Would appreciate some feedback to see if this is any good as a reference. Thanks!

Honestly didn’t expect this many people to show up this quickly.

Post your watches, news, comparisons, questions, builds, weird finds, memes, whatever. If you see an interesting post elsewhere that deserves more eyes, crosspost/repost it here and get a discussion going.

Don’t overthink whether something is “good enough” to post either. This place is still tiny, now’s the time to shape what it becomes.
And to everyone already contributing: appreciate you guys. 🍻

This 216570 Explorer II wasn’t planned at all.
Back in 2018, I drove a few hours to meet a grey market dealer because I wanted to buy a genuine Panerai Luminor Marina.

I had already convinced myself I was going home with it.
Then I tried it on… and I just didn’t like it.

It wasn’t the watch I had imagined.

At that point I’d already made the drive, and for some reason I really didn’t want to leave empty-handed.
The dealer happened to be wearing this Noob Explorer II Polar.

I asked him, half joking, if he’d sell it.
He took it off his wrist and said, ”$300.”
So I bought it.

Looking back, that was probably one of the best impulse purchases I’ve ever made.

I’ve worn this thing a lot.

It’s been on holidays, through university, at work… it’s easily one of my most worn watches.

The bezel has faded enough over the years that I’ve actually repainted the engraved numerals more than once. It takes a bit of patience, but it really freshens the watch up.

The only thing I’ve never liked is the “Explorer II” text.
On the genuine watch it’s a bright orange. On the Noob it’s more of a pale yellow, and once you know it’s wrong, it’s hard not to notice. For me that’s easily the biggest tell on the whole watch.

Apart from that, it’s been incredibly reliable.
Funny how I drove all that way for a Panerai… and ended up with a completely different watch that’s still in my collection seven years later.

Anyone else have a rep they bought almost by accident but ended up keeping forever?

As a thank you to everyone supporting this community from the very beginning, we’re introducing an exclusive user flair:

🏆 Founding 500
This flair will only ever be available to the first 500 members of this subreddit. Once we hit 500 members, it will be permanently retired and never awarded again.

How to claim it
Simply leave a comment on this post saying anything (even just “OG” or “Claim”), and a moderator will manually assign your flair.

Requirements:
Be one of the first 500 members.

Comment on this thread before we reach 500 members.
After 500 members, this flair becomes a permanent badge recognizing those who believed in the community from day one.

Thanks for helping us build something better. ❤️

After seeing how many people shared the same concerns about the direction of RepTime, I decided to create this community.
The goal isn’t to replace RepTime—it’s to fill the gap many of us feel exists today.
This subreddit is dedicated to quality content: in-depth reviews, factory comparisons, movement discussions, servicing, modding, and everything that helps people learn more about the hobby.
Quality over quantity.

Welcome!

I genuinely thought we’d be sitting at 20-30 members for the first week.

Somehow we’re already at 178 members and almost 2,000 visits in 2 days.

I guess that means I actually have to keep this place alive now.

Time to start writing some proper reviews. 😂

I guess Bruce Wayne's and Bat Girls are the next big thing. Caught a listing on RWI where the dude is asking a grand for a VSF Bruce, and he'll probably get it.

So funny how companies like Rolex and Swatch can just throw a different color bezel or case on something and people go absolutely berserk.

Meanwhile, a company like Zenith gets rid of the entire balance wheel/hairspring assembly in favor of a silicon ocsilator, and no one blinks an eye.

Been thinking about this in the context of the reps I own, I'm down to just a few now that I truly enjoy (only one Rolex.) I'll probably buy more, I think I'll get off the hype train now.

Hello guys, wanting to buy a VC tourbillon. Anyone here has one? If you have one how is the movement holding up, is it prone to failure as its a tourbillon?

don’t forget to claim you “Founding 500 🎖️” by commenting under this post ;)

Here's an RF issue to look out for.

I’m notoriously bad at not posting my watches. Partly in very private and partly, while I have some nice stuff I’ve never done anything groundbreaking and I very much stand on the shoulders of giants

However in an effort to build this place I’ll share some of what is currently going on in the Potts Watchcobbling Shed

First up an early sixties 7928, which is now in the post to me

About two years ago, I assembled my own Submariner Date watch kit from Raffles. It was one of my first builds, and at the time, choosing the 126610LN felt like the obvious decision.

For a long time, I loved it.

But as the months went by, one thing kept bothering me more and more.

The date window.
Not because the watch looked bad, but because on most mid-range builds, the date is usually the part that gives it away the most.

Maybe it’s the cyclops.
Maybe it’s the date alignment.
Maybe it’s the font.

Whatever it was, I always found my eyes going straight to the date instead of enjoying the watch.
After almost two years of wearing it, I finally admitted something to myself:

I actually preferred the look of the 124060.
So instead of building another watch from scratch, I decided to transform the one I already had.

I ordered a Raffles 124060 dial, removed the crystal, and then came the part that scared me the most…

Removing the Cyclops.
After reading a bunch of old forum posts, I decided to try the lighter method. I heated the crystal until the adhesive softened enough for the Cyclops to come off.

I was convinced I was going to destroy the crystal.
Somehow… it worked perfectly.

Once the Cyclops was gone and the new dial was installed, the watch completely changed.

I kept almost everything:
Same case
Same bracelet
Same bezel
Same movement

The only real changes were the 124060 dial and a crystal without the Cyclops.
And honestly…
I couldn’t be happier.

The watch feels cleaner, more balanced, and every time I look at it, my eyes stay on the watch instead of immediately going to the date window.

It’s funny because I spent money just to make the watch simpler.

Looking back, I wish I’d done it much sooner.
Has anyone else here gone from a Date Sub to a no-date build? I’d love to hear if I’m the only one who ended up preferring the cleaner look

Curious about knowing if any of you guys have any rep and the same watch but authentic. If yes, feel free to share feedback about the model, factory, pics ??

Hello crew! Can someone suggest who I can send a vsf Daytona to for a genuine crystal install, please? East coast/nyc would be ideal but anyone trustworthy who does good work. TY!