Pugwash

Oh, and he famously bribed people for good reviews.

Ceramic means dry mud. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic Ceramic used in watches is quite fiddly, requires a lot of work and can add significantly to the cost. ps. Those Chanel j12s are pretty damned nice.

Probably because it's the widest day of the month. Digital watches were set to 10:08 for this reason, which is also the smile time on analogue watches. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10:08

What's your budget? Usually, if you can start off with a watch you've always wanted, like your Seamaster, then you're much more likely to get a good one as you care about it. I'd say go for the Omega SMP. It'll not be perfect, but it'll be damned good and it'll definitely put a smile on your face.

Paulmart ... caveat emptor. He has a history of bait-and-switch and uses bad-mouthing other dealers as a sales technique.

Well, that explains why I wear black leather straps ...

The only easy (and it's not that easy really) way of spotting the rep/gen is the shape of the numbers. They're less rounded on the gen. More rugby-shaped than football-shaped.

This weekend has been a mish-mash of watches, mostly trying some new straps I picked up in The Land Of Smiles. ...and today I went swimming and retested this one's post-service waterproofnessitude: It's back on steel as I don't know how chlorine and Bob-for-Breitling mix.

Hideous. To be honest, I didn't dare ask. Needless to say, it's not cheap.

or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_s...rn_every_minute

Nice one. I can't wait to see the pics. I presume you'll be back in Thailand for Xmas/New Year though.

Check out Koopia's pics too. He's quietly churning out some amazing shots over on the DarkSide.

Photoshop or no Photoshop? Yes, like Neil, I'm using this thread as an excuse to cherry-pick my portfolio.

Sorry, I'm not impressed. I can do better, and that means TTK can do way, way better. Here's a 183 pic in that sort of style. Note how I've kept all the dynamic range and not seared the highlights?

Where is the interest in that? Why put up the stuff that looks like anywhere else in the world? Of course I'm biased. I took photos that looked interesting to me, a westerner. What's the point in showing how similar BKK is to other modern cities? I'm not paid to take pictures that represent Bangkok in a favourable light for businesses to move to. The stuff that's interesting is the stuff that places BKK firmly in SE Asia. That first photo is taken from my brother's Balcony and the building in the top left is Pantip, the techie mall. I didn't go looking for it, it was right there in front of me. Tell you what, here's a city shot without slums: ... and here's one you'll probably not like, taken from the back of a speeding Tuk-Tuk: Feel free.

That's just the problem though. You can judge a book by its cover. People dress a certain way precisely because they want to be judged in a particular way. Honestly, someone who gets loads of tattoos doesn't do so thinking "Damn, I'd best make sure I can cover them up as I don't want people to think I'm a hard nut" and people who wear Armani don't buy suits because they're more comfortable than slacks. We, us forum members, are amongst the pinnacle of judge-me-by-my-cover as we buy replicas. ps. It's got nothing to do with wealth, by the way ...

Why does it need to come from the EU. Is Austria that restrictive? ps. Posts: 14 ... you'll need to work on that before people will trust you enough to smuggle for you.

A little from column A and a little from column B.

It's a shame I don't like the Inge. Someone had better do a great review for my forthcoming IWC article.

I know. I love the pragmatic view they have. They don't have health-and-safety regulations like we do in the EU because they realise you have to be stupid to do some of the dangerous things and they're happy for that gene to be dialled out of the pool.

... and Thailand has just raised the minimum drinking age to 24 and banned all alcohol advertising.

Oh? Apart from killing, what is the purpose of a gun? In what way is it a tool?

Hear that? That was the sound of a line being crossed.

Some Quality Control. It's not much to ask ...

You know, I think you might be right!