Packard

Thanks for the prompt reply. This reads such that I will not have to seek out any further information. My Breguet replica is 1 - 2 seconds fast per day--about 1 minute fast per month and that seems more than acceptable to me. I'm hoping for a similar result with this watch. It would appear that the transportation process in the US mail truck was sufficient to get my Breguet replica reasonably well wound and it was ticking robustly as it came out of the box and I've never hand wound this watch. I would assume the same for the Rolex. I'll let you know on Saturday. Regards, Packard

I'll be receiving my Rolex Datejust on Saturday. The letter carrier left off the signature card yesterday and will get it today and will deliver it on Saturday. Here is the model: http://www.tt88time.com/index.php?main_pag...roducts_id=1512 A few questions: 1. Is there an on-line instruction manual? If my last rep is any indication there will be no documentation with the watch. 2. Are there any warnings I need to heed in order to avoid damaging the mechanism? 3. Are there any steps I need to take to ensure that it continues to run correctly? 4. Are there any precautions regarding setting the date? My previous rep (Breguet) has a Swiss ETA movement also and required nothing more than setting the time and date and wearing it. I'm hoping for a similar sequence with the Rolex Rep. Thanks for the help. Regards, Packard

There is quite a bit of moulding flash on the strap. This happens when the two halves of the mold do not close up tightly and the resin is forced out the gap. This can be trimmed with a razor. I don't know the resin so I am hesitant to suggest flame polishing (but it works very well with the right plastics). Fine sand paper will also remove the flash. Rub the sand paper along the length of the band. If you use the razor blade angle the blade so that it is scraping off the flash and not cutting it off. It will take several draws along the length of the strap to remove the flash. (This is the method I would use--it is fairly safe for the strap and reasonably fast. Use a single edged blade held with your fingers.)

Yeah, the Corum line is priced like about $2,000.00 to $4,000.00 so it probably does not have the cache that the costlier watches have and that would reduce the demand for replicas. (I like their double eagle coin watch too and I've not seen any reps on that either).

If she's totally hot I take it off and say, "Here, keep it."

So far I've only purchased from Trusty Time. They do not show the Corum Romulus line. Can someone point me in the right direction for a dealer for this watch? Regards, Packard

In an industry that has as its very core a business model that is based on violating the law, I would probably agree with that assessement. Even if the vendor chooses to behave honorably with the customers, he is at the mercy the manufacturers whose business model has them violating international laws. Some areas that can be contentious: 1. Gold plating (as discussed) 2. Sapphire crystals (glass?) 3. 316L stainless steel (type 304 is much cheaper) 4. waterproofness These are four items that the consumer would be hard pressed to verify (and the harder it is to verify, the more likely that they are to cheat).

I've owned Seikos, Casios, Pulsars and other Japanese watches with (presumably) Japanese movements. They've always been perfectly accurate until damaged. The last one I owned was damaged when the battery was replaced and moisture got inside the watch. Where are the Timex movements from? Those are perfectly accurate in my experience too.

My general approach to fact finding has me always (when possible) going to the "single best source" for the information. In that case, I would e-mail to the vendor and ask for an exact specification for the "wrapped" finish. If you know the name of the manufacturing company that produced the item, then I would e-mail directly to them with the question (perhaps in Mandarin).

In the USA "Gold Filled" means that the layer of gold equals in weight to 20% of the total weight of the part. A fairly light part might have a fairly thin coating. A heavy part (like a watch case) would have a proportionately heavier coating. The process for "flash gold", "gold plating" and "gold filled" are all done by electo-deposition in an electrolytical solution (which we all call "plating"). The difference is only in the thickness (or weight) of the finish. Just for background it works like this: The part to be plated is placed in a tank with a solution that has salts in it that allows the water to carry electric current. The part itself is hooked up to a cable with a negative charge. The positively charged annode is attached to an ingot of gold. When the current moves from the positively charged ingot to the negatively charged component it carries minute quantities of gold along with it and it deposits onto the component. The longer the part is in the tank the more gold is applied.

A "pocket watch" is a "watch"; that's why they call it a "pocket watch". There are some very elegant (and expensive) pocket watches available. I've not seen too many replica pocket watches however.

This article is pretty informative on gold plating. http://www.artisanplating.com/faqs/goldplatefaqs.html Our company buys a lot of plating (mostly nickel and zinc, but also some brass and gold). The best gold plating (and chrome plating) has a flash of copper at the base. This acts as a primer and gives excellent adhesion to the ensuing layers of plating. Then a layer of nickel is put on. The gold plating will deposit almost entirely uniformly, so if there are any imperfections in the substrate it will telegraph through the gold and look lousy. The nickel plating will "self-level"; that is it will deposit more heavily in the crevices than on the higher surfaces. If enough nickel is put on the surface will be perfectly smooth. And finally the gold will be applied. But it is the nickel under the gold that makes the finish look rich. If the base metal is brass then the brass can be polished and the plater can go from copper directly to the gold. In the USA the cost of gold plating breaks down approximately like this: 50% labor (to put the parts on the plating rack and remove it when done). 30% EPA compliance 20% materials. Typically when we buy small parts the price for the plating is $.15 to $.40 each (under 8" long). Our plating contractor told me once that they put a flash of gold on a small handle and had about $0.005 worth of gold on the parts. The nickel underneath was more costly than the gold top coat. The Chinese do not have EPA to worry about, and their labor costs are much lower so each component that gets plated is probably in the $.10 to $.20 range. The actual amount of gold that gets put down probably does not amount to more than $.05 or $.10 per part. Going up in thickness will not add substantially to the cost of a watch. (According to the article I was wrong about gold filled not being used on watches. )

Pocket watch. Solves the problem nicely. I have a couple of cheap ones (quartz) and in the summer I wear them with my 5 pocket jeans. (The little pocket used to be a "watch pocket" but lately I've seen them being called "coin pockets".

In the United States, at least, there are legal definitions of "Gold plating" and the plating has to meet the legal definition before it can be called "gold plated" despite the fact that the coating process is "gold plating". So manufacturers of cheap items will apply a "flash" of gold (the minimum amount that will give a uniform gold color) and they use inventive phrases for the coating. I've often heard, "layered in genuine 18K gold", and "a genuine 18K gold finish". When you hear these inventive phrases then you know it does not meet the legal minimum for gold plating. If my memory serves me right then gold plating has a minimum plating thickness of .0003" (three tenths of a thousandth). "Gold filled" means that 1/20th of the total weight of the item is gold. You won't find that on a watch, but you will find in better costume jewelery. 30 years ago I got a fake Rolex and the gold plating wore off in a matter of months. That was certainly "flash gold". Gold is a very soft metal and I don't know what thickness would be required to give good service on a watch (and there is no reasonable way the consumer can check the thickness either). Personally the only gold watch I own is a genuine. The rest are stainless, but I'm thinking of getting a titanium one soon. Just a guess, but "wrapped" in gold sounds very much like advertising wording for flash gold.

I like this watch which is available from Trusty Time: http://www.tt88time.com/index.php?main_pag...4e8a8ff5e7581a5 The movement is an "Asian" movement. What does that mean exactly? Is it made in China, Vietnam, South Korea? And what does that mean in terms of accuracy and reliability? Or should I look elsewhere for a watch with a Swiss movement? Thanks, Packard

I got my shipment (from Trusty Time) by EMS. Shipped on 6/30/09. First delivery attempt on 7/7/09 (by U.S. Postal System). Surprisingly the first notification that I had that the watch had been shipped was the receipt that the Letter Carrier left for me to sign, so I never did try to track the package. I was still awaiting notification that it had shipped.

I thought it might be: Breg-get; brejay; or bregay; I did not think it might be "bree-". I was hoping for something more definitive than "maybe". But 27 people looked before you and none apparently knew for sure either. I'm hoping someone else will weigh in.

I ordered a Breguet Classique in stainless steel form Trusty Time on 6/28; it arrived yesterday morning. So far, so good. I synchronized it with my atomic clock and it appears to be about 1 - 2 seconds slow over the first 24 hours and that is acceptable to me too. I picked the watch because I liked the looks and the actual item looks even better. So what is the problem? The problem is that I have no idea how to pronounce "Breguet" and I'm afraid someone will ask about it and I'll make a fool of myself. Some help here please. Regards, Packard

In the late 1970s a friend of mine (Mike) bought himself a Rolex from a reputable dealer. (It was genuine). Another friend of mine (Walter) was selling "forgeries" of Rolexes. These were meant to fool both the buyer and all comers. These were not replicas as we know them now. Shortly after Mike bought his own genuine Rolex he bought a Rolex forgery from Walter for his wife. It looked perfect to my untrained eyes--right down to the packaging. I said, "Mike, this is a mistake. You cannot buy yourself a real Rolex and your wife a fake one." He said, "No problem. I'll tell her it is a fake when I give it to her." "No you won't. She'll say, 'Mike! A Rolex! Thank you, thank you, thank you'". And you will keep your mouth shut. And that is exactly what happened. But a couple of years later when they were going through their divorce she tried to sell it to the local Rolex dealer who said, "What do you want us to do with this thing?" Her lawyer used this as "another example of his duplicity" and it weighed against him in the settlement. (While typing this the mail man arrived with my Breguet replica. It looks nice.)

As long as your spouse does not think this is a character trait I suppose that is a good way to go...

When someone asks me a question that I choose not to answer (like my age, for instance) I always answer the same way: "I forget." When they ask again, my answer is always, "I forget" (with the addition of a shrugged shoulders). So I don't confirm or deny nor tell the truth or lie. I just "forget".

Wait until you buy your next car to get this. Then when anyone mentions, "What a beautiful watch!" you can reply, "Thanks. I got it when I bought my new car." They will immediately get the wrong impression that you just bought a Bently and picked up the watch at the same time. It looks nice. Who is the vendor?

Bling. Wear 6 gold chains when you are wearing one of these.

I have not gotten word that it has shipped or that even the "testing" is complete. (What is "testing"? Holding the watch up to your ear to hear is tic?)