Finepics

Not PP's fault at all!! Thanks for all the kind words fellas - I'm not so mad now!!

Ohmigod - funny - seem to have seen something like that before - on my left wrist in fact!!!

I know you are right but it took him more than 24 hours to actually give me his PP address after I requested it and he only gave me 3.5 hours to reply. If one is going to advertise something here knowing the international elemnt then a certain allowance should be made for time to get, read and reply to the PM's. I'm only ranting more cos that was a particular watch I had been after for a while.

Well he did expalin that it's a case of first to pay got it as he had had deals go sour in the past but really!!

Having been [censored] off today I have decided to have a bit of a moan. A member here posted a watch for sale a couple of days ago which I immediately replied that I would take. I then PM'd the seller asking for his Paypal details and the deal is struck provisionally pending payment and the seller informs me that he prefers to sell to me as I am well known on the boards. Now I am in the UK and the seller I think is in the US so there is a bit of a time difference involved and when I am at work during my daytime I am only able to check my messages/emails at lunchtimes (even though the forum might sometimes show me as active all day). To cut a bit of the story short I eventually get a PM from the seller (who had not been active for over 24 hours) with his PP details only this afternoon at 1.30pm today my time. Before I have even had chance to read the message or reply or pay him I then get another PM message at 4.00pm this afternoon (only 3 and a half hours later) to say "Never mind - sorry been sold locally - good luck" Well [censored] that. I hope the new buyer enjoys his watch.

Don't worry boys - things are still in progress here, just a minor setback with some mis-calculations but all is still in hand.

Actually that's somthing I had not noticed - thanks. They are brushed but in a horizontal direction - damn, wish I'd seen that sooner. Might still be able to correct it but not that worried. I think (correct me someone) that the engraved buckles were usually on the Kampfschwimmers or the 6152's and then not always.

I went for a 26/26 130/85. He will ask you to measure where you want the hole that you will do the strap up with so that it will fit perfectly and have holes in the right proportions. By the way this is what he modelled the strap on with regard to the colour of the leather and the stitch spacing (which was different in those days to the modern type of stitching).

@V - it was a real coincidence that I came across him by accident and only because I had seen your metta strap did I realise who he was!! I have since become very good friends with him although I have still to meet him sometime. He is a really very nice guy and we have so much in common that I joke with him that we are almost clones!!! It's funny he was almost on the point of giving up his leather work completely but the straps have re-enthused him to carry on and I am so glad he has as his skills are very rare and he is totally self taught. He went to a lot of trouble for me in finding the right piece of leather for this and I cannot thank him enough. So V I am very glad you were wearing that strap when we met up otherwise I might never have had this beuaty!!! Thanks!! @Marco - email him - I will speak to him on the phone tonight or tomorrow and will ask him for you but he might even read this post so may be waiting for your mail!!!

LTZ you should think about one of these for yours and the cost is not much - certainly no more than an MF strap.

Has to be a keeper really as it is sewn to the case!!!

well the leather and thread are period so perfect for this. Actually there are two more pieces in the puzzle to come yet and this really will be a special watch when it's done. I cannot wait to give it some wrist time!!

His brother is standing on my desk - that nodding head is a bit freaky!!

I have a black plain strap that you might like - Pm me for more details!!!

Well here is the next phase of my 3646 project. My good friend Rob Ross (of the Metta leather) has just sent me the pics of my new vintage strap that he has made for me. This leather is over 60 years old and crucially so is the thread that has been used to stitch it, which is very different from the modern threads and really adds authenticity to the period. Rob has also paid a lot of attention the the photos I sent him and has used a typical period pattern of stitching which means the stitches are a little closer together than the modern straps. Basically this is about as good as a strap could possibly be. Note how straight the stitching is - I am absolutely thrilled to bits with his workmanship and cannot wait until I get this on my wrist to add a few wrinkles to the leather!!! Thanks Rob for your hard work with this. If anyone else working on a similar project wants one of these (he will custom make them to your specs) then email him at robertross04@aol.com

Nice but that damn plain glass crystal again. Why is it that the newer 212's, with a crappy satin finished dial with really crap subdials, have sapphire glass and this has mineral!!!!!

It will work but there will be a bit of the strap bar showing at each end.

Same thing happens with mobile phones on the bay. Never ever accept a Western Union payment from anyone unless you know them. Always stick to Paypal and never deal with anyone who has 0 feedback unless you have email contact prior to the sale.

I will start a new thread soon on this but just to update this one - as you will all have seen the 7753's have finally reached a satisfactory conclusion and the 2893 wheels will be only a couple of weeks away. keep your eyes out for the new thread which and I will start taking orders once I have a pre-run example to test and photograph like the 7753's.

Not got mine yet but have been waiting for a balck strap to come with it. Also EL is now selling it for $229 - so much for the other thread that lambasted us for arranging this group buy!!!

make sure you polish that bezel as these were not brushed.

It would seem then that the cyclpps is stuck to the upper crystal and the lower one has a hole in it. This allows the cyclops to be further away from the date window. The only problem is that our cyclops's are too small in diameter!!

Speedy - I stand corrected on the crystal. I had seen that same groove on the 187 crystal and assumed it was just to do with retention!! I had no idea they are two pieces stuck together. When you say it is de-laminating you mean that they are coming apart?

Mmmmm - strange observations here Speedy!!. The crystal is one piece and is about 3mm thick at the edge and almost 5mm in the centre and has a waterproof sealant applied around the inside of the crystal/case joint, far from a weak point - this is not to glue the crystal in place, as it is held in by a nylon compression ring, so one can only imagine that this is the makers attepmt to make the watch more water resistant. Not sure why you think it is 2 pieces glued together!! The cyclops is moulded into the crystal so cannot be upgraded. There is an AR coat but it is very thin so not really obvious. The crown stem is sprung but the crown is almost too thick and could do with being a little narrower. The dial is a little more of a purple blue than the gen. The markers at 8 and 10 are rotated. Not sure why the makers did this as the only reason would have been if the 8/10 markers were the full length in which case they would overlap the subdial. The only way to correct this is to remove the markers and file down one of the two pins that locate into holes in the dial. It is the dial holes that are offset but cannot be altered so one of the pins on the rear of the marker needs to be removed and the marker re-stuck to the dial The lume is the same old crap that we are used to so an upgrade here is worth it as it should have a Tritium lume and the rep lume is a C3 green colour and the datewheel has the usual rep PAM skinny font. Caseback is engraved with a C series serial number which is also wrong as this dial/case combination would be D + series - what a shame!!. Bezel markers need polishing but apart form that it's one of my faves - wearing it now!!! A thread about this has already been started here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=11059 Altogether a must have for the PAM collector!!