lanikai

the spring bar tol you have should be good for all sizes of openings.. i use the pin end for the Breitling and IWC pilotswith metal bracelet..if leather strap the v end works great.. the tooth pick trick really works well... thought that one up out of frustration try to open the IWC 3717 pilot bracelet.. no that is a bear to open.. but once i insterted the toothpic the other end just came off an the bracelet slide right off the case... i posted pics somewhere ebay had assortment of spring bars or ask you collector for some spares.. mine sent me a load of them Good luck

stick a tothpick in one side after releasing it to keep it open while you open the other side..in other words open the sring bar insert a tooth pick in the opening .. then work the other side..

start with a single 0 (single ott) then a ..00,.. then go to a 000, you can buy single sheets at a body shop (car) supplier or they may have it at the hardware store,.. but for this fine grade auto refinishing painting supply's are sure to have them .. that is the grades u will be looking for.. use a small block of wood or some thing flat and wrap the paper around it...you will keep the lines straight this way... get dish soap and put a few drops in a cup of water and use that to wet sand it, the sand paper will glide smoother.. alway's move the block in straight lineswith the grain of the line,.. be sure to "wet" sand it then get a dremel and metal polish (aluminum mag wheel polish works just as well as rouge) or jewlers rouge.. available at Ace hardware as accessory to dremel tool, and a polishing wheel, (dremel kit has all of this.. it is a good investment at aroung 30 usd for the entire kit) finish with a soft cloth and more metal polish to get the swirls out from the dremel good luck Lani

the Day date alignment is...... PERFECT... and the best font replication i have seen .. I would equate it to lellos DW's.. since they "HAD" to replicate the font .. it is very unusual and anything else would have been rubbish thankyou for asking.. I wanted to get the pics up as a preview quickly...man a review like andrew .. ByTor ... and the rest really takes a load of time..

Agree.. it is the collectors that are committed to buying the genuines then commissioning the maker to replicate.. really getting on with Product Development.. should get even better for 08.. the 59 speedster was so far ahead of it's time in design and function ... man the low profile windshield really was 'sexy" and the aero dynamics of those designs as you know was, the faster you traveled the more control you had ..in that the air would push down the front end of the Porsche .. travel over the top (jet stream like) and then backwash on the engine end and push the car forward like a slip stream effect.. cooling the engine at the same time.. and those rims.. they were made for cooling the brake pads .. incredible engineering..even back then, far ahead of it's time !!!!

that is correct it is engraved and the inside of the engraving is black and the trim is gold.... as the genuine..

First there was a post about owning a Porsche watch without the Porsche.. well, as a former Porsche owner and enthusiast .. i think I still qualify.. and Pops had Porsches for most of his life... myself I had a 356b coupe twin carbs (zenith) 400 only.. made in the world had it for 8 years.. sorry not German silver .. Italian Red..i believe the Boxster (sic) design is bringing back the old aero dynamic look.. anyway Dr. Ferdinand Porsche.. inventor of the air cooled engine( will leave out the reason for invention) .. would be proud of this design.. your total German design functionality with style... but alway's in proper order... ok these aren't the best wrist shots as you are going to have to cut the strap and tailor fit it into the clasp... so i am in no condition to measure and cut now.. be sure you have to cut both sides for the clasp to be aligned properly.. here are the why pics and the wrist shot is of the strap being "held together by the black book under the watch.. we do what we gotta do to get this uploaded.. notice on the case the design looks like the side of pistons heads.. and the date font changes size with the different dates... pretty cool.. and the concentric circles in the subs; and the design of the subs as a whole look like the part that hooks the pistons to the cam.. way cool.. i would use an exacto knife to cut after measuring the strap screws have to be removed. (where the screw driver is pointing to) this is the open clasp where the strap (one on each lug side) would fit close up of holes for deployment .. each lug side will fit 2 rows of holes .. edit: just notice the underside of the strap appears to be tire tread ??? looks like Perelli's (sic) Z rated of course I'll wait until I'm a little rested to do the cutting no wonder this replication took 9 months it is by far one of the best of 07 even if it is not a "big name brand" Lanikai

by Ultimate u mean the V2, or the one in these pics?... the V2is only a week apart from these BCE's, in initial production... they are just from a different maker and my collector has obligations to both, there is no blue dial in the V2,and harldly any difference ; just marketing .. the genuine dial has more pronounced rings in the subs for the numeral version and the stick version has more pronounced rings in the dial, also different size sub dials.... as does the reps... but the darker the colour of the dial the harder to discern the rings.. at least to my eyes.. black may seem like there are no rings because the light dosen't bounce off the surface like the lighter dials.. the white dial is the most defined due to the colour, not the rings themselves.. IMO anyway... look at the black dial SOSF and then the white.... the older Brietling site was more informative as far as specs.. i believe they went to the more entertaining video and got away from listing the specs in such detail because of the rep industry.. if you notice the drawing of the genuine watches you will note the "misinformation" if you compare the drawing colours to the actual genuine.. every rep that has gotten so good in detail.. shortly afterward the genuine web site has been change to less informative technical data... the older web site showed the difference in rings with the sticks as opposed to the numeral versions .. now i believe it is no more like this, hope this answers someof your questions

First the credit is to the community as a whole.. chrgod's review.. got me researching the differences in dials..... italianos thread about the Blue Dial added to the searching on the genuine web site and comparing both dials .. and even the negatives commited me to buying a rep that I knew was too good to be true but did it as a fact finding project as proof needs to be not in hearsay or rumor but "fact".. and the products themselves I am getting to feel that the forum is not an ad space for collectors so I will pm you .. until things can "calm down" as far as flaming collectors and post about buy's .. i feel more comfortable passing the info to those members who are serious about collecting reps in this hobby.. and not adding fuel to the everlasting fire...

thank you... my Holiday present to you all.. check out this post for the white numerals .. my fav for the numeral version http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=61011 also breitlingtim posted much better pics of the stick version on italianos thread

Got the Porsche Flat 6 in Grey dial in today .. first impressions always say's it all and the first imppression i got was .... in my book that feeling of "wellness and innner joy and peace"..(that's the Zen terminology in plain words it.. means.. "It's Bad Ass" ...... I mean it really looks great) workmanship is 1st rate.. the dial is very "clean" sub dial markings are crisp,... the day date font is also very clean and crisp .. different on the day just TH for thursday.. the weight is supposed to be just a hair off genuine..the strap is incredible.. I thought the cousteau divers was good but this is just as good not soft and spongy, dust resistant and well molded .. I am really impressed with the quality of the strap .. no wonder they took 9 months to get this one out.. the font on the band is spot on the question of the AR is the specs call for double sided.. but after seeing just pics of the genuine it is somewhat like the Panerai.. very subtle... i don't think a Breitling kind of double ar would do well on this time piece.. the maker and the collector that provided the genuine to be replicated went back and forth on this .. so what they did (to my understanding) is try to replicate the AR closest to what the Genuine really looked like and not the specs..with that said .. i told my collector i could always get that taken care of.. but his reply was .. give it time you will like it.. and after 10 minutes he (in my mind anyway) is correct I like it with the softer AR.. but that could change and I could get it changed... Wrist shots tomorrow.. still figuring how to work this clasp Edit: the lume what little i charged it good for out of the box .. edit ..notice the pushers are not visible as they are built into the side of the case [attac ment=18713:IMG_1991.JPG] Lanikai

while I upload the pics .. i have had to spend some $$ to see exactly what the difference is between senior factory dealers and so called secondary dealers... who advertise better "deals" .. why pay more pitch .. well here is the difference and pics don't mislead if it's up and up .. non doctored.. no airbrushing and same lighting.. 2 different dials, the stick dial will be brighter due to the concentric rings in the dial and the numerals will be brighter in the sub dials due to the more pronounced concentric rings in the subs and not in the dial itself, now the numerals look more of a darker matte finish because of the concentric ring difference.. but in the light at the right angle it is pretty much the same colour .. just that the rings again make all the difference.. making them appear to be different colouring.. refer to my other post regarding concentric rings in the different versions of the BCE's .... the double AR also plays a part in the colour thank you to my collector for supplying me with the numeral dial as he had told me I will be happier with the stick version, but sent this along in case I wanted to switch it... so may as well use this as a comparison since there seems to be some confusion in what is close to genuine and not.. they are both close to genuine if you check the genuine you will see the differecnce in the RINGS.. so basiclly they are the same dial colour to start with but change due to the CONCENTRIC RINGS.. note the difference in AR coating ... supposedly the exact same watch .. an example of different Collectors using different quality parts in their stock one is single AR, and i was told it was double,.. the other that I knew would be double AR is .. exactly that.. sorry the lighting is bad, it is late.. overcast and getting dark.. but I was anxious to get these up.. there is alway's controversy on every front of the rep world.. who has better etc. etc. .. i will not name the collector with the single AR coated BCE..... it is only the business of sales like everything else in this world.. marketing and advertising... so this is the difference in so called deals.. On another note.... to all members .. appreciate the time others put into their reviews.. this is not a review but a comparison of sorts... so YOU can make a better buy.. it cost time to post reviews and do the footwork..so please be mindful of the fact that someitimes to obtain knowledge it takes experience making mistakes and learning from them.. before members flame collectors on other collectors accusations be mindful that all collectors have a vested interest in your money.. Please keep this thread for information purposes and not a venue for bashing collectors.. just a request... thank you, and I hope this helps in your venture to find the ultimate BCE .. or getting one modded to such a watch edit: this was an investment (single AR) in research ... but not a total lost it will probably go to K2222 for ar..

It's cool YM.. don't mind.. Yes, IMO the dial does change colour at different viewing angles and in different lighting.. this must have a little something to do with the AR coating also and the fact that the dial has cocentric rings that are not really visible because of the dark colour... in direct light it looks almost a little pearlecent blue and then turn it another angle and it will be somewhat black to a Azure or Midnight Blue ... I would think this is why the double AR is a must have for this colour dial.. as without the d-AR it would probably not be as it is... hope that clears up some of the confusion

Yes .. the dial IMO and My eyes as well turns different shades under different lighting and angle.. from Midnight ..... to black..to.. Azure.. Navy .. what ever ... the reason i called it midnight was it reminds me of the same colour that Mercedes Benz used and called midnight or Azure... different names is all.. refer to this: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=64580 It is the thread I posted about the correction in Crystal.. my first 3717-7 white was single.. then my collector contacted me and said the crystal was supposed to be double and if it would be OK to send me the case set when it was finished.. ergo when the blue dial was done I got the blue dial 3717-2 along with the double ar case set for the white that was sent to me as single ar Now, it is pretty evident that the Blue dial is double and the pics speak for themselves at times the dial looks blue and at others black .... the pics outside were in full sunlight..this is a curved crystal .. remember that it will not refract like a flat one.. the dial looks when faced to direct light, and it reflects a little toward the iridescent side.. if it were flat, or matte... I would get no reflection off the dial which i do and this is not due to the AR coating.. the collectors to inquire,.. are Joshua.. Andrew or King.. these are the 3 collectors that have the double AR.. why.. the genuine was supplied by one of them and they must all be involved in the makers "Product development".. thus they are privy to the upgraded double AR.. other collectors still have the first stock of single AR, and until they sell that stock will not have the double AR available ... I am not here to say from whom you should or should not buy this rep from only that there will be a lot of misinformation about this rep because of the fact that not all the collectors have the same stock I am merely posting pics and letting members know what I have ordered and what I have received... if you choose to buy from one collector only.. for your own reasons then that is your business.. not mine, and I am not going to try and sway anyone to the contrary... if you want the rep that was made with genuine as sample with double AR .. I have given you that info.. if not then don't get it...... simple. I am not saying lysis is right or wrong .. just stating the facts of what i have received .. just look at the comparison pics.. lanikai

it's the singer not the song aj... as your pics look without a doubt better than mine niiicce,,

u mkain nuf fo dselxeci poepel agian

congrats UB ... the upgrades look awesome.. and lellos DW is a work of art ... No Doubt.... i really like the "8" in DW's that have the genuine font LIVE STRONG AND WEAR IT WELL

Making the rest of the week an EVO related family week

I'm putting a genuine dial on my UPO and have a genuiine bezel insert for another UPO and crown and tube of course and members were super helpful.. but like the saying goes.."those that matter don't mind, and those that mind don't matter" LIVE STRONG AND WEAR IT WELL LANIKAI

For my Cristmas smoke I choose the SLR double coronas as this is one of my favorite Big sticks... it is arguably the stongest most full bodied powerful of the big boys.. although I have had Ramone Allones that can be just as full bodied..... i don't just go for stregnth and body but they have to be matched with good flavour before and after a good "pull"... If the vitola is medium stregnth but full of flavour like the Punch Coronation tubos.. I'm down with that profile also If i find one exeptional stick out of 5 ... that's the one that mkes it all worth coming back..imagine not every apple is the same off the same tree .. so i suspect the same is apparent with anything that is grown.. the profile for the SLR DC.. the wrapper is very sweet ( the rare ones are super sweet) .. and the flavour starts with the very first pull... it is total "bean' flavour.. coffee,.. vanilla.. very nutty and spicey... subtle flavours all mixed together then toward the end it will turn stronger and more spice ... the one in the pic is from an 02 box code.. this is a 2 DVD stick..the better the stick the slower i smoke em... savour the relaxing flavour.. notice the light Plume on this one.. I have Muralla's aging.. when they first were released they were very plain but since they are of the San Cristibol line I expect that after 2 or 3 years they will be great... waiting for my guy to offer me a super deal on at least 3 to 4 boxes.. his storage is superb so they are aging and waiting for me..hehehe.. i have a box that is just waiting too.. the Officios are outstanding .. beter than the Cohiba #2 ... but i collect Tubos the cohiba 2 in tubes will probably not get smoked at all for a long time.. Yes and the 898's i have (partagas) got them in special edition varnished some years ago gifted one away and the rest are still aging, smoked one box and have decided to smoke other Partagas lonsdales because the 898's are going to be my treasured aged ones..... my EL Montes from 04 in varnished boxes are about ready too.. Heres a little trick i thought up because in Hawaii it is super Humid as in Florida and other regions and with the hot temputures and humididty .. my boxes can get very wet.. i don't like to use a dehumidifier as it drys out the wrapper too much on my vintage sticks.. then when i smoke them they will explode because of lack of elasticity in the wrapper and too much moisture in the ligero so I use this ... you can get it at the drug store or hardware store I suppose .. it extracts moisture out of the area that it is used in.. sometimes i even put it directly in the box when i over humidify my sticks when they are too tight(i only leave it in the box overnight)..to lossen the inner ligero up for better draw.. but be prepared to let them sit for 6 to 12 months to come back naturally after taking out the excess moisture ... that way you end up with pure oils and not moisture mixed with the vitolas natural resins this last pic of the little container i put the crystals in is how much moisture was taken out of about 50 boxes in one of the chest that I keep them in.. I don't open the cigar boxes this draws the moisure out of the wood therefore out of the sticks ... believe it or not that is a LOT of moisture although it would not appear so.. this was after the hurricane like storm we had .. the flavour of the sticks depend so highly on just the right amount of humidification .. it can turn like night and day.. as you well know @ryyannon... man I started with Mark IV machined rolled years ago on the golf course as a way to relax and not tighten up... then like anything progressed slowly as the palate discovers new taste .. then the search is on..... this sunday I will take my Parents to the Halekulani SBrunch..it is one of our 5 star hotels.. and believe me I get my moneys worth from the imported cheeses to the suckling pig and meats and ... too much.. ahhh then the desert tables.. the pastries and home meade ice creams.. hup... knock down the kids for them...but the one thing i am looking forward to ..is after all that .. a big stick will be the best.. so keep searching for that ultimate vitola Ry.. will post the Cuabas Salamones tomorrow it now has a little over 3 years of age and will not be smoked until at least 5 to 6 years old.. I promise Tootall some sticks he picked out that I had taken pics of.. all aged .. and he has waited an eternity for them.. but as soon as i get those done I will get to you gentlemen next..

Laureus Chronograph 3717-2 Double AR After a rainy and windy christmas morning ... the sky's are clear and i put on the 3717-2 Laureus chrono ... Blue Dial; (double AR)

3717-2 Laureus Chronograph Double AR definate Double AR coating in this selection of 3717-2 The dial on my Laureus is a bit on the glossy side .. in between matte and glossy i would say with concentric rings in the sub dials and again on the outer reaches of the dial And I would cal this colour a midnight blue... edit add on:.. to clarify, not all collectors have the double AR the collectors that do are the ones that supply the makers with the genuine timepiece for replication.. but again in the future i will post this type of topic in the Collectors Review section.. just trying to clear up any confusion on the double Ar of this piece..

out of say 300 made (of a popular piece.. say the BB) 50 may go to the factory collectors and the rest would be distributed thoughout Japan, the Middle East and Mexico .. (these are the retail distribution

getting some of those RA's the last I got was the Asians... i will see if my geneva guy is taking anymore clients,.. has a shop in geneva he calls me every once in a while .. been awile since i opened the humidors with my RA regionals .. it'll be a while till those get fired up though now you remind me of my Partagas 898 boxes i put away to forget about.. man the partagas profile.. the only partagas i smoke right away are the shorts.. on my drive to the other side of the island... can't keep my hands off them.. had 100 i aged and in a little over 3 months.. gone...but i got another 2 cabs ready to go .(rotation).hehehe.. P2's and D4's from 04 are potent!! Partagas connisuer is also very good.. got quite a few partagas espesialles (discontinued replace by petites) they are finally coming of age .. stonger than the petites.. bolivar PC"S need at least 2 to 3 years before they are really good... got 2 cabs of Por laranaga aging for 2 years .. some are arriving from 06 so now i can start dipping into the aged cabs.. my RASS is now about ready .. had 04 and 05's the 04's are about ready to smoke..i gotta think the RA DC's are one of my favs.. hard to come buy good vintage so grab um if you fan find at least 04 - 05 .. worth the bucks.. i like them better than Esplendido's more complex and nutty,.. with coffee flavours.. i alway's nub the heck out of those You really gotta try the San Cristobal .. El Morros.. they aged well and are the newest inthe habanos line released 00 ... they are sooo flavoursome and aged at least 2 - 3 years are so .. so .. flavoursome and full bodied .. not to complex at this stage of development.. great promise for 5 to 10 years these have. ever get to try the punch super selection 2 they are one of my fav from the punch line.. discontinued // all the montes are so good when at least 2 to 3 years otherwise they are flat, to me anyway .. the Cohiba lancero's are overpriced and not even worth it until at least 5 years and up and at 25 usd a pop .. i will stick with the Trinidad and Monte pigtails .. the monte pigtails are unbelievably great .. not good great, not great , great. i have the 01's. .. strongest out of the Monte line..i remember in the 90's when cubans were so strong .. now with the new generation of seedlings .. the brand .. Rafael Gonsolves.. used to be the strongest. is very mild yunless u go fro the small petite size.. their lonsdale was to die for.. man they were once FULL BODIED .. almost forgot .. you probably already had some but the partagas presidentes.. very .. very good .. all the partagas line needs age or they taste just really good .. not great..

Agree, Min Ron Nee ... it is runored that he has a shop... about 40 to 50K will get you a good rotation of vintage smokes and there are ways to accelerate aging but that is only for the smokes that you plan on smoking daily.. just finished a robaina Unicos 3 years old,.. that was from Geneva.. Geneva has great quality i agree.. and the difference in one more year of aging is like 100 % better.... still have NNSC codes that I have not even broken the box yet.. can't bring myself to do it.. get a hold of some SLR double C's .. IMHO they are the most full bodied at about 5 years of the big boy's.. your lips will be numb for a while and quite raw.... the Punch churchills are stronger and more flavoursome than the Punch DC's.. and the Bolivar Lonsdales are more bodied than the bolivar Gigantes.. a little more nutty and woodsy too... sitting on 100 sticks to age... but i snag one now and again .. so good. the discontinued lonsdales Ramone Allones is over 5 years but still need more time .. leaving them alone for now.. sweet but the flavour is stil coming out.. Hoyo Epi's got 03's they change from super sweet to full bodied pure hoyo.. the epi shorts are better after just 1 to 2 years ..hard to find RA DC's from 01 now... mostly 06-07 too young .. such a waste to smoke early.. that and the SLR are great.. the SLR lonsdales .. I rate that very .. very high.. nice floral .. but very nice flavour.. needs to be about 5 years..the Partagas( one of my favourite profiles) churchills are phenominal!!! very spicey 97's strong,sweet woodsy very complex smoke you have some nice box codes.. enjoy your smokes.. better stop I could go on all night long