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Amen to that. How many times this morning have you looked at your watch? Okay now pop quiz: without looking again, what time is it? See, we just enjoy the beasties, we're not so much wearing them to tell the time.

Hi there, I have been buying/collecting reps since many years… I guess since + 9 or so. Of course you learn a few thing during this time; 1. our watches all come from the same sources/factories (and they are not in Switzerland!) 2. dealers just sell watches, they do not make them 3. service varies from dealer to dealer 4. custom issue can happen to anybody 5. some countries have more custom issues then others 6. waiting for the post man is one of the tough parts of our hobby And most important of all, the rep-vital-buying praise; “pick your dealer, then the watch” So here a Dutchy rep story; much of it, most of us have experienced in some kind of degree. A friend of mine had his 30th birthday coming up. He always want to have a Omega Planet Orange Chrono, but does not have the money for a gen, well not even for the rep. So the “kind guy I am” I thought of giving him the quartz rep as a present. Of course I will tell him it is a rep. I ordered for 135 USD plus shipping 15 USD = 150 USD the watch. 3 weeks later the watch arrives DOA. So DOA that my local watch repair man could not fix it. So I sent it back (cost me 22 USD), it takes 3 weeks to get there, 2 more before I get told it has been fixed?/exchanged and that is has been sent out again. In the mean time the birthday day is getting closer! I did not get a tracking code this time, as the dealer says he mixed these up and is not sure which code is for which watch… well anyway who cares, as the tracking system, as we all know, is useless, so all we do is wait… and wait… and wait. And then, I get a "friendly" letter from the Dutch customs asking me about a parcel from China. WTF, this now the 2nd time within 5 months that this has happened to me. And, what do you do, as we all know; Nothing, just do not react on that letter. 5 days to go before the birthday! What do I do? Narikaa does not have the watch on stock… I have ordered watches from not trusted dealers before e.g. in January’09 from Tony (then none trusted). I had much heard of this Dutch based dealer before e.g. via Mike00 and also seen his offers on the net. So this I why again I took the risk, a much smaller risk as only 165 USD for all in. I emailed him and had a reaction within 4 hours. Watch was on stock, 100% functional, if I paid today, watch would be with me in 1-2 days, he said… sounded pretty good to me. If it was true, it would be there just in time for the birthday. AND, it was true! Not 2 days later, but 1 day later the well packed watch arrived. Running no issues… spot on. My friend is very happy with the watch! He cannot believe it is not the real deal… So, as my 2 customs issues are not solved yet, ordering from China is not an option for me right now. Also this DOA and waiting is right now not for me. But there are still watches want – never somehow ends does it? I emailed him and asked for quotes on 2. He comes back and again roughly 20% higher then what we pay in China. We exchange some mails and I find out that he is located just round the corner where I am doing business on Friday in the south of Holland. So I ask him if I can pick up the watch. He agrees to met up… and that is what we do. So now I can check the 2 watches I want, in real life before buying. And that is what I did. Great guy! Openly talks about his years of selling reps in Holland and in the EU. Very knowledgeable on what is going on, issues with customs, repairs and the rep business in general. Well 1 hour later, I leave with no CARTIER and no KING POWER (see below!), as they are not what I had hoped for, which does not bother him at all. I did place an order with him for another watch, which he did not have on stock, as his stock is not as big of course a Chinese based dealer. He is more specialized in fast movers like high end Rolex and others... My watch should take 4 weeks to get. It will be posted to me via him after his QC and of course no customs risk! Here some pics of the dealer/Dutchy GTG Friday (02nd.11)! If you want to contact him here you go: His name is Zander at: toprehv@gmail.com and his site is: http://toprreplicas....y_ProfileHeader Dutchy Even I think this is too much bling… so I did not buy it! And my wrist is to small with 48mm King Power

Agreed. That black one is really nice.

I just put together all versions pros and cons, in table

http://www.subgmt.com/images/6897_DSC_0614_rolex_milgauss_116400.jpg

Monte Carlos are the best:

Thanks, will take it to an AD to make a service, it's seating on a safe for a long time.

Model 16523- older automatic Daytona with the running seconds at 9.

It would nice if people can post their favorite pam strap picture and with the name of the builder cheers Tessa

As we say in the South... You done good!

Mine looks different actually but this is, a pain in the a.. :-o

No need to remove the bezel; the screw/bolt holes don't go all the way through: Removing the bezel doesn't do much good anyways... The above pics are of my 14790 rep, but construction should be the same...

You know, I have to agree, they are bad for rep collectors. However, they are not bad in themselves. Let me explain what I mean. The popularity of luxury timepieces has skyrocketed over the last couple of years. People are starting to become more brand-conscious with respect to what's on their wrists, but naturally, few can actually afford a wristwatch worth $5,000-$10,000 and above. Naturally, they become curious about fakes, and one search in google makes them aware of the possibilities regarding the potential quality and accuracy of our watches. Luckily, those scam websites often trick them into laying down hundreds of dollars either for crap or crap that never arrives - they get discouraged and give up. However, more recently, Andrew's and Josh's sites have become so popular that they show up in google searches much more frequently, so do our forums, and every day dozens of people from all around the world break into this secret society buying the usual noob watches that makes wearing any Rolex, even a real one, susceptible to being instantly assumed as fake from passers by. Even PAM owners aren't safe; Omega? Forget about it. Breitling? The cashier at my local "gap" wears a Bentley. Yeah Right. While I am happy to have such a quality, reliable, and hassle-free dealer as Joshua, I am devastated and disappointed that so can anyone else, with relative ease. I started my rep adventure out of curiosity in September 2006, and was 99.99% ready to shell out a fortune for a "grade A swiss made italian movement 31 jewels genuine rolex". Luckily I found RWI, which lead me to Joshua, which eventually led me here, and I became the very person I now despise. These days, however, people are discovering the honest sites first and even with no knowledge of quality, or construction, have the possibility to purchase from the dealers I love. I don't know about you all, but I choose these watches to compensate for a status symbol I cannot afford - I'm just too cheap! Yes, I love the design, etc, but really it is what it is - I want to wear an expensive watch to be treated with dignity and respect in a painfully materialistic society. Sue me. But what's the point of having a Rolex if every second person has one? What's the point of buying a PAM when they are quickly becoming the new "hip upper class" status symbol and people are scouring the net for reps of those too? I keep on screaming for the rep makers do copy a Blancpain... secretly though I'm happy they don't do it. At least I can have one gen I can aspire to.