seanf

For those who don't know, Vostok is a Russian watchmaker who has been making some really interesting--and very reasonably priced--watches for a few years. They've got a new model coming out in about a month called the Maxim Gorky. The name is derived from one of Russia's largest airplanes. I first read about this watch in International Watch (yes, I'm enough of a watch dork that I actually subscribe to watch magazines; and yes, I do feel the shame). It'll retail for around $600 to $700 in the States. For me, this is one of the coolest (inexpensive) watches I've seen in a looong time. I'm seriously tempted to pull the trigger on one of these. Here are some of the specs: Precision automatic / self-winding mechanism Decorated 2432 Vostok movement with blued parts and black rotor 31ruby jewels Central second hand Day and Night disc Two colour day and night indicator Totally wound watch runs not less than 31 hours Shock resistance balance 5 atm water resistant Date calendar All stainless steel 44 mm case, bicolor: stainless steel black-pvd-plated See-through dial with exposed winding rotor Engraved serial number Superluminova Stainless steel bracelet Limited to 999 pcs

There's been a fair amount of discussion about the mess that is the Milgauss Rep. From what I've seen, you have two pretty bad choices. First choice is that you could get one of the older 37mm reps which uses a DJ case. It's not a bad watch as far as it goes-- the dial and band are OK, but it's noticably smaller than the 40mm gen. And on the watch pictured above, the rep doesn't have green tinting in the cystal (which the gen black dial, orange markers does). Your second option is that atrocity pictured above. In what is truly a new level of laziness and greed, even for our beloved rep makers, they have put the old 37mm dial in a 40mm case. And they've put a big ol' honkin' metal bezel around it. And although it's not clear from the pics above, I believe only the edges of the crystal are green, not the whole crystal (which it should be). Awful, awful, awful. If anyone has heard anything different about any new Milgauss reps being made, I'd love to hear it. But I think these are your only two options right now.

If you're talking about either Josh or Andrew, then those listings are stale. I'm not aware of any dealer that has access to any 40mm Luminors or 42mm Radiomirs today. If you can find one, a PAM 050 or 051 (40mm Lumimor with SS bracelet) would be the best for your GF. Those were really regarded as one of the very first super-reps. But they don't come on the second hand market frequently.

I know I shouldn't really care about this, but it seems to me that the RG admin is slagging both RWI and RWG with this statement: http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=28285 Unlike other forums, which publicly state they require[d] dealers to

And this, Robbie, is why we're taking what you say with a big grain of salt.

I quoted it up in post #305. Basically asking the RG to answer once and for all what kind of relationship the RG board has to Jandrew. Their refusal to answer the question, coupled with their banning of me, I think more or less confirms what D4M's screen captures show. Jandrew, for all intents and purposes, have a controlling interest in RepGeeks.

And I've just been banned at RG. Not even a PM. Can't say it's a surprise, but it's disappointing nonetheless.

Well, looks like I was wrong about RG. The thread lasted two minutes, not five.

I just posted the following on RG. I'm guessing this one won't even make it to five minutes, but I thought it was an important enough issue to try. http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?p=341267#post341267 I'm under no illusions that this thread will last more than about five minutes, but I think it's important enough to at least try. In a thread over on RWI, Daytona4Me has posted several screen captures of a IM transcript with former RG Admin Dawg. In this transcript, Dawg essentially admitted that Jandrew helped to create RG and they requested that TWP be removed as a dealer: http://replica-watch.info/phpBB3/viewtopic...=a&start=20 There have been, by my count, at least ten separate RG threads about Jandrew that have either been deleted completely or locked and binned. The RG membership has, quite rightly, expressed some concern about this. The RG admin has stated that they are acting in the interests of the RG membership. If that is true--and I have no reason to suspect that it is not-- than I believe the RG admin has an obligation to answer a simple question. What is the relationship between Jandrew and this forum? Was Dawg correct in saying that Jandrew helped to form RG? I believe strongly that this is something that should be discussed and discussed freely on RG. The RG membership deserve an answer. And if this thread is deleted, as I suspect it will be, than I think that will serve as an answer in an of itself.

On the subject of RG, I tried posting something over there three times. The first one lasted about 2 minutes. The second one lasted about 30 seconds. The third lasted the longest, and that was about five minutes. Someone started another thread asking why my post was deleted. That thread was locked and put in the off topic bin and buried. And by a wholly remarkable coincidence, about an hour after we removed Jandrew's sections, Jandrew announced that they were sponsoring a free raffle for a couple of new watches over on RG. Funny how that works, huh?

Couple of thoughts. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Thanks so much for the words of support, guys. It really means a lot to all of us on the RWI Mod Squad. We debated for days and days about what to do about Jandrew. And one concern we did have is whether removing them would end up being better or worse for the RWI members. And we were also very concerned about how the membership would view this. But in the end, we did what we felt was right and justified in the circumstances. Now, I don't know whether Jandrew really care much about our removing them. I suspect that they probably won't feel the pinch in the short term. They've got enough of a customer base built up that they'll be fine, at least for a while. But they won't have any further referrals from RWI. So I think, in the long term, they'll start seeing a reduction in sales. Someone in this thread used the example of Paul (Wo-Mart), and I think it's a good one. Jandrew used to be very good dealers-- among the best. But as they got bigger, they got more and more greedy, and less and less responsive to the needs of the forum membership. Same thing happened to Paul. And Paul was eventually kicked off all the boards until he cleaned up his act (although whether he did so is a whole different thread). Removing Jandrew was easily the biggest and, perhaps, the riskiest decision that we've ever taken, at least since I've been a RWI mod. But it's a decision that, I hope, will be seen as a positive thing for rep collecting in the long run.

Thanks for the words of support, guys. It's much appreciated after a very, very difficult decision. I don't know if it will make any practical difference to Jandrew's bottom line, but that's not really the point. The issue for us was whether we, as the RWI admin team, could continue to endorse Jandrew and direct people to them after this stuff came to light. And since this was the third time that Jandrew had intimidated a dealer (Ruby and one other), it appeared that this was going to happen again in the future unless we took some action.

Interesting. I just posted this same thread over on RepGeek. But don't bother looking for the thread on RG. It lasted less than two minutes before it was removed by admin. Unbelievable.

I can assure you all that this decision is NOT one that we took lightly. Far from it. But Jandrew put us in a position where we had a choice. We could act in favor of Jandrew, or we could act in the interests of the forum membership. We couldn't do both. We had clear evidence (in the form of screen captures and conversations with Hont) that Andrew had personally reached out to a fellow RWI dealer solely in an attempt to jack up rep prices. That is something that affects every single person on every single rep board. And the worst part is that this is not the first time this has happened-- it was the third. Again, I wish we could have seen another way here, and I wish Jandrew would have worked with us to resolve this. And I'm hopeful, in time, Jandrew will change their business practices. If that happens, we'll consider opening the door to them again. But allowing Jandrew to continue to be an "endorsed" or "trusted" dealer while knowing that they were doing all they could to artificially and unfairly increase prices and squeeze out other dealers goes directly against the core philospophy of RWI.

As some of you may know, RWI (the Dark Side) has just taken action against the two largest dealers on any of the forums, Josh and Andrew. Although this issue has gotten little to no attention over here, I believe this is something that has an impact on every forum member. The nutshell version is that Andrew was caught, red-handed, trying to intimidate another dealer into raising prices of certain reps. When the dealer refused, Andrew responded by saying that he would make sure the factory did not supply any more reps to this dealer. Andrew and Josh were given an opportunity to respond, and refused to do so. As a result, we were forced to remove their sections. What follows is the message that was posted on RWI concerning our reasons: Due to evidence brought forth to the staff of RWI, both Josh and Andrew's sections on RWI have been closed. The discussions and polling on these matters may be seen in the following threads. http://replica-watch.info/phpBB3/viewtopic...f=1&t=41999 http://replica-watch.info/phpBB3/viewtopic...p;sk=t&sd=a http://replica-watch.info/phpBB3/viewtopic...f=1&t=42036 http://replica-watch.info/phpBB3/viewtopic...ilit=white+lies Andrew has not seen fit to respond or provide any answers on the subject other than to deflect the issue and claim that dealers are conspiring against him. Josh and Andrew have always been viewed as one and the same due to their close connection and business partnership. Thus, we have made the decision to sanction both of them at this time. We have not made this decision easily as these two dealers have been mainstays of RWI. This decision was made due to a concentrated effort by these two dealers to obstruct other valued dealers and, ultimately, you the member from obtaining replicas at a fair price. They have sought to control the market and intimidate other dealers into raising prices. Others (whether they be members here or on the other forums) will laugh and think that we are silly... They will say that we are shouting at the rain and that we can't change anything... Maybe they are right but our purpose in this world is to bring you, the member, the safest and best replica hobby experience we can... You may not agree with our decision, but please respect that we have made this decision with your best interests at heart. We hope that the closing of their sections is not permanent and that they will respond to us and the topics at hand can be mediated. Until then, their sections will remain closed with this message there.

Both Josh and Trusty have them. I believe an ETA version of this watch was just released a week or two ago. Previously, only the 21J version was available. Couple of things about the rep of this watch for you to know. I love this watch, and have ordered five of them in total for myself and friends. I get more comments and questions about this watch than any other I own. But this watch has more quality control problems than any watch I've seen. Of the five watches I've ordered, I've had to send back four. Two of them had a bad 21j movement-- it would work for about two hours, then stop, then would start again if you shook the watch. The other two both had a problem with the crown. Specifically, the crown isn't properly secured. So if you move the crown counter-clockwise, the crown starts to unscrew from the stem. Others have reported this same problem. And because of the construction of the case, once the crown falls off, it's very difficult (if not impossible) for you to reattach it. That being said, it's a great rep visually. Very close to the gen. The dial is nicely textured, and the finish of the case and bracelet are very good. If you buy one, just be sure to be careful when setting the time with the crown.

I highly doubt that there's a real ETA in that watch on ioffer. I also think the description is wrong-- the watch probably isn't 42mm. It'll more likely be 38mm. This model has been available for a long time, but most of dealers don't carry it because it's kind of cheap. If you really want that version of the watch, I'd recommend going with Tonyxkf instead of Paul. Tonyxkf is a good dealer if you're looking for a cheaper watch (under $100). IMO, you shouldn't be paying more than about $100 for that watch, since, to my knowledge, it only comes with a 21j. You can find both versions at Tony's site here: http://www.rolex2u.com/details.php?product_id=10119 and here: http://www.rolex2u.com/details.php?product_id=10117 The listed price is $108, but you can haggle with him.

iceberg-- I know what you mean about stealing his collection. Methinks that this is the type of guy who wouldn't notice if you replaced his PAM 111 with the cheapest $20 Canal Street garbage. Of course, I would be worried that if he did find out, he'd start screaming uncontrollably for 20 hours straight.

What gets me about that post is that virtually every message there was congratulating him on such a magnificant accomplishment. I'm sorry, but that dude shouldn't have been congratulated-- someone should have asked if he's OK and if he's seeing anyone professionally. There is nothing -- NOTHING -- that is healthy about this guy. I'm not joking. It's one thing to be a collector. A collector finds an area of interest and focuses on objects that are meaningful to him or her. Possibly as an investment, and possibly for more esotaric or personal reasons. By contrast, this moron is totally indiscriminate. His collection has no rhyme or reason. It's just a [censored]load of watches. And it probably cost more than $300,000. And if you're spending that much on that much random crap, you've got a problem.

SS-- thanks for those links to DHgate. Those don't actually look too bad (although I'd be surprised if the rep actually looked like the pics), but those are reps of the larger 45mm Radiomir GMT (I can't remember the model off the top of my head). The watch has two crown functions. The bottom one sets date and time. The top one rotates the inner bezel, if I'm not mistaken. Here's some interesting info I pulled from an eBay sale currently going on for a 184 (price is about $7,000): Panerai Radiomir Movement - Automatic Case - Steel Full Size 42mm Functions - Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date, 24 hour GMT, Rotating inner bezel Saphire Crystal Dial - Black Band - Leather Buckle - Deployed Skeleton Back water resistance Pam 184 Limited to 1000 pieces Series - G Year - apx 2005 here's the site: http://cgi.ebay.com/Panerai-Radiomir-GMT-P...Q2em118Q2el1247 Some great pics on there.

I've seen and tried on the gen of this. They haven't made this one in a few years. It's a really stunning watch in person. It has the same profile as a 42mm Radiomir chrono (like the 204 Wempe). The slanted rehaut makes it look really different and very noticable. The band it comes with is a nice flat black leather with a single deployment clasp. Funny thing is that I'm not a PAM fan at all, but after trying on the gen of the 184, it convinced me to pick up a 42mm Radiomir. And no one has ever made a rep of this, unfortunately. Just no demand for the 42mm Radiomirs.

One additional point that I thought was kind of interesting. In going through that RWI thread where Neil issued his threats against RWI, Neil was quick to praise the RWG Admin team while, of course, blasting the RWI Mod Squad: Funny that he was praising RWG's mods and admin a few months ago, but once RWG took steps to impact his livelihood, all of a sudden RWG's mods are evil incarnate.

Neil-- err, sorry, I mean "r11co." Perhaps you missed my post where I quoted from TTK himself. That was a public threat that Neil made to RWI when we took away his dealer status. Are you seriously trying to defend this? And are you seriously saying that even with this statement, you don't think Neil would do the same to the RWG mods? If that's the case, I only have one question for you. When are you going to send Hike his watch, Neil?

Just wanted to echo some comments that were made earlier about TTK's banning on RWI (I'm a mod there). The situation that is now playing out on RWG is almost EXACTLY what happened several months ago on RWI. We began receiving more and more complaints from both new and old members about TTK. The complaints were not just focused on the typical TTK stuff (abusive and nasty behavior, lack of communication, etc.), but they were also based on people not receiving their watches for, in some cases, 5 to 6 months. As the complaints began to rise, we, as the RWI Mod Squad, felt like we had to take action to protect our members. So we stripped Neil of his dealer status. We didn't ban him (initially) and we told him specifically (and publicly) what he needed to do to become a dealer again. Neil reacted by posting this threat: Because of this post, as well as some private threats to the admin and mods, we banned TTK. And I applaud the admin team of RWG for taking similar actions under similar circumstances. This is someone who has no compunction to resort to personal threats (and even blackmail). When something like that happens, the mods of any forum have to put the interests of the members ahead of everything else. And that's what RWG did here, just as we did several months ago. Here's what I find interesting. For someone who claims to have a passion for watches and only deals in reps as a hobby, TTK sure did react negatively to losing his dealer status.

Thanks for clarifying that, Ken. Is there any reason that his other posts haven't been moved to his trade area and set to visible yet? I never saw any of those posts, so I don't know what they were about, but I believe other people have said that they showed off some more TWP mods.