Genrep

One thing I am agreed on, you cannot possibly get real gold - even 9k - for the prices stated above. For the latest spot and price trends check out: http://www.goldprice.org/

Wow!! Nice pearl - I have a WM9 SS sub on order from BK. If the pearl (and I am a very sad pearl freak) looks as good as yours, I won't need to replace it with a gen. Cheers.

I have never lost an item through Fedex - and I use them lots......

My sources have spanned some 30 years reading economics, harvard business review, financial times etc. An excellent introduction to global competition and economics (that though classic is still pretty pertinent) is Michael Porter's seminal work "The Competitive Advantage of Nations". Short-termism goes under other monickers such as "management myopia" - google this and you will find lots of articles and publications. I suppose a key to undertaking causal analysis of events is the understanding that there are no new principles and few really new inventions - only innovations formed by combining different principles and what is already in existence. Cheers.

The private sector (financial institutions i.e.) began this by using smoke and mirrors* to deceive investors - and by flagrantly breaking the first law of capital deployment which is "never use short term funds (callable loans) to buy long term assets (illiquid mortgages)". (*Structured products consisting bundled portfolios blessed/branded by AAA or AA+ institutions - but which hid exceedingly dodgy assets, particularly high-risk mortgages that noone had the ability to examine/evaluate on a one-by-one basis.) Bureaucrats who had (and still have) no clue about what was going on (particularly post Enron), then decided to create a whole phalanx of regulations (Sarbox, Higgs, Solvency I & II and Basel I & II) perhaps not fully appreciating the fact that advisors and institutions make their living by being clever by succeeding in circumnavigating regulations. The reality is you can never create enough rules and regulations to eliminate a lack of integrity. If someone is wholly intent on evil, they will succeed. The whole remuneration system in large corporates has been all about rewarding short term gain - screw the future, for as JM Keynes opined "in the long run, we shall all be dead". To add fuel to the raging fire, politicians have now decided that it is time to go back to almost pure Keynesian economics - bring the multiplier and accelerator models back into play - but not in the way or to the extent that Keynes could ever have envisaged. From Gordon Brown to Obama, the mantra is lets create more jobs (in public sector - in the old days we used to refer to this as "disguised unemployment") and hopefully these good folk will splash their pay cheques, creating demand for goods and services, which will in turn kick start the economy. But who will pay for all these excesses? Ultimately it will be the wealth creators and businesses. With a global economy and with capital and talent being so mobile, the wealthy and talented will easily go where they are not robbed blind by the government. So increasingly (particularly in the UK), you have an bloated public sector with a declining entrepreneurial economy. Thus, more money will chase fewer real goods and services. The combined effect of declining economic production and spiralling inflation = stagflation. But who cares? The politicians that make the rules have (at least in the UK) their pensions protected like noone else and by the time the reality dawns, they would have left office, be on a speaking circuit and on numerous boards. So why worry? This is not about economics. It is about short-termism, self serving greed and, of course, corruption..... I agree with Chief - the government which has consistently proven its utter incompetence at adding value in business - should do nothing to squander what we do not have and which will have to be paid for sometime, somehow. The best thing it can do is unravel the bureaucracies and politically correct measures (welfare state, unions...) that strangle enterprise. Subsidies and protectionism merely weaken the organisms being 'protected'. No pain, no gain.

I wonder why the rep has a white inner quarter-ring whilst the genuine has a yellow one? Check the ebay link for gens (hopefully) : http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksi...-All-Categories

Just in case its been missed by some, Trusty's Deep SD is out now: http://www.tt88time.com/index.php?main_pag...eyword=ROLSD006 I'm eagerly waiting for my stocking filler!

Realistically, I wonder if we will actually see a true 1:1 identical-to-gen rep. But even after modding, the close-to-real gen is likely to cost not more than 15% of the gen - and it always hurts less scratching a rep than a gen. BTW, does anyone know where one could buy gen/close-to-gen 'pearls'? These would help....

Same here - in fact, my receptionists and secretaries do all the picking up when needed (i.e. genuine missed deliveries) and they certainly do not have ID proof that they are me - just the attempted delivery card. Just shows that practices around the country differ.

You are not getting the point!! Apologies if I was not clear, mate - but there was NO (and I mean NO) delivery note left. That was just phase 1 of the scam! There was NO attempt to deliver the parcel. Interesting thing is I get tons of stuff in the post (my latest ebay feedback is 824 - all as a buyer) - but only the watches are stolen. In my 2 local depots, there must be some watch afficiandos.

Your PO must be pretty efficient. But then again, you are a trader and may be treated 'preferentially'. Think about it, you cannot regulate integrity. If someone wants to scam or steal... they will. You don't work for Royal Mail, by any chance...?

Yeah, this is the nub. I always just state "watch" or "vintage watch(es)" - the latter is often the case for me. Sadly, whilst certainly registered and "(to be) signed for" - but NOT insured - 2 of my watches have gone astray this way. The latest was from one of our (RWG) members from Central Europe. This is why I urge folks to: (1) insure OR (2) use a global courier AND (3) (ALWAYS) NEVER sign off delivery dockets UNTIL you open up and inspect that what is being delivered is exactly what you paid for/expected. Within EU, insuring and stating full value is fine and does not attract customs duties, VAT or handling charges. But, of course, if you are sending items from one economic bloc to another you may attract such charges when you insure and declare the full amount. This is where FEDEX (which is what I normally use for expensive items) is handy. They are very reliable (although their service and customer care can be a bit pathetic at times) that even if you declare, say, $500 - you know (unless you are dead unlucky) that you will receive the goods. I also understand from pretty established (gen) watch dealers that (particularly from the US) FEDEX will only insure a watch to a maximum value of $500. I do not know if this is actually the case or if it differs from geography to geography.

Whilst I am obviously NOT suggesting that Royal Mail is carrying out scams, they know that there is in all likelihood theft of deliveries being carried out with the inside knowledge and collusion of their staff (because they must receive tons of complaints). In any event, when complaints are made, they do everything to deny wrong doing; put into play bureaucratic prodcedures to stymie complaints (and make them go away); etc.... NB: I have lost 3 watches in this manner over the last 18 months - the thieves there seem to target watches! In fact, as some of you know, some vendors refuse to send watches/valuables to the UK because of this problem!! One scam works this way (you only find out when you call them to check on undelivered items): (1) Royal Mail's records state that they attempted delivery and left an 'attempted delivery note' (which strangely the addressee never receives); (2) very shortly thereafter, a person claiming to be 'the addressee' (not the real one) turns up at the depot and signs for (with the surname/name of the real addressee) and collects the parcel - and disappears. As far as Royal Mail is concerned, they have done their job: (1) checked the identity of the collector by seeing the delivery note (at least this is what they claim), (2) taken the signature and (3) DELIVERED the item. So, they may initiate an investigation - but they are never wrong. So what can the 'victim' do: as the signature will not bear any resemblance to yours, it is evidence of forgery and theft. Thus, get all details down and (1) make a report to the Police; (2) submit a report and complaint to Royal Mail (Customer service). But the best solution is to avoid this problem: use FEDEX and DHL. I have never lost an item using them before. If you have to use Royal Mail (or a postal service), make sure you insure (and get whoever is sending you valuable items to do the same) - and insure for more than it is worth. The minimum insurance coverage by Royal Mail is

I used to get Edge (Chris) to fix cosmetic problems on my watches - but he has told me that for the time being, he is not taking any more work. The Zigmeister seems to be the supremo on the forum - but I have never tried him. Being in the UK, I use a pretty good watchmaker (http://www.michaelallenwatchmaker.co.uk/) who works on my gens (including vintage pateks) as well as my reps. The great thing is that whilst he does take some time to get complicated work done, he is able to get sapphire crystals made, gold cases officially hallmarked and make parts for some of my vintage stuff that we could not find replacement parts for. Not all watchmakers will fix reps. NOTE: In the UK (maybe elsewhere as well) if you are sending or having watches (purchases or repairs) sent to you by post, make sure you insure/over-insure as the Royal Mail is full of thieves who are on the lookout for items (particularly watches, it seems, to steal). I shall post a warning thread on this scam in slightly greater detail - having lost 3 watches in the last 18 months this way. Much better: use FEDEX/DHL!! Hope this helps a bit.