Katerchen

so what happened to ttk? no update so far?? george

LOL

servus @peter bin aber gar nich deutsch nur "made in germany" wegen der besseren qualit

hehehe... @ "k" no i didnt meant it that way... only the residents may know that ffm stands for frankfurt am main !"A" "U" Austria "A" "U" Austria lol Have a nice weekend friend! George

never mind dave... Domi is indeed an artist, heard so much about him ill have to arrange a date with him and ask what he can do... At the moment i am planning to do some spatolato veneziano to improve my flat Maybe Domi is capable of this work too *grin* at least i will order a pizza al salmone from him george

@specialvat Nice mod by domi on the cannon-pin!! Are you able to post some close-ups of the dialside? I guess i am going to visit domi in the ffm area George

LOL yes... and its my favorite aperetif when its HOT c'est comme le pernod avec de leau for the frenchman btw greetings to "the south"... might be in greece this summer geia mas! george

And yes you are right "controversial" is the right term, but if you consider that there is barely one person registered on rwg or other boards that could claim for himself the title beeing "everybodies darling" this seems not the biggest problem to me... i dunno what exactly anybody would think or act like if there would a comeback? Now i would just "welcome" ttk back as a friend to the community in general if he is willing to step up like this. And for the point you mentioned "as a dealer" i might just recall that there have been serious issues and good reasons on why the moderation team was forced to set an end to the story. This drama was like an earthquake-like wave starting at one board ended up by cutting his account, with the same issues popping up on other boards where he was still active as a dealer and the same sad end was somehow inevitable - he got suspended. This kind of drama to that extend WAS and i guess still IS without precedent, there has never been before a person banned with such a huge influence as a member and dealer, huge knowledge, earned reputation and the like. And maybe there WILL never be a second similar case to that extent. Other cases of banning/excluding because of various reasons such as trolling, scamming, fraud etc. are "just" stories - the case of Neil/ttk was truly a drama for all sites involved and i really did hope for all (members who ordered, admin team, Neil) watching it that it couldve somehow turned to a happy ending... unfortunately this was not the case Now this is a question that only Neil could give you the answer to... you could also ask "would he feel happy beeing around here again?" with the same 1000 answers all just hypotheses! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I really do hope that someone will be able to step up and at last enlighten the people with a short info about his state of health and hopefully some good news! Good nite @all George

@baldrick Yes, indeed your conclusion and 1on1 experience is a valid point and i hope nobody is making fun out of a serious position he might be still in because of his health issues but if you "crossed a line" as Neil did threatening the admin team and if you consider his ego and character... there IS strong plausibility that a guy like Neil would prefer to NOT come back again... Apologizing is a road where a person with a strong/dominant character as Neil had would feel like "loosing his face". Thats why i think even if he could sign in, he would choose not to walk on this road. But this is just the conclusion of someone (myself) not knowing him deeper than from disputes on the boards and maybe 2 or 3 emails about watches, thats all. George

lol @Ken Well, pardon me if beeing too curious. Is it just me that implies the following meaning into your quoted above sentence or do you mean it like this: -----> Neil is welcomed anytime as a regular member BUT NOT wanted(?) allowed(?) as a dealer?? The reason of asking myself this question how you "meant" this statement is due to the fact that ALL people know, that letting Neil participate "only" as a Member and trying to "stop" him from getting a dealer again is going to be crowned with the same results as bringing in "a rapist inside of a girls' boarding school" And pls dont get ME wrong, i would also like to have him participating again... i guess you know exactly how i mean it. It is not only like Neil "is", it is also the other side... and you cant stop ppl trying to order from someone whos still regarded as a "star"... I really would like to hear if, you meant it that way that he wont be tolerated as a dealer, just a member And if it is like this - damn are u naive. Anyway - nothing between us - greetings to Aussie as always Ken!! George

lol very nice! wear it well!!

+1 and splendid pics!! I guess (beeing no expert on this topic) if photoshoped or not will be a secret forever. One thing is for sure: Splendid shots just "out of the magazine" I guess he couldve worked also as a prof photographer for a watch magazine... So, word up... trying to be a honest guy and also trying to live like that, telling and naming the things as they are, i just had to add that. Other things are sadly true too and the second side of the same "medal": increasing shipping time approaching limit of eternity and for some ppl beyond... Back then i was either thinking Neil was drown back by serious health issues or our infamous Galileo-of-reps-TTK invented and tests an ingenious method utilizing powers of continental drift as a new way of shipping reps from BK? This and (maybe) more than all of the things we write down will remain partly "a miracle"... the miracle TTK. We had some great fun with him... I NEVER intentionally planed to banter TTK about something but i recall a thread where we had a quarrel and somehow "got stuck" on each other... i dunno if its still online but it is really worth a read because of his comments. I have to add this was the best time i had on RWG and it was too damn lovely hilarious... even better than SEX! I HAD TO COPY this because of future generations (children etc.) this thread i recall was about "shopping for mbw in bangkok" and it got OVER 2.000 HITS in LESS THAN 5 days!! If there wouldve been ever a chart on RWG for the thread with most hits in the shortest time THIS will be definitely be under the TOP 3 if not #1! For some strange reason i dont understand (till today) i did manage somehow to surrvive wounded lol and even though i tried my best (in the end) he acted (and reacted) really goddamn cool and even tempered And yes, his photographic skills would make my granny look like Raquel Welch Aaaahhhh.... you know what?? No Popcorn! Im getting me a drink right now George

@gillorin nice write-up off the "2 sides" of the "TTK-coin" i (somehow) miss this weird guy too without guys like him there isnt so much fun beeing here on the boards... maybe my feelings wouldve been more ambivalent if having lost $$$ due to a transaction with him. Anyway i wish him the best for his health - maybe he wont sign in back to the boards anyway - problem might be his "ego". Those were the days when reading a comment from Neil towards some n00b kept me away from spending too much time in front of stupid television... Regards George

Hmm.. so thats definitely not white to me, but silver! Its not accurate tough but at least its not "ugly" the color makes the watch look more than 15300ST model lol @paul... pm me here on the board for the issue about cloning a gen dial and @ppl: You have to be patient - am doing my best to keep my "source stable"! I dont want to fall "out" of the AP-parts-supply-chain was hard enough to step in... Regards George

hmm...just had a quick look on the first pics posted by paul of this thread - seems that mbk/producers did a shift from the colors on white model... Are you able to post a close-up from the dial?? The "jumbo" or lets say 39mm model with the most silver-like looking color is the new 15300ST from AP. However from pauls pictures the white or silver dial does also have a certain attraction But yes if you are talking about accuracy - the older mbks where more white or off-white toned rather than reflecting silver. George

Hi Paul... The quality of the PAM-Buckle especially the engravings gives me hope for good things to come How long will be the time period for your PAM dial 1:1 replication? And yes i think its good you get in touch 1on1 with the producer eliminating the "middle-men" on the QC issue with AP rotor! Best Regards George

@ billodavio sorry to hear that a rotor was missing in one watch... thats not acceptable. I mean that Rolexfinder/Paul should inform the producer about this thing. If Paul is going to start a second group buy the people should receive "entire" watches in future too! Without mentioning any timelines - i might be able to order a dial for 15202ST with handsset. Paul, get in touch with me for this issue maybe you might be able to send me some pics from dials made from your producer? Hope for the rest they will receive their watches thru customs and "entirely". Best Regards George

+1 ill second that... thats the way these electronic tester work. Saphire is a much better conductor for temperature as mineral is... Anyway id like to here "more" from ppl familiar with the FAKE testers. ive been told, they work too (talking about the diamond selector II now) the fake just tends to be a little less sensitive than the gen tester. Can anyone with experience confirm?? B/R george

Congrats on your new gen AP!! Just stumbled over this thread right now Whoever said Rep-owners/buyers do harm the Watch-Industry??? Total B_S!!! Also thanxs for comparison shots! george

Over 500 USD right now !! maybe our Dealers should place their reps on the bay to achieve better prices??? Kidding... George

Great watch! Great story! @UBI George

<---- well... seems like... IT IS A REP!!!! george

"Hard" is the wrong term - Do a search on companies specialized in light&precision engineering (CNC) and youll find plenty on the net - maybe also where u live?! I did a search once for myself and talked to some people. Its just a matter of $$$, most of them want some kind of mechanical drawing/blueprint of what you like to be machined - some of them also offer to replicate from a sample/prototype you can send! i asked because i once wanted to get 8 bolts for RO machined of WG but never pulled the trigger on that one. Be aware that it IS NOT cheap... Regards George

NO pastorius it is not! Maybe someone should make a review on different Royal Oak models - the appearance of different Royal Oaks (smaller AND the jumbo models) was and is always slightly different when it comes to the LOOK OF THE SCREWS. It took long for me to understand, because even from the head office of AP in Germany/Wiesbaden i always had the information that the indexes/markers and screws where to be fabricated of (silver-looking)WG on the steel models - this is what ive been told and with email officially. Having seen a few vintage ROs in person and from pictures, this was something i doubted. In the area where i live we have the heraues holding - a company involved with gold and noble metals - many goldsmiths receive their basic material from there. However since a few years there is a kind of "international norm" to what someone can declare as WG with different Grades (see MJSA in US). That means that the mixture of WG from manufacturers may differ. A fellow watchsmith with expierence servicing AP ROs told me on the issue of the WG screws, that AP often used a mixture of WG with LESS PALLADIUM on their old/vintage RO models, because there was no proper standard of exactly what is the mixture of WG or not. The gens with the most silver looking screws where the ROOs and the RO 15300ST. I thought that tis is just a matter of fading away of the rhodium plating of WG but it is not only this. A fading coat of rhodium, which is applied to protect the WG from oxidation would cause a blurry appearance when fading away due to sweat or polishing the surface. However this is not the case on any vintage and modern 15202ST jumbos ive seen. It seems that AP simply altered their mixture on the WG screws a few times, thats why some gens seem to have a more yellow toned WG used for the screws and some (mainly the modern) appear to be more silver! I cant confirm all information because i am no expert, but a few months ago a goldsmith approved my question on rhodium plating, that there is NO way you can apply a coat of rhodium onto WG that thick, that it wouldnt fade away due to daily exposure to sweat and heat of the skin when worn! This means we must have at least a bulk of used ROs where the screws on the backside (also fabricated of WG) have to be blurry because of worn out rhodium plating and on the face/bezel a different picture. However this is not the case, my simple guess is that AP did not always use rhodium plating on their (older) jumbos - the mixture of WG was simply different (less palladium so more yellow) and my watchsmith is right. ----> To come back to your question/issue on whether the old or new batch of mbk AP jumbo is more accurate: The color of the screws on the AP 15202ST model is mainly a matter of "taste" ive seen some at my AD that seem to have more silver WG screws and some vintage with darker/yellow WG screws. Thats all. George

No problem here @pastorius... I have my own opinion about screws and color too thats why i sticked to my "old" first batch mbk models of the jumbo. If i where you i would search for dealers that still can provide the "normal" version with the smallers slots and yellow-gold looking screws. I guess Eurotimez should carry these - or maybe Paul should also be able to send you an unmoded one?? George