slay

it looks fantastic in person! i was at the launch event and watched the interview with biver. Remarkable persona. It is also a great deal if you consider that you can trade it in for a mechanical tag (for an added 1.5k, but lots of tags retail for 3k)

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I wouldn't be surprised if that's part of the reason why pretty much all of our vintage part dealers are from Vietnam (plus the fact that the economy/country was shut off from the rest of the world).

Perhaps vikkyrob or fxrandy can shed a bit more light on the origins of the watch

Show me a better dial for 120$  not sure what you mean by "not printed straight", maybe I have bad eyes... either way, I just wanted to help out by pointing to a decent alternative that has chapter ring + gold 4-lines

Wow, you've got amazing skills with the camera!! Cool build, looking forward

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By the way, I found this dial recently, but didnt pull the trigger. It seems to be a true gilt dial (probably not genuine though). Was around 200$. PM me if you want to know the seller!

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Any idea who sells steel bezels like this?

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What happened to Klink btw.?

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Ahhh, reminds me of my good old times )

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Hate to be the one to say it, but hey unless you're going gen, what can you expect you know. With my little bit of knowledge as well, if I am not mistaken the was some black 6263 dials that had subdials with what was a very very faint silver color on them that in certain light did appear to be white, again I'm no expert so maybe some one can chime in. As for these dials with the heavy metallic silver color definitely agree with you 110% but they can be decent. I have a few that I have taken the crappy coronets off of and then sprayed with a matte finish, letting them dry then going back in with a paint brush and adding more layers on the subdials themselves, throw a gen coronet on them and they not terrible but not the best of the best

Few examples:

What it looks like in the case:

http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/174858-the-vintage-daytona-6263-waiting-game/?fromsearch=1

-Will

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Thanks, those pics are definitely helpful. Though if I'd have to pick between a wrong daytona font and silver sub-dials, I'd personally lean towards correct sub-dials and the wrong font. And the hunt for a dial continues!

I found quite a few 6263 dials that have metallic sub-dials but I couldn't find a gen watch with such sub-dials. These dials are usually quite expensive (between 350 and 750$), so I'm surprised the sellers would ask such high prices if these dials are indeed so wrong that most experts can tell from far away. Has there been a 6263/6265 with such metallic sub-dials (see pic below)?!

Also, why has noone made a reasonably accurate dial yet? Yuki's dials have the rlx crown way too high (and it's also the wrong shape, it kind of looks like a canal street rolex) and the Rolex printing is not as thin as the real one. Phong's dials are slightly better, but their printing is also not thin enough and the daytona printing looks off as well (and all that for close to 500 - ridiculous!!). NDTrading has pretty decent dials, but they are not genuine and they are asking over 3k for a dial - that's straight up profiteering. 

Am I late to the party?

What happened to my best friend TTK?!

edit: resolved

If you're really set on going the Phong route, try contacting JMB.  He has mad skillz in machining crystal retaining rings and I bet he could make something to mate the Phong to the Cartel.

 

As long as there's a rehaut neck on the case, and a crystal to fit snugly over it, I think there's hope.

Good to know in case I run into any troubles

Phong bezel and Cartel case is exactly the combo I have. All I needed to do was shave the crystal wall thickness slightly until the retaining ring fitted snuggly.

Thanks again for the help, I'll do it the same way you did

I'm talking about a DRSD, not explorer, fyi

Hi,

can anyone tell me whether the phong 1665 bezel assembly fits on the Cartel 1665 cases? Phong told me they fit on 'genuine rolex cases', but I was hoping I can also use a Cartel case (1500$ for his case set is definitely too steep for me). Thanks

Congratulations Slay!!

I'm not a jeweller or an expert, but I have bought diamonds sight unseen.

It reads to me that she's being genuinely helpful, to try to get your fiancee the perfect ring.

On this page it talks about the stats for depth: http://www.diamondarticles.com/diamond-proportions.php

It looks like the first one is out of all the categories.

If it was me I'd pay that extra 300 euros and then you know you've got the ideal diamond, because it looks just about ideal in every category. And it's a little bit bigger too.

thanks a lot for your help, despite having a very quantitative background, I somehow overlooked the implications symmetry may have on bling bling! I ended up following your suggestion

Just heard back from my buddy, if these stones carry a genuine GIA certification for these prices then I can't save you much $$ Sorry!

no worries, thanks a lot for asking him though! next time i'm looking for anything diamond related i'll let you know

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a diamond for an engagement ring and was already fixed on a particular diamond.

This diamond in particular is 0.49ct and had a pretty decent diameter for its weight (5.24mm) and great color (E) and very good clarity rating (VVS2). Now I already paid for the diamond and the shop called me and told me that it's not really a good diamond because of its proportions. The lady said that it was very flat (?) on top and that it wouldn't be as sparkly as the rest. She recommended me to switch to a different dimaond.

GIA certificate of the diamond I picked: http://www.77diamond...MBJ2UIXS9Y.html

GIA certificate of the diamond she recommended instead:

http://www.77diamond...OZU6SWJQAJ.html

or

http://www.77diamond...CFWKNABWVU.html

(for this one they want 300Euro more)

Now the one she recommended has a poorer clarity rating (VS1) and smaller diameter. Only the polish and symmetry is rated with very good instead of good. Cut is Very Good for all diamonds according to GIA.

Can anyone here help me on this? She wants me to make a decision ASAP and I would really like to pick the best possible diamond. I'm a bit confused why she called me to be honest, it's kind of conflict of interest for her to call me and ask me to switch my choice because it was not a good one AFTER I paid? Why would she do this?

Thanks a lot in advance

Cheers

Hey Andy, add me to the list. I still have to schedule some other stuff around, but hopefully I'll be free that weekend. I'm not using my old email address anymore, I'll PM you the new one!

Did you speak to Frank or any of the other Dutchies?

edit: I just saw you are already back, hehe silly me. Well, may this serve as a reference for future shoppers in HK then!

What nationality are you? You can get a visa for 3 days at the border to China, it takes at most 40minutes with the MTR (metro) from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. Unless you are American (or french I think, not sure though) you can get a visa right at the border for around 30 Euros. You are not allowed to travel to other parts of China though, but this is not necessary.

Once you get off the MTR, there is a huge mall right at the Lo Wu border station, they sell all the replicas you can find here, albeit the really high end stuff will sometimes not be on display. Take pictures with you on your phone and keep asking for the best 'swiss' quality and they will get you anything you want and could possibly find here.

Here is a picture of the MTR map in Hong Kong: http://www.china-mike.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hong-kong-MTR-system-map-1024x726.jpg

take the light blue line to Lo Wu, make sure you take the one to LO WU and _NOT_ Lok Ma Chau, you cannot get a visa at Lok Ma Chau and the mall is also not there!

If you have 10 extra minutes and want to have a pleasant trip and save a few bucks, ride first class (scan your octopus card for the extra fare) and get off ONE station before Lo Wu, check out with your octopus card, enter the platform again and this time check in for 2nd class only. That way you will ride 95% of the trip in first class and ride the last part 2nd class, because that is the part that is most expensive (e.g. from central hong kong to one stop before Lo Wu second class is about 10hkd, while the one stop further is 35hkd). Just a tip

Once you passed the passport control and exit the train station, the mall is the first building on the right (you may have to ride the escalator up one level), I don't think you can miss it. Make sure you WATCH your pockets, there are lots of pickpockets there! Also, don't show around lots of money when you pay someone.

All in all the trip does not take a lot of time, you can easily go there, buy something and be back in central Hong Kong in about 3 hours (although I would spend much more time there since you can basically buy anything there).

Price levels... they were a LOT lower about 1.5 years ago. I negotiated prices for some reps during winter 09/10 and all the reps I could find here were at least 100Euros cheaper in Shenzhen (however I didn't get these prices until I said 'final offer', got up and tried to leave). Last time I tried to buy watches there, about 3 months ago, the prices were a bit higher, still less than what any dealer here charges.

Everyone here (mostly people who don't know what they are talking about) tell people that GZ is the place to shop for reps and that they are cheapest there. This is NOT true, while they are in fact mostly made/assembled there, the dealers (I believe most of the dealers who also sell here) have formed a cartel and local merchants are not allowed to sell to you below a certain price (usually the same price as you can get on the forum). I'm not sure what kind of pressure is involved there, but I find it quite odd that they are unwilling to sell for just 30 Euros less than Forum prices, especially since every Chinese merchant I have dealt with outside of the rep-watch business will sell to you as long as he makes some marginal profit.

If you need anymore info, let me know! Unfortunately I'm not in Hong Kong right now, otherwise I could show you around.

edit: I just saw you are already back, hehe silly me. Well, may this serve as a reference for future shoppers in HK then!

when are the menu's etc. going to be mailed around? cant wait to see all of you again!

Have my final exam 2 days after, but will definitely be there before I switch continents for a while can't wait to see you all again!

Paid around 300Euro for 1 business suit with vest&shirt and one smoking (tuxedo) with shirt. Picked the fabrics myself, could have probably had it for 100 or 150 less if I had chosen different fabrics!

Bought it at MBK (in bangkok), http://m1mbk.com

A&F ships for free (no customs charges) to the UK through their online shop, so if you know someone in the UK...

Don't go to GZ, the dealers there are greedy and all sell over the internet and are used to their ridiculous prices! NONE of the dealers there seems to have the urge to sell to you unless he gets his/her 100-200$ mark up over factory price! All of them act like they don't need your business, you will pretty much NOT see any reps on display and always have to ask etc. some will take you upstairs to their offices and show you the goodies, some will always make you wait and bring you the watch if u can show pictures.

Go to SZ instead, trust me, you can find pretty much any 300$ rep for 150 and less. HBB A7750 (Lite, good factory) for around 110US$, Daytona Sec @6 etc. They also have the ultra HQ reps, ROO Secs @12 and whatnot

I would post names&addresses of dealers there, but I don't think it would be wise given the negative track record of our cartel dealers Josh&Andrew about threatening Dealer's families because of their low prices! In case I have time, I will write a bigger thread about SZ&Watches, or Asia&watches in general!

So how do you like Dubai? I thinks its safe to say that I have never been so disappointed by any place I went to! I do not know how any sane person would want to live there. I predict it will be a ghost town in a few years from now!