gregers

Hooray, breakthrough! Just discovered that member here Tomhighway offers servicing and modding in the UK. At last.

I've also got the 21j version and after the grease trick silenced it, it became the most reliable workhorse that I've got. Don't know what it would be like in chrono format, though. No idea if 21js are up to that task.

It's the biggest problem we have. There is hardly anybody out there who can be trusted to work on our reps. The question of servicing and repairs has been asked countless times and I don't think anyone has ever come up with a viable The Zigmeister alternative-and certainly not in the EU. It does make you ponder why anybody buys reps when it is a certainty that sooner or later they will require servicing or repair and yet there is nobody to do it. Having had a load of problems I am seriously considering only buying reps that have a movement that can easily be replaced, like the 21j, or plain quartz. Sure it limits me, but at least I won't end up with a draw full of mechanical junk.

Thanks, do you happen to know if he sells both the old and the high beat versions of the 7750s?

I was wondering how easy it was to get hold of replacement movements. Asian 21js are easy and cheap to get hold of and Etas seem to be available at a price. But what about the other commonly used movements like the old and new 7750, the Venus and others? Is there any likelihood of being able to source any of these, should they ever be required?

That is a very interesting watch which also comes in a white face version. Makes a change to have a hand wound, Venus movement which I believe is generally a pretty solid engine. Not sure how many amongst us can pull off a $40k piece but it is probably the same number as there are people on the planet who could call you out for wearing an incorrect, limited edition, De Witt. Wrist shot?

That question has been asked many times over the years and to the best of my recollection no one has ever divulged the name of a reliable UK watchsmith who is happy to work on reps. That is not to say that they are not out there, but no one seems to be telling and that is a problem.

Experienced members whose views are respected frequently opine that The Zigmeister is the only watchsmith that they will trust to work on their reps. Now that he is taking a well deserved break what are we all going to do, particularly those of us who are not fortunate to be on 'his favoured' list. Are members willing to share the names of other people that can be trusted to carry out competent work? Without the knowledge that there are reliable and validated people out there who are willing to work on our reps in the various geographical regions, (EU in my case) it seems to me to be something of a risk to contemplate buying any of the more complex models that are available to us. What to do?

Totally understandable response from the Zigmeister. The vileness and duplicitousness of (some) of human kind never ceases to amaze and disappoint me. He must be well and truly sick of doing an honest job only to be cheated and abused by some of the excrement that finds their way to him and expects him to offer the World for nothing. From a personal point of view I think I'm stuffed. I've not yet used his services so now I won't be able to. In the past I have only bought some of the more expensive reps on the basis that when they inevitably go wrong I will know where to send them. Over the past few days I've spent many hours trying to narrow down which reps to buy next. Ultimately, the fact that I was contemplating buying high end reps at all was influenced to a considerable extent because I knew that there was no danger of ending up with an expensive paperweight. With The Zigmeister no longer available I am going to have to re-think my prospective purchases. I will probably end up buying something cheap and basic, either with a motor that I can easily swap out myself if it fails or that won't be be a disaster if I get limited use out of it. More likely, I might not even bother now unless I go for a safe quartz. I think that I would have to be a mug to buy something up to $600 with no QC and which I will have no means of satisfactorily repairing. Without being overly dramatic, Rob's departure could have a serious effect on our hobby for many of us.

Take the strap off and put it on the mantlepiece. It will look fine in a modern setting as a contemporary clock.

Has anyone seen any of the highest quality black ceramic Chanels? The non-chrono looks reasonably accurate but I was wondering in particular whether the ceramic has the kind of lustre that is usually found in high end gen. ceramic watches.

Anyone know when the metal bracelet version is likely to be available?

No chance. It's a boutique brand that hardly anyone has ever heard of. I'd never come across them until I saw a couple of the cheaper models ($4000ish) in an Italian airport shop last year. I thought they were some of the most desirable looking watches that I've seen and was almost tempted until I pulled myself together and remembered my vow about never frittering any more money on gens.

I very much prefer the striking contrast of the silver. Otherwise, it's just another hi-tech black watch-though admittedly a superior one.

It may not be quite as dramatic looking as some of the other variants, but I think that there is something more coherent about the overall design of the Ice. It is a really impressive piece. Is it widely available, yet?

Any issues with the strap with this one?

I might have missed this discussion before, but why do they have such difficulty turning out watches with decent lume. Even the cheapest Timex/Casios usually come with decent lume so why don't our expensive reps? Is it difficult to set up on fairly low volume production runs?

A good Tag Monaco has been requested so many times by so many people that I'm baffled why it isn't happening. It is not as though it is a super comlex, super expensive design like the Hublots. What's the problem with this one?

Who's a very clever boy, then! I really like blued steel hands-they tend to make most dials look both distinctive and distinguished. Care to tell us how much those little Breguet babies set you back? I'm guessing it wasn't the 0.046pence per unit that Cousins charges for its box set of hands.

Not bad, but I'd be a lot more impressed if you'd found a 7750 chrono replacement. In fact, I'd be ecstatic.

I've just been having a look through the Cousins brochure, very generously forwarded to me at his own expense by FxrAndy. Amongst the usual cornucopia of goodies is a section devoted to Chinese movements. There are upwards of fifty illustrated, with additional technical data and dimensions on their website. They even suggest that if you email them full details and pictures of a movement they will try to source it. Most of them are very modestly priced-nearly all between

One with no problems, one with an easily rectified problem and 5 with a multitude of problems. The dealer tries to help but it is time consuming, expensive and often extremely, frustratingly unsatisfactory to have to go to these lengths to get something that actually works. Any other commercial activity-including plenty of illegal ones- would soon be out of business if they operated with this business model. Maybe the rep game is, to borrow a phrase, the triumph of hope over experience.

I wasn't able to locate this article-probably my own ineptitude-so do you have a link, please?

Oh, and if I have to tell you why I was taking the movt. out you'll get a real rant about Q.C.

That's a pretty reasonable supposition, Pug, particularly as the movement came without its securing screws and is therefore never perfectly aligned. However, I don't think so as I can get it most of the way in but I can feel obvious resistance when I try to turn it. Oh, and the rotor has just dropped off... again. Wonderful QC.