ianGP

Thanks for the compliment guys! I've just broken it in recently and it feels like a glove!! The first hour or so felt like there's no circulation going around my foot and my toes went numb lol but after that, the leather just fully conformed to my foot and it just feels great! This is my first high-end shoe as I've had two 7yr old Johnston Murphy captoes for my daily beaters, a pair of Moreschi's and Bruno Magli's - I thought it was about time. The difference is night and day! It just feels of high quality (but not to knock my other shoes as they're also very well done) @mrboombasteke - I manage a financial institution @twotone - funny enough, I know about the 'back' part as I have a bad lower back from racing karts and formulas. I know of this value you speak of I was considering AE's but jumped into Johnston & Murphy's as I had corporate discount with the Jos.A.Banks store - I would rate AE very high in quality as well

I finally bought my first pair of G&G's!! It is a model specifically made for the store >Bespoke England< - I guess a special edition of sorts. It's on MH71 lasts and I opted to have steel toe tips put it. I'm really hard on the heels and tips of my dress shoes. I was going to have brass nails put it instead but the steel tips look amazing and super sturdy! I'll save the nails for when I buy their dressier, more formal shoes so it doesn't click-clack around the floor. The size is 5.5UK E-width - I'm normally a US 7D and this is SNUG! Length-wise it is perfect but the width fits more like a C. It's also abit tight across the top of my foot but it's new and it'll stretch out to conform to my foot after a few wears. On to the pics!

still no silver borders?

Stop making me want these watches Doc!!!!! my pockets are already hating me lol

No worries mate! I definitely appreciate the scouting We each only see a little part of a bigger world and this forum pieces all of us together, methinks at least

Yeah, not seein' it frank I was crossing fingers though!

same here:

i just nutted...........twice...............at work...........

Ah, well at least I interpreted something right today lol Thanks for the link! 240 CNY is dirt cheap in USD!! wow! Now only if I'm able to translate that site

Oohhhh ok. When he said he has a cheap rep of the 5127 in 21j I assumed that it was the pic he posted! I've been doing some 'selective reading' all day today Coffee isn't helping either. Need to up the espresso shots! Thx for clarifying.

Wow where did you get that? Did a quick search and couldn't find a dealer that carries it Looks great! Whats the size?

Great tip! I did not know about this. Thanks Doc!

glad I was able to help

Looks good mate! Looks like you got the updated rehaut too and your bezel screws look good. I don't see much else to scrutinize. Just make sure the chrono resets to zero and the sec@12 isn't choppy. Great buy! I'm looking for one in the CONUS already.... and I've got a sh!tton of watches on my list but this is close to the top

On the strap side or the lug side? If you look at the pictures: -the lug side are two difference screws that you have to individually unscrew. -the strap side is one piece altogether, where you have to hold one end so it keeps from spinning while you unscrew the other.

Poke it out! One side of mine did that...I just took a small enough screw driver and poked it out. Here's how it is supposed to look disassembled: (borrowed from Klockis; let me know if you want me to take this down!) And no, you don't need to replace those plots.

OH MY HOLY PORNO! Sander you out-do yourself everytime! BRAVO sir, bravo!

haha thx plaifender!

FINALLY!!!! After some weeks of waiting with a sprinkle of timing and luck, I was able to get it! Long story short: I e-mailed an AD to order replacement strap for ref.26363ST, guy complies, asks for my cc and billing info and tells me that it's a 4week delivery delay. These guys wait until THE exact last day of the 4th week before he says - "before I charge your card, send over your ser#" ugh, BOO!! I didn't reply back. Fast forward to 2 days after the fact, I meet with a client and he notices my AP. Not a big watch guy but definitely a BIG baller, familiar with the name, and with big pull in all different walks of life. I tell him the rep story, my love for watches, and the failed attempt at buying an OEM strap from an AD - he's fascinated! After our business meeting, he says "I might know a guy..." (referring to someone working for AP) Turns out he did know someone that had something to do with owning a local AD. I don't know specifics but he gave me the go to re-order and it came the 2nd time around :D I didn't much ask what he did to get it. I just thanked him....ALOT! If you ever meet this guy, he's got just over a million with our firm alone, however he dresses like he just got done plowing his corn fields! He's not a materialistic guy and he measures people more by principle and passion among other things. A rarity this day and age. Well, without further ado, the pics! I'll comment as we go along: An exciting day: (In the package was a 2010 brochure, some sort of service pamphlet talking about service intervals and what is performed, and the strap ) Side by side pairing with the rep: (gen on the left, rep on the right) Zooming in: The quality of the gen is just amazing. It is more like soft, foamy, slightly rubbery/gummy, leather. The rep is like old leather...stiffer and closer to plasticky..but I wouldn't call it crap. I would still rock it. It's not as bad as I perceived it from reading other people's comments about the strap. The longer strap: (gen on top, rep on the bottom) -You can see from the frontal pics just a slight difference in shape of the stitching at the bottom edge of the strap(neck). -Also, the gen has a more subtle, uniform tapering from the shoulder to the neck; the rep is more accented and closer to the shoulder then plateaus before the midsection into a straight line to the neck. Taking a closer look at the back of the strap: (Shoulders; gen on the right, rep on the left) The differences are in plain sight. Gen has a suede lining, the stitch is more evident and pronounced, in a much straight fashion, and runs further up, closer to the edge of the shoulder. The AP stamp is just a tad bit smaller on the gen, otherwise spot on. (Neck; gen on the left, rep on the right) As noted before, the shape of the stitching is slightly different. To add, on the gen it looks more of a continuous stitch whereas the rep looks to have stopped right at the middle of the roundabout and then continues. Profile: (gen on top, rep on the bottom) The gen is thicker on the shoulder half. That's the area where the perforation is and it's evident there is another layer of leather inserted in there. Towards the neck, it is still thicker than the rep. Closer look: The position of the plot on the gen is bent down slightly. The screw is flush with the leather. Head on: As noted, endlinks on gen are bent down abit. Spacing between plots are exact. The buckle side: (gen on the left, rep on the right) Again, the quality of the leather is night and day. Rep looks shiny! (bad type of shiny) Also, the stitching runs high on the shoulder, and a totally different pattern on the neck. Underside: Same differences, suede lining, longer stitch and difference in pattern. Here you can also see how thin the rep leather is. The stamp is pretty spot on except for the gen is slightly smaller and more visible. Plot holes: (gen on top, rep on the bottom) Well here's something different! Inside the gen's shoulders are METAL brackets to hold the plots and keep them from destroying the leather. The rep is plastic The gen is a square cut out; The rep has an extra plastic ledge protruding out from the inner-most wall to help keep the plots up right. (this is why on the side-view pics, the plots on the gen strap were bent forward a little. Buckle-end: The cut-out for the deployant clasp is longer and thinner. Also, on the side-view, you can see the structural difference between the gen and rep, along with the stitching. TA DAAAA!! And of course, wristies: And obligatory fashion shot:

Yep, he's got his own section @ RWI He's a modder in Spain. A very good one. And Edwin, have you any idea how distractive that .gif is on your sig?? LOL

Do it! It doesn't need graphite treatment... i don't think anyone even knows what that is and what it does... Francisco made a thread on why the secs@12 fails and how to fix it here: http://www.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/improving-reliability-ap-seconds-12-51048.html And while he's at it, just have him service the whole movement.

Stumbled on this...dunno if its any help though, it's the Alinghi case comparo:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ someone tell them to hurry up!!