Dudemeister

Well George... I don't know about you, but.. sniff.. yes, I'm very sensitive and... sniff... I fell so....used t Seriously though, I know what you mean, and sometimes we must go places we don't want to go, or do things we dread, but such is life, Good luck in your endeavors OrenG, I'm sure we'll survive just like I'm sure you'll still be lurking through these forums...

Thanks Zig, I was just about ready to buy one of the Porsche Flat 6 watches. Your findings put that purchase on hold until a better version come out.

Wow... so what was this? a quickie for you.. Wham bam thank you maam... You think you can use us, then discard us a like yesterday's underwear? I DON'T THINK SO !!!!!

If you're referring to the deployant buckle, it works great. Click in place with only a mild press, and the side buttons release it. I haven't had any incidents with it coming off by itself, like i did with the pro bracelet on my SMP.

I used to be into photography in the old days, I still have a Nikon F3 set with motor drives and lenses, but haven't used it since the dawn of the digital age. After messing about with a variety of Canons, Olympus and Sony cameras, I got a Kodak Z712is a couple of years back and haven't looked back. I has a host of awesome features, video shooting, 12X optical zoom, and this fantastic panoramic shooting that does in camera stitching that rivals Photoshop's stitching abilities. The only complaint I have about it is the relatively restrictive macro shooting, but at 7.1 mpixels, it was a relatively easy job to just crop the image to get in closer. The a couple of weeks ago my wife wanted a camera that was not as "bulky", something she could put in her purse, so I bought her a Kodak M341. This is a 12.2 mpixels, has a 3x optical zoom and is flat as a pancake. The reason I got it is because it has most of the features I loved about the other Kodak (video, panoramic shots, and a host of predefined shooting modes. The real good news about it is the macro capability. This camera has a superior macro to the Z712is. And then there's the price $150. I think you could do worse for a lot more money, but I doubt you can do better than this camera at this price. Here are a couple of macro shots. The photos were shrunk down to 1024x768, but were not retouched. The original image size was 4000 x 3000 pixels. The photos were taken using the Macro preset with auto-focus, which allows you to get in about 3 inches away from the subject. Any closer than that the camera can't auto-focus. You'll probably need a real SLR with a macro lens to get in closer than this. Click each image for the higher res. BTW, anyone interested in a Nikon F3 with a bunch of accessories and lenses?

@lani: I think what he means is, that he issued a refund to someone else, not that PP was issuing a refund due to a fraudulent purchase. @Marty: Usually, any transactions like this take about 4-5 days. If you have 2 sources attached to your PayPal account the transactions from and to your PayPal and bank or Credit card accounts are usually instant.

Well, I don't have a UPO, but I do have one of the new PO Chronos. The lug spacing on this watch is 22mm, so if it's different than the UPO, this probably doesn't matter. I bought my Moo-Croc strap from Tony Feng at asian7750.com along with the watch with standard Pro bracelet. The Pro bracelet is fine and well built in my opinion, the new one uses pins instead of screws, and while it's relatively easy to take the pins out, putting them back in is a royal pain. I wore it with the original bracelet for a few days, but it makes the watch look even more massive than what it is, so I tried the leather strap. That makes it look just about right. The deployant strap makes it super easy to get the watch on and off, and the leather does not seem to stick to the skin when you sweat like other straps. I haven't worn this for a long time (I rotate my watches), but so far it doesn't show any signs of degradation, other than some marks at the bottom near the clasp where it rubs against the desk. All things considered I'd give the strap a 5 out of 5 for usability and a 4 out of 5 for looks, mainly because close up, you can tell it's not real croc. Here are some pics:

Sometimes the EMS tracking number doesn't show up on the EMS web site, but it does on the US web site. I bought some RC helicopter parts a couple of months back and I was able to track the package all the way on the USPS web site, even though the EMS site always game a "not found" error. try entering the tracking number on the US post office site (if you're in the US), or your country's post office. The EMS web site has direct links in a drop down menu.

You sure that's not the consistency of coagulating blood on the hockey player's nose after a nice little fight?

Try these places here: Labanda.com or this one Somal Watches

TJ, I tried both the "good" stuff and after market stuff. The AF Swizerland lume powder is supposed to be SuperLuminova. I doubt it, but that's how it's marketed. The powder grain is superfine, and the mix it creates is very smooth and easy to apply. You can get it into the tiniest corners. I used an oiling pike as well as a sharpened toothpick. My problem was the relatively week lume. The other Glow-in-the-dark stuff I bought is avalable in different grains. The finest stuff they offer has 10-20 micron particles, which to my untrained eye (as if I could actually see that) results in a paste that is just as smooth as the AFS product. So give their stuff a try (get the finest grain Ultra Green V10), and work with it. I think that you'll find that the base binder (the clear paint you mix the powder in) will probably make more of a difference than the powder itself as far as consistency and ease of application. Good luck.

I have one of these as well, and I really like it. I was at Tourneau in San Francisco's Union Center a few weeks back, and I had a chance to handle the real SMP Chrono, and to my surprise, it doesn't have any AR that I can see. The crystal is very clear, and very little reflection can be seen, but I did not see any obvious signs of AR coating. If there is any it might be on the inside, but not the outside. I also looked at the Planet ocean which does have it, and it's immediately obvious, but not the SMP. Before that I was considering having the crystal AR'ed but not anymore. Yes, the AR coating makes the watch dial pop, but it's no longer like the gen. So for this watch, the only mod I would do is replace the incorrect Omega logos on the dial, or better yet get a gen dial.

Welcome to the re-lume club. I also did a re-lume a few weeks back and although it looks kind of rough under magnification, it appears OK under normal viewing. Here is a link to my re-lume post: http://www.rwgforum.com/topic/104354-my-first-lume-job/page__view__findpost__p__719980__fromsearch__1 Anyway, you should post a few "glow-in-the-dark" shots, teh "money shot" so to speak.

I'm afraid that your information on DLP i a bit out of date. If you get a chance, you should take a look at the Samsung DLP models which use LED for a light source. Because they do a way with the quartz light and the color wheel, the rainbow effect you speak of is gone. You also get the following improvements as a by[roduct: 1. Occasional color banding artifacting is gone 2. The "short" life of the lamp and cost associated with the replacement is history (current life of LED module is in excess of 60,000 hours) 3. Warm-up time is now approx. 4 seconds 4. Brightness is 40% higher than traditional HDTVs 5. Contrast ration is 10,000:1 6. There is no "half-life" brightness, the brightness stays the same throughout the life of the LED array. 7. LED has substantially lower power consumption, so the TVs qualify for EPA Energy Star rating. 8. No longer requires noisy fans to coo the lamp, so it's virtually noiseless. 9. Slim designs that are less than 12" deep for a 60"+ screen 10. Last but not least, better color purity, deeper blacks, brighter whites. For me, it was a choice of either Pioneer Kuro plasma, or the Samsung LED DLP. I'm a big Pioneer fan, but after looking at both models side by side, I couldn't justify the high cost of the Kuro. Besides, I really loved the lack of "screen door" effect when looking close up at the DLP. The images is basically continuous, unlike the LCD or plasma screens which close up the look grainy because of the pixel coarseness. Anyway, I'm sorry to see manufacturers drop the DLP format, as I feel that a superior image format was lost simply because most consumers fell in love with the idea of a thin TV which you can hang on a wall at the expense of a better image. I can only hope that technology will advance to a point where the current shortcomings of LCDs and plasmas will be overcome, before I have to buy a new TV to replace my Sammy DLP.

Looks like an ETA movement (2824-2 or 2836-2). What I found is that simply pushing the crown in doesn't work most of the time. However, if you are slowly tuning the crown clockwise while your're pushing it in, it eventually snaps in past the locking spring. So try that. Don't force it, but you still have to apply some pressure.

I don't know... considering that at the moment it's close enough to qualify for COSC certification (at least according to some here), I think I'll leave well enough alone. I don't really care whether it's accurate in every position you can hold it, as long as the average deviation based on "my normal" usage is low. Having it professionally regulated will not guarantee better accuracy than 2-3 seconds/day, will it?

Contraband, is generally a classification that a country places on products which it considers useful in waging war or are dangerous or detrimental to country's security or the the public safety, for example arms, munitions, certain hazardous materials, etc. Usually these are the products of another nation which is considered to be an opposing or beligerant adversary. There are also certain products that do not fall into the weapon type category, yet they are also listed as contraband, as they can be used to generate trade and currency, thereby empowering those nations' economy, which once again can lead to their ability to procure the means to wage war against other nations. For example Lybian produced oil is considered contraband in certain nations incuding the US. Just because a nation considers an item cotraband, it doesn't make it so for another nation. For example, one of Cuba's largest industries is the tabacco industry. Cuban cigars are legal in just about every nation in the world, except the US which treats any Cuban product as contraband. The same was the case with South-African Diamonds and gold a few years ago when South Africa was on the US government Sh*tlist. The Swiss government has put in place a ban on counterfeit watches as it [claims] it deeply hurts its economy, so its customs agents effectively confiscate and destroy any replicas that infringe on what they feel is their national product. They were also able to enlist other EU countries to go along with their clamp-down, and some are more effective enforcers than others, most notably Germany. I do not know if Switzerland lists counterfeit watches as contraband, but the US does not. Reps generally fall into the counterfeit, reproduction and forgery class, and ownership of such items for personal use is not against the law as far as I know (but then again I'm not a lawyer either). Think in terms of other replicas and reproductions. Many people would like to own a Picasso for example, but only a handful can afford one. Yet some people have reproductions of those paintings hanging in their house. As long as it's for your own enjoyment, and you don't try to sell it as the real deal, everything is OK. I don't know how many of you (here in the US) watch PBS' Antique Roadshow. Many times people go there with what they think are genuine antiques or collectibles, only to find out they actually have a knock-off. I don't remember seeing any agents there confiscating their items once they are declared non-genuine.

Actually, the movement design looks like "Minute Repeater" (aka a chime watch) to me. You might want to ask the dealer if this watch has a chime function. If this is working repeater, I've got to get one, because real Minute Repeaters cost upwards of 20K. This appears to be a highly engraved one. Check this link out and tell me if that doesn't look suspiciously like a repeater. Minute Repeater

Wow, I read this whole thread and I'm frankly having a hard time understanding the "legal" grounds that an AD would have to confiscate your property, or that they would even consider it, given the possible fallout. The word counterfeit is used to describe copies that infringe upon the copyrights of the original owner/manufacturer. However, ownership of counterfeit has yet to be shown to be illegal in and of itself. Importing, trading, or passing counterfeit for the real item is illegal. If every company that owned the legal or intellectual rights to something were empowered to administer its own justice, we'd be back in the Old Wild West. There are companies a lot larger than Rolex, or Cartier or whomever out there that suffer daily at the hands of counterfeiters and pirates, and they do actively try to stop the trade in those products, but they don't have the rights to go after the unwitting victims of these products the buyers. Consider this: Microsoft coming into your house and deleting your hard drive because the copy of Windows on you machine is not legal (or worse yet, doing it automatically during an update). There would be so many lawsuits against them that even they wouldn't be able to extricate themselves out it. MPAA or RIAA confiscating your iPod because you have "dubiously obtained" MP3s or videos. There are laws protecting their intellectual or copyrighted material, but they also protect the end users. RIAA has sued many people, and while some have knuckled under the pressure, of the ones that ended up in court, only a small percentage, those that were proven to be actively trading, were fined. Another example: Cuban cigars are considered contraband, therefore illegal. If you tried to bring them into the country they'd get confiscated, but no one is going to try and take your Cohiba away from you if you walked into a cigar shop. The US Customs department, is a legal arm of the United States and has been empowered to make decisions based on the letter of the law. The law says that the importation of counterfeit items is illegal and they can size those items at their discretion. But once it's in your hands, they don't have the right to come to your house and confiscate it. Here in the good 'ol US of A, there are laws that say that protect the individual from unlawful search and seizure. Yes I can see someone trying to pull a switch, getting caught and loosing their watch, I can see some fool trying to sell a fake at a pawn shop as a real deal and getting caught, but simply wearing one and having it taken away from you, I don't think so. If I choose to wear a fake watch, it's my business, if they (the AD or jeweler store owner or Pawn shop owner) don't want me there, they can ask me to leave, but they can't take way my property. I'd like to see them try. I can probably find a dozen or so lawyers that would take such case pro bono, and squeeze them for everything they're worth. and that's my 2

- will it break in a week Not really, it will probably work for a fairly long time mainly because it's quartz instead of mechanical so there's less that can go wrong - how much 'off' will this japan os movement be, like 5 minutes a week or 5 a day A lot less than a mechanical watch. Probably less than a couple of seconds a day - will all functions/dials work like they are supposed to Depends on the movement, but most "japanese quartz" are based on a Myota S20, so the chronos should work. - does this mineral crystal glass scratch quickly Not really, it's not as resistant as Sapphire, but then again, it's not plastic either. - could it really be water proof doubtful - is there perhaps a better shop to go to Don't know.

If you mean mistrust, I agree. Putting pics of gens on their site is an obvious attempt at deceit. You obviously will not get those watches. I'm not sure how many of their pictures were lifted from the original manufacturer's web sites, but the few I looked at certainly were. I was planning on buying one of those SMPs so I can use the good looking logo from the dial, but in light of these revelations I'm not going to throw my money away, unless some here can vouch for them.

That's fine, but I for one I'm not going to throw good money after bad. I have no faith in this movement. Let us know when you get it what you think of it.

Has anyone dealt with tagoodlist.com before? I was looking at some of their other watches, and I'm beginning to think they're a fraud. Some of the images on their site are of the real watches, not the replicas. Here are a couple of examples (their image is on the left, the smaller image is from the Omega web site: On the image above, I love their misguided attempt at doctoring the image so they can show the register marks on the rehaut ring, it's really laughable. In view of this, I'm not sure that if I ordered one of these watches I'd get what is shown in the picture. So the search for an Omega logo continues...

I don't know if you're interested, but I have a mostly complete GMT II head. The body case is complete and in good condition, however the dial has a few scratches, and the crown stem is partially broken. Also included is a plastic movement ring designed for a DG3804 (same as the DG2813, but with GMT hand). I can also provide the bracelet that came with it if you need it. If you're interested let me know and I'll post a few pics.

There have been a few threads discussing the inaccurate Omega logo and font on the new SMP chronos. I currently own a new version of the SMP chrono with the red Seamaster logo. Here is a side by side image of the Gen (on the left) next to the rep. While the watch is a pleasure to wear, the "curly feet" OHM logo and the botched OMEGA font with bottom ligatures instead of centered ones, do bother me to an extent. Short of buying an original dial for $200+, I thought one possibility would be to replace the logos, as they are probably just glued in place. But where to get the right logos? I think I just found it here: Seamaster @ tagoodlist.com Look at this image, it's exactly what we need on the SMP chrono. So considering the cost of this rep + shipping, we're looking at about $100, to get a donor logo. I suppose we can do a complete swap, then we'd have a cheap rep with the "wrong" logos, and a great rep with the correct ones. Now, could one of the veteran modders explain what the best procedure is to remove the logos.