SmoothOperator

Another release .. this time without engraving. (Actually .. I have it confirmed .. this is engraved Veptu .. hard to see because of the lighting) Vertu Signature replica * Internet browser frequency: GSM/GPRS:900/1800 * Color: 24K White gold plated * LCD: TFT; 260.000 colors * Battery specification: 900MA * Talk-time: 3 Hours * Standby-time: 245 Hours * Languages: English * MP3 * MP4 * 2 Mega Pixel camera with video function * GPRS * 64M memory (expandable to 2 GIG) * USB connectivity to computer (can be used as external storage device as well as able to recharge the battery via computer) * hands free function * SMS * MMS color messaging Includes: 2 x Lithium batteries, charger ., hands free, USB cable.

quote: This is the re-synched version of Canon Rock performed by funtwo. In the original version, the audio was 250 ms out of synch with the video. In this version, I have re-synched the audio and also de-interlaced the whole clip to make the image look a bit more crispier - all from the original 6MB WMV-file funtwo uploaded to a Korean music-site many months ago. With the audio back in synch, you can now hear the "missing" bit at the end of the song, which all the other funtwo clips on YouTube lacks. You can download the MP3 and video from www.gigabit-connection.info

Awesome Pho .. love it . I'm jealous. Very nice work The Zigmeister

Joe Mcdonald, Canadian Press Published: Sunday, December 17, 2006 China announces new anti-piracy crackdown as Treasury Secretary Paulson visits BEIJING (AP) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson confronted mixed signals as he arrived in China Wednesday for trade talks, with Beijing announcing a renewed crackdown on pirated goods but also running up a record trade surplus with the United States. American officials are trying to play down expectations of breakthroughs from the talks led by Paulson, Washington's point man on economic ties with Beijing, and Chinese Premier Wu Yi. The talks are billed as the start of a wide-ranging "strategic economic dialogue." In a prelude to the visit, Chinese and U.S. companies announced a series of deals, including the purchase by U.S. retailer Home Depot Inc. of a chain of Chinese home improvement stores and the sale of GE Aviation jet engines to a Shanghai airline. "Commercial engagement built on fair, effective rules is the foundation of the healthy, strong and continually growing trade relationship that we envision between China and the United States," said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, a member of Paulson's delegation, who attended the signing ceremony for the deals. The anti-piracy campaign announced Wednesday will target producers and distributors of illegally copied movies, music and other goods, the official Xinhua news agency said. It follows a 100-day-long crackdown launched in July that targeted vendors. "The campaign will hunt out producers of pirated movies, books and software and break their distribution chains," Xinhua said, citing the government's anti-piracy agency. "The smuggling of pirating equipment will be severely punished." China is believed to be the world's leading source of pirated goods ranging from Hollywood movies to designer clothes, sports equipment and even medicines. American officials say Chinese piracy costs legitimate producers up to US$50 billion a year in lost potential sales. Washington has warned Beijing might face a formal complaint in the World Trade Organization, with the possibility of sanctions, if it fails to stamp out the illicit trade. Such government campaigns and business deals are frequently announced ahead of U.S.-Chinese meetings as Beijing tries to mollify American critics of its soaring trade surplus with the United States. American business groups are pressing for quicker action and have appealed to Paulson to take a hard line with Beijing over its currency controls. They say China's yuan is undervalued, giving the country's exporters an unfair price advantage. U.S. officials say they also want more Chinese action against piracy and more access to the country's service industries. Home Depot's president of international operations, Annette Verschuren, would not give a value for the purchase of the 12-store Home Way chain. GE said its sale of engines to Shanghai Airlines to power new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft was worth $550 million. Also signed at the ceremony, were deals by Oshkosh Truck Corp. to sell U.S.-made airport rescue and firefighting equipment to an airport in eastern China, and a deal between VeriSign and the China Netcom Group and the Ministry of Information and Industry to set up a system to help create domain names. Despite the complaints about the trade deficit and piracy, the United States has benefited from growing ties with China. U.S. imports of low-cost Chinese toys, shoes and other goods have held down consumer prices and added to retailers' profits. American companies are seeing growing revenues from operations in China to tap the country's growing consumer market. China's imports from the United States in the first 11 months this year rose 23 per cent over the same period last year to $53.9 billion, according to Vice-Commerce Minister Yi Xiaozhun. He said total U.S. investment in China stands at $121.3 billion. Paulson is accompanied by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and four other cabinet members - Commerce's Gutierrez, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Stephen Johnson, also are attending. On Tuesday, pressure on Washington for action mounted when the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit with China rose by 6.1 per cent to $24.4 billion. The U.S. deficit with China is running at an annual rate of $229 billion, far above last year's $202 billion deficit, an all-time high for any country. © The Canadian Press 2006 LINK to ARTICLE click here

no offence taken, Offshore lives in the same suburb as me

U-boat .. i love em .. pretty cool history as well .. the Watch that never was: the U-Boat line is unusual, it was a design from the early 1940’s that never was produced due to the political situation in Italy at the time. In 2000 all the original plans, samples, and drawings were recovered and the watch line was finally created. It was mean as a commemorative gift for U-boat commanders .. the watch like the U-boats sank and were lost to history. The one day, a lucky man stumbles upon the plans and bingo .. finally makes the watch that never was. I think a "sleeper" for sure and as swdivad pointed out .. "we'll be kicking ourselves in ten years because we didn't buy one and they're worth 30k LOL" Just make sure that you get a SWISS mechanical Movementl. U-boat, like our reps .. come with different movements. and also come with different crystals. You can get a mineral cyrstal, quartz U-boat for cheap, but who'll want one. As for the lefty design, this is part of the whole U-boat thing. sorta like Jimi Hendrix and his guitar.

Hi Joe, You can send them to me I'm on the Gold Coast (i grew up in Brisbane) .. how long before you come over? We'll finally be able to organise a GTG on the Gold Coast. Cya

PM sent to "themuck" he has first dibs seeing that he started this original thread and has been searching for one for a LONG time I'll send the link to everyone else who has PM'd me iin 12hrs time. Meanwhile .. here are some Pics

I just made contact with my friend in Romania .. he has one (originally purchased from China) he sells them in the EU .. here's a link .. edit .. on second thoughts .. pm me if interested

What are you doing reading these forums !! Get out there and Celebrate !!! Happy Birthday Arthur

WOW .. this just happened to my 1950 .. but my was a E0117 case. time to contact Davidsen

Unbelievable .. Look what the elves are working on at Santa's workshop : http://www.replicacollector.com/members/in...mp;#entry154176

I've got a great location .. why don't you guys come up to the Gold Coast ..

Check this out .. the tour of the CHOPARD factory. MORE juicy pics and a good walkthrough: http://www.timezone.com/library/itsabouttime/200611201879

There are 5 new PAMS for Christmas .. PAM186 (already released)+ the NorthPole + 3 "others" Also .. there's the AP Offshore, Breitling Steelfish SuperOcean and Chronomat Evolution, the Chopard Mille Miglia Gran Tourismo XL, the Hublot Big Bang that are definitely coming. Don't forget that the Bell & Ross (46mm) should be here as well.

Where abouts is the repair guy .. my brother will be there in 3 weeks ..

Hello TonyLee, are you really from Armenia? Some very nice Brandy comes from there Anyway .. you'll do much better buying from one of the dealers here.

all this bitching and whinging... .. geeze .. I think I might have to take my business to a reputable site .. like replicacentre .. I guess they were right .. these forums are full of scammers. lol

definitely keep us informed of your findings Found this too .. interesting read .. I like the bit "the only difference is that some of the counterfeits are better made than originals." From The Star, Malaysia Issue 21 March 2002 Bags of Trouble Brand names are an addiction for Asian consumers, but now many have found a cheaper way to get their fix. Meet the 'super copy'-so good it fools even the experts By Velisarios Kattoulas/SEOUL and TOKYO FOR SOME TIME BEFORE leaving for vacation in Paris, Katie Kim had been in a dilemma: Should she travel with her favourite "Chanel" shoulder bag, a counterfeit bought in a Seoul market? Taking it with her, the South Korean university student risked being collared by customs officers and losing it-no small matter since she planned to carry it sightseeing and shopping. In the end, she threw caution to the wind. But Kim (not her real name) soon came to regret it. Although she sailed through customs, the day after she arrived in Paris her bag started causing her problems: Its shoulder strap broke. At home in South Korea-where lawyers estimate counterfeiters produce 1 million fake European handbags and wallets a year-Kim might have been more cautious. But she was bored. For all its history, Paris lacked Seoul's gritty verve. So, on the home turf of the $54-billion-a-year luxury-goods industry, Kim decided to create her own excitement: At a Chanel store in Paris she buttonholed a clerk, and asked Chanel to repair her bag under warranty. "I was curious," she said afterwards. "I wanted to know whether the counterfeit I'd bought was any good." Answer? Yes. Despite examining the bag closely, Chanel employees failed to recognize it as a fake and-with profuse apologies-repaired it for free. Luck was no doubt on Kim's side. But there was another, more important reason why her brazen prank succeeded: Her bag was what counterfeit connoisseurs call a "super copy." Since about 1997, such high-quality fakes have been turning up in increasing numbers at counterfeit markets-and in police busts-in Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Los Angeles. Of course, illegal copies of famous French and Italian brands are nothing new; there's been a thriving trade in them since at least the 1970s. What makes the super copies different and more worrying, however, is that even experienced employees of companies like Hermes, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada find it hard to spot them. "Sometimes," says David Campbell, an expert on counterfeit luxury goods and director of operations at Pinkerton Korea in Seoul, "the only difference is that some of the counterfeits are better made than originals." In any event, for about a 10th of the price of the real thing, top-notch counterfeits are openly on sale in South Korea day or night. In Seoul, probably the most popular place is Tongdaemun. The high-rise mall seems constantly packed, stays open late at night and boasts an entire floor crammed with some 50 stalls selling counterfeit brand-name bags and wallets. Typically, to thwart efforts to crack down on their illicit trade, counterfeit dealers shy away from putting super copies on display, or even keeping them at hand. But if shoppers spot something they like as they leaf through glossy 500-page catalogues featuring every conceivable brand-name handbag, wallet and belt, store clerks rush off to fetch one from secret stashes nearby. No less troubling for Europe's luxury-goods makers, South Korea's counterfeiters are busily exporting their wares worldwide. Korean-made copies account for the largest number of counterfeits seized in Japan, while in the U.S. they consistently place in the top three. On both sides of the Pacific, counterfeiters sell super copies by word of mouth, on the Internet, at discount stores and sometimes even by placing suggestive ads in small local newspapers. A Korean counterfeiter based near Tokyo says he sold 100,000 super copies in Japan alone last year. At the same time, working with overseas Koreans in Los Angeles, he has now started shipping his forgeries to the U.S. In many respects, Europe's luxury-goods makers are victims of their own supercharged advertising campaigns. The ubiquitous leggy models in their glitzy magazine ads have helped create a demand for brand-name handbags that at times appears to defy logic. At an International Herald Tribune conference in Paris late last year, Christophe Girard, director of fashion strategy at luxury giant Louis Vuitton, Mo't Hennessy, or LVMH, argued that even in bad times people sought the validation and reassurance offered by luxury goods. "The quest for pleasure" is timeless, he said. "It even happens in war. People want to enjoy themselves." True enough: In Japan, which has suffered a decade of economic gloom, the lust for brands has seen women continuing to buy luxury goods in phenomenal numbers. In 2000, Louis Vuitton sales in Japan rose 16%, topping the ¥100 billion mark for the first time. But shoppers also seem increasingly happy to get their brand fix in other ways, too. And the super copies are only fuelling that inclination, says Hidehiko Sekizawa, executive director of the Tokyo-based Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living, the research arm of a Japanese advertising agency. "Japanese shoppers have always been very fussy about quality," he says. "Now that the counterfeits are hard to distinguish from authentic products, they no longer mind buying fakes, even though they probably own a couple of authentic bags. They save the genuine articles for formal events like weddings and parties, and dinners and dates, and use counterfeits on rainy days, or to go to the supermarket for milk." By contrast, in places like China and Korea, where $500-plus handbags are out of reach for all but a tiny minority, women simply ignore the real thing altogether and buy glossy counterfeits. In other words, whatever the size of their purses, consumers no longer seem to regard buying counterfeit luxury goods as a crime. According to a survey of 500 Japanese schoolteachers by the government-funded Consumer Education Help Centre, 20% had bought counterfeits. Of those, 63% bought them because they were cheap, 36% for fun and-significantly-25% because they were of high quality. It's impossible to know whether such attitudes are widespread, but a South Korean journalist (who asked not to be named) suspects they might be, at least in Korea. "Every woman in Korea owns at least one counterfeit bag, even my mother," says the journalist, who happily carries a fake Gucci bag to interviews with politicians, police officers and officials. "You can tell women on the subway are carrying fake bags because any Korean who can afford genuine European luxury goods doesn't take the subway," the journalist adds. "She drives or is driven." If she's right, then almost one in two women on some subway lines in central Seoul is carrying a counterfeit. In all likelihood, the "Chanel" bag Katie Kim took to Paris, was made at a factory like the one run by Charles Nam (not his real name) in a converted farmhouse south of Seoul. From the exterior it looks like every other building nearby. Inside, state-of-the-art machinery and skilled workers churn out super copies by the thousand. In one room, 50 women sit hunched at sewing machines assembling super-copy wallets. In another room, 50 more women add the finishing touches to super-copy bags. Half of what the women make is Louis Vuitton counterfeits, with the rest split evenly between Hermes, Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo. Nam, who says he runs six other counterfeit factories nearby, is coy about how he ratcheted up the quality of his products. The accumulation of skills over years helped, he says. He also benefited from the Asian financial crisis that rocked the Korean economy in the late 1990s. By destroying hundreds of small Korean leatherwear factories, it left him with a larger pool of workers to hire from. Yet, he says, the main reason for the sudden increase in quality was Europeans; in particular, rogue individuals in Europe's luxury-goods industry effectively running training courses for counterfeiters. European artisans are also helping modernize China's counterfeiters, says a New York-based intellectual property rights lawyer. Law-enforcement officials in Korea and China have yet to uncover hard evidence of such collaboration, but the New York lawyer has no doubt it takes place. "The Italian brands are all supplied by subcontractors," he says. "Some of them have technicians who have been hired from time to time by companies in China-often to work in joint ventures involving Italian investors-and no doubt they have shared 'secrets' with Chinese companies that have ended up making counterfeits."

Quoted from the ad: .............................. If you have any questions about this watch or our warranty, Please call (949) 566-9006 ask for Peter!!! ...................

n00b questions .. Is this post referring to the New Asian 7750 28800 movement? Is the problem with this movement confined to just the IWC's or is it a 7750 issue. And finally .. Will this problem be the same for the other 7750's but with the seconds at 9:00 (like the ones in the Breitlings .. ie .. Breitling Chrono Avenger http://perfect-clones.com/bl10008-chrono-a...800-p-1967.html )

Hi Tonton, Any luck identifying the watch? Would help if you had a shot of the Movement. To me .. it looks .. late 1950's .. similar dial can be seen on a Minute repeater .. ref: 4261. Lot 226 from the Antiquorum Catalogue 2005. Is there any numbers on the case? I would describe it as: stepped bezel Dial: silvered with applied yellow gold baton indexes. Yellow gold baton hands. As for the movement I would say that it's a Cal 9"' 1003, 17 jewels, straight line lever escapement. ref: 6704/3 .. (but of course this is a guess .. I would need to see the movement itself to be sure) This movement was first launced at Basel fair in 1955 and several thousand examples were produced in collaboration with the Lecoultre factory.

Found this on WatchNet .. I'm sure some of you would be very interested. ** MODs : feel free to delete if you feel this constitutes being an advert ** Nice Vintage look: http://www.watchnet.com/forums/tradingpst/....pl?read=268888

This statement is misleading ... Dubey did not patent a rattrapante chronograph which uses a flyback function. Dubeys patent and the focus of his work was to invent a more "economical" rattrapante as the price for this function was high and it was in the strict domain of brands like Bretling, Butex and Patek Philippe. Dubey's patent was called the Index-Mobile. Once the chronograph is started .. to read intermediate time .. you would depress the pusher. This pauses the index hand (so you could read it), but the movement continues. The index remains paused as long as the pressure is maintained on the pusher. .. when you release the pusher .. the index catches up to the chronograph hand. This is where some people have wrongly called .. "flyback" ... it is actually flying forward.

My understanding .. and I think this is fairly correct .. FLYBACK and RATTRAPANTE are very different. There are many manufacturers who call "Rattrapante" - "flyback" and claim that that it is french for flyback. Rattrapante actually means .. "CATCH-UP" ... This is the main cause of confusion. Classic Rattrapante .. uses two superposed hands. This permits the measure of intermediary time by stopping one of the indicators while the other continues its course. .. Additional pressure on one of the pushers allows the stopped hand to "catch-up" .. or "rattrapante" ... This function is used for timing events such as athletic competitions or motorsports. A normal chronograph if paused would not be able to measure say the runners up time .. or the next lap. This is what a Rattrapante was designed for. So you could pause the chrono and take note of the winners time, then "rattrapante" the chrono .. and repause to see the runners up time. .. Or similarly .. you could pause the chrono and measure the LAP time .. and "rattrapante" the chrono to continue measuring the next LAP time. FLYBACK originated from Aviation .. where the need for "timing" aerial manouvres required the chronograph to be able to time manouvres without having to reset the movement. What I mean is... pilots needed to be able to time each section of a manouvre. Bank left for 27 secs, sharp right for 38 secs, climb for 54 secs, rolling sommersaute for 25 secs .. etc. ... A normal chronograph .. you would have to PAUSE, then reset .. then restart ... valuable seconds are lost .. so the FLYBACK was invented .. so you wouldn't have to pause the movement to restart. The movement FLYSBACK to zero .. and is measuring time againg from zero .. with only ONE push of the button.