Usil

Just curious - since there is now a choice between the new Breitling Steel Fish or the Seiko what would make you choose the Seiko Dive Watch over the SF? Usil

Ok, enough with the talk. It looks like the watch is close to going into production. When can I part with my money on this one??? Usil

A great time for extended family contact and good feelings. Best to everyone. Usil

Rarified - yes. I have never met anyone who even suspected there was such a thing as a 'high quality' rep and even when told they have a hard time grasping it. Also, I always tell my fiends that my watches are reps and many have gotten the bug because of it. I agree, that it is part of the fun to have open discussions about the reps like we do on the forums. Usil

This is just a small story I relate as I have not had this happen to me before. I was at a fund raiser last week at a fine hotel on Les Champs-Elysees. The Americans Women Group in Paris did this to raise money for charity. It was a wine auction where everything was donated and a person from Sotheby's auctioned off the wines. I wore my Fiddy at the event. About half way through the reception a well dressed elderly man approached me and pointed to my wrist. He asked if he could see it and I showed it to him on my wrist. From the look on his face it was obvious he was in great admiration of my watch and knew exactly what it was. He asked if I had any other Panerai and I said yes. He said 'let me guess - a Luminor" to which I said yes I do. He said "of course - what else". The moment was too short to go into the fact it was a rep but it was the first time anyone has ever recognized my Panerai and knew what it was. Kind of a neat moment. Usil

Bad luck. Happens to all of us sometime. The real killer is that all the good feelings about getting a great watch for such a good price turns into a nightmare of replacement headachs and of course all the extra costs. Now it is not such a great deal. You can probably sell the black one on the forum - someone will know how to fix it and the orange one you will need to go into the gory details so someone else can weigh whether they can fix it or use if for parts. Might get the price of one new one out of the deals. Usil

My Po had 4 problems and I sent it back to Andrew. The perl was the usual tilted, the He valve spun like a top and I was afraid it would eventually be lost, The crown would not screw down but the real killer was the watch stopped periodically. Andrew tells me a replacement is on the way so I will let you know the outcome. Hope that the problems have all been fixed because I liked the feel and look of this watch. The bracelet was perfect. Usil

Sam's idea is one of desperation but you are in a desperate situation since you can not go back. What have you got to loose - you just might salvage the watch. It can work in theory. Let us know. Usil

Nice looking watches. The Bentley - is it the 48 mm? And the bezel looks different from others I have seen. Is this a new model? What dealer has this one? Usil

Narikaa: Can you still get that watch? Usil

We want your journal, pictures and experiences. This will be intersting. Usil

There have been many posts about stripped crowns with this watch. Plus lots of other quality issues. Usil

Did not mention anything about trade surplus. Ditto on trade imbalence. No where near talking about posturing ... Are you reading the post I just posted? To answer I simply have to complete the sentence part you neglected. ...get beat up enough and finally have to succumb to the pressure of complying with international laws in manufacturing Usil

I read last week where they rated the 50, states in order of most dangerous to live in and Alaska did not do so well. South Dekota is pretty safe. Usil

I used to burn magnesium strips in the lab. Catch that Big Bang on fire and it will be a shining star. Usil

jfreeman420, You are not thinking long term enough. It will happen. Usil

The first Honda car I saw was in the 1970's - a funny little 2 seat car very similar in shape to today's Smartcar but about 1/2 the size. It had a 4 cyclendar motorcycle engine in it. POS. What a long way they have come. Usil

This is not going to happen over night. You can not create any item that seriously challenges the establishment without a trial period (lasting years). Look at the first Japanese cars in the 70's. Look at them now. Don't we associate brand names like Toyota and Honda with quality ever good as Mercedes or BMW? Usil

Yes they have the manufacturing ability to do this from CAD and the infrastructure to seriouly embark in this area of manufacturing. They are making mega-dollars right now with t-shirts and undies so it will take a little time for them to consider entering an established high-ticket items where they have to compete with people who care about the name on the brand but when they make their first branded watch that knocks the socks off of exiting watches in the market for USD 400.00 they will slowly be taken seriously when Watch Trade Journals start performing the teardowns and reviews with comparisons to established watches in the high end market. This will also put serious pressure on the rep market. Usil

We have been enjoying a plethora of great looking and semi-quality plus some not so good quality reps these past 14 months. This is likely to continue but for how long, who knows. At some point in the future, when the Chinese get beat up enough and finally have to succumb to the pressure of complying with international laws in manufacturing they will use their considerable manufacturing power to start making their own branded watches, possibly similar but maybe even better in design and function. I predict this is the next phase of watches from China. Why not - they can make some pretty nice looking reps - why not start making originals with all the quality and workmanship you can get from an industry finally having to compete in the market place? - And at a price 10 to 20% of what we pay for Gens today from Breitling, Omega and Panerai. Real watch manufacturing! Design department, movement department, assembly; quality control, high quality standards, sapphire crystals, super lume, water proof with guarantees and slick world wide marketing. They are quite capable of doing this. Same goes for manufacturing cars. Given time, like the Japanese, they can enter and impact this market too. How much time? Many will speculate in this area but it is only a matter of time. Just look at the percentage of legitimate (every day) goods already entering the global market from China. Luxury items are next. Usil

It is very variable. If anyone gets it in a week that is luck and timing or you have placed an order from someone in the EU. More the average is 2 weeks with some into 3 weeks. A few may be more depending on circumstances. Usil

What did you use to brush the case? Usil

Good God that is a lot of yellow. Usil

As great as this watch is for everybbody, it has had an enormous amount of reported quality issues. Contact your dealer and prepare to send it back for a replacement. We all hate doing this but sometimes you need to do this. Usil

The missing 3 o'clock marker really staands out. Usil