fotoman

as the community has continued to grow - its almost inevitable that these things have happened I can say for sure that there aren't hundreds of "certified" watchmakers worth their salt that can hold a candle to what The Zigmeister does - his job is way tougher than what the "mainstream" watchmakers face- they have a book to reference for parts - The Zigmeister has to make a bunch of crazy half baked movements - stuff held together with duct tape - and try to make it work well and sent back to the owner better than he had it. i have a local watchmaker i'm using now, but he has screwed up 2 of my watches - cause he isn't used to be as creative as The Zigmeister needs - flav also destroyed one of my dials. I'll back you with the no soup for you philosophy - this is a hobby for you anyway and you have no obligation to accept work you don't want.

my HKtans and V straps are the jewels of my collection. I just got my gator for my tourbillon and i'm waiting for a hornback for my skeleton watch. I got mine after about 6 weeks - i love the strap, i think it goes great with the watch, in fact, it makes the whole package way more appealing. As for the HKTan "quality and wait time" - my straps from him have been as good to OEM straps as i have seen - and his prices while not Bob strap low are very good deals comparing to what else is out there. There are some other straps that i would consider in the same $$ range, but so far the customizing for size style and color is really a nice feature. i like em thick

yeah i would have had them pop the caseback

i have my 177h with the V strap - its awesome. I actually have like 6 super awesome watches - my biggest problem now is, i dont' get to wear enough of them often enough - i'm waiting on 1 more strap and some parts and my collection will be complete - for now

my father has become enamored with the AP RO - a friend of his wore a gen rose gold the other day and that set him off to get one. He wants Rose Gold and Rubber strap - i guess the question is, anyone have experience with a decent rubber strap - i.e. without the dust issues ect ect. - i've combed trusty, PC, Puretime, King, Silix, so i know whats out there, but i want to know if anyone has any personal experience and advice. Thanks

the ugly side of super reps

one huge flaw with this model its not mine mazel tov

well, its listed for 295 - i'm not sure its worth 295. I guess this is that new movement - but its fantasy all the way i'll be interested to see if anyone gets one and if it has some sort of super dial or case http://www.kingshowbox.com/goods.php?id=971

i was most worried about those security updates - good to know members can only log on with 5 oz of liquids or whatever you can fit in a small plastic bag

not even close - get the SF

Hmm quite sad indeed.

its time for another edition deep thoughts, with Crystal Cranium

i thought the clark crystal was great.

yeah, well, i was not around for the big blow up. you know what, - back when it wasn't popular to say so, he was saying that our movements weren't swiss, they were asian copies. and like i said, he has been around longer than anyone else in this discussion. way before anyone started a "cartel" thread, Neil was telling it like it is - or at least how he saw it. He wasn't one to hold back, and wasn't afraid of what people would say - he isn't a bad guy. I've had long conversations with him, I think he had a bad run for a bit. I think he took on more than he could chew. He needs to make amends to the folks that got screwed. Having said that, i don't order from him, cause i like my items shipped promptly. But like i said, he was here before 95% of us and i would bet that he'll be here when 95% of us are gone. before i sold a few of those dragon pens to fund my pipe dream of getting a gen zenith- i contacted him, and spoke to him to make sure he was ok with me directly competing. (of course i had board permission as well) since i was doing it on a very limited basis, He was actually very supportive, offered to take his listing down and offered to take some photos to help my sales. I think that takes a pretty decent dude. He didn't have to do any of that. a man of detail he is not - but, if he was, he'd probably be wearing a suit and working in the UK, instead of screwing around on the beach in Bangkok and selling fake watches on the internet

anyone can get sued for anything winning is a different issue entirely - most people don't have the $$ to find out

i wish it was that simple, the story goes back to the begining of the forums, naming klink and adam during my lifetime to name a few. i also wrote that usually what happens is these dudes get in over their heads- seized or not. he was buying from our dealers anyway, like josh and trusty, so, he couldn't haave been making all that much $$. Yeah well, he had alot of stories - going to med school, substance abuse, sick kid. . . i don't think i buy any of them. I still don't think he was a bad guy, just someone in way over his head, and unfortunately folks got hurt - it was bound to happen, seizure, early check out take my cash and move to mexico or not. why did my thread get moveed to humor, i don't think this is funny. Its a pretty serious discussion about our rep world. time to PM the mods

there hardly ever was

I really hate to say, i told ya so, (and i don't mean you doc, i mean in general) but . "The first is, he is in the US. Meaning, every order you place has a significantly HIGHER risk of customs problems then having one shipped here directly - because of his high volume. - His time will come to an end just like all the other US based collectors - its happened to everyone that has been around this board over the last few years, its just too difficult to keep open and do any kind of volume. . . . I think TWP has good intentions, but, i just don't have any confidence in his ability to run his business well enough to be a consistent long term player. Which means there will be alot of people who get watches and then one day it will end - with whoever has an order in holding the rope." http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...+for+prime+time

yeah i wasn't sure of his current status - my issues with him were well documented i think what everyone has to remember is trusted dealer is a relative term- considering the industry. Compared to the jerks selling an asian PO for 700$$$ like i posted about the other day, our guys at least can be held to account. i'm sure lots of people trust their crack dealer, until the day he screws them - having a track record going back years, means alot in this business though - we are all still much better off then if there were no RWG. - a few bad deals in the mix or not

They know - there are almost no real ETAs left, almost all asian copies - still don't know what the justification for the new pricing is, i think its out of control. one of the easy ways to tell is if the backshot of the watch on the website doesn't show the movement, but just a caseback - if you notice josh's template, he'll show the movement - when he doesn't - those watches usually become the subject of these types of threads. I have said since the start of these discussions that there is NO EXCUSE for selling asian copies as ETA. - if it only happened once and a while you could call it a mistake or a factory problem - but, even Silix, who promised to pay a purse of $1000 to anyone if they received an asian movt instead of an ETA. i remember someone coming forward, and i don't remember hearing about the payout

That is AWESOME - we have the coolest people on this forum. The apollo rockets had over 3 million parts? considering the technology its so amazing we did what we did. I toured the Mercury Redstone launching bunker - with a literally a "fire" button to launch the rocket

just about every dealer i can think of has had a problem at some point. Paul - had the infamous crazy sale (not unlike TTK's current situation) Angus was banned for a while, had outstanding sales but finally made good River left a few folks hanging in his early retirement then re-appeared - fixed everything that i know of king, silix i've heard many personal horror stories no major downfalls Josh, Trusty have taken heat for some of the pricing, but to their credit, i don't know of any major issues. PT, Narkiaa - never heard a bad word about some of the other newer dealers are still, newer, at least to these boards. - the above dealers have been around a loooooong time, especially in this business - lots of folks come in, think they can make a few bucks, and get overwhelmed and the trouble starts. Neil has his issues - he is slow as hell to ship has a very unique flare and spice to the commentary on the board. But you definitely have to give him some props for longevity and maybe a little senility

longtime dealers who run into short term issues can come back if they fix all customer problems. Frankly, neil is one of the founders of the online community, been doing this for like 6 or 7 years - he'll never be away forever. - Oh, maybe victoria and neil are gone TOGETHER?

oh my lord stephane, no wonder you have so many posts congrats on your sticky and - maybe some more time reading a good book, or cuddling up to the dog - or possibly a video game is in order

what instrument do you play? I was a counselor at space camp - got to meet alan shepard, got him to autograph his book I understand aldrin is a real [censored]