Baryonic Matter

Still playing around with the new camera, finding out what works and what doesn't. Here is a quick snap in the shade: BTW, it's August 2 here right now.

Very important point! As I've said before, I run a forum, so I have a good idea of what goes on behind the scenes. Just like you need a constant flow of new members to keep things going you also need, from time to time, a new face or two on the moderator team to keep the ideas going and help keep the place up to date and interesting. Importantly, the new people should be allowed to have their say and be taken notice of. No point getting a new guy on the team then telling him to shut up, sit quietly and do things the way they've always been done! So much for today's lecture.

One of the things I find interesting is the question of what, exactly, people expect from a rep watch, what matters most to them. Does it have to match EXACTLY the real thing to be satisfactory or is it good enough if it looks similar but otherwise looks good and works well. I think how you see a rep determines to a great extent what you get out of it. I might think my rep is good because it looks good, the printing on the face is sharp and well aligned, all the parts fit together reasonably well, the buttons work and it keeps reasonably good time. If the date wheel is in the wrong place or the sub dials have different numbers on them is of secondary value. So, I guesss the question is, what do you want out of rep watches and what does it take to keep you interested?

Impressive iphone shots there. Next time the sun appears here in the Winter of Oz I'll get outside and try again. Looks like rain today unfortunately.

I'd say a lot of people simply throw it on the table and snap something with their phone camera and figure that'll be good enough.

Another pic. I think this one is slightly better. Practice makes perfect. .

Read? Surely you're kidding, that would eat into my beer drinking time. Slightly more seriously, I do intend to read the tutorials and get it right.

Certainly not as easy as it looks. I tried to get a good picture of my latest rep purchase but just couldn't quite do it. I need a MUCH better light setup. I'll keep practicing, at least with digital pics it doesn't cost anything. Anyway, here is the best shot I could get. The watch looks a lot better in the flesh than it does here, the numbers and lines are much sharper and the pic makes the glass look a little cloudy but it is crystal clear. .

Of the 3 rep watches I've ordered they have all arrived within two weeks of shipping. I ordered a cheap watch off ebay to play around with, take apart, and so on and, 6 weeks later it still hasn't arrived, possibly never will. No big deal, it only cost me $10 but still ... Looks like the rep dealers are becoming more reliable that ebay dealers ...... .

I think I've got a touch of the flu, I was up most of the night, felt like crap this morning. However, the postman arrived and he brought my latest purchase with him. This is the 3rd watch I've gotten from Watcheden and, as far as quality goes, I think it might be the best. Here it is: http://img3.watcheden.net/products/44/44462/1.jpg Trust me, the picture does NOT do it justice. I'm sure some of you will pick up on why it doesn't exactly match the gen watch but, aside from that, and to my untrained eye, this is really well made. The numbers and lines and such on the face are crisp and sharp and everything appears to work exactly as it should. No idea of accuracy, only been running for an hour or so but so far so good. The chrono works and the hand returns to 12 when reset. On the outside at least, I can't really fault it, as for the workings, only time will tell, (pardon the pun). Anyway, I don't care what any nitpickers might say, I really like it. Oh, yes, just got a new camera so as soon as I get that going I'll snap some pics. .

Cheer up, I'm here now, what more could you want. .

For those of you anal enough to want your watches, and metal bands, nice and shiny, what is your cleaner/polish/preservative of choice? I realise there are an endless list of things that could be used, but what do YOU prefer to use, if anything? .

That looks like another good one. Downloaded, thanks.

The edition I have is from (I think) 1996 so a bit dated. I believe there is a much updated edition from 2008. I plan to get hold of that. You can find them on Amazon among other places.

I can understand that people get tired of answering the same old questions again and again and again, I run a successful forum, I've participated in many others, I know how it is. Sometimes I get a little jaded myself however, for every ungrateful grab and go type out there described by Rolexman there is a genuine person looking for answers. These are the newcomers that will keep the forum rolling along. The search feature, while it can be very useful, is not always good at getting the answers you want. I've done some searches here, (and a lot of reading), sometimes I've found what I wanted, sometimes the info is out of date and effectively useless and sometimes nothing turns up at all. So, it works both ways, you soon get to know who is genuine and maybe a contributor and who the snatch and grab types are. In my defence I've tried to contribute where I can and I'm also a paying member here. However, the thread has drifted a little off course so I won't bore you with any more of my drivel. I think I've got the info I need for now. BTW, got hold of an interesting book called 'Practical Watch Repairing' by Donald De Carle. Looks like it might make interesting reading and probably handy when I do start taking things apart.

True, probably not the best place to start but if the cheapy I get turns out to be crap I don't mind jumping into the deep end. I'm pretty good with mechanical things. I'll look out for a cheap 6497 though. Thanks for the info, I'll definitely be reading that. Thanks again.

Thanks, that pretty much answers my questions. I'll go looking. No, I don't worry about surly posts, they're a great way to discover the people who can safely be ignored. I'm going to buy one of the cheaper 7750 skyland avengers and see how it goes. If it stops it will be a good opportunity to get into it with my new toolkit.

I'm about to order a watch that has an Asia Valjoux 7750 movement. I've never had one of these and I know nothing about them so I'm hoping I can get some advice. Is it generally the case that the chronometer works with these? Push one button to start/stop and the other to reset? I've heard they need servicing to keep them healthy. How important is this and how often should it be done? If you don't wear it for a while will it start going again if you give it a few shakes then wear it? Are they a reasonably reliable and accurate movement? Anything I should know before I buy? Any comments welcome.

I'm fairly heavily involved in another (expensive) hobby and many of the things said here could be easily applied to that one. I don't think it matters much what the actual activity is, stay in it long enough and the interest level is going to go down. I also run a forum for my other hobby, and one thing I've noticed is that you constantly need new blood, so to speak, to keep things moving along. You also have to make the newbies feel welcome. Ignoring them or telling them to "use the bloody search" every time they ask a question is a great way to get rid of them quickly. The old timers can then log into the forum, see nothing new, have nothing new to say themselves and the forum slowly fades into insignificance and essentially dies out. Somebody up above mentioned clearing out old info. Good plan IMHO, nothing worse than looking for relevant, up-to-date info on something and only finding stuff that's 3 years old or more. Keep stuff up to date if you want to interest new people. Obviously there is old stuff that is still relevant, but there is a lot that isn't. If you're getting bored, take a rest, go away, do something else, come back when you get the urge and it might be interesting again.

It's a very nice looking watch, I'm thinking of getting one too. You can get a tool for taking off straps and such like. Look up Watch Bitz, they're here on the forum. I bought a full toolkit from them, surprisingly inexpensive and a whole bunch of top quality tools that will let you do just about anything to your watch, all inside a strong zip up case. Well worth it IMHO.

Some great looking watches there guys, very impressive. I will admit that I'm not a huge fan of square watches but there are a couple of quality looking items among that lot. I'm not sure if you've made my task of getting a classy watch easier, or harder. .

Yes, it is! Thanks for the links, I may be having a chat with one of them soon.

OK, where do I find a good rep one of these? PM me if you prefer. I like this one.

I admit, their pictures could be a trifle better, but I find it an easy place to browse for stuff if I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for. Speaking of which, I'm leaning heavily towards this: http://www.watcheden.net/glashutte-original-classic-automatic-with-white-dial-leather-strap-i-47451-p-1.html

How about this? http://img.watcheden.net/products59eview/104/104964/20110629092810_134022.jpg