Tom

Phoband, thanks for the heads up - I'll run another search.

I would thoroughly recommend waiting for the 46mm PVD to come out with the hex screws in the back (may have already come out) Then i'd get either the white or orange version. I have the orange which I love, but its a matter of taste. It is seriously worth getting this watch lumed properly and also if you have the budget some double AR - it works great on the flat crystal. Once this is done you have a watch that is very very close to the original. PM sent to you also - check your mail

I've just bought a chanel J12 for the wife and cannot work out how I remove links from the bracelet. It's unlike any other i've seen before. I want to take some links out, but can anyone tell me how it's done. I have all the relevant tools. thanks tom.

Rob, thanks again for all the great work you have done for me. I have learnt a great deal about servicing and repairing watches from you and it has only gone to making me enjoy this hobby more. People need time away from their "addictions" every now and then. Enjoy your time away - don't think about anything horological for as long as you can...and I hope you'll be back refreshed when you are ready. Enjoy the summer. Tom.

Ufanta sells these on iOffer for under $100

Guys, I am humbled by all the replies - thanks very much!! they have now got back to me and said they only want a photocopy of the front page of the user manual?! What an odd request. That to be honest is too much to ask of people - more time consuming than snapping a picture, so I'm going to see if I can get someone in my office to bring one in, but there's been no luck yet. If I come back to one of you guys, I promise I'll make you a donation to your next watch purchase for your troubles. This is so odd - I mean, insurance companies aren't stupid so they must realise that asking someone to do this will encourage them to "borrow" someone else's manuals....especially a product so universal as an Ipod. Thanks again guys for your replies. Tom.

I know this sounds odd, but let me explain. I've just been to Thailand and had a number of things stolen from my room (a rather nice FM Long Island included). I'm claiming on my Amex card travel insurance, and obviously they've asked from receipts...does anyone seriously keep these for more than 3 years?!!! I've told them I don't have them so now they've asked me to provide evidence in the form of packaging and user manuals...Seriously. I have none of these, so I was wondering - does any forum member with a good heart own a 30gb video ipod (2006 version?) Im hoping there is someone who might keep the box and papers for their electrical equipment - I know you're out there. If anyone can help i'd love to hear from you - I don't know how I'll repay you but i'll think of something - all I need is a digital photo of the box/papers. Thanks

Guys, I bit the bullet last night and decided to try and fix these things myself. The latex gloves were donned and the watch was taken apart. The chono second hand is now straight, althougthih it was scary trying to remove it as it didn't want to come off. The inner bezel seems to be alright now, though I didn't remove it, just set it to 12 before I put the watch back together. Rodico and cotton buds removed the dust and marks to my satisfaction, and then despite a few horror seconds when I couldn't get the stem back in (surely not the keyless works buggered up?!!) it clicked in and the watch is now how I would have like to receive it. Only thing that went wrong was when I tried to lume the second hand. The lume was too thick so I scraped it off and all the orange paint came off. Then had to remove the hand (never done a chrono hand before - it's very very tricky to remove safely and without damage imho), repaint it, lume it and put it back on. Apart from a slightly paler orange second hand - im happy. Thanks for your help guys.

Here they are - my mistake

Having already got an '06 I thought i'd pull the trigger on an '07 as I'm thinking about getting a gen CD and want to check both reps out on the wrist first. I received the package this afternoon and immediately noticed some issues. Now before we continue I know these are not major, but you all know what it's like you wait for the post (16 days in my case) and then you're disappointed. I also think that for more than $300 you should expect more. So, here we go. As you can see the chrono second hand is slightly misaligned to the right. You can also see that the inner bezel is misaligned to the left. If you go one click back.... It's misaligned to the right. To get a correct alighnment it has be be resting between clicks, but eventually with wrist movement it flicks back to either left or right. Next... Can you see this black dust - it looks like someone's flicked it with ink. I am sure this wasn't here when I took it out of the packaging, but appeared from nowhere after a few hours of wear. Does anyone know what this is? My guess is paint dust from moving the inner bezel. Moving on.. Ok i'll admit that I could have lived with these had the other issues not annoyed me so much but they're still there. The left red circle is a hair on the inside of the crystal. Doesn't really show up in this image but I can assure you it screams at you. The right red circle, is I hope just a bit of grit or dust, but it might be chipped paint and not removeable. This next image is a mark on the subdial - again very small but noticable at a glance. finally - this is not really a complaint as such but a question. My strap looks a bit, well, s**t. Maybe they're all like this but I thought it wouldn't look this faded and have so many white markings on it. I have a feeling they are all like this but let me know. What do you think I should do? I know that the dealer (who shall remain anonymous) is highly respected and will replace it, but I have only ever sent a watch back to China once and it never arrived (china has watches on its list of prohibited/restricted items to import so if it's stopped by Chinese customs it'll be confiscated) Can these issues be fixed easily. I know simply removing the mechanism and dial from the case would solve the dust/mark issues, but what about the misalignments? I really really don't want to send it back as it'll mean another month or so to wear the watch. It's a shame because the date and day wheels work perfectly almost in unison. Please can you give me some advice. Tom.

My rep doesn't have the 5...10....15.. on the inner bezel lumed either - is that normal?

Which dealer - I wouldn't mind having a look.

Bugger.

Thanks guys, it's not really worth luming then to be honest.

Yes it was about $130 a while ago so I guess it's mineral glass. As it's flat I'll try and get a sapphire from cousins. Thanks for your help.

I'm contemplating sending the crystal on my IWC Jones (asian decorated) to K2222 for some double AR, but he's recommended that it's not worth it if it's mineral glass. The dealers say it's sapphire, but that can't be true or it would cost a lot more. Any ideas before I blow $55?!

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I have a '07 CD on it's way and want to send it to The Zigmeister to lume, however I don't actually know how much of the gen's dial is lumed - does the orange paint on the bezel glow? I know that The Zigmeister did a lot of lume work on someones 06 CD and painted the whole bezel, but I don't know if it replicated the gen. I have a feeling that there is not actually that much that lights up on the gen CD 07, so maybe it's not worth the money.

TT, I don't agree with what Slay said and I understand he has been warned a few times, but surely it is wrong to ban Dani, just for suggesting that Slay has a right to say what he likes, however controversial in a hopefully democratic forum. It seems a little political and Dani is a longtime member who has added a lot to this forum. I think that power might have been wielded a little excessively in this case. With great power comes great responsibility.

I've got an Avenger with a UTC bracelet. It's one of my oldest reps and is still going strong despite being bought in 2005. One thing I have never ever worked out is how the UTC clock works. The dial has 24 at the 12 o'clock, 6 at 3, 12 at 6 and 9. So the numerals on the dial are, from the top going clockwise 24,2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22 If you wind the stem around a full turn so the minute hand goes around the dial once from 24 to 24, the hour moves ahead 2 hours from say, 2 to 4 to 6. This means that for every hour that goes by on the actual watch the UTC moves 2 hours. If the main dial says 12 O'clock and the UTC says 6, but the time the main dial says 1 O'clock, the UTC says 8 and not 7. Surely this cannot be right - It's supposed to work like a GMT hand isn't it and show a 24 hour clock so you can have another time zone. I'm very confused and think I must just be missing something, or maybe my UTC is faulty and moves 2 hours per rotation instead of one. I realise that this is probably the most confusing sounding post, but not sure how to explain it better. If anyone can translate it and know whats up i'd be grateful.

Don't even get me started on the $1000+ HBB's - with the "genuine OEM" ceramic bezel. Do they come with an authenticity document? Got it wrong about the price - I thought it was $475, and I guess it's just russian roulette with the mechanisms - i've owned 3 low beats and they've all given up the ghost for no apparent reason within 2 months. A risk if your paying $200 for a PAM212, but it would hurt if you've paid $400 +. Guess there'll be people who'll get in early and get one of these ones - it would be interesting to get their thoughts. By the way Riverwind - the HBB I bought from you well over a year ago is still going strong - I got a really good one there.

I know we can all change our minds, but slay, this is what you wrote on 1st July last year about the price of the HBB. What's changed your mind so much? "the HBB is just such a GREAT watch and it is superb quality, thats why it is so expensive. you guys that mock about it being too expensive and way overpriced just shut up, this watch is just HIGH END quality!!!!111!ONE111!!elven!!!1!"

I think it might make me late for meetings...."sorry i'm late, my watch is a bit rusty"

Yes, but does it look like this? No. It doesn't. Date wheel, strap, numerals - this is a shocker. It would be fine if it was cheap, but c'mon - nearly $500 for a 7750 which will stop after a few weeks. And then another $300 for a 28k 7750 - stick on another $100 and you could get an ETA. I want one of these as much as the next person, but I think we should all calm down, wait a few months, let them get it right and then look to pull the trigger. Lets put this into perspective - you could get 2 super reps for the same price as this.

I had a quick conversation with Jakub (K2222) who said that AR isn't that visable on mineral glass so it's not really worth it.

I want to send some of my crystals to be AR coated. On the dealers site they state that my watches are "sapphire", but is this true or are they all mineral glass? Anyone know an easy way to tell. Apparently there is no point in AR coating mineral glass, so if I sent them unknowingly it would be a waste of money.