Gadgeguy2009

The crowbar worked - thanks!

Hello all, the autowinder on my Planet Ocean does not work. As the fix is in some cases easy, I wanted to pop it open to see what is going on. I easily took the back of the watch off - but I do not know how to take the antimagnetic cover off - so I see nothing (other than that cover). Is that cover screwed it? Or snapped on? Could please anyone tell me what is the best method to remove it? Thank you all!

Thanks, that helps. There is no arrow, so I will look at the slot vs. flat!

Hello all, I just got a new nice replica from watcheden ( Oris Carlos Coste ). I would like to adjust the bracelet (take 2 links out) but I am not sure which way the pins come out as there are no arrows or other indications on the bracelet. I had once some problems with a similar bracelet ( on a Tag Aquaracer), and when I ended up pushing the pin the wrong way, it got stuck. So on the Oris I would like to avoid pushing the wrong way. Is there any trick to finding out which side the pin should be pushed? Thanks for any suggestions!

Thank you. The good news is that only two watches from the ones I have have this behavior. For now I will use them carefully - and if they ever break I may consider a new movement (or servicing by the Ziggmeister) whatever is more affordable, if I still like them at that time.

So are maybe both watches slightly defective then? As per my watchmaker the first watch is completely ok, and these are just "Quirks" of a not too perfect movement (clone), which otherwise runs great.

Hello all, I am confused - please guide me! (Sorry - this is probably a very noob question). I have a number of very nice replica watches - many of them are automatics with asian ETA movements. Since I have many watches, I rotate them often. I have only two watch winders - so as a result I have to set date / time often on those watches which stopped when I last wore them. I never had issues before ( I had a number of japanese automatics with day / date movements ) - but now I have isses with my replicas. This is what has happened: on one of my reps, when I wanted to wear it, I adjusted the date (I made sure that the time was not between 9 PM and 3 AM), and then I wanted to adjust the time. But somehow the mechanism locked up. After adjusting the date I was unable to adjust the time, and furthermore the winding mechanism did not work either ( crown was turning freely - without winding). As a watch where I cannot set the time or which I cannot wind is not very useful, I took it my watchmaker. The watchmaker told me that somehow I put the watch in between the two setting position (set date / set time) and as a result the mechanism locked up. He fixed it, and the watch works now. I have a second watch with ETA clone. On that one if I set the date and then want to screw the crown back on the crown does not get out of the date setting mode, and so when I screw it crown in, it moves the date as well. I figured that one out: after setting the date I have to set the time before I screw the crown in. Moving the mechanism to time set takes it out from date set, and then when I push in, it does not go to date set. So the question is: - what is the best practice when setting time / date? Is it: 1. Set the date 2. Set the time 3. Wind if needed? .... this resulted in a locked up watch on watch one... Or is it: 1. Set the time - then push crown fully in 2. Set the date ( pull crown out to one click) 3. Wind if needed? .... this works great on the first watch, but it results in changing the date (one or two days) when screwing in the crown on the second watch Or is it: 1. Set the time 2. Set the date 3. Set the time 4. Wind if needed .... this could work on both... but is this the right way? How can I avoid that my watch mechanism locks up (like the first watch did)? Are there any FAQ's or guide's to noob's related to this? I am really confused as I never had such an issue with the 5 or so japanese autos I had - and now I have it on several replicas. Thanks for any advice...

Thank you both - very helpful!

Hello all, I have received yesterday my PAM111 - and I love it. Initially I was not sure how it would work out for me, as I have never seen one and pictures are not always giving the full story, but now I am really impressed by its simple elegance! However: the tan leather strap the watch came with is not that exciting. It is also quite thick and rigid: not very comfortable and not easy to adjust properly (it is either too tight or too lose). I know there are a number of excellent companies providing straps for Panerai. However the ones I really liked so far are very expensive. I would prefer to spend only a relatively low amount on a new strap. Could you please tell me who would be a good source for affordable (but nice) leather straps for the Panerai? For example there are a number of ebay sellers selling 24mm leather straps, for example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370246817432&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT What would you think about that? Thank you all!

Hello all, my new PAM 111H is in the mail, and I am considering to upgrade its bracelet. Would this http://www.watcheden.com/panerai-stainless-steel-bracelet-24mm-for-7750-version-i-34223-p-1.html work on it? Thank you all for your input.

Hello all, I have received yesterday my Raymond Weil Nabucco (A7750 movement). It is a great watch, and so far it looks there is no urgent need for service, at it seems to run fine. However: the date wheel is misaligned (it is not centered correctly). For example today, instead of showing 11 in the middle of the date window, I see the 11 towards the edge of the date window and the bottom of the 12 is also visible. I have tried to adjust the date manually to see how it looks for other days, and it seems that for all days it is the same. The actual number is not perfectly centered in the date window. Is this something that a watch expert can easily fix (by maybe repositioning the date wheel)? Or should I send it back for a replacement? As always: thank you for your advice!

Hello all, I have spent way too much recently on reps (but I love them all!), so I cannot afford today a really nice Seamaster Professional with ETA or ETA clone - as they typically cost $250 or more. A number of people mention / review very affordable Seamaster Professional models (with or without GMT), with 21J asian movement. Some are around $100. Now when I try to find the actual watches reviewed (for example a Seamaster Pro GMT by reviewed by Pugwash) I am out of luck, as the review was written quite a while ago. So: could you please point me in the right direction: who would have today a decent, low cost Seamaster Pro? Thank you all!

Thank you all. The one I have works as a regular 12 hour clock, despite the 24 hour markings on it...

Thank you: yes, I am already doing that. I am just not sure if the replica provided by watcheden works the same way the real thing does. I have never seen the real thing, so that is why I asked the question.

Hello all, I got a Breitling Chrono from watcheden, with a quartz UTC module on its bracelet. Is anyone here familiar with the UTC module? If I understand it correctly, one full turn of the hours hand indicates the passing of 24 hours on it (vs. 12 hours on a normal watch) - but does this also mean, that 1 turn of the minutes hand indicates 2 hours? So if the minutes hand points to the 6 o'clock position, that actually means that it is a full hour? So the way the UTC module works is exactly like a real clock, just at half the speed (so the hours hand advances 1 "hour" in 2 hours, and the minutes hand makes a full turn as well in 2 hours)? I am confused and do not fully understand how this UTC module is supposed to work... Could please someone explain? Thank you all!

Thank you all for the very valuable suggestions!

Hello all, several of my reps have quite sharp edges on the watch and on the bracelet (while the gens are very nice and smooth - no sharpness at all). Is there an easy method to solve this? Maybe with a dremel? What tool would you use on the dremel? Or is it better just leave it as is? Thank you for sharing your advice!

Thank you. I have checked that it was dirt. It looks perfect otherwise? Thank you, I am excited to get it (hopefully soon)!

Hello all, my DSDD v5 is ready to be shipped, after I approve the pictures of it. Would you be so kind to have a look here: http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn154/e...mez/orders/531/ I am a noob, so for me the picts look ok - but I know that are many details I would not catch. Most of you are much more experienced than I am: could you please have a look and tell me what you think? Thank you so much!

A new update - My Breitling Heritage run perfectly till about noon today - and then somehow lost 20 minutes between noon and 5 PM. Maybe it has dirt in the movement (like my SOSF, which worked very well - but intermittently stopped; the watchmaker found large pieces of dirt in the brand new asian ETA movement)? If I have to take nearly all watches for repair, in that case this will blow my budget for watches... I just hope that the other two watches that came together with the Heritage are fine - they looked so far good on the winder - but now I will wear them to see how they work in real life... And: this PM I got the Skyland with the 7750 movement. I hope it works, as I do not have a solution for servicing it yet... Still: all the watches (whether they work or not) look really really amazing - so with some patience (and some money) I know I will have soon a fully functional collection of amazing timepieces!

When I discovered the current rep market, I very quickly sold (most of) my quartz watch collection (20+ as new watches ) - which allowed me to fund my rep collection. Despite the hiccups, I am really glad I made the change! Reps are amazing, much more so than various Japanese or Swiss quartz models.

First of all: thank you all for the encouragement. It is really nice to see that I am not on my own with this! And now a positive update: I have received three reps yesterday: - a Breitling Heritage ( very nice!) - a Breitling Seawolf Titanium (very nice) and - a Breitling Colt ( reasonable - cheap replica; you get what you pay for) and... ... so far all three seem to have no problems whatsoever! Two are on a winder and run fine (and accurate) the third one is on my wrist. Maybe these three will not have to go the watchmaker immediately after they arrived?

Thank you - good catch!

Hello all, I really like this full ceramic model http://www.jpc8118.com/hbb10052-bang-ceram...750-p-6561.html What do you think, does it look like a decent rep? Would you go for it? Thanks for any comments!

Hello all, I wanted to share with you some of the challenges I am facing in becoming a replica collector. I hope I will not bore you and maybe you have some advice for me. A couple of weeks ago I have discovered the wonderful world of replicas, mainly through this forum. I have been collecting watches now for over 10 years, but mainly japanese and some swiss models - all quartz. Since I discovered replicas, I have sold most of my japanese and swiss watches, and after doing quite a bit of research (and receiving patient guidance from members here - especially Toadtorrent: thank you again!) I bought a number of replicas (details in my signature). So far I have received four, and all had various issues. - The first one arrived about two weeks ago: an Orange/Orange Ultimate Plante Ocean with asian ETA: it looked amazing, but had a number of issues. First, one of the bracelet links fell apart - I needed some loctite to fix it. Second, it ran about 5 minutes per day slow. So my first trip to the watchmaker recommended by Toadtorrent was on order. The watchmaker was initially amazed: he told me that he never saw such a great replica. After fixing the watch (and paying $100 for it) I was told that the movement was not that great (as he had to hammer one of the parts straight as it was bent), but after replacing the broken balance wheel all should be good now. And in fact, the watch runs now about 2 seconds per day fast. Excellent result, and I really like it! - My second and third replica arrived a week ago: a Breitling SOSF and an AP Royal Oak automatic. The Breitling is amazing, and I really like it. It runs very accurately - however it intermittently stops. Maybe there is some dirt in the movement? The Royal Oak is also very nice, and also very accurate - but it runs very accurately 30 seconds per day slow. So another trip to the watchmaker was needed - and both watches are currently being fixed / adjusted / cleaned or whatever else is needed. - My fourth watch arrived last Friday. It is a quartz Hublot (I am a bit scared of the 7750, so I ordered the quartz). That watch, while I realize it is not a great replica (in addition the chrono minutes hand does not reset to 12 o'clock but to 2 o'clock - it was probably not properly put together), it is a really high quality, amazing design with superb AR. I think I will have to get soon a true 7750 based one... Which leads me to my big dilemma. My next watch to arrive is a Breitling Skyland V3 (hopefully some time next week), but so far I do not know whom I would trust the watch with for servicing. The watchmaker who fixed my UPO is a nice person, and I trust him with ETA / ETA clone movements, but he himself admitted, that he is not very comfortable with the 7750 movement. So I am really not sure what to do. In addition, I really really would like to get a nice (ceramic bezel, 7750 based) Hublot model - but I do not dare for now, as even the Skyland may have an uncertain future (due to lack of proper service...) I have already contacted The Zigmeister, but I got no response (I understand that he is very busy, and also he is selective to who he works for - as I am a total noob). Anyway, for now I hope that the Skyland works without servicing for a while, and I do not order other 7750 based watches for now (Hublot is calling - I have to resist!), especially based on the experience of my first three watches. I cannot afford to spend several hundred dollars on a watch that cannot be properly serviced... Still: I love the replicas I got so far, and I am sure that the Breitling Seawolf as wall as the SuperOcean Heritage will also be amazing. The final question: what would you do: would you order a Hublot if you were in my shoes? Thanks for reading...