Hi Everyone,
As I spent longer and longer on RWI I found myself going deeper and deeper below the surface. Most recently, I’ve become a frequent face in the Ali-Express Non-Watch thread and have made quite a few purchases, benefiting from others’ reviews of the products they’ve purchased as I've gone.
In respect for that, and in an attempt to help other people in similar fashion, I’m going to start a new series of posts for my Ali Purchase Reviews called: The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty. Where I cover the good and bad aspects of a rep in terms of its gen likeness, as well as any QC issues that I may have encountered.
To kick off the series, I recently spent a chunk of my tax return on a duo of Louis Vuitton reps… So here we go!
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The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty: Louis Vuitton Keepall 55 and Porte Documents Voyage GM
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For some background, these bags were purchased through the Ali seller “Old Cobbler†for total purchase prices of:
$190 USD + $10 USD for the Keepall 55 hot-stamping the luggage tag
$240 USD + $10 USD for the PDV GM and hot-stamping the luggage tag
The bags also came with poorly put together dry bags (string stitching was coming off multiple places) and the PDV GM also came with a “Card of Authenticityâ€
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The Good:
Alright, hitting on the gen likeness of the bags (yes, I’m doing them jointly because they are qualitatively indistinguishable); they are pretty damn astonishing. Leather trim dimensions, shape, and stitching are all spot-on. Hardware is well engraved, properly lustrous, and accurately sized.
The Bad:
As far as I can tell the rivets on the gen are slightly smaller than on the rep but we’re talking millimeters of discrepancy here. Additionally, the curvature of some of the exterior D-ring hardware is at slightly harsher angles. The biggest flaw that these bags have is that they are the Damier Graphite and leather… Gens of this style are only produced in canvas so it’s an instantaneous tell to anyone in the know. Furthermore, the printing of this pattern on leather as opposed to canvas leads to a somewhat noticeable decrease in resolution. I.E. the "Louis Vuitton"s printed in some of the squares of the pattern lack crispness, and are only readable from certain angles due to the reflective tendencies of the leather.
The Dirty:
In terms of execution and quality when received, these bags were more or less immaculate. There is one loop’s worth of stitching on the Keepall that is ever so slightly looser than the rest (you have to REALLY be looking for it). There was also very minor scuffing on an approximately 3 cm section of the leather trim on the underside of the Keepall. The hot-stamping for one of the bags also has a miniscule abnormality on the lower leg of the “M†but it is barely noticeable.
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All in all, incredibly good buys and highly recommended. 9.5/10
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Now for what you actually care about: PICTURES!
[If there are particular pictures/angles you are interested in feel free to post below and I'll do my best to get it to you]
FULL IMGUR ALBUM
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Thanks for checking out the post and if you have any questions or suggestions for better formatting for future posts please let me know!
Happy hunting!
As I spent longer and longer on RWI I found myself going deeper and deeper below the surface. Most recently, I’ve become a frequent face in the Ali-Express Non-Watch thread and have made quite a few purchases, benefiting from others’ reviews of the products they’ve purchased as I've gone.
In respect for that, and in an attempt to help other people in similar fashion, I’m going to start a new series of posts for my Ali Purchase Reviews called: The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty. Where I cover the good and bad aspects of a rep in terms of its gen likeness, as well as any QC issues that I may have encountered.
To kick off the series, I recently spent a chunk of my tax return on a duo of Louis Vuitton reps… So here we go!
----
The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty: Louis Vuitton Keepall 55 and Porte Documents Voyage GM
----
For some background, these bags were purchased through the Ali seller “Old Cobbler†for total purchase prices of:
$190 USD + $10 USD for the Keepall 55 hot-stamping the luggage tag
$240 USD + $10 USD for the PDV GM and hot-stamping the luggage tag
The bags also came with poorly put together dry bags (string stitching was coming off multiple places) and the PDV GM also came with a “Card of Authenticityâ€
----
The Good:
Alright, hitting on the gen likeness of the bags (yes, I’m doing them jointly because they are qualitatively indistinguishable); they are pretty damn astonishing. Leather trim dimensions, shape, and stitching are all spot-on. Hardware is well engraved, properly lustrous, and accurately sized.
The Bad:
As far as I can tell the rivets on the gen are slightly smaller than on the rep but we’re talking millimeters of discrepancy here. Additionally, the curvature of some of the exterior D-ring hardware is at slightly harsher angles. The biggest flaw that these bags have is that they are the Damier Graphite and leather… Gens of this style are only produced in canvas so it’s an instantaneous tell to anyone in the know. Furthermore, the printing of this pattern on leather as opposed to canvas leads to a somewhat noticeable decrease in resolution. I.E. the "Louis Vuitton"s printed in some of the squares of the pattern lack crispness, and are only readable from certain angles due to the reflective tendencies of the leather.
The Dirty:
In terms of execution and quality when received, these bags were more or less immaculate. There is one loop’s worth of stitching on the Keepall that is ever so slightly looser than the rest (you have to REALLY be looking for it). There was also very minor scuffing on an approximately 3 cm section of the leather trim on the underside of the Keepall. The hot-stamping for one of the bags also has a miniscule abnormality on the lower leg of the “M†but it is barely noticeable.
----
All in all, incredibly good buys and highly recommended. 9.5/10
----
Now for what you actually care about: PICTURES!
[If there are particular pictures/angles you are interested in feel free to post below and I'll do my best to get it to you]
FULL IMGUR ALBUM
----
Thanks for checking out the post and if you have any questions or suggestions for better formatting for future posts please let me know!
Happy hunting!
