rmcsherry

I've tried distressing it, but stupidly I overlooked one problem. It's not leather. It seems to be a leather-effect vinyl or something, I assumed it was a paint that made it look so plasticy - perhaps not. Oh well, I really need a new strap now, time to go shopping!

This is my first purchase since stumbling across these forums a few months back. I decided to start off with a cheaper rep until I become acquainted! This was bought from Narikaa on Friday for £65 inc. shipping - an excellent price, and it was on my wrist 17 hours after payment! Unbelievably quick delivery and a great watch. The only problems with it are a spec of dust under the crystal (I'll get a sapphire AR eventually anyway), two tiny 'tears' in the strap by the screws (the strap is coming straight off anyway), a barely-noticable residue on the face by the second hand, and slight scratches on the case back where someone has removed the back without due care. But, for £65 I won't complain - it was delivered very quickly, he kept good contact and this is by far the cheapest fiddy I've seen! Now for the photos. I've only got an old 2MP camera, with no tripod and no facilities to have a decent set-up (this was on my desk). Thanks to Pugwash for his great tutorials, I've done the best I can without a tripod and avoided using photoshop other than to crop one or two of the images. I'll work on this as parts become available - first job is a new strap (suggestions welcome, ideally UK based as I need a strap so I can wear this to my degree show on Friday!). I'll probably get a sapphire with a decent AR coating from finepics soon, then possibly sort out the hands - but this seems pointless unless I find a decent swan-neck first. All of these jobs are low-priority, I'm already deciding what's next - it's going to have to be a 44mm Radomir 8-days, Omega PO (orange), Graham Chronofighter (not sure exactly what one yet) or maybe a 111H. Thanks for looking, any comments and suggestions welcome - especially on the strap options!

Thanks for that, I hadn't seen the more accurate ones before. They look pretty good, although I've got a list as long as my arm of watches I want, and I did notice the v4 Omega PO is reduced by $80 via that link - it looks like a lot more watch for my money! I think it'll have to wait for a few months - thanks for finding it.

Any news on the swordfish? The ones TTK posted look great, but I know that incorrect subdials would irritate me, and all Graham reps seem to have a pusher under the trigger - genuine ones don't. Has anyone got a link to the Graham website, I've searched around and can't find it!

Has anyone seen a decent Tag Heuer Monza Calibre 36 rep? The ones that are around are OK, but the date should be at the 6 position (the reps are at 4), the crown and pushers are completely different and the gens I've seen have had display backs (although this is pointless on this rep, because the movement will be so far off anyway). Or is the quartz the only way to go on this one?

If you look at his other items, the IWC potofino uses a photo stolen from a genuine IWC completed listing. I'm sure the others are the same - there's no reasonable explanation why all of his photos vary so much (using different cameras in different environments).

The latter. There's always dodgy watches from China, using photos of genuine watches from other peoples listings. They always seem to have zero feedback, attractive prices and insist on payment methods that are all down to trusting the seller. I'm not sure about this exact watch, but as everyone always says 'if it sounds to good to be true...'

Noooooooooooooooooo! I saw the 812, and was pleasantly surprised - then the 851, one of the greatest cars ever designed. But the Bugatti. Seriously? It was probably conceived during a Stella-fuelled arguement about cars and pub statistics (0-60, bhp etc!). If this car were a watch, it would claim to be a Panerai, but have a red strap and a prancing horse on the face - they missed the point. Rant over.

I know most of you guys seem to hate these watches, but here goes. I can't really justify the cost of a genuine Ikepod right now, so when I saw the case go up for sale on ebay, I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could source all of the parts. Little did I know how much work and money that would be... So far, I've only got the case and strap - I'm taking my time and buying things at bargain prices (both items came to under £100, the strap alone frequently sells for more than this on ebay). I've been in contact with a really friendly guy who is now in charge of Ikepod - he thinks I'm mad, but is encouraging. I can get everything I need from him, but it'll be expensive - I'm hoping that if I get the face, crown and pushers from him, I can source the crystals and movement elsewhere. The case is for an Ikepod Hemipode Grande Date, and there is a little confusion about the movement - some places claim it's a Dubois Dépraz 4500, some say it's a 7750, and others state it's a 2892. If it's a 7750, there should be one at otto-frei for a reasonable cost: I assume the Dubois Dépraz will be very difficult to source, and the 2892 is easy but I won't get the engraved rotor without a lot of luck! So, can anyone help me to identify the actual mechanism in the Grande Date? The display window is very small, but if anyone knows about movements I hope it's easy enough to say what it's not... Any ideas? I'd rather source original parts and not have to modify any movements - so do you think this project is realistic? I have never done anything like this before, so I am missing something - are there going to be many more components I need that will end up costing the earth? Genuines sometimes go for as little as £1,000 - the reason I am doing this project is partly to learn more about watches and partly to spread the cost over a long period to make it seem as though I've not really spent anything! Any advice will be greatly appreciated - I'm at the point where I can put it up for sale and walk away with a profit, or continue into the unknown...

Some of those cars have given me a twitch. Coachbuilding is the way forwards... 1937 Talbot Lago T150SS by Figoni et Falaschi 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC 'Atlantic'

I've been looking at the 203 as well - Silix states that it's a 47mm with plexi-glass, and that no sapphire crystal is available for this model (and to be wary of any dealers that say otherwise). Paul says otherwise... I've had a plexiglass watch before, it was horrible - are they all like this? A Panerai with a plastic 'crystal' seems a bit like a ferrari with 14" hubcaps.

Trusty has just posted a very similar watch on his site, claiming it to be the as yet unrealeased Radomir 2006. It's got a swiss unitas and sapphire front and back, other than that they appear to be copies of the same watch. And it kind of reminds me of the Luminor Panerai in the historic section of the Panerai catalogue, by far the best looking watch in there! I think I'll settle with the Radomir at the moment, I think more money spent on a Fiddy will be worth it later on. Damn you guys... I came here to find out how to remove the crystal of a cheap rep, and have been sucked in!

Thanks for that, that's what I'd guessed but my knowledge of Panerai's leaves a lot to be desired! Infinitime, I noticed that Paul has the fiddy on his site for $149 and just assumed it would be the same one as Sichuan. I'll read some more reviews, but I think you're right - a reputable dealer is probably the safest and easiest option. The other thing I wondered is what is the strap like? I know most fiddys come with a very similar strap as standard, and the photos make it look very plasticy and cheap - does anyone know if any dealers are generally willing to change the strap for a small fee? I guess if not there is always the option to add it to the classified section of this site and buy a nice BOB strap! Thanks for your comments, they are appreciated.

They're always up at cqout.co.uk or uk.ebid.net (not sure about international orders though). I paid about £35 including shipping, but never wore it - all Ikepod fakes are very innaccurate - they have spelling mistakes, are the wrong size, poor build quality and the back is an instant giveaway. The straps are generally cheap and nasty, the mould lines cut your wrist! I've had 3 different reps, none of them were wearable and none of them are worth buying on the sites you'll have seen via Google - the auction places I mentioned are the same watches at a fraction of the price. In the end, I bought a genuine casing from ebay and a genuine strap privately (which is much wider than the reps, and the vanilla scent is an important part of Ikepod watches!). I've found a swiss 7750 from the Ikepod factory clearance, but am waiting for a quote back for a genuine face and pushers before I make the investment. If you really like Ikepods, I strongly recommend you steer clear of reps- there are no believable ones out there. So far, the project has cost me under £100 and it is a lot more satisfying than any rep you'll find! The reps I had were a Hemipode (black and white face) and an Isopode diamond. The megapode is even more innaccurate and clumsy, however there is a Tourbillon kicking around that is slightly better, although the Tourbillon is the wrong shape, in the wrong place and non-working. Good luck with your search, I hope the comments are useful to you.

I've been looking around, and am very tempted by the 1950 for sale by Sichuan at $155. I'm a bit confused, as he offers photos on other forums with a clear back, but the descrition states it's solid. Has anyone owned one of these? I know it's certainly not perfect, but I'd rather save $200 until I am certain that a 47mm is for me! The other one I am interested in (partly because of its low price) is from Paul - I've heard very mixed reviews about him, and the watch looks nice but I don't know what model it is, so have no basis for comparison. I'm guessing at the price, it's going to be hideously innacurate and have lower build quality? Again, I'd really appreciate any comments on this one before I buy anything I'll regret! Thanks for reading.

I've been reading the forums for a few months and having just got back from Italy, I am ready to buy my first Panerai! I know this is a very 'newbie' topic, but I value any opinions as I don't want to waste my money. The two watches I'd love would be the 111 (or similar - e.g. 177) or a fiddy, although I also like the simplicity of the Marina Militaire. I've done some research, and it looks like I can pick up a more accurate 111H for less money - I'd rather not spend $300+ just yet. I don't mind sacrificing the swan neck for a reasonable saving, so are there any cheaper 127's available that are reasonably accurate and a good investment? The other concern is that the 127 would be a very big 'first'; I've got a 45mm watch that feels very large, so would the extra 2mm for the fiddy be the straw that broke the camels back?! Finally, what are your opinions on private sales? I could get more for my money this way, but going through a dealer gives peace-of-mind and sometimes a guarantee when things go wrong... do any of you have experience to compare dealer/private sales? I'd appreciate any helpful comments to 'aid' my decision! Thanks.

It turns out that the hole concealed by the strap allows for the front to be released (simply by tapping with a nail). I removed the glow-in-the-dark indicators carefully with a nail varnish remover, and the yellow hands on the sub-dials were removed and sprayed. The dial still says Hempode when it's a copy of a Hemipode, and everything is slightly in the wrong position. To be honest, the watch is so far off, it was a pointless task but I learnt a fair amount in the process (regarding the mechanism, and what not to do!). I've got a genuine case and strap on the way, ideally over the next few months I'll be able to source some parts to make a genuine one - presumably this is what you guys refer to as a frankenwatch? The movement is an ETA 7750, I'm not sure whether to go with an Asian movement until I can afford the real thing, or wait and save for the face, movement and crown as one item (this will require a lot of saving!). Anyway, I've included the pictures if anybody's interested and hopefully I'll be able to get more involved in the forums to increase my poor knowledge...

Cheers for the comments. Maybe I will wait around and read up a bit more, I've already learnt a fair amount over the past few weeks from here so I guess it's best not to buy crap and end up regretting it! Thanks kenberg for the link to Silix, some of the watches on his site are really nice and look a lot nicer than the ones I'd found.

I still know very little about watches, other than what I like! I'm looking to buy a couple of reps - I can only afford the cheap ones for the time being so am in need of advice of what to avoid! I love some of the Graham Chronofighters, does anyone have one or know how ridiculous they look on your wrist?! One of my favourite watches is the IWC GST Titanium, but I've not found a rep I can afford - are the only ones available £150+? I know it's a bit tacky but how about a good old Tag Monza? This is the one I've seen, I don't think it's that accurate though - any comments? If not, a Monaco but I'm still unsure of it's design! And now for the Panerai's... A Submersible Moonphase A Luminor Arktos A Radomir Tourbillon A Submersible 1973 A Luminor Marina - I can't decide between white with leather or black with black / blue rubber. A Luminor Automatic Tourbillon That's all of them. Most of the Panerai's that I like I can't afford at the moment, all of the watches pictured above are less than £30 (from a trusted source). I'm still in search of a decent Ikepod if anyone knows where to get one, and also is there such a thing as a Hublot rep around? If anyone has any suggestions of better watches to get for the money (I'm looking for 2) that'd be great! Thanks.

Would a crystal lift shift the glass? I've never used one, so have no idea how or if they work!

I've tried rubber gloves, a suction-type watch back remover and all of the force I can gather, but it won't budge! The mechanism and face do not seem to be attatched to the casing at all - they are loosely held in place by being clamped between the 2 parts of casing. Any other suggestions would be helpful, it's proving to be much more difficult than I'd expected!

I am following advice from the 'newbie forum', and reposting this question here. I have a replica Ikepod Hemipode that is not very realistic. I would like to modify the face, but can't get the mechanism out. I have removed the crown and rotor, but the mechanism and face appear to be removed through the front - I guess the case is in 2 parts, as shown in the photo of the front of the watch. There doesn't appear to be any screws, only a small hole on the back of the case where the strap should be. Could you please check the photos and see if you can work out how the face and glass is removed, as I'm stuck! Thanks for your time.

Cheers for the advice, I'll post the question to 'The Zigmeister' and see how I go. I figured it'd be best to play around with the watch that already looks terrible first! Thanks again.

I've clamped the bottom half and tried to unscrew the top, but can't get a decent grip! A scalpel doesn't loosen the glass or metal - I might try to get one of those suction wrenches designed to remove the casing off of ebay (they're only cheap!) and see if that helps. Thanks for the advice, I'll keep trying!

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