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RJRJRJ
PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:59 pm 
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Wild Ling, You Make my Heart Sing!
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Aftermarket or OEM are both fine with me, but dont fool yourself into thinking that they are equal. The OEM bezels are basically perfect (literally...its insane)..

The aftermarket ones are good, but you can usually pick it up and see slight flaws with the settings, prongs, and milling. But, they price is usually right.

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In2Deep
PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:02 pm 
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I've seen Liori's work online but never in person. Looks like they do good work. It would be interesting to see a black dialed SA with a single row of black diamonds ;)

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txturbo
PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:04 pm 
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The details in the oem bezel can not be milled in. They must be cast, the detail is crazy. The bezel is just as technical as the rest of the watch. If you just mill holes and press in diamonds it's not going to look the same.

The bezels with huge diamonds in them just don't look proportional IMHO.

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RJRJRJ
PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:41 pm 
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txturbo wrote:
The details in the oem bezel can not be milled in. They must be cast, the detail is crazy. The bezel is just as technical as the rest of the watch. If you just mill holes and press in diamonds it's not going to look the same.


You got me thinking (which doesnt happen very often..)... I wonder if the prongs are cast as well, and the diamonds are set from the underside and then covered..?? The prongs are so perfect that its seems to be too difficult to do by hand.

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Driver8
PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 4:37 am 
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txturbo wrote:
The details in the oem bezel can not be milled in. They must be cast, the detail is crazy. The bezel is just as technical as the rest of the watch. If you just mill holes and press in diamonds it's not going to look the same.

The bezels with huge diamonds in them just don't look proportional IMHO.

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Great photo txturbo - and an excellent illustration of why putting non-OEM diamonds on a watch is not a great idea if you are at all concerned about attention to detail.

Additionally, non-OEM ones suffer from the fact that the bezel has to be milled out, and from ALL that I've seen that is never perfect. Sometimes the ends of the minute "ticks" aren't removed by the milling ; sometimes there is "overcutting" that's visible, etc, etc. Personally I'm a stickler for perfection so OEM is the only way to go IMHO, but that's just me..... and I'm OCD-Boy when it comes to that kind of thing! :wink:

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:06 am 
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pdm wrote:
...For channel set diamonds, be they 5 to 15 points, you are not going to see any difference when it comes to the clarity, and little when it comes to color. E color is overkill, and VS1 is a waste of money -- those are more than sufficient for even engagement diamonds. Color G, H, maybe even down to I, is just fine. SIs are OK.

What you really do need to pay attention to, though, is the cut. This is by far the most important C, especially when it comes to small diamonds -- generally, the smaller the diamond, the less of time is spent on getting the cut right. It is a pity. The problem of course is that people can understand the scalar values of clarity, color, and size fine, but understanding the cut is very difficult. Unfortunately, when they are channel set, at most you can look at the diamond roundness, judge the table size, see how the facets come together, etc.; you wont know what’s hiding underneath.

Finally, as far as certification goes, I wish that they would do this so that a buyer can really see the dimensions. Although the vendor may be a great supplier, I doubt that someone will go to the expense of getting channel-set 5- to 10-points certified.
From a description I wrote on another forum...

Quote:
they are "Top Wesselton" rounds, "F-G" in color, VVS1 in clarity, ideal brilliant cut. IOW, near flawless diamonds, much higher quality and exponentially more expensive than the stones typically available on aftermarket bezels. Total CTW (carat weight) on the Evo is certificated at 1.14 meaning each of the 40 stones is slightly less than 3 points. Lady Breitling models with diamond bezels typically carry .57 CTW of the same quality stones albeit smaller. Breitling is well known in the watch industry for providing highest quality "joaillerie" timepieces to their customer base...
If you really want to be able to discern more of a difference between factory and aftermarket bezels, find an aftermarket diamond bezel for a lady Breitling and compare (to a factory bezel) with a 10X loupe. Obviously the smaller stones are markedly more difficult to finish and utilize in a watch bezel. If an aftermarket jeweler/supplier can provide a diamond bezel for a Lady Breitling even close to those shown below (and at a comparable lower price to his larger offerings) he would probably get a fair amount of business from satisfied customer referrals. Just my .02 worth... :wink:
Cheers,
Ron


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:27 am 
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pdm wrote:
Cory420 wrote:
Ordered a bezel from LIORI DIAMONDS in NY. They are going to mill out a genuine Breitling SA bezel while keeping the mid markers and then install 40 VS1, E certified diamonds. Decided to go this way instead of the true oem bezel. I think the single row of larger stones looks cleaner. Will update when in.
Cory


Hi there, I am a total newbie when it comes to Breitlings, but let me chime in regarding this post on diamonds.

For channel set diamonds, be they 5 to 15 points, you are not going to see any difference when it comes to the clarity, and little when it comes to color. E color is overkill, and VS1 is a waste of money -- those are more than sufficient for even engagement diamonds. Color G, H, maybe even down to I, is just fine. SIs are OK.

What you really do need to pay attention to, though, is the cut. This is by far the most important C, especially when it comes to small diamonds -- generally, the smaller the diamond, the less of time is spent on getting the cut right. It is a pity. The problem of course is that people can understand the scalar values of clarity, color, and size fine, but understanding the cut is very difficult. Unfortunately, when they are channel set, at most you can look at the diamond roundness, judge the table size, see how the facets come together, etc.; you wont know what’s hiding underneath.

Finally, as far as certification goes, I wish that they would do this so that a buyer can really see the dimensions. Although the vendor may be a great supplier, I doubt that someone will go to the expense of getting channel-set 5- to 10-points certified.



Now you sound like you know what you are talking about! Welcome sir and thank you for the insight!

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61jaguar
PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 12:29 pm 
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Having read all of the pro's and cons of OEM and aftermarket diamond bezels. I must say that I am convinced of the higher quality of the OEM's. It makes sence that the factory bezels are better in probley all respects. Having taken this also into account I decided on an aftermarket anyways. Sure I could have found some way to hussle up the funds for a factory one but my rational sences got the upper hand this time! Having seen many pics and spoken with many of you informed forum members. I still feel that the aftermarket diamonds will still complement the watch. While not as perfect as the OEM, it should be close enough to accent the watch accordingly. I am not a Breitling purist so that explains the choice.

When it comes to my antique car, then one could not find aa aftermarket nut or washer on the whole thing. So im a purist in this area. To contrast this, a good friend of mine has the same car. same color, engine size, interior etc... the differnce being in the fact that he uses pleanty of aftermarket parts. While I dont and would'nt, I must admit, while my car is original spec and all that, his is just as nice. So in the end its a matter of how it feels to you.

While the experts can spot a aftermarket from afar, us less experts can enjoy the diamond look too without spending a small fortune to do so..

cheers,
pete
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RJRJRJ
PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:36 pm 
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Hey Ron, you have any input on my theory that the OEM bezels' prongs may be cast with the bezel?

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acceldebt
PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:21 pm 
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Well,

As with any other purchase whether it is from aftermarket suppliers or OEM there are VARIABLES and some aftermarket products are higher quality than others. Personally, I don't like the double row of small diamonds that Breitling offers for the SA and prefer a single row of larger diamonds. I started with a Breitling double rowed bezel for my SA and gave it to my nephew and purchased a custom, single rowed bezel that I like better. I have an OEM diamond bezel for my Bentley that I couldn't be happier with too. So it's a matter of taste AND quality. There are many jewelers that are capable of "micro pave setting" that can customize ANY type of bezel you desire and as a matter of fact if you wanted to, you could go out and buy the diamonds yourself to ensure that you had the highest quality stones and then bring your LING and the diamonds to the craftsman and the craftsman would then CREATE your HIGH QUALITY bezel. So while I agree that you may get diminished quality aftermarket bezels at sellers from places like Ebay, it is a broad GENERALIZATION to say that "aftermarket" bezels are "lower quality". Below you can look at the link I have provided and you will see my SA with an aftermarket bezel and my Bentley with an OEM bezel. They are of equal quality even though the Bentley bezel is White Gold. I upgraded to the higher quality SA bezel that was not advertised. When speaking of these Ebay "aftermarket" bezels, in many cases they are FAKE versions of the OEM just like there are FAKE LINGS. In most cases when you are dealing with QUALITY craftsmen, CUSTOM products are generally of HIGHER quality if you are dealing with the proper source.

http://breitlingsource.com/images/postp ... glings.jpg

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Driver8
PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:55 am 
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acceldebt wrote:
Well,

As with any other purchase whether it is from aftermarket suppliers or OEM there are VARIABLES and some aftermarket products are higher quality than others. Personally, I don't like the double row of small diamonds that Breitling offers for the SA and prefer a single row of larger diamonds. I started with a Breitling double rowed bezel for my SA and gave it to my nephew and purchased a custom, single rowed bezel that I like better. I have an OEM diamond bezel for my Bentley that I couldn't be happier with too. So it's a matter of taste AND quality. There are many jewelers that are capable of "micro pave setting" that can customize ANY type of bezel you desire and as a matter of fact if you wanted to, you could go out and buy the diamonds yourself to ensure that you had the highest quality stones and then bring your LING and the diamonds to the craftsman and the craftsman would then CREATE your HIGH QUALITY bezel. So while I agree that you may get diminished quality aftermarket bezels at sellers from places like Ebay, it is a broad GENERALIZATION to say that "aftermarket" bezels are "lower quality". Below you can look at the link I have provided and you will see my SA with an aftermarket bezel and my Bentley with an OEM bezel. They are of equal quality even though the Bentley bezel is White Gold. I upgraded to the higher quality SA bezel that was not advertised. When speaking of these Ebay "aftermarket" bezels, in many cases they are FAKE versions of the OEM just like there are FAKE LINGS. In most cases when you are dealing with QUALITY craftsmen, CUSTOM products are generally of HIGHER quality if you are dealing with the proper source.

http://breitlingsource.com/images/postp ... glings.jpg

Hey Ling Man's back again! Just when we were discussing the non-return of Sportback, another one of the "old school" guys shows up again! Good to see you back in the fray Ling Man. :thumbsup:

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acceldebt
PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:57 am 
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Driver8,

Sportback was disappearing way back when I first got on this forum and I won't stay gone forever. How have you been ?

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Driver8
PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 4:10 am 
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acceldebt wrote:
Driver8,

Sportback was disappearing way back when I first got on this forum and I won't stay gone forever. How have you been ?

You're correct there Ling Man - Sporty was already on drifting towards the door with his "gymnasium wall clocks"!

It's all going fine here Ling Man - thanks for asking. How's business with you? Naviman doing OK? Has he got that Navi World finally sorted yet?

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acceldebt
PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:13 am 
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Driver8,

Naviman took the World in and got that second time zone fixed, got a thorough polish job and got it back within a month from the guy we use here locally. He wears the SA most of the time though. Business is good for us due to the nature of our business. I'll be around here often again so get ready to get HARRASED.

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Driver8
PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 2:13 pm 
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acceldebt wrote:
I'll be around here often again so get ready to get HARRASED.

We've all missed it Ling Man! Some of the new guys could do with some Ling Man harrassing! :wink:

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