mjmurphy926

I really have nothing to compare my DSN with apart from the pictures. I find its good enough for me. If I ever get in to a position where its up against a GEN , I might have more of an issue.

But for $280 DSN's watch IMHO is great Value, the power reserve seems never ending to boot

EDIT (SORRY to use my 229 as an example in a 104 thread but as DSN released the 2 together I thought I'd chip in with my 2 cents)

No need to be sorry Stormtrooper. I appreciate the input. I think the discussion pertains to your 229, as well.

I was ready to buy DSN's dial and try to fit it into my watch, but just for fun, I think I'll order the whole thing and see just how interchangeable the parts are. If they are interchangeable, I'll probably attempt to build 1 "ultimate" watch from the 2. If they aren't, I'll probably keep my favorite and sell the other.

BTW. I'm very happy with my watch too, I just can't get over the subdial...

Thanks to all for the input.

Mike

So, I have Andrew's "Best" 104 and love it. It's all I wear these days. There are some things about it though, that kind of bother me.

Interested in feedback.

First of all, The most common negative comment I hear about this rep is the placement of the "L SWISS MADE L" printing in that it touches the "6". This doesn't bother me. Mine doesn't actually touch the 6, although it is pretty close, but so is the below GEN example:

Mine:

GEN:

I also like the CGs, crown (not too bad anyway), date font and mag, crystal and AR, and the overall look and feel of the case on my Andrew rep:

My rep:

My rep:

My rep:

There are a couple of things that really bug me about my rep. The first thing is that the seconds subdial appears to be recessed and the same finish as the rest of the dial on the GEN. On mine, it is flush with machining (a ring cut in) to make it appear to be recessed. it also has concentric rings machined in it. I don't believe this is correct for the 104 (please correct me if I'm wrong).

The DSN dial seems to get this right.

Here is a close up of my rep dial:

GEN:

DSN:

The other thing that I'm not sure about is the shape of the case. Mine appears to be a little more "round" (not quite as square) than the GEN. It's hard to tell if there is really a difference from these pictures, or if it is an illusion due to different lighting. I can't tell for sure if DSN's is any better than mine.

Mine:

GEN:

I have considered buying the DSN, but I'm a little concerned with the lack of QC he has been demonstrating lately. I have also considered buying his dial only and doing a swap.

Any thoughts and/or recommendations?

Thanks,

Mike

Hey Brodie,

I did order a #12 strap, but the one pictured is not the actual strap I received. After studying my watch and my pictures, it looks like there is a little too much saturation making the strap a little redder than it actually is. However, my strap is a little redder than the SC picture on their site, so I'd say my actual strap color is between my pix and SC's. I'll see if I can edit one of my shots to look more like the actual strap.

Here is a newly edited pic that is much more faithful to the actual color of the strap:

Is it really the strap your ordered (#12)? The color looks way different from the picture on their website and personally I like the color in your pics much better. But I've read that criticism of SC that the pictures on their website aren't entirely accurate.

Hey Brodie,

I did order a #12 strap, but the one pictured is not the actual strap I received. After studying my watch and my pictures, it looks like there is a little too much saturation making the strap a little redder than it actually is. However, my strap is a little redder than the SC picture on their site, so I'd say my actual strap color is between my pix and SC's. I'll see if I can edit one of my shots to look more like the actual strap.

btw, don't want to spoil it for you, but i had to wait 3 mos for this strap and as far as i know the last batch was pretty much sold out before they were even finished making them.

Wow ww, that's a sweet strap!!

You put me over the edge. I just emailed my request to SC. I'll see what they come back with as far as wait time.

Thanks for the pic.

mjm,

i also just rec'd a new SC -- legend gator honeyz, it is an amazing strap, when i get a chance i'll take some pics. enjoy.

Please do. I was just about to order a gator honeyz. I'd love to see some pix.

Beautifull strap looks real rugged i think im in love with it to!

How much did this beauty cost ?

Cheers Del

Hey Del, it cost $106 USD + shipping (I think $10). Here's the link to the strap I ordered:

http://www.strapculture.com/legendII/sclg2no12.html

I just received a strap I ordered from StrapCulture, and all I can say is WOW!! I love this strap. I love the the way it looks, I love the way if feels, I love the way it smells. (In case you can't tell, I love it!!).

EDIT - Added the above shot.

My first ever wrist check reply:

if you only need a SS case, maybe DVN can supply you one for near that price ?

Actually, the case is only part of the reason I bought this. Equally important is the swan neck movement.

The fact that neither the case nor the movement have any Panerai markings, make for an excellent homage project.

OK $101.26 + $25 shipping

Has anyone bought one of these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...N:IT&ih=012

I know the dial sucks, but what about the case and movement?

I have a 177 with Asian movement and a horrible Ti case (the space between the lugs has been filed poorly with too much material removed).

I'm hoping to transplant the dial from my 177 to this movement and install it in this case. I may even repaint my dial (sandwich) to get rid of the printing and make it a true homage.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Mike

One of my favorites Old Skool. I can't tell you how many times I've almost pulled the trigger on one of these. Just waiting to find an excellent deal.

Yours looks great on that strap!!

As the title says, I'm looking for a good quality croc/gator strap with white or black stitching for $50 or under. I'm aware there are some online vendors such as panatime who sells bargain straps, but I just want to hear the opinion of strap enthusiasts on where the good quality ones are found.

Also, it must be genuine croc/gator, no CALF leather allowed

I don't know the answer, but your avatar is CRACKING ME UP!!

Here's another wrinkle.

It didn't happen to me (yet), but I heard of one case where FedEx issued you a tax statement, AFTER deliverying her strap to you. So you could be down another $30-$60 for VAT, or whatever.

This is why, my dear Mj, I buy her straps second-hand, albeit at 99%-100% condition. I've only twice bought from her directly, and then only during her sales in the Risti Acc. Corner ($160 shipped). Unfortunately, these are very rare.

$160 huh?? I'd probably pay that. Very nice.

I love them, but at 120 euros + 20 euros shipping, thats $224 USD. OUCH

I always wear this and no one says chit about my reps!

ROFL!!!

frickin' HILARIOUS!!

I'll bet you get a lotta chicks when you wear that!!

I gotta get me one of those!!

To me, the "L SWISS MADE L" touching the 6 is more bothering than the large space between SWISS and MADE.

The short marker @9Hr is supposed to be an easy fix for a relumer.

What I feel placing DSN one step forward is his very accurate caseback.

I don't know. From what I see on the Panerai site, the Andrew dial looks closer to me.

I'd probably take a couple of each size.

Thanks all!!

@doc I know what you mean. I got married several years ago and had a son who is now 17. I divorced his mom about 8 years ago. About 2 1/2 years ago I married my current (and last) wife. She's a few years younger than I am. So this is my second go around. At 45, it better be my last!!

The lack of sleep seems to hurt a little worse at 45 than it did at 28.

But it's definitely worth every drowsy minute!!

I was experimenting with "fun foam" flash bouncers for my external camera flash (Sigma EF-500 DG Super) to use for portrait shots of my 6 month old son Jake. I took a few test shots and got this one that I love:

Sorry for boring you with family pix, I won't make a habit of it.

There's a luthier in the Bay area by the name of Mike DaSilva, he offers a one week workshop in which you design and build a ukulele.

My teacher and I are thinking of doing this sometime.

The workshop alone costs about $1000, but what you get out of it...priceless.

I read about this when I was researching building my own. I'd love to do it, but my wife wouldn't understand why she wouldn't see me all vacation

Take the opportunity to buy a uke in Hawaii then! I had to import one from there. Music Guy Mike rocks. Between the concert and tenor, I prefer the tenor by far... much easier for my fingers to deal with, the concert is a bit too small for me.

I'll be keeping an eye out.

In Hawaii the saying for phenomenal musicians is..""his fingers talk story on the uke",....

the Elder "ohta san" and Jake jammed and it was incredible.. there are many talented young musicians but jake broke the international barriers.. he's got charisma..

mjmurphy.. Have a great time on the Big Island of Hawaii.. there is a new volcanoe road for viewing Pele... the islands have been filled with "vog" bring your sinus meds if you have allergies...

Mahalo Brah,

My wife and I are bringing the kids along this time. My 17 year old wants to check out the volcano so we will be heading that way. We'll be spending a week with my brother and his family in Hawi and a week at his hotel (the Waikoloa Marriott), so we'll have a bit of a drive, but it should be pretty cool.

We also have a 6 month old son. His grandma wanted to take him swimming last week, but we told her no because we want his first swimming experience to be in the Hawaiian ocean. Probably A-Bay cuz it's nice and calm, but we'd love to take him to our favorite beach, Makalawena. Just not sure we should take him down the trail to get there.

Anyway, sorry for rambling, but I'm really excited. I just love it there. You are a lucky man!!

I have a GMT Master II with swiss ETA (2836-2) from Andrew few months ago and it kept perfect

time until 2 days ago when the movement all of sudden stopped working. I went ahead and

opened the case to inspect and as soon as I opened, a loose screw fell out.

I couldn't find a spot where the loose screw should belong to. Is there a

way for me to re-start the movement? I don't know if the movement is damaged. I am not sure about sending it back

to Andrew for repair? Are several people happy with Andrew's repair on replica watches and how long is the waiting period? So I need your opinion: Should I send it back to Andrew to have it repaired or go to local watchsmith or mail it to The Zigmeister or others? I have never experience problem with any rep watches until

now.

Thanks!

If you wind it manually will it run? Could the screw possibly be from the rotor?

Also, if the screw is not from the rotor, it may have been blocking the rotor from moving, thus keeping the movement from winding.

If you don't have a jewelers loupe, get a magnifying glass and try to find where the screw came from.

Even if you get it running again, you will want to replace the screw.

Yep...Jake is the man.

I haven't learned to play yet, but I have acquired a few sets of Koa wood to build a concert and a tenor uke. I know, kind of putting the cart before the horse

I bought them last summer with the intention of building and learning to play so I could play it on the beach in Hawaii this year. Well, I leave Monday for the big island, so I don't think I'm gonna make it.

Oh well, I'll try to have fun anyway