r11co

That is exactly why, as I mentioned in another thread. Not really as the strap then sits with a gap between its top edge and the watch case when you actually bend it round your wrist. The genuine Seamaster and Planet Ocean straps have a solid end-link piece embedded into the rubber to prevent this happening, whereas this locating pin was the cheaper rep solution. Get rid of it and you have nothing to stop the rubber flexing and leaving the gap.

I wish I'd intervened sooner, guys, but photobucket is filtered where I work so I couldn't see the initial pics to confirm my suspicions. I treaded this ground a year ago, and established the strap in question was a bad/non fit on the PO. The only way to make it approach acceptable was to drill a second set of lug-holes to make the strap fit closer to the watch case, plus drill a hole to accept the locating pin, rather than cutting it off.

The rep strap in question was originally designed for the SMP. That is why it isn't a perfect fit for the PO straight out the box....

So, what would my almost mint condition one with genuine dial be worth then......?! I never thought of any of my reps as an investment, but......... Nah, I love it too much.

No. Mine does that too. When the genuine springs for the PO clasp become readily available I will swap one in, exactly as I did with my 'closed factory' SMP. It is the one upgrade I would prioritise above all others.

Expect a reply tomorrow or Tuesday....

There certainly are. The SMP rep of today isn't a patch on the one that was available 18-24 months ago. As spa said, the rep dial of old was almost indistinguishable from gen in terms of colour, wave pattern, dial print and even the lume. Small deteriorations have appeared with successive versions of the watch - the strap endlinks going from 5-piece to single cast pieces, screws instead of pins, a bizarre inexplicable switch of dial print font to the one used on the black faced model, pearl putting on weight, depth of wave pattern diminishing....

Wit ta fu' yi talkin' abut?

Apparently, the endlinks are fractions of a millimetre wider than genuine, which means that substituting the rep strap for a gen on a gen case would require a tiny amount of filing. Also, the engraving on the clasp has some ridges you can feel - but nothing that a good polish wouldn't fix. In summary - the rep strap isn't as well finished as gen, but that is something fixable with a bit of labour....

Don't you just love it when computers inadvertently create humour! Prize_Poo.bmp

Just chucking my 2p's worth in here, but IMO the models without the broad silver subdial rings look better with the seconds@9 movement as it draws less attention to the mis-spacing. They are pretty tricky to find now though.

I agree! I propose one of the following venues... i) Neils house ii) Las Vegas (we can all go catch EL's show) iii) Cameron House, Loch Lomond, then a party at JTB's.... Wonderful gesture!

There'll be no news until after CNY.

If ROL187 re-appears that'll do for me. Bang on a NATO strap and that'll be my collection complete (for a while...)

This has got me thinking... We've just about established that the bezel insert design on the uPO is different from genuine and can't be swapped out. What I am wondering now is if a complete bezel and insert assembly could be substituted in? On the rep it seems the bezel has been 'built up' to support an insert made from a cut and pressed flat piece (as per Rolex) to avoid the expense of producing a cast insert as used in the genuine and on the closed factory SMPs that were so good they could accept genuine inserts...

Oooh - I should pay more attention to these posts. That completely buggers my plan to fix my slightly ropey pearl with a new insert.....

Funny that! Those are the exact same three reasons why I decided to keep mine despite it having a squint pearl! Difference is River still offered a partial refund for the flaw!!

This is no big deal as Neil says. The PayPal/ebay tie-up is trying to close the market to other on-line payment methods - plenty people sell their junk on ebay and default choice to take payment is....! They have the cash there and resent paying to extract it, and so the cycle goes..... Time to break the cycle.

r11co Falco-2 watches Marrickvilleboy sportsterRider rek001 thl j-auz (eta preferred) fxrandy (eta preferred and ivory lume, dont try to vintagise it at the factory) pugwash (cheapo version) Ubiquitous rbj96-1 or 2 watches yt74-Questionable? rollypolly bmwrolex watchdude (eta preferred) paneraifreak John Paul olreon chrgod klingsor-4 or more watches! alt.watch.obsess-Questionable? robertk riverwindMDS have blue tmg doubletap (good one only) piratedzeus (less expensive version-questionable?) longshot section8 frank2001 waterpruf-Questionable? justasgood jkpadget2 bremerk2 ylltrb masticore joelmassee ajminia DaveR Jimster paragonrep-1 maybe more jetsons (eta a plus, ivory colored lume, not the yellow stuff) manuel rower ciso1969 Indyclmbr (1, maybe 2 depending on movement, cost, etc.) Stephane Masticore (eta a plus, ivory colored lume, not the yellow stuff) Nanuq (Sorry I didn't get you on the list the first time.) Dieselpower Watchman3 docblackrock JKTOWN Dachshund (2) b16a2 BenWaaaaah - eta please! Also depends on cost. abakan MechWatch cskent69 OK - problem solved....

Diamonds are Forever

Excuse me. I started the bloody poll on this watch, and I've been bugging Jay for over a year for one of these!!! Questionable?! Put me to the front of the queue as that is where I have always been (when I'm not off swanning about Amsterdam that is...)

No. Just drop the ETA bit altogether and call it Asia 28xx, or whatever. ETA is a movement maker, the number designates the movement design. We've never called the Asia 7750 'Asia ETA 7750' so why start now?

WRT movements, rather than just generic categories the movement number should be specified where possible eg. ETA2824, Asian 6497. Also, when the correct designation of a movement is known it should be used in addition eg. Seagull ST-18/Asian 2892 clone. Many of the dealers know exactly who the factories are buying the movements from, so they shouldn't be afraid to let the movement makers' products be known by name! If a dealer is unsure about the contents of a watch then we should provide some sort of identification service (as stated above!!) Also terms we know to be complete nonsense should no longer be used eg. Unitas, Lemania....

No, not a newbie. Just a seasoned member behaving badly!!! What a place!! Anyway, why am I on a computer right now when there's so much going on outside....? See y'all tomorrow....