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Packard

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Posts posted by Packard

  1. That is slightly on the large side! :) Its a shame he didn't provide a wrist shot....talk about the lugs hanging over the edges of the wrist, I doubt the dial would even fit in between the edges of the wrist!

    Maybe more of a watch to wear around your bicep/thigh :)

    You've probably never seen a pencil this big either:DSC_0002.jpg

  2. You can find $9.95 quartz watches at Walmart that keep perfectly good time. I would think that even the replica companies could afford to put in the $3.00 or $4.00 movements that go into those cheap watches. (No personal experience with the reps and quartz, but logic says that they will use new & cheap quartz movements that will be perfectly accurate--and reliable--for a year or two. The replacement movements have to be cheap too.)

  3. hi guys,

    Im looking for a 24mm black leather/ali strap to replace the rubber ons of my bvlgari diagono.

    the strap doen't have a standard design, it looks like this gen bvlgari:

    n504001.jpg

    please can someone tell me where to get it?

    many thanks!

    I have no experience with this strap, but it looks (from the image) like you could take the correct width strap and have a go at it with a utility knife and trim the center portion to size. I would take less than 5 minutes. And the only tool required would be a fresh blade in the utility knife. (Leather slices extraordinarily easily.)

  4. Re-setting the stones is a task for a jeweler. Any good jeweler can set in a small stone. In the smallest sizes the stones are cheap. You can buy CZs on line. They come in various qualities and are graded the same way as diamonds are: Clarity, color, caret and cut.

    On the very very small sizes (pav

  5. You need to set the white balance to match the light source you are using in order to get accurate color rendition.

    An 18% neutral gray card (available on-line from camera dealers) will be the ideal surface for you to use for setting the white balance.

    Aim your camera at the gray card and adjust the white balance according to the directions that came with your camera.

    Here is a chart that you can use for less demanding situations:

    http://www.3drender.com/glossary/colortemp.htm

    Open shade (or North Window Light) are the easiest to use for this kind of shooting and you should be in the 6,500 to 7,000 (Kelvin) range for that light source.

  6. Buy a "neutral gray card" from a photo dealer (easy to find on-line--also called an "18% gray card"--and very cheap).

    Take a shot with the gray card in the picture and look at the result. If it matches exactly the grey, then your color balance is good; if not, adjust your color balance (either in the taking mode or in post processing).

    When you do that we can judge the color of your numerals, but not before.

  7. So I went to the shoe repair shop the other day and the shoe maker took note of my Date-just and said, "Maybe you give me the watch and I repair shoes for free?" (Smiling and apparently thinking this is very funny.)

    I replied, "Yeah, and you give me the Mercedes you drive on the weekends." (Smiling, thinking this is funny too.)

    I handed him the shoes and said, "Half soles and heels with taps."

    He said it would be ready in 2 days. The prices he listed on the ticket were $25.00 for the half soles; $15.00 for the heels and $10.00 for the taps.

    Now the last time I had full soles he charged me 25.00 for the soles. I'm pretty sure he is "Rolex-adjusting" his prices for the soles.

    I know that he told me that "taps are $3.00 and I will put them on while you wait." (And not $10.00.)

    So, when I go to pick up the shoes I will dig out my old Timex and question him closely about the prices.

  8. I would guess that warming up the watch just prior to sealing would help. A hair dryer would work.

    I had a higher end Seiko that got condensation in the works (the face would show the condensation) after a battery change.

    I brought it back to the store and they blew it out but the condensation returned.

    I sent it to Seiko and they declined to work on it because of the condensation.

    The condensation only showed up when I wore it because the heat from my wrist warmed up the watch.

  9. Considering the Day Date or Datejust with ETA movement (approx. $256.00) from Trusty or Perfect Clones. Plan "B" is an Orient Rolex Day Date look-a-like ($159.00) with an Orient "in house" automatic movement. Anybody willing to comment on the quality of these two movements? (I know that "in house" automatic movement is not a lot to go on but, maybe the price of these watches is some indication as to their quality)?

    I bought the Datejust (with a leather band) from Trusty a couple of months ago. It is fast by 2 seconds a day--less than a minute a month--and that is acceptable to me.

    It feels a bit light on my wrist (but perhaps because of the leather band), but other than that it has functioned perfectly.

    It arrived 7 days after ordering (in the USA). No problems with the credit card charges either.

    Mine has the ETA (Swiss) movement according to what I ordered. (I did not open the watch up to check--and I would not know how to identify it if I did.)

  10. Try these: http://www.seikowatches.com/support/customer/index.html

    I'm of a mixed mind on these matters. Sometimes maintenence does not make sense. For example tire rotation. My car recommends that I rotate the tires every 7,500 miles. When I do the math it is cheaper to just leave the tires alone. I pick up a maximum of 10% to 20% additional wear with the extra maintenence, but I spend more than 10% or 20% on the tire rotations.

    I think these things need to be viewed in a big picture. If left alone what would the likely damage be? I've read that Japanese movements when purchased in quantity cost about $35.00 each. So why not wait until it is caput and just drop in a new one?

    Just wondering aloud.

    Regards,

    Packard

  11. When I want to polish metal parts I toss it in the commercial cartridge tumbler we have at work along with some tumbling media. The finest media is made from walnut shells. But stainless steel ball bearings will smooth metal without removing any at all.

    I don't know how it would work with a fully assembled bracelet however.

    The home versions are fairly cheap (about $75.00) and you can get them on-line. Here is one: http://www.cabelas.com/p-0012545210571a.shtml

    Note: These do not really "tumble" the parts, but rather vibrate and make the parts travel in a circular motion.

    The most aggressive media is fine sand and it will cut the sharp edges off of just about anything but I think the sand will get in the joints and cause problems.

    400, 600 and 800 grit wet/dry sanding cloth is available and ripped into narrow strips it can be used to burnish the edges (like using a shoe shine cloth).

    The tool makers in our shop use emory sticks to polish the edges of tooling and I suspect

    that would work also: http://www.progresstool.com/cat_paper.cfm

  12. I've shot watch pics with very expensive camera (the that my company owns... can't remember the model name) and my standard Canon PS. It makes virtually ZERO difference. The more expensive camera can correct problems with an insufficient setup and perhaps reduce noise, but when your setup is perfect you can shoot just as good photos with just an ordinary (decent) camera.

    Buying an expensive camera won't make anyone a good photographer. Just like getting Wayne Gretzky's old stick won't make anyone a great hockey player.

    85% is the setup: lighting.

    13% is the post processing skills (Photoshop).

    Camera means maybe 2%.

    All great watch photos have been post processed. People who say that "they do everything with the lense" are lying & talking out of their ass (or then their pics aren't anything that special). Post processing alone won't make a photo great though... you have to get a very good "base" photo which comes from an excellent setup.

    Expensive camera makes much bigger difference when you're shooting other things... like capturing the motion, etc. But it means very little in watch photos (in studio setup).

    The resolution and sharpness requirements for images posted within these pages is not very high. If the images need to be printed on paper larger than 8" x 10" many point and shoot cameras will fall short.

    So for posted images the P & S is adequate; good lighting is essential.

    For large prints a high end SLR is essential as is good lighting.

  13. so basically i can tape my watches to my kid's big wheel and they'll wind as he pedals along

    Basically a picture frame on the wall with the watch so that the face is out. The entire watch rotates about 1 x per minute (using a clock motor for a drive train).

    The rotation is not the same as you would see in a normal watchwinder.

    I still think that the "lulabye" idea (gentle rocking from side to side) is the most movement friendly of the bunch.

    How many "rocks" per minute would be satisfactory?

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