ninjagaiden

Oh man! Not sure how I feel about all of this. On the one hand, who in their right mind is going to go decide they are dropping 2500GBP on a watch and then buy it from Costco. They aren't going to offer any aftersales care are they? I doubt anyone in store could even resize a high end Tag link bracelet. On the other hand, Costco have been around for years and have a reputation for keen pricing and low margins on their sales. Their Buyers must think they are selling Gen items, and paying a reasonable amount for them. Who are Sead & Trevor?

So I was in a UK Costco today, and happened to wander past the jewellery and watches display to be amazed by the amount of watch bling on display. They had an SMP, A Breitling Galactic, BCE, and three fairly high end Tags all out on display. The Breitling Galactic was marked up as reduced because it had no papers, and all of the Breitlings came in very plain Jane leather cases. Do you think they were all Gens?

This is going to depend on the QC process for your rep dealer. If you see images of a watch with your order number on them, and the logo position is correct then I guess you will be okay and you will have landed yourself with a $62 bargain! Some people have posted QC pics they have been sent, and there is no ID on the watch, so no way to be sure unless you see them.

You get what you (don't) pay for. @jms1988 : How come you need a $100 rep if you have a gen one?

+1 on the names. I have a good friend who we all call Karen. Her real name is something like Gao Len but as if to prove Watchmeister's point I am likely to have spelt it wrong. I don't think it is dishonest.

Would you consider compromising on your choice of rep? A simpler design means fewer potential points of failure. Did you see By-Tor's review of the SS Daydate II with smooth bezel, blue dial and silver markers. That's one good rep and with an asian 2836 is coming in to your price range. Otherwise you could look at the best rep you can get for a given price. I got a BR02 SS for $148 and I wear it more than any of my other reps.

Folks, My Datejust II arrived from Josh today. It has the Jubilee bracelet with the 2006 year clasp. I got it all sized up and had a heck of a job getting the clasp undone when on my wrist. Is there a better way to release it than pulling on the little Rolex crown? Mine is gold plated so I don't want to damage it.

Got email back from Josh. He said send it back and he will sort it out, so no worries there. Will just be without the Exp2 for a little while...

Thanks so much guys. GMT movement sounds tough. I will see what Joshua quotes for repair costs. Web site says he has a base station in the UK for UK to EU shipping so maybe I can return there.

Dear All, I've had my A2836-2 based explorer II for just over a month now, and it has had an easy life, living in the watch winder and given a low duty cycle. I moved it off the winder a couple for days ago to run up some other watches. This morning I wound it a little by moving to and fro and set the time again. Two hours later the movement has frozen. Initially pulling the crown out and pressing it in got it running for a bit but now it has stopped. I got the watch from Josh and I am going to ask him about sending it back for repair, but if it's going to cost a lot to ship back, I was wondering how difficult it is for a watch noob to swap the movements? Also how easy is it to get the movement itself in the UK/EU? Thanks N

Normal service resumes in China, so I ordered by 5711 from Josh. Can't wait to get it ...

Mine arrived today and I just unboxed them. Results are interesting. Can't determine any active noise cancellation (though the cups do an excellent job of passive noise cancellation). Plugged them into my laptop and got some mains hum coming through the headphones and initially pretty dreadful sound. I then nudged the cable and the sound cleared up nicely. I would say they are on a par with my Bose headphones - slightly bright, tuned for a bassy response. Also the left right balance seemed a little off. I swapped to the black cable and the glitching got much better on my laptop. Then I plugged them into my Ipod and wow! Very impressive performance and the added punch of the active cans comes through. On an Ipod they sound better than my Bose cans. There is a little bit of a 'sound field' and compression effect with the powered headphones though. So ironically for a rep of a monster cable product, I think my cans are limited by the quality of the cable (or connectors). However, for use with mobile devices that are optimised for cr*ppy little low impedance earbuds, then these might just be the ticket.

Be interested to hear how you get on with your watch. China will come on line on Saturday... I tend to get stuff from Josh and I want an orange bezel 45mm UPO. I am also goin to ask if he can get me a black bezel to go with it. My logic is that I *loev* the orange colour but it is possible that it will age better with a black bezel like yours. This way I get the best of both worlds if people decide that orange is out in a few years time.

It is indeed a sad day, but being in the trade I can tell you he has done *extremely* well for his underlying health condition. He had a neuroendocrine tumour of his pancreas diagnosed in 2004 and had a liver transplant in 2009. His determination and stoicism to beat his illness is just typical of his attitude to life. Rest in peace ...

So if it is in the winder, and the dial is facing towards you, the whole watch needs to turn clockwise for it to wind?

Update : I just got an email back from Josh, so he is still checking his mail even if not processing orders.

@Calatrava : Exactly the feedback I needed! Once the Golden week holiday is over I am ordering one of these little beauties from Josh. The design is just timeless and for some reason reminds me of the Pan-Am logo. Thank you so much!

Folks, I think it is national holiday this week in China, so not sure if orders from the chinese e-tailers will be processed this week. Looking back, I received a go-ahead confirmation from Joshua at 9.46pm on Friday 30th September, and an order confirmation on a separate order on Sun 2nd September at 14.17, so I might be lucky with my two orders. Best wishes N

What wind time and rest time do you use?

Just bumping this on. I have had the same issue with an A7750 in my Breitling BB. I did not realise it winds in only one direction. I store the watch in a winder that winds in both directions, rotating for 10 minutes then resting for 90 minutes. It sometimes is loosing power when I take the watch out of the winder and put it on my (left) wrist whilst working at a desk in the evening. Maybe it would be better to set it to wind in one direction only. Anyone know which direction (looking at the watch face on)? Thanks N

Indeed. The white dial BA that#s available now looks okay but the blue hands and sticks are different colours. Such a shame! I always liked the Speedmasters. My Dad passed one up for a Memomatic back when I was a kid and I always thought he made the wrong choice. I dont know why for me there seems to be an elephant in the room with the UPO rep, dare I say it. Compared to the current gen UPO the coloured part of the bezel is too narrow, the font of the 6 is wrong, and the word seamaster on the dial should be in orange. People seem to be okay with it though. I think I will wait for a bit and see what is round the corner. Thanks N

Thanks guys. I did my research since posting this and came to the same conclusions. Consider my wrist slapped! My preference is for the 212 shape, but I have yet to see a Gen in the flesh, which is part of the problem. Hmm, feel a layover at Geneva airport is necessary...

Thank you both. This is very helpful and I am definitely leaning towards this rather than the Pam 286. One more question if I may - even if the colour reproduction on the dial does not match the Gen, is it metallic / shiny rather than matt. I can live with the colour being out as long is the dial itself has some degree of light reflection to it.

Been reading up on the Omega UPO and I chanced upon this the Omega Broad Arrow on the Omega web site http://www.omegawatches.com/gents/speedmaster/broad-arrow/32110445001001 I hadn't looked at a Speedmaster before but this one is stunning. Should I get a UPO now or wait for a rep of this one...

Folks, I have my 4th rep on order from Joshua and I am thinking about my next purchase (always good to plan ahead). I am thinking of something with a non chrono styling which is around 42-44mm in size but wears quite flush to the wrist. I#d like an ETA mechanism and a clear caseback to admire it. Case has to be SS. Two watches come to mind are the Pam 286J (which has been on and off the wish list a lot) and the 5711/1A. I like that the Nautilus is thin, and the styling is definitely distinctive. I was looking out for some feedback from people that have had them a while, specifically : 1. How much does it weigh? 2. How good is the blue on the dial? 3. The stuck on logo on the rotor - is it that much of a dealbreaker given how faithfully repped the rest of the watch is? Thanks N