Pugwash

You just broke Mrs Pugwash. You made her snort.

No chance. What were you like aged 12? Now what were you like on school trips? He knew what he was doing, and there were signs everywhere. He just didn't think he'd get caught.

No AR, I'm just that good. I use diffuse lighting and a polarising filter. It's tricky at first but ... lesson 4 explains it.

Ok, while I agree that it's a sad story, there comes a point that you have to stop being outraged and actually think of the logistics and thought that went behind it. It worked. Busting a 12 year old kid worked. We're discussing it right here and right now. I'd never even heard of Firenze Market before now, and since some sprog got shafted for a grand, I now know NOT TO BUY REPLICAS there. As long as there is a market, there will be traders. If the tourists don't buy, the markets go away. If the tourists come home with horror stories, they don't buy. Signs everywhere saying "Don't buy replicas here" encourage you to remember the story of the kid with a grand of debt. Right or wrong, the police have made their stance perfectly clear: No tourists buying reps leads to no traders. As long as tourists come to buy watches, there will always be hawkers with crappy reps. Arrest one and another takes his place. Remove the tourists and the hawkers go away.

Sure he did.

That looks very much like a 2892. Loads more here: http://images.google.com/images?q=eta%202892

/me takes a bow.

Does the dealer say they're ETAs? If so, you're safe. Either they are or you can return it.

I don't know if you understand how replicas hurt Rolex. I've used this example before, so I'll change it to a 12 year old kid instead of a janitor. Imagine a CEO of a company who wants to buy himself a really cool watch because he just got a $20 grand bonus. He really likes the gold Yachtmaster as it says all sorts of things about him and his love of yachts. On his way to the local Watch Emporium, he spies a kid on a skateboard annoying some old grannies. He sees the 12 year old kid is wearing a Yachtmaster. A gold one, too, just like his dream watch. Damn, that watch is a fake and he realises that he will constantly be asked if his is a fake by his golf buddies. What is the point in buying an exclusive watch if snotty kids can buy them too? He decides to spend the money on an Omega Planet Ocean instead, because the Orange looks dead good next to his life-jacket on his vacht. Some snotty kid just lost Rolex a sale. Yeah, because rewarding replica buyers really sends the message home ... ps. I tried to respond in a less confrontational manner, but I couldn't without sounding like I didn't really have a clue, so I reverted to the more confrontational edit as it's only an internet forum.

iirc, at watchswiss@hotmail.com

Buying reps hurts Rolex a LOT.

As long as you are aware of Luckyyy's method of business, go for it!

Wow. I use the ETA logo and the model number printed on it ... It's much easier that way.

It was 2003 iirc.

Didn't Muller get done for using CN movements recently?

Silix Watch or Silix Prime? Let's be careful not to compare the two. The movements on that site are G movements? The straps look lower quality (but who cares as you'd replace the strap instantly)? Difficult to say, but it has $30-$40 shipping on top of the price.

Absolutely, but I specified Paypal, not eBay. eBay scams are a little trickier, but can be easily avoided by doing everything through a bookmark to "My Ebay" instead of clicking mails. Never, ever click a link to paypal or ebay in an email, unless it's the first confirmation mail.

The ETAs in replicas are NOT Swiss. However, they are identical to the ETAs in Swiss watches apart from one cog, a polish job or a screw. We are not being scammed by dealers who are telling us we're getting real ETAs, as we are. Remember, the Swiss don't make ETAs, they just add a screw or a cog to say that it's made in Switzerland. ETAs are made in China. If a movement is labeled ETA, it's an ETA. Swiss is a bad word to use as even when the Swiss use it it doesn't mean what you think it does. No-one sells a Swiss replica as they simply do not exist. Let me try another way as I'm reading what I'm writing and it appears ambiguous. In our replicas, Swiss means "having an ETA movement". ETA Movements are made for the Swatch Company by Chinese factories. Scammers also use Swiss to try to get you to buy a watch that doesn't exist. The Swiss watch companies use "Swiss Made" to denote a watch that has been assembled in Switzerland. Is that clearer?

There's a general rule for paypal scams. It's very easy to follow, too. Paypal will never, ever send you a mail asking you to login to do something. Ever. No matter how realistic, it's not from paypal. Even if they actually do send a mail asking you to change your password or free up your locked this that or the other, ignore it, they'll understand.

Well, I have an Omega GMT Bond-style in the post currently. If it's not used in the film, I'll not be too upset. I wonder if the black PO, an excellent choice for Bond doing watery stuff by the way, will become a PO-Chrono ...

Feel it more ...

No it isn't... It's so the second-hand is closer to the dial to eliminate parallax errors on the stopwatch. The chrono second hand cleverly uses the 8-beats a second to make quarter-second ticks. The second-hand needs raising to get past the subdials and bending at the end to get back to the dial height. The bend isn't an illusion, it's a feature. Here are some pretty pics for your amusement. Here, you can clearly see the quarter-second tempo: Here, you can clearly see that it's a single-bend, not a curve, in the chrono hand:

Today, it's this one. I'll repost for tomorrow.

Welcome to the start of the horror. The cravings for a second watch will hit you soon, and then you'll look at them funny square watches with parts of swan in them ... and you'll be glad you saved so much money as you'll need to spend it all on more reps. Muahahahaha. ps. Good purchase, welcome to the hobby. Oh, you get a little so give a little. Take photos of the Sub and show it off!

Take more pics! It's my battle-cry. Take more pics! See, when I post pictures, and I post one or two if you've not noticed, I get a few PMs asking me which dealer I got it from, what strap it is, how it runs, etc., and I answer every one, sometimes with a link to the original pictorial where the dealer/strap combo are described in detail. sometimes with a link to the item I bought, whatever. I prefer to put the details in the post, but it doesn't always happen, so the PMs are inevitable and I try my best to deal with them all. If we all took pics of every watch we buy and wrote a short piece, we will have a library of independent photos and text (or just photos if needed) that people can use to assist in their purchases. TAKE MORE PICS! ps. Photo Tutorial #4 is on its way soon, but it's a bit advanced. I may be rewriting 1-3 soon, too.