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Thanks, Andy! Credit to ChiMan, as usual.

In the context of describing dials, the only usage of "tropical" I'm aware of is in reference to discoloration. I thought the the black/silver dials with batons were called "standard" dials. If I'm wrong, then what would you call a Paul Newman exotic dial with brown registers? B: If you want a real challenge, try building a 6240! Find someone to make those pushers, and I'll split the cost with you for a set of my own.

Well then, GIT-R-DUN!!

I can only recall one or two guys on the rep boards who got the 3707 in steel, but that would take care of that tell!

Not sure if I understand your question, B. Are you asking if all of the Daytona dials capable of changing color? If so... The browning effect seems to occur more often on dials before the mid-1970s--and that includes all colors and types, whether standard or exotic. It's less common on the later dials, but I've seen at least one example of a "Big Red" silver dial with registers that were starting to look toasty. I think the service dials are immune to tropicalization, but maybe we should wait a few more years... Are you planning a build with a genuine tropical dial, or a simulated one?

I'm not much of an IWC guy, but the 3707 GST Titanium Chronograph is often referred to as one of the original super-reps, isn't it? It holds up very well up close, and it's been out of production so long, that most people can't remember what the tells were! A genuine dial would probably take care of most rep guys with long memories.

Knowing J, he's already built it.

Thanks, guys! It's going to be hard to let this one go. I've caught a bit of the El Primero fever, I think. I've spent some time looking at old TAG-Heuer Monzas, but the only ones available are the newer CR2110s, with 2892/DD modular movements. Boo... Well! You can just forget about that vintage Sicura Satellite I was going to get you!

Congratulations, it's a Heuer! And do check out my review of the genuine 38mm El Primero, before it disappears into the mists of the Other Brands category.

A friend of mine lent me this watch over the weekend, as I will be writing about it as part of an article. On a whim, I posted a wrist-shot last night and, boy, was the response positive. Bowing to popular request, here is my quickie review of this beautiful Zenith... How tough has life been for Zenith since 1969? The El Primero is probably the most famous movement in watch history, yet Zenith has struggled to establish its own identity: "I finally bought the watch of my dreams. Check out my new Zenith." "You mean like my VCR?" In fact, Zenith Radio Company of Illinois actually bought a controlling share of the Mondia-Zenith-Movado holding company in 1971, which almost killed the El Primero at the tender age of six. Like comically stereotypical movie villains, the bean counters at Zenith USA decreed that its eponymous watch company should henceforth produce only quartz watches, and ordered the destruction of all production equipment for mechanical movements. Horrors! Enter plucky Swiss watchmaker Charles Vermot, who defied the wishes of the barbaric Americans, carefully hiding the tooling and machinery in the attic like, er... (Historical analogy dropped to avoid causing offence.) End result: Zenith's nefarious plans were foiled, and Zenith was saved! The El Primero was resurrected in the mid-80s, just in time for it to reach global superstardom... inside a Rolex. There would be no breakout watch for Zenith, but at least its reputation (and financial security) was cemented by being the engine supplier for the 16500-series Daytona. Fast-forward to the year 2000, Zenith's acquisition by LVMH, and the installation of the abominable Thierry Nataf as CEO the following year. (Historical analogy dropped to avoid causing offence.) Zenith was in for a rough decade, which yielded obscenities like the Defy Xtreme. The silver lining to this brown cloud was that the Zenith brand was mainstreamed like during no other time in its history, mostly thanks to amazon.com reviews like these. Is there no such thing as bad publicity? Let me give Charlie Sheen a call, and see how he's doing... What a relief it was when the Dufour regime took over in 2010, and its first act was to airbrush the Nataf years out of its corporate memory. Glam Rock and Zero-G, say hello to Trotsky and Yezhov. Zenith's signature watch for the year was the El Primero Striking 10th, best known for a sweep hand that zips around the dial in 10 seconds and demonstrating just what 36,000 bph can do for you. The movement was new, but the design was not. Although bigger at 42mm, the case and dial design -particularly the overlapping silver, black, and blue subdials- recalled the 1969 El Primero. 2011's Zenith catalog featured even closer homages to the original El Primeros. ("Original El Primeros" is not only redundant, but an oxymoron, too!) The hexagonal "Vintage 1969" remixed the chunky A384 El Primero, also of 1969. This particular watch, the El Primero 36'000VPH, is the closest homage to the classically styled reference A386. It may not have the trick chronograph of the Striking Tenth, but it still beats 10 times per second. Obviously. And at 38mm, it takes a couple of glances for it to register as a new watch. The '69 El Primero has long been one of my dream watches, so this 2011 model is right up my alley. I love vintage watches in general, but especially appreciate the designs of the 60s and 70s. In fact, there are a couple of details that I wish Zenith had carried over onto this watch. The first is the louche "El Primero" script—shorthand for “luxury”, and so evocative of the era of "soft Correenthean leatherr". In its place is a blocky, sans serif font. So cold. I also don't like the changes made to the subdials. I prefer the big, flat LPs of the original to the contours of the new registers. And on a functional level, why make the silver hour counter the most prominent of the three circles? Put it behind the minute counter and running seconds, where it belongs! I should also note that one friend really had a problem with the star-tailed sweep hand, because it reminded him too much of Tinkerbell's wand. I told him to grow the F up. Minor nits aside, it's very hard to complain about anything on this watch. Just look at it! I would love to own one, but would much prefer finding a '69 El Primero in good condition. Perversely, the originals are cheaper than the reissues, which is also true for blue Heuer Monacos, and most examples of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. I'd better start selling my fluids again. Are two movement shots really necessary? C'mahn, don't bolshet me. Some quickie review that turned out to be. It looks like I've already finished a large chunk of that article I'm going to write. Thanks for looking, and reading.

Too many times have I bought a crown and ordered every possible tube that could fit, just to make sure that one would. Well pinned!

It's the plain vanilla El Primero and not the Striking Tenth, unfortunately, but... 36,000bph is 36,000bph!

On loan for the weekend. "Abscond" is a good word.

Happy Birthday, Valerian!

Roll them links:

No fair! You're nowhere near the tropics! Lovely, lovely GMT. Congratulations.

I called my remark "controversial and incendiary" very much with tongue in cheek. Ten years ago, I found the new security procedures to be irritating, but also an acknowledgment of the new reality and necessary to keeping us safe. Since then I've seen too much evidence of "security theater"--a show to convince the public that something is being done. Let me clarify: I believe the threat from terrorism is real. I don't believe the creation of additional layers of bureaucracy and (per phoband) memorializing past terror plots with reactive measures are the most effective ways of making travelers safe. And as for the individuals charged with our safety, I remember another "Rolex lost in airport" story from two years ago: Woman goes through security scanner in Norfolk, wearing a gold Rolex. Agents tell her to remove her watch and put it on the belt to be scanned. Woman objects, and asks one agent to hold it. Agent refuses, woman removes watch, and both go through their respective scanners. Woman comes out the other side, Rolex doesn't. The end.

Double post! Free joke: What's brown and sticky? A stick!

Thanks, urabus and cougar! Now how am I supposed to copy your answers when you've focused on that bloody Panerai of yours?

Gonna pass on this one!

Oh VCO look well in the dark...

Yeah, but it comes in a big box. Value added! And don't forget that all-important endorsement from the sons of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. I am now eagerly awaiting the Franktech series of Panerais, from Sly's younger brother.

Nanuq traded it for every watch in the Doxa Asia catalog?

[Re-posted from the thread about the Good Samaritan street cleaner int he UK] Disappointing that they weren't able to catch the guy, in spite of the video evidence and in spite of the incident being immediately reported. Now, I may be pilloried for making such a controversial and incendiary remark, but... For all the hassle it puts travelers through, sometimes I don't think the TSA is all that useful! There, I said it.

I read this story, too. Disappointing that they weren't able to catch the guy, in spite of the video evidence and in spite of the incident being immediately reported. Now, I may be pilloried for making such a controversial and incendiary remark, but... For all the hassle it puts travelers through, sometimes I don't think the TSA is all that useful! There, I said it.