peepshow

$1400 for a REP?!?!?!?!?! That's beyond ridiculous. If those really are available and they are all sold out, PT Barnum was right -- There *is* a sucker born every minute. I might be interested in a 2893 powered 029, though. Can you PM me the info for this fella?

Yes and no, IMO. The linear power reserve indicator is something that takes a lot of work to get right, even in the gen world. Panerai did it as another selling point to their new inhouse movements. It also happens to be impossible for the Chinese movement makers to do at the moment. Given the speed of advances in the Chinese movements, it won't stay un-repped forever, I'd wager.

I will only echo everyone elses statements. Spring bars are the cat's pajamas. I, like V, use them on my gen Luminor, too.

Not really so strange, take a look at the NBA All Star team starting lineup for this past season: Jason Kidd Dwyane Wade Kevin Garnett LeBron James Dwight Howard Kobe Bryant Allen Iverson Carmelo Anthony Tim Duncan Yao Ming Don't see a lot of white faces in there, do you?

Yep, the majority of really good white players in the NBA are European. The only exception that immediately comes to mind is Steve Nash, and he's Canadian, so you won't be seeing him on Team USA, either.

Great find and fantastic finished product, Simon! Now, flatten and polish the top of your canon pin.

What on earth does this statement have to do with anything discussed in this thread?

Both gens and decent, but not great, prices for both.

I use a product from a company called Pecard. It was recommended to me by tootall, Savage and Greg Stevens. It darkens the leather a little bit initially, but when it dries, it is not noticeably darker. This is a paste-like substance that comes in a tub, not a liquid/spray. http://www.pecard.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Scr...Code=leathdress

I don't know of anyone who advertises filling the indices as a mod. Thicker crowns? A Palp crown is about your only option at the moment, but "t"s crown project is on the horizon.

PAMs are just like good bourbon -- Too much is barely enough.

Those aren't Regatta models, however.

You'll be lucky to find a watch, let alone spare parts. I've never seen a sterile caseback for the 40mm Luminors.

Careful, though, if you do find one. The 49/51 (white dial) suffers from an hour hand that is FAR too short. The 48/50 is scary accurate, however. A relume, better datewheel and better cyclops make this a 99%+ watch, IMO.

I think an "unbranded" Marina Militare 47mm might be right up your alley. If it *has* to be a rep, perhaps one of DSN's RXW MM20 reps? High quality and much less likely to get called out. That's rolling the dice with DSN's QC issues, though.

Well, the 217 isn't much cheaper in gen form. Forget about the 203! How about you don't try to pass it off as gen?

Good luck. As the 40mm Luminors and 42mm Rads are discontinued, you'll have a tough time sourcing anything from a dealer. Your best bet will probably be the 2nd hand market.

PAM253 or PAM199? Both are Regatta models (as well as others).

Nope, you've got it right. The 6 o'clock subdial is smaller than the 3 & 9 subdials, so it makes sense that the smallest hand would go there. Not sure why your watchsmith was so convinced otherwise?

Side note or not, that's a good question, By-Tor. So, the "Ultimate" SA and the Skyland V2 both come from the HBB factory. What of the Porsche Flat Six and the Mille Miglia and Mille Miglia chrono? Sounds like their might be 4-5 factories putting out some form of "super rep" and perhaps more?

Dizz, to be completely accurate I think that should say "Angus is not part of the cartel any longer..." He absolutely was at one point. It was Josh, Andrew, King and Angus (perhaps one or two others?).

+ 10,000

But the crux of the issue isn't, for me at least, which dealer propsers and which dealer doesn't. This isn't a business ethics question for me, it's about how those actions effect my bottom line. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the reason I take issue with these actions are because IT IS BAD FOR US COLLECTORS. I don't know any of the dealers here or on any forum, and I couldn't care less which ones succeed and which ones don't. I just can't abide any dealer actions that result in artificially higher prices for us.

I believe enzo is out of the rep world, more or less completely. Even so, he didn't do dial mods for just anyone off the street. I'm pretty certain you're out of luck.

So, attempting to force higher prices doesn't conflict with your interests? Interesting. You must be far wealthier than I am. These watches are just trinkets/baubles, but I get a certain amount of enjoyment from them. I don't want to have to pay more for that enjoyment than I have to. Maybe I'm just a cheap bastard.