TJGladeRaider

You might want to look at EBay - a guy named Jeff there has sold me some very nice straps. He has some alligator ones that he "Guarantees to be the best Panerai strap on EBay." They were about $50 I think and I have to say that I was very surprised at the quality. I think I bought those in 24mm, but he may have them in 26. Bill

Up to this post I was wondering how you could have had a negative experience with Joshua - I have bought more than a dozen reps from him and he's always been great to deal with. I have had minor problems a couple of times and he's dealt with it straight away. In fact, one of my favorite watches that I got from him is the Omega SMP GMT - I also bought it on his recommendation. When the superbly accurate watch turned out to be waterproof - I tested it to 132 feet - I replaced the band with sharksin. I replaced it simply because almost all my watches have exotic bands and deployment clasps. I like the fact that they never fail, and they are a lot lighter and much more comfortable. I will tell you this. I have bought a lot of reps, and I have dealt with a lot of dealers - if you aren't happy with Joshua, give it up. Your expectations are unrealistic. Bill

26mm is just a smidgeon wider than 24mm - it will fit just fine. You will need to use 24mm sleeves (if you are using sleeves) but the band will fit as is. Bill

This has all been very interesting. Obviously, all reps do not come from the same place. I have several from Ms King that do not look like what I have seen pictured here. There is no plastic insert for sure. They measure about 42.5 not counting crown, the hands are longer, and they are actually waterproof. Joshua says his are very nice too, but I haven't seen any reviews of them yet. I think I'll buy some and compare to King's side-by-side. Bill

Well, I suppose that depends on what they say. I have a great deal of faith ion the folks I buy from as they have been very good to me - and you don't know whether they are or not til there's a problem. When I started seeing them advertising their watches as being waterproof, I spent a few bucks to find out. Whatever claim someone makes, I'm sure somebody will know how to check it and a liar doesn't last long in a small community. Still, your point is well taaken and I would not enourage anyone to believe anything from someone they don't know, or at least know by reputation. Bill

Huh? Was she wearing a watch? Bill

Sorry, I should have mentioned that - exactly right. The porcelain finish is awesome. Rep or not, I think it's an incredible deal on this watch. Bill PS: Your pics thoroughly embarass me! I have a fortune in camera equipment, and I have read the posts by some of our learned members re photography, but maybe I'll do better when my lightbox gets here. Very nice. B

King sells it in black with ETA and you cannot believe the box and papers that come with these watches. I see she has a white one on her site, but it does not say whether it is ETA or Quartz. Joshua is carrying these too, but so far he has not gotten any autos on his site. 8ill I popped it off my wrist and snapped a shot - I got this from King. This watch keeps really, really excellent time. I have not gotten around to checking it for waterproof yet, but for time keeping, it is very good. It gets a lot of attention on the wrist too.

As I have several of both, I would have to say that the 14k bracelet looks NOTHING like the 18k plate. It is a lot more durable, and looks better longer, but the 18k look is not matched by anything 14K. Bill

They all go to Customs. No worries. Bill

Pardon my ignorance, but could you explain a little more anout the MBW and WM1665? I don't know what that means and I don't see anything on Joshua's site, or King's site that is labeled like that. Thank you, Bill

Here is a pic of a Sub after I put a stingray band and deplyment clasp on it. These bands are very comfortable. The watch tested perfect to 4ATM and it gains just about 4 secs per day. I'm confused . . . could someone tell me why I'd want to invest more than 10 times as much in a gen. Pics will improve when my lightbox gets here! Bill

Your first information was nearly correct. When dealing with pressure buildup beneath the nail, what you need is a paperclip. You heat the end red hot and it will burn thru the nail instantly and painlessly. Unlike a nail, the paperclip goes to red hot very fast - the end you hold doesn't get warm. Bill Former military medic Former civilian paramedic

Plus my 53 = 678 Bill

No kidding. It sux to have some really nice reps you like to wear that you are afraid will get ruined if they get wet. Check this series out - one of my favorite watches, the TT Sub I got from Joshua with the wrapped band. Compare that to the Ollech & Wajs, and tell me which one you'd worry about getting wet. LOL Bill

I'll just post the pics. A certain amount of bubbles is normal due to air trapped under the bezel, but I have to say that this looked like a leak as the bubbles poured out faster than on any of the reps I tested. Oh gee, I know - maybe we can get Joshua to have someone rep this watch, a rep would no doubt be an improvement. Isn't that incredible! Bill

Turns out that all i had to do was upgarde the membership. BACK TO THE TESTS! I have the two Ollech & Wajs M 1 Diver series (actually, I have several) and they are rated at 20 ATM - although I tested them at just 4 ATM. Nothing I have tested thus far, other than the old junk Rolex with the open stem, blew bubbles out like this did - except the other Ollech & Wajs. I love my reps! Bill

That looks like it might be a good solution. Bill

Actually, testing the watch is perfectly safe so long as you take the watch out of the water before the pressure reaches zero. Since this watch is a complete piece of junk, I wouldn't pay for postage across the street to have it made as good as new. ; ) Bill

Collecting is just a hobby for me, and I do well to open a case back and grease a seal - with people like Ziggy out there, a person would be nutz to have me open their watch (or even without Ziggy out there.) I have a lot of reps of my own, so I was thinking it would give everyone a pretty good idea what to expect if I tested them and published the results. The problem is, I am only allotted so much bandwidth so I cannot post all the pics. I guess I could post the results without the pics, but I don't think that would be much fun. I do think it's of interest to the group to see that the worst rep I tested thus far (not counting the broken piece of junk) did better than either of two gen Swiss watches rated to 20 ATM. To get the effect, I think you need to see the pics though. Bill

I try to post more, but I get an error message that says I have reached my global limit - whatever that is. Sorry, although I suspect that this may be the work of the Gods helping Ollech & Wajs out. When I buy watches, I assume that the manufacturer knows more about their product than I do so when they don't bother to invest the few dollars necessary to upgrade to sapphire crystals, I conclude they probably are not worth it. The were the last watches I ever bought with mineral crystals - I guess that was a good decision. Sorry I cannot publish more waterproof tests. Thus far, the bottom line is, these reps are pretty darn good. Bill

I have a couple of Gen Ollech & Wajs diving watches that I bought directly from Al Wajs in Zurich so I know they are Gen. If you look at the case back, you will note that they are rated at 20ATM -- I tested them at just 4ATM Aside from the time, you can tell one from the other during the test by the absence/presence of the lower springbar. For some reason, it won't let me add the other pictures so I'll try doing two follow up posts - Pllech & Wajs I and Ollech & Wajs II. Bill

I'm sorry, but I don't have one of those to test. I'll look at them and see if I want one though. I already have four of the other models including that rose gold one Joshua sells. Bill

I am tempted to report this as being Joshuas best Rolex, for which I paid big bucks, but he probably wouldn't enjoy my sense of humor. This is a series I did with an old piece of junk from my trash drawer. It has a plastic crystal, the screw down crown doesn't screw down, and as you can see, it leaks like a sieve. It's a shame this isn't video as the air gushing out of this piece of junk was funny to watch. The pictures do not do it justice at all. I just wish the crown would screw down. The bubbles rushed out of that opening so fast that they didn't have a chance to squirt thru the crystal as much as they would have. Sorry about the pic quality. Bill

This is an Omega SeaMaster Pro GMT that I got from Joshua for about $300. He made no representations that the watch would be waterproof other than to say thathis reps are safe to shower with. I took the watch to 4ATM (About 132FT) and I must apologize to Joshua for using these pics as the watch failed due to my fault. If you look at the pics, you will note that you can see air escaping from the He release valve - that's because I never checked it and it was loose. You see one bubble and then another formi9ng in the last pic. I used these pics rather than the subsequent set because I wanted to show how obvious a leak is even when it is a small leak. Once I tightened the He release valve, it was perfect - but that answered a question I was curious about as I wondered if that valve was just there for looks whether it actually went anywhere. It must go thru the case, or at least cover an air pocket o some sort. I was really glad to see this watch pass as it keeps very good time and I wear it a lot with a nice sharkskin band and deployment clasp. The Omega dealer at the mall commented on what a nice combination that was. Nice watch Joshua - and if it will go to 132 feet, no worries. Bill