ZF AP 15500

[legend]

I work in the financial district where as you can imagine there are many watches, you're not getting called out for this ZF 15500 in real life. I've seen many many AP's in my life. Sure if you have time to study watches you'll notice differences... but the reality is I see a watch for 10-15 seconds at most... it would be weird to stare at someone elses watch. And I'll be honest it's only us watch enthusiasts that want to talk watches.

Most of the people wearing AP/Patek know very very little about watches... they bought it because they were pretty exclusive and cost about what they wanted to spend and was a good make.
Even less of the people wearing Rolex know anything about the haute horology sector...

Anyway, the bracelet is top notch, very few differences to gen. Which is quite entertaining actually since AP themselves attribute most of the RO cost to bracelet manufacture... so to think some Chinese back road factory got it 90-95% right, is pretty amazing.

The rotor is quite noisy but helicopter loud is a bit of an exaggeration, if you spin it sure... but on the wrist meh it's fine and is fixed with a bit of oil for the rotor.

The trained eye to spot it isn't gen would really have to know AP and also again... not just be looking at it on your wrist for a normal glance. They'd have to stare.. it just doesn't happen in the real world. We're obsessive here, but very few people take it us far as us. We do it because we're over compensating as in our brain we know its a replica. 99% of people have ZERO clue its a replica and a good 95% of the same people don't even know AP...

As for wrist size... I have an 8" wrist and I needed an extra link. I think the cut off is about 7.75" which in fairness is quite generous...

All in all, as you say.. this is a fantastic rep and you're certainly not getting called out for it. If you take your watch off and let someone stare at it and compare to gen, obviously. But who does that in the real world? It just does not happen.

It's an incredible out of the box rep, with a few minor minor modifications.. Rotor, fixing crooked AP logo if you have one.
The movement is fine too, since you don't have to low beat it. Does the movement look perfect? Obviously not, but again... real world. Who is looking at the bottom of your watch? haha

yes. Real world differences vs academic differences. Discussions on this forum are mostly, if not totally about the latter.
Regarding the former, it also includes the person wearing the watch and how he carries it off.

 

[YellowFin]

yes. Real world differences vs academic differences. Discussions on this forum are mostly, if not totally about the latter.

Not at all! Even my wife and her friends forget about the Tupper party going on around them once they start getting into SELs, datewheel fonts and Tapisserie accuracy... :whistling-1:

 

[legend]

Not at all! Even my wife and her friends forget about the Tupper party going on around them once they start getting into SELs, datewheel fonts and Tapisserie accuracy... :whistling-1:

Lol Tupperware party is a term I haven’t heard in a long while. Is this still a thing now?

But I think you get it, that often we obsess, discuss, debate and argue over stuff in forums which hardly get noticed in real life... I think your wife has enough wisdom to focus on her Tupperware hobby rather than this crazy one we share. :hehehe:


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[Hertzen]

Thank you for replies guys.

Sonofalich - agree with everything, but with a few caveats.


You mentioned movement as a tell.
Yes, it's an obvious tell if you remember exactly how correct one looks like.
However, fake looks good enough for 99% of the people to assume it's "a different version" or a mode.

For me it's less about being called out - I don't want (or don't need) to pass it as gen.
I can openly admit it's not to everyone who asks.
At the same time, I expect nobody around me to ask it or openly call it out.
Most of the people either don't care or are polite enough not to raise this question non-privately.

I guess the fact that I could own a gen helps.
If I had this rep 10 years ago, while I was studying and living on $300 per month it would, of course, raise a lot of doubts.
But at the same time I guess 99.99% of people in my college didn't even know or care what AP is...

 

[shortlegs]

But I think you get it, that often we obsess, discuss, debate and argue over stuff in forums which hardly get noticed in real life... I think your wife has enough wisdom to focus on her Tupperware hobby rather than this crazy one we share. :hehehe:


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But if we don't fuss over all the nonsensical and minor details.. Then where's the fun in that? :thumbsup:

 

[legend]

But if we don't fuss over all the nonsensical and minor details.. Then where's the fun in that? :thumbsup:

That reminds me that two days back I met a highly qualified doctor friend who gave me a hell of a difficult time explaining how his watches have misaligned markers but I must say that I have since learnt a lot about what real alignment is about.
I think he’s a guy we mutually know so if you see him again just thank him for me. :hehehe:


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[shortlegs]

That reminds me that two days back I met a highly qualified doctor friend who gave me a hell of a difficult time explaining how his watches have misaligned markers but I must say that I have since learnt a lot about what real alignment is about.
I think he’s a guy we mutually know so if you see him again just thank him for me. :hehehe:


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Ah that blardy jackass? Downright asshole. Sure I'll sucker punch him for ya lol.. :jeff:

 

[RonP]

Thank you for replies guys.

Sonofalich - agree with everything, but with a few caveats.


You mentioned movement as a tell.
Yes, it's an obvious tell if you remember exactly how correct one looks like.
However, fake looks good enough for 99% of the people to assume it's "a different version" or a mode.

For me it's less about being called out - I don't want (or don't need) to pass it as gen.
I can openly admit it's not to everyone who asks.
At the same time, I expect nobody around me to ask it or openly call it out.
Most of the people either don't care or are polite enough not to raise this question non-privately.

I guess the fact that I could own a gen helps.
If I had this rep 10 years ago, while I was studying and living on $300 per month it would, of course, raise a lot of doubts.
But at the same time I guess 99.99% of people in my college didn't even know or care what AP is...

I have a house and enough savings to buy 6 gens but even then it is still out of my price range given my lifestyle.

A gen costs £20,000 here in the UK. I wouldn't be comfortable spending that unless I was earning £200,000 a year.

Only the absolute diehard fanatics would get this on a regular middle class salary. There's simply more other important things to spend the money on. This is how 90% of people think.

So unless you are earning megabucks people will question if it's a gen but thankfully most have never heard of it. The bracelet is very eye catching (especially under bright lights) though which could lead to people researching into it.

 

[Hertzen]

I have a house and enough savings to buy 6 gens but even then it is still out of my price range given my lifestyle.

A gen costs £20,000 here in the UK. I wouldn't be comfortable spending that unless I was earning £200,000 a year.

Only the absolute diehard fanatics would get this on a regular middle class salary. There's simply more other important things to spend the money on. This is how 90% of people think.

So unless you are earning megabucks people will question if it's a gen but thankfully most have never heard of it. The bracelet is very eye catching (especially under bright lights) though which could lead to people researching into it.

I by no means would call what I earn megabucks, but I would say I'm in range of your estimates for people who can afford it.
I also spend very little comparing to most people of similar earnings, as I'm still young (<30), single, and spend most time in a country where everything is cheap now.
£200,000 is not a lot of money for UK, but it's a different story when most people around earn £10,000. Having kids vs being alone also changes math drastically.

Back to watch, to not derail the topic: 2 flaws slightly bothering me so far are rotor noise and creaky bracelet.
Gens feel monolith, rep produces a lot of noise when you play with it.
Both these "problems" could be cured with decent lubricant, I guess.
I couldn't find any manuals on how to do it here, but could be I just missed - let me know if they exist. Would be happy to learn to do it myself,

 

[legend]

I have a house and enough savings to buy 6 gens but even then it is still out of my price range given my lifestyle.

A gen costs £20,000 here in the UK. I wouldn't be comfortable spending that unless I was earning £200,000 a year.

Only the absolute diehard fanatics would get this on a regular middle class salary. There's simply more other important things to spend the money on. This is how 90% of people think.

So unless you are earning megabucks people will question if it's a gen but thankfully most have never heard of it. The bracelet is very eye catching (especially under bright lights) though which could lead to people researching into it.

Ah the fabled income to expenditure ratio. Makes sense.
I will say this is a very personal decision though you’re right, it is a rather hardcore decision to get a gen brand new AP for middle income earners. That is one reason I always say that the way a wearer presents and carries himself also needs to be consistent with the perceived value of the watch (gen and rep both). I have seen a regular office worker wearing a rep RM and you can imagine how incompatible the watch is on the guy. Not the price of the watch given that it’s a rep but the image of it.

I happen to apply the 10% ratio as well for my watches and won’t wear anything which costs more than 10% of my annual income for that given year. It’s a sound ratio for many reasons but it’s not a place to discuss that.


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[Katarsis]

Just received it. First impressions are very good. Bulid quality is superb, rotor is more quiet than I thought. Well done Z-factory.

 

[SHB]

And suit perfectly your tattoo

 

[Katarsis]

And suit perfectly your tattoo

Thank you. That was very nice of you.

 

[srhoque]

Just received it. First impressions are very good. Bulid quality is superb, rotor is more quiet than I thought. Well done Z-factory.

Amazing wrist pics, as the other member mentioned - color of dial and tattoo seems to have blended in well. Not sure if it was intentional though...wear in good health and stay safe!!

Eagerly waiting for my gray to arrive. These wrists pics are making me wanting to have it earlier

 

[Katarsis]

Amazing wrist pics, as the other member mentioned - color of dial and tattoo seems to have blended in well. Not sure if it was intentional though...wear in good health and stay safe!!

Eagerly waiting for my gray to arrive. These wrists pics are making me wanting to have it earlier

Thank you. It was very unintentional. When I found this one unused on m2m I had to get it but now when you guys mentioned it, it does work well with the tattoo.

I was expecting it to feel small on my wrist since I only own watches 44mm and up but it wears large and I think that this is a keeper. Time will tell.

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[legend]

Time will tell.

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And meanwhile, it’ll tell time.

Ok I was waiting for that for a long time. Please pardon me and carry on :hehehe:


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[Katarsis]

And meanwhile, it’ll tell time.

Ok I was waiting for that for a long time. Please pardon me and carry on :hehehe:


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I see that you have the same case of lousy humor as me lol. :thumbup:

 

[Katarsis]

A few things that I love about this watch already is the bracelet, how it catches the light and how the link that is closest to you have a different color then the ones next to it.

The second one is that it has no cyclops.

The lume is really good for a rep watch. One of the better ones I've had. And the light reflects in the rehaut so that it appears to be small dots of lume outside of the indexes.

Last is the dial and how clean it is. I love that they removed the "automatic" and left the bottom part empty.

 

[RonP]

A few things that I love about this watch already is the bracelet, how it catches the light and how the link that is closest to you have a different color then the ones next to it.

The second one is that it has no cyclops.

The lume is really good for a rep watch. One of the better ones I've had. And the light reflects in the rehaut so that it appears to be small dots of lume outside of the indexes.

Last is the dial and how clean it is. I love that they removed the "automatic" and left the bottom part empty.

The bracelet is the highlight of the watch, gen or rep. I never got the hype of this watch until I saw one in person and saw how the bracelet caught the light. The dial is very nice but the bracelet is unlike any other watch. If you put this on a rubber strap, it wouldn't impress me that much.

 

[SHB]

Bracelet on RO is magical, i can watch it during hours when it catch the sunlight, roll n' roll lol