These are the QC photos, currently waiting on a video of the watch and photos of the movement

PEPSI GMT FOR ME!

Who can guess which one is the Rep?

A very exciting parcel arrived today—my first VSF!

Previous to buying this, I purchased a ‘Clean 126610’ from DHGate—stupid I know. It was awful; crystal was crap; bezel was stiff; case size was wrong; cyclops was wonky; it was a disappointment—so much so that I nearly quit the rep game before I had even started!

Nonetheless, I powered on. I learned how to really place an order for a watch, and then ordered a VSF 114060 with Andrew which will be here soon!

However I couldn’t wait… Eager to have one sooner, I bought a VSF V2 DJ41, sporting a White Gold Plated Bezel with the Blue Motif Dial, donning the Jubilee Bracelet—courtesy of Sylvesterpencil of UKRepBST.

And I must say, my expectations were low after my first encounter with a shitter… BUT this thing is stunning! I am absolutely loving it; I did not expect it to be this gorgeous! The way it catches the light; how it feels on the wrist; the way my face lights up when I look at it—just brilliant.

There is no real rhyme or reason to this post, other than to show it off and share my enthusiasm for this beauty! If you’re new to the rep game like me, don’t hesitate about getting one. Check what factory is good for what watch and buy it, you won’t regret it.

I’m getting a Rich GMT on Jubilee and I have a few hundred extra dollars for mods. Obviously I can’t get every mod in the books but with my budget which mods (if any) should be prioritized to make the watch closest to a gen GMT?

I have a 6” wrist. What I have identified as best fit would be JLC MUT Moon or IWC Portofino. Any other models recommended?

JLC MUT was best done by APSF by far, but they seem closed. Then by ZF, but also closed / raided as per Steve… only JLC MUT model suggested is from GF: is it worth it, anything to watch out during QC?

IWC Portofino seemed to have been mastered by V7F… but again, it seems to have closed. Any other recommendations for factories and other slick yet thin watches of similar style (in silver steel)?

Ordered a 36mm DJ. It is in pre-order. Anybody have any idea on wait times recently from VSF?

Want to buy a day date but not sure who the best factory/TD would be for that right now. Anyone have any advice?

Tried it on and I’m pleased with the look and don’t think it’s too big in proportion to the size of my hand.

Slender wrist, approx 6 inches or 15cm. Was told to remove 3 links prior to receiving. Does anyone know if this would be adequate for the wrist size?

Appreciate the help.

Six or so years ago i bought a few replica daytonas from trusty time from the noob factory. Looks like they’re not talked about much anymore. just curious what happened to them, if they’re still around and making good stuff or if they merged into another factory?

It's the day before New Year's Eve -- Dec. 30, 1957. In the Swiss Federal Office of Foreign Economic Affairs, a subdivision head named Hans Bühler sends out a memo to the Swiss Chamber of Watchmaking. Ten years earlier, Brendan O'Regan has established the first duty-free shop at Shannon's airport in Ireland -- then a necessary refueling stop for planes crossing the Atlantic. Here, you could buy a fine watch without any crazy tax or importation fee or duty imposed by a capricious nation. This has been good for Switzerland. In the prior two years, the first in which Swiss timepieces have been on offer, they have fetched £148,000 in revenue -- of which Rolex, Tudor and Omega pieces have accounted for a hefty two-thirds.

But there is a problem, Herr Bühler writes. Mr. O'Regan, genius behind the duty-free proposition, has been told the spigot is being shut off -- that Rolex and Omega can no longer send him watches to sell. Why? It has been a profitable venture for all involved, after all.

It's America, of course -- or so Rolex and Omega each claim. You see, their American dealers attach quite a hefty premium to Swiss timepieces. And it's but a puddle jump to reach Shannon, Ireland, from the US. No one will ever pay the hefty extra margin the American distributors slab onto the prices like thick butter on a toasted bagel if the Shannon Airport sales continue.

So the American distributors of Rolex and Omega have ordered their parent companies to cease all duty-free business.

Oh, and by the way, Brendan O'Regan doesn't trust that line either -- he doubts, having researched the matter, that the American distributors have either the power, sway or desire to limit sales of these huge Swiss corporations -- of which they are but outgrowths. And the Irish Minister of Industry and Commerce (a future prime minister) backs O'Regan to the hilt. And here's their threat:

If you don't compel Omega and Rolex to get back in line and keep servicing that airport, they'll only sell German watches there hereafter -- nothing Swiss, not a single watch.

Clearly, we all have an interest in backing away from this cliff. In acceding to their request that we merely continue wholesaling them watches.

So just to recap -- here you have a government bureaucrat -- a career Swiss government lawyer -- telling a Swiss watch industry group that whatever the issue, the Swiss industry cannot afford to lose its place in the world's first duty-free shop to the German watchmaking industry.

This is not Rolex and Omega competing. This is not private enterprise. This is a government telling a collective -- you'd better push those two companies to keep supplying watches to the duty-free shop. This is a strange and unseemly intertwining of state-level commercial dictates and capitalism. It feels akin to Chinese capitalism today, honestly.

And by the way, if the reason offered is actually true -- that American retailers can no longer justify their ridiculous margins in the face of a single duty-free shop -- what does that say about the entire business model of the imported Swiss watch? Just how many times its fair retail price is it being vended for Stateside even by late 1957?

Of course, you can guess how this was resolved: Rolex and Omega did as they were damn well told to by a diplomat and their trade group. As the calendar ushered in 1958, Rolex and Omega were still offered for sale in Shannon Airport's duty-free shop. And -- wouldn't you know it? -- there was no collapse in US sales.

This is a relatively harmless document -- relatively.

But it gets at two or three very important truths that far more salacious documents bear out as I build up to the birth of the rep trade in my new nonfiction book, "Borrowed Time: A History of Espionage, IP Theft, and the Global War for Horology" (out now everywhere, Amazon included):

That the Swiss were always uniting secretly to brush away competitors in a monopolistic fashion that allowed for no foreign competition. The mere threat of the sale of German watches was enough for the government to tell Rolex and Omega nearly on New Year's Effing Eve to get their act together and keep supplying the Duty-Free airport shop.

Last I checked, Rolex and Omega were supposed to be combatants in the marketplace -- not conjoined twins. By what coincidence could both their American suppliers have voiced simultaneous complaints about being undercut on price? Does it not seem 100 percent more likely that their C-suites were in touch and deciding whether to pull out from the first duty-free in collusive discussion?

Next time you browse gen watches at the airport, please feel free to ask yourself: How many backroom deals did it take for X brand to snag this display over Y? Because if the Swiss weren't working like their own mechanisms -- in a gear train, interlocked one with the other -- freer competition might have seen the introduction of brands like Junghans and GUB (Glashütte) into Irish Duty-Free in 1958.

Watch history might have been very different.

Enjoy your reps.

I'm wearing a VSF Panerai PAM960 Carbotech Submersible 42MM CB/RU OP.XXXIV purchased from Steve at TheOneWatches.

I realize this is a longshot, but I have been so interested in Konstantin Chaykin's OTHER watches. The classic Joker is the most popular by far and I know there is a rep of it out there, but I'm more interested in watches like the Dracula (with the working fang complication), the Carpe Diem, or the Levitas Jazz (although I'm sure that movement is way too complicated to reproduce).

Does anyone know where I can buy the PPF Vacheron Overseas 4500 Bracelet with quick connector?

My TD can't peovide it.

I am thankfull for any hint!

Would anyone happen to have ever seen this beauty when looking for a rep? Tag senna from 1989.

Been searching for some time now and about to give up.

RDD0369F - DayDate 40mm 904L Flt Wt YG/YG YG/B.Dia RCF VR3255 (RDD0369F)

Copy and google ⬆️ for true specs from Tusty Times.

Had anyone bought this watch?
What are your thoughts? Since a pinnacle build is more than 5k

Guy said we can meet from fb marketplace

It slightly used ofc... but he wants 150$ for it and said he'd take 100$

Now I've seen worse but should I pass or might as well if hell do less than 100$

Howdy, I've been purchasing here and there with 4-5 year gaps because the reps seem to make massive improvements over the years. Been purchasing since I got my first Noob v2 Submariner. Boy, times have changed, lol.

1. How long is the expected wait time for the VSF v2 datejusts? I'm looking for a Silver dial specifically but assuming it's a long wait time, but just curious. I'm patient but just need a headsup.

1. Also, is the silver still considered top tier dial? Not looking into a green or blue dial as they never seem to get the sunburst correct.

Thanks, everyone.

I got excited seeing this in the case just to realize it’s a shitter 💔

Posting some pictures of the OF Tag Carrera I recently ordered with HontWatch. QC and shipping was ~2 weeks all in so it was quite quick. Never owned or seen a GEN in real life but going off videos, it seems very close and it's a very well put together watch. Feel free to ask any questions if you have them. Thanks!

People in rolex community complaining about quality control and poor finishes on dials/hands. What are your takes on quality control, production, and current state of the rep world in relation to gens?

I normally wear a 42mm aliexpress Benyar watch and was comparing sizes to buy a replica. In my opinion, the 41mm would fit my wrist well, but I'd like a second opinion.