By-Tor

This for Saturday:

The only "exclusive" watch that WM9 has is the 16610 and 16613 "1:1" Submariners. All others are just the same standard reps that our dealers can get, for fraction of the price. It remains a mystery why the WM9 16610 can't be sourced elsewhere, but that's how it is. Unfortunately.

Amazing review indeed. Late congrats from me too! This was a great way to start a day: Instead of newspaper I read this one with my morning coffee.

Glad you like it Freddy! I agree, it's a nice rep. Wear it well my friend!

I've read some bad reports from the independently adjustable hour hand from the RepGeeks members. So it looks like they still use the bad transfer hour hand gear, which is very fragile. I don't know this for certain, but so it seems... all problem reports sound so very familiar. I've owned 4 of these chs watches over the years so I know what I'm talking about. I don't have any technical knowledge, but I speak from the experience. I just want to share what I know, so the members won't f*ck up their nice reps. Two important things: 1. DO NOT PLAY WITH THE INDEPENDENTLY ADJUSTABLE HOUR HAND! Never. I can't stress this enough... always set the time from the hack position, and use the GMT function from the bezel (if you need it). All problems with this particular movement are due to this bad gear, and if you don't touch the independent hour hand, you probably won't "wear it out". Your watch has a rotating bezel which alone is perfect to track the 2nd timezone... you don't actually need the adjustable hour hand for anything. It's just a handy tool, but not necessary for the GMT function. If you follow this rule you probably don't have to read the part 2. 2. HOUR HAND OUT OF SYNC You have wibbled and wobbled your new cool hour hand a lot (and worn out the gear)... or received a watch that had the bad gear from the getgo. Now your hour hand gets out of sync all the time, and it's not "following" the minute hand. You have two alternatives: Send the watch back to the dealer and pray that your next watch is better. The second option is this: Go to the hour hand setup position (pos 2 from the crown). When you have the hour hand in the desired position (synced with the minute hand), go to the hack position and ROLL THE MINUTE HAND AROUND THE DIAL FOR 24-48 HOURS! Lots of rolling, yes, but for some weird reason this works: It puts the hour hand back in sync and somehow "attachs" it again. It has always worked for me and bklm1234. After you're finished of rolling, DO NOT TOUCH IT AGAIN, AND ALWAYS SET THE TIME FROM THE HACK POSITION ONLY!!! (this advice is always valid, never, ever play with it). This, of course, won't fix the bad gear, but it's a "workaround" of some kind. 3 of my previous chs movements have been absolutely perfect, but 1 has the issue of "loose" hour hand. I "fixed" the problem exactly the way I described (heard this trick from my friend bklm), and my watch has been perfectly in sync for months. No problems at all. Once again, here is Ziggy's report/review of this movement modification. It's of the old version, but looks like everything he wrote is still valid for the new movement as well. Hope this helps! Keep the reports coming!

That's a beauty Pho. Definitely one of my favorites too. Blue dial and gold is a deadly combo. Enjoy my friend!

LOL Frank. Oh yes it does... except the date mag (which is a bit off).

Excellent info guys. I'm quite amazed how well people have done their homework. Looks like many people have similar obsession with the McQueen as I have with 16710 and modern ExpII. This kind of thread makes RWG what it is. Great stuff!

Good idea Stephane! I don't know much about this watch, either. I only know that Steve McQueen never wore the Explorer II, still this model is called "McQueen" which is a bit weird. I also know that both red/orange and yellow 24h hands are accurate for this watch. Well anyway... how about some gen pics for reference:

Look how horrible the new CN Subs are (just arrived at King's site). I'm at a loss why our dealers are even selling these junks when there are excellent otb Subs abailable (like the Noobmariner)... these CN versions become worse and worse every year. I actually find them almost hilarious, as there's absolutely nothing done correctly on these watches: This is the Mother of all f*ckups. Is it "Perfect Sub v2"? Well it has a wok case, no rehaut thickness, pimply pearl, ugly engraving, cyclops & datewheel too right, one millimeter of gap between the SEL and lugs both sides (wrist hair coolers), laughable cg's, etc. etc. After years of bad Submariner reps these are the all time low, imho. "New model"? They supposedly have a ETA inside... yeah well, what a waste of good movement. The dials look good, they have probably taken them from the Noobmariner and f*cked up everything else. This is Canal Street accuracy. I think the only reasonable explanation for this monstrosity is that some ripoff brands (like Alpha, Gruen or Invicta) are using these same cases... and they're not even trying to make them look accurate. PLEASE DEALERS: DON'T SELL THIS GARBAGE TO NEWBIES! THEY DESERVE BETTER! Now take a look at the new WokMaster. I think I'm getting a headache. PS: This has nothing to do with King, who's a great dealer selling 99% top stuff. I'm just amazed what kind of sh*te the factory is still putting out, in year 2008... it's especially amazing because we've seen so much top stuff lately.

Yep. On this new version date change follows the hour hand. On ExpII the date change thing (with the old movement) is a bit annoying, because it doesn't have a rotating bezel. But on GMT it doesn't matter at all, because you can set the 24h hand follow your local time and use the GMT function from the bezel. You can use the ExpII (with old movement) as a GMT watch too: Set the 24h hand to follow the local time, and when you're traveling just adjust the hour hand. This in theory, because I don't recommend playing with the independent hour hand at all. That rotor/fork is the weakest link of the movement. At least used to be. I don't know if they have changed that part for this new one.

@slicemaster: You're most welcome! I agree, it's very nice two-tone watch. Some people say that the bracelet can't match the gen feel (which is no surprise)... but on a leather strap it must be very difficult to "call out". Enjoy!

I don't mean most accurate... or even your favorite. I mean the watch that always gives you the "holy sh*t" feeling when you handle it? I've seen quite a few great gens, but the SFSO SuperOcean never ceases to amaze me. It's not necessarily my favorite watch, nor the most beautiful (design wise), but it's definitely the most impressive one. Rolexes never impress anyone, gen or rep (except the Rolex enthusiasts). But all my friends who have examined the SFSO have said it's stunning. 225 grams of steel. It's a watch for the big boys and big wrists, definitely!

You're not alone Lani... the pics guys post here really make me want a McQueen too. What a stunning watch it is!

Some nice new ones, like the 'Racer Day-Date. http://www.tagheuer.com/the-brand/multimed...ndex.lbl?page=1

SShhhh...don't be too hard on him. Tangfoglio might be watching.

@dluddy: Actually 21J wouldn't be a bad option for this watch, either. Didn't these have a low-beat bph? Congrats for that beauty!

It will probably change at noon then. If not, then report back again.

@dluddy: That's a beauty man! I didn't know you had one of these. @subzero: UPO looks so much better on a strap. Double AR is an essential mod too. Great watch!

Happy early Friday morning to all RWG'ers!!! (well only us Europeans have Friday already). I'm starting this weekend with my other GMT, the "Coke". Let's see your weekend watches guys!

Member "Watcher" has removed and reinstalled cyclops on his reps, but I've heard it's extremely difficult to take off without damaging the crystal. Is the cyclops AR such a big deal, really? The non-symmetric engraving gives it away immediately (if you know what to look). In my eyes, that's much bigger flaw.

Gen. Crown and date mag make the difference.

Please do a review of the watch. It will be "immortalized" when it gets added to the TAG Guide.

The link doesn't work. Use Tinyurl.com to paste long Ebay links here. No need to use hxxp: either.

That's very sad to hear Dani. It has never happened to me, but when we're sending these packages all over the world, there's always a risk. I feel for you my friend.