lanikai

Soooo what's your point.... .. seriously .... i ditto Pug ... tradmark .. copyright babe... if it were not serious the Swiss Federation would not have gone after certain "people" this year ... i won't get into details to open a Pandora's Box... just know that the Swiss Government treats Rolex like a national treasure at times...

Your Zeiss scope is ultimate optical ... i to do not notice AR when i visit the Genuine retailers... but it does make the dial look better on the rep. as was stated by others ... makes me accept the flaw on the rep a little better.

Ok... i just got the blue dial today... the digital pics adds to the darkness of the dial .. as it seems lighter in person... so your all dead on .. wothout the AR it would be sort of flat.... does the white dial look as good as the pics ??? I hope the black is a Deeper colour than the blue..although the more i look at it the more i like it.. and does anyone have a source for the divers (rubber) strap or is that a genuine ? thanks, lanikai

yes .. never let them see you sweat... alway's meeet them at the gym.... so the sweat looks natual .... (really happened)... the worst that happened with watches , I was charged full duty for a Bently , early last year... ouch that hurt.. but i heard of someone else in Europe who was charged and paid about a thousand usd .. for a rep that customs called the Real Deal

I had Federal Agents knock on my door ... Home Land Secuity... they had issues about some shipments I was getting from overseas.. not watches... i had them meet me at the gym, they called me because thankfully I was not home ... they used a lot of scare tacitcs... (ie. 25 year prison term) .. that kind of got my attention .... they wanted me to "Roll Over" on the people sending me "Nicaraguan cigars"... long story short ..I refused and they went away... my point is I can see your concern with the semantics involved but it alway's sounds sooo official ... that's just the semantics they use for protocol....No worries It'a all good... I need to tell you that because i know how you must feel ... been there myself

In closing .... and i hope this to be such.. one... tactful is a term that is used in the pre-tense as.... i was tactful until the end two.. this is not Ziggy's concern.. nor should it be .. he never communicated with me except for what had to be done to the watch. again if you want to blame then i am your man... and just me three....i have read the board for a little over a year now but just recently started joining in ..... it is addictive and everyones knowledge has been great. it has kept me from wasting time and money Now EX.. in laws are dramatic... if not for everyone joining in this would not have been so dramatic. but i do appreciate the advice at the end .. Pug ... archi...tourby ... see you on campus I hold no ill will towards FF and anyone else for that matter ... i guess this is an example of what it is to be Human.. from the latin Humus. .. earth bound.. and lastly i did not post the pics because it would not accomplish any thing ... what? to prove i was right or justified...i don't need "backing" for that... and i do not throw salt in the so called wound .. to show pics of what the watch looked like would only cause more grief... and that was not my intention... kind of like looking at an accident to satisfy the morbidity in us. so with that said... we learn by our mistakes... the insanity would be to do the same thing and expect different results .. so i pray that i learn from this as well as us as a community.. thank you for reading this babble. randall... aka Lanikai

ditto the review of strap culture ... i got the historic strap, the one that changes colour as it bends... like the Fiero does... and the quality of leather and stiching is lacking in the SC strap... (for the price) ... it is really hard, if at all possible to beat the quality of the Italian curing of their hides ... their straps seem to get better with wearing ... my MP XIII noce has a nice sheen after a couple months of wear. and with TC's specials .. Hawaiins say..."Hana Hou" .... "do it again"

Well, this thread made my day... I ordered the BL swiss ..Blue Dial last week ... was going to order the blk in Asian today but decided to pull the trigger on the Swiss instead .... ordered it about 2 hours ago.... thanks for the confirmation ...

I have other items coming to me from Geneva and Cyprus .. it was a bit un-nerving to see "exception" .... and to verify what the member above stated ... it was due to the package missing the flight or being sent to the wrong hub .. or being placed on the wrong belt.. things of that nature.. nothing to worry about... just means it will be delayed

Check out Time Connection and their Fiero Toscana ... looks like the toscana above... i have 2 ..on the 176 and 177H .. i like the lighter colourstrap it brings out the Ti nicely

I really think that AR coating is way over rated .... i have a white dial in another line and the Ar coating on the Genuines are not as pronounce as in the Reps ..... at first Ar is really nice to look at but gets to be more of a hinderance (to me) after awhile ... like the genuines i would rather have a very , very light AR or not at all..

FYI ... they have not "merged" ... what it is .... Joshua and Andrew are very good friends and as such combine on projects with different makers .. joshua being the senior of the two ... meaning he has cultivated many contacts and helps other dealers with his contacts.. in other words he does not compete in the predatory way that companies do in this age... predatory companies are common these day's It is no secret that this is true ... because of certain dealers commitments to the makers they are able to create change for the better in the Rep industry .. Joshua and Andrew are two such dealers .. ie. the attempt at better fonts and cyclops... I am sharing this so that there are no conspiracy theories ... they both have provided exellent customer service after the purchase ... so please don't interpret this as me trying to promote one dealer over the others..it is better for customs that i deal with Joshua and Andrew If i had a good web master for example and a friend did not ... as are somethings in the business i am contracted for ... we would help each other out.. i am assuming that if i had 100 products and needed help moving some of it i would sub contract a friend to help me... i am not saying this is what is happening but it could be one possible senario..

Yes I do ... give me a call 222-4353 ... i am in Kailua every morning ...if you are familiar with kailua.. lanikai .... I can be found at Morning Brew after i pick up an Acai bowl from Lanikai Juice .. or Brent's around 7am ... i am 5'8 194 Llbs and have tats on both arms 8 % B.F. ..like I said i am not hiding ..... LOL .. I actually live off Monsarat Ave next to Diamond Head ... i can be found at Golds Gym mid day come by my area for a cup of coffee and bring your collection ... looking forward to hearing from you Cable.. randall

I will no longer dispute what has happened with the 029, I have my view point and FF has his and I will respect that as ... it "was" what it was ... as in past tense.. it is now in my mind "history" .. in other words the past ... i was going to post pics tomorrow as proof .. but i do not kick anybody who is offering a flag of peace. ... and i will offer one of my own ..to FF So in public, i will say enough is enough and it is time to move on .. No apology is needed as we are both are men who can live with our choices .. i believe FF to be ............ plus it's Monday Night ... and it's American Football time again.. So Flav... peace and love to you and your Ohana (family) .. and to everyone on the RWG .... PEACE..... Randall

Maikel.... you are right this is not a win .. win situation... i tried to communicate and PM privately, but was told i don't know what i am talking about ... i apologize for involving soo many members in this issue.. because ultimately it is my issue.. i am not asking or seeking validation .. as this may very well cost me purchasing another 029 to get everything right. In the end it is not about money ... it really is about the principLE. ...I am a Scorpio and prone to deep convictions .. and i do believe strongly in the principals and not the personality.. I will be posting pics of the watch as my reputation is up for target practice here ... i want to make sure no one else is involved .. this is my issue and i tried to conduct it as such.. To set the record striaght the mod work was not "dissapointing" it was not done and I was charged for work that was claimed to be done. Again,.. I apologize to the membership for these diatribes...it is what it is.... i make no excuses for my actions and take sole responsibility for my words.. they could have been gentler .... but they fit the feelings i had at the time .. and if I have offended anyone you have my humble apology ... but i stand on my principle of "treat people the way you would like to be treated" no grey areas here .. if i try to get over on someone then i should be able to take the heat So with that said ...... LIVE STRONG AND WEAR IT WELL Aloha Ke Akua .Randall

OK Gentlemen.. I have not had a chance to read this until today... or i would have responded to this earlier I have no intention of "hiding" i will bring this out in the open ... because my intention was NEVER to blackmail anyone!!! at no time was an offer on the table to refund any money to me nor until yesterday did i think of a refund.. no other watchsmith was "brought into this ... flavs name was never brought to anyones attention .. so to get that straight ... the watchsmith who has my 029 now did nbot know the party that did the work on my watch until flav posted this thread. So, i bear all responsibility for my actions. Now that that is out of the way .. this is my view point I was going to let sleeping dogs lie ... until i got the review of the 029 which stopped running 30 min. after i got the watch back .. i recieved pics of the wqrk and defects and inconsistancies in what was done and what was said was done.. again the modder was not known to anyone at this time. the lume was so uneven i brought this to Flavs attention .. and was told that i really didn't know what i was talking about I was quoted a price of 140 usd for the lume and that changed to 165 usd when FF got the watch.. that is when i started questioning the pricing.. I was told that the pricing was in part because the work takes him away from his family ... well i checked pricing against what was posted on the board by another watchsmith... i questioned FF... he explained that the cannon fix was time consuming and something he really dosen't like to do ... the Crown which was a genuine also is time consuming.. the date wheel which I provided was also a seperate charge ... ok no problem if the work to be done was done correctly. after calculating that the mods would cost me over 600 usd.. i asked FF to not mod the 111H and i would pay him for the work completed on the 029 .. which he said was done on Saturday .. there was no response to my numerous mails asking him not to do the 111H .. all that was done in the end was the prefab dial ... nothing else ...( total was 355usd for the 029 and 145 usd for the 111H) i recieved a message some time later a day or so.. FF said he had done the 111H even though i had requested that it not be worked on .. and he put a prefab dial on it that he gets for almost nothing... and it was up to me to pay him or not since i asked him not to work on it.. i told him of course i would pay him even though i had requested to just send it back undone. I calculated the work on the 029 to be 355 usd ... the 11H for the prefab dial cost 145usd... this was FF's pricing after the fact .. he gave me the option to pay him or not .. i told him i would honor my word to pay him regardless of the fact that i had asked him not to do the work. when i recieved the watches back the lume on the 029 looked deformed it was totally uneven and the 9 looked terrible when it glowed.. nothing like the pics he posted of other watches... i was told if I was not happy to buy a genuine... this attitude did upset me .. but i still decided to let it go as a learning experience on what not to do next time . I was told that i was the only unhappy one and the elume alone took 8 hours to do ... mathematiclly this did not make sense... you would have to go without sleep to do these 2 watches in the time FF claims it took.. i was in no rush. then the movement stopped i waited two day's and noticed that the hands were sticking at different points ... i mailed FF this fact and again was told .. i didn't know what i was talking about .. and that it was the shipping that caused this.. At this time i got an appointment with Ziggy ... waited 2 or 3 months until there was an opening .. i sent my 029 and my 036 ... Ziggy at no point and time knew of the problems i was having with the work done on this 029 ... and until yesterday has not known who did the work on it. well... the summary came back and I was asked what was done.. i stated cannon fix .. well, there is no high cannon fix for this watch .. my ineptness in not knowing that from the start ... the crown .. all that was done was an extender was attached, and o-ring was missing so dirt and moisture got in the opening caused by the missing o-ring..(genuine crown) the o-rings were on when i shipped it. and the lume was uneven and the hands and dial would have to be stripped and the hands repainted and everything redone... the datewheel kept changing at 3 pm ... probably due to all the dirt in the movement.... and the CG was no good .. it was cut too short ... the crown sat to far away from the case... again all that was done was a crown extender was attached to the crown 1 or 2 min. of work??? the CG was filled with silicone .. Still Ziggy did not knbow who the modder was ... i was just going to move on .... but when i realized i was charged for work that was not even done... ie. crown extender ..... no high cannon needed ... date wheel etc .... if i had immerssed the watch it would have been worse. after the first post before i realized all this work that said was done was not... that is when FF refunded my 029 funds... i had not asked for it.. and at no time did he offer it before hand... all he said was all the problems would be a 10 min fix and really not cost anything.. from over 2 days of work to "all it takes is 10 min. i don't owe you any refund attitude. this is when i mailed FF .... not with a blackmailing threat .... how would anyone else feel ????? I am more than willing to return the prefab dial How am i getting FREE WORK ???? the watch will have to be redone ... FREE WORK... common... what am i getting free ???? Don't take my word for it ... the pics will be posted ... i felt that i would just let this go also .. but there are those of you who feel that there is only one victim here and that i am just trying to ruin a good guy... all of you can resort to name calling... one even to the point of "calling me out" .. well talk is cheap...brave statements for not knowing all the facts .. i don't like to think of others as sheep my intention was not to get something or cry but to make sure this does not happen to others who are getting work done for the first time ... not to be taken advantage of ... i may not be part of the click you are all in ... but i was concerned about people being taken advantage of.. so you all can take your best shot ... because i know that what i did was not to manipulate anyone or any situation ... but to make things right.. I would have been more than happy to make things work out .. but that was not the case ... apparently i was looked at as someone who did not know what was going on.. and as far as the family guilt trip ... i was told that this was taking away from family... well i was in no rush .. and i do believe firmly in family ... the children especially ... with that said .. i don't like to think that i am doing this to defend my actions... but i also so not like things twisted and manipulated after the fact .. I stand behind my beliefs that what i did was just..... if FF friends don't like it... well that is their choice.. it is good to back up your friends.. just get the story straight.. i do not believe that FF will hang up his tools ... not over this ... my whole point was.... do not steal.... i am a person who values principles and to the person in Norway who wants to meet me face to face ... yeah right ... brave on the internet aren't you... for what you didn't even know all the facts Lanikai.. my name is... Randall.... for those of you who think i will ever hide from anyone.

OOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYyyyyyyyyy..... Intervention time .... but wait let me finish ordering my straps fo the weekend first .... You go girl ..... noticed their are no girli .. girl colours in your collection ....atta boy girl ....

Kruzer, Thank you for your concern,... yes I too hope the person who did the so called "mod work" on my 029 then charged me 355 usd and told me that it took over a full day's work .. All i can say is I am not going to cry "over spilt milk" .. and i believe in redemption ... make amends by never doing this again .. I would like to think that this Forum is a place where members can trust others and are here for the passion and HOBBY of watch collecting .. I believe this is such a place.. So with that being said .. I will move on and again, I hope to NEVER hear of anything like this ... I never make threats... JUST PROMISES

Thanks for the pics Kruzer..... my 029 is with Ziggy now ,,, after being viciously modded.... it will have to be stripped of all lume and redone ... out of respect for this forum i will not get into the party that did the first lume and mod's or what i paid, let's just say it was like a mechanic fabricating shortcuts and claiming quality work .. all i will say is i know ziggy will care for it like his own members having their watches modded for the first time .... how can we be sure of quality and charges ???? Well I guess lessons are to be learned and patience to wait for honest ,... trustworthy ,... Modders .... you may have to wait a while to get an appointment .. but believe me it will be worth it ..in the long run.. I will Man up and keep what happen to my 029 the first time i had it modded to myself... but if any other members are taken advantage of and i know about it .. i will not hesitate to post the pics ... that will show the proof of the work that was claimed to be done on my 029 and the kind of work and shortcuts that were actually taken.. So be forwarned ...... do not take advantage of members ie. overcharging ... unless you have a law Degree...LOL I hope the person that did my 029 the first time will ammend his way's.... and the way to set this right is ... DON'T DO IT AGAIN lanikai

Thank you for your input... I have decided on the Blue but i will probably get the other dials eventually (by next month ) as the prices are getting ready for their anual increase ...

Thank you all .... i was going with the black ... now the Blue... then Pug posted his White .... solution .all 3 .... buffet line.. nah... first the blue then i will see which is next... thanks again guys.. Lanikai

Until then read ... THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS .. BY Musashi Miyamoto.. the greatest swordman of all time ...(Mandatory reading for Japanese Business People) Or... THE ART OF WAR ... by ...Sun Tzu .... You will be tested afte the 17th

"UA MAU I KA AINA I KA PONO" ....... THE LIFE OF THE LAND IS PERPETUATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.... Our state motto... And the RWG is all ....G ... so what is FOBBING ALREADY