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Let's have your guesses as to what this is all about (no prizes unfortunately - just for fun). If no-one guesses within a while I'll add another photo clue.

Sooo sorry. I've kind of made it my thing here to keep people abreast of the 007 watch scene. Apologies to people who haven't been following my posts on the subject here and over in old RWG. PS. The blatant product placement line in the new movie regarding Rolex and Omega watches has been removed from the final script. Original screenwriters Purvis and Wade put it there, but (Oscar winner and re-drafter) Paul Haggis took it out....

Photobucket is a filtered site here, so it makes no odds to me either way.

Me too also! (Shhh, but one of our dealers told me by email there's one on the way.....)

Link to image as it is too big to post. Updated blue SMP with co-axial movement. There are some bargains to be had on genuine old stock at the moment too. Good news for the rep world is it only takes a new dial print......

Was the seconds@6 version available a year ago? This may be a different movement you are taking about.

Ahh - now that one we definitely can answer. Apparently one of our very own dealers came up with that one (along with the Harley Mariner....)

Don't think I haven't thought of that already.....

Sooo true Pug! Do some shopping around also - sometimes the same hotel can be up to 70% cheaper depending on who you book with (tip - don't go through the chain's official website). I got a rather nice three star with private parking off Place D'Italie for the same price as I would have paid for a boring old Ibis on the outskirts. From there it was a short walk to China town and some of the tastiest meals I have had, anywhere. The low bills afterwards were even more surprising. For some reason though beer is expensive no matter where you go (supermarkets excepted...)

Trust you to lower the tone. We did Paris AND Monaco this year. (where's the 'skint' smiley...?)

Nothing wrong with the Asia 7750..... until you slap 11 transfer gears on it, that is. The modded movement used in these Daytonas really isn't worth a stuff and I wish people would just call time on them and force the rep makers to come up with something better....

Do a google search on "Double Name Rolex Watches".

It's been a while since this question came up. From what I remember the last time this was answered, no-one has ever found any evidence that a genuine Colamariner model was ever made, but there may have been a Datejust with red dial and the Coca Cola logo on.

Go to Paris, but forget Disneyland. That is like going to Italy and then eating at McDonalds.

Good question!! If I didn't have a nasty habit of breaking stems I'd buy one and try it...

That was the perfect answer! Cheers oswald (and I've always loved that avatar of yours).

Relume, that is. I'm been giving this one a lot of thought. I present my one and only PAM, a lovely 090 rep on SS bracelet... I like it for all the reasons you are supposed to like Panerai, but it ain't the most perfectly accurate rep around (guess my TAG Link and SMP have made me too fussy). Its proven to be reliable so now I think if I am going to invest some money in mods then now is the time. BUT... I've also been thinking maybe I should buy something a bit more accurate in the PAM line, but I'm not a fan of leather bands/manual winders. I like my autos with dates and second-ticks. The new 7750 based ones don't float my boat though with their raised stick markers (very un-Panerai IMO). So, should I relume or not? (PS. Mark/Finepics is barred from replying as he will get the job if I decide to go ahead )

Hmmm. Being the case with the proper lug size I am sorely tempted, but those short hands still shout at you from a distance. Plus why so cheap so soon? Is there YET ANOTHER generation on the way... ?

I might be being a bit thick here, but is there a list of who has chosen what?

I think they know perfectly well what an asset he would still be, which is why they are keeping him on tenterhooks until the end of the year with the offer of another 'role' in the team. Just long enough for it to be too late for another team to make him an offer he couldn't refuse. There were reports that Mario Thiessen of BMW has been trying to put a massive sponsorship package together for his team on the back of persuading Schumacher to join them.....

I think Ferrari will rue the choice of Raikonnen. I repeat - I disliked Michael Schumacher to the point of downright hatred at times, but there's no taking away from the fact that he was the perfect all-rounder. He can assess a car and deliver effective feedback in a diplomatic manner. Raikonnen, while fast, is not a car developer and prefers to break cars in protest rather than offer constructive criticism, and in Luca Badoer and Felipe Massa Ferrari might have two faithful servants but they will never have enough techincal 'nous' to fill the void left by Michael. In fact they may be too grateful for their position to feel they can voice opinion(even if it is only in private). There is a story from years back, reported in F1 Racing magazine from a McLaren test session when it was Raikonnen, David Coulthard and Alex Wurz driving for them. Raikonnen was the blue-eyed boy of the team, and they testing a steering set-up Kimi had chosen. Kimi was consistently the fastest of the three using this set up and he was convinced it was the best the car could give. Coulthard was the slowest, and was trying to convince the chief engineer that the car was understeering, but they wouldn't listen at first. David stood his ground and insisted he wanted the set up changed, and the team agreed on the basis that all three drivers would try the new set up to see if it genuinely made the car faster or it just suited Coulthard better. All three tried the car and all of them improved their lap times, but David Coulthard leapfrogged the other two to be the fastest. What does this prove - Kimi will drive a bad car better, but will never maximise the car's potential. Ferrari have dominated seasons and come back from behind (like this year) because they had the ability to improve their package as the season progresses. Schumacher and others can do that. Kimi can't.

F1 isn't as simple as that - ask Jacques Villeneuve, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell and a whole string of ex World Champs who had terrible years in terrible cars or teams. F1 cars take a long time to develop - look how complicated the aerodynamics are just for starters. Bikes are a simpler issue and whether a bike is 'good' or not usually comes down to engine power, then tyre testing and tyre choice - something Rossi is exceptional at. I'm not saying it has nothing to do with his riding, but master racecraft is also about getting the best out of your vehicle. Racers love to talk these days about the 'package', and that means car/bike, tyres and support crew... I never liked the guy ('94 and '98 being the main reasons why..), but he's a saint compared to Ferrari management. They dumped on him big style this year.

Rubbish. Part of a driver's skill is engineering the best deal for himself that will allow him to achieve his potential. Ferrari were pissing away money for the best part of two decades and gettting nowhere. Michael and his close group knew what they could achieve with the resources at Ferrari, and they were pivotal in the transformation that took place. Right now I am wondering, when there are so many mediocre drivers in F1, which other teams are thinking right now that they could be using Michael's skills. The fact that Ferrari are trying to convince Michael to keep a role in the team is selfish explotation of his loyalty - they simply want to prevent another team benefiting from his talent.

I agree. Michael Schumacher was painted into a corner over this one. Ferrari had signed Raikonnen already, Massa has been groomed for years to take over as the company [censored], and basically there was no room for him any more. I have never been Schumi`s biggest fan, but I backed him over Raikonnen to win the 2003 title as I dislike the Finn intensely for being surly and petulant (shoving track marshals who are there to protect his safety on not one but two occasions, and deliberately overreving his Mercedes engine to detonation rather than shutting it down when it developed a problem at one race last year as a protest against his team). He is also a stupid risk taker, and has the intellectual capacity of David Beckham. Ferrari have shown less loyalty to Schumacher than he has shown to them, as his comments about deferring to the corporate [censored] in his retiral speech proved. This was all about Ferrari proving they are the biggest thing in F1 - bigger than its most successful driver in history (as well as being bigger than the governing body, as the scandalous penalty imposed on their main title rival this weekend shows....) Trouble is, Schumacher was a success in his own right when he came to Ferrari. Ferrari were in a mess when Schumacher arrived and brought the best people with him. I hope, for their arrogance, they descend into another 21 years of poor results, with Kimi trashing their equipment at every turn and making them realise what a mistake they made. As for Schumacher, he clearly wants to continue driving and yesterday proved that he is still the best (Turkey proved that his team wanted to wear him down to influence him in his decision to leave...). I hope to God that one of the German manufacturers find a way to persuade him back into a BMW (how good were they yesterday!!!) or McLaren (back to the days of Ron Dennis having a brace of World Champions driving for him ).

Also carrying the duff movement...