rmcsherry

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but surely this is the best looking buckle?!

For anyone that's interested, the Chopard turned up today. The dial is much more accurate than expected, but the case is slightly different - it is polished (like the gen) but the writing isn't quite the same as the original photo that the dealer supplied. Everything's in the right place (unlike most Chopard reps!), but it's far from perfect - as can be expected from a lower end rep. Here are a couple of photos: (The gen dial is on the left.) As mentioned earlier in the post, two of these turned up. If anyone wants to trade one for something, I'm open to offers (I will add the genuine box / dial or extra money for the right watch!) I'll get around to posting it on the sale section, but I'm going on holiday soon so would rather wait a couple of weeks.

I wouldn't go as far to call this a rep, but here goes: I got this on a holiday to Turkey when I was 12 for the equivalent of £6 - I found it a couple of weeks ago when I went back home to visit. I was happy at the time, I guess that's all that matters! A picture says a thousand words... If anyone's interested in trading it for a 203 / 217 then I'm open to offers.

Email sent. Many thanks!

I have no idea of its value, so don't want to insult you with a silly offer. Considering the super-low price I paid for the watch (with strap), it's pointless spending much more than £10 on modifying it. Or can I tempt you with an additional genuine Franck Muller Master Banker dial?! Thanks for the offer, I understand that my offer may be too low, but it seems pointless spending a lot on this project as I'm sure you can see.

That's a great album and source of information, thanks for sharing it!

In my quest to find a Graham Chronofighter, I accidently stumbled upon this. I assumed a rep of a B.R.M would never see the light of day, so didn't bother looking - it seems there is one though. It's surprisingly true to the original, even the display back is accurate (obviously the chrono functions are wrong, but never mind!). I'm waiting for a price on this one, it looks like it should be sub £40 - so it's pretty cheap. Here it is: Notice the one small flaw? They've stupidly branded it Graham, there are no BRM faces out there! If I go ahead and get this, are there any ways to change the logo (I know it's not going to be a simple job) - or even get a custom dial? It's a real shame, because it's not far off of the original considering it's such an obscure brand - but BRM make such distinctive watches and they're advertised in so many classic car magazines, it'd not be long before I had unwelcome comments. Here's the original for comparison - the side and back are more or less the same on the gen and rep (other than the Graham rotor, which can easily be swapped for a plain rotor) - the only major flaws are the hands and the logo (which I am aware is a fairly important part of any rep!). It's a BRM V12-44 (the rep has the standard leather checker strap though). If you know if it's possible to get dials modified / made, I'd be interested to know - I'm really tempted to buy it despite the huge flaw purely because I'll never come across another one, and can't afford the gen!

I've not had a chance to think about it yet - the watch arrived today (it was a v.cheap 44mm logo Panerai - with 5218-201A caseback) - I've never had a PVD watch before, so I'm not sure if it is PVD or not, the finish appears to be anodised, it is not at all matt. It's not worth throwing money at it; the second hand is too far right (not just slightly either!), the crown guard is knackered (bare steel showing through) and it is mineral glass. I bought it because it was literally dirt cheap, and I don't want to waste good money on a decent PVD panerai until I've decided if I really like them - consider it a test run (and I currently only have 47mm's)! If I am able to track down a replacement crown and guard, or find somewhere to coat mine for a small sum, I would happily wear it to knock around - I won't be wearing it around Panerai enthusiasts, so can get away with a cheap rep that doesn't matter if it gets a little scratched. The entire watch is hugely innaccurate, but as I said if I can sort out the crown guard for minimal cost then I'm happy! I've attached a pic so you can see what I mean about the crown guard - it was completely black, but it looks like it had been attacked with a marker, so I wiped it off (no chemicals used, confirms it probably was marker.) If anyone can tell if this is anodised or PVD'ed or other, and if it's possible to sort out the CG I'd be very grateful. Don't laugh; this is cheap and most people wouldn't have a clue what a Panerai is if it bit them in the [censored]! Thanks for the useful comments (and for confirming it is a Seagull movement.)

I missed the last two whilst I was slowy typing! I know there's nothing special about it, I'm just curious - the watch itself is very innacurate, and I'm seeing if I could chop and change parts. Thanks.

I don't want to risk breaking anything by removing the face, I'm still relatively new to this! I've had a look at a few dealers pics, and it looks like the same movement as used in non-working Tourbillon reps. Here's an example. Thanks for the reply.

I've just realised that I can see through to the face, so I'm guessing it's some kind of Asian 'tourbillon-effect' movement. God knows why it's in a watch with a solid back and standard face, but there we go!

I know this is not a fancy movement, but if anyone could help me to find out what it is, I'd be very grateful! It has seconds at 9, no other subdials. Sorry for the blurred image, I need a new camera! Thanks.

Thanks for that, it looks like it'll be quite useful - I'll have a proper read of it when I'm a bit more awake!

It was a risky purchase from a seller in China - the shipping was a fortune, so I paid for 2 of the same item to bring down the cost of each one (I'll sell or trade the other one on this board when they arrive). By the looks of things, it's more accurate than others I've seen - the strap and decorated movement appear to be quite convincing, the text on the front of the case (tachymeter) is much better than the usual ones, the profile of the case is correct and the finish looks pretty nice. The only problem is the movement is wrong, so the sub dials are for day / date / month rather than hours / minutes / seconds. I'll post the photos if and when they turn up, the images I'm going by look great - but only time will tell. I jumped the gun a bit by ordering a dial and case, but even if this turns out to be a dissapointment, I will still be in the market to get a decent Mille.

There are a few Master Bankers around (no, this is not cockney for anything else!), although the reps seem miles off. The gens seem to be around the $10,000 mark - however dials change hands on ebay for anything from $20 - $100 depending on the condition. Here's the gen: ...pretty nice watch - there's a really nice round-faced Master Banker that I like the look of - I had Franck Muller dismissed as an eccentric maker of rectangular watches, their range is actually much more diverse than I expected. I tried the denture cleaner - it works really well (considering I bought 30 tablets for 30p!), I didn't want to over do it though because I was afraid of dulling-down the dial. Here's some picks - the cleaning showed up a few problem areas of missing lume, highlighted in the dark photo. I assume this can be re-lumed if I need to, does anyone have any idea how much a job like this would cost? Finally, here's another item to compliment the Mille Miglia... a genuine box - I couldn't resist the rubber tyre tread and suede inside!! I'll post some photos of the finished watch next week.

Thanks for that - I'll try the denture cleaner, it was cheap at Tesco's and I'm too impatient to wait to get Rodico (is this the dry jewellers cleaner?). As for the FM, it's interesting that there aren't any reps - I take it it's real then, the quality seems much higher than you see in reps - enough to make me appreciate Franck Muller watches, something I thought would never happen! If there aren't any reps yet, does that mean it won't be any good to anybody?

I've just bought a genuine Mille Miglia dial off of ebay, whilst there are no scratches, the numbers / lume seems to be 'dirty'. The photo doesn't show it very well, I just wanted to check before I attempt to clean it if it's a straight forward job. I would have tried a damp cloth without too much pressure, will this do?! Here's the dial: The guy is very friendly, and sent me a Franck Muller Master Banker dial as well. It appears to be genuine, but has a very slight (barely noticable) scratch on it. I'll attach an image to see if you guys think they are both genuine or not. I really don't like Franck Muller watches, so this is spare - I should probably post it on the trade section, but don't have a clue about prices, so would be over the moon if anyone wants to trade it for a strap or something? I'll delete this if it is the wrong section, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone! I'd appreciate any advice incase I ruin the dial! Many thanks.

I think we're supposed to look past that - I'm personally more concerned with the wheels; could you imagine being hit with exposed tyres? It's got to hurt!

It is - this is an MA Automotive Design major project carried out by one student. He has probably realised the model in 1/4 scale as well, but this is the only image I have at the moment. I've just finished a 4 year BA in Automotive Design, so was curious what other Panerai fans think about this idea - I personally think it's interesting, but other than the graphic on the nose I can't see the Panerai influence (maybe the interior will be more distinctive).

Anybody else seen this? It's a Panerai concept car from UMEA institute of Art and Design in Sweden. I can't find any more information about it yet, this image came from an article at Car Design News What do you think?!

I saw one of these at a Jeweller in Stratford (UK) the other day whilst I was looking at a Panerai. It looked a lot nicer in person, what do you guys think?! Dunhill Pressurehead

You could always take on a *project*? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...item=8916232205

Just stumbled across this accidently - it's not perfect, but it's a bargain! Maybe too good to be true - £8.99 for custom strap and deployment clasp... http://www.watchworx.co.uk/pages/lwb/puPop/TT-Mk2.htm It's certainly better than some of the straps you see on the Mille Miglia reps, although it's only available in 20mm.

I've never understood why there are so many reps of Mont Blanc pens (which to be honest I find fairly bland), when there's not a single one of the Chopard with a tyre-tread barrel. I can't even find a genuine one come to mention it, so I guess a rep is a tall order. The Mille-Miglia watches are awesome, I tried one on in Charles de Gaulle airport the other day - and didn't want to take it off!

Thanks for your comments. I'm attempting to make a strap, I had some nice leather left over so we'll see how that goes (the stiching will be interesting to say the least!. I think I'll get a BOB strap in a couple of weeks, I've got to decide on the right colour and finish first.