Packard

Lighting is crucial for me. I set my camera to the motion setting to leverage the quickest shutter speed available within my settings and environment. I use this method as I don't use a tripod; hand holding each shot requires as little shake and disturbance as possible, so the faster shutter helps reduce motion, resulting in a clearer pic for me. Since the shutter is operating at a faster setting, lighting is critical since the quick shutter doesn't allow for a lot of exposure.

Not sure if that makes sense or not...

Using an off-camera flash will resolve the camera shake issues. The flash duration (less than 1/1000 of a second) effectively becomes the shutter speed. Hold the flash quite close to the subject for the softest lighting effect. 6 - 12 inches is good, but closer to the 6" distance is best.

This will not work with your on-camera flash as it will suffer from paralax and will also cast a nasty shadow.

We should have a photography how to thread as a sticky.

A ferris wheel with free gondolas has no rotation at the watch. Unless the gondolas are fixed and not free. Have you ever found yourself upside down on a ferris wheel? nope.

It was as concern but I thought the gondolas would rock a bit and that it would be sufficient to wind the movements.

What about the knife thrower's assistant's wheel configuration? http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_430xN.63886649.jpg

"Hack" means to pull out crown so that watch ceases movement--this way, one could preserve their power reserve overnight. However, this only works on a "hack" movement, obviously... A little shake is all that it take for my automatics to get rolling. And sometimes they get left unused for a long period of time. Mostly, they're either Swiss ETA or ETA Clone movements, however. Not sure about the cheapo 21J's...

Is there any down-side to hacking the movement in terms of accuracy or durablity of the movement? I would not have thought of this and it sounds like a good answer for my watches too if there is no peril to the watches.

I

There is a good bit of close up photography within these fora. What do you shoot with? What lens? What lighting? Do you use a macro lens?

Just curious.

Regards,

Packard

I am a member of a sartorial forum (men's fashion) and the subject of watches came up. I reminded a member that it was generally not a good idea to manually wind an automatic watch and here is a reply:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Packard

Keep in mind that the "automatics" (self-winding) models are considered much more desirable and will retain their value much better--but you have to wear them in order to keep them wound. Hand winding is not recommended for automatics.

-- Not true. All modern automatic movements have a mainspring "clutch" which slips when the mainspring is fully wound.

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Was I right or wrong with this advice?

I've just ordered a high beat Explorer I from Josh's site.

This may be blasphemy but I'm not a big fan of metal bracelets, so I'm thinking Black Croc with white stitching from IWI - any other suggestions?

PS: Anyone else get this watch? Are there any comments or reviews specifically against Josh's version?

I've already ordered, based on the pics, the shipping and the fact that it's got the asian hi-beat movement, just curious at this point.

I have a Datejust (SS, White) from Trusty Time that came with a leather band (tan) with a embossed reptile appearance and it is very nice. But it comes with a clasp and not a buckle and my medium sized wrist required the loosest setting on the clasp. But it is very handy and quick to latch and it seems quite secure.

See: http://www.tt88time.com/index.php?main_pag...roducts_id=1512

In the late 1970s an acquaintance of mine was importing Rolex forgeries from Switzerland. These were meant to fool both the dealers and buyers. His claims:

1. Indistinguishable from genuine unless opened and the movement was visible.

2. All gold was solid through and through.

3. The crystal was sourced from the same vendor that supplied Rolex.

4. All packaging materials were genuine and were diverted from Rolex.

This was a different animal than what we see today. I believe that his main market was vendors of "gray market" Rolexes. I don't know if the vendors knew that the watches were forgeries or if they thought they were stolen.

If you had to pick 4 replicas (of any make or model) for faithfulness to the original in all details, what would your list look like? (Without resorting to after-purchase modifications.)

1. ?

2. ?

3. ?

4. ?

A watch should fit you like a good suit. Too loose I always think looks effeminate. That cringeworthy Rolex 'rattle' also springs to mind.

Form-fitting yet comfortable. No unwanted movement. No unsightly lines or bulges (like jchurch....seriously, your hand looks swollen and blue....not a good look). Metal bracelets in summer, like lightweight/linen suits, need a hint of give - the comfort half-link extension of the 116710 bracelet for instance is genius.

Only other thing to consider is the old ulnar styloid process (aka the bony protuberance on the lateral aspect of where your hand meets your wrist) - on some people it's huge so they wear their watch usually above it where it tends to be looser for comfort's sake. Me, personally I don't have a visible SP, we're talking flush at the joint - maybe I should be a watch/hand model like Duchovny's character in Zoolander?

I pop watchband pins like crazy. If the band is tight, then the action of my wrist pops it. If it is loose I get it caught on something and pop it.

I have a M & Co. watch and a Skagen watch and they both require special pins that have to be ordered. Right now my M & Co. watch ("Quitting time watch") is without the pin.

Thanks for the answers guys. There does not seem to be any concensus.

But here is a secondary question. My wrists are "medium" with most leather watchbands (middle holes) but with the Rolex leather band (and clasp) I have to use the largest size available. What do guys with big wrists do?

It might be instructive to have heard my reply to my neice when she said she was going to get a tatoo (she didn't):

If you had $250,000.00 burning a hole in your pocket and you walked into a Ferrari dealership and plunked it all down on an F430, would you immediately take it home and scratch your initials on the doors with a can opener?

Nature creates some damned aesthetically pleasing products (human and otherwise) and they are rarely improved in appearance by man's intervention.

Unless you feel driven to making a philosophical statement, I'd leave the "slate" clean.

Thanks for the answers. I guessed correctly on the first, but not on the second. There seems to be too much clarity for the adhesive to be there.

It also begs the question: Why don't other manufacturers add this feature? It certainly works to make the date more visible.

Watchmaker Terms & Abbreviations

Thanks.

Very helpful information.

Regards,

Packard

(No WIKI though? Something for the members to think about here. Most of the articles are being written anyhow, so the WIKI format would be useful.)

Thanks for all your prompt responses. There is much to learn about watches that general experience will not provide.

Regards,

Packard

How tight do you wear your watchband? I wear mine fairly loose--just tight enough that the watch will remain at the top of my wrist and not twist over to the bottom.

So I was a little surprised that my new Datejust with a leather band required that I use the loosest position (I would want one looser if it were available), whereas with all my other watches I am using one of the middle holes in the leather band.

So how loose for:

1. Leather bands

2. Metal bracelets

I'm a neophyte in the watch hobby. Is there a glossary of terms for watches? Or a WIKI?

Thanks,

Packard

Two questions:

1. Why does my Rolex require that I unscrew the crown to set the watch when other manufacturers do not see the need for that?

2. Is the magnification window ground in place (from a solid piece of crystal) or is it a small optic that is glued onto the crystal (or glass)?

Don't manually adjust the date between 6:00 p.m. and midnight.

Why is that?

Damn...i have just been beaten

Well we can figure out which shot you took first.

Tie a heavy duty fishing line to the watch and then hang it out the car when driving. A few miles dragging on the roadway ought to do it.

I'm going to up the ante. I'm going to wear 4 watchs AT THE SAME TIME! So beat that!

I just got a Rolex Datejust in stainless (with no gold at all) and a leather band. This afternoon a woman I know made note of the watch saying, "I didn't know Rolex came with leather bands." And I replied, "Either I think the organic leather contrasts well with the polished stainless steel, or I was too cheap to pay for the Jubilee bracelet."

I could see that she was thinking, "It's probably real; that's probably the cheapest Rolex you can get--under $5,000.00 and he can probably afford that."

If I bought a gold one she would know that that Toyota driving fool was wearing a fake watch.

How did you discover the world of replica watches?

...He sold it to me for $40 (in 92....what would that be in today's dollars?...

$61.49

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

A friend of mine in the early 1980s traveled to Europe frequently and brought back Rolex forgeries. This was his claim:

1. The forgeries were made in Switzerland

2. The crystal was from the same vendor that Rolex bought it from (there are crooks all over the world).

3. The cartons and instructions and all packing were genuine Rolex

4. The gold was solid through and through

5. Only a jeweler could tell it from the original

In 1980 he was charging $250.00 (which is about $650 in 2009) so I have doubts about the "solid gold" aspect. The cartons may have been "appropriated" from the carton manufacturer so that might be true. When he brought it into London Jewelers (an authorized Rolex dealer) the salesman was fooled, but the jewelry repairman said, "Where did you get this? It doesn't seem quite right." But all in all a pretty good job.

I was smitten. But my first one (in 1990) cost $50.00 and was junk. The gold wore off and the clasp wouldn't clasp. The only thing it did right was tell time. I don't know what happened to it.

A co-worker just got a Breguet replica (he has a genuine Tissot automatic) and I said, "Oh, you got a raise." And he replied, "It's just a replica."

I looked at a bunch of websites but they all looked hooey to me so I googled "watch replica forums" to see what you guys had to say about vendors.

(I'm waiting by the mail box now for my new Rolex--it should come in tomorrow.)