Ronin

Could use a better full frontal shot of the dial, but from what I can discern from the font's the first one is MBW.

The second one based on the coronet could be the real deal.

...Why is obama throwing money at people that are unemployed vs creating jobs for them? Roosevelt did this back during the 1930's depression. There also was unemployment then too. Studies done showed that people that were working were happier and felt that they had a "purpose" with everything that is in disarray right now he instead choose to just extend unemployment.

...

Technically, it is not the governments job to create jobs. The 1930's were a different time and mindset. People were not 'too proud' to shovel $hit if they had to. As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of jobs (that the immigrants and illegals are doing) that are "too below us" given our current mindset. In short, things have not gotten desperate enough for say-- a Kodak Film Chemist to go pick blueberrys at Farmer Bob's Blueberry farm.

Also, this perception that unemployment makes for a good/lazy living is totally false. The MAX payout IIRC is $1400 a month or $18,000 a year. Honestly, I don't know many people who would be happy "getting by" on that. Feed a family of 4 and try and pay a mortgage on unemployment. Uhhh, No.

The DIY method is cool if you must.

However, I have never paid more than $5.00 to have a watch tested, and most of the time it is free from a befriended watch shop I frequent.

Tip: Many of the "Fast Fix It" Jewelry and Watch repair shops in shopping mall's will do this $5.00 test if you catch them at the right time. The one near me uses the more modern crystal vibration method (no water involved) and takes less than a minute. Most of the time, it easier for them to test it gratis because it takes longer to deal with the cash register... YMMV. Also, in my experience, they rarely seem to care about REP -vs- GEN.

Tip2: (For Modders / people savvy enough to remove the movement). When "building" something, I will often just test the case all buttoned up, minus the movement, and even Bezel/Insert (Rolex). I will strap the watchhead down on the top rack in my dishwasher. NO HEAT, NON-DRYING, NO SOAP, Quick/Insta Wash cycle. (<:30). In my situation, the watch head gets blasted with 160'F water for a half hour. I then take it, to a room temperature water bath, then add ICE cubes to bring the water temp down into the 40'sF. Let it sit, sometimes overnight as the water temp comes back to ambient. I figure, the pressure, heat, cold, hours submerged-- takes the case and seals through all forms of expansion and contraction. I feel this is an adequate test of weather it will survive the shower or a dip in a swimming pool. "Static Pressure" tests are great for divers.

And Ronin stop waving that thing around, you are stealing thunder from my watch

Haha, sorry, just attempting to point out the merits of the DG3804 we both used. 1.) Slow(er) beat 2.) Correct hand stack for 1675 3.) Decent out of the box DW (in some versions) 4.) Fits Cartel and GEN cases with little modification. 6.) Stock DW aligns with GEN dial. 5.) There really is no such thing as a GMT "Swiss" 2836 they are all Asian mash-ups, so save your money.

The person with the most dollars gets to spend the night with the girls in HikeUSA's signature...

Good question though...

I am not taking sides here, but Obama has been a productive President, and not all bad like Fox (Faux) News would have you believe. You may not agree with with some of the hot button topics regarding the environment, or DADT, but none the less, the man has been busy.

Lets also keep in mind the country is pretty much split down the middle from a Red-vs-Blue perspective. I find it funny how people get worked up when things don't support THEIR, often selfish, views of how things should be. The political arena has become more of a sporting contest, king of the hill (pun intended), stay in power situation. What is really best for the country gets lost in this game. What makes America great is that we can all have our different views...

IF YOUR ONLY SOURCE OF NEWS is: Fox, CNN, MSNBC, Daily Show, Limbaugh, NPR, Huffington-- PLEASE DON'T REGURGITATE THEIR AGENDA DRIVEN "ENTERTAINMENT"

P.S. Ron Paul 2012

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Since coming into office on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has:

1. Signed an Executive Order on government contracting to fight waste and abuse:

http://www.whitehous...ent_contracting

2. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtKAKlurRAY

3. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues:

http://www.whitehous...nistan-and-NATO

4. Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq:

http://www.nytimes.c...n/28troops.html

5. Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB:

http://thelede.blogs...l-help-families

6. Ended media blackout on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB:

http://news.bbc.co.u...cas/7986203.stm

7. Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

http://www.recovery....es/The_Act.aspx

8. Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology:

http://www.recovery....Pages/home.aspx

9. Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan:

http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov

10. Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses:

http://www.whitehous...business-owners

11. Invested heavily in education both as a way to provide jobs now and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity:

http://www.whitehous...ssues/education

12. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans:

http://www.whitehous...issues/veterans

13. Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs:

http://www.washingto...9070201410.html

14. Limited lobbyist's access to the White House:

http://thecaucus.blo...ng-restrictions

15. Issued an Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making:

http://www.whitehous...Agencies-3-9-09

16. Answered questions at the first online town hall from the White House that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public at WhiteHouse.gov:

http://www.google.co...otRBvNhY7DR572g

17. Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities:

http://www.serve.gov

18. Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business:

http://www.business.gov

19. Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending:

http://www.cio.gov

20. Signed the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured:

http://themiddleclas...zation-act-2009

21. Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research:

http://www.guardian....em-cell-funding

22. Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis:

http://www.christoph...ralysis_Act.htm

23. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care:

http://www.whitehous...hey-Have-Earned

24. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date:

http://www.nytimes.c...on/19gates.html

25. Committed to phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdates weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan:

http://www.cnn.com/2...tes.budget.cuts

26. Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research:

http://www.time.com/...1908954,00.html

27. Provided new federal funding for science and research labs:

http://www.nytimes.c...sfstimulus.html

28. Played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis:

http://www.g20.org

29. Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system:

http://en.wikipedia....orm_Act_of_2009

30. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture:

http://www.cnn.com/2...rder/index.html

31. Appointed Special Envoys for Climate Change, Southwest Asia, the Middle

East, Sudan, and a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan:

http://www.america.g...328677e-02.html

32. Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards:

http://www.nytimes.c...cs/26calif.html

33. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect:

http://www.usnews.co...e-spending.html

34. Increased minority access to capital:

http://www.politifac...cess-to-capital

35. Developed a comprehensive new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan that will help defeat Al Qaeda and authorized the deployment of more than 21,000 troops to Afghanistan:

http://www.washingto...9032700836.html

36. Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point:

http://blogs.abcnews...-signs-hou.html

37. Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody:

http://www.zillow.co...their-homes-act

38. Increased, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 for cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products:

http://www.politico....0509/22650.html

39. Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year:

http://www.whitehous...ciencyStandards

40. Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner:

http://www.earthday.org

41. Announced a new U.S.-Mexico border initiative:

http://www.whitehous...-and-Commitment

42. Concluded cyberspace policy review:

http://www.whitehous...berspace-Review

43. Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat:

http://www.whitehous...ue-As-Delivered

44. Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue":

http://www.whitehous...ent-Hu-Of-China

45. Announced new policy steps towards Cuba:

http://www.nytimes.c...cas/05cuba.html

46. Increased minority access to capital:

http://www.politifac...cess-to-capital

47. Issued a Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act instructing the Attorney General to issue new guidelines to the government implementing those same principles of openness and transparency in the processing of FOIA requests:

http://www.whitehous...Information_Act

48. Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015:

http://www.facebook.com/NMAAHC

49. The Executive Order on Presidential Records brings those principles to presidential records by giving the American people greater access to these historic documents, severely curtailing the ability to use executive privilege to shield those documents:

http://www.whitehous...dential_Records

50. Signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a hallmark piece of legislation:

http://www.democrats...rd_m_kenned.php

51. Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:

http://www.newsunfil...inds_credi.html

52. Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and

families:

http://parenting.blo...women-and-girls

53. Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:

http://www.america.g...z0.7537805.html

54. Ordered secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed:

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Black_site

55. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:

http://en.wikipedia....i/Geneva_Accord

56. Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:

http://news.xinhuane...nt_11102980.htm

57. Provided better body armor to our troops:

http://www.usatoday....ody-armor_x.htm

58. Authorized cutting the missile defense program by $1.4 billion in 2010:

http://www.stripes.c...4&article=62548

59. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:

http://articles.lati...obama-nuclear25

60. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:

http://jonbowermaste...tarctic-tourism

61. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ-SMqh7q3o

62. Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:

http://www.ens-newsw...09-02-16-02.asp

63. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:

http://www.politifac...ed-more-countri

64. Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=drlsi3Ng4jw

65. Provided new car tax credit:

http://www.soundmone...-car-tax-credit

66. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:

http://www.hybridcar...incentives.html

67. Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:

http://blogs.edmunds...-carmakers.html

68. Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:

http://www.financial...nce-act-of-2009

69. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:

http://www.huffingto...u_n_253146.html

70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. Today, the Dow closed at 10,309.24:

http://stockcharts.c...l/djia1900.html

71. Earned an unprecedented success rate of 96.7% on winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position. He did even better than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson who had a 93% success rate in 1965:

http://www.npr.org/t...oryId=122436116

72. Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:

http://www.politifac...lity-child-care

73. Restored America's reputation as a global leader that will do the "right thing" in world affairs:

http://pewglobal.org/docs/?DocID=12

74. Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:

http://money.cnn.com...ssion/index.htm

75. Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:

http://www.ourfuture...dents-not-banks

76. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:

http://www.law.com/j...d=1202433002570

77. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:

http://www.politifac...or-middle-class

78. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers:

http://www.nytimes.c.../18workers.html

79. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that made it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity:

http://www.cnn.com/2...imes/index.html

80. Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:

http://www.whitehous...-to-the-Preside

81. Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:

http://www.whitehous...ransparency-Act

82. Held impromptu press conference to urge Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross and other corporate health insurance companies that raise premiums in high amounts without explanation. Rep. Henry Waxman launches probe. In this case, Anthem Blue Cross wanted to raise premiums 39%. They have now put the increase on hold for two months (as of February 2010). Legislation preventing such increases pending:

http://news.yahoo.co...thcare_insurers

83. Designated $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The MBA forecasts that foreclosures will peak in the last quarter of 2010:

http://www.msnbc.msn...cks_and_economy

84. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:

http://www2.ed.gov/n.../02012010a.html

85. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:

http://bucks.blogs.n...erage-subsidies

86. Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:

http://money.cnn.com...efits/index.htm

87. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:

http://www.guardian....ancy-cdc-report

88. Rescinded the Global Gag Rule:

http://www.guttmache...1/23/index.html

89. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:

http://www.diversity...57/article/6319

90. Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:

http://www.politifac...t-bases-in-iraq

91. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market:

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

92. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:

http://www1.va.gov/o...ase.cfm?id=1671

93. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:

http://www.stopextin...rotections.html

94. Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:

http://www.huffingto...l_n_325426.html

95. Enhanced earth mapping:

http://www.politifac...e-earth-mapping

96. Increased funding for national parks and forests in 2010, and plans to do it again for FY 2011:

http://www.defenders...d_and_water.php

97. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan:

http://www.cnn.com/2...stan/index.html

98. Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:

http://www.politifac...promote-environ

99. Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:

http://www.politifac...rgency-planning

100. Created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5% [as of December 31, 2009] through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

http://www.reuters.c...311303720100223

BTW, who's date wheel did you use? Looks very good! The gens numbers progress in the opposite direction from the DG, so it would be interesting to know. Is it a cubic works?

Not sure if he did what I did, but the latest greatest 3804's come with a DW that 1.) Aligns with a Gen dial window, and 2.) has a VERY good/close to modern "Service Replacement Rolex" font.

Here is my ALL Gen 1675 except with DG3804 and stock DW.

True, no flat 3's and white-- but the reality is, this style is what RSC would most likely use during a service.

[edit] to add, the 3804 fit this GEN case with very little modification to a Yuki/Stilty ETA adapter ring.

Save the DSSD for the Marina, and buy yourself one of these instead:

http://www.doxawatch...dial_choice.htm

Working HEV

Just now saw this. Very nice! Glad to see another DG3804 in use.

If you need to offload any or can point me to a source, please PM. I would even be willing to sent a to JMB to see if he can fabricate more.

I have been using an AceTimer for almost three years now. I have a total of 5 bays x 2 = 10 watches that can be on the winder(s) at any given time.

I have had NO issues with using it for REP or GEN.

HOWEVER, 7750 (rep or gen) and DG movements are ONE WAY winding, and the Acetimer is that bull$hit fuzzy logic half one way/half the other. It will NOT keep 775x/DG movements wound more than 10 days. (This is NOT a bad thing, since it is clearly not overwinding/slipping the mainspring).

A well respected watchmaker gave me this advice: 1.) Keeping them on the winder that 'winds too much' can put excessive wear on the mainsping/barrel as it might continuously be slipping the mainspring. 2.) You may get varied accuracy, even on COSC watches, as the winder may stop in random positions, or keep it wound in a redundant state.

That said, if you want to go budget, an Acetimer is not a bad idea. Keep you one-way winding movements on the 1000 TPD setting, BUT wear them at least once every 10 days for 8hrs or more. Keep your ETA's 28xx's @ 650TPD.

At the end of the day, the winder is not going to be any harder on your watch then you being a very active person.

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary

I just had an awful experience with a NOS 700 crown.

This crown was expensive. No one in their right mind would have paid this much. It failed with just 1 week of service. ....

Here is another auto related analogy that I think will parallel the vintage Rolex parts scene. When I was working on (vintage) air-cooled Porsche and VW engines, etc, you had three basic choices for parts. 1.) Old/WORN out original German parts from the swap meets. At the end of the day, these were time bombs. 2.) Aftermarket parts from Mexico, Brazil, China, that often used "original" now WORN out German tooling, or crapy new tooling way out spec. This resulted in every aftermarket part requiring "tweeking" (not unlike a Bezel insert). 3.) Some NOS part that sat on a shelf somewhere for 30+ years. NOS was great when it came to steel parts, but if it involved rubber/gaskets, etc... It was often not much better. (like Nanuq's Superdome quest for his 1665 DRSD).

So, in many respects we are approaching a lose-lose scenario. Worn out original junk. Aftermarket parts that are never 1:1. NOS parts that are $$$$$, and might still have age issues.

A 'quality' aftermarket would be nice.

Read this.

The Calendar Ring(s) are the dead give away. There area a lot of eBay sales of DJ movements erroneously stating they are for Subs.

It's all a conspiracy. Why do you think Rolex stopped officially servicing their own vintages. Now they charge whatever they want for the remaining parts. I was discussing this with another member today and you are better off buying the full watch. If a 6263 is $30-50k (or whatever it is) why would you expect the parts to be any less. Especially when all us idiots in the aftermarket are buying these parts. Your best deal today is a whole watch so start saving those pennies.

Well said. As a former gear head, this is like the revelation that, in the end, it is cheaper to buy a complete, well maintained [insert vintage/cool car here] then to buy a beater and dump money into fixing it up.

Sure, you can buy that Porsche 356 beater for $5000, BUT be prepared to dump another $20,000 into it and 3 years -vs- dropping $25,000 out of the gate on a ready to go, needs nothing version.

6542

Yup... I have said in many posts, this is why Rolex "Aftermarket" parts NEED TO BECOME ACCEPTED by Rolex Fan(atic)s.

In no other industry or other watch brand do I see such knee jerk reactions-- calling otherwise Gen watches fake or questionable because they contain aftermarket parts. Flagging down auctions, etc. (Don't get me wrong, I flag down auctions of straight out reps.)

If more Rolex owners started PROUDLY wearing sterile 'replacement' Oyster bracelets when the time comes, it would send a nice big Fsck You to the brand and the Fan(atic)s who think the sky is falling because your 35 year old watch does not have a 9315 or $1500 93150 Gen bracelet on it. Same logic should apply to crystals, inserts, hands, and any user/independent watch maker serviceable part.

All of the above.

However, I have had a recent revelation regarding my GEN's. I own quite a few Gens. 4 out of 5 of my higher end (>$4000) GEN's have developed problems within the first two years of ownership, and have had to go to the respective service centers, sometimes for months at a time. I am beginning to think Swiss Quality is a myth. On the flip side, I have a 15yr old Submariner Miyota powered rep that had never missed a beat before I retired it. In fact, for the most part I have been a VERY lucky REP owner in the movement arena. Combine that with the fact I can personally fix/service/R&R REP movements, I am questioning GEN ownership again. I think the "sweet spot" in the GEN world is the less than $2000 more boutique brands like Doxa, Ball, Sinn, etc... but I digress.

Just curious, was this an issue with (non-USA) users. I never noticed a disruption here stateside?

Thanks, and keep up the great work!

Actually I wish to change the end-links out between 1501 Date bracelet end-links and Daytona end-links. Yes, I have 4 bracelets I am thinking of Frankening.

I wonder if wider adoption of X-Ray machines is throwing a wrench into the works...

Also, when dropping something at the post office, you can ask for a drop-off receipt to prove you handed over a package (if using USPS.com click-n-ship).

Best bet is is to use USPS Priority Mail "Flat Rate" materials. "IF" you can package it up in the Flat Rate ENVELOPE and it is less than 16oz, you do not need to do the Customs long form either. It will breeze right over. To make things fit, if it has a bracelet, detach the bracelet so it can lay flat with the head.