Why you should always buy TD (Tudor Black Bay comparison)

[kanooatrun]

@De6ix

 

[WPB33405]

I'd love to see these comparisons, but it seems the pix have "expired"?

 

[Elong]

It's been said time and time again in the world of rep watches that it is highly inadvisable to buy from non-trusted dealers. Here's why.

Before I became aware of the rep watch community, I looked to aliexpress as a starting point. I figured why not see what there is to offer, if the watch stinks I'll just get my money back. I've bought other non-rep related items through aliexpress and there's never an issue if the product isn't as described or it gets stuck in customs. So getting a rep watch sounds like a good plan, right?
Wrong.

Here's the Aliexpress listing:
As you'll notice, it references an asian 2836, the correct type of movement for a rep like this.
They obviously steal someone else's photos and pass them off as their own.

Now admittedly this is the where you should see the red flags and know that there's no way a watch like that is going to be sold, especially for the 100 bucks the seller is charging. But I was feeling ambitious and thought of it as a gamble. I mean what they send out (if they even send me anything) can't be that bad, right?
Wrong.

Here's what I received after a good 30 day journey through EMS.

Stunning isn't it?
Oh wait, that's not the cheap aliexpress watch! That's actually the beautifully done ZF v4 which I later bought from Ryan at InTime.

THIS is the "2016 role Luxury tudorness" they sent me.

Yuck.

Take a look side by side: Z4 on left, role Luxury tudorness on right

Nothing is correct with the watch. The pearl, the bezel, the crown, the indicies, the hands, the paint - all inferior to the ZF v4 and laughable as far as a replica goes.
There's noticeable grime and gunk in the interior of the dial and on the snowflake hands. The bezel barely even clicks when it turns -- it feels like there's legitimate sludge between the ratcheting.
Just looking at this watch, not to mention handling it, makes me want to take a long shower.
It feels that gross.

Here's some more comparison shots between the two

I mean there's even sludge on the poorly engraved caseback! Where the hell did they make this thing anyway?

Here's some macro shots

ZF v4
and...

true "Luxury" with a capital "L"

Now to be fair it's not all complete crap.
The 2016 role Luxury tudorness actually does the tell-tale rose better than the z4.

Here you can see the left side of the rose on the ZF v4 doesn't look so fresh

But our dirty rep definitely has a clean rose

Aside from the rose being a little better, there's not much difference in the other printing

From what I can tell, the only thing these two share is the case. I haven't noticed any difference between them but you might be able to tell.
ZF v4 has the clean crown

So even if you're not a super rep aficionado, even if you don't care if it's THAT good of a replica -- you still have a nice asian 2836 in all its 28,000bph glory, right?

Wrong.


In conclusion I want this to be an educational experience for new and old buyers alike. I took the risk so you don't have to and now I have a watch so hideous even the sellers on canal street wouldn't go near it.
Now the annoying part is when I wrote back to the seller and wanted a refund because the watch is obviously not as advertised, the strangest thing happened! The watch shop had been deleted and aliexpress more or less told me I was SOL. Same goes with my bank.

At the end of the day I'm not exactly crying since I knew the risks and took the chance anyway... but still, that's a good 100 that could have been put to so many other horological uses.

Don't be a sucker! There are other comparisons out there and every single time the verdict is the same. You simply will not be given a quality rep.
Ever.

glad i read this i was looking at some nice photos in ali but thats enough for me to keep away . thanks

 

[rlincing]

Thanks for the comparisons.

 

[bellssn690]

Thanks for posting this because it's all good information for the newbie like me.