gran

There is also the the new 600M Spring Drive with the smoothest running seconds hand around these days maybe not quite as nice as the MarineMaster at first glance but then again its a slightly different concept. The 600 is said to be more "subdued, lighter and gives off a much more business tool like vibe than its older relative" g.

That is some great input on this watch Oliver g.

Would you buy this? http://tradera.msn.se/auction/Dam___Markes...ka/aid_27557580 Klikk on the "visa bild" to se photo Trevligt Gran

But I tell you this Jeff dont you go mess with Texas

No .....err I would have said yes if it was the Danish or Norwegian prime minister let us all sweep our own doors Raving liberal french artsy movie loving member Gunnar Gran

I just noticed Murdoch is from Denmark and that his avatar is oddly familiar. It seem to resemble either a bomb or a profet.....or maybe both. It may possibly be offensive to some (vague rumors...). Considering the ban on Danish cheese, may I propose that you promote your lovely country in a more positive fashion Murdoch, but then this is only a suggetion from me. Suggestion for new "political correct" avatar Hilsen Gunnar fra Norge

Seiko MarineMaster Cal Is this the best looking diver watch ever made? If not...wich one is? g.

Certainly the Glashuette GUB watches made in the 1960s can not be considered luxury watches Maybe I am splitting hairs here....but at least we are learning something about these brand(s) In strict terms, Glashuette Original is not a company, but a brand. The company's name still is "Glashuetter Uhren-Betrieb" or GUB, and this company owns the brandname GO. Besides UNION Glashuette is not only a brandname, but also a company, which is a 100% subsidiary of the GUB. However, Union does not have a company-owned production facility. Its headquarter located in the GUB building at Glashuette, Union assigns the production of its movements to GUB (all this is from a strict organisatorial point of view). While Union has an own staff, this is not numerous. AFAIK the conceptionof marketing is done in the same office for both brands, GO and Union. However, since recently two different PR agencies have been assigned for the advertising campaigns, because the two brands had been portraied too similar. Also read this: East German watchmakers revive luxury tradition Staff and agencies 26 December, 2005 By James Mackenzie Mon Dec 26, 9:06 AM ET GLASHUETTE, Germany - Like the intricate, fabulously complicated watches made by its skilled artisans, the former mining town of Glashuette in east Germany is a rarity. In this picturesque setting, traditional watchmakers make timepieces so prized by connoisseurs that they can sell for nearly $500,000 -- making Glashuette a rare economic success story in a region with a jobless rate of about 17 percent. Glashuette was at the heart of a watchmaking industry that rivaled Switzerland‘s until Russian bombers destroyed its main workshops on the day World War Two ended in Europe. Forced nationalization of family-owned firms and 40 years of communism apparently buried what survived the Russians until the fall of the Berlin Wall sparked an unexpected revival fueled by a renaissance in demand for high-quality mechanical watches. The gold and platinum watches now made by A. Lange & Soehne or Glashuette Original, the two top firms in the town near the Czech border, cost thousands of dollars and vie with Swiss masters such as Patek Philippe or Vacheron. "They are really very beautiful watches," says Christian Pfeiffer-Belli, editor of specialist publication Klassik Uhren. The two firms‘ success has encouraged others, such as Nomos, a new company making less-expensive watches with a distinctive look reminiscent of the 1920s Bauhaus school of design. "(Glashuette) is a very, very German name," Pfeiffer-Belli says. "And it works very well in Germany because there are a lot of people who know Lange as a great brand from earlier times." Around 800 people now work in the watchmaking trade in Glashuette in Saxony, a notable success in a region where large swathes of manufacturing industry have collapsed since German reunification in 1990. And the outlook is healthy: a strengthening global economy, including an economic revival in brand-conscious Japan, has fueled demand for luxury goods since the start of this year. Glashuette‘s‘s remote location, in a beautiful wooded valley in the Erzgebirge region outside Dresden, is perfect for nurturing the special skills of the traditional watchmaker. "You need to be calm and you need to be able to deal with very tricky problems," said Kerstin Richter, as she delicately turned a minute screw in a half-finished Lange watch. The fantastic complexity of the clockwork mechanism and the precision of each tiny component is what attracts enthusiasts willing to pay the price of a house for a wristwatch that tells the time no better than a $10 electronic throw-away. Lange‘s most complicated watch, the new Tourbograph, has over 1,000 components with features like a hair-thin transmission chain -- made of 633 individual parts -- to keep the torque generated by the watch‘s mainspring constant as it unwinds. That, and the "tourbillon" -- a complex rotating component designed to counter the disruptive effect of gravity on the clockwork mechanism -- are considered the acme of the watchmaker‘s art and go some of the way to explain the Tourbograph‘s $447,500 price tag. Even cheaper models cost thousands of euros and take months to complete. Connoisseurs, some now linked through Internet chat rooms, obsessively ponder their watch‘s finish or features such as the "double rattrapante" or "whiplash index adjuster." As well as fine mechanics, the mystique of firms that produce only a few thousand watches a year has been decisive -- and that has its roots in the town‘s special tradition. When Ferdinand Adolph Lange, a deeply religious man, founded Glashuette‘s first watchmaking firm in 1845, he trained local workers including basket weavers and laborers and laid great stress on fostering development of the then-impoverished region. Over the next century, during which time Lange was followed by several other watchmaking dynasties, the town attained world renown, typified in 1898 when Kaiser Wilhelm II presented the Sultan of Turkey with a magnificent jeweled Lange watch now in the Topkapi museum in Istanbul. Lange‘s great-grandson, Walter Lange, who picked his way through the rubble of his family‘s factory in May, 1945, has consciously built on the tradition since his return in 1990 with partner Guenter Bluemlein to relaunch the Lange brand. Much of the success has been down to foreign investors -- both Lange, owned by luxury goods group Richemont and Glashuette, part of Swatch, are in Swiss hands. But the technical skill of local craftsmen, kept alive during the communist era by the nationalized VEB Glashuetter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB), has also been decisive. GUB, which included nationalized Lange, sold cheap mechanical watches to the west for hard currency. "The key to the revival was the period 1951-90," says Frank Mueller, president of Glashuette Original, the company that emerged when GUB was privatized again in 1990. While the watchmaking industry in the west (= West germany) was devastated by the invention of the quartz watch, which allowed more accurate timekeeping at a fraction of the cost of mechanical watches, the east German industry was kept alive by state support. "It was absolutely decisive that the knowledge and experience of these watchmakers wasn‘t lost," says Mueller.

Hei Skjalg I do not know a watchsmith in the area that will work on replicas but there must be someone. I am dying to find one close to Oslo myself. My local watchsmith said "no way" when I tried get him to fix my "VC perpetual calendar" replica that was lacking some screws about a year ago... I have had my watch sent to The Zigmeister to have it serviced there in Canada. Despite the shipping it might even be less expensive than doing it here in Norway. Try The Zigmeister! Hilsen Gunnar

It certainly is cool to have an Spezimatic movement in ones collection and the GUB movements are known to be reliable. Despite communism they did make some pretty solid watches back in the old DDR. A large number of these watches were made back in the 1960-1980s. I would not call them cheap. It is probably worth USD150 and maybe even more if the movement has been recently serviced (someone who reads German better than me should comment on the servicing part of the ebay offer) Regards Gran

The V.E.B. ("Volkseigener Betrieb" = People's owned company) used to own the former East German Glashuetter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB). So the watch is made in East germany (1961). The movement is the famous and very reilable Spezimatic movement The Spezimatic was built in considerable numbers until 1980, in two versions, as GUB cal. 74 and 75. Here is a pic, copyright by Jean Neef, www.glashuette-archiv.de The absolute authority on old Glashütte movements is Jean Neef: http://www.glashuette-archiv.de The site is in German, but the technical data and the pictures are easy to understand see also this page http://www.glashuette-archiv.de/kal74/index.htm

Carsten Welcome from Norway Gruss Gran

king is probably the only one that can say such things about a replica and still have a sexy voice...

Hi Ken! I like this vintage look Go here: http://www.as-glashuette.de/ they are selling this "Kaliber 74" for 395,00 Euros Regards Gunnar

I see a pattern here and I like it Nothing is better than to create your own style KenMc....look at Picasso, miro and Dali great stuff Regards Gran

Great thread g.

Where is Oliver when we need him? or better Ken B will take care of this "newbie"

WOW! Thats a long intro MAHLER Recepie for getting answers to your qustions her on RWGjr is to first Read, search, interact with others and first then ask questions. BTW the dealers know how to deliver their goods no worries there....discussions about customs issues sometimes become a minefield (who knows who is listening or reading ). Regards Gran

I must agree with the above points I would also like to add that the lower case of the letter omega was selected as the logo for the RWG watch the ω looks similar to two full [censored] or a nice bottom so it fits the RWG style perfectly..and its appropriate for an Homage to OMEGA The RWG C1 watch is special. No other make is using the ω Regards Gunnar

Click the link in the first post by overboosted http://perfect-clones.com/product_info.php...products_id=216 ..38mm or so

the seller has no feedback My own strategy is to not bid if the seller has no or little feedback. In fact I have stopped buying watches on ebay altogether nowadays (have bought some genuine Longines on ebay in the past...I once had the idea to start collecting vintage watches) Regards Gran

Religious Golf Tournament The Pope met with the College of Cardinals to discuss a proposal from Shimon Peres, the former leader of Israel. "Your holiness," said one of the Cardinals, "Mr. Peres wants to determine whether Jews or Catholics are superior, by challenging you to a golf match." The Pope was greatly disturbed, as he had never held a golf club in his life. "Not to worry," said the Cardinal, "we'll call America and talk to Jack Nicklaus. We'll make him a Cardinal, he can play Shimon Peres... We can't lose!" Everyone agreed it was a good idea. The call was made and, of course, Jack was honored and agreed to play. The day after the match, Nicklaus reported to the Vatican to inform the Pope of his success in the match. "I came in second, your Holiness," said Nicklaus. "Second?!!" exclaimed the surprised Pope. "You came in second to Shimon Peres?!!" "No," said Nicklaus, "second to Rabbi Woods."

BTW could one of the moderators help us wash bres3000s dirty "balls"

It seems you are a very sensitive individual and maybe you are reading me all wrong, it was not my intention to agitate you quite the contrary bres3000. I am quite sensitive myself so I am a little hurt and I do care (one way or another) for others opinion whoever they are. That being said I still like the fact that you know your watches and can present a watch well bres. That is a big + in my book even if you do not like me or care for what I say. Enjoy your watches. Regards Gunnar