Rick James

Hey guys, so I'm looking to buy a 116520 steel cosmograph daytona. I've never bought a brand new, gen, Rolex before. My quarterly bonuses are starting to get pretty sizable so... I'm looking to treat myself. I've been browsing around rolexforums since some sellers have them on hand. There is one a local seller on those forums who seems to sell literally hundreds of new in box Rolex watches, and has amassed a ton of positive feedback. So I'm pretty sold on the seller. I do have some questions that I could ask on rolexforums, but honestly based on my long term experience here and browsing their posts there, people here are way more competent. 

- What is the going MSRP at the moment around the US market?

- This seller has listed 116520s at $11.2k. Is there a chance it's gray market? He says this particular piece is from a US AD, but some of his other pieces are foreign ADs, most likely Asian.

- What are my concerns regarding registration and warranty in a gray market situation? I've bought TAGs abroad before, had no problems with warranty/reg. 

- What else should I look out for on a new piece?

- I'm not particularly concerned on getting sold a rep. New ones have blue lume and 3d bar codes, these things alone I haven't seen in a rep. It would have to be quite a super franken with some amazing docs to pass ;-), but any tips here are of course appreciated.

Playing with all three of these today.

Thanks guys. Yours looks good nightwatch.

irolexu, you should definitely pick one up if you're in the mood for a less sporty look sometimes.

Thanks guys!

Nice Carrera SSTEEL!

From top left to bottom right:

1. Breitling Superocean Steelfish- ETA movement, ETA datewheel

2. Hublot Big Bang - Basic rep in rose gold with CF dial

3. Breitling Super Avenger - Gen dial, gen Pro II

4. TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 - Basic rep purchased from Joshua

5. TAG Heuer F1 - Gen watch, quartz model with hidden digital readout/features

6. Panerai 004 - EL case-set & CG, Avitt PVD service, ETA 6497 w/ Panerai etchings, FGD pre-A t-swiss-t dial and hands, BigC/Matt crystal, t-48 crown, DNS pre-A OP6500 caseback, and RIOS 1931 vintage tan strap.

7. Panerai 212 - J-series, Gen 212 dial, gen chrono needle, h-factory 212j base, rotor screw matches gen

8. Rolex Sea-Dweller - Jackjo V2 case set, ETA movement, gen D series dial, gen insert, gen crown, gen tube, BK DWO, TC hands, TC bracelet

9. Rolex Submariner -  BK's Noob 116610 C V2

10. Rolex Datejust II - Basic rep originally from Joshua, ETA movement.

Thanks guys! I like it so far.

Got this puppy in from another member on the board. Apparently it was a C&R from joshua. I haven't opened it up yet but I was told it was the nickel plated eta movement. 

What do you guys think? 

The watch so far is keeping good time, I would say so far about +6s / day at this rate. 

The platinum insert mod is the painting mod? What do you think the ods are of finding a gen insert or do gens not fit? I would try painting but honestly I don't think it would come out pretty if i do it .

Just got this one in the mail from BK. Set the time and date and adjusted the bracelet. Looks good so far. What do you guys think?

The 6497 is the most basic ETA movement, and beginners learn to repair on them. $200 for that piece is really out of line. I mean ... that's robbery; sorry.

 

Why not email The Katt in MN and mail your watch to him.  GKLONER at GMAIL dot COM

I guess I should shop around some more. Did strike me as expensive.

$200 to fix or $50 for a new Asian 6497 movement...hmmmm

 

Unless of course it's real ETA

It's a real ETA movement as far as I can tell by looking at it, and was billed as such by babola when he sold his build.

Weird wonder why he said a week. I did see in one of his posts he said he hired a guy just to service movements (since I'm not modding anything.)

Thanks for the tips! Vac also got back to me saying he can do a 1 week turnaround on a movement service and mainspring replacement. Not super cheap, just under $200. Not sure what's normal price for this kind of job.

What's the line from "Men In Black"'?

"As of this moment your skills mean precisely ... [censored]."

Cask strength? Speyside? Islay?

All I know is it's wet, it's brown, it comes in a bottle, and it's tasty.

With my South African neighbor I've sampled a $500 bottle and a $25 bottle. I can tell them apart - barely.

Refined palate? Not so much.

It takes time. Just like to a rando nub any watch looks like any other. A $20 quartz rolex rep would look like the real thing to some people. Some of us have reps and gens and like everything about watches and know more about watches than the majority of the population. Same with scotch, wine, etc... Just different interests and hobbies.

You can drink scotch, whisky, etc.. with ice or even a splash of water. Most people wont drink expensive scotch on the rocks. However a mid-high end scotch will be cask strength, high proof, and you could use a VERY SMALL piece of ice to cool it down just a hair and water it down a tiny little bit.  You may find certain single malts (extremely peaty ones) can benefit from a small amount of ice or water. of course it's all personal choice, use as much ice as you like.

I also know people that like those whisky stones, but IMO the ones I've seen are all [censored], because the math/science says they can't work. Maybe there are some better stones made out of other materials, or ones containing a core made of something with a high specific heat. The reason ice works well to cool a drink, is that it's specific heat is high and as ice melts into water it's specific heat actually gets higher.

Whether or not single malt or blended drink is better, is also a matter of personal choice. Some people love blends, blends tend to be more consistent taste wise through the years. They also tend to be a bit gentler on the palate. Single malts that are cask strength, especially the boutique ones can vary quite a bit cask to cask and year to year in terms of taste, quality, color, alcohol content, etc... Mass market single malts don't really vary (i.e. Macallan, Glenlivet, etc...) with the exception of some of their small batch special bottles. I personally prefer single malts as I find a lot of blended drinks have less character and are less interesting. The cool thing with a good single malt is that its going to be very representative of what it is, how it's made and where it's from.

@rickjames I meant I drink Whiskey as opposed to Whisky ,

There's no "e" in Scotch Whisky

Meh, it's all the same, Scotch just gets written as whisky, it's the same family of drinks that includes rye, bourbon etc... Canadian whisky is also spelled without the 'e', but it's not scotch. I know many will disagree, but to me it's the same word spelled differently, ie. color vs colour, check vs cheque, aluminum vs aluminium, etc.. But yes you're right, Scotch labels Scotch specifically as 'whisky' instead of 'whiskey'.

Not really a fan of Macallan until I had this, ACE'd in Chateau Petrus casks. 

 

smP1010736.JPG

 

Currently on shelf:

1984 Yamazaki*

Lagavulin 16yr

Ardbeg 10

Bowmore Darkest 15yr

Hakushu 12yr*

Yamazaki 12yr*

Bruichladdich Laddy 10

Tullibardine 1993, Sherry Wood

 

*Technically not Scotch from Scotland, but the Japanese are doing wonderful Scotch Method Whisky.

Not a bad selection . That Macallan looks delicious! I should try some of the Japanese offerings, I haven't yet.

That's a pretty decent list . The Lagavulin 16 is a great bottle, so is the Glenfiddich 18 and Highland Park.

Lets not forget the Cask Strength MCAllan.

Yea I like cask strength scotch, like the Macallan offering. The four in my picutre are all cask strength.

Having been a bourbon man for year I have recently developed a taste for Chivas

Chivas is not a bad drink. Certainly worth an order if that's what the bar has.

Glenrothe!

I like Glenrothes, it's a good choice for Speyside, especially if you like a sherry finish.

Those are some seriously nice drops you have.  Wow.

 

Is there a connection between Houston and Aberdeen, Scotland there?  The oil industry is massive in Aberdeen, and so much of the whisky is not far down the road.

Damn, I don't have access to most of those scotch, the government controls all alcohol sales in my province.

I have

1) Bowmore 100 degrees proof - my special occasion drink. it has a really nice smoky flavor, got it from Heathrow airport in London.

2) Tobermory Isle of Mull - my regular drink. pretty ok, some spicy flavor.

Thanks guys, I am pretty lucky! Not sure if there is a connection between Houston and Scotland, but if there is a massive oil industry in Aberdeen then it stands to reason there is. Houston is huge in the energy/oil trade. The way that I have access to these bottles is through the massive Specs liquor store in downtown Houston on Smith st. It's a HUGE store and they carry basically everything you can think of from caviar to booze and cigars. They spoil us with selection of wine and spirits that I've never been able to find so readily in one place. i.e. I can go in and buy a bottle of wine from a small estate that you'd never see in a store, or a bottle of scotch from a small batch of 50 made.

I've never had Bowmore or Tobermory, I should try them out.

Oban, but on a regular basis, or just after work either McAllan 18, or Highland Park of the same age. For an everyday highlands Scotch, the prices are ridiculous where I live and the smoothness coupled with a nice cigar is alright by me.

I love Macallan 18, the sherry finish is amazing. Also I'm a fan of Highland Park 18 too, it's also very good. Personally I'd pick a Macallan 18 over the highland park if you take money out of the equation, but if you pop the money back in the Highland Park 18 is so much value for your money.

Wow would really like to try that Bunnahabhain of yours! The 12 year old I have its amazing... Also like mckallan and jonnie walker gold label is a personal favourite. Also like Tallisker :-)

What I really like about the Bunnahabhain is that it's so different from the traditional Islay. It's just so delicate and smooth compared with what you normally expect from an Islay which is overwhelming peat and smoke. This on the other hand is very smokey, but in a very refined way.

Damn, now i have to drink one!! and i have only a very bad Chivas.... all the rest is gone.....since it was really cold!

You have a great collection Sir!

Thanks! Chivas is a good go-to drink for sure.

Lagavulin 16 for me.

I like Lagavulin 16, the smoke and peat is great. It's almost like having a mouth full of smoked meats, delicious.

Wow ! That's an impressive collection.

I'm Irish so I usually drink whiskey. Bushmills is my usual, their 16 yo is sublime.

Thanks! This is whiskey too, just Scotch whiskey instead of Irish whiskey. I do enjoy Irish whiskey at times.

Balvenie Double Wood is one of my favourites. And a nice Laphroaig from time to time but that's not for Whisky beginners...

Laphroaig 18 is great, but yea not for beginners.

I can`t stand alcohol.... But you guys make it sound delicious!

 

If I drink it I scrunch my face up, and I would be a lousy hardass cowboy in bar in the old west *lol*

Lol. I think most of us were that way at some point, especially when younger. First time I tried a beer I didn't really like it and I couldn't imagine how I would have reacted to a sip of whiskey. I was just lucky that my parents had good stuff at home so when I started to sneak beers/wine it was good beer/wine and not bud lite. So I developed a taste for the good stuff early.

What's everyone drinking these days? Here's what's on my office counter:

Scotch wise we've got:

Lonach - Bunnahabhain 1968 (40 years)

Lonach - Tomatin 1965 (43 years)

Duncan Taylor - Strathisla 1968 (43 years)

Duncan Taylor - The Octave - Caperdonich 1972 (38 years)

Also about to enjoy a 2004 Chateau Pontet-Canet, it's just ripe .

A Sea-Dweller kind of day.

http://imgur.com/4mtPi.jpg'>http://imgur.com/9JS5m.jpg'>

http://imgur.com/9N4eV.jpg'>

Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600 (Franken)

Can't seem to keep this one off my wrist, franken SA: