TJGladeRaider

I'd have to pass on this myself. On the other hand, I do like the initiative. If you get a dial that is legible, and put it in an attractive case/band package, there may be a market for it but I'm afraid, no matter what you do, it will reek of fake. Bill

Sell that silly line of BS to someone else ... my first case as a detective was in 1978. Travelers are generally a community of petty crooks and two bit con artists who take advantage of anyone who trusts them. They victimize those who can least afford it, because they are in no position to con the rich. Do we really have to have this guy here? Bill

Hey Stu, Sorry I missed this post ... I missed a lot there for a while. So, which did you wear for the event, the Kermit Rolex, or the 2893 GMT? You really must come visit with us sometime ... you can see how fast you can run my Scarab! Bill

Oh sure, it's all good ... like most clever ideas, it all goes perfectly well right up to the point that it doesn't. Bill

NOPE. Bummer. I must be doing something wrong tho because the "Follow this topic" is checked. You guys in that area that gets ferocious mosquitoes ... I saw a TV show that was SCARY - even to me, from the Everglades. Our mosquitoes just eat you ... those damn things carry you off to eat later like a take out lunch! Bill

I found a guy here locally who has owned and operated a watch shop for years with great reviews. What should it cost to: Overhaul a 2836 Overhaul a 2893 Overhaul a Valjoux Refinish/Relume a dial. Thanks, Bill

I'll see if that works - I did get a follow this topic box. Thanks Nanuq ... hope all is well with you and yours. Bill

ALL dealers are just great until you have a problem, and if you buy enough reps, you will. Then, you find out who you are dealing with. I've bought LOTS of watches from Josh (Perfect Clones), and in buying way more than a hundred reps from him over the many years I have been dealing with him, I have had a couple of problems ... which is why I would recommend him. I've NOT bought some watches from him I intended to buy - who else will tell you that a certain watch isn't up to contemporary rep standards? I've also bought some watches from him I had no intention of buying. He told me that a few GMT Rolexes with Swiss 2893 movements became available and recommended I buy one, saying that I'd probably never see them again. I bought four ... and I've never seen them again. When the TW Best source dried up, he warned me. I bought the last of those. When the Swiss 6497 movements were drying up, he encouraged me to buy a Pam Luminor ... just try to find one with a REAL Swiss 6497 now. My best advice - Pick any ONE of the very few REALLY trusted dealers and ALWAYS buy from them. Like anyone else in the sales business, these guys work hard to service their best clients. When they sell you a watch with a Swiss movement, you can expect it to be a real Swiss movement, not a clone, and when you have a problem, they will make it right. Bill

I was drerssed in suit and tie one day downtown talking on my iPhone, and I guy walked up to me and asked if I knew where there was a payphone. I knew what was coming - my first case as a detective was in 1978. When he asked if he could use my brand new iPhone 5, I said, "I'd rather not, I'm too old to out run you and I'd rather not have to shoot you." That conversation ended amicably enough. LOL Bill PS - if there is a way to set things up where you get an email when someone replies to your post, can someone share that with me. B

This is the perennial question around here. I have some gens, but mostly reps ... you'd have to be Donald Trump to have my collection in gen. I became fascinated with the counterfeiter's art years ago, when I was in the position to see things from a unique perspective, possessed of information most don't have - like what that Submariner actually costs Rolex to build. Further, most people have no idea what has gone on with the government's efforts AGAINST Rolex and others - just Google: Rolex Anti Trust USA v Rolex We can argue the relative merits of the gen manufacturer's position on reps all day long, and I am well aware of the law as applies to this matter, but I got intrigued with the ability some of these manufacturers have to build reps so incredibly similar to outrageously priced gens. The bottom line for me is, in this Country, it is legal to buy them, own them, and wear them. You just risk trouble with the law if you get involved with the manufacture or sale. In any event, I enjoy the game, trying to find the best of whatever interests me, and acquiring the precious pieces that are not commonly available, like the Rolex GMT with a ETA 2893, the Pam 28 Sopras with the 2892, the basic Pam Luminor with the Swiss 6497 ... I have never claimed to be one of our knowledgeable member, it's a hobby, what can I say. Also, as someone mentioned, my work involves me with a bad element - I'll give up my rep Pam 89 and get over it, but my gen Pam 88 could get me killed. As for how the watches are represented to others, nobody ever asks, but I do like the line, "How do I know, I took it off a dead guy." Then there's another thing. I really liked the Rolex DeapSea so I got a fabulous rep - in two days, I was tired of it. Just not the watch for me. Imagine that with a gen. What the H Factory doesn't isn't legal, but what they've done isn't legal either, so who's the bad guy here? Finally, there's the people. Over the years, I've met some really fascinating people thru this hobby. Anyway, like I said, the law allows me to play with this, I enjoy it, the whole thing fascinates and intrigues me, so I enjoy and go right on playing the game. Bill

I'm in the mood for a little ridicule ... so here goes. I still have a LOT of reps but, at one time, I had so many I was a candidate for some sort of rehab program. Recently, I was going thru my watch boxes ... probably hold about 20 or so each, and I stumbled upon a PVD Panerai I hadn't noticed in years. It's the very basic Luminor with no seconds hand or date. I set it, gave it a couple of winds, and wore it ... mysteriously, but maybe due to setting so long, it only ran a short while. Thinking it might lube itself up, I did it again a few times with the same result. It was several years old, and obviously not a watch that got much wrist time, so no big deal, I tossed it in the garbage can in my bedroom. A day or so later, it occured to me that the rotor might have just fallen off so I retrieved it, and hand wound it a lot, just to see if was the movement or maybe the rotor. I wound and wound it til ... it stopped. Then I recognized the watch. Josh suggested I buy it years ago because it had a really nice Swiss wind up movement that he thought would be rare. It runs for days on a full wind and keeps absolutely perfect time. One thing about the watch that does seem odd. In those days, I don't remember Super Lume being and option but this thing has a sort of orangish lume that glows green all night like a torch. Anyway, if I'm going to ridicule someone, I prefer to target myself. I've done so many stupid things in my life, I'll never run out of material! Bill

I prefer, "I dunno, I took it off a dead guy." Of course, that may not work for you unless the people you know are prepared to believe you actually did take it off a dead guy. Bill

I loved the reference to Nanuq ... I continue to believe that he should be serving prison time! Some of the things he has done to watches over the years ... criminal, totally criminal I say! Bill

That was one spectacularly well done review ... but then everyone seems to know that! I have a Gen Pam 088 that a particularly happy Client bought me several years ago. I was standing next to him when he bought it - one crazy expensive watch. I told Josh about it and he told me that the H Factory was producing an insanely fabulous Pam 089, basically my same watch but Titanium. I bought it and, while I do not claim to have the "eye" that some of our members have, it seemed to me to be every bit as well done as my gen - the crown guard does NOT have any mismatch to case. Everything about the watch impressed me, especially the lume. It is identical in both color and glow duration. It keeps time every bit as well too but whereas the rep gains a little (very little) the gen runs a very little bit slow. I wear the rep pretty much every day, everywhere I go. Being titanium, it is lighter than the gen, and if some enterprising punk with a gun relieves me of it one day, I'll get over it. The gen might get me killed. One other comment - the gen deployment clasp is NO comparison to the deployment clasp I had on hand here. It got hard to operate so I switched it out. I wish I could remember where I got those deployment clasps years ago. All they say on them is "stainless steel." That strikes me as really dumb - if you are going to make an excellent product, why wouldn't you label it? I have probably got a couple of dozen of them (I love them on a stingray band), and none have ever given me a problem. Anyway, like everyone else, I was very impressed with that review. Bill

So many changes ... I especially like the new feedback system. One other nice thing about being gone a while is looking thru the various offerings being made available ... remember when Super Lume was first available? I understand that there is a new Deep Sea coming and it looks like the latest Subs are better than the older ones - although I still like the vintage ones and the classic ones with lug holes and sapphire crystals. Although some of our WIS were critical of them, and perhaps with good reason, I really liked those TW Best models. Why do I feel like I should be saying, "I am Bill B and I sense a relapse of my addiction ...?" Bill

I am doing so much better these days ... now that I understand I don't really have to do what the voices tell me to do. Bill

Fortunately, we know that's not yours ... no hammer dings, no soaking it in bleach, or lye, or battery acid ... none of your wonderful vintigizing that has led me to vomit uncontrollably! Who's marketing these things these days? Bill

Not just any GMT ... a Swiss 2893 powered GMT as I recall ... or was that a Kermit Rolex? I wonder if anyone else remebers that fabulous prank! Bill

Yup, I got the Pam 89 with the rubber strap from Josh. I travel internationally so I do as I've always done - I take a pic of one of my kids holding whatever watches I am wearing/taking and keep it with my passport. The 89 is crazy good ... I have a gen 88 with the croc strap and the 89 seems absolutely comparable side by side. Bill

Oh Dear God, are you telling me that there is actually something better out there in the vintage watch line? I half expected to see something fabulous on Josh's site - he wanted to be the source for ultimate vintages at one time. Please don't tell me that I'm about to replace my alcohol problem with a crack habit ... but if there is such a link, I have to go look! And yes, as others have observed, there is an upside to divorce - the only critique and complaining I deal with these days is from my dog and he's pretty easy to placate! Bill

I had a few ...

It hurt me to sell those, but it was a consolation that the ones I sold went to friends who valued them. In a sense, it was a shame to have those sitting in watch boxes. A Client bought me a gen Pam GMT in Beverly Hills a couple of years ago so I bought the Titanium version from Josh. The comparison is scary - I wear the rep most of the time. Has anyone come out with vintages Rollies that compare to the old MBWs? Glad to see you're still around. Did they ever put Nanuq in jail? The things that man did to watches in the name of "aging" them should have got him 30-life! Bill

"Who makes the best Sub," ... sorry, just couldn't help myself. It's been a long time since I posted. The divorce and having to sell off my precious MBW collection a couple of years back just put me way out of the mood I guess. Anyway, just wanted to say, "Hi," to any of the old guys who may still be around. I'm glad to see that this Forum is still alive and well. Bill

I have read these things ... for years and years ... and I can never help thinking, "What must it be like to make a living as a dealer?" If I had to deal with these disputes all the time, I'd set my hair on fire and run screaming into the woods! Bill

I wouldn't even know where to begin, but ... Let's just say that, in th end, I suppose the divorce was well worth it. Bill