dlgates

Breitling Navitimer (Quartz) Received from Malaysian scam site, August 2004 SS; Diameter: 42 mm; fully functioning I ordered this watch (before finding RWG and TRC) from what turned out to be a Malaysian dealer's web site that changed names frequently and was discussed on both of the boards by various members who had got 'involved' with trying to get a watch they had paid for. It turned that persistence and threats would eventually get one his watch--it took about six weeks for me. My first reaction was the watch looked good but the quartz movement was crappy, and I believe I said so at the time. This is not true: I just had not been educated long enough to learn about how chronograph hands are correctly reset to their zero positions if for some reason they are not aligned properly. Once I learned that trick from helpful fellow members, the watch worked perfectly. I paid $89 for it, I believe, which in retrospect was a fair price. I have actually enjoyed the watch but as someone who has not researched Breitlings for any reason, cannot with any authority comment on the correctness of the replica. I have just taken this set of pictures, and tomorrow I intend to install a nice dark brown Breitling strap that I bought for it three or four months ago and never got around to using. (And yes, I realize I failed to polish the clasp before taking the last picture! I should also have lined up the bezel with the 60 at the top--promise to do better next time.) Conversion to leather strap in June, 2005 This is the same watch except that I have removed the bracelet and replaced it with a leather strap. The strap was purchased from seller Scotty (who disappeared from the scene back in February, 2005) and turned out to be a 22mm strap when this watch actually required a 20mm. I did a very stupid thing and squeezed the leather when I should instead have used a razor blade and trimmed the edges slightly so they they would fit neatly between the lugs. The bracelet and SELs were difficult to remove, and after forcing the installation of the leather strap and realizing I had caused a bit of damage to the strap in the process, I went ahead and snapped the pictures, but will have to remove the strap again and see if I can do a better job with it. The strap itself looks very good on the watch, in my opinion; unfortunately Scotty sent me the wrong size and I failed to notice. I personally prefer the appearance of the watch with the leather and will probably wear it on occasions I would not have before. -------------------- THE END Thanks for looking!

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave) Breitling for Bentley Motors (bronze dial) Received from Abay 2 October 2004 Diameter: 48 mm -- weight: excessive! A big man's watch indeed... Asian movement: not true chronograph, but close replication and great value for price. Effects of changing from the standard highly polished steel bracelet to a dark brown leather strap -- some very quick-and-dirty shots AFTER: THE END Thanks for looking! Dave

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave) Breguet Classique Tourbillon Fantasy Received 6th June 2005 from Jos Nana SS; diameter 39 mm; white face with guilloche; open heart There is really no equivalent genuine Breguet with which to compare this watch, although it is obviously rather loosely based on the genuine tourbillon pictured here: As usual, Joshua delivered a well-packaged, well selected, interesting and unusual watch. Let the pictures speak for themselves. THE END Thanks for looking!

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave) Breguet Open Heart Fantasy No. 3750 Received from Richard Lawton, 27 September 2004 Trademark Breguet fluting around case; Blancpain-style open heart fake tourbillon In French: Day; Lange-style Date; Month THE END Thanks for looking!

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave) Blancpain Villeret Received from Richard Lawton 13 September 2004 Slightly larger than original and not ultra-thin The original watch is 36mm without crown, later expanded to 38mm. This replica is 38mm, and the thickness including crystal is approximately 13mm, definitely not "ultra-thin". The original also comes with a croc leather strap. Its 100-hour power reserve, however, is definitely not duplicated in the rep! However, the appearance of this watch matches the genuine Villeret very closely, and I prefer the slightly larger size. It is unfortunate that replicas of Blancpains seem to be almost non-existent. Closer... Display case back... Strap inscribed... Buckle... In my opinion, a very elegant watch... And finally... For comparison at least with the face of the original--small image but the only one I could locate today... THE END Thanks for looking!

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave) Blancpain Léman Moon Phase Received 7th April 2005 from Jos Nana SS; diameter 38 mm; day, month, date, faux moon phase The authentic watch is pictured here and carries a suggested retail price of $6,500 USD for the SS version:: The replica is quite accurate except that the 6 o'clock subdial has a 24-hour hand for a dial marked as if it were running seconds, and a jour et nuit sun-moon wheel, whereas the original has a power reserve indicator and true moon phase wheel. In almost all other regards, the replication is quite accurate. The day and month windows are spaced slightly closer together than on the original; the red arrow point on the date hand is larger; and there is a 6 o'clock marker that shouldn't be there. Considering this is a rare watch that few people are ever likely to have seen, much less worn, it is a very good copy. Note particularly the hour and minute hands, which are transparent except for the tips. If you look very closely at the pictures just above, you may notice that the "hump" on the left side of the moon dial looks as if it has been nibbled on by a wee beastie. I was unable to find a picture of the authentic case back to compare with the replica: An elegant watch... And finally, on the wrist... Before concluding, there is an interesting little story about the delivery of the watch. The watch was ordered on 21st February and, in accordance with Joshua's excellent service, was promptly shipped on the 22nd and despatched overseas on the 23rd.. Delivery time should have been anywhere from eight days minimum to about two weeks maximum, based on previous experience. Weeks began to slip by and the watch had not arrived, although clearly it left Singapore on an airplane for JFK Airport in New York and should have been in Customs by the 24th of February. After a week, there had been no word from Customs that the watch was being held. After waiting still longer, around 16th March Joshua sent me an IWC watch that I selected as a substitute--we were assuming the Blancpain had been permanently lost by the USPS or stolen while passing through Customs. Well, a month and a half after Joshua shipped the watch, it suddenly arrived at my local post office. The package was in excellent condition and it had obviously not been opened by Customs or anyone else. The address was bold and clear. Finally, a day after the watch arrived on 7th April, I looked carefully at the package again and noticed a barely legible scribble in one corner that appeared to be "73011" and an indeterminate squiggle. Since 73011 definitely looked like a ZIP Code, I promptly found on the 'net that it belongs to a tiny town in Oklahoma called Bradley. This town has a population of 182 people, spread among 86 households. What kind of post office exists there I cannot imagine, but I now assume that the package had been lying in its possession for nearly a month--no doubt the first time anything with a postmark from Singapore had appeared there. It made me wonder if the local postal person had kept the package until everyone in the town had had a chance to see it before he/she bothered to forward it on to the correct address! The end of the story, of course, is that Joshua got paid for and I received, eventually, two watches instead of one (that is not counting the others I bought from him in between). Except it turns out that it is not the end of the story after all... Now for the disappointing part. The hand on the 6 o'clock subdial initially ran and was obviously following the 24-hour clock even though it was off by 1-1/2 hours. In other words, the hand should have been on 30 at noon and on 60 at midnight. What has happened with the watch now is that as the date hand has come around, operating properly, and instead of passing over the subdial hand, as it is supposed to, apparently because the subdial hand is slightly bent upwards, the date hand is now caught under the subdial hand so that neither one of them can function properly. This could not be observed before, because if you study the dial, you can see that the date hand when moving from 18 to 31 and on to 13 is always clear of the subdial. However, since the date is now between the 13th and 18th of the month, the collision was inevitable and just happened to have occurred tonight. I had accepted the inaccuracy of the subdial hand as something I could live with. Unfortunately the date hand is one of the most significant features of the watch, and now that it cannot function because of being caught on the subdial hand, it will require a watchsmith to correct the situation (I am not prepared to dismantle the watch and fix the hands). Any volunteers? Since the collision of the hands actually occurred this midnight as the date hand was moving from 14 to 15, it remains to be seen what if any damage will be done to the movement by this situation. I have just now pulled out the crown, so that the hacking mechanism will stop the watch running and, one hopes, prevent serious damage. As of a few minutes past midnight, this beautiful watch is now useless as a timepiece. It has, of couse, taken me all evening to prepare this photo review--nearly four hours from start to finish--with no intention of having anything but praise for the watch. But now, past midnight, I have just taken one additional picture that will show exactly what has happened: THE END Thanks for looking! Dave P.S. & N.B.: Subsequent posts to the original thread would have explained that the problem was fixed very simply by removing the movement from the case and replacing the hands in proper position after a very slight bending of the one that was catching. All was well, and Joshua had again delivered a marvelous watch.

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave) A. Lange & Söhne Langematik with Date Received from Andrew07, 29 Jan 2005 Near replica of classic watch with Sax-O-Mat movement Subdial more closely resembles that of genuine Saxonia

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave) A. Lange & Söhne Power Reserve (fantasy) Received 26th November 2004 from Efren SS; diameter 41 mm; off-white face with guilloche A bit of a story behind this watch... Efren had a single copy of what was called a "Sax-O-Mat" (although the correct name is Langematik) and I missed being able to purchase it. He watched for some weeks to see if he could locate another copy for me but was told the rep was no longer being made. His supplier told him that instead there was a new model Sax-O-Mat just available for the first time, a new model not yet seen, with a power reserve indicator. Naturally I told Efren I wanted the watch. When it was pictured on Offers, naturally those with astute eyes noticed that the caseback said "Swiss Made" and "Geneve" although A. Lange & Söhne is from Germany and the caseback should have said "Glashütte Sachsen". Efren immediately offered to take the watch back (or rather not send it to me at all), because he felt embarrassed he had not looked at the caseback carefully and realized the major error. I insisted I wanted to keep it regardless, because L&S reps are so difficult to find, even inaccurate ones, and besides, the face said "Made in Germany" as it should. (Later, by the way, I bought the no-longer-produced "Sax-O-Mat" Langematic from Andrew, and it has its own photo review in this section of the forum.) The power reserve indicator is indeed functional, as is the one on the Jaeger Lecoultre Master Reserve de Marché that I reviewed just yesterday. It measures up to 40 hours, although I have found that the watch runs down when the indicator reaches somewhere around 5. The L&S trademark two-window "large date" is not as large as it should be on a correct L&S watch, but it functions correctly and is operated by a flush pusher at 2 o'clock. The major error on the face itself is "Chronograph Automatic", when quite obviously this is not a chronograph at all. Few people will notice that, however. Here is the incorrect caseback, with correct information on the rotor but not on the surround of the display crystal. Fantasy or not, it is definitely in the spirit of A. Lange & Söhne, and we can only hope that one of these days some rep maker will actually come out with something that satisfies collectors' cravings (everyone wants a Lange 1!). I find the watch very attractive, and when I change that awful reddish strap for a dark rouille croc or gator, the watch will then be quite beautiful. And finally, on the wrist... THE END Thanks for looking! Dave

(These are old photo reviews rescued from the original RWG site; I didn't want them to get lost forever! Old hands will already have seen them; some newbies might be interested.-- Dave) A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Flyback Chronograph (approximation) Received 2nd June 2005 from Andrew (thewatchguy) SS; diameter 41 mm; silver face with guilloche; day and date subdials First, we all know that truly accurate reps of Lange & Söhne watches simply do not exist. The Langematik (Sax-o-Mat) which I have reviewed before is so far the closest replica being made. Since A. Lange & Söhne make their own movements, rather different from any of the standard ETA's, etc., there is nothing available for rep manufacturers to reproduce accurately the Lange & Söhne models that we all wish to see--it simply hasn't happened yet and we can't know when it will happen. However, this 1815 Chronograph is an excellentr "approximation" and, I believe, a particularly beautiful watch in spite of its inaccuracies. First here are some pictures of the original watch on which the replica is based. You will immediately, of course, note that the external pushers for chronograph functions have been changed to flush pushers for the simple day and date functions of the rep. Also the subdials of the rep are at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock rather than at approximately 8:15 and 3:45 as on the original. The font, while almost exact, is heavier than on the original. The watch has excellent detailing and comes with a heavier and better quality leather strap than typical. The obligatory wrist shot... And finally, to repeat, the attention to detail on the face is excellent. THE END Thanks for looking!

Hey, guys, thanks for all the notoriety! I haven't really disappeared from the face of the earth but have stayed in touch with lots of you. Thanks especially for messages from Ken, Phil, Neil, Steve, the Jeffs, John, Scott, [censored], Doug, and others. It took me a couple days after Ken alerted me to the new web address to dig up the old avatar and other junk and get set up. Obviously some of the members here have no idea why the hell I am of any interest, so I guess I should ask if I need to copy all my old photo-reviews from the old RWG over to here--is the old site about to disappear from the face of the earth or not? About the time the discussion about the transition was taking place, I took off on a little road trip for a while, enjoying some of the Texas Wine Trails (there are actually some good wines being produced in this part of the world, hard as that may be for some to believe), so fell behind in knowing what was going on. Anyway, old friends know that I had a couple months of a bad patch with [first time ever] clinical depression, from which I'm glad to say I am into the recovery stages so hope to wean off the pills before long. Meanwhile, I've had a lot of mess to deal with, including a complete tear-off re-roofing of my former house. It took me just under two months to get prepared to move into my new house and then another two months to get everything straight (well, almost everything except one of the most important rooms in the house, because it's so damned hard to find a good finish carpenter who will show up when you need him). Those who are not interested, please ignore, but personal friends who are interested can overlook the terribly badly-lit for-family snapshots and see what the new monument in suburbia is looking like as things progress. People tend to wonder why an old fart like me wants to live all by himself in this kind of place, but I had my first party middle of last month and it worked well. I'm about seven minutes from Galveston Bay, by the way, and about half an hour from the actual Gulf, still firmly in hurricane country. As the pictures explain, I do not at the moment have any way to set up a photography studio (or painting studio or anything else like that) and my cases of watches are stacked along my bedroom wall for want of any better spot. When the library is done (if I ever find the right carpenter) they'll go upstairs. No, I haven't bought any more watches in recent months since I have way too many already. When I have time to let up a bit and get involved here again, I may be offering to sacrifice a few, however! Anyway, days have been either busy or I've just been flat lazy, one way or the other. I had intended to get on-line last night and re-insert myself into this new gathering place, but after first a Happy Hour and then a big steak and then a continuation of enjoying the usquebaugh at my favorite pub (also about ten minutes away now), well... I have a board meeting this evening so might not be back for a day or two--a new band to hear tomorrow night--but I'll start popping up now and again. Cheers to you all! (Gee it feels weird to be a newbie with post #1 !!!)