freddy333

With all due respect, Lani, I think you are wrong about that. In the case of counterfeit money, there are federal laws (at least in the US/UK) requiring banks to confiscate counterfeit money & report it to the Secret Service (I used to be in banking & I doubt the laws governing counterfeit money have changed much since then). In the case of reps, there are no such federal laws. In most states, the possession of rep watches, handbags, shoes, etc, is considered a misdemeanor & rarely prosecuted except in the most egregious cases (like where the possessor appears to be in the business of distributing/selling). (I have heard that rep possession is treated (by law enforcement) as being similar to driving while wearing headphones or a telephone headset - both technically illegal, but rarely prosecuted. Unless, of course, you kill someone with your car or use it to rob a bank or while engaged in some other felonious activity, in which case the headphone rap gets added to the list of criminal complaints that gets brought against you. ) So any AD that confiscates your rep can be prosecuted for theft, which is why stories of same should be taken with a huge grain of salt (& a nice bedtime story). A relevant aside (the following info comes 1st-hand from a close friend whose family used to own a large chain of ADs) - ADs used to receive 'Bulletins' from Rolex instructing them on how to identify fake Rolexes (this was 25 years ago & I do not know if they still do). However, the guides were purely informational (telling ADs how to deal with customers attempting to trade-in or sell a fake Rolex to the AD) & included no directives instructing the AD to confiscate anything. But, to be clear, attempting to sell or trade a fake as a gen IS a prosecutable crime. So, if someone actually did have a rep confiscated by an AD or other retailer, that was probably the reason.

Grampaw had it exactly right. An India stone & roller sharperer keep your tips in tip-top shape

I would hate to ask an Alaskan for a nail file.

Any 585s that look like this

Euro - bench-testing is certainly helpful, but have you considered adding a timing scope to your QC regimen? In 30 seconds, a timer will tell you much more about the overall state of a movement's health than you can get by running it (for days) on a bench winder

Pics would have been useful, but great post, OS.

Unless you are attempting to defraud them out of goods or money with it, an AD cannot confiscate/take/steal your rep/franken just because you wear it into their store. In the rare case that an employee identifies it as non-gen, they may ask you to leave or give you a (well deserved) dirty look, but that is all they can do.

Late Monday night, watching the Tuesday morning wristies

Crown a bit too high, should be no lume at 12 & fonts are a bit off (mainly the subdials & especially the 4 in the running secs). Here is a gen

Because rep watches are contraband (illegal) & they are not manufactured in clean rooms with quality control inspectors overseeing things. In many cases, rep watches are assembled in someone's home, often over their lunch & with as little attention to detail as they can get away with. If you want your rep to be waterproof, take it to a rep-friendly watchmaker & have him replace the seals & crystal & have him water pressure test it to 3 atmospheres. Having passed, you should be good for about a year, after which you should get the watch re-tested on (at least) a yearly basis if you plan to swim with your rep (same goes for gens that you plan to swim with).

My experience is just the opposite. Most sales people (excluding the occasional manager/store owner) are just clerks, even the commissioned staff. Few of these people know anything about the watches they sell, let alone having the knowledge/experience to spot a rep.

Nah, it is a beautiful classic. You just have to think orange. If you ask real nice, Nanuq might show you his black lung.

If real & legitmate, that is definitely quite a deal . But my gut tells me that this will turn out to have been more of a steal (by the seller) . It has been my experience that real (honest) sellers post lots of good, clear pics in an effort to show as many of the details of their rare collectible as they can. Scammers, on the other hand, tend to post just a few small, dark or distant pics in an effort to obscure as many details as they can. I get what you are saying, Nanuq, but I just do not get that warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy that ought to be there when confronted by a legitimate deal. If I had the cash & more confidence in this particular sale, I would be looking forward to adding this to my collection. But, in this case, I will be looking for more clues.

Welcome to all of Eurotimez' new team members & thanks to Chris for the (usually) great customer service & keeping us all updated.

I was about to reply that this is just a repost of last year's (unbelievable) EU GTG. But, while many of the watches appear to be the same, the pics & attendees are different (at least, some of the regulars are dressed differently than they were at last year's GTG). I wish I could have attended.

Love the watch, but I would not bid on such a rare/expensive item based on 2 tiny pics.

A good rep bracelet will be the same size as the gen bracelet, so it should fit your gen watch head fine. However, you may need to replace the cheap springbars with gens & better aftermarket springbars. In my experience, the gold on rep watches tends to wear or get scratched in a relatively short time, which leaves the steel showing through underneath. This is a good way to broadcast to the world that you are wearing a fake watch. However, if you are able to do a bit of parts swapping (changing clasps), I would get 1 of the Italian-made two-tone aftermarket bracelets from thewatchprince.com, which has a generic clasp (no Rolex markings) & swap it out for the clasp on a good rep bracelet (which has the Rolex markings). That way, you will end up with a good, two-tone bracelet with (nearly) the correct Rolex markings, but at a fraction of the cost of a gen bracelet. Of course, if do not mind paying more, another option would be to search for a used gen bracelet on ebay.

The problem you are referring to is the (high) rate of speed of the auto-wind gearing when an auto-wind movement is manually-wound. Of course, this is a non-issue when the auto-wind components themselves have been doffed, as is the case here.

I have 2 unused cases for sale - MBW 5513 for $150 shipped in the US via usps (will accept gen crystal, tube, crown, bezel/insert & bracelet) Perfect Clones (Josh) GMT for $75 (inner caseback & lugs are etched with '5513') Paypal preferred. PM me for additional pics & info if interested.

I believe these crystals are Plexiglas (acrylic plastic).

Like all auto-winds, the mainspring will begin to 'slip' inside the barrel (the metal container that holds the spring) once it is fully-wound. Removing the auto-wind rotor (or assembly) does not turn a 7750 into a (manual-wind) 7760, it just removes the auto winding functionality. If you wind the watch 40 turns, it should run for at least 36 hours. If it stops before that, the movement requires service.

The Planar came from my 27 year old Contax Based on the quality of images I am getting out of the 400D with this lens, I would certainly consider a 1,4 Planar if I can find a mint sample for $200. But I am not holding my breath for that. I would also love to pick up a Distagon, but $1k+ lenses are a bit too pro level (expensive) for my needs. Great title pic.

Still Sunday where I am & wearing my Bond Sub