The Iwc Aquatimer Chronograph Cousteau Divers

[ravishingrick]

Believing the hype, consuming out of fear is certainly daft.. Oh no... If you don't have your 50$ Asia 7750 s serviced for 200$ then it will break... Oh my god.. lets ship it immediately for a service... Pause... think.... 50$ movement? 200$ servicing? Intelligent or daft? Consumption out of fear, the number one motivator of human actions.

I have only on one occasion found dust in 1 of the 14 reps I have owned and that was under the crystal of my 4th generation Fiddy, not in the movement... Dirty crystal, sent it back to the dealer and got a replacement. What would you think that would have cost me if I had a these watches serviced immediately after receiving the watch... 14 watches X average service costs 100$=> 1.4k$, now thats being daft. None of my Swiss movements have died up untill now.

Replacing a rotor is a 2 minute job, does this imply that they have assembled the complete movement, I think not. It could be that they have only replaced the rotor for decoration, but this is only an assumption, I do not have the facts.

If these watches where assembled in an ammature sweat shops, in dirty circumstances you would more then likely find dust under the crystal, do you think the HBB and and IWC CD are assembled by armatures? In sweat shops? Do you think the rep HBB/IWC CD has been conceived planned, engineered, mass produced in someones garage/sweatshop? Wakeup, these watches have been churned out by a professional factory as stated numerous times by Angus.

Each to her/his own, for me personally I take my chances on an unserviced Swiss 7750 over the 50$ Asia 7750 + 200$ service any day...

Where did you get the information that ETA 7750's are assembled in Chinese sweat shops?

They are 100% certainly installed into the watches in sweat shops and you can be sure that they're partially built in chinese back rooms as well as they have printed rotors. :shock:

You'll never know what grime worked its way into the movement and I've heard several stories of stuff like rusted rotor screws in swiss movements due to finger prints. Buying an expensive rep and not getting is serviced, or at least looked at by an expert, is possibly daft.

 

[pugwash]

If these watches where assembled in an ammature sweat shops, in dirty circumstances you would more then likely find dust under the crystal, do you think the HBB and and IWC CD are assembled by armatures? In sweat shops? Do you think the rep HBB/IWC CD has been conceived planned, engineered, mass produced in someones garage/sweatshop? Wakeup, these watches have been churned out by a professional factory as stated numerous times by Angus.

If by armatures you mean amateurs, then by definition, no. They're paid, they're not amateurs. They may not be highly skilled workers, though.

Have you ever seen pictures of a Chinese counterfeit watch 'factory'? The word factory is a misnomer. The parts are made by fabricators and they're shipped from several locations to an assembler. These assemblers are usually a dozen women sat at a long bench, picking parts from open boxes and putting watches together. They're not what you would think of when you thought of a Swiss watch factory.

Angus wants us to imagine pristine clean rooms with masked white robed experts brandishing the latest Bergeon tools through the finest optical headsets known to man. This is just marketing fluff.

Yes, I believe these watches are assembled in movable sweat shops.

 

[OldeCrow]

I hate to break it to you guys while you are in the middle of a great debate but I think you are both right.
They are indeed made in sweatshops they are just really big sweatshops and perhaps they really are professional by someones standards. I put every rep case and bracelet I buy into my ultrasonic cleaner(separately) when I get it and I have not bought one yet that did not turn my cleaning solution into toxic waste. I am surprised at how clean the movements are compared to the inside of the case though so movements are made in much cleaner environments than the case and location of the final assembly.

 

[pugwash]

Just to clarify, at no point did I say that all watches need servicing upon purchase. And neither do I believe that the Swiss 7750 (or even the asian 7750) is built in a sweat shop by amateurs.

 

[audemarsfan]

I have one on order already (last night actually, mine's already shipped!), so we'll see how it is. I've wanted one of these since I first saw pics up on TRC last year; it's been a long time coming. Double AR-coating and working inner bezel sealed the deal for me.

Flaws? Sure, but I think we're getting beyond critical and reaching a point of unreasonable WISiness. These reps AREN'T genuine and should be held to the same standards. Look at it this way, the cheapest genuine chrono with day/date I'd buy is a hamilton at $800 street. I'd much rather have this piece, even with the poor lume.

I really appreciate Angus and the other dealers who involve us in the design process. I think we should take advantage of this cooperation instead of using it as a platform to pick these reps apart. Of course they were cheaper 3 years ago. Remember we didn't have AR coating, 7750s, hell even decent watch bands back then. We were all thrilled buying our submariners and day dates for $300 with flaws we'd cringe at today.

Sorry, got long-winded, I just hate to see the way things have escalated in nit-pickiness lately.

 

[Virgil Hilts]

Screw it. I bought one. All the whining and bitching about this watch has been cracking me up to no end. You want a perfect version? Buy the original. I'll post pics when I get it.

 

[shultz]

@ audemarsfan and virgil:

Fully agree! Would you be so kind to post pics of the watches later? I am going to pull the trigger, too (I have a new swiss 7750 in stock ready to be swapped). But I am still interested how the lume especially of the inner bezel is.
Thnaks in advance!

 

[Sylar]

TWP also has a few of these available if they are not spoken for.

 

[pugwash]

We were all thrilled buying our submariners and day dates for $300 with flaws we'd cringe at today.

Much like people were thrilled to buy laptops for $3000 a while back. Times change.

It's not so much the price as the price compared to other watches. I'll wait for the plain Aquatimer rep.

 

[audemarsfan]

Pug, I don't mind being an early adopter, I've always been that way. I was the guy that bought the first Apple Newton before PDAs were cool, I'll be the guy that buys the Apple iPhone before the paint dries on the "Just Arrived!" sign. It's part of the thrill of discovery.

 

[pugwash]

I was the guy that bought the first Apple Newton before PDAs were cool, I'll be the guy that buys the Apple iPhone before the paint dries on the "Just Arrived!" sign. It's part of the thrill of discovery.

I have 2 Newtons, a Powerbook 5300 and had my Nintendo 64 3 days after Japanese release. I did the early adopter thing, but I can wait for this one.

ps. I've just moved back to the UK and am on PAYG (unlocked RAZRv3i/iTunes) until the Apple iPhone is released. I refuse to get locked into a contract until it's got an iPhone in it.

 

[moggio]

for $788 I would rather buy Sinn U1 or U2...better and sexier...

sweatshops no more for this price

 

[audemarsfan]

Fortunately I'm a Cingular customer already. I've also got a brother-in-law that works for a college bookstore that has one on order for me, so I'll have it as soon as it's available.

You're probably right Pug on the IWC, but I've been on a buying binge since coming back from Vegas. I went to Tourneaus there, which is like Disneyland for watch fans. I made at least 5 trips there during the four days we were there. I saw the IWC there, the new Chopard, as well as the BR01 and BR03s and drooled the entire time. I held off buying anything there but blew a ton on stuff from Angus and TWP this week.

 

[salgny]

for $788 I would rather buy Sinn U1 or U2...better and sexier...

sweatshops no more for this price

I agree for that price I would defenitley buy a gen ORIS or Sinn which is much better quality for the price. I can understand paying $300+ for nice rep but not $700-800 when you can get a much better quality gen watch IMHO.

 

[D]

anyone order???

 

[MK08]

I was ready to be an early adopter and jump on the Cousteau bandwagon, but with the pricing I decided to pick up on some of the Pams on my shortlist. Still for whoever gets it looks like a great watch, just a little high for me I'll play the waiting game and see if a price drop comes.

 

[moggio]

why wait for this..just buy a gen Oris or SINN superbbb

 

[astig]

ive been waiting for user pics of this watch. :roll:

 

[fletch512]

If the price drops dramatically, I might get one. Right now, there's no way I'm going to pay this much for an Asian 7750. I don't know anyone in my area that will service a rep, so it's too much of a gamble on the movement. Also, the lack of lume shots makes me think that the lume must be pretty weak. I doubt if anyone will be able to relume the detailing on the inner bezel well enough.

 

[lolex]

Given the choice....which would you guys go for? Costeau Divers or 3717???