sam_tgg

One question: everything you are talking about, it is about vintage. About modern Sea-dweller for example? It is worth going MBW?

Upgraded!

Hei! Really good work. I do it "mentally" but I think your table is much better. Very usefull! thanks

I nave fedex in Germany and in Spain this Xmas (both for straps). In Spain, no problem, but in Germany, they charged my some fees. One for the customs, but other one, for doing as broker. I paid more for the tax+extras than for the strap. Increible

I am not sure. I think it is easier for the Rolex layers to crack boards down, that try to localizate and start process in China, for example. It is true that it would not end with the reps. It will never end. But: 1:- I will give a lot of trouble to some people. 2.- I will make the prices go high 3.- I will make more difficult to find quality like our dealers give to us 4.- I will be easier to fall into scams, etc About mantein low level... yes, it is complicate. If they want to find you, they would do it. But, if you sell to 200 people normal reps or If you sell to 4000 people high quality reps, I think is very different. We must understand that nowaday reps, can fool most of people, even gen owners and some of ADs. And that (in my opinion) to be dangerous to ADs

TTK, yes and not. It is not the same, but I can assure you that I download much more than really would buy. The thing is gen brand are having two new enemies: internet and china. Internet give the possibility (new) of find fantastic reps, and not the crap that is sold in the EU cities. And China. What is coming, and will be coming is much better. In all parts of economy, China is improving so fast, that they can now produce reps, movements, everything, fast and with a fantastic quality. And even, with people like Angus, or RT, we can (may be) start a new time when we can interact with us. Rolex is a company that do not trust internet (they no sell in internet), so they will fight everything. Also we see more and more people making trouble with Paypal (you know it very well), writing in the parcels "replica", etc. More and more poeple is buying in internet chinese goods, etc. I will be always a market, always sellers (like drugs). But it could be expensive (like drugs) when it must go more and more "underworld".

Well, it is a possibility

Yes, sure? And, how will be the guy/guys that will do it? You? When in Spain the layers started to send letters to the owners of Emule download webs, most of then closed. Why? Fear. What will you do if you recieved a letter from Rolex Group? The owners of this board do not earn a dolar. They give their work and sometimes their money. Who will make another board, give their time, suffer a lot of problems, suffer a lot of stupit people (remenber the posts of the board owners)??? It is "I doubt that will ever be a serious likelihood. I question whether this is even appropriate to be discussed; it's only going to cause the worrisome unnecessary fear, and fuel ridiculous rumors.". OK. May be. More, I think the best method is..... say nothing, and let the next dumbass go the Rolex aD, and say "look my rep. It is just 300$." "Increible, where did you find it?" "internet". OK... Ah, that is not "fiction". That happend... more than once.

Ah, undertand me well: I am not the one that will recieve a letter asking why I have a board "helping" to sell counterfait products. They are the people here. They are making a fantastic service to this comunity, but if we have not a "low profile", one day this letter will come.

Do you not like my English? Do you want me to start to talk in Spanish, or German? May be yuo likke itt mmmorree

Gioarmani, what you say it could be logic, but is not the reallity: in Englad, brands like Ralph Laurent, Polo, etc, have started to reduce the display of it logo in its own hirts, cups and so on, beacuse it is a trend for "hip hop" boys to have something of this brand. They sell more in the "low side" but they started to loos customers in the high side. "Low end, less expensive quasi-luxury cars are built much better than they were 10 or 15 years ago, as far as reliability & mechanical longevity are concerned, but that in no way means the market for the 7 series & S class is going to wither away. In fact just the opposite; for instance, you can easily go down and snap up a 25k "European sports-car" like the Mini Cooper--with a turbo BMW engine, Euro-engineered, and a car that will outgun the 911 from 0-60, etc., etc--instead of spending twice as much on the same engine in a 3 or 5 series. Yet, there are more top-of-the-line luxury cars on the roads than ever." Do you think the quality of a Peugeot is better now than 10 years ago? Forget it. It gives more things, but not more quality. A car 15 years ago was planned to work 10 years. Not now. The development of a car was 5 years. Now 3. The materials were much better. Now are plastics. I work in Stuttgart in an american supplier (one of the 10 biggest) and we supplie all brands. the mechanical longevity is not a concern. The electronic yes (especially integration). Second. The mini. Outgan the 911 Carrera? What do you say? Ah, for your info, the new version of the Mini, it is not produced anymore and engineered by BWM. No. It is all external make (well, not complette, but most of it). The quality of a Porsche, is thousend miles away from a Opel. I have projects righ now, for Porsche, Audi (Ingolstadt), DCx and Opel-GM (Russelsheim). You can belive what you want, it is no my problem. Or, you can belive what the companies, the newpapers and the "informed" reviews say. But I now how they work, and how what I sell to them. The same happend with Porsche (I work with them): they have fix numbers and they do not whant to sell "lower" level autos. Because they loss the exclusivity. Daimler, started the C-Class at "low level" car. they sell a lot, but their premium cars lost value. What will happend if companies like PAM, that sells 100 or so on 082, find that in the market, is a 90% rep (I mean Davidsen), for 380$?? Do you want to have it? "The same goes for most luxury goods, including watches. Look at the simple sales figures in dollars (or units alone) for almost all high-end brands, and they've done nothing but go up over the past few years--even as reps have improved dramatically. Rolex, Omega, Panerai, Breitling--we've never seen better reps, and yet these companies have never seen better sales. And yet there are supposedly 20 rep Rollies for every gen you see on the wrist. Companies like Rolex have such a demand for their products, most aren't in stock or are on waiting lists that suckers will willingly fork over three times MSRP with a smile, just to get one on their wrist. They only put pressure on the counterfeiters for good PR & sales tactics. A friend at Louis Vuitton in Tampa says for every 100 LVs you see on shoulders, maybe one or two of them are gens; you can go practically anywhere on the planet and find an LV rep, and yet she still can't keep her merchandise on the shelf. $300 keychains, $2000 purses, $900 wallets, and most of it's on indefinite back-order." Sure? The Film makers, and the Music companies are making increible numbers. But they are fighting the music downloads, emule, torrent, etc, like crazy. Why? Because they want more. It is easy. And because if you let go, and go, and go the reps, may be in the future, you can not stop it. That is my 2 cents

There is one topic about German custons been more difficult right now. What I want to say it is, or this world, our rep world, starts to be more seriuos, more "low profile" or we will have problems. Specially the boards, and the people that are directing them. I understand what customs make: is its work. And I understand that companies are starting to make effords to stop us. Brands like PAM will start to loss people if the actual reps start to be "vox populi". The are not offering in most of their watches special technology or materials. They do not have diamonds or things like that. They sell unique pieces: 500, 1000, 2000 pieces. At the level our friends in China are going, and the number they can start to sell them, no one will buy a gen PAM. Because it will be no more exclusive. And brands know it. Why to buy a gen Tag Link, if you can have a rep, 99% with ETA 7750 for 500-600 euros? I wont. A lot of people wont. And they will start to loss money. If I am a brand like IWC, Panerai, Tag, I will start to make a lot of pressure to defend my business. There is a lot of people that is selling these reps in Ebay, trying to be gens. In the past, they were sold to people with few idea. But with the actual reps, you can sell a Tag Link without problem. And a lot of people do that. Included people that come to this board. Another generation of buyers is going out there telling (including gen boards and ADs) "why to spend 5000 euros in a gen IWC when you can have one for 250?!! You are stupit jajajaj!!!". Very intelligent. The Zigmeister post a very intersant post about the future of the reps. The conclusion is: the level is improving, and the new reps are aweson. That is right. But I say: with this, also come that, possible in this year, the people of this boards (and other boards) will start to have legal problems.

Yes, but we must to do it FAST

I am in stuttgart area

It is a sh*t Sorry for you man. You will need to use PT...

I am in stuttgart and (at the moment) no problem. But there is a thing I can not understand: if the watch has no name, it can not be a fake. I mean, there are a lot of companies that make "similar" watches with it is owm name. So, without name, the only thing is break patents. And also, it is increible, that customs send something to Panerai, without inform you. I am not sure that they really can do it. I mean, first will be contact you, them ask what is this, and them send it to Panerai. That is the legal way. Other point, is that I will understand that PAM is starting to make trouble: they are selling good, and the reps are fantastic, so... I will start to think about buy for far east... it sucks...

did you recieved a doucment from the Customs?

Check this if you are in EU: Watchwinder Ebay I buzed one for 5 watches for 130 (if you are lucky may be less). I have also a problem with the board. I sent it back, and they send me a new one. It was 3 months old. The service is impresive. And the winder in really good, in super wood. And with the LCD you can controll everything easy. It is a cheap version for us EU members

Titanium for the AMG may be that will come, but not sure: it is a especial version so It is more difficult to sell. I can understand people that what the perfection in their watches, but not for 200€ and coming from china. But OK. It is your decition. I read a very interesting post from BY-Tor (like all he writes), about "perfect versions", and the racing for new improvements. And he said, that all most "better versions" ended changing something that it worked well. I think that we have the better posible version of the Ingy that will be produced in the rep world. And, that they will stop to produce it very soon. And I do not think they will make it another time.

Why? Because IWC is not that "hot" as other brands, like the Omega or Rolex, where you could see many versions. Also the Ingy is not a sport watch (do not understand my bad, I am a IWC fan, and I have the Ingy), so less people will buy it. Most of the people that already have the Ingy, are happy enough with the actual version and not buy the new. The Rolex fans are more critical with their watches, may be because the rolex reps are not so good than the IWCs. Other good point is that the watch makers are not interested in small things like the AR coating or the lenght of the hands. They just make a "perfect" version, if there is enough market. And, most times, they make other things worst. And, about the date font: most of the reps are incorrect about this. So is clear that the rep makers do not give a dim for it. All this problems: Ar and date font, can be solved by modding the rep. It is more difficult (or may be imposible) to source them. May be I am wrong, but I really do not think they are gone to make a "perfect" rep. I personally a fan of IWC, would not buy a more accurate Ingy. I was in meetings with people that own IWCs, they so my watch, I give it to them, and they so nothing. So I am really happy (here in Stuttgart, IWC is a well know brand). I so it in Wempe and I know the tema font, but the hands lengh and the AR for me are not important. I must say (with respect), that a lot of people do not know a lot what they are buying, and I think they will found failures in gens. Typical "There is not AR coating in both sides...., and that is a must for me...." bla, bla, bla. You are not buying a gen, you are buying a Rep. To most of this people: i would like to see them when they work. I do not think they are so perfectionist. And If you what this grade of perfection, you would not buy a rep. In a watch, the most importand thing is the movement. And a gen IWC Ingy, has a extraordinary movement, ETA, but modified by IWC, with extra parts to achieve more accuracy. We have a basis ETA. So, I would say: enjoy what you have, for the money that you pay. You would be happy. And, If you are happy with the AR, and the font, do modding. But you would NEVER have a IWC Ingy. You need the movement. My 2 cents!

Forget It.

Thank you for the info The Zigmeister. I always read your infos and you help me not to break some of my reps! Sam

I am also interested in take the movement of a chrono out. I have also a question: to put the crown back, when must be the hacking/stem release push? During all the time? I mean, I must push the stem while I am putting back the crown? (sorry but my english is may be not enough to say it clear). I am afraid that I could breack the keyless works. thank you

Hi, look at www.tcstraps.com elliot have a 25% off in his straps for RWG members, and the quality in amazing.

AMK000 is correct. I like the pilots watch, but they are really design to be wear with a jacket (over a jacket). In my wirst, a 44 Pam is the maximun.