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gioarmani

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Everything posted by gioarmani

  1. What about one of these: http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/...Id=prod34260109 ?
  2. Looks fantastic--we just got back from Cancun in February--the weather couldn't possibly have been more beautiful. (Edit: Of course, leaving Tampa for Cancun in "winter", is like going from your front yard to your back. Enjoy your trip)
  3. I've become interested in this model myself, recently--but only for the ceramic.
  4. Other than getting swamped with work, I've never particularly cared for associating with drama, which is partially what led me to stop frequenting forums lately (not just watch forums). To simply add clarity to my earlier statement, I'm not fully aware of all the details & stories associated with the creation of this poll--nor do I wish to spend the time doing so--the thread's title just happened to be the first one listed under "view new posts" when I logged on. I firmly believe in caveat emptor, and the virtues in consumers doing their due diligence before purchasing--it's simply common sense. For posterity's sake, I will say I voted for #4, as I believe there's been a full spread of replies over the years on the spectrum of dealer feed-back (both positive and negative, as with any type of sales), and I feel these reviews & ratings--if done thoughtfully and rationally--should continue to be the sole judging point as to whether or not others will continue to do business with them, based on these reviews. E.g., if there's a specific model of watch in question that someone is looking to purchase, the smart thing to do (from a consumer standpoint) is to look at different pictures from different sites and compare the models, compare the prices, and read some reviews on what others have experienced with the same; then make your decision to buy on what you feel is the best way to go, based on what you've learned. Everyone's got a different story to tell, whether good or bad, and they all have a right to post & speak their minds, within reason, just as much as the dealers do. Dealer "A" might have a reputation for snail-like shipping or little communication, but banning or suspension certainly wouldn't have resolved anything. He had a right to defense and to his side of the story. This dealer might have complaints, but has plenty of satisfied customers. Dealer "B" might have delivered a product that was only 80 or 90% accurate to it's description, but he had a right to defense and his side of the story as well. This person also has plenty of satisfied customers. The most helpful thing to all the members here, and all those who've yet to come--and the dealers as well--is to let them continue to buy & sell. Let the consumers continue to have the freedom to choose and the freedom to report their findings so that others may continue to do so as well. After all, it's ultimately the reviews that have the strongest make or breaking point for a sale. Now I've said my peace; I'll leave well enough alone. Good night, and good to see you all again.
  5. Since we all know their URLs (and will continue to purchase anyway, if needed), I'm curious if there's anything constructive in not directly linking them. I understand the principle behind policing, but if I was a newb trying to find the most reliable source, at that point, this board would be self-defeating by limiting my choices a bit. I'd rather risk a misworded description on an otherwise top-of-the-line & reasonably priced product, than not find the answers I'm looking for; and possibly winding up buying a blatent rip off "31 jewel Italian movement Daytona" for $1,600.00 over at bestswiss, because I discovered fewer choices here, due to a more reputable dealer (than globalrelicas) being omitted from the listing. I have however been mostly absent from the boards (school & work are cumbersome currently), so I've been weeks (or months?) rare from reading & posting on here. So, if I don't know what the hell I'm talking about, just ignore this. Ciao
  6. If you let a secs @ 6 7750 wind down all the time, that means every time you're ready to wear the watch again, you'll have to re-adjust the time by hacking the movement, thereby wearing out the cannon-pin; which these things are notorious for crapping out.
  7. http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/...Id=prod36450006 Clear band & case. Daytona has fully functional chronos.
  8. That's a hell of a dirty movement--needs to be cleaned, seriously.
  9. Avoid Swissexpert. Period. Why would you pay $600 for a $199 watch from the same factory?
  10. I've got an uncle with a pacemaker who can fast forward the DVD player every time he takes a deep breath. He also pisses himself and forgets his name for 30 minutes after using a microwave. But I don't know what kind of watch he wears.
  11. I'd like to stay out of the drama as much as possible, but I do agree some mistakes were made & cheer to just moving on. I also believe in giving our two best dealers the benefit of the doubt--as drop shippers they're probably going more by descriptions given them by their supplier/manufacturer, than they are from hands-on, self-discovery. If one was in their position as a salesman (who are not directly overseeing the manufacturer), you'd do the best you could (with what's given you), in order to sell what you--as the salesman--believe to be the best product, the best way you can. I understand the issue of exaction in definition (with regards to ETA & sapphire) has been addressed ad nauseam, and I think maybe the subject has been dragged out a bit too far to be bordering on unnecessary chastisement. None of our current dealers have done anything to provoke being banned from selling here, so maybe this sort of continued response isn’t exactly necessary or productive, in the long run (hypocritical I know, for using such a long post to express this). There will always be discrepancies in sales descriptions--regardless of the product line being sold--because no one particular end of the sales chain is ever completely informed on exactly what the other end has done. The very principle of a sales description is to paint a picture prettier than what you would actually see: to take the product’s basic definition and put a glamorous spin on it, in order to make it have immediate appeal for the consumer. The final decision—regardless of how much the seller has tried to honestly disclose, or intentionally deceive--is still up to the discretion of the consumer; thus, “caveat emptor”. I know there are plenty of rebuttals to offer towards that, but having been fairly successful in sales over the years, I've learned that regardless of how well I had been trained on the product-knowledge (or even what more I had researched myself, on top of what the company provided), there was still the occasional miscommunication I’d eventually run into with the customer, as to the features & benefits, or a service provided, or the way the product/software was supposed to have performed, etc. I think they've done a pretty good job so far--better than most obviously, based on their performance reviews and the frequency thereof. However, as a consumer (of any goods, for that matter), I think the smartest thing for the consumer to do--and I know I've said this before--is to do your homework. It only takes a little bit of research & probing to find out what you're really getting. Any sales-pitch is going to contain some degree of [censored], so as with anything else, simply ignore the descriptions and trust your eyes--whether it's the food you put to your mouth, or the car you put to the road. These dealers generally post pics of the exact products they carry. Look at the shapes, at the construction, and at the movement and the markings, etc. Make your decisions on whether or not to purchase, based on what you see. If you still have concerns or questions about specifics, simply email the dealer. If I purchase any product based solely on the description, chances are I’m not going to get what was described. That line of thought is simply foolish. This is where a bit of brainwork comes in. If I’m expecting said watch with “real, genuine, Swiss-made ETA 2-what-ever movement”, and I’ve only paid a couple hundred dollars for it--knowing the movement alone costs that much (or more)--I can’t realistically expect to have gotten the complete package for less than five or six hundred dollars. It’s just not going to happen. I’m guessing that the description was probably a spin created by the supplier (another bloody salesman in the chain ) in order to sell them to the dealers, who, in turn use the description--given to them--to sell to their buyers, and so on. I’m guessing if any of their site’s movements/descriptions were mislabeled, then I’m guilty of passing the same on to my customers when I resold my goods here. But I don’t necessarily feel cheated or deceived, as for that price, I couldn’t have realistically expected that; nor was that what I should’ve based my purchase upon. My feelings are (as far as the movement’s labeling is concerned) that regardless of whether my “ETA” movements are Swiss made, Asian made, ETA clones, etc., they’ve been accurate & fantastically performing little movements with great parts (as recognized by our resident experts) and if treated properly, greatly reliable over the long term. Mind you, their quality is leaps and bounds above cheap Chinatown rip-offs, and it’s obvious in many ways. However, if I was adamant about having to have a watch who’s movement had to be Swiss movement, had to be made in Switzerland, and the piece’s exact details and description had to be damn near clinically correct & exact, then a little common sense would lead me to the fact that the replica world was not where I needed to be. Gens are more tailor-made to those specifications, and that’s where my luck would probably be better played. As a consumer of replicas, I know I’m going to have to expect a little more deviation than normal in the market I’m dealing with. The B&R project might have been a [censored]-up, but at least someone cared enough to try to give to us what we wanted; something that no one else had, and something that didn't exist before. Whether it’s design, manufacture, or assembly, a watch is only as good as the care that went into it; rep or gen. With reps there is a bit of the ol’, proverbial “luck of the draw”, but the ones that are built well will last a long time; especially the ones with the ETA movements that we buy here, regardless of where or by whom they were manufactured. And regardless of where or by whom they were manufactured, legally speaking our dealers do take a huge risk that most of us would not be willing to take, in order to bring us a much higher quality product than what’s in a shop stall or briefcase on Canal Street. There’s also a great deal of care that these two have taken in trying quite hard to make sure their customers get what they want, and are happy with what they’ve received. I know I’ve always been quite pleased with them, and on the rare occasion I get something that wasn’t as described (i.e. an incorrect date-font), or even a DOA piece, the situation was always rectified in an orderly and timely fashion. We must keep in mind that as consumers we have responsibilities too; no matter what it’s with, at the end of the day we’re the ones left holding the bag if we didn’t think about what we were being given, before we bought it. For example, this morning I had to get some minor warranty/maintenance work done on my Volvo, and while waiting for the mechanic to finish, I’m bored and wind up standing out there talking to him about the ins & outs of the car. Turns out some of what the salesman thought the car had, was not what the mechanic said that it had (i.e. a lot of the engine parts were manufactured in Belgium, not in Sweden, and the stereo speakers were Harman Kardon, and not Bose). Not a big deal, just another miscommunication somewhere in the line between the maker and their salesman. Rep dealers generally aren’t master watch-builders who know the horological definitions & terminologies of the product they’re peddling inside and out; they’re just the middlemen. What I’ve gotten from them does what it’s supposed to do and it does it quite well. I’m quite grateful for getting a good product at a good price and being treated properly along the way. And if the descriptions don’t match up exactly, [censored] it; there’s always another drink.
  12. My Josh SMP chrono & gen SMP chrono both appear to be 120.
  13. Post this in The Zigmeister's area--probably the fastest way to get a correct answer: http://www.rwg.cc/members/QandA-f76.html
  14. Your threads are stripped. If it's a new watch, send it back to the dealer. Or if you know how to open the back (and swap the crown & stem) yourself, just get another crown w/ the stem from the dealer & change it out. They're only $15.
  15. Lume job looks like absolute [censored]. Did they make this rep with a pin band & not a screw one?
  16. I think I dated her; my type of conversationalist.
  17. http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...854&hl=josh
  18. God damn, if this isn't the longest thread I've ever seen...
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