Antonio

The one I used on my SD was from the bay. It's not a gen bezel insert, but better than the watch came with.

That's the whole reason I bought a new bezel insert for my older Seadweller. Most of the ones we buy have a flat pearl. Why is that REALLY obvious detail overlooked on the reps? Getting ready to sell my SD and plan to buy a SDDS. Thinking about the new "Ultimate Version" from Josh. Anyone seen it yet? I just saw it on his site and looking here for thoughts on it.

This is why everyone asks where to buy the best Sub. This guy has them all!

Robbie, Though it may seem obvious, it's something I hadn't considered. Thanks, and thanks for the link. May have to wait till after the holidays now, but I'll post whatever I find. Have to find a new strap, as well. This one is falling apart. I'd have happily paid more up front for a better strap, etc. Any thoughts? I'm happy with the deployant clasp, will look out for a gen or good aftermarket strap. And if I buy just the strap, who puts the clasp in? Does it come apart or need to be stitched in? and by a watchsmith or a shoe repair place?

After waiting this long I finally called. Another salesperson, more knowledgeable, said it never left his shop to go to the watchsmith. They won't work on reps. Damn. Have a PM from another member from a place in Orange County that will, but that's a couple hours to drive each trip. Want to find someone here in L.A., preferrably the northern part. I'll keep looking. In the mean time, recently bought a nice Otto Frei ball and used that to open the back. Doesn't look bad at all in there. The movement wanted to come out when I turned it over, but I've no idea how to remove the crown. And don't know what to do from there other than clean a couple of small pieces of dust and move the PR indicator. Movement still binds a little when moving the hands, but it seems to be working. If you have any thoughts, I'm all ears.

They may be busy with the holidays, but still no word from them. I'll call tomorrow. Also want to have the shop help me replace a screw from one of my Breitling bands. Trying to do it myself is an exercise in frustration.

Mine was keeping fine time until the last time I wore it, didn't check exact accuracy but it was within a minute a week or so. Then while wearing it, no bumps or anything, it would stick and the movement was binding. Off to the watchsmith to see what's up with it. Sounds like yours needs some regulation. Running fast often means that it isn't fully winding or that there's another problem causing less amplitude in the pallet fork, hence it actually runs faster. (Anyone who knows more, please jump in).

My relatively new Big Pilot (purchased in September) had some kind of problem. It was stopping, and would bind/jump when I was turning the crown to move the hands. Meaning, the hands would bind, then jump forward instead of moving smoothly. I took it into my local (non-AD) watch shop and asked if they'd work on a watch that wasn't what it looked to be. The kid behind the counter asked what I meant, I handed him my IWC and explained that it had a chinese movement. I don't think he even knew what IWC was. He said it wasn't a problem, he'd send it off downtown (L.A.) to the place where they send the watches. We'll see what happens. I asked to have it checked, if it was repairable to repair it and also full clean/lubrication and set the fake PR to 7 days. I'll let you all know what happened.

Professional photographer and an amateur gynecologist (aren't we all?) Oooh, Lani. You said Loco Moco. That stuff is incredibly good!

OK, maybe not_THAT_easy.

I had a gen Tissot Seastar 660 (I know, it's not exactly a rep-able watch, but nice nonetheless). Fully screwed down the crowns, and it leaked in 5 feet of water. Sent it in to Swatch USA, who sat on it waiting for parts... I emailed Tissot in Switzerland and had a brand new one in a new box in less than a week. Even gens leak if the QC slips.

Those are great. I picked a Seadweller SLIGHTLY over the no-date sub. Was wearing mine on a set the other day, one of the designers had a no-date sub. Judging by the pearl, it was a rep, but I wasn't about to ask about it (he was a friend's client). We talked about our Rolexes and his B&R I'd seen him wear before. I'm drawn to the beauty of the date-mag-less Subs. Great shots, guys!

How hard is it to change the power reserve? Simple as taking off the back, removing the movement, resetting it? Forgive me, I've never done it. Never modded, never removed the back of any but my short-lived AP Royal Oak. I know, I know, I've been here a few years and not even done the simplest things. (Please go easy on me).

I'm a Californian, and as of this election I've never been prouder to be American, nor more ashamed of being a Californian. Proposition 8 is bigotry. Mormons of ALL people should be tolerant of differing marriage, they had polygamy under Smith... We split from England originally to be FREE from religious persecution, yet the extreme right thinks it needs to be forcefully injected into our laws. We are a country made up largely of Christians, but not a Christian (only) country. A little tolerance goes a long way. We've come so far, from slavery to segregation to having an African-American president. Yet we still have bigotry and backwardness running rampant. If the Mormons want to protect marriage (they poured money into the bill), why not introduce a proposition that bans divorce? The 16,000 gay marriages that have been performed so far will stand, though undoubtedly their will now be those who challenge those in court. I'd be willing to bet that in ten years, a survey will show that more of those marriages will be together and happy than those of traditional man-woman marriages.

Clarkson is pure brilliance. I love watching him on Top Gear. His Britishisms, command of the English language, knowledge of cars... It's a fantastic package. We're making a US version of Top Gear. It will suck. Like all American tries at great Brit shows. You haven't lived until you've seen the episodes where they buy cars in Miami and drive to New Orleans. Or the same type of thing driving across Africa. Or Hammond racing a Veyron against a Eurofighter. It's one of the most beautifully shot shows on television. Ever. The three presenters have chemistry like no other, and their little challenges (like racing amphibious cars that they themselves had made) across the English Channel are epic. Great fun to watch even if you're not into cars. JC on the Nissan Micra (in pink): "It looks like a scrotum." JC on just about everything: "How hard can it be?" (right before they find out just how almost impossibly hard it is!). Hell, even his "Some say..." intros for the Stig are worth watching the whole show for.

Pug, Yeah. I make my living at it, so I can buy the toys. The reversing ring is an EXCELLENT idea. I used to use one in the manual camera days. With modern DSLRs, they didn't recommend them for Nikon, now it looks like they make one that clears the contacts. There are two, actually. One is for 52mm thread, one for 62mm thread. Best results with these often comes from a wide angle lens, you get much greater magnification. My favorite lens to use was the manual-focus 24mm, you could shoot scary close. That with an extension tube, you could have shot the S in "Swiss Made". Also, if you can pick up an older manual Nikon lens(will work this way on a Canon, since you're reverse-mounting it), you can control the aperture. Can't wait to see what you come up with, now. I know it'll be good!

I buy some reps, but do keep legal on software. I make my living using them. I tried using a Photoshop rep once. The datewheel was wrong, the CGs were the way off, the bezel pearl was awful and flat, no lume... ;-) Psystar and one other company make rep Macs. They have fans that are loud like 10,000 improperly lubricated A7750 rotors. FWIW, slow shutter speeds can work for Macro stuff if you flip the mirror up and have a REALLY good tripod, I often use the self-timer AND an electronic release in those situations. But a whole lotta watt-seconds (big strobe system) is much easier. Using a PC lens with the ability to tilt (scheimpflug) or a large format system helps a lot with real DOF as well.

I was just trying it out. Easiest way to illustrate it for my blog. The masking for each layer is really intricate and complex. Ultimately, it's just another tool. Long shutter speed or more light and using the tilt on a perspective-correction lens makes the job easier, but sometimes this is easier or more obtainable. It's an extreme example. Other tools, like content-aware scaling, are also mind-blowing tools that have their application. Camera Raw 5 has some great enhancements, the entire program is faster, all the algorithms have been improved to make it possible to make cleaner files than ever. I've only begun to play with it. Oh, and the upgrade is only $199. For those of us who use it every day, it's a great deal.

Have been working with Photoshop CS4's new features. HAD to try this one with my Big Pilot. Normally, in a macro shot, you need a lens or camera system capable of swings and tilts to carry depth-of-field, or at least a TON of light and a tiny aperture. For this I shot with just the modeling light into a softbox (and a bunch of reflectors, of course), no tilt of the lens (an 85mm PC Nikkor) and f/2.8. First image is the normal depth-of-field you get with that setup, the second one combines ten images with the focus shifted slightly for each one. Auto-stacked, blended and aligned in Photoshop. It's amazing! I didn't retouch any of the small problem areas (end of the second hand, tops of the I and C in the logo, etc.). This can be a HUGE help for anyone wanting more depth-of-field in hard lighting situations.

Caught a week-old "Grey's Anatomy", Sloan wears an IWC Big Pilot. Perhaps one of ours? It's 2:36 into "Here Comes The Flood", 2nd episode of the new season. Can be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/6g4z4t There's also a website called c00lspotters with watches spotted: http://tinyurl.com/67h22b According to that, Schwarzenegger and Tarantino have been spotted with BPs. The one they show is a 5004. It shows photos of Schwarzenegger wearing the BP, APROO T3, and U-Boat Flightdeck. Pams are well represented, on several celebs. ROO is also really popular (go figure!).

I get a lot of compliments on my Bentley GT. I wear it often, it's an attractive, if blingy watch. I've gotten a couple of good comments on my IWC 5002, mostly because you can't miss it. Beautiful watch. My Sea Dweller still makes me smile, but most people don't notice it. Steelfish is another one I just love to look at, but even on a great croc strap, it gets no love from others like the Bentley does.

I have a friend who wears his that way. He bumps his wrist into things all the time while walking, and his watch has a non-sapphire crystal. I've put my watches on girls' ankles for photos, just to do something different. Posted a few here a while back. I'm surprised nobody here has made a custom band with another watch on it on the opposite side, so it's possible to wear two watches (e.g. your Fiddy and franken-Daytona) at the same time.

"Im Toten Winkel - Hitlers Sekret

Capice, Sincerest condolences. She's in a better place. Doesn't make it easier, I know. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. -Antonio