crystalcranium

Simple...like me.  Got this 4 years ago for $100...saphire and a 21j that still works great.  Best beater ever!

Just got it in SS. Bezel font is off and it has a short second hand but...its a rep! Great looking watch.

Franken SMP Chrono

Get a basic watchmaker's tool kit that includes a hand puller and a caseback tool. You will also need a quality mag loupe. Ofrei has several excellent ones for under $50. What you will learn with practice is that this is a world where the forces that you are familliar with working with hand tools no longer apply. Think through what you want to do and remember, forcing something to happen is never a good idea. I agree, removing a movement from its case would be the first task to master. Pulling, caring for and replacing hands would be next. You'll come to find out post-it-notes are an excellent tool when repressing hands. The most important thing is taking your time.

The icons of the Swiss watch industry were saved from ending up on the scrap heap of irrelevancy from the 70s quartz revolution by re-marketing themselves as luxury items. Girard Perregaux figured out they couldn't remain financially solvent selling $75 mechanical Gyromatics to 250,000 customers annually so the repackaged themselves (as dictated by their conglomerate masters)as sellers of $10,000 watches to 2500 customers. A luxury item is never going to be worth the cost of materials and development. To a certain extent, these watches are wonders of research and engineering and light years ahead of a 21 jewel Seiko in the same way a Ferarri is superior to a Ford Taurus but are they worth every bit of the enhanced selling price? I don't think so. I don't see or detect much of a quality and performance difference between $1500 Longines chrono, a $2500 Omega chronograph and a $6500 Navitimer. Certainly with the stratosphere brands like PP, JLC and GP, you are paying for name and reputation way above and beyond the materials and engineering.

So sorry to hear. I adore my 80 year old Dad but were at an age now where your life can change with a phone call. It's something you can never prepare for. Be strong and loving...that's what family is for at this time. I'll offer one up for you and your Dad.

Chris

It's a gorgeous, platnium repeater made by an iconic company but I agree, 300K is outrageous...and it will find buyers among the "I'm so rich I can do this" group. If this were an IWC or JLC, I doubt it would go for more than 75K.

Genuine Longines Hydroconquest.

My problem was that I had about 6 watches that were significant investments and that I was happy to have because they were the "state of the rep art" today in terms of fidelity of reproduction but they didn't wow me aesthetically. I bought a late version Swiss DSSD because I had to have the best version of this "genuine parts interchangeable" rep with little thought given to liking the watch. The proof was in the wearing...I rarely wore it. This morning I looked at my collection and saw only positive choices. The decision was pleasureable.

I recently pared down my collection and something interesting happened. I found a renewed appreciation for some pieces I haven't given a second thought to for several years. Often, when I would go through my "what should I wear today" daily decision, I'd look at the many choices I had but I would only choose 3-4 to wear with any consistency. After pruning down to 12 or so, I have found renewed interest in proudly wearing and enjoying reps and gens I haven't worn for a long time. I think my collection simply got too big and the fog of sheer numbers numbed me to the process. For a long time I thought more is always better but this is a new experience for this chronic consumer!

Wow that's wonderful news. I suppose a choice between having one's uterus removed vs a cancer diagnosis is a choice of the lesser of two evils but it sounds like she's going to be ok. Medical science is amazing. Not to pat my profession on the back but a century ago cancer was a virtual death sentence and today patients have so many options that cure and provide quality of life that it's simply amazing. I know we all tend to focus on the tragic stories when they come to our attention but the fact is that most cancers are treatable and many do recover. Early detection is the key. Hope you can sleep easier knowing sh has a clean bill of health!

Had a great transaction with Drulee about 10 days ago. He bought my Longines Master Chronograph and paid for it promptly. I sent it to Canada from my local post office in Springfirld, Pennsylvania with the customs declaration on October 5th. The customs tracking is LC570051396US.

I tracked it today through USPS.com only to find something bizarre under the tracking.

Detailed Results:

Processed through Sort Facility, October 07, 2010, 1:38 pm, JAMAICA, NY 11430

Processed through Sort Facility, September 14, 2010, 8:11 pm, SAN DIEGO, CA 92186

Acceptance, September 14, 2010, 12:11 pm, BONSALL, CA 92003

How can something mailed on October 5th in PA show up as being mailed from Bonsall, CA on September 14th?. My only hope is that this is an electronic error and not a mailing error. I have never had a problem like this. I hope it shows up at the addresse eventually. Drulee, if you're out there, send me a PM and let me know if you got the watch. What a bummer. Has anyone else had a similar experience and what was the result?

Seiko "Chrono-Monster". Screw down crown and pushers rated to 200m. Love it!

I thought about this for a while. I think the watch I'm most happy with is my Patek Chrono. Classy and understated yet very noticable. The box is a fantastic accessory. Terrific quality and worth the price. The two together make a beautiful statement.

Congrats...u r space flight certified. No decent reps of this out there. I bought one a couple of years ago that was supposed to be the best available and it was crappy.

I was also horrified at the notion of spraying a general lubricant all over a fine watch movement but can someone tell me why an ultrasonic cleaning without disassembly is a no no? Is it because cleaning will remove all oils from the pivots so disassembly is necessary to replace it? It would seem to me a cleaning and drying with appropriate solvents would clean the mechanism without harm and without the hassle of disassembly. Is oiling all that critical in the short term? Some of these 7750s run dry just fine.

Is the regulator functional or is it just for show?

Ive been waiting for an A7753 for 5 years. I'm certain we will see improvements over the next 18 months and it is good news that once serviced, the engineering is solid. I agree that the idiosyncracies are probably the simple product of money saving decisions along the production line. Thanks Zig for the review and pics. When I look at that parts tray full of metal gears and springs small enough to blow away with a stray breath, I wonder "how does he work in this micro world?". Better eyes and steadier hands than I have no doubt. Excellent stuff...as usual.

Rob does what he does as a service to the community. He isn't in this as a big money making endeavour. He has a client list of long time customers that's tough to crack. Be patient.

Wow...did I miss this? The rep guys have an A7753 clone now? Looks like the QC is awful but i can wait a little while for them to sort this out.

Must have been tough for Leo to step down to a Tag. He collects six figure JLCs. He has stated their watches are a passion of his.

Franken SMP 300 Chrono. Gen dial and insert.

I agree. I admit I was away for a while and as a result must have missed a lot of this. All I can say is that I used to look foward to reading his posts while at work, which often resulted in people staring in at my office door while I laughed uncontrollably at my computer screen.

Come to think of it, what ever happened to Pug?

I recall he announced he was taking a break from the boards for a bit. Over 10,000 posts...he deserved some time off.

He was a liar too, selling illegal knives to the UK, all the while spouting BS abut them being perfectly UK legal, knives are very far removed from watches, and are a big problem in the UK. He also ripped people off, with a group buy, many peeps out of pocket and without a watch. One of the last thing he did here was threaten and insult the powers that be. He was an ass.....

So why are we discussing this total toss pot still? He really isn't worth it.....

As I said, no one ever had an impartial opinion of Neil! Love him or hate him!

I am with Dr. Cranium and Gran on this one. TTK could be a bit of a grouse from from time-to-time, but his sarcasm and wit added a depth and color to the forum that I miss. And he certainly was a knowledable source of information.

I don't know the guy they are describing here. Sounds like he went off the deep end somehow Edd. He was like our version of a radio "shock jock".