Uberscreamer

Dammit BVC, I just woke my wife up from her nap, I was laughing so hard at that vid clip. LOL

I have a couple of Sector watches that I have bought or traded as used on the M2M forum at WUS, and they all get worn rather regularly in rotation with my others. The first one that I picked up was for looks and the complications only, but it grew on me a lot > the SGE 650, which in the early 90's was one of their high end pieces. It worked great for me for many years, but since the mech finally wore out, it has been really hard to find a replacement mech for it (uses a Ronda mech that is no longer in production, and features 5 hands on the central pinion, including a GMT hand and a hand to track the 52 weeks of the year, all displayed on the outside perimeter). This variation of the model was replaced with a regular chronograph in the mid 90's, and not many in this variation come up on the net. Aside from that, I have two of their newer early 2000's divers, like the 600 and Ocean Master, which both use Swiss chronos and perform as they should. All in all, nice fit and finish, and not too bad for being bought second hand market for just over $100 each.

You could measure the width of the clasp part where it joins to the bracelet via the pressure pin. Once that is found out, you may be able to get away with ordering a generic two-fold clasp that uses the same size width. I had a bi-fold clasp like this fail on me a few years back, and was lucky enough that the width matched that used by the majority of Citizen bracelets, and got one for cheap off the Bay. To this day it works great, and it is even smoother opening and closing than the one it replaced. Good luck!

I agree with Icoopernicus on this one. If there is a caseback at all, typically it will allow for the movement to come out through the back. The majority of watches do work this way, except for some with sealed backs, like the BR01 series from Bell & Ross. As stated above, pics will greatly improve your chances of one of us being able to help. I am sure that you have already checked, but there may be little brackets that are separate from the case / mech, but attached to the mech via screws in there. Hope this helps!

That blue dial is gorgeous! If not for the price, I would be all over it right now, but there are other reps that have my interest right now that are much less painful on my wallet, and are proven to have a good record. We'll have to see when these start showing up in M2M

How do you mean, Planky? My response was in direct reply to the thread that was posted above, from RG. I was referring to the incessant complainers as the cranky a##holes, not Angus, if that is how you interpreted my words. I heard that people were complaining a tiny bit about the slight color differential between the hands and markers, and about the iffy design to the lume pip, but had no idea that it was such sever criticism. I have not read the BB thread too far down, just looked at the thread while it was still being developed, not after the watch was released. I guess I should have kept up with it, my bad. I too agree that communication needs to be offered regardless of the level of criticism, because that just leads the people that support the new models and future models to speculate that Angus is slacking and taking advantage of their patronage. The haters are going to keep on hating (to paraphrase something the kids say nowadays) and a lot will not be happy even with consistent communication. There are unfortunately a large number of overzealous watch fans that seem to forget that they are not purchasing these copies of expensive watches from legitimate Store fronts, and even though the quality has gone up, they are still hard to please. I wish that these people would stick to buying Gens if they are going to put up such a fuss and ruin the hobby for the likes of us that accept it for what it is: a way to buy all of the expensive watches that we want to wear for the price of one or two legit mid-luxury Gens.

That's exactly where I looked first as well, AK! Wasn't sure about the crystals either, but between the thickness of the dial font and the SEL fitment, I could tell the right was Gen. Still though, that's a decent enough Rep, would fool most I think.

Wow, I knew that people could be cranky A##holes, but I had no idea that Angus was apparently being hammered with such negative responses from so many of them on these releases. Angus does a heck of a good job keeping us up to date on these reps, and quite a few of these would not even be brought to our attention without his hard work. People need to be realistic about this hobby of ours and stop bothering him with all of their petty complaints. No one forced them to pre-order anything, that's for sure. Don't be discouraged, Angus. We at RWG love what you do!

Hey Storm, looks like we have the same taste in chronographs! Been eyeing one of those solar divers for a while now, but fail to choose one when it comes to a choice between that or a new rep. Oh well, maybe sometime fate will turn in Seiko's favor where I am. Mike, between the 3 you posted, I definitely like the fixed bezel white / silver dialed one the best, but I think that the Sinn / Bell & Ross aviator chrono above is probably the coolest non-diver Seiko chrono you're likely to find!

Good to hear you got a response, Gunnelof! Now it just comes down to waiting for Angus to get the watch and to figure out what they need to do for you. Hopefully it will be a decent turn around time before it is back in your hands and performing much better than before (or just a different watch entirely, depending on what he has in stock)! Aero, those pictures just make me want one for myself even more! Too bad it seems like there are more popping out of the woodwork that are not keeping time or do not seem to have a very efficient winding mechanism. If I do get one soon, I have no issues just removing the date wheel and gears from one of my spare Swiss 2824's and popping that in to make sure it works correctly. Decisions, decisions... Guess I'll just wait to make sure Toro has some in for sure.

Gunnelof, if by kinetic you are referring to an automatic mechanical movement, then yes, the BB does us an automatic movement that winds off of your kinetic movements while you wear it. This and all Swiss and Chinese based clone 2824/ 2836 / 2892 etc movements work this way (the one that is inside your watch is supposed to be a clone 2824). It sounds like you are may be used to mechanical wind or quartz watches and have not owned an auto before? (If not the case, my apologies). If so, just like with a mechanically wound watch, there is only one correct way to hand-wind the watch (typically wind in the 1st position once unscrewed, in an away motion from you). With these auto watches, it should only take a few turns and perhaps a light shake of the watch to get the balance wheel moving (if it has a poor oil distribution) to get it ticking. It sounds like there may be the possibility that you have not turned the crown enough or worn it around enough to wind the main spring and keep it going, but if the aforementioned and a little bit of day to day wear does not fully wind the main spring, you may have an issue after all. Also, with these automatic movements, you do not have to worry about over winding the spring, as there is a clutch that releases the tension if the spring is fully wound so as not to damage anything, so wind away as much as you want (but be gentle, as these stems tend to be a little more fragile than desired in a Genuine watch). To me it does not sound like this movement is dead, so much as, worst case scenario, may just need a decent service to distribute the oils evenly and get the gears moving. Hope this helps...

Gorgeous combination you have there!

I for one completely disagree with the whole "if you don't own a fancy, expensive car, then you can't own a luxury watch' shenanigans that is apparently a belief with a lot of us here, and on other Gen watch forums. What anyone decides to spend their money on should not have to anything to do with following the socially acceptable ladder of luxury items if they do not want to do so. I know that a lot of people wish to show off their wealth and brag to others about how well they are doing by buying the largest, flashiest houses and vehicles, but not all of us feel that way. I for one do not feel the need to drive the large, V8 engine luxury sedan or V10 SUV when I have the option for a nice, economic and reliable Toyota, or Honda, etc. I don't need the 5 bedroom house when I only have one kid and maybe another on the way in a few years, as it does not make sense to throw extra time and money away on cleaning and furnishings when no one is going to really use those extra rooms. How often does one really have house guests? One spare bedroom is more than enough. Up until the last few years, my cousin who makes a 7 figure salary (and has been for a while now) had lived this way. In fact, it wasn't until his wife's trusty Volvo decided to die that she decided she wanted one of the M-Benz SUVs for herself. No one would have guessed looking at what he drove that he had an entire room dedicated to vintage guitars, worth upwards of 3 million dollars, and he wouldn't have had it any other way. I think he was onto something there, because it is my belief that it is really no one's business how much we are worth, as long as we continue to contribute to society. I guess what I am trying to say is, for watch lovers such as ourselves, does it really make sense to blow that extra money on the big house, or the $80,000 Audi, Benz, etc when we could instead drive a comfortable car half that price and buy another one or 2 gen AP's? I for one think not.

First off, welcome to the board, Simstre. Secondly, you are correct in that TC and BK offer the closest to Gen subs, but they specialize in the older models (16610, etc) so going with a Ceramic from Trusty is a good start, if that is what you were looking for... As far as what you have listed, the easiest one of these to make look closest to Gen would be the PAM 318, since the originals had base Swiss 6497's in them with no extra decorations, Incabloc, etc. Although Panerai offered to replace this 'mistake' with the correct OP II movement for them for free, I know that a lot of owners decided to leave it the way that it was, for collector's value, assuming that there was going to be a race to find one of the original, unfettered 318s in the future that they could profit off of. So, grab a plain unadulterated Swiss 6497, have a trusted rep friendly service expert transplant that into this rep, and you'll have a 99% legit to gen watch (assuming you go for the Noob version so that the inside CG edge doesn't have to be filed down and sharpened)... Just my 2 cents. What does anyone else think?

Even seems to have the same exact lug design / case shape as the apparently later designs of the Ferrari watches. I would assume that these are the precursors to the Ferrari contracted chronos, but that is just a guess. Wonder if these actually were in production prior to the Scuderia or Granturismo's? On a side note, before I clicked on the link, I completely thought you were being facetious about the entire thing, lol. What's a Chronograph?

Has to be the old site, because I was just on it fine earlier tonight, and it just loaded fine a minute ago as well @ http://torobravos2013.com/... It is quite hilarious what the government will claim to be truth just because the business of replicated time pieces is not an officially approved and sanctioned international trade. But to claim that it makes money that goes to support terrorism is just plain wrong and overbearing nonsense. Then again, who here is really that trusting of the government (any government for that matter) to tell their people the whole truth when a little white lie works better to dissuade them from acting out? LOL, people in power are so good at fooling themselves...

Lol, not really a plus or negative comment on the watch, more an over-inflated response to some observations. Although now that you mention it, the font really does make me think a bit SeaWolf design there, doesn't it? And on second look, the hands actually resemble a bit of a cross between the Hublot and the Breitling superocean. Will this lunacy never end?!?!

So, tonight I was just picking through a long list of e-mails from those 'Deal of the Day' watch sites that I signed up for years ago when I was still collecting mostly mid-price Genuine watches (and have been forgetting to opt out from for a long while, hence the large list ). Anyways, I came across one site that is having a sale on their stock of Swiss Legend watches, which for the most part I had never paid any attention to, save for a few glances. Well tonight one in particular caught my attention, and it dawned on me just how much of a mutt this design really is, and how little original design goes into some of these watches... So, which watch is it you ask? This would be the almighty Trimix >>> (Image borrowed from Google Images) Now, when I had seen this model in the past, I immediately saw the Octagonal bezel and dial and thought AP RO Offshore chrono rip-off (with obvious quartz chrono dial layout), and proceeded to click delete, and slunk off to gaze at the next watch. However, the more that I really looked at the watch tonight, the more design elements started to pop out at me. The name 'Trimix' could not have been a complete oversight, could it? The elements that make this watch really DO make it a mix of three very recognizable design houses from the mid to top tier of Swiss watch brands >> The bezel design from AP, the main case body, hour and minute hands design from Hublot, and the screw down crown cap and pushers from U-Boat! Though I know that all of us 'seasoned' veterans of the watch world have always been aware that these cheaper 'original' brands rip off other more expensive designs, I was just surprised to see how far they are willing to go. Starting to think that if these brands (SL, Invicta, Stuhrling original) had not started as early as they had (I know Invicta started as it's own legit company back in the 1800's), they may have found some decent success as rep factories, lol. Oh well, guess Swiss Legend is just able to label themselves that way by copying other actual Swiss Legends, eh?

Loving that 292, dannesyd! The Noob is the way to go with that model, for sure. This is one of those models that I keep wanting to grab up, but other PAMs keep bumping it out of the way simply because I do not have any other 26mm straps to swap out but have plenty of 24mm ones to trade amongst the rest. 1st world problems...

Thanks for the terrific tear down of the clone p3000 movement, Rolexman! I am really curious to see what the final power reserve ends up holding at, as 72 hours is nothing to sneeze at, especially for a built from the ground up piece like this. Either way, I think that I will have to add this to my short list of PAMs to get in the near future. By the time that it finally has front and center on my list, the 2nd iteration may be done and have corrected some of those tell tale jewels (mainly, hopefully those tiny ones will be made larger to look more like the OEM)...

I just saw this last night as well, and have to say that I am really quite impressed with the detail to the main plates and markings. It's just too bad that the factories can't get anywhere near replicating the power reserve on these bad boys! Very interested in reading your review / impressions should you get one.

A great man indeed, wish more people in this world cared as much about other people's freedoms and rights as he did... I was a bit distraught by my friends on Facebook today, since I realized there were more posts about the death of Paul Walker the other day than for Mandela's passing today. Sure, we all expected his end to come soon enough with his failing health and all, but I like to think that my friends are a bit more 'enlightened' than the average amongst my age group. I guess I was wrong.

You mad at your Rollie there, Freddy? Looks to me like you're planning to end the week FOR the Sub, lol.

So, I was just cruising the World of Watches site (worldofwatches.com) for the heck of it to see what specials they are running for Black Friday. For some reason I decided to check out some of the larger name brands that they have recently started carrying in the last 12 to 6 months or so (I really only cruise the site maybe twice a year, to look for some nice deals on Seiko to quench my Gen thirst). To my surprise, I noticed that they are carrying Hublot watches. So, I decided to check and see what they are carrying, since the site is generally pretty good at posting decent pictures of the pieces they carry, and I wanted to do some salivating.... and oh boy, did I start salivating. Especially over this... http://www.worldofwatches.com/detail.asp?iq=1&bo_products_id=0&bo_products_variance_id=191055&promotion_code=WMP7147112913112134761191055 I have been a fan of the Hublot 4000m diver ever since I first saw it, which was really something for me since Hublot had never been a brand that piqued my interest. In fact, until this model, I considered the brand to be too derivative of Audemars Piquet. To this day, most of the models still feel this way, but something about the diver always called out to me. And now I find that they have produced a model in partnership with Alinghi. Now, I am not really so much excited about the partnership, as that this piece is made using the Red and Black team colors for Alinghi. This has to be the sexiest dial I have ever seen Hublot come out with in the red and black, and the CF bezel and case just pushes it over the top. I really hope to see this model produced someday by one of our esteemed factories, especially since they seem to have perfected the use of CF in our reps... One can hope, no? What do you guys think?

BwaHAHAHAHAHA!