Usil

I wish someone was rich enough to buy all versions and do this kind of comparison for all reps. This is great work. Thanks. Usil

It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt - Abraham Lincoln

PAM 111h PAM 212 Fiddy Breitling Navitimer Breitling Chrono Avenger Breitling Chronomat Evolution IWC GST (Ti) IWC F.A. Jones IWC Big Pilot (when it comes out in improved version) Sub Daytona Omega Seamaster Chronograph Omega Planet Ocean Usil

WOW! That is very cool. I have been bouncing around thinking about the 'ultimate' and this would be. Let us know if anyone makes one. For those who have done this, what would be the steps to do this? Usil The Black is the best by far. Pure Stealth. Usil

That's two for the Fuji S3 Pro. Great camera, great out of the camera shots, extremly low noise at ISO 1600 and since it is a Nikon body ready for all the pro lenses. S3 Pro is soon to be replaced with S5 Pro next month so you can find some bargains for the S3 Pro right now. S5 Pro has same very low noise but up to ISO 3200 and larger buffer for more shots in short time period. Usil

Is that the Super or the Regular? Usil

I don't know if even the belt will fit on me. Usil

I did not like the strap it came with so I looked at some extras I had and tried this one. It is a Watch Prince and inexpensive but it looks and feels great so this is what I use. (Poor picture from an old camera but the black textured strap looks good in person.) Usil

Don't need another sub-forum. This thread is doing fine and the dealers see the points that are being made. But If I can try to bring this into a direction other than lamenting and rhetoric, I repeat what I said earlier about trying to see if we can agree on a few basics for rep descriptions that we insist the dealers hold to such as: 1. Synthetic Saphire = Manufatured Saphire crystals 2. Mineral Glass = Mineral Glass (no mention of saphire in any form) 3. 1 to 1 = Means that Gen parts will fit in the watch - MINIMALLY this means crowns, crystals and the watch dial are directly replacable with Gen parts. 4. Any mention of AR has got to be visible and not invisible. Movements - I will leave that to others. Usil

Can we have some standards of descriptions agreed upon on this forum? Accurately describing the movement and whether the crystals are saphire or not should be ground zero basics for our dealers. True saphire is not mineral glass and synthetic saphire which all watch saphire crystals are is also not mineral glass since they are created using a manufactured process, has got to be straightened out. Accurate descriptions of the watches is not going to deter any one of us from buying them - not one - and it will go along ways is reestablishing our dealers credibility. This is one of the reasons I appreciate Neil's handling and inspection of his watches before he ships. I rely on this. So, here is the first standards I propose: 1. Synthetic Saphire = Manufatured Saphire crystals 2. Mineral Glass = Mineral Glass 3. 1 to 1 = Means that Gen parts will fit in the watch - MINIMALLY this means crowns, crystals and the watch dial are directly replacable with Gen parts. Please continue the list as I am not an expert on the movements. Usil

Me too. Pugwash, did you get all your watches? Usil

Pugwash, You can try my XXL Railmaster on the 28th. Usil

Great shots. I have an older version in which I scratched the crystal. This recent model is calling to me. Usil

Fuji S3 Pro which is a Nikon body with Fuji sensor. 12 megapixels with 50% of the pixels for image and 50% used for dynamic range extension. For close-ups I use a Nikon 105mm Macro F2.8 to F32. Usil

Amazing, the things we do to our reps. It is slightly exhilerating tearing into a project like this and especially satisfying if it all works. To me this is part of the hobby and while I like a perfect watch, I do my best to try a fix it instead of sending it back to the dealer. Usil

Hey guys, I forgot to tell you what I saw on the TV in the US when I went back on Holiday - not to hijack my own thread - and I don't mind the good discussion going). I was flipping channels and passed a 'sales network' - the kind that sells stuff 24 hrs a day and that day they were selling watches. Lots of watches, all Asian look alikes with a made up initial set on it (can't remember the initials - maybe SW or something else) so I watched for a few minutes as this guy explains the quality of this watch with it's great 7750 movement, blah, blah, blah. It was a sport watch and had three sub-dials and then he showed the offer price of $2499.00 USD. But no - he was knocking it down to $1999.00 USD. I could not believe it. I was looking at a cheep Asian watch, no where near the quality of the watches we buy and they were selling these for almost $2000.00 USD. Maybe the price our dealers charge isn't so bad. Usil

Please consider working distance as an important issue if after you do a few watch shots you plan to go out chasing bugs and butterflies. I use a 105mm Nikon macro and frequently this was still too close in many cases. I frequently used my Nikon 70 - 200 F 2.8 with a close up body attachment out in the woods because I needed the distance. This let me keep my distance and still get a great macro shot. Usil

That is black would be very nice. Where do you get a 26/22 band? Usil

Thanks for this report. Very interesting. Usil

Holy Crap tvt - 3000 USD for a winder - for only three watches??? Surely you mean 300 USD? I thought my watch collection was getting a bit on the high side. I don't feel so bad now. Usil

Pugwash, when I first read your post, I thought - how simple but true. I could see the sun coming up through the 8 - heading toward 12 and then setting on the bezel. How odd but I like it. Usil

From a pracitcal aspect, I have a upper limit to what I will pay for any watch. Paying a few hundred for a watch that sells for several thousand is a good deal as long as it functions and does not fall apart but I have a limit for my disposable income and this hobby. Drop shipping does not provide assurances for quality while hand inspecting and then shipped does to most extents because it allows for the removal of those units that fall far short of practical quality. So, if I want to increase my odds to get a trouble free watch as the prices raise (and I do), because the hassle of getting a lemon becomes prohibitively expensive and because I become less tolerant of imperfections and manufacturing defects, this steers me toward those dealers that handle and inspect the watches rather than drop shipping. Also, I expect to pay more for a watch with complications but standard watches, I would think, should not go up nearly as much. All of the above is from the perspective of a purchaser and collector that would like to buy more than just one watch. From the side of the dealer, there is no doubt the troubles these guys see and have to put up with. The type of crap that Neil recently described is simply not worth the effort. Add the price that has to be built into the watch for replacements (for what ever reason) and the seller needs volume to make it all work. If the prices continue upward, the great dealers that do drop ship are going to loose business so the raising of prices, while in part is market driven, will be self defeating and ultimately seek a level that will be self adjusting, just like any supply and demand market. So, the one thing that can make all of this work better (for the dealer and the buyer) is to decrease the quality problems we see and I am not talking about the nit-picking details described in a 1 to 1 comparison but rather dials, bracelets, bezels, and movements all working well and functioning as they should. I have seen the power of group deals where the dealer, the manufacturer and the buyers are all tuned in to creating a common goal. The dealers act as the go between, the dealers and prospective buyers are examining the proofs and the manufacturers are trying to get it right. That is not such a bad scenario so the system can work with some effort. I think that quality can be had but we have to continue to demand it at all levels, not just the buyers but the dealers too. Better quality works for everyone and will reduce the need for a price increases. That leaves the losses by customs and the mail systems. There is no recourse for these losses. When they are gone they're gone and the dealers have to build this into their business or they will go out of business. Back to my notice of price increases. Will I pay, on the average, 75 USD more for rep watches. Yes, but not nearly as many as I used too and certainly not on the first run and, you know, the used market is looking better and better. If a lot of prospective buyers think this way too, this hurts the dealers and the manufacturers - provides negative pressure on the market and can drive the prices to stabilize or even drop back a notch. Also, to a great extent, this is an impulse buy market. Anything that deters us from making that quick impulse buy will most likley kill the sale. Just ask any salesman, if they see his mark leave the showroom - Elvis has left the building. So, price will most certainly effect significantly this business as in any other. Just my two cents. Usil

What is the diameter of the watch? Looks very big. Usil

On the swan neck, it looks like the top end is thicker and maybe has a squared end for a miniature tool to fit and turn the adjustment screw. I never could figure how the first ones could be used without removing the movement. If it has the end for a little wrench then it makes sence. Anyone know? Usil

Is it my imagination or have rep prices been bumping up about 75.00 USD on the average? Usil