I keep reading watch threads and half the words are abbreviations: GL, RL, gen, TD, franken… The general forum terms (QC, batch, rep, GL/RL) are already in the glossary, and bag terms such as PSP, glazing and hardware tone are in the bag glossary. What’s missing is the watch-specific side: the words you meet in a watch QC thread and what they mean in practice.
What I’ve collected so far, corrections welcome:
- GL/RL on a watch: green light or red light, decided mostly on the dial, bezel alignment, date and crystal, not on the box or papers.
- Gen: the genuine watch you compare against. Use reference photos of the exact reference number, since dials and bezels change between references.
- TD: trusted dealer, someone the community vouches for. Forum rule: members can name or link sellers as long as it isn’t spam; first-person selling and paid/referral promo get removed.
- Clone vs franken: a clone movement copies the genuine movement’s architecture; a franken is a rep with some genuine parts swapped in. Not the same thing.
- AR: anti-reflective coating on the crystal, which shows as a bluish reflection at an angle.
- Movement names (2824-type, VS3235, DD3235…): what you gain and lose between them is in clone or Asian 2824.
Which watch terms am I missing, and which of these would you explain differently?
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