crystalcranium

Actually, within the last half an hour, I discovered a screw missing from the fold over lock for the bracelet. I'm sure Josh will make good on replacement, but I wonder if I got something of a lemon here

Not to [censored] all over one of the better reps out there but I am a bit underwhelmed by a couple of things. The lack of an anti-reflective coating on the crystal is a major shortcoming with this rep. The dial is intricate and beautiful but the crystal catches every bit of light and shoots it back. The other issues are separate from the replication and have to do with the mechanical reliability of the new asian 28,000 bph 7750. This one came out of the box unable to reset to 12:00 on the stopwatch second hand. Thanks to Joshua the Guru, he gave me a quick fix. I wound the watch fully and let it run for a day and then wound it fully again. I let the chrono second hand run to the 30 second mark and then reset it. I did this about 10 times. Lo and behold, the second hand resets now at 12:00 on the mark. No need for a return or a repair. This is the second watch I have with the new 7750 and there is another quirk in it's operation. When timing events, the chrono minute timer in both watches flips forward to the next minute when the second hand is at about 58 seconds. It is possible to be off by a minute when stopping the second hand at this point ie: an actual 8 minute 58 second interval will read 9 minutes and 58 seconds. Pretty minor stuff but I dont know what it says about the overall reliability. Time will tell. In all, it's impressive as hell but the chrono problem right out of the box took a little of the shine off Christmas morning for me!!

Just got it today. A few issues with the chrono seconds not re-setting to zero but they seem tom be resolved

Yeah, as a photographer, I'm a great doctor!!! The SMP Chrono is a genuine. I'm still trying to hook up with Josh for a modified moonie!!!!

Any suggestions other than a return? It resets to about 1/2 second past 12:00. Just got the damn thing and it's beautiful but I think I might have to send it back to Josh. Update: If I quick double click the start/stop pusher and hit the reset and do this 2-3 times, the second hand returns to 12:00. It does not do this in standard operation. Might be a quirk I just have to live with. The fact that I can eventually get the second hand back to straight up and down 12:00 means the watch will look ok. I rarely use the chrono.

Pre and post RWG purchases!!! Actually, I'm a proponent of the"accept your watches as replicas, flaws in all" mantra. Sorry if I sounded like I was pissing all over this purchase. The watch is very impressive. I have always said all replicas have flaws. Find a replica with flaws you can live with and buy it. This one just had one too many issues for my obsessive compulsiveness.

I'm a wacked out "once I find something wrong, it's all I can see" rep guy. The 300M engraved on the back is so glaring, it ruined this watch for me. BTW, I had a genuine on about 6 months ago and the watch is a bit obscene. My wife thought it was stupid looking so it was off the list.

I think you should throw out the espresso machine. Did I read you say returning the watch to get it right would take too long??? Jeezz a lou! Good luck with the Bentley. I love mine! Just a bit of replica owners advice. When you get these things running and running right, dont f#@k with what works. You sound like the kind of guy who is going to have the caseback off by the end of the weekend just so you can have a look inside and check out that loud rotor "just in case!!!" C

Well if you can keep your mouth shut about what you are doing to further complicate the situation, it sounds like a mechanical problem out of the box and I'm sure Andrew can help you out. But be warned, he reads the posts here!!!!!

God Bazz...gorgeous picture..... My thoughts on "The Legendary MBW" are well known. Too much trouble, money, patience, groveling, risk etc..... 98% 99% 99.98% who cares. Only a vintage genuine collector is going to appreciate the fact that you have a 30 year old watch on your wrist and most of those afficianatos are going to recognize it as a replica even if it is heavily modded. And the general nit wit on the street would probably be far more apt to view it as a replica because of it's plastic crystal, 600m depth rating, yellowed markers etc.. being wowfully uninformed that this is a "classic" design. A waste of money IMHO. Spend 2/3 the scratch on a TW best and enjoy the acolades!!!

That's a 10 pm to 3 am rule but it is possible your watch was off by 12 hours. Day/date wheel issues are usually not serious mechanical issues. I doubt your watch is ruined but what is obviously an immediate gratification need might have to be shelved.

Hey, put it down!!!!! If your $80,000 BMW was making a grinding noise and had smoke pouring out the back, you'd pull over and have it towed, not floor it and try to make it to the service station.

Yes the movement is defective. The Day/Date wheels should operate for setting in the way you are describing you are trying. If they work in the normal operation of the watch, you can still use it by scrolling through the 24 hours of eack day until the date is synchronized with the actual calander date and keep the watch wound and running. For months with less than 31 days you will have to move the hands forward again to move to the correct date. Some very high end watches do not have a date setting function in their movements so even though the movement is broken in this regard, if the date still advances in normal operation, it's not such a big deal to keep it wound and take a minute or two 5 months out of the year to advance it.

I agree, I liked Walter very much. His customer service was first rate. He was actually something of an aberration in my early experience as he actually returned emails and actually replaced a 3 watch order that was seized in Alaska customs. His former watch business collasped due to a falling out with suppliers and the fact that his wife just had a baby daughter. I think if he carried a first rate product and charged honestly for it, he might be able to do a better business here as a trusted dealer. He just charged me what I was willing to pay and this business is very much "the buyer beware".

I guess I didn't phrase it correctly. I meant Chronoswiss and IWC were two of the high end's that did go big with some of their models.

I wasn't saying the trend is going down yet, just that the high end manufacturers think it is begining to peak and will track back downward. Of the 'haute horology" manufacturers, very few caught the wave of the trend (Chronoswiss and IWC come to mind) and of the mainstream manufacturers, Breitling seems to have ridden it into the beach. I guess I'm just an old fart but 42 mm is about a maximum for me. Even my beloved Breitling GT looks a bit grotesque to me at times.

I don't know, maybe I'm cranky today but....WTF????????? "I've bought 2 MBWs and they both needed mods (new dials and bezel inserts) to make them tolerable."?????? I have never understood this MBW stuff. This is a watch that if it showed up in a replica review without being touted as "OEM upgradeable" would have most of the guru's here laughing at it's imperfections. From what I've seen, the basic CN Sub has far fewer flaws than the legendary MBW. Yeah, I know feel is the difference but so what if the detail flaws are so glaring?

...Is anyone else out there, shaking their head, saying "I knew it...I knew it..." I never want anyone to get hosed but.... an unreviewed watch at a too good to be true price from a sincere but unproven dealer?????? Not something I would have been jumping all over.

Bon chance mon ami!!!!! As for Subs, as a previous poster stated, I got a 95% accurate replica from Paul for $119 that so far has fooled 100% of the people who have seen it.

From what I've read recently, the haute horology companies feel the trend to huge has reached it's peak and that the general public will start wanting their wrist candy to move toward more understated case sizes. I have to say, I have never been a fan of the "moose watch" fad of the last few years. I first became facinated with mechanical watches because of the micro mechanicals and the precision realized by them. The fact that many watches today look like small pocket watches with straps holds no mechanical facination for me even though, the mechanicals in many remain the same size and they are overstuffed with spacers to fill the voids in the oversize cases. When I bought my SMP chrono diver last year, I read several online reviews calling this watch "Huge" and the photographs of it gave me pause. Today, this one time rock on a bracelet is very midsize. I almost burst out laughing when a salesman at an AD took a Chrono Avenger out of the case to show me. I borrowed a line I read describing a similar HUGE watch and said "Could you show me something that doesn't look like a pressure gauge off the Titanic?" I just wonder if all of us who have indulged what might be a short lived fad in watch styling will be looking at these big lumps of charcoal someday like we look at our high school graduation picture hair styles from the 70's and 80's and say 'What the hell were we thinking???" To me, and I'll admit, I do own some rocks, classic design is always classic. Understated chronographs, ultra slim manuals, 38mm diving watches will always be in style at one time or another. Any thoughts????

Ubi Isn't this the 3000M WR watch that has the correct rating on the dial but the engraved caseback says 300M?

the former buydesignerwatch.com now buygift2005.com hosted by Walter Wong. $188 plus $35 delivery This watch makes me want to throw up but, unfortunatly, 3 years ago before RWG, I would have been salivating over it. Thanks everyone here for saving me from myself!!!!!!

Thanks but the thread seems to indicate much less frequent outages. I've been having trouble 3-4 times a day for about a week to 10 days now. I guess it's just regular service.

Can't get on about 50% of the time. Its not tied to a single computer or time frame. Is anyone else having the same problem? Did I miss a message about regular server interruptions?

There's a great car commercial where the hybrid selling car company asks "What do you think your automobile purchase says about you?" They then show a bunch of luxury and sport car owners driving around with megaphones, repeating over and over again things like... Female Lexus owner "...because Daddy didn't love me enough....because Daddy didn't love me enough...because Daddy didn't love me enough" Male Mustang Owner "...because I'm compensating for my shortcomings...because I'm compensating for my shortcomings...because I'm compensating for my shortcomings" Male Mercedes owner"...because I make more money than you...because I make more money than you...because I make more money than you" I think you can substitute high end genuine owners who look down their noses at us and try to pathologize our purchases for any of the above owners of luxury vehicles. Don't point the finger of mental illness at me buddy. Anyone who spends $75,000 on a watch ought to be in some serious threapy.