BustedFlush

Heck no I'm not taking a risk for the board - I purchased the watch before I knew of the

existence of this board, and now I'm just crossing my fingers that I don't get hosed.

I'm posting my experience for the benefit of others, as either a success story or a very

cautionary tale of what and who to avoid - we shall see how it turns out for me.

Had I known about this board before making my purchase, I likely wouldn't have made it,

and I would have purchased from a board dealer or member. My only saving grace is that

I was able to pay with Paypal funded by my credit card, so I've got double protection in the

case of fraud of any kind.

I'll post pictures when it arrives, to let others see how my thought-was-thorough-but turned-

out-to-be-very-ill-researched purchase ends up.

Lastly I'll say that I've learned much since joining very recently, but I only discovered this

forum after scrollling through pages of the common scam rep watch sites found on google.

I'd also like to think that the mods and members would be more supportive of a brand new

member, as this is a definite learning experience for me. My 15+ year old Seiko finally died

recently, and I took the plunge to get a rep Air King that I've wanted for many, many years.

I look for much knowledge and support here, and will definitely be offering the same to others.

JRB

Was there any follow up to this?? I too ordered an Air King from Watch Cartel. It arrived and I'm relatively happy with it. I have had it for a few months now.

I am no expert, and this was my first rep since buying one on the streets of Hong Kong in the mid-90's. Just like the OP I bought it before I found this site. The reason I selected them was that they had been around for at least a year. Most of the other sites would come and go within a month.

Mine is a relatively plain silver face, stainless model. The movement seems a little jerky to me, but that could be my imagination.

It came with a sticker indicating the crystal was sapphire. True? I don't know. I tried to see if water beaded any differently on it than a known mineral glass crystal - I didn't see much difference. The crystal is etched with a coronet at 6:00 that can only really be seen with a loupe. There is the "ROLEXROLEXROLEX" engraving around the rehaut. The case sticker has a number on it that does not correspond to the gen model. The case sticker is a Datejust number and should be 114410 instead of ... woops, just checked and it wore off anyway! But I remember it was a Datejust model number. I paid $70 plus shipping.

Thanks - I will do so.

Rehaut! Ahhh, that feels better.

I made this post once, and I thought it went through, but I still have a message that I haven't posted yet - and I don't see it - so here we go again!

Hi there!

I'm 39, I like target shooting, collecting and tasting bourbon and playing guitar. I have a 3 year old daughter and a lovely wife.

First rep I ever owned I bought in Hong Kong circa 1994 or 95. We were escorted to a small room by a young kid who had slyly whispered "Copy watch?" to my father and I on the street. My dad and I each got one, Rolex Datejust - 2 tone, very simple. I loved it. My parents were living in Hong Kong at the time for a year, and I had come to visit for a week. It was an amazing city. The watch had a very clean dial and smooth movement. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to destroy it in the long term parking lot of my hometown airport coming home from that very trip. Maybe I banged it on the bus door, trying to carry all my bags...I was loading my bags into the trunk of my car when I noticed the bezel and crystal were gone. Never found 'em.

Since then, I've had mainly cheap digitals, until a few years back - I got the $70 Japanese Invicta Diver Sub copy (but with the scalloped bezel) and it's been a good watch. The cyclops is so scratched now though I can't even see the date anymore. I still get compliments on it.

Anyway, from time to time I'd think about that beautiful rep, but buying one on line made me nervous. Every time I'd see a dealer, I'd bookmark it, then wait a month. 9 times out of 10 they'd be gone. Not someone I wanted to give my CC info to. Then I found one that seemed to always be there month after month. After a year, I took a chance and got a stainless Air King rep for $70. It came about 10 days later. I'm pretty happy with it - it wasn't the one pictured (machined bezel instead of smooth) but I like it better, so that's OK. It has the "ROLEX" etching around the...I know the word but I have forgotten...heraut, hazmat, razaut? Grrr...you know what I mean. It has a coronet etched in at 6:00 that I had to use a 10x loupe to see. Model number on the sticker is wrong. It should be 14010 but it's got a Datejust sticker. I don't think the movement is quite as smooth as the one I had in HK, but that was a long time ago, and I could be wrong.

So - here I am. Researching. I'm a n00b, but I wasn't born yesterday. I don't believe any reps are made in Italy. I know a lot of "Replica Review" sites are nothing of the sort. I'm not even sure I believe the dealer I purchased from really sells reps with genuine ETA's. (But I might be wrong, mine was not sold as such, and she does say some of hers use a "Minzo" Asian movement).

Anyway - if I don't get laid off next week, and if my tax refund has some slush for me - I'm going to be looking to replace that long lost Datejust, and maybe a sub too. Still trying to figure out what a WM9 is. I'm sure I'll figure it out with help from you all.

OK, that's it - I think this is a little shorter than my last post anyway.