RobbieG

I have a gen Aquatimer on a bracelet and I was thinking of grabbing a gen rubber strap. The price is obscene and I know I won't use it much so I think I will pass on the gen. Can anyone tell me how the rep rubber is on the Slevin. I know it will fit the gen, but has anyone here compared them? Is the quality OK?

I know. I have a gen Aquatimer and I thought I would "pick one up". I was thinking $250 maybe - but I decided to pass when I saw that price. But hey if you think that is a lot. Wlak into a UN dealer and ask them how much for a replacement rubber strap for a Maxi Marine Diver. You know, the one with the titanium elements and the bracelet like clasp. Bring a baby asprin and some nitroglycerin...

Yeah, those are two that I fell in love with from owning the reps that I wouldn't have payed a lot of attention to otherwise. Great finds for sure and perfect sizes too. To me the 42MM PO is just a much more elegant and versatile watch in teh smaller size. Although I do like the 45MM on rubber though a little bit. It just wears really big and too much so for my tase. The PO 45 is a BIG 45. Only 1MM bigger than the Fish but appears like it is 50% bigger. Funny how slight shape cahnges, bezel dimensions, colors, etc can make watches appear bigger or smaller than they really are...

Yes, it will not have the same effect on a curved crystal. Even the GST is convex slightly and it has the effect to a smaller degree. The crystal must be completely flat to really give the strongest disappearing effect.

I did it on my homage piece, which is most like a PAM 177 except with a solid caseback and C1 lumed dial. Strong AR absolutely MAKES any sport utility (hey let's coin that phrase for watches too!) or tool watch IMO...

I tried to narrow my constant rotation to 5, but found it difficult. My name is Rob and I'm an addict... Anyway, the collection is 11 pieces in total now but I may sell some more as they don't get wrist time. We shall see. For now I settled on seven that I can't live without. These seven are in constant rotation and I know they are all keepers because every time I walk up to the box I love them all so much I can't decide which to wear. I think I have a lot of gorund covered with these in terms of size, color, and design. If there is a hole to fill at this point it would be at one or two high end strapped dress watches in the 38-40MM range. I could also use maybe one more chronograph. I'm leaning toward getting a Skyland actually, but I'm also kind of thinking Daytona as well. Advice as to what you think I should fill the chrono and dress watch slots with? I want to try and keep the collection to ten pieces so only three to go. My AP and Sinn will probably be sold as I'm really not into them anymore. Debating whether to keep the Droz...

Wait, I'm still unclear, does King speak English or not? LOL...

BT did you ever consider getting a Slevin on a bracelet? I would think you would love that.

Thanks, yes I am aware of the transistion and the brief history. I'm wondering more about technical stuff, like rotor bearings & assembly, clutch, etc. Was the 4030 a column wheel design? That kind of stuff. Actually, I think both are column wheel designs and maybe someone could tell us why a column wheel chronograph is considered "higher grade" than a cam/lever design like the 7750.

Go get em' brother. We are all pullin' for ya.

Best one yet...

Cool. Keep them coming guys. Two pimps already and the thread just started.

Hey Rob (The Zigmeister). Two more questions for the myself and the benefit of the members if you will. I am aware of the rotor design issue which cause the grinding but I just wanted you to clarify something. You stated that the watch will eventually be unrepairable and knowing that most of your work is on vintage Rollies I'm just curious what the timeline is as that is a pretty dire statement. I mean, I am aware that the metal shavings can get into the movement but those are removed with regular service no? Or are you saying that despite that, all Rolex movements will essentially quit working and be scrap no matter what you do? If so, what sort of time line are you speaking about? The second question is related again to ruggedness. In my original post I was mostly trying to draw attention to the safety bridge which can obviously help with a major side impact. I am in the market for a Lange lately and very interested in the German tradition of the 3/4 plate. Can you lend any information to myself and the members how (or how not) the bridge construction of a movement contributes to robustness. That is to say, is a 3/4 plate really inherently stronger than a skeletonized movement ? Or even though that may seem an obvious answer does it just not matter as there are no real forces at work as you described refuting Rolex's strength claim for the full length balance bridge? Thanks in advance for the expertise you lend us and your answers.

This is another one for the experts. Obviously, we are all aware that different mechanical movements use different means as a rate regulation. So can someone tell us the pros and cons mechanically speaking of using only the traditional weighted screws on the interior of the balance wheel to effect the centrifugal force and other alternate or added mechanisms such as screw regulators and swan necks and how they operate to counteract or add to the weighted balance concept. Thanks in advance.

I am kind of getting interested in Daytona's and thinking of adding a gen to the collection. I wanted to have the experts weigh in as I know nothing of these movements other than both are supposed to be two of the finest chronograph movements ever. Can anyone give me the technical pros and cons for these? The Zigmeister? Thanks in advance.

I am always interested to hear what others do as a primary occupation. I also like hearing about the moonlighting too if someone is pursuing an artistic dream or something. I know we have some musicians here. So...what do you all so for a living? I'll start. I'm a trader for a small (soon to be medium) sized private equity hedge fund group. Our principle market is S&P 500 futures, but we also trade smaller focused asset classes in the Euro, Yen, Gold, Platinum, Silver and Crude Oil futures.

Yeah, I have been meaning to do that. The problem is when I get a little time I'm always still kind of stuck here in the office by choice. The watches and the original boxes are sort of the only thing here other than computers and monitors. So for me I always kind of just reach for those as props. I don't get out much. I am here by myself maybe 12-18 hours a day only going home for sleep and my programmers and assitant are here during market hours. This board is like an old friend for me. Gives me something to do. People ask me what I do lately and I say I'm a professional "waiter". They ask what restaurant I work and and I say "No, I don't wait tables, I just wait..." Bytor and Pugs have been known to do a prop or two - or no? I forget who does good interesting prop stuff these days.

The PO hung in there for a pretty good stretch too.

Reps fueled many of my gens too. There are exactly 4 genuine watches in my collection that I never would have bought if I didn't have the rep first. PO Steelfish Datejust Aquatimer Total retail price: Nearly $18,000

Yeah, that is all I'm really driving at. I think Bytor was saying something once to the same effect as I recall. The thing that irritates me is what could possibly be gained from it? I constantly evaluate risk and reward for a living so maybe I am hypersentively annoyed by all of this. If you want to achieve anything in life whether money or otherwise we all know that you have to take risks to get them and manage the risk if you want to keep it. But I can never understand the point of taking a risk when you can't win anything. So to that end I guess what irritates me has nothing to do with reps per se. It just irritates me because it is stupid. Showing a rep to an AD accomplishes absolutely nothing. If Ubi walks in to an AD with his Daytona noone is going to notice or care. A guy like him nver draws attention to himself. These stories come about because these bananas don't just walk in to an AD. They are taking them off, handing them to the clerks, and sometimes even talking about them. Just pointless and potentially damaging to the hobby. Look, I hope Carlsbad is right and nothing ever comes of it. Maybe there won't ever be an issue. In fact, if there were futures contracts on them I probably wouldn't be short reps. LOL. But again, why take the any risks with no potential reward.

It's gen. They only repped the steel version known as the Slevin - thanks to Pugwash. For some reason even with the success of the GST they didn't do the Ti version. I have had it for a year or so but I just felt like shooting it again today for some reason... The Slevin I would think would be right up your alley on SS bracelet and I'm surprised you never got one of those. 42MM and the best and most comfortable bracelet around. Check it out.

I use a lot of different gear and settings and it is unimportant. You can use a pocket camera or a DSLR with a factory macro setting even to great effect without even getting into fancy macro lenses or settings. The key is to not use a flash and to use a tripod when using these pre programmed settings. If you use a factory setting for DOF/ shutter speed the speed will be too slow if the DOF is right so you will need a tripod or the image will be blurry if you turn the flash off. Overall, using a tripod is the best thing you can do to get crisply focused images of any close up subject.

Had a little time this morning again so I decided to shoot a few more of the Aquatimer. Looking good today in the overcast light...

To me, pure high quality silicone is the only way to go. And you can get it in a spray can with the little red swizzle stick nozel which is perfect from bracelets as you can use the air in the can to force the lubricant into the spaces in the bracelet. It is oderless and won't attract dirt like oil. I wouldn't use WD40 or vegetable oil for the simple reasons of smell (and in the case of vegetable oil it will turn rancid) and both will attract dirt, sweat particles (salt), etc. Stick with silicone. It is the only choice for high quality metal parts. You can get it in any hardware store by the other lubricants like WD40 or in the fishing section as people use it for high end reels.