panerai153

I'm with sogeha, what one likes, dislikes is a very personal decision. For the life of me, I can't see why folks poll others about what they should purchase. I suppose I have always been pretty independent and also the reason I tell my wife, don't buy clothes for me that you "think" I will like. Ask me first and I will give you a list!! Having said that, I will tell you which one I would buy for myself. Being more inclined toward vintage, I would go for the lug hole 16600. But for you, the best may be the other. The nice thing about buying a Rolex, if it doesn't resonate, you can sell it on and not lose anything then buy the other. Buy the one that you feel will be the best fit for you.Whichever one you chose, you will be getting and outstanding watch that you can wear and enjoy for many, many years. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It's downloaded on my Kindle, next up on my reading list!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks great Sir. Need to hear the story on this one!!

Gran, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, especially the version 1 is outstanding. Problem is the rep makers went backwards, and the later versions were not as good, although there are rumors that there is a new version coming out from a different maker. Here is my V1

One other question, Have the Quartz TSAR's been repped? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me as used ones are selling anywhere from 250.00 USD to 400.00 USD. Just wondering asI'm looking to buy a used one as my everyday "working in the yard" watch>

Thanks very much great information!! What movement does the GSAR use? Another question could you use his case and drop in a quartz like the TSAR movement? Speaking of the Tritium tubes, I almost bought and old TSAR last summer. The tritium was pretty much gone. I called the Marathon company in Canada and asked them about a replacement dial. NOOOOO!! Those tritium dials are very closely regulated and the old dial has to be disposed of properly according to the Marathon Rep. long story short, with shipping and insurance back and forth to Canada, cost of new dial and labor, almost as much as buying a new watch!! In fact If I'm not mistaken, they have to send the watch back to Switzerland for the dial exchange. Way too much drama for a 700.00 USD watch. I ended up buying a new TSAR.

Interesting.I didn't know that Marathon was being replicated? Is that a gen or rep Marathon case? I had a TSAR which I gave to my grandson for Christmas. I really like Marathon,. they are truly "tool" watches. What are the "Tells" with the fake watch? I noticed the dial doesn't have the orange tube @12 but the photos are so bad it's hard to really pick up details.

Welcome Sir. Glad to have you here. Enjoy our forum and hopefully your participation will be mutually beneficial to both you and the forum.

So far no photos, drawings, etc. I hope that it is true to form as well. Although my stingray above is pretty close, except for the date window. When these were for sale several years ago, there were three different bezel options, date, no date as well as a one with Arabic numbers and one without numbers. He even built a few with and acrylic lumed bezel insert. I had one of those and foolishly sold it, never saw another one for sale despite looking really hard for one. These are great watches at a pretty competitive price point.

I have tried winders, at one time had 3, 4 watch winders. Over time they all broke. Usually an individual winder at a time. Eventually they all went out. A couple of years ago, I bought a Steinhaussen 4 watch winder. They were having a 60% off sale on winders that have a lifetime guarantee. It's very nice, however I only have two watches on it, my 1665 which is a non-quickset and my 116710 GMT. The reason for the GMT is it too is not a quickset date, and according to Mike (Misiekped) the Yuki 3135 movements don't do well with a lot of setting, especially turning the hands counterclockwise. Both of these are on the winder for that reason, the rest are in watchboxes, and can be wound and set in a matter of a couple of minutes. As was said by others above, it doesn't hurt to let your watches run down while not being used. Learned something from Kernow, didn't realize the 7750's needed to be vertical. Wondered why my AP ROO's wouldn't stay wound when in the winder!!

I really like the old vintage FF's. Great iconic dive watches. I hadn't looked at prices of gens in probably the past 4-5 years. WOW!! Couldn't believe that ones that are truly genuine and with a provenance are selling from 40-100k!! When I first started getting interested in SCUBA, shops were selling civilian versions of the FF. Price wise, they were cheaper than Doxas, and of course the Rolex 1680 was about twice the price of either of them. Bill Yao, MKII watches bought the rights as well as all the existing paperwork,drawings, etc. for the Tornek Rayville. He produced 9 or 10 several years ago, from what I was told, to protect the copyright and patent rights. According to Bill, a production version will be introduced this year. It will have the Tornek Rayville name the moisture indicator disc and will be an actual Tornek Rayville , not a homage like the MKII Stingray. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

He needed and approval and I gave it, I agree, sometimes it's hard to see when the thread got posted. I just wanted to remind everyone that resurrecting old long dead sales threads serves no real purpose and just eats up bandwidth. Having said that, I see nothing wrong with sending a seller a PM to check if the item has sold. Not from a 7 year old thread but maybe one thats a few months old. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I agree with Legend. If you are interested in buying a watch, PM The seller and discuss the movement. If you aren't satisfied with his explanation, then walk away. We are not going to put up with you questioning the authenticity of every stated ETA movement irregardless of whether or not you are buying. I can assure you of something else, if you were trolling over on RWI like you are doing here, you would have been banned, no time out, no suspension, just BAM!! Banbed.

I would expect that this primarily relates to new members. When you do a search in the sales threads, sometimes your search will bring up a very, very old thread, one that has been dead for years. I got a PM to approve a post a little while ago. A new member was asking about photos of a strap for sale. When I went to the thread, I saw that it was started in 2009!! Now what are the chances that a 7 year old strap thread is going to get you a strap? So guys please look at the date the thread was posted before you start asking questions about the items for sale. This does not apply to any of our "Knowledge" threads, brand threads, general discussion, etc. often it's sort of neat to bring and old thread back from the dead. Newer members read it, folks add new comments and everyone gains. Sales threads, however, are like a smelly corpse. Better to let them rest undisturbed, far away!!

Like the others above said, don't panic. These sorts of problems always seem to work out. Shipping is really notoriously unpredictable. You can have two packages leave the same place both going to the same postal code, one takes a couple of weeks, the other takes a month!! A couple of years ago, I had a box of Cigars I bought from a dealer In Australia take 6 months to get to me. They got to the USA, and then for some inexplicable reason they were routed back to Australia!! Got to the origin PO there, but not to the seller, someone there at the PO sent them back to the USA. All told around six months. Suffice to say the cigars were not very good when I finally got them.

When the greedy pricks at Swatch started all this years ago, they thought that they were going to hammer all the small manufacturers that compete with the low to mid range Swatch brands into the dirt. "Cut off their movements, cut off their heads"!! I along with a zillion other watch fanatics predicted the same thing that's happening. Business abhors a vacuum. Create a vacuum, and very soon someone will come in to fill the space. Well, guess what, they did. Sellita, Soprod Seagull and Seiko/Citizen have moved right into the space created by Swatch. While some of these movement may be as expensive as ETA, what is more important to a watch manufacturer is a steady dependable supply of movements. No one wants to go through all the expensive steps of designing and manufacturing a new model, only to find that the movements you planned on using are not available. AFA I'm concerned, It would be fine if they have to eat a warehouse full of movements!!

I don't think you will be disappointed. Really takes all the hassle out of changing straps. I'll be ordering a set this week. My buddy is going to order for me as he has a relationship with an AD. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They said a few days ago that they were having Hardware (server) issues. It's been up and down for the past couple of weeks. It was up yesterday. And I got a PM from a guy there that was posted at 12:07 AM Central time (USA) but at 5:45 AM, I tried to go to RWI and it was down again. So I think they are having multiple problems. In the meantime hang around here and enjoy our hospitality!!

Welcome aboard Sir!! Glad to have you as one of the crew.

ME TOO !! And just because Mr. Smarty pants knows about zodiacs doesn't keep us from keeping these old eyeballs on him!!

I'm loving that Heuer!! Marathon isn't too shabby either!!

Wish I was looking at the Mediterranean !!! LW "the One" on a SMP_lover Saffiano strap

Since most folks drop in here as well as the brand forums, sales forums, etc. I thought I would give a heads up to all you Blancpain FF owners. This topic is a pretty comprehensive review of options for lugbars for your FF. Lots of photos and thoughts on the various options, including genuine OEM lugbars. If you have a FF or are thinking about one, go over to the "Other brands forum and give this a look. Here is the link https://rwg.cc/topic/188297-blancpain-fifty-fathoms-addrerssing-those-pesky-lugbars/ Thanks

It looks like interest has waned somewhat for the BP Fifty Fathoms models. Some of this may be attributed to the market being satiated, or it could be a combination of relatively high prices, the lack of new versions, and the step backward in accuracy of the V2 & V3 S/S Black dial. But for those of us who have the watches, there seems to be a recurring theme no matter what model, what tool do we use to change out straps. There have been several threads on this, even on the genuine forums, where the problem persists as well. Some of the first threads on the various forums advised using a Torx screwdriver to unscrew the threaded end caps. Problem was/is, different size Torx screwdrivers were needed. however they seemed to do the job. After reading another thread a couple of days ago from someone who was trying to figure out what tool was needed, I thought about recommending Torx as well, as I had used them to change the strap on my Rose Gold. Before recommending anything, I decided to google Blaincpain Fifty Fathoms Spring bars. It lead me to quite a few discussions both on the rep forums as well as gen forums. Reading about the springbar dilemma, it was soon apparent that the Torx screwdriver was the wrong tool for the job. The guys on the gen forums were all pretty angry at Baincplain, as they would not sell the proper tool, and required the watch be sent in to an AD just for strap changes!! Probably OK if you were in a city with a convenient BP AD, not so good if you were 3-4 hundred miles away. So actually , we have it pretty good, as we are able to remove the end caps, usually with not too much trouble. Another problem with the gens, BP uses some type of thread locker on the screws, so even with the proper tool the screw must be heated to release the thread locker. Some of the more ingenious guys were able to figure out that the gen end caps used a .9mm Hex head Allen wrench. After reading through forum discussions on both rep and gen, I decided to have a look at the screw caps on my BP RG as well as my BP Blue dial. I took some close up photos of the ends to let everyone see what we are encountering. My Rose gold has had one strap change from the rep strap to a gen strap, my Blue has not been touched except when the strap was attached at the factory. One thing that was pretty apparent to me after looking at the photos, these screw ends are constructed of very soft metal. As you can see from the photos, the original hex heads have been distorted and you can see the grooves cut by the Torx screwdriver. Any decent metal with proper hardness would not be recontured like this. The first photos are the screw caps on my Rose Gold. as you can see, they are pretty "boogered up". I am concerned that over time, the Torx screwdriver will completely round out the opening and there will be no way to remove the screw end. The one in the first photo is the best of the lot, it still retains the hex shape The next one is not so good, you can see the grooves where the Torx screwdriver bit distorted the metal. The next photos are the Blue dial, no strap changes and it's pretty easy to see the distinctive hex heads So what did I conclude from this. First off, you need to be very careful when changing out the screws. Just looking at these photos, it's pretty apparent that the correct tool is necessary. Using a Torx bit is probably fine as long as you are careful that it's the correct size and is not slipping and rounding out the inside of the screw head. If I were starting with a fresh set of screw ends, I believe that I would try to see if I could find a proper hex head Allen wrench. Another alternative is to use a fat 23mm Spring bar like the Seiko bars. I have a V1 incoming and the owner told me that he lost one of the screw ends the first day he had the watch. He purchased a set of tubes from Essinger which need to be cut down slightly, but the screw end works with the original bar. So that is and alternative. Another alternative is purchase a set of genuine bars from a BP AD. Downside of this is the expense, the bars with screw ends are around 40.00 USD each. So a set would be 80 bucks per watch!! That's pretty steep for a set of bars. So there are definitely several alternatives, everyone has to decide which one they are going to use. I would say if you are into frequent strap changes, then the Fat Seiko bars might be the best alternative. Replacing the hex head end screws with the Essinger slotted would also be and alternative. Finding the correct size hex head wrench is another. .9mm is the correct size for the gen but it might not fit the rep. Torx bits have been and are being used, just be careful that you get the correct one and be mindful that over time the Torx is going to completely distort the original contour of the screw end. It's just too bad that the makers didn't use better quality material for these screw ends as well as using a standard size that would accept the correct hex head wrench, problem solved!! After a lot of thinking and looking, I contacted a friend who has a genuine BP Fifty Fathoms. luckily he lives pretty close by. I asked him if he had ever changed out the strap on his FF. He told me that he had a couple of times, but always seemed to go back to the OEM sailcloth strap. I told him what I was doing and asked if he could stop by at his convenience and let me try the genuine lugbars in my latest addition A V1 BP FF. I told him that I was thinking about trying to find a set of gen lugbars, but I didn't want to shell out 80 bucks or so only to find that didn't fit. He agreed to come over if I supplied a "wee dram" of single malt!! Yesterday he came over and we sat at my bench and removed the lugbars with the two 0.9mm hex drivers he brought over. Much to my surprise and delight they fit!! I was able to take some close up photos of the screw ends and the hex driver we used. While this is a welcome update and certainly adds another option to the question of what to use for the lugbars on your FF, it is a rather expensive option. I don't see a lot of folks rushing out to a BP AD ands springing for a set of genuine lugbars.I would expect that some folks will if they know in advance that the OEM lugbars will fit their watch, just as some folks have sprung for a genuine sailcloth strap. Photos of the correct hex driver and OEM screw heads So there you are, the OEM lugbars on a BP FF V1. Here are my conclusions and a bit about each: 1. Lugbars that come standard with your watch Pros: You already got em Fine if you never change the strap, or are very careful fit very nicely in the lugholes Cons: Very soft and easy to round out the screw ends if not very careful Must purchase Torx Screwdrivers or file down a Hex driver(s) The 0.9mm Hex driver that fits the OEM Screwheads WILL NOT fit the rep screw heads. they are too small 2. Essinger bars and screw ends Pros: Cheap and available Screw ends will work with the rep bars Cons: Screw heads are slotted, and the ones I got were a little too big and did not fit inside the lugholes, aesthetically not very nice. And a dead giveaway, if someone with knowledge of gens looks closely. 3. Seiko "Fat" springbars (Or equivalent) Pros: Cheap, readily available Makes strap changes very easy and quick Cons: The shouldered springbars don't fit well inside the lugholes, never having tried them, I cannot say, but if only the very end of the springbar fits inside the lugholes, they don't look very secure. 4. OEM Lugbars Pros: Look great, fit well Very secure Strap changes pretty easy with the proper tools Cons: EXPENSIVE!!! What would be a great alternative would be 23mm shoulderless springbars like the "fat" 2mm ones used in Vintage Rolex sport watches with lugholes. Unfortunately, despite searching all over the internet, I could not find any source for 23mm Shoulderless springbars. That is my summation of the various lugbar options available for the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms

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