docblackrock

Aha, so it's supposed to be a rep of the TAG reissue - gotcha - sorry that model passed me by (only a couple of reissues that speak to me) although strangely enough I actually saw the gen at the airport last week (slow selling stock?). Still, rather your rep than the 'rep' gen No, the 'real' Autavias I meant I'd love to see are those like this... Oh and the crown placement? There's a very interesting historical reason the crown was on the left side of the case Amusing they did so for the reissue. But yes, impossible for the rep.

I always wonder why anyone would want gen papers to go with their rep. Merely as a collector of Rolex paraphanalia? 'Cos there's only one other reason

Compressed air ?! Don't even go there, an accident waiting to happen IMO especially if you're talking about delicate vintage dials. Use the Bergeon blower and if that's not enough, touch up with a clump of Rodico - after all that's what both products are designed for

Exactly! Although I can't even see the "educate himself" part unless you mean if the gen parts don't fit, he realises he's a bit of a numpty Or to educate himself on some of the more 'interesting' clinical manifestations of personality disorders (i.e. dealing with Bob Frei). Maybe there's some self-interest/common ground with the latter? But you're still missing the vital point The "more money than sense" adage. It's not the amount of money into a modding a rep per se (god knows I've ploughed a lot into some vintage Rollie and Pam projects) but it's the proportionality of investment and perceived improvement. Buying every possible gen part for the UPO is ridiculous IMO because not only are you investing a significant amount of the gen's price (itself insane) you are getting a return of virtually no improvement in cosmetic appearance, the very reason for modding in the first place. There is no naked eye difference between most of the gen and rep parts, the stock UPO is THAT good. The real question these people should ask themselves (in the mirror talking to themselves in the third person maybe ) is if these things bother them that much, then maybe they should just stick to gens in the first place. It's these same types (you know who you are) that talk about cannibalising a Tudor Sub to make a "perfect" Rolex Sub

LOL - I wonder if Dallaglio is slipping him a gram or two in that handshake , Still if I were you, I'd be annoyed (just as I am embarrassed) by some of the crap the English media have been coming out with. Delusional, unsporting, and jingoistic (see I told you VB) - everything I ranted about.... The standout headline from one of the Murdoch filth rags I noticed was something like "ROBBED BY A BLOODY AUSSIE" and how England were "on their way to a glorious repeat triumph" Shameful in many ways

iPhone won't be available in NL for a long time - restricted to UK France Germany only for now. N95 still runs the slow and buggy S60 Symbian software.....oh and it's still a frickin' brick!! N81 - don't be fooled, it's an N91 in a different casing

It's not difficult, it says right there on the boot lid (or trunk), you know that bit at the back where you put all your shopping bags into?

Dun be a Pug, Pug! I mean it, don't do it man. Got to play with the iPhone last week on my travels....EXTREMELY disappointing. Owner confirmed lots of problems with non-functioning browsing features even in wi-fi zone, touch-screen also a bit undersensitive, and he's on his second one already. Oh and it's bigger than I thought (hmm, wonder if Apple got Chabal to be the 'hand model' ) moreso than the iPod touch, almost evil-Blackberry-like in it's square and uncomfortable position in your hand.

My first - Ericsson 388 (went through about 10 aerials but I remember how unbelievably small it seemed back then ) Since then, I've been a loyal Nokia serial monogamist (story of my life ) and yes, there've been a few... 3210 (wooo! finally, no aerial ) 8810 (looked great, worked only when it felt like it which wasn't often ) 8850 (great little aluminium phone, still have it) 6310i (the monster....best selling Nokia phone EVER standby battery life of several MONTHS or so it seemed) 8310 (cute, unbelivably tiny although a bit effeminate my GF had the same only in pink ) 8910 (probably a reaction from 8310 - sleek black titanium more masculine phone with cool slidey mechanism - bit too chunky though so didn't last long in use - stored somewhere in mint condition. 8800 (current phone has been for over 2 years now and still the favourite of 'em all ) N73 (free upgrade that was technically a step up, remember how amazing it seemed to watch Sky News TV live on it. However, terminally dull handset and relegated to running TomTom satnav only (great for that at least!) due to crappy slooooooww software ) 6500 classic (newest arrival via free upgrade - incredibly svelte and tactile business backup to current 8800 and I'm liking what I see so far )

This thread in this area comes across as quite disingenuous - reads as an unofficial sales post inviting enquiries via PM. 1. There are strict rules about sales posts, one of which is that you have to be a paid-up Supporter to list items. 2. This is a Brand area to discuss, review and chat all things Tag Heuer. It is NOT an area to be crapped on by posting a pic of your recently acquired watch with no other comment other than it's still in plastic and you want to sell it, oh and here's a photo. I recall you were the guy who na

For the record, Tommy is not MIA, he's just taking a break as he's made some quite significant life changes this past year.

'Fraid so. Unmentionable hit the proverbial and I spent the week in and out of Heathrow Sweet of you to miss me though

Well what can I say, 'Gelo tells me everything Thanks for posting interview VB, was there a link/source? Ssurfer - not that mystifying about the PVD claims - he's just playing politician and changing his tune based on the evidence. I'm sure at the time, he was told PVD conferred greater scratch resistance. But I agree, it does leave a bitter aftertaste. He should admit he/they were wrong and apologise. Never going to happen although it is not without precedent. DeFacto - nope, those promo shots clearly showed a 44m model although it was black so ceramic/PVD of some sort.

You are so so wrong. A few tweaks from standard UPO - a gen rubber strap for

'Cos his knee was in touch before he put the ball down Congrats to South Africa, really happy to see the cream rise to the top - deserved world champions

Didn't know that, interesting. So it's not really an early prototype SD after all. How strange, how illogical yet how very Rolex

Ah, so the serial checked out in the end? Make sense I guess as the Mk II was used '69-early '71 I'm told. Didn't the '74 cue come from the bracelet stamp in the first place? Likely a replacement after a couple of years. Still that TZ thin case bothers/confuses me. I though all thin case 1665's were used very sparingly in '66 as a limited pre-Seadweller prototype run. And those used the SRSD 1650ft dial not the Mk II DRSD. And were issued to pro dive contractors. Of course, the rarity of these pre-SDs suggest they were all 'upgraded' to DRSD 1665s, but then why swapout the dial 4 or 5 years later but not upgrade the case???

I spent a long time chattting in one of THE vintage Rolex dealers' shop recently. Amongst the rare and valuable beauties on offer (1665, 1655 etc.) was a gorgeous blue-grey dialled Tudor Sub with matching insert and distinctive snowflake hands. Dealer told me this is the first he's had in a long long while but they're slowly becoming more collectable and pricey. Looked like this (top) with blue colour of one below. Personally I think it's just wrong to take such a decent genuine watch and turn it into what effectively would be a rep Sub, case or not. If you do however, you're forgetting you'll need a rep overlay as the Tudors come with standard ETA datewheels.

Have been a huge fan ever since I was a little boy when I collected them avidly. Playground wars erupted over the cool kids (Asterix fans) and the nerds/geeks (Tintin). I wonder if we'll see any of the latter post to this thread? Also, if I'm honest, Asterix sparked in me a lifelong interest in history and architecture, particularly Ancient Rome. Even now, the humour (stereotypes, puns etc.) especially the clever way they're translated and adapted according to local nuances/grammar just cracks me up. And so, on the 30th anniversary of Rene Goscinny's death, a rare BBC interview (on the news homepage today) with Albert Uderzo, who seems such a character and gent... The vital statistics of Asterix Albert Uderzo has been charming children for almost 50 years with his comic book creation, Asterix the Gaul. Despite the death of its co-creator 30 years ago, the character still dominates his life, he tells Mario Cacciottolo. Florence Richaud playfully tweaks the nose of a plastic Asterix figure, while waiting outside the house belonging to the character's co-creator, Albert Uderzo. "I am bringing Mr Uderzo his son," she says. The figure being carried by Florence - who works for Mr Uderzo's publishing company Les Editions Albert Rene - shows his creation proudly atop a podium. It's the same image found on the cover of the book Asterix at the Olympic Games, to be released as a film next year. The cartoon books of the Gaulish hero and his friends, who live in a village surrounded by invading Romans kept out thanks to a magic potion which gives tremendous strength, have been massively popular since first appearing in 1959. Inside the Uderzo residence, in the exclusive Neuilly-sur-Seine district of Paris, the artist enters his studio slowly, with the use of a single crutch - his right knee has suddenly swollen up and he had to visit hospital earlier that day. Although obviously in some discomfort, he refuses to make a fuss. His office/studio is exactly how one hopes it would be - bright and sunny, stuffed full of figures of Asterix, his friend Obelix and their friends and foes, with models of miniature Gaulish villages, artistic materials and the walls smothered with original artwork. There are also two desks, to which Mr Uderzo points in turn. "That one is where I work, that one is where I do my taxes." Asterix, the village of Gauls with their chieftain Vitalstatistix and the "crazy" Romans surrounding them, were created by Mr Uderzo. Since the death of his writing partner, Rene Goscinny, 30 years ago next month, he has taken on the words as well. Some 325 million copies of the 33 Asterix albums have been sold, with translations into languages as diverse as Urdu, Arabic and even Latin. "Asterix is bearing up well after nearly 50 years, he is still awaited by the readers," he says. "We are getting closer to bringing him back to life in a new album", although he later admits that he's still looking for an idea for the next story. "That's become a lot more difficult for me now - after 33 albums to find an idea is not that easy. If I don't have any more then I am not just going to do an album just for the money. I will stop." Mr Uderzo explains that he creates the cartoon "above all to amuse me" and describes drawing them as "my life", smiling as he says that Obelix is his favourite character in the series and how Walt Disney inspired his early artistic efforts. He says: "I started very young, not to earn money - because at the time you couldn't make any money out of it - but still after 62 years I get amusement and pleasure when I get a good idea and I translate it into a drawing. "I am purely self taught. I never had time to learn to draw. I had to work at a very young age to earn a living. My family was very modest, my dad worked in a factory and couldn't understand why I wanted to do this job. "He was panicked, he had this image of painters being people in the 19th Century with tuberculosis. He didn't want me to be an artist." When asked about Asterix's enduring success, he says this is "a question I've been asked many times, and I asked Goscinny many times also. I still don't really know the answer. "Why are these characters popular with the public in comparison to other characters we created together, where it seems to us that we have used the same ingredients, the same talents, if you like, the same pleasure above all? "We are like magicians who don't know how they do a trick." He does say that perhaps the story's appeal is down to "the revenge of the small against the strong, which the audience can relate to. It's the only explanation I can give". Mr Uderzo often uses the term "we", meaning his partnership with Mr Goscinny, and sometimes in the present tense. "We worked together in the dining room. We looked for ideas, often it was him who found them but we both contributed. "There was a real meshing between the two of us. There are lots of creators who work together, but they work separately on projects. Goscinny knew how I would draw, and I knew what Goscinny wanted me to draw. "Goscinny would give me the complete script, and then I could work on it." Mr Uderzo continues this tradition to this day, writing the script before picking up a pencil, "a discipline I learned from Goscinny" and says that "if I have a problem, I think - how would Goscinny have solved this?" One of the strongest elements of the Asterix story is the affectionate stereotyping of different nationalities - the British with their formal speech and love of warm beer, for example, and the tanned Spanish with their love of flamenco dancing. "We work - I say we, because Goscinny still has a monopoly on it - to speak about a people that other people recognise. "We have to find the archetype that is the most obvious. For example, the Spanish were brown-skinned, but they didn't like it because they said 'We also have blonde Spaniards'. "But if we did the Spanish as blondes, nobody would understand." Mr Uderzo may have been unwell of late but he looks tanned and much younger than his 80 years. He speaks calmly, slowly, with minimum movement, a half-smile his normal expression. He's a man who just loves to draw and is still faintly surprised that so many others love his creations as much as he does. The toy Florence brought to Mr Uderzo was for his approval on what colour the podium should actually be - it is merchandise for the new live-action movie, Asterix at the Olympic Games. This latest film, starring French film stars Gerard Depardieu and Alain Delon, is released in January. The telephone rings and Mr Uderzo takes the call. "I'm sorry," he says when he hangs up, "it was Depardieu," who he describes as "charming" - the actor is reviving his role as Obelix in the latest film production. Mr Uderzo confesses to a weakness for Ferraris, which he collects, and says he has raced them around Europe, admitting to having "crashed, broken and burned cars" in "folly, madness". The last time he raced was in 1998, when in his early 70s. Later, Mr Uderzo's chatty wife Ada appears. She appears to have hurt her back, which she tweaked that morning "while putting my husband's socks on", which he could not do himself on account of his injured knee. When asked why he continues to author the Asterix albums under both names, even though he now works on them alone, Mr Uderzo replies that it is a "question of respect". "I find it completely normal to have both names on the album, I would be ashamed to only put mine on, even if it was only me who wrote them. Goscinny will intrinsically be a part of them as long as Asterix lives." And is the story true, that Asterix got his name because he is the "star" of the comics? "No," replies Mr Uderzo. "Goscinny just wanted to make sure that our work would appear first in an encyclopaedia of comics." (link inc. some nice pics: hxxp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7049642.stm)

Same Mk II dial as Nanuq's beauty, so why the thin Sub/SRSD case?

You see, I have, a gen, in an AD, and everything about it just grates It's the watch equivalent of Vertu - ostentatious 'look at me' styling using snake oil descriptions of all the 'rare' materials used, a premium price to match (gen and rep ), but just bog-standard stuff under the hood. Not getting the Flock of Seagulls reference though

Why not try it yourself since it's your idea FWIW I think it would look awful - blue is bracelet only, black can go SS or rubber.

$160???

What do you say to an Arts graduate with a job? Big Mac and fries, please.... Here all week

Sorry J, I know I should have made that clear, it's being reinstalled Just can't escape my curiousity why the rep makers put it there in the first place, what purpose it serves - never seen anything similar on any rep crystal before.