jkerouac

From my experience a very nice and reliable guy. But there may be more involved than simply peddling a few rep watches over the Internet. There has been talk for some time about his retirement, yet he continued to post new offerings -- and even added a tag line to some of his posts that he needed to raise cash. I wish him well.

Robb Report is a bit too elitist and too much about flaunting wealth for my taste. But I did search their archives for articles on watches. I liked the reference in one article to IWC as the "Brooks Brothers" of watchmakers.

RKDK, What are your impressions of the strap?

I want to know how you managed to convince Captain Cousteau to appear in your photos, along with the Calypso and the whale? I am forced to conclude that you work for National Geographic.... or ought to. Well done, and enjoy the watch.

You also might consider doing the Steelfish in white and an Evo two-tone. If I had it to do over again I think I would have used that strategy instead of buying a SS Evo, even though it is probably my favorite watch right now.

Sopranos is much better than last season. I hate to see it end, but then it's better to end while the drama is still compelling. I was very engrossed by Heroes for the first half of the season, then lost touch with the story line and fell three episodes behind on DVR. A marathon viewing session started to pull me back into the plot line, though. I still need to watch Monday's episode. Best new show of the year, though, is The Riches, with Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver. Wickedly good writing and acting. This is a show that still has lots of room to grow and develop. With Heroes, it is hard to see where the plot will go after this season.

Actually, he could pay a few flunkies to wear some watches for him. After all, time is on his side. Anyone care to apply for the job?

My suggestion for current and future needs: Don't get less than 1G of memory, aim for 2G if you want to be set for the future. I prefer Toshiba for laptops. I have been using Vista since day 1 and am absolutely delighted with it. I would make sure that your new laptop comes with it installed... but check to make sure that people using your configuration (laptop plus adapters and basic apps) are happy with it.

Thanks very much for the feedback. I found surprisingly little comparative information via a number of Web searches, but had a hunch that I would get some insightful suggestions if I posted here. RWG members rock! I've purchased Sony in the past (who on this planet could avoid buying at least something from them?!) and have had good experiences, starting with my first receiver purchased while I was a freshman in college 30+ years ago. And I use a Sony dubbing cassette deck, which works well for the tasks that I use it for. Regarding the Marantz vs. Denon decision, I think the Marantz has a very slight edge in the feature department, but a considerable 3-year to 1-year advantage in the warranty department. The denon offers slightly wider availability, but the best prices are from Web retailers offering no warrantly whatsoever! If you add in an optional third-party warranty (which I would otherwise not even consider) then the differences in price are fairly small. I have a Rotel amp and Linn speakers, which deliver a very detailed and warm sound for classical and jazz, which I listen to most frequently. So I'll need to decide whether the sound quality of the Marantz is up to my expectations. Considering the age of the unit that it would be compared to, I think the comparison should be favorable. I think I'll stop at my local dealer on the way home. Thanks again.

My current CD player is skipping, the drawer sticks, and it has finally reached the point where I am ready to make a change. It's a good player, a Denon, and it has served me well for something like 15 years without even a service. Part of me says that I should get it serviced, that these problems are not serious enough to put this player out to pasture, but I'm sure that service would cost at least $100-$150 and for that I might as well invest in a player that meets today's more advanced specs and will hopefully last me for another 10-15 years, by which time my CD collection will probably be ready for a museum. In any case, I'm looking at getting a 5-CD player. This is a music system exclusively, so I am not interested in a combo DVD/video-audio type deck. The units I am looking at are the Denon DCM-390 and the Marantz CC4001 My original research leaned toward the Denon, but the audio dealer recommended the Marantz, arguing that Marantz is the more reliable unit. Both are approximately $350. Does anyone have experience with either of these players?

For heavy duty chores I wear my PO first generation ... for slightly less rugged situations (chores or sports) it would be the PO or my Speedy.

SMP, just about any Pam that doesn't have a bulky bezel, IWC GST, or IWC Inge.

At least he doesn't come out claiming that it is gen. Any moderately discerning buyer will know the score.

Often those early crap reps that you no longer want are reps that no one else on the forum really wants either. I have two pre-RWG reps, one a small diameter Rolex Explorer that seemed nice at the time but I wouldn't be caught dead wearing now. It might actually be a good size for a woman, although my wife would not want it. The second is an even smaller (33 mm) and coin-thin (5 mm) "Patek Philippe" quartz that is uninteresting in the extreme. It does have a somewhat attractive integrated bracelet, but that's about it. I should probably just use the Explorer as a tear down experiment. The Patek isn't even really worth that effort. As for my better reps, I strive to wear that ones that I own. I tried to sell a first generation two-tone Santos 100 a while back, but had no takers. In a sort of perverse way I think it actually looks a bit better as the gold plating has faded, but I still don't think this watch looks anywhere near as nice as a gen. I also tried to sell a panda dial Speedmaster that was my first rep purchase. But I never really warmed to the dial. Then, after nobody bit on the sale offer for the Speedmaster, I decided to check around for a potential dial replacement. Paul came through with a black replacement dial for practically nothing, and suddenly I had a very, very attractive, comfortable, and wearable addition to my rotation, at least on weekends.

I just received my postal notice. Unfortunately I wasn't home and will have to wait until tomorrow to pick up my parcel. The Inge is one of my favorites and I will not try to learn how to replace a datewheel on one of my favorites. This means I will wait until Monday to go to my watch guy and have him do it. Hmmmm, perhaps I'll have him do some water proofing while he is at it.

This is one that is tough to measure consistently, because of the way the crown guards flare around the crown. I just measured mine and it comes in at ab. 41 mm if you measure the bezel from 12 o clock to 6 o clock, and ab. 42 closer to the crown. If you measure directly across at the crown it is 45 mm. I hope this helps. By the way, mine is the SMP GMT.

Aside from the size issue of the Navitimer World, I am leery of any rep that attempts to do too much in the way of complications. If the 7750 in a basic chrono makes you at all nervous, I would probably resist the temptation to add a GMT on top of the chrono. GMT hands are my favorite complication, and I already have an SMP GMT and a Pam Gmt, and am sorely tempted to get the Mont Blanc as well.

By the way, there was a post noting that TTk's Internet connection is down for a few days. Don't look for an immediate response.

I don't volunteer it, anymore than I would if I had had a hair transplant or [if I were a woman] a breast implant. By and large, if asked I about a watch I would say that it is a rep, but I wouldn't broadcast that fact because my company is sensitive to issues of copyrights, patents, and counterfeiting. If somebody absolutely thinks counterfeits are wrong, then you've just lost their respect. So why volunteer the information? I wouldn't deny that I wear reps, but I wouldn't go around announcing it either -- no Rolex, no bling, just nice solid and attractive watches.

It depends. I definitely believe that you will be better served with a philosophy of quality over quantity, as others have commented. But in my case I have a hard time convincing myself to spend $400 or more on my next rep. I have 10 very nice reps already, and most were purchased in the $200-300 range, so I'm not exactly a hard core bargain hunter. I favor quality over the lowest cost. I think you get what you pay for. If I were starting out and a watch such as the Big Bang or the Cousteau were an ultimate watch for me, I'd probably take the plunge. But I'm at a point where I am more concerned with filling niches than obtaining a single killer watch. So for now I'm on the sidelines, and the next $400 that is burning a hole in my pocket will probably go to something other than a watch. Part of me wonders whether the rep market isn't getting a bit out of control with all of the high priced models that are being offered. I turned to reps because I didn't want to spend $400 to $1000 on a mid-level genuine. But I'd wager that a lot of those watches are as good or better values than some of the comparably priced reps. I'd really like people to step back and reassess the prices they are willing to pay. If more people did, perhaps the prices would also come down.

So far only one person has voted that they do not sneak looks at other peoples' watches. Who is this person? A better question would be, if you see a man wearing an interesting watch and the man is accompanied by a beautiful woman, do you sneak more glances at the watch or the woman -- and which draws your interest first? I hate to admit it, but there are times when I focus more on the watch than the beautiful woman. In my opinion this is a sure sign of mental illness.

The moral of the story: Don't go into a bathroom when you are wearing a gen. Even if you end up peeing in your pants, it's just not worth the risk. :yucky:

Your topic hints at an update to that silly old rhetorical question, "what car would Jesus drive?" So I'll start: "What watch would Jesus wear?" Seamaster? Perhaps, but that would more likely be Moses? Yachtmaster? That one more likely belongs to Noah. SlyTech Panerai? Don't even think about it (the same applies to the McQueen Monaco or Newman Daytona). Big Bang? Close, but you have to admit that God the Father would probably own that one.... and only he would have the wrists to pull it off. In the end I'm going to give the nod to a white dial GST....... just because I think it is one of the cleanest and most comfortable watches out there. (For equal blasphemy time, feel free to plug in Buddha, Mohammed, and any other sacred leaders you wish.)

I agree that these are amazing watches, and I would already have one.... except my best friends have his and hers gens -- and the dressy occasions I would wear this watch are many of the occasions we would do together as a foursome. So until I lose the friends (which I hope never happens) I won't be buying the rep Constellation. Instead I'll let them ooh and aah over my other reps (which I have told them are reps).

The white dial Seamaster is an amazingly beautiful and classy watch, one of the few watches where for me a rep would not do. But yours looks amazing. Congrats and enjoy your treasure.