panerai153

WOW!! That's incredible!! Just as a reference, I bought a 16750 that's nicer than this one about 8-10 years ago, and I payed about 300 dollars less than the service bill on this one!! I suppose Bob Ridley has let his fame go to his head. He has been one of the "go to guys" for vintage Rolex repairs, but yet his price is ridiculous for what one of the VRF guys described as a relatively mundane watch. I used Bob several times back 12-13 years ago, and while his prices were not cheap, they were not astronomical like this repair invoice indicates. Obviously, if his prices are up in the stratosphere, I won't be using his services in the future. One problem that I can see here is when these sorts of things get out on the watch forums, potential customers will steer well clear of him, afraid that they will see the same sort of invoice on their watch. In defense of Bob, we don't know what condition the watch was in originally, but from the looks of the invoice it must have been in pretty rough shape. Still the numbers are pretty mind boggling !! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That's correct, but you never know with the manufacturers. They may announce one at some point, especially if they feel like it might be a big seller.. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Q

Marathon TSAR Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here are a couple of Ocean7 homages. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk And an Ocean7 GMT with some mods (Mercedes hands and GMT hand painted Red)

I agree, I just sold my Heroic 18 Bronze Diver as it was just too big (47mm) Too heavy and wasn't that comfortable on my wrist. Myiota 9015 movement, but compared to my MKII's and Ocean7 watches, the quality was lacking. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Timesshop. It's a beaut! Is this a rep of a particular Panerai model? I really like this one!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Wasn't it about this time last year that US CUSTOMS in Chicago did the big clamp down on watches? Seems like it's cyclic, suppose it's about time for another "crackdown". Who clears DHL packages in the USA? At one time, I saw a lot of DSL, but I never see their trucks anymore. It seems like the last DHL package I got was either handed off to the USPS or FedEx for delivery. I know that FedEx and UPS both have their own in house customs clearing, but not sure about DHL? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yes sir. Gen dial, tachy, hands, crystal, crown, straps, and movement. I replaced the gen cyclop because mine has a very clear double AR, and it is now easier for me to read the date without feeling annoyed at the reflections. [emoji6] Beautiful watch. I saw the sales thread and was pretty sure you were the buyer. That's as close to genuine as you can get for sure!! You should be proud of that one brother, it's definitely a "one of a kind" Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I almost bought one of those Bob Wellson watches, was a used one on the WUS sales forum. Fortunately for me, it sold before I could make up my mind. Then I read some reviews on the WUS Dive watch forum and they were not very encouraging. Almost everyone was disappointed by the poor quality and workmanship. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Man, you just won't give it a rest will you!! I believe that you are rapidly approaching that tipping point here where the mods will have enough and you will add this RWG to the ever growing list of forums where you are no longer welcome. What you are demonstrating is not educational, more like an irrational obsession which is not appropriate behavior. Why are you going on and on about a particular brand here in the general discussion forum, when the brand forum would be a more appropriate venue, although I seriously doubt that you would garner much sympathy from the "Breitling Boys" on that forum either. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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I think it depends entirely on the brand. I own three MKII watches, two Kingston's a Stingray and the Key West (homage to the Rolex 6542) on order. They are very, very well made high quality watches. I would put them on a par with some of the gens in the 2K plus range. I also own three Ocean7 watches, two that are homages to the Omega Proplof, another a GMT. They are all pretty nice watches at a good price point, not quite the attention to detail as the MKII's, but nonetheless very nice. I recently sold another watch, a Heroic 18 Bronze diver. OK watch, but the fit and finish was not nearly as good as either the MKII's or the Ocean7's. Definitely not the quality, and the price was comparable. There are a ton of small boutique watch companies out there, some are turning out really nice watches at a really competitive price point, others or not. Because there is such a wide range of product out there, it is imperative that one does a lot of research, read the reviews and then decide if the watch fits you. What becomes apparent when you do some research on the boutique builders is that most of them are not truly watch builders, but parts assemblers. They contact a case manufacturer, look at the cases available and pick one. Dials are custom, but pretty much everything else is "off the shelf". That's why when you look at all the different boutique divers for instance, there really isn't much difference between them. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm not having any problems, sent money yesterday, but if you are having problems with the new style format, you can go to the bottom left side and hit "classic view" will take you back to the old familiar look.

Several folks here, myself included, have offered suggestions as to where he can look for the watch he wants. also suggestions about how to start saving up for the watch. First, it's a moot point to search now if he doesn't have the funds to purchase the one he wants. It's only going to be frustrating to see watches that you would love to own, but don't have the funds for. And as Legend stated, give it a rest!! Everyone has chimed in with advice and information. I can't see where the forum members can do anything further to help. Save your money and buy a gen or use what you have to find another rep that is fairly close to the one you want, but can't have.

The one you linked to is a TT not a Rose Gold. according to all the AP experts over on RWI, the best is now the JF 15400 which was recently released in Rose Gold. Here is a link to the JF RG 15400 discussion https://www.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/276455-JF-15400-RG-is-out/page4?highlight=15400+Rose+Gold

The watches I saw on WatchUseek were all Avenger II's. Go to the WUS sales forum (Private sellers). Up at the top is a box "Search forum", type in "Avenger II Seawolf" and hit search. quite a few ads, some are sold, some ads are dated, but there were some recent ones. I really think that you can find what you want for 1600-1900 USD. You just need to have the funds ready and keep searching. You can also search on watchnet's and Timezone's sales corners. There is also a site called watchrecon. You can sign up and register then you can put in your preference for the brand and model of a watch you are looking for, and they actually use their search engine to look for ads matching your description. when something comes up, they message you. AFA places to look, I feel like the watch sites have better deals than EBay.

Marathon TSAR -unfortunately, not a keeper, up for sale soon!

Well sir, that clears everything up quite nicely. I believe that you are faced with a situation with a couple of solutions. One is you find a similar watch that is repped and learn to live with it. Two, save up a little money each week or month, stick it in an account that you can't get to easily and be on the lookout for a used example of what you want. May take a while, but it's doable. Looking on WatchUSeek sales forum, used Avenger II's with box papers in really nice condition are going for anywhere from 1600.00 USD to 1900.00 USD.

WOW!! This one isn't going anywhere! I really can't figure out what the OP is trying to say. IS his grail a rep or a gen, is it a Chinese gen or what. Maybe he needs to start over ands explain exactly what his dilemma is. As others suggested, there are various ways to work around payments, WU, prepaid credit cards, etc. At the price of cats and ducks, the shipping charges would be huge!!

Very nice work!! That ended up being a really nice watch. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

MKII Kingston today Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I agree, there are some incredibly ugly watches out there. Seems like there is a race to the bottom!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Like the Breitling Emergency!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well, I believe that most of the guys here who have been around for a while have tried every rep Rolex watches from all the trusted dealers, and in every case the watches have flaws. Some more than others, but they all fall short. What you have to understand that in this game, folks are trying to achieve degrees of perfection, as 100% perfection is not achievable. If you want that, you need to buy a genuine Rolex. The reason we mod watches is to make them better, it's a game ,challenging to gather all the parts and then put together the best watch possible within your budget. I tend to agree with one of the earlier posted who said the best reps are the ones that replicate simple watches. Like the early Explorers, Datejusts, and others who have simple cases and uncomplicated dials. But no matter which one you chose and which dealer you buy from, all of the stock, "out the box" reps are going to have flaws. What you have to do as a buyer is decide which one has the least number of flaws that you can live with and purchase that watch. All the dealers carry the same watches, as they are all built in a small number of factories. Pick the watch that suits you and then pick a dealer that you feel comfortable with.

What is really crazy, is the number of my colleagues who don't wear watches at all. Probably 75% of the surgeons don't wear a watch. One OB guy who is a real techie has and Apple Watch, another GI guy wears a Rolex TT Thunderbird. Other than those two, none of the surgeons, orthopods or OB guys wear watches. They really don't need watches to begin with, they are never on time, don't have any concept of time, and darn sure can't tell time. Why else would they tell, you, "this case isn't going to take over 30 minutes", when in actuality, they have never done one like it in less than and hour and a half!! Most everyone else wears a watch, although most all, of the women, RN's, Radiology techs, Respiratory therapists,etc.wear what I call "fashion watches" big, lots of CZ's and always Quartz. There are no other real "watch people" where I work,except me. Very little curiosity about watches from any of the folks where I work, sad to say. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk