TJGladeRaider

Well, that was fun. Travel to the big city, and meet up with three people I never would have heard of but for this curious little hobby of ours, and find that I like all three. Very cool, very cool indeed. Bill

I am almost reluctant to comment for fear of having someone read into it something other than I intend, but this brings to mind another COMPLETELY [censored]ING IRRELEVANT little fact that I think is interesting, and being overcome with a bizarre desire to share factoids that I find interesting, I cannot help myself. In many jurisdictions, it is PERECTLY allowable to charge the narcotics violation and sustain it even when the drugs turn out to be bogus. That may seem odd, but the logic appears to be that bogus drug trafficking is as adverse to the public interest as the real thing, it cannot be permitted as acceptable behavior, so it is punished accordingly. Persnally, I find that odd and interesting so I mention it for whatever it is, or is not, worth - I mean, WTF, at least it isn't as tiresome as this BS is becoming. Besides which, maybe I'll get to [censored] off Eddie again! Bill

OK, I admit, I am confused. That thing looks real to me -- not that I profess to be an expert. If it's a rep, I'd still pay a lot more than the current offer, but I cannot imagine a gen being offered like that without a reserve. Bill

Here's looking at you kid. My absolute favorite movie of all time. Lord, what they could do before they came to rely upon special effects! Bill

Hey Kruzer -- I just got back from meeting with Ed & Sergio. I have to get back tomorrow, but I don't leave NY until later tomorrow evening. I am thinking about scoping out the diamond district, I also want to check out some of the shops that sell gen vintages. You free? Bill

The 177 vs 111 biz is one thing, but I think it is reasonable to ask what you can expect of a $300 Davidsen. Anyone reading the boards for a while would have a clear picture, but that's a hard thing to search for. A real Swiss ETA will generally last a long, long time, and they can be fixed or replaced fairly easily. Good quality reps are generall waterproof to the point that you can swim with them and, having a truckload of reps myself, I bought a waterproof tester and I can tell you for a fact that most of the good ones are perfectly dependable to swim with. If you get one you like, you can get it tested without any risk to the watch. I wear vintage MBWs, some of the "Perfect" watches that Josh offers with servicing, and a Pam 028 with a 2892 movement. They are all accurate to withing a few seconds a day, they all pass the waterproof test to 5ATM, and they are all as dependable as ny mechanical watch can be. Enjoy. Bill

What time ya gonna be done? Bill

Very cool Ed . . . see you and Sergio at 6:30. New York ain't ready for us. Bill

I was here on biz, but the biz is done. I always like to meet the folks I have only talked to online. I'll PM ya. Bill

I am in New York on biz . . . I guess this is Manhattan, but I am at the Hilton on the Avenue of the Americas. If this is really "rep Mecca," someone tell me what I should see while I am here. Of course, if all they have here is a collection of the sorriest garbage on the planet, I'd like to know that too. Ed, you somewhere round here? Bill

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OK Sir Edward, you got me there! BTW, how's that wonderfully fine watch holding up? Bill

Of course you will, and good for you . . . not just everyone has the strength of character necessary to stand by the obviously untenable - especially when driven to support that position with the very quote that undoes it. Although I realize that I am brutalizing an already dead horse, let's look at, "You cannot, for example, sue your drug dealer . . ." You highlighted the word "example" so I can only conclude that you did in fact recognize the choice of words that followed was chosen to be illustrative of the point I chose to make. Now, look closely at the very next word. Consistent with my previous, and indeed repetitive, references to the Courts, I specifically say, "sue," a word that once again defines the focus of my post as relating to that which goes on in the Courtroom. Once again, we all know that devious drug dealers who perpetrate frauds are quite likely to have their height adjusted with a chainsaw, or circumcised with a blow torch, but that does not change the fact that they cannot be SUED. Finally, no need to thank me. I have spent much of my life in public service, and I am always happy to take a few minutes of my time to clarify the muddled mind of anyone that sorely needs it. Bill

I fear that you have expanded upon my narrowly defined point . . . and it does seem to me that you are, thus far, alone in that which is quite understandable since I even went so far as to make it explicitly clear that I did not expect to see anyone with the intellect of the average houseplant misconstrue the very, very narrow scope of the point I made. Nevertheless, perhaps I can help clarify your mind. The point that I made was, illegal contracts cannot be LEGALLY enforced -- thus my repeated reference in a very short missive to the Courts. I also went on to qualify, in the interest of clarification, that this point as to legal enforceability was proffered solely as an aside, having no relevance to point we are discussing here. Obviously, the Pope does indeed wear a tall hat, bears do [censored] in the woods, and those of us who buy counterfeit watches are perfectly free to bash, abuse, malign and shun any dealer we want to, for any reason we want to, or even for no earthly reason at all. Bill

Agreed. If I had not seen it for myself, I would never have believed it. ON THE OTHER HAND, I have made mistakes, I have exercised poor judgment, and I have, on more than one occasion, completely fked things up beyond all redemption . . . and to make things worse, whenever I have royally screwed the pooch, I have found myself dealing with perfect people who had never made a mistake in their lives. Therefore, like you and many of our most rational brethren, I am hopeful that these threads will serve to define the line beyond which no dealer should cross, and I trust that better judgment will prevail in the future. Now, could somebody please start a thread bashing TTK . . . I just love seeing him chew someone a new [censored]. Nobody does "[censored] slap 'em like you own 'em" with such eloquence. LOLLLLLLLL Bill

I'm confused. WTF does any of that have to do with the very narrowly defined point that I was extremely careful to specifically articulate? Bill

Absolutely. It will have a Swiss ETA, and it will have been serviced as represented. The ones I bought from Josh were very nicely done, and the difference in the cases, and bracelets, are obvious. Bill

Interesting point . . . especially since everyone is likely to disagree with it, notwithstanding the fact that, taken literally, it is the absolute truth. LITERALLY speaking, one can never hold anyone accountable with regard to a contract where the underlying activity isn't legal. You cannot, for example, sue your drug dealer for delivering three ki's of 60% coke when you contracted for five at 90+%. If you contracted with a watch dealer to supply 1000 fake Rollies with gen ETA movements, there is no court anywhere that would offer you any recourse no matter what you got. Now, fair warning, if some twit wit reads this and wants to argue that I am saying fraud is OK, I shall flame you unmercifully. Just mentioning a point that I think is interesting, otherwise having no relevance to the subject at hand at all. Bill

I certainly agree with that. Anyone who has something to say they are too gutless to sign their name to has nothing to say that I want to hear. I wouldn't even consider giving voice to those who really wanna stab somebody, but only if they can do it from th back. Bill

Hi Andrew, Josh -- I am gratified to see that you have responded to the concerns of the members. As you both well know, I have bought a lot of watches from both of you, and I have never hesitated to say that I like both of you personally, and I like the way you do business. To see either of you accused of dishonesty bothers me; I know from experience that you try very hard to keep your customers satisfied. I also know, from personal experience, that Joshua has, on occasion, "pushed" certain watches to me, personally recommending them as being exceptionally nice. Several times I have bought watches based solely upon his recommendation, and each time I have found that they were all that he represented them to be. There have also been occasions where he suggested that I reconsider buying certain watches as he did not feel I would be satisifed with their quality. I have never had any transaction with either of you that I was dissatisfied with in any way - not even a little bit. Having said that, I would also say that there are "yes or no" words that have specific meaning - like "pregnant" for example. One cannot be "sort of pregnant," or "a little bit pregnant," either they are pregnant or they are not. Words like sapphire, Swiss and ETA may not quite fall into that sort of absolute category, but most people think they do, especially those who actually buy watches, rather than just talk about them. I say that because I believe that the highest posting members on these boards rarely buy watches, and I believe that most of your sales are to those who talk the least. To me, that is all the more reason for you to be selective in how you describe your products. I hope all is well with you and yours. Bill

It's fine -- very very nice. Thanks for going to the trouble. Bill

You gotta be kidding me -- that's freakin scary. A fella named Tom ought to send you a check - you just sold me on those wheels. Picture that same look with the tires almost 10% larger. I am going to use those wheels with BFG A/T KOs at 35x12.5x16. I really, REALLY like how that looks. Can you e-mail me a better res version of the pic than I can get by snagging that one from the post? Bill

I was kinda hoping you would! In fact, maybe I should send you a bunch of promo pics for my new web site . . . you can make me young, tall and thin. On the other hand, nevermind, I'm sure even magic has its limitations. Thanks Bill

Yep - that's what gave me the idea. Unfortunately, they don't have this wheel, or anything like it. Good idea though. Bill

I have started a new Jeep Project. I just bought a 2006 Rubicon and I have installed a suspension lift so now I need to figure out which wheel and tire combination to use. Although most people just buy whatever someone sells them, doing this right is actually more complicated than it sounds. I know the size and offset I need to maintain the factory steering geometry, but I am considering buying some teflon wheels and I'd like some idea how they would look before I spend the money. I don't want to put anyone to any trouble, but if the wizardry of Photoshop allows you to click "change this to this," it would help me make up my mind. Basically, I want to know, how would these wheels look on this Jeep? Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any photos of this wheel with the correct lug pattern so this is the best I could do. Like I said, I really don't want anyone to go to any trouble if this is complicated. I can always print the picture and use a dark gray sharpie on it or something. Thanks, Bill

Although I am under the impresion that they are selling the same watch, albeit with very different modifications, the watches in the pphotos do not look the same. Josh LV - Look Closely at "Swiss Made" and the hash marks See the difference? Having purchased these watches both ways, there is a significant difference. Josh has someone modify the bracelet, CGs and case, whereas Andrew's watch is mechanically serviced (same service as Josh). With all the talk of late about misleading advertisements, it's unfortunate that many people may not know whether the advertised mods are real or marketing hype. I have bought several of these, and I have enough subs to know the difference - a lot of work goes into the mods, and the finished product has a discernably different feel. Since the watch is built upon the same base as the MBW - that being the TW Best case, I think that Josh's watch is probably the best version of the modern sub available as it has a lot of labor put into that the MBW does not. Bill