Ronin

Peace

As someone above said, they pretty much abandoned their vintage products for parts etc. It is funny the difference between the watch market and something like the auto market. When a auto mfg stops making parts for a car, the "aftermarket" is all over it. If you can't get that rare/discontinued Porsche part, chances are good you can find an aftermarket one. Jump to Rolex, and god forbid you need a new coin edge bezel. Sorry, you must either find an equally trashed used part at exorbitant prices or become a "fake/counterfeiter propagator". I am not defending Yuki or anyone that passes rep as gen. This might be a left field idea, but, is Rolex not aware of the popularity and heritage of their vintage product line? We have seen manufactures revive, re-introduce, reinterpret some of their older lines. The retro thing. Take the Breitling Heritage series, or even the basic Doxa still 1960's based look. Wouldn't be in everyone's best interest if Rolex introduced a Heritage line? Maybe even dusted off some of the old tooling's and made limited editions? If people could walk into an AD and buy a Heritage 6538, or Subs/SD's were offered with LE Red writing dials it might de-value some of the vintage crazyness/prices. Just a thought...

Yup, time for a new address and ship to name. Watch out, here comes ACTA... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement

Is it me or does it look like it had a Cyclops removed from the crystal? At least the crown guards look good. Craptastic pictures.

Well said BT. As someone who owns both rep and gen, the difference is not (always) that huge. For example, by BK-Noob Explorer II -vs- my Gen Explorer II -- Honestly, on the wrist they feel identical. The BK/Noob Bracelet -- hell, if I broke my gen bracelet, I would consider using it on the gen. Same goes for my BK/WM9 Sub -- good enough. I was recently blown away by my rep IWC 3717. My attitude is, get the rep close enough cosmetically, and buy the ones that will accept ETA movements. When the movements die, a simple swap is all it takes keep them running.

Surprisingly, my luck has been pretty good. About 90% Success. One DOA, and a few minor issues. All corrected.

Don't get me wrong, I agree, for the most part. I am a huge "Virtualizer" myself and the Mac Pro is perfect. First, the Closed Model. This is a double edge sword. If you are content paying for everything, and what you need is offered, fine. However, when that "profit model" drives technology adversely/backwards, that is where problems arise. We have beaten the "Lack of Flash Support" to death, but there is nothing "Technology wise" to prevent it from working on the iProducts. Apple and Adobe could have easy worked together to build a more streamlined/less crash prone platform. Again, no flash = buy your stuff from our closed eco-system. No Free Stuff for You!!! (I am fine will Apple profiting, don't get me wrong, but wouldn't having a choice be nice? Buy a game -or- play a free flash game. Buy and episode of Lost -or- watch it for free on Hulu...) Don't even get me started on the being locked into AT&T... Stability. As a hardcore user of Mac, Win & Lin, I can say that the Mac perception was TRUE up thru Tiger. Leopard and Snow Leopard from my experience has been on par with Win stuff. I actually left my Wife's Powerbook and Father's Mac Mini running Tiger. From my experience with Apple products-- since the iPhone came out I think the rest of the Apple product line has actually taken a hit in quality. Not to mention refreshes (Mac Pro w/3gb stock RAM & 640gb HDD, seriously?). Again, my experience. I own 4 Apple Macs, 3 iProducts. Family, total Macs = 9! Edit to add, the latest Snow Leopard Update/Service pack is out: It is 752 MB !!! Is Apple becoming Microsoft on the OS front?

Join the Rolex forums. Unless you are looking to buy locally. http://www.rolexforums.com/ http://www.network54.com/Forum/207673/ http://subgmt.com/en/ http://elitedealseeker.com/index.cgi?searchword=1680&category=watches&ageupperlimit=1&function=Search There is also eBay. Just know the reps from gens.

I like the line about "Shipments are not sales". HP / Slate, PC devices need to get to the market fast. If they do, I think it will cut in hard on the iPAD. Especially if "Businesses" embrace the Slate. IT Departs could easily manage their deployment and access controls. VPN + RDP on the Slate FTW!!! I really think THIS TIME, the "PC" side has it correct. Version 1 of the iPad needs to fail and Apple needs a wake up call. Sorry to say. IMHO. It would be nice it they would start paying more attention to their Mac line again instead of gadgets, a closed business model, and their stock price. In the tech circles I run with, it is funny how mood/allegiances change. From ~2002 thru Vista days 2009, Microsoft was the company to hate. Enter 2010, Win7, XBox, and a desire for more competition and openness the tune has changed amongst my peers. I am seeing iPhones being replaced by Droids, I am seeing people switch back to PC's from their Mac's because of those ~slight~ incompatibilities here and there. I had one peer mention that he will laugh (to himself) when he starts to see the iPad in peoples hands. This is not the revolutionary iPod / iPhone that were practically status symbols when they came out. The iPad will be more like, I am a wanna be hipster/fanboy/sheeple consumer. (At least in my part of the world). Just playing Devils advocate here. I won't mind loosing the $20, it will just confirm what I feel about consumerism/people.

Sure am... These are the fan boys and must have latest gadget people, and even ignorant consumers who think this will be a good ebook reader on its backlit/glossy screen (not). As far as (this first version) goes, initial boom then bust.... Although, I consider myself an Apple guy (well actually all 3 *nix, Apple, and PC) the below video is what I think makes the most sense. The San Francisco Chronicle hit the nail on the head when it wrote, "The question boils down to whether a tablet is an oversized smart phone or a slimmed down computer." And in some ways, this is the primary question that will be answered as the iPad and the Slate duke it out. I pray for an iPAD "Pro" with full OS-X.... I am cheering for the Slate actually because I do not like the "Closed Business Model" road Apple is heading down... This expresses exactly what I want in device: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=J-gfq51PkuQ

That might be my favorite!

Yikes! At this rate, I wonder if you have "burned" your current address...??? I just had a conversation with a friend who travels to Asia regularly, and buys the cheap "Canal Street" quality reps in the sub-$20 range. He thinks I am crazy for paying our prices. His $20 watches all 21J surprisingly have a pretty good track record-- cosmetics aside. Sad thing, and I have noticed this trend as well, my 13 and 26 year old "CN" reps are STILL running while some of the newer items REQUIRE immediate attention and service.

When dealing with international shipments, express or otherwise, I have a personal rule as follows: The "Fire and Forget" (for a month) rule. 1.) Order something internationally 2.) Set a reminder a month later 3.) DO NOT CHECK TRACKING before this time

This just one of the reasons I also consider RWG home as watch enthusiast rep or gen! Beautiful, beautiful watch... I think Ubi should change his Avatar to:

At the end of the day, robots and automation make less mistakes then humans. Soul aside, there is a reason why this works... I am sure the initial investment in this equipment is not cheap, nor the labor in "programming", etc. Does it justify the price? Maybe-- Seiko/Citizen get their ROI from quantity/mass production of less expensive products. HB and others balance lower production numbers against higher cost.