docblackrock

[Prelude/disclaimer: Like most of you, I am a Bond fan and a watch nut, so this post is not borne out of any agenda, just so that's clear.] Sighted this beast (or should that be monstrosity?) the other night at Madrid Barajas airport... My eye was initially drawn from afar by the lighting-enhanced glint of what looked like a tuxedo dial, but on closer inspection was revealed to be a carbon fibre finish...mmm, very nice, not bad But hold on, as I got closer is it a PO I thought? Bezel check, dial details check. Confirmed. Hmmm, no hint of orange, red only like the other SMP QoS edition. A PO isn't a PO without a hint of orange though, just seems wrong. I look closer.... What, no 007 'gun' logo on the secs hand? Missing a trick there Omega marketing boys, surely ....oh no, wait.... No, surely not..... (bear in mind the watch was suspended upside down for some strange reason) Dear god, mon dieu, holy [censored] etc. There in big bold logo'd lettering on the dial.....just in case you didn't realise it was a QoS limited edition....prepare to be appalled :shock: The PO QoS limited edition? Perhaps should be termed the POS QO instead. At least the Casino Royale PO had the decency to put the cheesy logo on the caseback. Too subtle obviously. The phrase 'jumping the shark' springs to mind.

Ah, always good to see that TF, but you should wear it more often to show your appreciation to Mrs Section 8 Still not got round to bringing mine 'home' (and still kicking myself for trading it in the first place), but my El Primero-powered Monza is keeping me from missing it too much.

You know I've almost come to dread every 1655 thread, it's a form of torture in a way, as I know exactly what the outcome is every time. But I can't help it, the sense of morbid fascination that makes me click that thread reply notification.... Once again, I'm reminded that the project represents something of a Hobson's choice. Either pay three times for each donor to get a fairly accurate hybrid, plus throw in at least another couple of hundred/lots of time on further mods..... Or stump up the obscenely hiked-up price of an NDT Viet case, then pick up some very nice parts to do it justice. Either way, building a 1655 is not for the faint of heart or wallet. God knows I wish I could expunge it from that part of my cortex that desires things, but it's had its thorny little tentacles stuck in there for a good few years now, and shows no sign of giving up.

I'll second that Stephane. Still seeking a 'decent' wearable base 1655 for 'fun' and ongoing mods, and the Honpo version looks ideally suited to that end.

PM replied All good indeed

I'd be fascinated to know what you're insinuating here A....since you obviously know more than me about this 'vested interest' of mine. Pray do tell... We've always got on very well, so I'll let this go, but it's a little out of order giving the impression I have an ulterior motive or agenda behind my words. *EDIT* Rereading, I have a horrible feeling I've got hold of the wrong end of the stick here A - and you're actually sticking up for me - huge apologies and ignore the above if that's the case! Yes I've had dealings with Jakub, had a few crystals done with him, used his watchmaker the odd time, and had a watch trade with him. Liked the guy a lot too. Pretty much like a lot of you out there. And so yes I'm saddened by this whole affair as much for those who've lost stuff than anything else as I already said. Not my intention to inflame anything but clearly my post hit a raw nerve with some. That wasn't my intention and certainly isn't my problem.

Having just been made aware of this I am saddened..... Saddened that someone like Jakub has got himself into this situation.... Saddened that members are left fearing permanent loss of their items, sent in good faith... And last but not least.... Saddened (but not surprised) that there are so-called 'members' (some with very low post counts and membership time it must be said) crawling out of the woodwork to offer unsolicited opinions, make holier-than-thou judgements and take perverse interest in crucifying somebody's reputation without having any personal knowledge, experience or indeed any concrete facts in front of them. Like rubber-neckers at road traffic accidents, or vultures picking at a corpse, there are always those that enjoy a little schadenfraude. I have to say I find it distasteful and symptomatic of why I don't spend much time here anymore. I hope there's a speedy resolution to this matter for ALL concerned.

Hmmm, maybe so about watch collecting but still not convinced. I'm far too young to know from personal experience, but I have the impression that back in the '60s, astronauts were treated as movie stars/royalty/gods. The best of the best, the Right Stuff and all that....

Hmmm, didn't boost Rolex's coffers or indeed harm Omega's claims for the Speedmaster when photo evidence and interviews revealed most of NASA's Apollo astronauts preferred to wear their Rolex GMTs. 'Kids' won't care anyway - the Vesper line in CR said it all - they'll want the shiney two grand SMP with 007 logo on it, rather than an old battered anonymous-looking twenty grand Sub. Rolex just isn't 'cool'.

BT, I posted about this watch back last year in my Mystery Vintage Quiz... Anyway, what's with the Fat Lady insult? The 16760 with factory red/black bezel is, and should always be known as the 'Sophia' (as in Loren) much more fitting for such a voluptuous beauty. As for condition, well the 1st series no-dates are still 25 years old and even the best looked after example shows dial aging. Compare these two, born merely weeks apart....

Freddy, does this mean what I think it means? You have a PM.

Freddy, I think you know the answer....option A every time. Here it is 'in the wild'...

Ubi, oh dear the mystery is no more, the magic has gone *sniff* Ah, I love the warm and cozy feeling of my snug cloak of anonymity - only one of our clan has met old DBR in the flesh, and he's got a worse case of camera-shyness than me, and with good reason too

Oh and dluddy, the other mod you'll want to make is to freeze the 6 o'clock subdial

Ah the old reps came with that gorgeous hesalite crystal installed

As defensive and prickly as ever Ken *sigh* Out of all that, the one tiny thing you choose to pick on is a throwaway word, unintended as a slight...."finally" referring to the mods taking down that auction. I've never criticised the mods for anything, either openly or in private, so why you take offence to that comment I don't know. I have nothing but respect for the time and effort Admin, Nanuq, TT and the rest of you put in, that's not what we were talking about. That particular auction did run a while, and obviously until Offshore kindly PM'd me to let me know action was being taken I was none the wiser. But that's irrelevant now. Nice to know I'll be missed. Cheers.

The exact same process used in the gen....titanium-carbon-nitride aka DLC (diamond-like carbon), penetrates beneath the surface of the metal making it more scratch resistant than the normal PVD external coating.

There is no Blacksteel bracelet - gen comes on rubber divers with BS buckle. As for which is the gen, well my lips are sealed There is a tiny imperceptible very individual tell, but to give you a clue, I'm guessing 99% of you are scrutinising the wrong watch. I'm not sure it's even visibly noticeable on the pic, but then I confess a slight advantage as I know it's there so my mind sees it. Ah to hell with it, you've all guessed it anyway, the bloody lume dot fetishists are out in force. To those who whine, good - more available for the rest of us. If it bothers you, feel free to PM me with good offers for my gen. Yes that's right because once I receive this watch on the bottom right, my gen is history. That's how frickin' good this rep is!!!! Angus => Me =>

Is that an offer to donate BT? Ah gents, if only it were that simple. But fact is I've not exactly gone cold turkey of late. I jumped on the first run of the 116710 (yes the CHS, *touch wood* all fine), and finally got my Ti Chrono Avenger franken in hand, oh and a preowned SLR, not to mention a gen something with possibly another about to arrive. And then there's a couple of vintage projects that have progressed a little. So it's not a lack of interest in the subject matter. As I said earlier, I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it's there in the reduced number of threads I feel inclined or compelled to post in, mainly as a result of the atmosphere, the tone of some (a few ruining it for everyone else) recent arrivals who think they know it all and don't mind sharing that self-inflated opinion. Even within this very thread, just now, we've seen one poster temporarily gagged for being...well, an annoying [censored]....really, no other way to describe it. Recent examples include some aggressive posting followed by an unsolicited PM of the most patronising and laughably pathetic type, offering me further 'insight' on my 'guesses' about a certain watch in production. Then there's the price hiking seen in the sales board - only this week I took issue with a new 25-post member trying to flog a 3k franken for over 6k, with a pre-emptive disclaimer that it was worth it and anyone doubting that "should do some research!" as well as offering a pitch the likes of which hasn't been seen since RBJ was amongst us....."tightened the bracelet, polished it, looks better than gen lol" that sort of thing. What got me was I seemed to be the lone voice of protest and all the other comments were "great watch.....good buy if only I had the money". Thankfully the mods stepped in on that one finally but still can't help but feel there is more of a promotional/mercenary tone to this place, rather than the educational/friendship one there used to be. C'est la vie I suppose, the world is changing but that doesn't mean I have to change with it. On the plus side, I today received a gift from a very good friend and one of the nicest gents aboard - only a little something, but the gesture alone reminds me what this place CAN engender in some people. Shared interests and shared humour, with friendship borne out of that. A community above all else, where we all look out for each other and offer/receive tips and advice. That was the original rationale T had for setting up this and other boards in the first place, but somewhere along the way, we as a community have lost sight of that. On that note then, I think that's my cue to take my leave. Until next time then, adieu....

You're actually wrong about that. Whenever the forum takes a turn for the worse, as it does from time to time, it's often a symptom that causes many vets to walk away out of boredom, frustration or just general apathy at the quality and tone of a large proportion of threads and posters within them. Some return, but some leave for good. Even the comprehensive watch reviews you used to see are becoming less frequent, mainly because of the time invested in writing them seems wasted when they only to get a handful of responses. Many have posted on such concerns before, but it largely goes unheralded, a steady drip-drip effect. Personally, I've noticed what the OP has been talking about, and have mentioned it in passing with those I consider friends here. I took a good 6 or so months out from this place after last Christmas partly because of issues surrounding the content of the board (the catalyst being one particular member) and after being nagged a little I returned with renewed enthusiasm. Yet once again I feel the urge to walk away as I'm increasingly finding it a little tiresome and unrecognisable. Threads used to be fun AND informative with a real camaraderie amongst members, yet more and more RWG seems to have become more of a hard-nosed market place with only a bit of added value tacked on. Yes, there is always fresh blood out there, quality posters too, indeed I've even watched a mod grow out of his noob short trousers on this board (un petit plaisanterie S ) and contribute far more than I. Yet I still can't help but feel this place is a pale shadow of what it once was.

That's their natural expression. Not [censored] off. Kind of like a cross between bare tolerance (oh go on then if you must pick me up and stroke me ) and bored resignation due to the knowledge they have better things to do. Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

What do you all think? Would they get on like the best of friends do you think? Cuddling up to each other next to an open fire?

Caught me a whopper here eh Dani? I won't quote your rant - but suffice to say I don't disagree, I'm not saying it's 'right' they are banned, but it is right to put them under the Act given the high-profile attacks. Of course it's knee-jerk but what do you expect when we're talking about small children being ripped to pieces? And yes it may be isolated incidents, but even one is enough to force the powers that be to act. If anything I see it as a way to weed out those types of owners who do the most harm, and then maybe lifting it at a later time. Back OT, I saw our neighbour out walking his little pooch in the park today...well at least it was little last time I saw it maybe last year. It's now put on a few pounds, not quite ready to take a lion down (as its heritage dictates) but a big [censored] nonetheless. If I had 'security' worries like Teejay has, then this is what I'd want. Rhodesian ridgeback. A dog and a half

What do you mean instead of porn? This IS porn!

Only 90% Stephane? Climate has obviously improved since I was working over there I know you're a Rolex fetishist (I am merely an obsessive) so you may want to look away now before you read what I'm about to say.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To me the Rolex calibres are NOT aesthetically beautiful. Not in the slightest. No, not even the dark red gear against the silver finish. Their beauty lies within their engineering - they're workhorses not show ponies. If the c.3135 were a girl, you'd say "she has a nice personality"