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A long, long time ago, I can still remember when I bought my first real rep. And by "real" I mean a quality piece costing more than a hundred bucks, rather than a for-peanuts fake, bought furtively in a dark Kowloon alley, with a lifespan measurable in months. Instead of going the usual Noobmariner route, I decided that I wanted a Panerai rep by Davidsen. (Recall that DSN was near the leading edge of PAM reps at the time!) But while going through his photobucket, I saw that he'd started selling vintage Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, which is a watch I've long dreamed of owning. One wire transfer and a few weeks later, and I had it. I was happy, and wrote my first rep review (on RWI). Fast forward a couple of years and I noticed that I wasn't wearing the FF as much as I used to. I'd changed straps and bracelets countless times in an attempt to get the old spark back. It wasn't working; I'd been spoiled by newer, more accurate and labor-intensive builds like my Explorers and Daytonas. It also didn't help that the Blancpain's factory-fresh finish contradicted its supposed age. What to do? I got my first bit of inspiration after seeing pictures of the Helson Skindiver, which is a Fifty Fathoms homage released earlier this year. It's a terrific looking watch, and a better FF proxy than the MkII Stingray or the Precista PRS-50, in my opinion. (Also the Corvus Bradley, which is really more of a TR-900 homage.) One detail I especially liked was the bezel: It was as (inaccurately) beefy as on the other modern homages, but its circumference was indented to suggest the delicate, jutting bezels of the original Blancpains. And when I think "machined round metal objects", my first instinct is to contact jmb. So off the FF went to Justin, who protested that it was the ugliest watch he's ever worked on. (Blancpain fans, please send your letters to him.) Prying the bezel off was a tricky ordeal, which explains the tool marks. Nevertheless, the bezel was eventually removed, trimmed, and re-installed. It's still too tall, but the shelf visually thins it from most angles: I also wanted to replace the crystal to make the bezel appear even less thick. Unfortunately, I had no luck finding suitable domes. Next step: Age the dial. The vintage Blancpains had glossy black dials, but very few maintain a perfect sheen today. I reached out to the man who put the patina on my 4-line 5512, and ChiMan said yes. I sent him a few pictures of gens, hoping that one of them could serve as his model. This turned out to be the winner: I was planning a vacation through the Rockies in September/October, and I'd made plans to meet up with C in Calgary. As soon as J finished his work on the case, he sent it up north. It arrived with one day to spare, and C amazingly finished his patination process in just one night. Fine, fine work for a rush job! Even under the weak lights of The Keg, I was able to admire the quality. The Fifty Fathoms is now near the top of my rotation again, thanks to a couple of very good guys. Big thanks to ChiMan and jmb for helping me out yet again.

Well, I don't questions HKtan not being legit. But I do feel he often lies about the time when a strap will be done. Heard many stories about this. He runs a business, and wants to keep everyone happy, so he says 2 weeks, and everything is jolly.. Until the 2 weeks are up, and he realize he was way to optimistic. I've ordered a strap, he said 2 weeks. I mailed him back, asked if this was really a legit time, he answered "yes, I guarantee". That's not just a promise, it's a legit guarantee he'll have it done in 2 weeks. That's what I paid for. Anyway. Im not one to rant, I have my patience. The 2 weeks are up, but we'll see how much extra time I'll have to endour. But as GreenHornet says, it's better to be honest about wait times, since it'll just bite you in the ass when people will get the wrong impression after too many faults about that.

GreekGod has a legitimate question, he's simply asking what other forum members have experienced. Been close to 4 weeks for me waiting for my strap to be shipped from HKTan. I was initially told that it would ship the following week after the order, then inquired about it again 2 weeks later and was told next week. I asked again this week and was told it would ship this week, but as of right now, I have nothing stating it has been shipped. Maybe it has, maybe it hasn't. But im sure that it one of the watch dealers had the same level of service, there would be threads abound crying foul. I do not mind the waiting, from what I have seen of his work, its well worth the wait. However, a person does expect a reasonably honest answer from a merchant he has spent hard earned dollars with. If it will take 6 weeks, say 6 weeks, I know where to temper my expectations. I have ordered straps from at least 4 other dealers and got every one of them within 2 weeks, most well within a week. No complaints here, just stating the facts.

That is a SanDave special tanning croc. It's been out of production for a year or 2 now. Yep...you can buy the 24L from OP as it's gen. Nope....not modded. It's a gen OEM CG. And here's 3 more to add to the list. 25. 202a - 10.20.2011 26. Another 02a - 10.20.2011 27. 183H - 11.09.2011

It's not a criticism. I like the taller style and I'm surprised the DSN is taller than non gen T24