panerai153

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I can't get to work either!! I'll try deleting and downloading.

Just a small piece of advice to you noobs ordering AP's. If it were me, and it's what I did, because about a year ago, although I have been collecting, buying and selling genuine watches for over 40 years, I had never owned an AP, I would start with a version of the Diver. Why is this, you ask? Well, simply because the divers use some variation of the ETA 2824-2 movement.Tthis is a solid as a rock movement. Been around for a while and one of the workhorse ETA movements. While your AP diver will NOT have a Swiss ETA 2824-2 movement inside, it will likely have a clone version that is pretty good. It may require a service, but any competent watchsmith can clean and adjust the 2824-2 movements. This is not the case of the A7750 sec@12 chrono movement found in the AP ROO chrono.. It is often referred to as a "ticking time bomb", prone to problems and difficult to repair. There are only a handful of watchsmiths in the entire world who will work on these movements, and even some of those guys are suspect. If you get a good one, you are golden, but if you get a bad one, you have real problems. So my advice, while all of those beautiful AP ROO's are singing their siren's song to you, resist, buy a diver or two, see if you like the AP shape, weight and fit, establish some connections here and other forums, read and do your due diligence on the watches you crave, and then when you feel like you are comfortable get the "dream AP" that you have been craving.

Until recently, my gens outnumbered my reps. Now the reps are in the lead, but only by a few.

sgtguk was kind enough to offer to help with transshipping to Domi. I'm not sure right now what I'm going to do. thought about selling it, posted it and then withdrew it, can't afford to sell it for what I could get for it, too much invested !! I'm going to do something, but I need to see what my options are. I agree Domi would probably be the best option, as he can service the movement, do the jewel mods and probably have a reasonably stable movement for a while. Right now, the pressing thing is selling a couple of watches and freeing up some funds as well as space in my watch box. Way too many watches, way too little funds!!

Welcome to the forum. Very gratifying to see a new member take the plunge and buy a membership. It really helps out with defraying the costs of running a forum like this. Thank you from me and all the other supporting members, and I suppose all the others as well, because it's guys like you that help to keep it free for all the rest!!!

I was going to post but Legend summed it up so eloquently and succinctly, my post would have paled in comparison, so all I can say is +1 !!!!!!

Great photos, and That is a truly beautiful car. having grown up in the 50's and still a young guy in the 60's and 70's I can remember some of the really outstanding cars that were built back then. Certainly short on amenities and comfort that we know today, but boy were they fun to drive

I'm glad that everything worked out, and like Legend, probably came down a little bit hard on you initially. The biggest problem in dealing with the TD's is often related to the guys who are buying their first watch/watches. they place and order and then it seems that their clock starts running at hyper speed!! Folks expect a quick reply, QC photos and everything to happen over a time frame of a day or two. Then to complicate things, folks put stuff like "replica Rolex" in the PayPal message box, open disputes, etc. Which creates tremendous problems for the dealers. Also why dealers are no longer able to take PayPal, or they restrict it to known members who have a positive order history with them. It looks like you are well on the way to getting your watch, which is a very good rep. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a long relationship with the rest of us crazy people on RWG, There is a huge wealth of knowledge here and folks are more than happy to share.

Hi guys, I have a really nice AP ROO White dial Rubberclad that I bought M2M here a few months ago. The watch is very well traveled, having been to Domi for and AR as well as relume. For some reason, Domi didn't do a service, so the watch was sent to Vac who serviced it. When I bought it, it was DOA. I sent it to Vac who did a full service and sent it back to me it was running erratic and the chrono hands were off. I sent it back and he corrected the hands but told me that the only way it would run is to disconnect the chrono mechanism. It ran OK for a few weeks, but now it sounds like the mainspring is slipping. Has a dismal power reserve and stops frequently. I have spent a bunch on this watch , but really like it. Wondering if I might be able to get someone in the UK to drop ship it to Domi for a full service and jewel mod? Or should I cut my losses and just try with another one, maybe use this relumed dial, hands and crystal cyclops? Help would be appreciated, thanks.

The seller stated that the clasp blade was a 78350 which is from a non flip lock 19mm bracelet. This is a bracelet made from parts, and while it may be in good shape, and function properly, it's not correct. It's all Rolex, but it's a franken, and consequently not worth as much as a correct 93150. Bracelets like this are not as uncommon as you would think. Folks buy a Rolex watch, years later something on the bracelet wears out or breaks, they take it to their local Rolex watchmaker, the watchmaker has a lot of old parts, and he uses what's available and fits. Owner gets his watch back, bracelet is fixed, and the owner doesn't care a bit that the numbers don't match. I bought a 16750 about 10 years ago, from 1986. It came with and incorrect clasp from a Jubilee, rather than the correct 78360 clasp. I'm sure in the first 15+ years of it's life, something happened to the clasp and it was replaced with the jubilee clasp. Probably wasn't a problem to the first owner, but I wanted it correct and I searched for a long time before I found a correct year clasp. Lesson learned, you may get a bargain in the beginning, but to make it right you will end up paying more than you would for a correct one to start with. In my case, I got the watch for a good deal, so it worked out, but in the case of this Ebay bracelet, it's always going to be incorrect until you spend more money to get it right.

If the oil prices stay down in the $ 50's for a few months, there may well be some bargain Rolex watches around in the Houston area. Since Houston is the world epicenter of Rolex watches, and they are a favorite of oil men, when the crunch hits, seems like lots of used ones hit the market. Back in the 1980's when Houston was devastated by the oil crunch, I heard that folks were selling their 18K Rolex "Presidents" in droves. You may be a few months too early this time around!!

Partner, I believe that you would be a lot better off buying either, 1) A genuine watch from a Mall store, or 2) A rep from one of our members here on the sales forum. You are obviously not wired up for patience, which is a necessity in the rep world, dealing with the TD's (trusted dealers) . Which brings us to this, they are called TD's for a reason, because they have proven over time that they are honest and dependable. Like legend said, these guys have a life like everyone else. they have a business to run, and consequently don't spend all day and night sitting in front of their computer. Also depending on where you reside, they could be on the opposite side of the clock from you. I doubt that they are up at 2-3 AM, checking on emails, even though it may be 3 in the afternoon where you are. This is also the holiday season, keep that in mind, plus you are posting this on Monday morning, remember weekend, most folks don't work! Honestly, the best way to get on the wrong side of a dealer is to bombard them with emails starting moments after you click "buy". These guys have for the most part been around for a while, so they have and innate sense of who is going to be a problem customer. Guys like you who send and email every 2 hours, and then when your watch finally arrives, examine it with a 20X loupe, and complain like crazy if it's not 100% like the 20K genuine that it was copied from, threaten and rant and open PayPal disputes or have the credit card transaction reversed. The dealers have seen it all, and I can assure you while they are competitors, they share information, especially about those customers who make their life miserable. If you get on their blacklist, you will either not be able to buy, or they will require a Western Union money transfer for payment. So my advice to you, sir, is to sit back, chill out and let events take their course. Ryan has a great reputation, which he worked hard to achieve and isn't going to jeopardize it over a 300 USD transaction. He will be in touch soon, you will get your QC photos in a few days (Sometimes it takes a few days because the dealer may not have your watch in hand when you place and order), and your watch will arrive at some point in the near future. If after reading all of this and other posts, you still feel that you cannot or will not comply with the common sense "rules of the road" relative to rep purchases, please refer to 1) in the first paragraph above.

That is and intriguing idea. Sort of the best of both worlds. I doubt that this will catch on as it would add a lot of bulk to the watch/band combo. However who knows, as miniaturization gets better and better, the whole strap might become a screen. Right now, I would have to pass on this band /smart watch combo.

Afraid so my friend, Still can't get them right. crown is too big, crown guards are wrong, and on and on. to compound the problem, there are no more ETA movements, even though some of the TD's claim that they have them in their watches. What they do have are movements with a hodgepodge of Swiss and Asian parts, or ETA clones of various degrees of quality. While there are some very good reps out there now, they still can't get some right. To me, the weak link in a lot of cases is the movement. Glad to see you back, looking forward to some forthcoming reviews.

Glad to see you back sir. Certainly have missed your insightful posts. Same as yesterday!!

These 1680s have a funny bezel assembly- might be best to leave it alone if you get the watch- trying to swap out crystals could be a problem. The 2846-2 movement is a nice one- hopefully you get one that's in decent shape- they are old- ETA quit making them in the late 90s, I believe Agree about the 2846, even the ones that are NOS, even if you can find one still, will definitely need a service. the oil inside is old, dried out and needs to be stripped cleaned reoiled and regulated. If I were going to build a decent 1680, I would start with an old MBW "Polex Design" case and go from there.

Hi big A, I wasn't resisting it , I was just in an unhappy mood after Vac screwed up the slow beat and charged me out the wazoo for the transplant. Lucky for me our master watch wizard misielkped sorted it out very quickly and got it running fine. I'm thinking about putting the Powermatic in my FC V3, although it has a brand new Seagull ST2130 in it and keeps COSC. time. May just wait and see what new divers come along, maybe the FC V27 will be perfect!!! Happy New Year my friend. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You are going to have to buy a complete watch and "cannabalize" it for The movement, unless you are lucky enough to find someone who already took one out of a watch and decided not to use the movement. I recently bought a complete watch with all the papers, box and even the hang tags for about 265 dollars. My problem is I have three divers and I can't decide which one should get the Powematic!!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

AP ROO Rubberclad just changed to an SMPLover black croc with a 20mm AP Tang buckle, same as the new 2014's. Incredibly comfortable!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Apples to oranges. LWO is for the AP ROO chronos, the Powermatic 80 is a straight 3 hand movement used in the diver as a replacement slow beat movement. They are not interchangeable.

You are correct, and sometimes we paint people with a very broad brush. The Vintage Rolex Forum does have quite a good number of very knowledgeable folks. They have to be, when you are buying and selling vintage pieces that sell in the thousands and often many thousands of dollars, you can't afford to make too many mistakes. A few big flubs and you are broke and sitting on the sidelines!! I have found these guys to be somewhat helpful, but they operate that forum sort of like a private gentleman's club ( Not referring to a strip club BTW) You may enter as a guest and hang around, but until you pay your dues, you aren't going to be really welcomed with open arms. The Rolex forum, I find is pretty slim on talent and knowledge. However having said that it is a forum geared primarily to contemporary Rolex watches. If you look at the average participant, they are guys that have one or two Rolexes, and are not terribly knowledgeable. Read through the posts on just about any thread, and most are pretty arcane, "Beautiful watch. wonderful watch, love your watch, etc.,etc., etc". If it were a franken, or something really special, I could understand those comments, but to read through two pages of that stuff over a photo of someone's bone stock 16610, come on man, What's different about this one and the other 3.5 million 16610's that have been produced over the past few years. I respectfully disagree with your comment on the knowledge level far exceeding the knowledge level here as opposed to TRF and VRF as well. I believe that there are guys here that have forgotten more about Rolex watches than most of the guys over there. Actually to be a successful modder and especially those folks who are building the real super frankens, you have to have more than a passing knowledge of the watch you are building, That knowledge is as essential to that individual who is trying to build something as close to perfect as possible. Most folks "over there" only need to have a superficial knowledge, unless of course you are a dealer, and your livelihood depends on you making the right decisions about a watch.

Yes the genuine movement in the AP divers is a slow beat.

AR cyclop, relume, and a slow beat conversion. For the slow beat, I would strongly recommend finding a Tissot Powermatic 80 as a movement donor. the Powermatic 80 is an ETA movement, slow beat (21000 beats) with an 80 hour power reserve!! I believe that if you do these mods, you will have a really nice AP.

Depends on which you buy. thee vintage models which use a bicompax Seagull movement are very sturdy, as are most of the 7750 models(vintage) On the other hand, the new sec@6 A7750's are problematic. You may get a good one that lasts for a long time, you may get one that lasts for a week and dies. Another problem, the modified A7750 movement in these watches are hard t work on, parts are not available and very few people will work on them. I believe that I would buy something less problematic until you get more knowledgeable, establish some contacts and then decide if you want to buy a watch that is a potential problem.