jkerouac

Rob serviced, for sure. I'd even put that one against a Rolex or Omega that recently came back from factory service.

The GTXL is not that good.... Strap crap, rotor loud as hell...

For the price it's actually very good.

Yes, the rotor makes some noise and will benefit from a fine drop of lubricant, but that in itself doesn't make a watch bad. As for the strap, it's rubber, and I'm not particularly fond of rubber straps, so a Hirsch leather sport strap makes a great upgrade at a nominal price. As far as rubber straps go, the one that comes with the watch is OK, though.

To follow up on my post of yesterday, the Royal Oak is 10 mm, the Overseas 11 mm. And even though I no longer own my Santos 100, I would be very surprised if it was that thin. The Cartier Dumont, on the other hand, which is square and roughly the same diameter as the Santos 100, is a very thin watch in the 8-10mm range. I love the gen with a gen strap. I've seen pictures of reps, but never seen it in person.

I'm not at home to be able to double check, but I believe both the Overseas and Royal Oak are 10mm. They fit my wrist beautifully, but you mentioned under 8 mm. How wedded are you to under 8 mm?

Ingy SS is terrific. I never cared for the ti version.

Pam ti is pretty cool, but my favorite of these three would be the Seawolf. It's the most masculine to begin with, so the most suited to titanium.

If you can't find a good version of the Seawolf, hte Pam would be an excellent alternative.

Gifts can be awkward whether you are the giver or recipient, and whether it involves a hot girlfriend, spouse, parent, child, or just about anybody.

The important thing is to appreciate the giver and the thought behind the gift, so I agree with Zeus -- wear it a few times around her and let her know how much you appreciate her thoughtfulness. Then let the bad rep slide to the back of your watch case. If she is into fashion (after all, she is a model), she knows how much people like to switch outfits and jewelry, and how certain things get worn more often than others. She won't be offended as long as she herself feels appreciated.

By the way, your situation is a lot better than if she gave you a really expensive watch that you couldn't stand.

My understanding is that Costco has display models only, and that they are not official dealers for any of these high-end watches (I've also seen Baume & Mercier, Rado, Movado, Ebel, Oris, and a few others-- but just one or two models, not the full lines). The warranties, if I understand correctly, are through Costco rather than the manufacturer.

There isn't much that surprises me at Costco anymore -- $10K grilles, $1k espresso machines, whatever.

I used to have a generation 1 Santos 100 rep that was actually pretty good, particularly for the price. But that is a watch where you really, really need the rep to be awesome to be convincing. Even then, Beany, you are correct. It drew many nice compliments.

My GMT went to The Zigmeister as well.

A problem that he struggled with and could not fix completely was the GMT setting function. When you set the GMT hand, the gear frequently slips. So setting the GMT takes a small bit of patience and a smaller amount of finesse.

The problem is that the 7750 was not originally designed to support the GMT function. Once set, however, the GMT hand tracks perfectly, so I only had to adjust the GMT hand once since it returned from The Zigmeister's workshop. This is not a problem for me in that I keep my GMT hand at +8 from my local time.

I also have several other GMT watches that do not have this adjustment issue.

Time keeping accuracy on this watch is excellent, by the way.

I just put this in my calendar. If no conflicts come up, I'll be there.

If I were to buy a gen strap for one of my reps, I would not wear the watch. Instead I would explain that I want to purchase the strap as a gift for someone who happens to own a <fill in the brand and model>.

Good luck with that.

Funny that you mention the Santos 100. I just got back from Costco and I always glance at the high-end watches they have in their display case. Today they had a two-tone Santos 100 for about $5k and change (I didn't note the exact price), along with the usual Tags and a splash of Breitling and Omega.

Non-chrono.

It's an unusual watch. Sometimes I don't wear it for three weeks at a time and it can even start to look a bit ordinary to me. But when I do wear it, I don't want to switch watches for days. It really comes into its own when you see and feel it on your wrist. For example, this has been a solid Ingy week for me.

Thanks Beany. I'm not sweating anything.

But is the Watch Prince strap too cheap or too dressy looking? I certainly have my share of cheap straps, both leather and simulated crocodile, and this one does not fall into that category. Sorry if my pictures don't do the setup justice. I happen to think it looks great.

I could say that watches with diamonds or certain popular rep models look cheap, but that's just my opinion and if someone else likes them and feels good wearing them, then more power to you.

As for deployant vs. regular buckle, yes deployants are more "elegant," but buckles can more easily be loosened in hot weather.

In any case, I probably wouldn't have posted regarding an even as mundane as the arrival of a new strap (I'd probably have another 30 posts on my tally if I did). But the speed of delivery, combined with a strap that in my eye really complements the watch it is paired with, led me to share my enthusiasm.

Mahler, I may be able to take some pictures of the back late today or tomorrow.

Cheers.

(Truth in advertising: This is a cross post from the Other Dealers Trade Review Section)

For some time now I felt that none of my straps, and not even the Breitling bracelet that came with my BCE, did this watch justice. Crocodile was clearly the way to go, but whose crocodile? Not the genuine Breitling crocodile, I decided, because those can cost as much as the rep itself. And a cheap croc strap looks just like that -- cheap.

I finally settled on the Dunthorp Aviator Crocodile strap from Watch Prince.

I placed my order... just a bit more than 24 hours ago.

I didn't check for confirmation right away (I had some other things I needed to do), but about half an hour later I checked and there was the confirmation e-mail -- and a second e-mail (with tracking number) indicating that my order had shipped.

OK, we've probably all received tracking numbers from dealers who didn't actually ship the product for one or two days after e-mailing the tracking number. It's easy enough to do. And I wasn't in a huge rush to receive the new strap.

But this a.m. I decided to test the tracking number..... and lo and behold, the tracking information indicated that I should expect delivery today.

I should mention that Watch Prince offers free shipping on orders over $75, which I decided to take advantage of. I wasn't in a hurry, so why pay extra for second day or overnight service?

I should also mention that I live in Seattle and Watch Prince is located in Portland, so it would be almost more work for UPS to delay shipment than to deliver quickly.

In any case, at 10:30 this a.m., the man in brown came to my door with my new strap, approximately 18 hours after I placed my free shipping order.

And it's a beauty. Here are some pics.

What can I say? I am incredibly impressed both with the strap and with the service I received from Watch Prince. And my BCE finally has a strap that truly does it justice.

I'm just getting up to speed on this thread, so I apologize for not incorporating or addressing all of the great ideas that have been offered.

I have always felt that I owed the board a percentage for every rep that I was able to purchase. Despite the annual dues and other fund raisers, the board has saved me a lot of money, and significantly improved the quality of watches in my small collection (although I have to admit the collection would have been smaller without the board, therefore saving me money, but the number of watches we buy is a separate issue).

I am buying very few watches right now... only one in the last nine months. But that one watch is a killer, a cornerstone of any collection, and one reason I was able to snap it up was because the seller posted it for sale first in the Supporters Only sale section. If no one had purchased it there within a few days I have no doubt the seller would have posted it in the general sales/trade forum, which would be completely justified.

My point is that we do not need to do away with the general sale/trade area, if only people would post initially in the Supporters sale forum, thus giving people who contribute financially first option to purchase the most attractive items that come up on the resale market.

I think long-term supporters want to support RWG, but not at the cost of being unable to resell their watches, so if you close the general member sales forum you risk losing those people to the other boards. On the other hand, if you give supporting members first dibs on new sale or trade offerings, you offer a legitimate incentive for upgrading subscriptions.

Plus, as I said at the beginning, I think people should be encouraged to donate something, even if just $5 or $10 for every rep they purchase-- because the board saves you at least that much with the insights, knowledge, and purchase opportunities that it offers. Add to that the convivial atmosphere, and the board becomes an even better bargain.

Totally impressive. Anyone who is into diving, or plans to get into diving in the future, should study your review. I am not, but even I ended up looking at all of these models in a new light. Thanks very much.

By the way, both pieces should be in the same thread rather than in separate threads.

All the best, The Zigmeister.

I know some of the recent AR runs caused a lot of hassle for you and Jennifer, and I, too, contributed a bit to the mayhem. Just know that the two watches you serviced and lumed for me are cherished and admired all the more for the personal care that they received from you.

Do what you need to maintain balance in your life. Like the great majority of members, I look forward to your continued contributions to the board, even if on a less frequent, more regulated basis.

Be sure to bring up someone who has a more expensive hobby than you do, such as restoring cars or sailing, for example. Reps are cheap therapy in comparison.

I regularly send parcels to my brother in the UK, mostly computer parts that are often half the price in the US as there, and birthday or Christmas presents. Because the parcel is to my brother, I don't use tracking. But I am mindful of the description and value that I place on the parcel because once or twice he has had to pay a duty, which is a particular [censored] when the parcel is intended as a present. But I also become nervous at the risk of a $500 package simply disappearing without a trace. It probably helps our case that both the shipper and sender have the same last name.

For non-relatives, I would consider selling a rep to someone in the EU, but it would have to be someone I felt pretty comfortable with, and who would pay the extra shipping charges.

One other point: A few years ago I purchased a watch from a well-regarded Canadian member. The watch took almost three weeks to get to me (the postmark confirmed the shipping date), so I'd almost given up the watch as lost and concluded that he and I needed to negotiate a settlement. Otherwise, shipments to-from Canada have gone without a hitch.

SFSO over the Yachtmaster, for sure.

I'd also give serious consideration to the VC Overseas.

I'm not impressed. Why is it that so many German watches have such a bland industrialist design to them? I'm not saying that what these watches can do is unimpressive; on the contrary - I think they are quite the technical achievements. They just look so boring to me.

What's boring? Many of the mongo sports chronos or aviator "instrument" watches are starting to look boringly repetitive or lacking in style to me. In this Lange, the overall aesthetic seems almost radical in comparison.

It's amazing how dramatically my choice of watches can change my look.

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Actually, I just received this amazing Royal Oak Jumbo on Wednesday -- thank you, Ubi!! -- so it is almost impossible for me to even consider another watch right now.

This is a slightly different perspective.

Congrats to Pho.

I just passed the 1000 mark, so I'm a long distance behind you. Who knows how long it will take me to log the next 1,000, or whether I'll ever get there.

No matter how many posts, I will always be a Noob.

Two more (work and home) votes added. It's RWG vs. whoever #5 is lining up. Go team!