surpur

Well cheers for you! Can't wait for the pictures - have fun

Wonder where he got that 'contract case' - the coin edge bezel looks great. I want one like that

Great Info - Thanks I hope to get there sometime!

I used to learn and work on gen watches and I must say that working on reps is 2, 3, 4 + times more difficult because there just are so many different pieces on suposedly identical watches that just don't fit together. I find it more frustrating then rewarding and probably one of the most difficult things to do period. I admire people like The Zigmeister that have a knack/ talent to deal with all these inumerable issues.

Actually it looks for the thermo conductivity of gems. Diamond has a very high and specific conductivity value and those testers are programmed for that number. Sapphire has a very similar value, so on a good tester you can see that. Mineral glass has a very low thermo conductivity, so it is very easy to see the difference.

So many natural disasters. Nobody can imagine what these people are going through. All my best wishes are with them and hopefully the numbers of the victims will not increase. I think the times when people could afford money for wars are over - we have to concentrate all means on helping people in need, abroad and also in this country.

Ok - I went to a Jeweler I know who has a diamond tester. Turns out that of all my watches only my Sub and Day date Rolies had sapphire, both are high end with ETA movements.

Its awfull - I am selling 2 watches to reduce my collection and a week later I have 4 more. Its a tough one to shake off

I have to agree somewhat with Andrew. If I get a watch with a curved crystal that distorts the view I buy a $3 curved mineral crystal at my local watch supply house and its clear as day. Obviously they are often using the cheapest glass they can find on the reps. That said - the same watch supply dealer would charge me $30 for sapphire and for 10 times the price you really cannot see the differnce by eye. This huge price differnce makes me wonder how many 'Sapphire' crystals are really sapphire?? Considering the low price of the reps. I am not wondering enough to invest in a diamond tester, but maybe Hooky could give us a rundown what he found out about how many are real sapphire. That would be great - Thanks!

I mean natural for the 7750 not for the new Rolex Daytona movement...

If you freeze that then your whole chrono function won't work, is that worth it ? These Asian 7750's do some strange things. I have one that runs much faster (1h a day) on a winder then when I wear it, on another I have to keep the chronograph running or it will stop alltogether. An older one with seconds at 9 (which is the natural position) has the hour hand at 6 moving just 2 notches when the chrono is off. I think you are just lucky if you get one that works 100% clean and that is especially with the seconds at 6 - that one uses so many gears to switch those 2 subdials. I would not worry about this

That is exactly what I suspect for years now. Lets face it - for Rolex anything that mentions their name, shows their product etc. is advertisement and in case of reps it is free advertisement. How many people see you with a Rolex (rep) not knowing its not real and then think - 'Well I think its time to buy myself a Rolex!' Even news flashes about how many replicas they caught and destroyed are free advertisement. As far as Rolex goes there is no such thing as bad press. So I have to totally agree with Carlsbads conspiracy theory - if the Chinese ever make a perfect Rolex copy there will be hell to pay, the wrath of god and everything.

Easy way to tell is that the bracelet links are stiff - 1 piece links. The gen links are from many different parts and more flexible.

Well that covers a lot of ground I was a selfemployed consultant for analytical instrument applications for many years. Now my job title is Senior Field Support Engineer for analytical instruments - not that much differnce I guess.

Amazing that is almost word for word what I think about the whole mess. Clinton needs to be nominated or we are stuck with a really old same old:

For steel? Preowned?

That is very interesting - thanks for sharing. Can you tell us if the original always had the matte look or did it come with time? Can you tell us where you found the new strap? I like the look of it for Summer.

I think modern divers are wearing dive computers on their wrist that have time, depth gauge etc and calculates decompression time. The only divers wearing watches are snorkelers and they don't dive very deep

It does not matter - it is illegal to work on any rep watch. As soon as you take money for it you commited a felony, its just like you made a rep (trademark infringement) and who can afford to fight Rolex lawyers. It is very little enforced by other brands, but Rolex is just relentless about it. In watch school I was told the safest thing is to ship the watch back, if it was mailed, even without charging for shipping. Over the years I heard this several times from differnt watch makers who always personally knew who this had happened to, so it is not just a story.

Wow - I am jealous! I have several vintage Rolex models also, but yours is an amazing collection. I am getting more and more into the vintage watch collecting. Thanks for sharing these great pictures.

That is true - Rolex especially is actively shutting down repair shops that work on reps. That is why so many are scared to do it. They have even gone so far as to hire a large detective company to do sting operations on repair shops. The detectives show up with a $10 quartz Rolex that is definitely without question a fake and ask to have the battery replaced. If the poor guy is doing it - pang they come down on him with Rolex lawyers and take him for all he got. That is not a myth I heard that from several sources in the gen watch world and I would not put it beyond Rolexes pratices to do that. A good friend of mine who is an official Rolex certified repair guy told me that they show up unannounced in his shop once in a while and just snoop around if he has ANY third party parts. If they find anything bye bye contract. As soon as you put so much as a single third party part into a Rolex it is not gen anymore in their opinion.

Which torrent site do you use down there?

I have now seen this film also and I have to agree that they throw everything in one pot. It hurts to see all the nice bags and watches destroyed, all the labor that went in that - its bad. They just do not make the connection that their 'legitimate' Industries have their dark sides too, they also exploit people its the nature of business. They just cannot control the rep market and that is what really makes them nervous and angry. Let the people who have the cash and like to buy gen, let them buy it and let the other people who rather buy reps buy those. As much as both Industries have their dark side, they also have their benefits for the people who make these goods and the ones who love to own them. There are certainly bigger troubles to worry about then fake handbags and watches - as this film also has shown.

When it comes to watches I am very selfish - I wear them only for my own pleasure, reps or gens alike, I never cared what other people see in it. I guess I am a bit of a 'private person'. The only time when I think of others might notice my watch is when I get into a questionable neighborhood, then I either sneak the watch off into my pocket or pull a sleeve over it. No point in getting mugged over a watch - rep or gen. I started dealing in only gen Swiss brand watches from liquidation sales and watch shows and sold them on ebay when times were better (1999 -2001). I sold a ton of Omegas, Tags, Breitlings, Guccis, Movados, Chopards and any possible Swiss brand except Rolex. Rolex does not liquidate their watches.. Well that is what lured me into the rep websites I wanted a Sub but not for $4k.. A friend of mine has a Gallery with Gemstones, watches etc and he always wore nice clothes and this black Submariner, darn I wanted one too... So I ordered finally a 'Swiss movement, all original, sapphire crystal Rolex Sub' and I must admit I did feel fake at that time wearing my first rep. When my friend saw it he said wow that is a good looking watch, how much was it? He believed it was a gen. So I told him its a rep - and he told me his was a rep too, a cheap one and he couldn't find a watchmaker that would fix it.. Well that was funny to say the least. So I ended up getting him a new one also. After all these years his watch looks still great, it does not scratch like his old one and he is a happy man. Since I was not selling watches anymore I had an itch for watches and finally gave into the rep fever and bought everything I always wanted and more As far as wondering if other peoples watches are real, I only occasionaly ask myself that. Why bother - let them have their fun, I have my fun.