TJGladeRaider

Tarantino is the GOD of movies. His mind must be a terrible place to be. Bill

My fave is a vintage 45 LC SA original (gen) Colt but if you're that well armed I guess bushwacking is my best alternative - for that I have a vintage (gen) Winchester 45-70. I also have a beautiful Uberti rep of the old Henry that was used to massacre Custer - I should take a pic of that one. Gotta give me one thing . . . I am a consistent vintage lovin kinda guy! BTW, my aim is very good. Bill

Sorry, but I have to take the high bid at $40 . . . snicker! How ya been? If I knew how to move the two Sub related posts to the orher section and close this I would. I guess none of our WIS recognize them (I know I wouldn't but some of these guys amaze me) so it may just as well be best to let the threads die naturally. One is the best offered by TW and the other is the version offered by MBW. The tell, of course, is the case back. Again, I apologize for creating confusion. Bill

LOL - It is amazing to me that the TW Bests didn't go first day. To tell you the truth, even if I sold a dozen more than went so far, I think I'd still have the largest MBW/TW collection around! I definitely went WAY over board back in the day! Bill

Damn, tou got good eyes - I had to go back to the original, (huge) pic, crop that one and fit to page - my old eyes ain't what they wuz! Since it's you, and I know how you like to age watches with a hammer and bleach, I'd have to price it accordingly - say $2500. That's more than fair. Original unmodded MBWs fly "off the shelf" at $600 That stingray band and deployment clasp is expensive - say $100 You're too far away to drive and I only fly first class - say $1200 I'd have to ship my gun separately - say $70 FedEx shipping the watch - say $30 Stress factor - $500 ; ) Bill

That could be about right, but I think it must have been a little more than that because I don't think I have bought anything from MBW for closer to three years. How do you like them with straps? Genuine stingray with the best stainless deployment straps I could source. Bill

Does anyone know what year they switched from "Orig Polex Design" to "Registered Design." I was under the impression that all MBWs had POLEX on them but I just checked my strapped collection and half say Polex - including my Milgaus, and half say "Registered Design." One of the last things I got from MBW is the 1665 Case Set that they sent me directly - it says "Registered Design." I gotta say, I like that much better since "POLEX" is a certain "tell." When they made the switch, does anyone know if there were any other improvements? Bill

I certainly cannot fault your logic there. I have lots of folded link rivet bracelets here, but I MUCH prefer the MBW for quality, even if it isn't correct. Are we sure that ROLEX never made a solid link rivet - not questioning you, just wondering. The thing that boggles my mind is the fact that a prior poster has thrown so many of these MBW rivet bracelets away -- did you actually pause to think about that? Having been doing detective work for about thirty years, things that don't make sense tend to jump out at me and go round and round in my head til it sorts out. To throw them away one must first have them in one's possession, right? How would one acquire the genuine MBW rivet bracelet? I got mine by: 1) working through all the myth and mystery that prevailed years ago til I found a source that would actually come thru for me rather than rip me off (the horror stories are as various as numerous in the rep communities), 2) then I had to pay a lot of money (compared to the price of other reps), 3) I had to specify that I wanted the rivet bracelet on my watch (often having to wait til it was available) and then I had to hold my breath hoping that my investment didn't get lost or seized on the way. Folks who were involved in trying to get one of these MBWs back in the day will tell you what an ordeal it really was. Now, bear with me cuz we detectives jes nacherly go thru things step by step - you'd be amazed what falls out that way sometimes. Since it obviously would make no sense that anyone would actually special order a pile of MBW bracelets separately (even if there ever was such a source) at the outrageous cost just to throw them away, the guy who had a pile of them to throw away must have actually acquired a pile of MBWs first. I always thought, and I think most people on here thought, that I was the worlds worst perv for MBWs - but we all must have been wrong about that. I'm having a little trouble picturing the next part too. A guy willing to actually spend more money than I did on MBWs, finds a source, spends years acquiring a pile of MBWs, specifying rivet bracelets that he doesn't want, gets the watches, removes the bracelets, throws them away TO REPLACE THEM WITH A PILE OF WHAT? I cannot imagine anybody who'd replace an MBW bracelet of any kind with a Chinese bracelet - even if they thought it was better, since it would ruin the value of the watch for anyone wanting an original MBW. Now people do strange things - take me for example. I love the rivet bracelets for how they look, but I like to wear genuine stingray straps and I don't want to be changing stuff around all the time so I have a collection of strapped MBWs along with my other collection with bracelets. Alternatively, I suppose, one might replace the MBW bracelets with gens - if they had more money than God. Anyway, it's all a puzzle to me, but it is unfortunate because I really feel that the MBW rivet bracelet is a work of art. I never had one fall apart while I was wearing it which a lot of people have experienced with the ones from Chinese vintage reps. Also, and I know people are critical of this but I have my reasons, I like to wear a vintage when I go diving and I'm not taking a leather backed stingray strap in salt water - anyone have any idea how long a Chinese vintage rivet bracelet will stand salt water exposure? I can tell you - at one time, that's all I had. Bad, Bad, Bad idea. I'll segue into my reasons for a moment. I'm an "old school" Dive Master with more than 3000 hrs under water. I have never owned a wet suit and I don't use a modern BC. On any trip with new guys, I always bring my Royal Aqua-Master double hose regulator (reworked to stand contemporary pressures), the horse collar BC we had in the seventies (still available because they are used by law enforcement and SEALs), a plastic back pack, dive knife from 1970's, etc. In lieu of wet suit, I wear Levis and either a sweat shirt or tank top depending on water temperature - don't laugh, I PROMISE you that my Levis will last longer, and resist cuts and abrasion, better than any wet suit and I never saw anyone try to pull on Levis to have them come apart due to dry rot. In other words - a picture of me diving today would be me from 40 years ago - and the watch weirdness isn't an issue. My sole concession to modern day dive equipment is one real nice wrist computer - I've owned cars that cost less, so who needs any watch? A couple of years ago I was on a dive trip in the Tortugas on the Playmate - a dive charter boat I'd recommend to anyone. Expensive, but they cater to very small groups and have everything from private rooms to a real chef. I was on the stern next to a really nice young man I liked a lot - men my age rarely like teenagers but he was as clean cut as my own kids, and an all round nice kid to be couped up on a boat with for a week. That young man had every dive gizmo known to mankind and a huge tank compared to my little steel version. He had so many gadgets afixed to him, he looked like a Christmas tree. The Mate took one look at us sitting there next to each other, "Spartan Basics" vs "Joe Diver" and started screaming to hold everything - had to have a picture! Anyway, enough of that - back to the bracelets. If anyone actually has an MBW rivet bracelet they don't want, I love them, solid link issue or not. I've had my favorite Ziggied DRSD well over a 100 feet down in salt water, several times, and over several years - can anybody say they have actually done that without a problem with any Rolex rep? It may not be correct, but it damn sure isn't junk. If someone else actually has a pile of strapped MBWs, I'd love to see them. Here's my strapped MBWs. Ciao, Bill

Hi Adamo - as you may have surmised, that was a bit of an inside joke. There may be a few people on here who would have an idea what that is, but they would want to see the caseback to be sure. As I explained in the first post, I wasn't sure where to best post this because I was only willing to let go of one of the three. The SD sold straight away. Bill

Hey Freddy, If you ever get another rivet bracelet from MBW, can I have it? I wouldn't have any of the junk on the other vintage reps out there, but the MBWs are completely different - night and day better in my view. Bill

Costs? I never knew anyone to get them to sell a case set. Maybe things changed but they only agreed to let me have one because I bought so many MBWs and it took me forever to source. The He Valve is etched into the case. Since nobody is ever going to get a real, functional He Valve in a rep - kind of a silly notion if you consider what that's for, I'd rather know for sure it won't leak. I'll take every genuine MBW rivet bracelet anyone has available. Compared to the other rep versions I have seen, there is no comparison. Bill

Thanks for your thoughts. It's amazing how much collective information is on this board. That Red Sub sold straight away. Not knowing for sure, I didn't represent the crystal as being genuine, but I hope it turns out to be. On my MBWs, I always switched the crystals out since the originals weren't as nice as the Clarks that cost virtually nothing. I had several gen crystals I put on MBWs, and that one didn't look like a Clark, so I'm left with . . . just not sure. Sitting next to so many others, this one stands out. There's something about the distortion free clarity of the gen - it's almost as if they are illuminated. Whatever one might say about Rolex, some of their stuff is just amazing. Bill

That thread may be the answer. According to that, there were two gen Rolex versions of the 127, the beveled service crystal and the non-beveled one. Bill

Have you considered asking him to have one made up with the 2893? He has access to a watch guy who does work for him. The GMTs I have with the 2893 were sourced thru him. Bill

Years ago, the GMT was available with the 2893 but people didn't jump on them due to price. I bought the four Josh had. I really, REALLY love those. I wanted to put 2893's in some of my other GMTs so I went to the Master. According to The Zigmeister, it is not possible to put that 2893 in the cases currently available. As I recall, he mentioned the stem position as one issue, but he'd be the one to ask. Bill

That's a beautiful thing but I have a gen Rolex 127 here that has a bevel at the top of the crystal. This came sealed from a known source - it looks just like the one on that Sub. Did they make more than one profile for that crystal? It isn't a Clark - I have some of those too. Thanks for taking the time to snap those pics - I wish my pics were so good! Bill

Hey TeeJay -- long time! Hope all is well with you. I have a few DRSD's but I think those are more than he's wanting to spend at this point. I'm glad you mention that though because I think I have something around here somewhere - I once found a bastard DRSD case and made a pretty nice gen style DRSD out of it and posted pics of it. If I can find it, I may let him have that. Bill

I've been chatting with this guy by email. He's a decent sort - I'd encourage anyone with a few minutes to share with the newbies to offer guidance. For inexpensive, vintage with rivit band, I suggested the GMT with the modified Swiss 2836, but he didn't say anything to me about liking larger watches as he mentions here. Since that GMT is a slim, elegant thing, it may not be the best suited for him. Bill

I'm not sure where this is best posted. One of the folks who responded to my original post about liquidating some duplicates asked to see anything I might have locked away. This is one of three watches I sent him some pics of - I am curious to see if anyone recognizes it. All I'll say is it is a classic style Sub - it has lug holes. As always, I apologize for my lack of camera skill. PS - Like the new style I posted a second ago, the date wheel alignment and cyclops are as perfect as they look. For the ones who probably know what this is, again NO, I will not send a pic of the case back, you clever WIS you! LOL! Are we having fun yet? Bill

I'm not sure where this is best posted. One of the folks who responded to my original post about liquidating some duplicates asked to see anything I might have locked away. This is one of three watches I sent him some pics of - I am curious to see if anyone recognizes it. All I'll say is it is new style Sub - No lug holes. As always, I apologize for my lack of camera skill. The third one(Sub) will follow in a sec. PS - Date wheel alignment and cyclops are as perfect as they look. For the ones who probably know what this is, NO, I will not send a pic of the case back, you clever WIS you! LOL! Bill

The ones that flew out of here went to people that struck me as folks who would cherish them. I suspect that we'll be seeing some incredible modded watches over the next few months. Bill

Oh Dude, I've seen that before . . . it's just all messed up. I have a few DRSD's suffering from that particular ailment as well as a COMEX or two. Since I'm used to it, you can send it to me and I'll care of it for you. Bill

Hey TT, how ya been? Long time huh? I let some really nice vintage MBWs go today. I'll probably kill myself when I sober up! LOL I have some of the late model MBWs here that someone asked me about today, but I cannot for the life of me remember how to tell the MBW. Do you remember? I can't very well guess at it. I have had several inquiries about the TW Bests - lots of folks remember those. I priced my Ziggied COMEX (lume, lugs, bars, gen crown) with the MBW Rivet Bracelet for $800 bucks and I guess he's going to take it - I'm already thinking that was a mistake. I have exercised some common sense though - I have steadfastly refused to put a price on my GMTs with 2893s in them. I let someone on here talk me into parting with one years ago - that's a sweet piece that has never been available again. Can you tell me off hand what the one on the left is - it's a cherry MBW but I can't remember which. Ciao, Bill

What's the problem? Let's do this the simple way. I got a lot of interest about this Daytona. The fact is, I just bought it because I thought I should have one to round out my collection. If someone wants it, fine - be prepared to send the funds to RWG. If you don't send them to RWG, you don't get the watch. My pics suck - please spare me the abuse. This watch is still on Josh's site for $238 - great pics there. First person IN THE US who EMAILS me confirmation that they have donated $200 to RWG gets this via FedEx at my expense. This watch is like new - I never wore it. It has a rivet bracelet. It is manually wound. Seconds are at 9 position. The gizmos seem to work - I never had any interest in these, so I don't know what they are supposed to do but when you screw the little dothingies out, top button starts and stops the stopwatch and the bottom sets it back. I cannot remember where I got it. I don't think MBW ever sold these so I probably got it from Josh. I have bought a few watches from Trust and EL so that could be a possibility. As anyone knows whose seen pics of my collection, I never buy the cheap alternative. Whatever this is, I am sure it was the best I could find. If the mods don't want this done this way here, I'll just repost in the regular sales area with the smae provisions. PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME PMs about this. You know what I know. Bill

I could use some guidance from some of you who have kept up with things better than I have. I have someone with an interest in an MBW Comex case set I got years ago with that fabulous rivet bracelet (still wrapped in plastic) they had, a replacement crystal and gen crowns. Anyone have any idea what something like this is worth these days? Since there never was any way to source this, I have no clue. Bill