iwc reps

hey everyone, I'm glad I found this place. I was interested in buying a rep for a while but there's so little information to be found on Google - I think they are doing that deliberately.

I've learned a lot of new lingo which has helped me find even more info. I've read a lot about the IWC 3714, and despite being a "time-bomb" I think I'm going to get one anyways; granted I can find someone local to help improve it. I have someone in mind and I hope he's able to help. With this persons assistance I'd like to make this into a nice little project and keep everyone on here posted on how much more reliable the 3714 can be made.

the 3714 is a great watch and it's a shame more people can enjoy it reliably. Wish me luck!

I'm from Canada BTW.

Welcome to the forum 1WC!

The 3714 is indead a great looking and very classy watch. The problem is the same as all of the "Seconds at 6", or "Seconds at 12" reps including Rolex Datonas and several AP's. The modifications needed to an A7750 to run in these configurations just aren't reliable for the long term. So far the only REAL fix has been to mount a gen movement. I guess that the current versions are better than the first versions of the modifications, but they are still a time-bomb in the long run.

I have held off getting one myself, but that's more to do with deciding what dial design I want rather than worry about failure. I suspect that the way that I wear my watches would probably give me a pretty long run before it failed. If I were to wear a 3714 every day it might fail within a few months, but I rotate watches pretty much daily, and only wear any particular watch one or two days every couple of months or so. In between I let the power reserve run down, so the wear would be minimized.

So, if you are looking for a daily wear watch, it might be better to chose one with a froven reliability. But if you will only wear it occasionally, you might not see a failure for a long time.

Anyway, jump right in and join the discussions. For the most part folks here don't bite.

Kris

Hey Kris,

Yes, from what I've read the Seconds@6 friction is the culprit. While getting a gen movement would be the best solution, I'm looking for something more cost effective and less time consuming - I understand getting a gen movement can take some time. IF friction is the culprit, then I intend to find a way to reduce that friction. Graphite powder, DLC coatings and adding in extra rubies are 3 ways of doing it - perhaps there's another...

hahaha, I know I must sound naive - and in part I am. But you never know until you try.

Graphite has been tried, and it was only a bandaid, and sometimes made things WORSE by graphite contamination in the rest of the movement. Somebody DID come up with a way to add a couple of extra jewels to the seconds at 6 subassembly, but I haven't heard anything more about that in almost a year. That really is the real problem. The seconds at 6 assembly that is attached to the base A7750 isn't jeweled.