RobbieG

I just ran across this shoot on the bucket as well. I don't have the watch anymore, but the pictorial can still live on, right? Enjoy...

Just organizing the bucket and digging on the Aquatimer series we speak. Thought I would repost some pics that do it some well deserved justice...

Hangin' with the 42MM PO at the moment...

As requested, here are the scans from the Rolex master dealer book showing all possible genuine Rolex dial combinations for selected models for the current year. Enjoy...

Yup, that is what I love about it. Sort of a natural extension of the classic Rolex look. Picks up where my YM leaves off. Which I sold by the way finally. No need for it anymore as I always reach for this...

I ran into this again on TZ tonight. These are direct copied pages of all the dial choices by model, material, and metal from the current Rolex master dealer book. Maybe someone from Admin or a Mod will consider creating image links for each page and/or pinning it as it makes for nice and fully exhaustive reference for all Rolex fans, buyers and modders looking for new ideas. Enjoy... http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=msg...410#msg_3560413

MMD for Saturday...

Thanks for posting, but if you could clear one thing up for me I would appreciate it. Do you or don't you like Panerai watches? That little detail is unclear and it is impossible for me to evaluate any further until I know the definitive answer to that question. Thanks.

I'm not sure the watch is genuine either. Too hard to tell. The white box for one thing is wrong for the model recently. The correct box is black with silver trim for the past two years. And the guarantee card looks like the rep card as well.

Yup. I have bought from Panatime a lot myself and they are very reputable and always have great stuff. Fast too. In fact, I have a couple of items on the way from them as we speak...

...and a classic GMT...

I'll second that. So allow me to toss a couple abstract Yachtmaster pics from many years ago into the mix...

As an extension, here is another with some info and nice pics of the movement. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the 3135 caliber. It doesn't have the level of decoration one finds in Lange or Vacheron, but nevertheless it is very astute in it's own right being the "workhorse" caliber that it is. I have a dear friend who is a watchmaker who always raves about how sturdy Rolex watches are and most people are so caught up in the latest greatest and Rolex bashing in general for being overpriced and/or not being the greatest watch for the money, etc. that this point is many times missed. His contention is that while other movements may be prettier, there simply aren't any that are as robust in any other high end watch. I also happen to think that they are quite good looking in their own right as well with their trademark annodized red drive train. A legendary movement for sure... http://www.vintagepocketwatches.net/watchp..._rolex_3135.htm

A review for most, but maybe some newbies are not familiar with these terms and methods... http://montresuisses.blogspot.com/2006/05/...n-horlogre.html

I guess this is old but has some interesting service related stuff and many marco pictures of the 3135 caliber found in Subs, YM's, Datejust's etc... http://people.timezone.com/mdisher/andrewb/3135/3135_1.htm

I love the bracelet too and by the way, getting ByTor to wear a watch without a bracelet is about like getting Bill Clinton to stop eating Quarter Pounders. But I too am a fan of the blue shoes on the Fish and here is some living proof...

I'm joining By-Tor from across the pond with my blue dialed Fish as well...

The white dial will be most accurate. The genuine dials have a deep texture and a almost holographic effect to them. I don't agree with the bluish-black statement about the gen dial though. The blue dial is the best looking in the rep IMO although it is probably the least accurate to the gen. I even think the color on the rep looks better than the gen believe it or not - not the texture though. If you are going for accuracy get the white. But the blue is probably the most stunning if you like blue. I have the gen watch and the color is much more slate grey-ish mixed with the blue than I originally thought. Here is a not so great pic of my watch that you can use to compare to the two rep versions for evaluation. This pic does show the true color of the genuine watch perfectly...

Yes, I have a bony croc strap from T and he does ship them with CITES. Make sure you are purchasing a legal strap - although Panatime is very reputable and reliable as well so I'm sure he will do it right. Bony Croc straps are really, really cool. T is building me a classic but unique homage piece and I have chosen a BC strap for it as it is very unique as well. Enjoy it.

Agree 100%. There is no doubt that there are many, many reps which beat most gens on the quality to price ratio. The Swiss are more guilty than the Chinese at that. If a rep costs $100 to make and all links in the chain build to $300 the markup is only three times. Let's be generous and say the same watch as a gen costs say $300 to make due to higher labor costs. And yet the Swiss price it at $3000 - or $6000 - or $9000. So instead of 3x you are paying 10x, 20x, or 30x. Reps win the spread game handsdown. But for me I get so bent about the same little issues that HK speaks of that I buy the gens anyway. I would rather pay a price knowing the markup is ridiculous but also know that the product will be flawless, rather than pay WAY less for 99%. The 1% makes all the difference to me because every crooked cyclops, every missing screw, every loose bezel is a pain in the a*s that I have to pack up the watch and send to Rob or whoever to fix and then he calls and tells me something changed and he can't get the bezel off as it is glued...whatever. The point being that some people relish the process of getting a rep and modding all the little details and dealing with it until it is done. I just stopped loving the process. Not saying there is anything wrong with it. I buy gens now because I want what I want out of the box the first time and I'm willing to pay a huge premium for it. That doesn't mean I'm unaware that the premium is steep though. I guess I would rather get jacked with money than get jacked with unavoidable QC issues. I think that is always the choice when considering whether to buy a gen or rep. Now that should be in the article. Can live with little QC issues? Then buy a rep and save yourself a ton of dough. Can't? Water your money tree and buy a gen - or save up from buying many reps and modding them and buy one nice gen. I have been on both sides of the fence at different times for a lot of years and I highly recommend both! Reps and gens both rule because they are nice watches - and as we all know nice watches rule...

Right on. I guess that sums it up. Nothin' but love all around...

Yes, we are very opposite for sure. Once I decide to get a watch I always keep it so resale is never a consideration, but the reps I always sell usually because of some little QC detail I just can't live with. Once my gen collection surpassed six or seven pieces or so I think I kind of buried myself by having the bar set so high. I'm having a hard time going backward so to speak and accepting the little QC annoyances and other issues like dealer stuff and models changing, version upgrdes, etc. Just so many unknowns. I think HK was just saying something similar in another thread. With the gens I know what I want and I get exactly that and quick and I never have any issues with them. I used to love fixing up reps and modding but I kind of just stopped enjoying all that and it started to frustrate me because no matter how much I spent I could never get exactly what I wanted. I think most of it is that I'm just getting spoiled by the quality and service on the gen side. I'm used to getting what I want on the first try with little effort except lifting the credit card. LOL. But seriously...I also think the quantity has a lot to do with it. Now that I'm buying a lot more watches it's like I'm constantly reminded of how good stuff can be as opposed to before when I would buy one gen watch every couple of years or something if that makes sense. I love reps and the culture and the population of watch nuts surrounding them and I always will, but it gets harder for me to buy the watches now because of all that stuff I mentioned. So now I just read and study and strangley enough, get gen ideas a lot from the rep world. I think I want to get a Skyland now thanks to this place. I never even heard of the watch until I heard about it here. RWG and reps sparked me to get a PO and a Fish and an Aquatimer that way too. This place is still hands down the best place to learn about sports watches in particular I think and to connect with WIS from that genre. I guess reps and the rep world deliver different rewards to each of us. As a side note though, I often say how much I for one am a champion of the industrial revolution going on in China specifically as it relates to watches and I think that what is being delivered these days quality wise for the price when compared to the gens is astounding. I choose to buy the gens instead, but that doesn't mean that I don't think these latest so-called Super Reps aren't a modern marvel for one second. I just need a little more than they can give me with respect to the finest details is all...

Yes I do believe that. If not history what else do we have any more? Nig business is a sign of the times but the traditions carry on. It is why I am attracted to watches and other things like them above all else actually. Our cultures are stripped of tradition. Don't get me started. And yes, there is no contest as to the level of skill that goes into making genuine watches when compared to reps. There is a very big and very obvious hole there. A watch is either made and assembled by a skilled watchmaker or it isn't. It is all in the details for me - and the details aren't whether the date font is thick enough or if the bezel insert is recessed. I'm talking about less than tangible things. To suggest that reps are the same as gens in that regard is absurd. Although I do realize that many truly cannot tell the difference and don't care or notice the details of which I speak and I am envious of them. Those people truly buy reps because they think gens are a ripoff and they pride themselves on owning something which is 99% accurate without paying the ridiculous markup that the Swiss demand. I wish I felt the same as it would save me a sh*tload of dough that I might use for more travel or other things I might not take advantage of due to a uncontrollable sickness - and its lofty budget. LOL.

My closest friend has two RD's and he has been very happy with them. Fantastic movements which get great respect in high end circles. He and I agree though that one complaint is the over use of rhodium in the metal prep which give both its gold and steel that sort of hard, "watery" look which can sometimes make watches look cheap. The RD shine is very blingly but IMO the watch would be much richer looking if they toned it down a bit and gave the metals a softer patina. Oh, and forget the resale value. This is a hobby of passion. Buy with your heart and do not ever consider resale. It isn't a house or a car. It is a luxury item and as such since it is not an antique you should always expect to lose money selling it, unless you want to wait 50 years. To that end, you have to love it now as that is what sparks the purchase so go for it if you do and don't ever try to make a business out of it so to speak as doing that will rob you of all the fun...

Man I have never seen a YM crystal sit that low but I think I know why. There are at least two versions of the YM that are you speak of. The makers at one time actually jumped the design spawned from the "Rehaut Wars" from the Sub to the YM incorrectly as of course the YM does not have a deep rehaut at all. The gen is nice and shallow. Anyway, the one YM case was thin and then to make the rehaut deeper they made a fatter case because the old case wouldn't accomodate the movement and the deeper rehaut. During this time there were two different crytals, one with square shoulders and one with sloped shoulders which fit in the respective cases - not sure which was which - I forget now. But it is a common mistake now for the factories to forget which crystal goes with which case, as other than the slight thickness they are identical. In other words if you have the thick case (which it looks like you do at a glance) and you got the wrong crystal installed in it you would have the phenomenon that you describe. You have a crytsal installed in your thicker case version watch that should be installed in only the thinner case. I believe the square shoulder crystal is for the thinner case and is thinner and the slope shoulder is for the thicker case now that I think of it. I would discuss this with your dealer.