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Well, there was one obvious choice for 29th ... 29

I've decided to start a thread specifically for the forged carbon APs. As some of you may or may not already know, I've been experimenting with producing my own forged carbon parts but was reluctant to start a thread on it until I could satisfy myself that my efforts would not be futile. Also, I didn't feel that it would be right to capture peoples' interest and then disappoint them, so I kept a relatively low profile as I worked behind the scenes. While my initial tests with the material proved fruitful, I can say with all honesty that once the tooling for the real parts had been done and I was making the first actual watch parts, I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that the test was going to be a failure. The three hour curing process was painfully long, as I had no way of knowing how bad the damage was before the moulds could be opened. Much to my surprise though, the parts actually turned out rather well. To be honest, my initial expectations were rather low to begin with. So far I can tell you this much about making these parts: it's exceedingly delicate and frustrating. The mould cavities are very small and challenging to fill, the forging process takes about 3 hours and then probably another 3 to manually clean the parts. Sufficed to say, I don't think that this process lends itself well to any kind of mass-production and is probably why we haven't seen the factories do anything like this yet. While I thought of taking pictures of just the parts, I was actually more keen to determine whether the pieces would actually fit back onto the watch properly, so as soon as the parts were cleaned, I bolted them back into place and the whole process was surprisingly trouble-free. There are a few defects that I noticed during the fitting process, but it has been extremely educational and have found ways to remedy these for future parts: my watch's role in all this was to be the proverbial guinea pig, and it's doing its job very well. And now that I've ranted, here are some crude but adequate photos of the new forged carbon parts for your evaluation. Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Great photo, Hike ... who would have thought that a watch would look good posed on a shoe.

In addition to the classic Heuer Monaco and the Reverso as being amongst my favorite rectangular designs, I also love this old El Primero... I keep meaning to pick one up...

LHOOQ is going to need to file a restaining order against me, because all my recent builds have been watches that we discussed together and it feels like I'm stalking him!!! I always strive to build something a little different than what is available in the mass market. I've never owned a 1016, but really liked the one LHOOQ built. For anyone who doesn't know and care, he built an ultra-rare 1016 Space-Dweller. This model was introduced in the late 60's and was only available to the Japanese market. Below is a pic of the gen. With this, i had orginally built a Space-Dweller, but felt that certain parameters of the watch was inaccurate. So I enlisted an RWG friend to help me out and here is the result... My 1016 Space-Dweller with custom JMB bezel and drilled out lug holes. Needless to say, JMB did a fabulous job on capturing the basic essence of a 1016. So why so special you say? It looks and smells like a DateJust. But the critical element to a good looking 1016 is the bezel. As you can see from the following pics, the bezel gentle pours over the edge of the case and demands more presence than a DateJust bezel. Plus look at those lug holes! JMB drilled out to perfection! ...and if some will recall, I had a Rolex 6565 that didn't sell with a beautiful 1560 butterfly movement in it...guess where it is being deployed now? The Space-Dweller was introduced with the 1560, so it is proper for this build. So the specifics for this build was a gen 16030 case, JMB modified bezel and lug holes, gen hands, gen 1560, Yuki 7206 fixed bracelet...but I think I'll change it to a 7836 bracelet. Final parting shot...

Happy 2/29 friends!

Not sure which made my jaw drop 1st - the watch or the pic. Either way, it definitely got my attention. There is definitely some heavy metal in this thread gentlemen.

He knows someone who works a a Breitling Authorized Dealership.

had a meeting with Skagen today so thought I better were one of there watches i'm wearing there new white ceramic matt finish

Very nice. Nothing can compare with a gen dial. And for that reason anything without a gen dial is not a franken. So wear that one well.

Actually switched to this one this morning

From a visual point of view, what I like about Tag is that their line and design is extremely distinguishable. You can spot Monaco / Grand Carrera / Aquaraces from a mile even if you don't know what model it is, you know It's Tag Heuer. I like that about this company. There are too many lookalikes in this industry and only a very small proportion of companies are trying to create uniquely designed pieces. I absolutely agree with By-Tor about the quality. You don't have to understand watches to know that you're holding a piece of highly sophisticated and precisely crafted product in Tag. Just take the Grand Carrera for instance - the watch oozes quality. This is something, with all due respect, I can not say about Dayjust II. I know it's quality watch because it's Rolex, but it doesn't scream quality. I do think that TagHeuer somehow destroyed their horological image in favor of "likability". Their promo campaigns have been extremely fashion oriented in the past few years, parading celebs and straight up pretty faces. Don't get me wrong, Sharapova is one of my favorite athletes and I respect DiCaprio's work as well, but having them present you brand leads to definition of the brand as fashion oriented. Having said that I do see some billboards around lately that focus on the horological values of the brand. I like this direction, as with all due respect to Tag or LVMH, Heuer has always been one of the cornerstones of the watch industry.