Watchwatcher

OK guys, i've been searching for a while and I keep hitting dead ends. I'm looking for a nice sub or otherwise solid watch in titanium, as I currently have no titaniums in my collection. Looking for case diameters of 40-44mm. Thickness of 10-13MM. Ti bracelet. ETA movement. I like the Breitling Seawolf... but no one seems to have it in Titanium... am i missing something here (Ti would be a killer in this model). Josh advertises it... but with SS case & bracelet??? I like the Oris Titan 300M Diver (gen) but no black face available, only luminous. NO IWCs-- i realize these were nice, but i also have heard they have their own peculiarities, i'm looking for 99%. I suspect WM has vintage 036 with tobacco face in titanium, but haven't seen one lately, and not they type to pay 1K for a rep. Would LOVE to see one of those new Tag Heuer Chronos in Ti... anyone with me on this one?

i'm interested in this date wheel for my 2892a2. this is the first i read about it. can you provide a pic (or link to pic) and indicate pricing. is there much difficulty to this mod? thx. (sorry for the ignorance)

i have a cheap duplex version that looks a little like yours. i paid $30 on the bay... i got it at the starting bid of $0.99 plus $29.99 shipping (lol). Anyhow, it is pretty cheap, but it does the job alright. the winders all make a ton of noise and sound like they're going to die, but it has held up for 6mos so far. the only thing that worries me is that it might start a fire while i'm out of the house (?!) at some point i'll replace it with something decent. enjoy your new box, quite a monster!

nanug, i appreciate your putting your finger on the heart of the issue, which is the state of a person's heart, rather than what they're wearing. i have a good friend, who for many years had a beautiful solid 18K genuine rolex. a few years ago, a mutual friend of ours died, leaving three young sons and his wife. the friend with the rolex, sold it for several thousand dollars and gave all but a few hundred dollars to the family for the boys education fund. with the money he had left he bot a high quality rep, which he wears to this day. now, when i see that rep on his wrist (on Sunday morning or otherwise) it reminds me of his generosity... funny how we are so good at making up rules about what others can and can't wear... there must be a parable here somewhere???

On the weekends, i drive this clunker. BMW 5, 500HP supercharged, high stall torque converter (remember from drag racing days in the 60s), free flow catback exhaust system, limited slip differential koni adjustable shocks, toyo t1-s tires, etc.... what's the best feature? that's easy--hydraulic backhoe attachment that mounts on the rear for weekend excavation projects...

Burrell 8-ton AWD roller... modified with aftermarket chrome pipes My wife drives a two-door, convertible Bucyrus Erie with four wheel positraction.

Go with the 029... and DON'T wear the gen... where's the fun in that??? "Ummm... see that's me in the commercial and i'm wearing a genuine panerai" ...........BOOOOOOORRRRRRINNNNNNGGGGG. Besides, if you let the WIS's know (after the fact) they'll all have heart attacks everytime they see the commercial

Wise move. I liked the look of the seastar from pics, but was not as impressed when I saw it in person. Check out the Oris TT1 Luminous Diver 300M, or TT1 master diver (also titanium)...

great choice, and the selection of Ti is very smart... if you want to build muscle, you go to the gym, right? could you tell us how thick the case is? (and are the bezel markers glued on with super duper glue like neil's???

Bill, well stated, and an important reminder. a lot of the problems that crop up here can be traced back to lousy (or a complete lack of) communication. email tends to be far too 1-dimensional, and usually a terrible tool for reconciliation... best suggestion for all of us, is when you have a problem, don't jump on your computer and start firing off missiles at the dealer, paypal, etc. take a few minutes and consider carefully, what is the best way to SOLVE the problem... write the dealer a detailed note, include photos when possible, suggest a manner of resolution and a backup/alternative. keep the dialogue open. again, thanks bill for giving a great illustration of how a problem can become a win/win.

good reason to polish the inside edges of the bracelet with a buffing wheel right off the start--makes the bracelet feel like a gen and much more comfortable. btw, good story...

Richie, I think you should have whoever opens your new acquisition take a series of pictures showing how it arrived, how it was protectively insulated and how the watch looked upon opening. Then you should post this with the sellers username. It will provide the forum with insight into the credibility of the seller. If we all did this when we buy things from other members, it would add value to the forum and clue us in on who is trustworthy and who it not. Just a suggeston.

another twist on the seiko monster... the 'black-eyed' orange monster... next to my mbw 1680, it is probably my favorite--combining functionality, durability, attractive design and a cheap price...

the gen tt1 line-up starts at around $800, up to low/mid $2000 for regulator. their diver watches are well done, particularly the bracelets (except for the clasps which still seem lower quality). oris uses slightly modified eta's for most movements. i have not yet seen a decent rep of the tt1s although there are a few reps of this line. i'd agree that although they do have some very respectable entries in the sub lineup, that the rest of the line gets limited respect. even large dealers like tourneau do not keep oris in the same show room as the polexes et al, and relegate them to their smaller "sport watch" stores with luminox, sector, etc.

my guess is that if it is too big for your wrist, you could quickly resell it without taking too much of a hit. if it costs 250, you could probably get rid of it for 200. btw, if that happens, feel free to PM me and i might be interested if it is still in new condition. good luck.

finepics/palp... post a pic or two pics, that's more convincing. the tricky thing about the vintage lume jobs is that they do not have the metal retaining border that we see in ubi's closeup pic of that standard marker. without that, it takes a very steady hand. the other thing i like about zig's work is that it not only has the correct vintage-yellow tint, but it glows like a torch at night... side story: i walked into an AG yesterday... one of the largest in metro NYC, in order to try on an Oris tt1. I was wearing the 1680 and took it off to try on the Oris. So the salesman picks up my 1680, looks it all over, then says "so how's your R-L-X running"... I said "runs fine, but i just wear that as a 'beater'" ... the guy's jaw dropped and nearly hit the floor... but, fwiw, this guy was pretty green and wouldn't have known a gen from a rep anyway... goes to show you who's really manning the counters at these AGs...

geez... if only I had read that sharper image ad before I wote the description of this VC, ... i too could have gasped and murmured about the 'fortuitous series of events' that lead to my putting it up on watchtrader... and i am sure the movement was crafted by a team of highly skilled chinese artisans who were trained by swiss gnomes... http://www.watchtrader.cc/forums/index.php?showtopic=2895

only one guy that seems to get this mod right... The Zigmeister. i had him lume my 1680... he used an ivory matte lume which is very bright in the dark and has a smooth matte yellowish look of a real vintage in the light... i doubt this picture will show what i'm talking about well, but here it is (the dk flecks are not on the lume, but rain drops from when i took the pic outside):

nice job and even better showing us the pics. one question. when you use the clear tape to reposition the sub hand, it appears the adhesive is only attached to the sub hand at the center circle... is that right, and is there any risk when you do this of getting the tape against the lume and tearing some off? thx.

hfc: you're probably familiar with 'preppyboy', but here's a link to an xxl he has for sale. let me know how his pricing compares. he's also on ebay, and i would say his prices are a little lower than standard discount sites, but not at 'liquidation' level, which is what i'm looking for. http://www.chronosfinetime.com/inside.php?...021&pageno=

jay, btw, i am actually looking for the same shop you are, just different brand. looking for NIB Oris Master Diver Regulator. while this is not in quite the same price class as a pam, please advise if you find some good dealers...

cray/cwai, where are you sourcing the insert from, how about sources for a decent pearl? the watch looks nice as is, but dial mkrs are painted and need luming, cgs should be thinned a bit and i'd also install 2mm springbars. also, bracelet needs a little work to take off sharp edges and polish inside. when you're done, it looks and feels like a gen. this MBW came from luckyyy, i had no problems, took about 14days.

asian auto... there have been several sales in the$140-180 range, don't recall which dealer, maybe paul, whatever, that's not the point... the point is i'm looking for a decent version of arktos which i have yet to see, perhaps ttk's is beginning of better things to come.

CGs look good...

If you look closely, even with epoxy, you can see the glue at the base of the letter, it is an immediate and dead give away that it's a rep. The 2nd gen's can be had for $150. A smart factory/dealer would make the effort to create a good rep which command 2-3x that price. A lot of us had been waiting for the ARKTOS for years... so the recent attempts were a very disappointing failure. TTKs latest looks very good, I am curious about how strong the adherence of the NSEW. Kudos to TTK.