panerai153

I wouldn't lie to her, those sorts of things have a tendency to come back and haunt you later.Women never forget!!, And later on if she finds out or is called out, even though you didn't exactly tell her it was a rep, she is going to acuse you of lying to her. With women, failure to disclose fully is lying!! I would let her know that it's identical to the real thing, only difference is the movement, which no one will ever see! A good way to guage a woman's response to watch reps would be to ask her about handbags, Jewelry etc. Would she be comfortable with a really good replica Herme or LV bag, or say rep David Yurman or Cartier Jewelry. If she tells you that "if it's good quality, It's fine with me",OK. On the other hand if she tells you"I wouldn't be caught dead with a fake bag or wear fake jewelry" well son, you got a problem! Notice her use of words too. If it's OK, it will be a "replica" if not it will always be "Fake". If her attitude is the latter, you are wasting your money, because she will never wear it.

Most of the problems you have are easy fixes for someone with the right tools and the right skills. If you don't have the tools or skills, I would send the watch to one of the modders here on the forum and let them do the build for you. i don't know of anyone in Australia, but there are quite a few really good guys here in the USA,Canada and Europe. You have too many really nice expensive components to risk screwing it up and ruining something.

Here are mine. More than I need,, but I have a hard time parting with some and some will never leave. So I suppose these will be around for a while. Give my kids something to fight over !! Back Row Left to Right MKII Kingston Gilt date,MKII Kingston Gilt non-date,MKII Stingray, Ocean7 LM-7 Titanium Pro, Ocean7 LM-7 Pro, Ocean7 LM-5 GMT, Edox Dive Chrono Front Row Left to Right Tudor 9411/0 "Snowflake, Rolex GMT Master 16750, Rolex Submariner 16610 "P" serial, Maurice Lacroix Calendere Retrograde, IWC Calatrava

Be very careful with commodities, the prices can be very volatile. Lots of folks have been wiped out with margin calls when a futures contract fell in price. If your markets over there are up 25% for they year, i would stay right where you are. it never hurts to have a diversified portfolio, but you need to know what you are doing. At your age, I would assume around 34, you can afford to take a few more risks, as you have a long time to recover. the older you get the more risk aversive you need to be, as you approach retirement age you need to mover into very safe investments. They won't have as much return as the more risky investments, but the upside is they are far less likely to have a drastic decrease in value. I'm close to 69 years old, and my portfolio is in cash and investment grade bonds, very few stocks, and those are pretty staid old blue chips that pay a good dividend.

I would expect that anyone who sells ETA movements and parts could get you a DW. (Are you looking for a datewheel or just and overlay for your existing DW?

Loks like just what andy said, 14060, Black dial and naturally aged black insert. Probably has never been back to a RSc for service, they would have replaced that nice aged insert with a spanking new black one.

The availability of parts through the internet, especially on forums like VRF (Market) Ebay, etc.have created a minefield when it comes to Rolex vintage models. You really need to know what you are doing or have someone else who does when it comes to authenticating and buying these watches. I'm sure a lot of neophytes with their jeans full of cash have gotten stung. It' would be pretty disheartening to spend a ton of cash on a vintage Rolex, only to find out that some of the parts are not really correct for that model, or that time period. I would never buy a vintage that I was adding to a collection without having someone who knows that particular model inside and out evaluate it and pass judgement as to whether or not it was what it was supposed to be.

That isa a beautiful 5008. Congratulations I also agree with what you said about the VRF and frankens. As long as you replace a part with one that is period correct, there is no reason to worry. AFA building one from parts, I would say it would be cost prohibitive, and probably take you quite a while to assemble all the parts.Best not try to sell 0ne that's been cobbled together from non correct parts, that will get you called out as som as the photos are posted!

Anytime you send anything through customs, it's a risk. If it's rep or counterfeit goods, or embargoed items (Cuban Cigars for instance), you run the risk of seizure and confiscation. If it's genuine items, you may end up eith a big customs duty on the item. I would not get too complacent, as the customs forces may seem pretty lax this week, but next week they get a new memo from up the line, and they change their focus to something else, and it may be reps!

Well the last genuine Comex case back that i saw for sale, for a 16610, was 4500 Euros!! So i would say a genuine is out. I don't know about getting one that looks authentic, because the ones I saw didn't have the usual Rolex engraving around the border, they had a small Rolex crown on either side and the word COMEX in all caps across the middle of the back. Also some appear to be personalized with the divers name as well as a date, probably the issue date, some had a number only, which would probably correspond to the number within that issue group(Comex bought watches in batches, around 150-200 at a time). If you google "COMEX, you will get lots of hits and some really good photos. Comex SD's and subs are pretty rare birds, considering that only a small number were produced, and they were used every day under pretty grueling conditions. Hope this helps

WOW!! Didn't take long to fill those last 4 slots. at that rate you are going to need to by those watch boxes by the dozen. Nice collection and nice box.

Probably a genuine dial blank. Singer made a lot of dials for Rolex. his dial looks might darn good though.

Maybe a really nice rep 93150 or 78360 and a genuine Tudor clasp?

I would expect Steve to say something like that.After all he makes his living selling vintage Rolex watches. Far be it for him to rile up all the folks on the Rolex Forum and Vintage Rolex Forum!! Most of those guys would rather kiss a Rattlesnake before they would put any aftermarket part on their Rolex.

I'm sure the Chinese could replicate this watch, the big question would be? WHY

Very,very nice build. One thing that is impossible to change is the color of the steel. If you put your rep and a gen side by side in direct sunlight, you can see the difference. I doubt that anyone outside of a real Rolex WIS would ever be able to tell the difference since most folks aren't going to be wearing their rep and a gen on the same arm at the same time!!

Don't underestimate the power of a hurricane. I've lived through quite a few of them over the years. It's always better to be safe than sorry. To a great extent, I believe that the Weather Channel folks secretly wish every storm was a Cat.5 and did Billions of dollars in damages and hundreds of people killed! All in aall they do a great job, but sometimes they are trying to make the weather news rather than just reporting what's happening and forcasting the next few hours. AFA the storm not hitting by 10PM, evacuations and preperations need to start way in advance, if you don't believe that ask some of the folks who fled Katrina and Gustav the following year. It took some people 8 hours to get from New Orleans Baton Rouge, and it's 70 miles away. I imagine some of the reason there is a panic mode is a lot of folks up in your area have never been in a Hurricane or strong tropical storm. All they have to go on are news reports and videos of some of the big storms that have hit the Gulf and Atlantic coasts over the past 10-15 years. I suppose some of you folks react to a Hurricane approaching sort of like we do down here in the deep South when we get 3-4 inches of snow! Schools are closed, govt offices closed, etc. If you live in the East or Midwest, it wouldn't even be worth a second look, and you darn sure better not try to use that as an excuse to miss work.

Pretty amazing how the "clubby" status is diluted and finally disappears as products become more popular, and folks buy them for the prestige value rather than because they are really good well made products. Sort of reminds me of the Land Rover/Range Rover folks. Years ago, when the only Rovers in the USA were the old Series models brought into the USA in the late 60's and 70's. The owners of these old machines are all members of the "land Rover Owners Club" which really isn't a club at all. When I owned mine, every time i passed another old Rover, I dipped my lights, waved. etc. Of course when the Range Rover was reintroduced to the US, it came back not as an ugly duckling little utility vehicle, but a high toned luxury vehicle. I can guarantee the Range Rover drivers don't smile and wave at old Rovers or new Rovers either. The Aussie with the 1675 was like the old Series 2A owner, the a**hole GMTIIC owner was like the RangeRover HSE owner. No affection and connection to the brand at all. He bought his Rolex, because he wanted something on his wrist to reinforce his insecurities about him actually "Having Arrived". The absolute worst thing that can happen to an insecure person is to see someone who they deem "unworthy" with the same stuff that they have.

It would be interesting to see what the reaction to this watch over on the Vintage Rolex Forum. I'm sure there will be some there who say that this is a redial, etc. One thing for sure, just as the case of the PanAm white dial 6542's you will never hear a peep from Rolex SA as to the authenticity!

I have said many times, the only thing consistent about the USPS is it's inconsistency!. Packages are SUPPOSED to be scanned at every point where they land. however the USPS is in complete disarray, morale is low, bosses are demanding more, sorting centers are being closed, so the ones remaining are doing the work of several.I know several of the folks who work in our local PO, both the main office and the branch near my work. All of them are unhappy.When you have this sort of environment, bad things are bound to happen. In their defense, often times the problem is not with them, but the sender. I have received packages that the address is so illegible it's a miracle the package got to me. Print the damn label!! How much time does it take to print a label. I use the free Avery Design Pro software, it prints one label on the sheet., six blank labels per sheet. Printed labels are a lot easier to read than chicken scratch!. I work with surgeons, I know how bad handwriting can be. For the life of me, I cannot imagine why you wouldn't use a return address label. If you are shipping overseas, your name and address is on the customs declaration. One problem is the customs declarations are inside a plastic packet, they can get torn off, or the form can be removed from the packet., so use a printed label, don't let the PO person put the customs envelope over the printed label, Print your return address on the label as well. also, as a weapon of last resort, put something inside the package with your name address and phone number on it, just as you should with your checked baggage when you fly.None of this will protect you from outright pilferage, or mail that gets mis- posted to God knows where, but if you do all the steps you can to insure that there are identifiers in and outside the package, at least it stands a better chance of getting to the recipient or back to you in the event of a postal screw up. AFA customs, I don't believe that they always notify folks here in the USA if packages are confiscated. I have never had a watch confiscated or lost, but I have had several packages with cigars not show up. The sender, in Australia normally sent them Airmail, which is cheap, but fraught with all sorts of problems. One, it's at the absolute bottom of the delivery priority list, so it often takes a while to get packages, the second thing, tracking is not available. So if it goes missing, it's anyone's guess as to what actually happened to it. So what can we do? The safest way, which is entirely unfeasible is to hand deliver the package to the buyer. Now everyone knows that it's safely in the hands of the buyer. Of course this is only reasonable if you were selling to a local buyer or a 100- 250K vintage gen,. buyer pays for business class to his airport, you turn over the watch, in a safe place, etc. Second most secure, ship UPS or FedEX, this is certainly feasible within a country. I pretty much use either of them to ship genuine watches within the CONUS. I have heard enough horror stories that I take the watch and packaging to my local UPS store, they pack it in front of me, and I take a few Iphone photos of the process. Great tracking, and pretty much more conscientious personnel, except during Christmas season!! Third, USPS Express mail with insurance and delivery confirmation. Fourth USPS Priority mail, This used to be really good, 2-3 day delivery to most of the CONUS. Not as good any more, delivery from one coast to the other is now over 5 days not including weekends or holidays. again Insurance and delivery confirmation. Some folks use registered mail with some success, I've had pretty mixed results, usually slower than priority, and while it's supposed to receive special handling, I wouldn't bet on it with the USPS like it is today If you have ever bought genuine watches that were shipped to you, you might have noticed that the watches are often in boxes that are about twice the size you would expect, lots of packing peanuts and a small watch box..m y feeling is the seller feels like a bigger box is much less likely to be misplaced, stuck in a corner or under something than a small box. Just a lot harder to lose! So that's another tip, pack it in something larger, It may cost a couple of dollars more, but more likely to get where it's going.

He's speechless!!

Tudor. No contest!!

Find a genuine case,dial.hands, bracelet and put one of your 3135's inside.Otherwise sell off a couple of them and buy a genuine. I cannot see the efficacy of spending 3k to build a 4k watch! Most of the cases are not close enough to the genuine to be unrecognizable, aftermarket dials hands are not without flaws, and what you end up with if you cut corners will not be appreciably better than the subs you can buy off our trusted dealers. if you are going to use and aftermarlet case,dial, hands, etc. just buy a clone 3135 movement and save your money. Not what you want to hear I'm sure, but just being realistic.

I am, and have always been a vintage Rolex fan. However I must confess, I have a very nice "P" serial 16610 in my watchbox .Mine is from 2000, so it's a ways away from being a vintage, but it does have lugholes which was one of my requirements when I started looking for one a few years ago. Will they ever be "collectible" ? Who knows?. I'm sure the 166610 has been produced in far greater numbers than probably all the previous subs combined, so there are lots and lots of them out there.Possibly in 30 or 40 years, they may be as revered as the 1680. Why do I own one? Well, first it is the natural progression from the 1680. There is no question that the 3135 movement is a really great movement, more than likely superior to the 1570 series. I am confident that it's more water resistant than my vintage models, so I can wear it and really forget about getting it wet under pressure. Although I don't use it when diving, I could if i wanted to. I'm not a big fan of the flat sapphire "fingerprint magnet" crystal. In fact my MKII Kingstons have a much nicer curved sapphire crystal. No doubt the bracelet and end links are better fitting and sturdier than the old 9315's and/or the 7206 Rivet bracelets.They aren't necessarily more comfortable, but they are more solid and longer lasting.Lastly, if you are collecting watches to keep and ultimately pass along to your sons, grandsons, etc. I can't think of a nicer watch to leave as a gift to remember you by. I know most of you fellows here are probably of the age that "passing something along" is pretty low on your priority list, at my age, it begins to become more important.

Those are the sorts of things that are overlooked by the rep manufacturers, and they really do make a difference. the only time an aftermarket part is "as good as" is if it really is as good as!! You could probably show your 7032 to a hundred folks, and they would never know the difference, but you would, as well as that one in a hundred that you meet somewhere, and he looks at your watch, and right off he knows! maybe he doesn't say anything to you, but he knows. It's sort of like wearing a really good rolex rep into and AD. Just because someone doesn't cal you out, doesn't necessarily mean that they don't recognize your watch as a rep. yours is a really nice 7032, and it is even better with the subtle changes you made.