earth2172

another great read! captivating story. Thx for taking your time to put this here and see you soon in GZ

+1 I fully share your opinion. One case with option to fit 2 mvts, that's all we need. I discussed about it with Offshore the other day, it's for me the ultimate goal Now that Miyota has good stuff like 9015 (better to forget ETA as they will stop to supply mvts very soon), a watch made by and for the community is a exiting project...

this is not a problem when you live here, transport is cheap But having your design stolen is much more annoying... I did not say it in my post, but after casting, you still must mill the case for last details (threads). So you re absolutely right. And after you need to send it to a polish factory... You are kidding ? If no, you don't know chinese factories... Of course they will ! and I can tell you many horror stories that happen to me when I started business here I fully agree kind regards --earth

I think we have a missunderstanding First, I was talking about watches (reps), not guitars. Second, the key point is 3D CAD scan. Of course everybody uses 3D CAD in China (ProE and Solidworks mainly) and 3D printers but 3D scan is another story. At least in my business field (speakers) and from what I have seen in reps. however, I may be wrong. and for the production process, IMHO, I think it's not a good idea to mill the case, as the factory will make thousand of them afterwards without you know about it... The right way is to make a mold at company A. Take the mold, give it to Company B for production. You stay at the factory B during the manufacturing and you take back your mold after the batch. Of course, company A and B must be from different city, different business field and not know each other... my 2cts from 10 years manufacturing experience in China and protection of my designs from copycats --earth

Demsey, your right, seems a very reasonnable project even if the mold cost will be higher than what I said as I forgot that this project needs two molds, not one (for case AND for caseback). So let's say around $3,000 USD for case tooling fee. I don't know if the bezel must also be done or if an original one can do the job (depends on price of course) the other stuff, dial, hands are small amount

1. no comment 2. right but costly and must be done very very very carefully 3. hmmm I don't know if it's a good business model... I prefer to see the product first, and pay after. Or at least see a real 1:: sample before sending any money 4. Tha't a big mistake for the case ! if a project like that will happen, it must be done at a factory having no relation with the rep business to not see everybody every other rep factory taking advantage of our hard work and making easy money from it... 5. another misconception. first no asian movement factory will sell direct to you without a minimum order quantity of 1000pcs. and second, they will not change their QC for one order, except if the order is at least 100,000pcs... 6. I agree 7. separate shipement (1 item per delivery), that's the only way

Hello all, knowing well the situation, let me jump in and reply some points talked here.. Development cost is not negligeable amount. in fact to build a 1:1 case you need to do a 3D CAD scan and pay for a mold. In the chinese rep industry, to my knowlede, nobody uses 3D CAD scan, these chinese factories all work by 'hand" with callipers... And a quality mold of this size should be no less than $2,000 USD. Of course, I even don't count if something goes wrong with the mold and you have to re-work it until be perfect. What I want to say is that this task is not an easy one. it's time consuming, cost money, and we not sure that the final result will be perfect. people must realize that... I know some factories that make mistakes "on purpose" but others try to make 1:1 job but they don't have access to the right equipement (3D CAD scan) to do it correctly... finally if someone comes with a 1:1 case, it doesn't mean that the others will follow immediately. No way ! it will take time as they must change the way they work, they must find the correct equipement who is not available in China (3D CAD scan) and they must make the mold (at least 3 weeks from order to delivery). it's not an overnight job...

Quick update to Offshore's trip: I put him on the bus to Hong Kong, he's on the way now. In few hours, he should be able to finish his story from the Airport's lounge when waiting for the flight. At least, it's his plan. Hope everything goes fine for him...

well I'm afraid of the light, if you don't mind, I prefer to stay backstage. More seriously, I need more time to be familiar with this great community. As a new guy, reading the knowledge shared here is enough... for now

aaaaah too bad you lost the page, you had so many things to tell today... I don't want to divulgue what he did and what he saw, but I believe OS has now a much clearer view of the rep market in China. The conclusion will be interesting for sure... have a good rest dude, tomorrow you must have full of energie for the last rush take care earth2172