new & improved osteopath

Much MUCH better avatar. -O

Agreed- but only on a leather strap. I have worn it to Tourneau, and have had no worries. -O

How about a clear, detailed, chronologically ordered explanation. Clear the air, make things right. Best I can tell, there are a whole bunch of folks who feel they have been left in the dark, and that by and large they would feel better simply knowing the truth. That being the case, I just love looking at the photo ot tatu in Iso's avatar. -O BTW- Where is Klink??? I was hoping for some cryptic, thought provoking, and confusing input on this topic- but alas, nowhere to be found!

Assuming it is the same width throughout its length, thats the one. -O

After noticing the bracelet, I stealthily and strategically positioned myself to take a better look. It was a rep. There are so many gens in Miami, that if I had not noticed the bracelet, I would have simply assumed it to be gen. -O

I am there about every 4 weeks. Building a consultancy there. -O

that first listing is a gen. The second clearly not. -O

That is one of the ugliest I have seen- hope you can find replacement. -O

I cannot stand it when I have the strap before the watch. Oooooohhhhhh!!! -O

See my post on this topic from this afternoon. -O

OK, so I'm on a bus from South Beach to Surfside, and there is this really annoying bloke sitting across from me, and I notice he is wearing a 196. At first, I could not tell whether gen or rep. Then he turned his wrist, and saw the non-tapered bracelet, and it was then that the jig was up. I have a 196 w Swiss 7753, and I have worn it around my friends who have gen Pans- now keep in mind they are not fanatical, and I doubt that they are as aware of the level of reps that are coming out of some of our sources- but NONE of them ever thought mine was a rep (I did ultimately tell them.) The 196 is one of the best around in terms of overall accuracy (at least untill the most recent case revisions which really screw it up.) Unless you got real close to the dial, nobody would ever call it UNLESS they saw the steel band, which does not taper. This is in my estimate the biggest tell. Once I have the new hands and crown, I don't really think anyone will give it s second look- and that is without changing the date wheel- plenty of my friends have seen photos of Panerai, some own Panerai, but I am pretty confident that none of my friends know what font is used on the date. Put your 196 on a top quality leather strap (White stitched croc if you're like me!) with some good quality screws, and you will be set! -O

Still high on my 'to acquire' list. Definitely one to obtain gen- cannot find good price on the Ti version. -O

I would imagine, the PO not being a hideously expensive watch to start with, that if you were able to source these parts, you might wind up spending enough of a proportion of the cost of a gen that it might not really be cost effective. If the cost of manufacturing a rep approaches 2/3 of the cost of a gen, the cost/benefit raio starts to make less sense. Just a thought, -O

GMT hand fell off (or ran away in shame) -O

I am not clear what other solution you are looking for. If the pin were a pressure fit, you could just tap it back into the hole, however since it is not, you are looking at some sort of adhesive. Metal repair epoxy is the strongest of this type, and is readily available. Since there are no replacement CGs for the daylights as far as I know, this is the solution. There are two other, far more complicated solutions: 1) Manufacture a central pin approx .001 mm wider in diameter with a tapered end so that it can be pressure fitted into the hole. 2) Purchase an arc welding tool, and braze it onto the CG, and then repolish it with progressively finer wheels. -O

I LOVE the 47mm 8Day GMT. The movement in the new 8 days is one of the most beauiful I have ever seen. Something cool about it is that you can reset the seconds hand to zero when setting the watch. -O

OK- I need to ask, what is a meenie-mynie-moe rep?? It is a gen. If the rep manufactures have such a hard time getting the CG on a pam right, which has no complex curves or other complications, there is no way they will ever get this one even close. -O

You know Dutchy, I was using that same Avatar on forum about Rabies- I hope nobody confuses us -O

The pin on the 196 is different from that on the others I have worked on, in that instead of being more or less 'pressure fit' the two I have seen have used adhesive to hold them in. The way I fixed them both was with a metal repair epoxy. Take a pin or toothpick and coat the inside of the SMALL hole on the cg wih the epoxy. This prevents it from being pushed through onto the pivoting part and freezing it up. Then push the pin through, being sure to carefully remove the excess epoxy from the outer surface with a knife blade. Wiggle the lever around a few times to make sure it moves freely. -O

This is a simple repair, if you have the tools- a case opener, and a fine screwdriver. Assuming you do, simply open the case- look at the back of the movement where the crown enters the case. There is a small screw closest to the opening on the case- loosen it a turn or two, press the stem/crown comboination into the case, and re-tighten the screw. 1) Dont breath on the movement (moisture will gum it up). 2) Try to work where there is little dust as possible. Replace the back, the cg, and TA DA! ur done. -O

Run!!!! -O

Tiger Woods was in Miami last year- TAG sponsored too. Wearing a Sub- probably gen. -O

That's what it all boils down to then- personal choice. People can either choose to do business w him or not, but given our desire to see this become the really great community it should be, I don't know that these, now becoming regular posts, are healthy. He is clearly not a scammer in so much as he ain't gonna take your dough, so just let him be. We'll see how it all pans out. Then, if warranted, bash him till you're blue in the face. -O

I understand that. But the question is, do we all expend energy talking about what a [censored] someone is, or do we let them be and see how things play out? It seems like an awful lot of energy being [censored] about something which happened in the past, which was of no real consequence, or worrying about something which may not be an issue anyway. -O

This topic is wearing thin. 'Said individual' has done what he can to make ammends to the members of this site. If someone makes a mistake in the past, and goes to some length to make it right, should we not give him the benefit of a doubt. If you choose not to do business, fine, but we really don't need to keep bashing the guy. -O