Josetann

Hard to tell for sure, but looks like I may have slightly larger wrists. Yes it's a huge watch, but it definitely gets noticed. Not a single person has commented on a Rolex Submariner, Yachtmaster (midsize), GMT Master II, or any other brand watch, but I've gotten several comments on mine (a rep with white dial, black subdials). It's a watch that really catches the eye, without having to be all blinged out, or have Daytona printed on the dial (Panerai is another eye-catching watch, but this thing puts all PAMs to shame, at least in sheer size). So, you're thinking of parting with it? I might know someone in the market for one, especially if I...er my friend...gets outbidded on this auction (btw, no I haven't my friend hasn't placed a bid yet, I like my friend likes to wait until the last minute).

Thanks for all the responses, gives me something to think about. Few things: I'm definitely not going to just buy a watch, lock it away, and pass it on in the future. Main reason for not wanting a dress watch (that, and the $$$). I planned on keeping the watch until he was grown up, say 18, 21, depends. Plans may change, but we're not talking 50-60 years down the road. Not that it matters that much, if he has any of my values then he won't care much about what's in style and what's not. He'll just wear whatever he likes. Or something like that. I'd still like to get something that's a bit of a classic style, nothing too "out there." I wear my (rep) Glycine Airman 7 a couple times a month right now. My daily beater is a GMT Master II. Now, it would be a Submariner, but both of mine have issues. And I may wear the Glycine more often, if it was a bit higher quality and was water-resistant like the GMT Master is (date's just a bit too far to the left, the two small dials keep perfect time but the other is a bit off, the GMT hand is completely non-functional, it moves but not once around every 24 hours, etc.). Now, who knows for sure if it'd be my daily beater if it was a genuine? I KNOW I can wear a Submariner-style every day, but I really love wearing the Glycine. Oh, and as to how many times I'd really need to know the time in four separate timezones...not often, but it sure would have been handy on our last cruise (in a span of 10-11 days, we probably changed time four or six times, I'd have to check to make sure). The only essential things I need in a watch is an hour hand, a minute hand, and the date. Second hand is nice, everything else is just icing. It's not that often I need to remember what day of the week it is. Once I pass on the watch to my son, I may be old enough to need a watch that can remind me of the day of week, the month, and the year.

Thanks, you were in the middle of your posting while I was posting...but Daytona is out of my range. Unless a sweet, sweet, sweet deal came up.

Found this on ebay, dunno what the price will go to, maybe it'll stay reasonable: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 I have no idea what to look for to see if it's genuine. Seller's feedback is good, pictures are blurry but from what I can make out, the watch looks legit. The only rep I've seen has had obvious flaws you could pick out even from a blurry pic (the Swiss Made text, the non-seethrough caseback, etc.). But, I'm a newbie here, and could be missing something else obvious. Assuming this watch is genuine, any idea if I could get the dial redone in a different color? I love the white dial/black subdials on the reps, though I could live with the genuine's grey/black (this one looks to be black/black, so I'd need a new dial). Thanks!

Well, two things against a dress watch. One, the price! I checked that Patek, $8,500 if you get it cheap? Ouch??!! If I have to take a mortage out on our house, I'd probably get a Daytona. Second, we don't really do that much that requires us to dress up. So, basically I'd be handing down a watch that he may have seen me wear less than a handful of times. I'd rather give him something that I wore almost every day. Something he'd associate with me. And something I can actually afford (a Sub LV is going to be too much, $4,000 is probably too much, now $1,000-$3,000 is probably doable). I am mildy curious why the Submariner is preferred instead of the Glycine? The Glycine seems to fit the bill, but I am a newbie...perhaps it won't last as long as a Rolex? Isn't a timeless classic? I dunno. Price is a bit high, I could possibly find a used one for a reasonable price. I'd like to buy brand-new on his birthday, but I know in the end that won't be all that important.

You're telling me! I have to actually talk her into buying stuff for herself. The two Skagen watches I spoke of above...well she wanted the one, but the $90 wasn't worth it...but if I wanted one and we could get two for $150, then it was ok. Personally, I don't care for it, but she likes it, so there you go. I think her biggest purchase was $350 or so for some diamond earrings (if memory serves me, they're 1/2 carat each, so 1 carat total, but I really don't pay that close attention). I thought she was just trying to be nice after we got engaged and were shopping for her ring (yes, I proposed without a ring, I really didn't want to pick the wrong one). She wanted something small, nothing gawdy. But she's still like that today. Go figure.

There are a lot of pp clones. pp has its problems, but you hear more about them because everyone and their mother, father, clergyman, etc. uses them. Now, I'm no fan of pp, but I still use my pp account quite often. Even though I've been through a lot with them. I'm on my third account now, and have had to do multiple claims with them (most which are denied, even though the seller had no tracking number, or gave a tracking number which showed the item was delivered to the seller's city not mine, etc.). Now if a buyer disputes a transaction, doesn't matter if I have tracking info, or other supporting info, I'm gonna get screwed. Just the way it is. Fact is though, if it wasn't for pp, I'd be even worse off.

Ok, our first son will be born around June this year. Assuming we're ok financially, I had an idea. I'd like to get a nice, durable watch that'd last for a long time. Something I can wear every day (so he'll associate it with me) and that I can pass down to him, and he can pass on, etc. If he cooperates and isn't born like 10 minutes to midnight, I'd love to be able to purchase it the very day he's born. I know it may be a bit difficult, I'd have to get someone who would be willing to hold a specific watch before the payment was made, and possibly be willing to be called at 11PM to go run my card, so I can honestly say I bought that watch the day he was born (hopefully he'll be an early morning baby instead). So, assuming all that falls into place, what kind of suggestions do you have for a nice, new watch that'll eventually become a nice vintage piece? Currently, I'm thinking of a Glycine Airman 7, or a plain black Submariner (the Sub LV is waaaaaaay too expensive). But am open to other ideas. I want something that looks nice now, can be worn every day (so no fancy dress-up watches), and will last practically forever. Edit: Sorry didn't mention before, but budget will be around $1,000-$3,000, maybe a tad more. Thanks!

Well, we're not that much into liquor, but to be honest I think we pretty maxxed out our allowance the past two cruises (first was just with me and my wife, second was us and my aunt who doesn't drink...but we used her allowance too). Prices are just too cheap! Large bottle of Absolut for around $10, cheap cheap cheap! We mainly give it all away though. I was hoping we'd find some good watch deals, but sounds like it ain't gonna happen. I know you can get lucky with jewelry, but that's another thing we're not into much (my wife does like the occassional earring set, that's about it). It's probably all for the best though, I have an idea that if I can get it to work, would require the watch being bought before the cruise. It'll be tricky, have to get the timing right...we'll see...I'll make a separate post for that.

Going on a Caribbean cruise in September (as long as our son is born near his due date, too early and it'll throw off our plans). Specifically, the ports we'll hit are St. admin, St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, and maybe St. Kitts (depends on whether we can go on the 10 or 11-night cruise). I'd like to know what kind of places to hit up to get some good deals, whether on reps or genuine. I know I won't get the great $20 99% accurate kinda deals, but anything comparable to the prices here would be good (I'd love to see the watch in person, and know that it actually works before getting it). If you have info on any other Caribbean ports, please post about them too. Never know, our current plans may change, and we'll probably cruise at a later date too. As far as my own experience, on the last cruise the cheapest genuine prices seemed to be in Jamaica. Prices at Grand Cayman were higher, haggling didn't help, but we were able to provide proof of the lower prices in Jamaica and then they matched. I do remember getting two plain Skagen watches (his and her set) for $150, and the ESQ was maybe $130? I can't remember, but I can post pics if you want.

You only had to buy four bad watches before getting a bunch of good ones? Man, I wish I had your good luck! I have two Sub LVs, going for a third (an MBW this time, no more playing around!). And a handful of others with assorted problems. Send some of that good luck this way!

Hrm, well I work from home, don't really have anyone to impress. I just like the look of the watch. I also like being able to have several different styles, kinda like women and shoes I suppose. I have some brown touristy shirts (is that a word?), one from Audubon Zoo, one from Honduras, when wearing those I generally wear my Glycine Airman 7. I have a GMT Master II for all-around use. An Explorer for slightly dress-up occassions. And some others, just for fun. To tell you the truth, I never really paid much attention to other people's watches, and mine were always the fancy digital kind. Either they did "cool" things (had a talking watch in 7th grade) or looked "cool" (when young, I remember a Laser Tag watch, and a Voltron watch...um, and a Lion King watch too but don't tell anyone ok?). It wasn't until we went on a cruise last year in May that I bought my first (and second) non-digital watch (by non-digital, I mean there was no digital read-out anywhere). A plain blue dial Skagen, and an ESQ (made by Movado, or owned by the same parent company, I dunno). Shortly after that I started looking into Movado reps (cause, they'd be more believable than a Rolex, plus the super-duper Swiss grade Rolexes were over $1,000), found this site, and the rest is history. Guess what I'm saying, is it may matter to a lot of people, or even most, but it doesn't matter to me. I wear a watch cause it looks nice, not cause I want to impress everyone around me. I currently have jeans with the brands Levi, Wrangler, and Member's Mark (Sam's Club brand, exact same as Calvin Klein but different label slapped on, even the stitching's the same). I've had Nike shoes, but recently I have bought New Balance, and some off-brand that looks like New Balance. I guess if you used the armour analogy, I'd be going into battle with some off-brand chainmail, a nice helmet, and sandals. And a really big stick.

Heh, no chance of that, sorry. It was just a partial, on the metal between the dial and the crystal. Like I said you had to look for it to see it. I was trying to pop the bezel off one day to replace the insert and instead the crystal popped right off! So I went ahead and got a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol and took care of it.

Sorry, but posting a thread about a Bullsh*t post counter is only going to get a lot of people to post in your thread to up their post count. Of course, that's not what I'm doing. I am writing an intelligent reply to a very well-thought-out topic. Unfortunately, this is as intelligent as I can get, sorry.

I got one from trustywatchguy with an Asian movement, it's never worked right. Just keeps sticking all the time. The bezel pearl was way off (as in, not centered properly), and there was a fingerprint on the inside (barely noticeable). Other than that, the watch looked good and solid. It did have the issue of having |000 instead of 1000, but I knew that going in. My guess is this watch would run fine if I got it serviced. I received another one from Silixprime with an ETA movement. Runs six seconds fast every MINUTE. Two of the dial markers are crooked. Pearl is nice and centered, and everything else looks fine. If I got a new dial (or somehow could get the markers repositioned) and the movement serviced (maybe just needs to be demagnetized?) this would probably be a fine watch. I'm just afraid that fixing it would cost more than it's worth. BTW, though it runs six seconds fast every minute, it's never gotten stuck. Dunno which I'd rather have, a watch that keeps stopping, or one that runs over two hours fast a day. To be fair to the dealers, the first watch I reported the sticking problem and was told it would probably go away after some use (which is generally true) and did not bother contacting the dealer again. The second watch I was told I'd get a replacment if I sent it back, but again I didn't bother. So don't take this as a review for either dealer, just of the watch itself.

My Glycine Airman 7 gets noticed the most, probably because of its sheer size (bigger than any Panerai I've seen). Never had anyone comment on any of my others. My wife loves the Vacheron Constantine Retrograde Perpetual Calender (hope I spelled everything right) simply because she knows I have a picture of us in the back.

Well, don't really have much to offer, though we will be going on a Disney cruise in September (Southern Caribbean). Hopefully it'll already have left the US by then!

Ok, I looked everywhere. I did find a few places selling just the camera itself for $700-ish, but nowhere could I find a kit around that price. Closest I got was $900-ish, but with the 28-100 lens (stupid question, is the 28-100 really that bad?). I saw a couple kits with the 17-35 lens, but it would have been cheaper to get just the camera by itself and add $400 for the lens separately. I'm no photography expert, I'd probably use the Auto function most, though I may play around with a few settings. Current camera is a Fujifilm S5100. It's only 4mp, but does take good quality pictures. I'd like to enlarge some of the pics we take, and 4mp isn't going to cut it. My wife would actually like to enlarge some of our pictures to poster size, but I think that'd be a stretch even for a 6 or 8mp camera.

Nah, it's not true! One for Winter, one for Spring, one for Summer, one for Fall...that's enough for three years! Better check those expiration dates! "Honey, the leaves are changing. You know what that means."

The Gimp works well in a pinch, if you want something with Photoshop quality, but not the price (it's free, and there is a version that runs on Windows). Personally, when working on Windows, I use Paint Shop Pro, just because it's cheap and what I'm used to. Picasa looks interesting though, I may have to give it a shot.

Ok, so six seconds fast isn't too bad right? Well, this one is six seconds fast per MINUTE! Initially, I thought maybe it got magnetized? I put a compass near it, and while the compass was attracted to it, it didn't seem to act any differently than another watch I received at the same time (a GMT Master II). Both watches were received in the same shipment, so I doubt one could have been magnetized in transit and not the others. All were supposed to have an ETA movement, though I have not opened to check. Are there any obvious things that a complete newbie such as myself could check? A more surefire way to detect if it's magnetized or not? I think I may just need to send it somewhere, as I also need some work done on the dial (at least two of the markers are crooked). I'd like to do some experimenting on it if I could, though. I don't remember exactly when I received the watch, but it's been at least six months ago. It's been on a winder the whole time, so this isn't an issue that will go away with time. The GMT Master II is fairly accurate, I'll set it five minutes fast and I'd estimate about two weeks or so later it's about five minutes slow. The GMT hand also needs to be reset every so often, but that's a pretty minor thing. In the same batch I also received two Explorers, one keeps sticking (when it works for a few days straight it seems to keep good time), the other works but doesn't keep good time (don't know if it's fast or slow, gave it to my brother, it stuck at first but was fine after about a week). All should have ETA movements. One other watch has a few issues, but it's not an ETA so I'm not concerned with it. It too will stick, but it has the flyback split seconds, and when it hangs it's always on the left second hand (from 30-60 seconds) just before it should fly back. I only mention the other watches' conditions, in case maybe all are symptoms of being magnetized.