and hands but the pearl is excellent as far as I can see.

Here is a better more detailed pics of same version....not my pic and not straight on but will give a much better idea! I'm just trying to get clarification from a few forums whether this is a new version of 5th gen (say 5th gen v2 )
or is it just an anomaly from the factories?? Please if anyone sees any in qc pics or elsewhere could they keep the thread updated so we can find out! I apologise in advance for the enormous pic, I can remove it if it annoys thread readers or mods.

 

[boostin20]

Here's another pic of same watch....it is the first and only time I've ever seen a PO straight 'out of the box' with pearl that is almost (almost!) gen like. I hope these become the version that all the dealers ship.

I hate to tell you, but none of those pearls on any watches in the first few posts looks close to gen. Not even close.

 

[Kal Vilmer]

I hate to tell you, but none of those pearls on any watches in the first few posts looks close to gen. Not even close.

What can be done about those pearls? can they be fixed with epoxy like the ones on subs? And what about those insanely huge crowns? can those be fixed?

TIA

KV

 

[Q5?]

Looks like the diameter of the rep pearl is to large for a Gen pearl swap. That method only cost around $65. ( the price of a used SMP insert on eBay)
If you try the Gen bezel swap (roughly $240 from ofrei.com) you risk not having a perfect rotating action.

The crown/tube looks to be a straight forward swap. You might need to mill a small recess for the crown to sit tighter to the case. I'll let our good friend R2D4 inform you guys on his method of doing this.

Same story for the HEV.

And since you are doing all that......
Gen dial should be easy to do as are the hour and minute hands. The second hand might need to be broached.

The date wheel swaps easy.

The crystal is a snap. You don't need the Gen crystal gasket.

Good luck.

 

[drbollocko]

I hate to tell you, but none of those pearls on any watches in the first few posts looks close to gen. Not even close.

I'm sorry mate but seeing as I own a gen PO I'd say I have to disagree, I'm trying to source a few of these for a few people I know and tbh, while not identical to gen it is by far the best I've ever seen.

You mean to tell me that this isn't close to gen:

Here's a picture of my own gen in the attachment below:
Pic removed!

 

[drbollocko]

Been doing a bit of investigation and from what I can gather, all new 5th gen 42mm PO's will come from the factory similar to wrist shot version above, they can be already seen filtering through to some of the dealers in the black/white PO which is the most popular, so they are filtering through faster.

The Orange versions are getting there but it may be a while yet (not selling as fast!) and they still need to sort of the flush of the pearl even in the latest orange offerings. I think the basic idea is, order from whoever but if they present you with the old version 5th gen on QC, reject it without hesitation!

I think a thorough examination of the pearl is still needed on the QC pics of this newer revision anyway as even with the better recessed pearl on these, there still can be 'factory' quirks which mean some will be positioned and finished better than others.

While we may never get 1:1 pearl from the factories, this could be as good as it gets. As it is, it's pretty good and these versions may assist people in saving a few quid on a franken if they don't want to go all out. Think of all the sleepless nights omega rep fans went through with the old smp pearl years ago aswell, who knows we might see a better smp bond redux version in a year or two with new and improved pearl I wouldn't hold my breath though

Now if only they could go all out and shave about a mm off its diameter and centre the bloody thing, lol!

 

[teoulennon]

What dealer is the above PO from? It looks good to me!

 

[drbollocko]

That one I believe is from Tony @ Asian7750, I think quite a few dealers do have them now, most of the older version have been 'moved on' Whether you get one like the one above, only you can decide on QC pics etc. Lay has them now aswell. Josh and Andrew were still shipping the older version upto a week or two ago but even they seem to have got their act together. Just be careful with the orange bezel versions, these still seem to have a more protruding 'zit' pearl than the updated black bezels.

 

[gkohn]

Here's another pic of same watch....it is the first and only time I've ever seen a PO straight 'out of the box' with pearl that is almost (almost!) gen like. I hope these become the version that all the dealers ship.

Which dealer is this from?

 

[sub4me]

Heres mine.

No one realized this was my gen, wow.

 

[Q5?]