panerai153

Has to be, couldn't be this guy!!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

As AJ said, sometimes the temptation of a few dollars saved in shipping is overpowering. Problem is bigger package, more weight, better scan it, might be a bomb!! Seriously though, you need to try flying under the radar. Buying several probably increases your risk of seizure exponentially. I really don't believe that most customs agencies are looking for watches. I believe that they are more interested in intercepting drugs, illegal plant and animal products, and of course any types of devices that could go BANG!! Everything going into and airplane is scanned, at least in the USA, and I feel sure the EU and first world Asian countries as well. So we are talking about hundreds of thousands of packages every day. Most packages get a cursory exam, and slip by, only if the package is suspicious will it be pulled off the line for a more thorough inspection. My feelings are the less conspicuous a package is, the better the chances it will get through OK. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Matt, you are correct, but there is only one "good" Mike involved here. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

6542 Today

Person ally, I believe that the best "out the box" version of the FC is the V3. I have one, and outside of getting the movement converted to slow beat, I didn't do a thing to it. AFA the AR crystal from Domi, you may have to get one directly from him. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My old 1680. Poor darling doesn't get much wrist time any more. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

For some reason Rose Gold is really, really hot right now. A lot of women where I work wear them, most are man size watches. I personally like Rose Gold, but the more subdued versions like the brushed finish of my AP Rose Gold RC. I have a Rose Gold UN black Surf, but it's polished, and I hardly ever wear it. maybe a little too "blingy" for me. There are a zillion RG watches around, every Dept. store has rows of them in every size.

The reason I suggested the 1665 over the 1680 is because of what Automatico states in his post, the MBW case is not correct for a 1680, as it is a 5513 case. Case or dial has to be modified to fit a genuine dial, DW alignment is a big problem and the case engraving is incorrect even Rolex is misspelled "Polex" !!! Plus is it will accept gen parts.

If I were to start from scratch, I believe that I would haunt the sales forums on all the rep sites, looking for an MBW 1665. Then depending on how much had been done, the skies the limit. Here is mine, I it has a gen crystal, insert/pearl. Crown/ tube, movement hands and a rep dial although a very good one. Also the bracelet and end links are gen. One like this is not cheap, I have over 3K in this watch. You can do a nice one for half that or less, depending on the amount of genuine parts you want to use.

Mrs. SCastle, if you know where the fellow lives, actually have a physical address, I would suggest that you gather up all the correxpondence that you have including evidence if possible that the watch is yours. Take this information to the local Police Department where he lives and file a complaint. One thing that you will need is proof of ownership of the watch, because without that, he can claim that he doesn't have your watch, and if he does indeed have a similar Omega in his possession, he can claim that it's not yours, but is his property. Another possibility, depending on how proactive the local police are, you can file a claim in small claims court. If the judge rules in your favor, he would be obligated to return your watch, or one of similar value, cash in the amount of the set value of the watch, if he no longer has the watch. if he refuses, then you can enter a judgment for the amount of the award. It is very difficult for people to conduct business using credit if they have an outstanding judgment. Hard to finance a car, get a bank loan, home loan, etc. until the judgment is paid and discharged. Judgments are infinitely renewable, so you can keep a judgment in force for a long, long time. That's about the best advice I could give you.One problem is a long time has elapsed since the watch was given over to him. I would suspect that you have copies of correspondence between you and this Mike guy. Since that much time has elapsed it's going to fall on you to prove that you have made multiple attempts over time to get your property back. If you hadn't I would say that the police are not going to be of much help if during all this time you haven't been trying actively to retrieve your property. I would be willing to bet however that your husband's watch is long gone. However you are still entitled to compensation.

Beautiful job, that guy definitely knows what he's doing!

Here is the problem, it's very difficult to get the police involved in what they consider to be "white collar" crimes. most police forces especially smaller ones where MD2020 is located have all the problems of big city forces which are nearby, but not nearly the resources. In order to get the police to move forward, it generally requires that each individual personally file a theft report, listing what was stolen and the appraised or estimated amount. This is logistically impossible when some of the members live half a world away. Hiring attorneys is expensive, and they are usually pretty half hearted about these problems. It's not something that they can make a lot of money with and consequently they aren't going to devote a lot of time to the case. Unfortunately, the guys on the other end, Mike McNair or MD2020 know this, and so they won't accept registered letters, dodge process servers until they feel like you and your group are going to give up in frustration. If you "go down' to his place of business or home, and start a ruckus, he will call the local police and have you charged with trespassing if you are on his property. He also may charge you with harassment and possibly assault if any threats were made. So you have to be really careful here, because you could easily become the criminal instead of him. There are some other avenues, you might want to consider, one is to contact the consumer fraud division in his state. Some of them are adding internet fraud investigations as it has become a very big part of criminal activity. He would qualify, as he was advertising on the internet, and you were conveying payments via the internet. May not get anywhere, but worth a try. It's a real dilemma, as you are placing your trust in someone who you have never seen, an anonymous name on an internet forum. Unfortunately, even with good sound due diligence, it's very difficult to predict someone's behavior, and once he has your watches, it's too late. I cannot understand why in both of these cases, the person doesn't just sit down and box up everyone's stuff and send it back, fixed or not. It would basically put and end to the entire saga, and while they would never be welcomed back, at least they would stop the harassment and possible civil or criminal charges that they are facing.

Rainy day here. Longing for sunshine warm water and sand!!

If they are indeed 2846, they are ETA movements. These are old movements, some of them are probably worn out, but for sure they will require a service, as they are going to be dirty and the lubricants will be gone or dry: If the movements are in good condition aside from needing a service, they should be fine after a service. Because of their age, no guarantee that they will be around for the long haul.I have a couple of them in vintage Rolex watches, mine were taken out of new old stock watches, so after being serviced, they were essentially brand new movements /

So far so good. Keeping within about 6-8 sec/day. May get it serviced and the hands and numbers relumed and crystal and cyclops AR'ed, but not now. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

One of the guys who is into AP's has been telling me about the Hublot watches, he's telling me that they have far fewer flaws than the AP ROO's. Really haven't seen many that "float my boat" but I would be interested to know as well what some of you guys think about them. I know that we don't have a formal Hublot forum here, so info is probably scattered around some.

I agree that what you should do is: 1. Never ,ever take a watch to and AD. If you have a Rolex that needs repair, and the store has a Rolex sign outside, or says "Rolex Authorized Dealer" stay away. This holds true for any brand. 2. Wear the watch for a couple of months and let it settle in, this is unless it's grossly off when you get it. If it's gaining or losing more than 30 seconds per day, after being wound and worn it probably needs and adjustment. 3. Before you take a watch into any watchmaker, even and independent, unless you know for sure he is "rep friendly", I would go in and ask him if he has any objections to adjusting or working on a rep watch. Some may, some won't. A couple of months back, a fellow was on the forum, still here, but not posting much. He and his father are in London and have a watch repair business. He posted in this thread over on the Audemars Piquet forum. Here is a link to the thread.http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/166872-rep-friendly-watchsmiths-in-london/?hl=%2Blondon#entry1306459 He gives his information as well as and email address. It might be to your advantage to shoot him and email, maybe meet the guy and you can discuss watches. I know that he has done repairs for folks over on RG and I haven't heard anything negative. His name is Alan Thomas, and he has a pretty good bio of he and his dad. read the whole thread, and draw your own conclusions, but he may very well be the answer to repair issues for some of you guys in the London area. I would certainly prefer dropping my watches off at the repair person's home or shop rather than putting them in the mail. Unfortunately, most of us don't have that option.

Very impressive small group of Daytonas. I too thought Shear was a lot older, but this proves that collecting watches cuts across all age groups.

these look pretty nice. I was surprised but actually impressed that the GMT uses a 2836 modified to GMT. Obviously if genuine watch manufacturers are using that movement in their watches, the movement manufacturers must have solved the problems that plagued the early 2836 GMT watches, hands slipping, GMT hand not working correctly, etc. Very nice looking watches at a very attractive and competitive price point.

Did you opt for the triangle shipping this time or are you going to take a chance on getting these through. I would be very careful, they let you off relatively easy the first time. I know 500 Euros is not pocket change, but it's a lot better than 14600 Euros. If you get caught again, I doubt that they will play nice with you like this time. Basically, the fine was a "Cease and Desist" Sort of like when you get stopped for speeding, and the cop gives you a warning and says "Don't let me catch you speeding again" Second time, he's going to come down hard on you. No amount of reps are worth spending time in jail!!

I'm not sure, sneed had the case, my original case would not accept a gen bezel assembly. Like a lot of our rep stuff, it looked almost identical, but it wasn't. I believe the BP GMT IIC's will accept gen parts. I believe that's what sneed told me when we were looking to make the original mods which was the gen crystal and the bezel/insert.

It's a genuine dial!! It looks a thousand times better in real life. Unfortunately, no matter how good your photos are, the forums website compresses the hell out of photos. Can't complain though, as it would take a huge amount of bandwidth to support photos that are 700-800 kb or bigger. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

possibly we are digressing, because the OP wanted to know if there is a "one and Done AP" quick answer ,No!! But to get back to the idea of modding. I believe that first off you need to have a plan, and then a budget. but most importantly, you need to know that the person who is doing the modding is competent and well trained enough to undertake what he claims.This includes having the necessary equipment to do the job correctly. it's expensive enough to have watches modded, but it's very disappointing when one comes back and is worse than when it left!! There are some good guys here on this and other forums, and I feel sure that outside of one or two that were basically wholesale scammers, most mean well. But wanting to do a good job and doing a good job are definitely different. So from one who has been disappointed quite a few times, it pays to do your due diligence. Not everyone is going to please every client ever time, but if you are looking for a modder/watchsmith and there are persistent neutral and negative comments about their work, I would keep looking.

Who in the world comes up with these abortions!!!