Raijor

SC68 - nice find of a worthwhile site - thanks

I would build the watch that I want to wear and what other think be damned. That may not be realistic for you so I suggest that you not go overboard on mixing it up. Less is best here. Chances are you will be asked if it is real just beacuse it is Rolex. People seem to assume any Rolex is fake.

Well anything at the Ihilani is 10 times what it's worth, very ritzy hotel... the developer is cool..my friend is his chief of security ,,..not for the hotel for other things.... bought some batteries at the Halekulani and they were over 10 bucks for 4 .. a hotdog is 15.00

but the going rate for the "panama" (just the handle it goes by).. is around 300 to 400 usd.. i payed.. yup.. 50 usd same as you ... friends also hooked me up.. at the RTDA in Vegas... retail tobacco .. cigar and pipe convention .. so South America was well represented.. and i didn't want any non cubans and i have enough pipes .. but ever since i saw the Fuente's (brothers) on their plantation wearing the Montecristi i had to have one...

yup I took a pick of the label.. Ecuador .. genuine panama hat..

on another note.. i think we need the bezel for the HBB with the serations on the side so the SS may be smooth where as the PVD'd ones have it.. but my collector is meeting with the maker at the end of the month and will see what he can source.. thanks avitt..

yes it has a way of making you feel very dapper ..

I found a few internet sellers who have Panamas starting at $200 (Panama style) up to $1300 (True Panama)

They have some very nice hats there

Raijor,

This place has been around since 1894. If any hat, worth anything, is purchased in my area, this is where we get them:

http://www.meyerthehatter.com/meyer/

Lots of good stuff here...and only about 1/4th of them are on the website.

That is summer style - I am definitely going to find a few of those for summer. Up here it can get into the 90's and usually is in the high 80's during July and August and they would be perfect. I have been wearing the cheaper golf straw hats but they are not even close to the Panama type for quality or looks.

Those are very handsome hat's raijor...

it is the opposite in Hawaii,.. I would cook in the felt or leathers.. so this is what we choose..

Both are genuine Panama ...

this is the Montecristi

check the tiny weave.. they say in the summer months the workers have to weave in the night.. otherwise their sweat drips on the weave..

i like to wear these to the Sunday brunches i am so fond of..

thanks for posting this thread raijor

I got to wearing a hat about 4 years ago because the winters up here in Canada can get very cold ... -30 happens regularly where I live in January and February. It is -17 right now at noon and expected to drop to -27 tonight. In any event after I purchased my first quality fur felt hat I was hooked I now have 7 in total all from Akubra and Stetson and just recieved a brown Fedora from Jaxon today. Even though it is common for balding guys to wear hats I still have all my hair but wear a hat when ever I am outside year round. I got to wondering if anybody else into hats? Here three favorites of mine - Akubra Snowy River, Stetson Dune and Jaxon Iconoclast.

Victoria I recall a Rolex Air-King in your collection or am I mistaken. In any event it may be just right for environment your gym is in and still not over the top.

Pure Stooges stuff

I have been wearing this one for the past few days and today while I wait for delivery of a TT Daytona and an AP RO Offshore. It is my Rose Gold AP Wempe Diver on a gen alligator strap. There was a time when I loved a Datejust or Daydate but now just can not bring myself to wear a watch under 40mm. I still love the style of the Daydate and Datejust but I have been bitten by the bigger watch bug.

My first pam was an Arktos and it is still one of my favorites - might be a good place for you to start

Looks like a major bust - 12 cases or so - going to put a big dent in counterfit sales

Unplated white gold will exibit a slight brown / grey color. I have and brushed unplated white gold wedding band and it even appears to be a light yellow gold in some light. As noted almost all white gold jewellery and watches are plated with Rhodium to give the stunning white gold color.

Most people will never notice that your watch is not white gold and may even assume it to be platinum if they do not assume it is fake before that simply because it is Rolex.

When I first posted this,,,I thought the whole situation was kind of funny, now I'm actually not so amused. While he would like to do a refund he spent the money on bills already. If I ever really do buy a used watch again,,,I will do a serious reference check and I will make sure the person is in a reasonable financial situation. Now I have to deal with 1) is this person really this poor or 2) am I just being scammed?

If he was sincere about compensating you, he could send you the money a little over time.

Funniest experience I have had with a used watch ( and have bought hundreds), was a Seiko that a guy shipped to me here in Oz, but he decided to save on postage, wrap it in some bubblewrap, and send it letter mail.

Don't know about the rest of the world, but here, anything sent in letter form, gets a ride through "processing" machinery.

It arrived..."disassembled".... and no amount of refurb, new crystal or nay, was ever going to get the poor b*stard up and running again.

Simple cost cutting error, the seller admitted his mistake, and refunded all costs!

Can I interest anyone in a 1mm thick Seiko?

Offshore

That story made my morning. I can see the Chaplinesque scene in my mind.

Just sent my $37 deposit for Yachtmaster with 2892-A2 movement from watchmaker9. The balance to pay in June, total price $375.

The price increase's the longer you leave it. Have a look and tell us what you think, the first lot of picture's are of a Gen they bought to copy but there are more picture's of a reverse engineering as it is built. They are claiming again it is 1:1 and will take any Gen parts you wish to fit.

They are also selling ETA movements with machined designs done by themselves. Like i say have a look and tell us what you think.

BK Yacht-Yachtmaster is preferable and for far less money

I finally decided to upgrade my AP Wempe diver from the rep rubber band it came with to the after market genuine alligator one made by ApBands.com. My biggest concern that had prevented me from buying before had been the thought that it might not fit. That was an unnecessary worry as it fits the Wempe diver perfectly.

I ordered the chocolate brown version for $249 and also purchased the bar and cap set for $39. Because I ordered 2 weeks before Christmas delivery was slow as expected. What was not expected was that the package sat in Canada Customs for a full 2 weeks after Christmas.

The band is very thick - a full 1/4" at the lugs and tapering down to a 1/16" at the buckle.

Genuine alligator has its own special look that is very difficult to duplicate (some Bob straps do come very close). This strap has a mat finish that will develop a rich patina over time.

The inside of the strap is lined with the softest leather I have ever felt on a strap making it very comfortable. This is the most comfortable watch I have now.

The bar and cap set made installing the strap simple and easy. No drilling of the watch lugs was necessary and the bar slipped through strap and lugs and the cap screwed on the other end.

Judge for yourself from the photos. I think think that this strap has stepped the watch up more than a few notches in looks department. I feel that the ApBand.com product is expensive but worth it.

Great review ... Great photos

I have owned three two tone subs. A black dial from Josh, a blue dial from Andrew and another blue dial from Ruby. In the end I got rid of them and went to the all stainless and got myself a very good LV Sub. I replaced the bezel and modded the crown guards and have had it since Sept 05 and wear it for all my rough work and play. It has held up great. My point is that the two tone Subs are just not up to scratch. If you buy either the WM9 or the MBW you will have to make modifications beyond the crown and crown guards. You will have to polish the sides of all the bracelet links to match the case sides as well. Also, I question if the true blue dial color of a gen Rolex can be matched. Both of the blue dial subs I purchased turned out to be a differnt color than they were shown to be in the photos ... they turned out to be purple. If you go ahead for the two tone choose the black dial version it will offer a closer match to the gen. I would suggest one of the all stainless ahead of the two tone. JMO only

I have had both great and not great experiences - on the great side I have purchased at fair prices off the new price an AP Wempe diver that still runs great, a Breitling BCE in gold that still is running great also. On the not so great side I purchased an Omega PO chrono that cashed it in within the first week that I had it... this was not the sellers fault but just my bad luck. The one that stands out as a really bad experience that I can now laugh about was a rose gold Rolex Daydate I bought from a chap on another forum. He represented the watch to be mint to have been only worn 10 times but I think the 10 was a typo and should have read 10k times. The bracelet was filthy and tarnished so bad I discarded it. I think he wore it to work in a coal mine. The bezel and crystal were half off the watch and fell off in my hand. The dial had scratches from a hand removing tool and the day function would not quick set nor line up straight. Finally, the back of the case looked like someone used a pipewrench to unscrew it. I still have this thing in pieces if anybody is interested. To sum it up ... some good ... some bad. Certain sellers are class people and others not so ... be careful in the used rep world.

How long have you owned it, and how much do you wear it? Still trying to get a judge on how well the gold will "wear".

Purchased as soon as it came out ... so several months ... finish looks as new ... I have a lot of watches and wear this one a couple of times a week. It is on a genuine alligator strap from the watchboys. The brown strp fools the eye into picking the dial up as brown and on a black strap the dial is picked up as black. The rep strap faux alligator is OK but nothing compares to genuine alligator.

I have the rose gold color Ferrari chrono and I read on one of the forums that the finish is PVD rather than gold plating. As such I believe it will wear well. So far so good for me. I own a Chrysler 300 and a PT Cruiser. No Ferrari for me and no wierd feelings wearing the Ferrari rep.

That looks amazing - I would like to see it on a black Nato.

Here is what I have done. On one of my watches I have removed the click and spring. The bezel now turns without the clicking sound and while this is not perfect it is preferable.

Great informative post.

The LAT are not Socialist, they're liberal in the American sense, Pugwash. But then you know that, right?

Liberal in Europe = pro-free-market economy known loosely as "globalisation"

Liberal in North America = anything left of centre

Of course, there are the Canadian Red Tories. Not sure how that works out.

I think your point would've been stronger without the accidentally-on-purpose-wink-wink-nudge-nudge strikeout.

Of course, there are the Canadian Red Tories. Not sure how that works out.

In Canada we have the "liberal" Liberal Party, the "liberal" Conservative Party" and the "liberal" Liberal New Democratic Party on the national scene. All politicking in Canada at a national level is done in the middle with only rhetoric and posturing used differentiate the parties. Point in fact all governing parties on the national scene in Canada have governed in the middle for the past 30 years +/-. They is very little difference in how Liberals and Conservatives have governed. In Canada we the electorate don't so much Vote them is as we instead throw the bums out. "Red Tory" is a slogan used to describe the middle leaning Conservatives.