TeeJay

It's 28.7c here at the moment, so I thought I'd switch things round a bit...

Thank you for kind words @TJ - i will tell Carol your compliments!

However a feeling arouse when i saw the picture of you and your wife...

I cant describe that very good but i would say YOU ARE a "matched" couple

if you know what i mean

this may just be a feeling from my side but many times i had this

feeling when getting to know friends and other couples it turned out

to be "right". There might never be 100% certitude if a couple stays

together or not - it is just that most of the times when a couple

stays together for a very long time or for entire life, most of these

people do have something "familiar" in their appearance...

I mean that having "something in common" in appearance or even looking "related"

as from the same family can often be an advantage - the chance of beeing

long and luckily together seems to be higher then!

All the best to both of you

And yes, if you consider that beautiful painting of "Lilith" it might be

worth to give it a try.

George

You're both very welcome, and likewise, thank you We've actually had a few people previously say we make a nice couple, and one guy actually did ask if we were brother and sister We're not planning on having any kids yet, but hopefully at some point in the future The photo of us was taken 367 days ago, at the reception for my best friend/brother's wedding in Tokyo (which was actually our own honeymoon as well) This past year has certainly had its challenges, but it's pretty much flown past

@TJ

Damnit!!

You got me... redhear is somehow my weakness

We are planning on children too...

Heres a pic of my wife:

Sorry i forgot - so i assume ONE of you two

is also redhaired?

Cause if not having redhaired children will be a hard task!!

I dont know so much about redhaired men but redhaired women

can often be such wonderful and caring, joy giving characters!

I love them ALL

Hmm... same goes with some ebony/latin women or asian but

i dont wanna discuss deeper here

Now if she is really a redhead - give her a hug from me

I FORGOT:

Pictures (if allowed) are highly appreciated if you wanna post.

Cheers!

George

What a beauty your wife is, red-haired children will likely be in the future for you, my friend

Both my wife and I have dark blonde hair (well, I would if I let it grow )

but my beard comes through more red than my hair does, and as you can see from this photo of my cousin, red hair runs in my family...

When I showed Emily this painting of Lilith, she felt it would be an appropriate name should that be the genetic outcome

@nanuq

NO codpieces either victorian for me...

My father beeing of peloponnian origin (from Kalamata) always used to say:

What doesn't kill you, can only make you stronger!

You can have my inherited collection of greek fustanellas!

The history of this clothing goes way back b.c. - you might even forget about

the scottish kilt too, knowing that references in greek going back to 5th century b.c.

They found a sculpture in the cave of Archemedos near Athens.

Archemedos living in Athens derived and came from a spartan colony called Thera.

And whatever they did under their fustanella, you bet greeks hadnt invented "the lube" -

so this clothing is for "the hard guys only"!

However ill keep you guys updated when i hooked up and finished with that

persian Lilian "assisted by the devil" lol

Lilian which derives from the sumerian/babylonian evil demoness Lilith

&

Zubah which is a variant of Azuba which derived from Hebrew and the meaning

is "assisted".

You bet, ill poke the devil out of her

in the end she will look like:

Stay strong friends!

George

My wife and I have decided to name a daughter Lilith if she has red hair

Scaremongering for the win

Hey T,

The stabilizer wings are extremely comfortable. The watch doesn't move alot on your wrist. Even if you loosen the strap a bit the watch stays centered on the wrist.

That's cool to hear, as I don't like wearing a watch too tightly, but I wondered how the stabilizers might function if the strap was a bit looser, so that's good to know

Then there are those of us who use vintage Rolex to burst the bubble of wannabe watch aficionados for the pure sport of it. Evil? Oh, definitely yes.

Every so often I am forced to travel to the Atlantic City area for business. And if there's one thing a gambler's mecca has, it's high end watch shops. So if I find myself in the vicinity on a weekend, I just cannot say no. I was in one store looking at nice chronographs, having walked right past the display of (ewwwwwwwww) new Rolex. Wearing cheap shorts, a long sleeve Kaladi Brothers t-shirt and birkenstocks, I was holding a very nice IWC split seconds flyback chrono. The salesman was looking at me like I had crawled out from beneath the boardwalk. I admired the precision of the flyback mechanism, and the salesman asked if I had seen the new Daytona yet? His voice was dripping with sarcasm ... you could drown an entire squad of Aquazine synchronized swimmers with one sentence. So I perked right up and said "Daytona?" Let me see!! (imitating a buck-toothed midwestern corn-fed ranch hand). I scooted over to the seat in front of the (long pause) Roooooooooooolex display, and he handed me a Black Widow Daytona, asking me to please keep it above the padded display. One can never tell when one might be seized with a sudden need to scratch one's backside, inadvertently dropping the expensive watch on the glass counter top. So I turned the horrific Black Widow this way and that, imagining how it looked in my mind's eye compared to Ubi's Best, and a small glint of genuine vintage stainless steel peeked out from my sleeve. Lo and behold, it sported a 20mm oyster bracelet. The salesman saw it the same time as the store manager, and the salesman asked "oh, are you familiar with the Rolex brand?" I extended my hand just a little, letting the sleeve creep up, and mumbled something just as the manager said in a little tiny squeaky voice like a hamster, "My God, that's a Red".

Game, set, match.

I wouldn't wear any Rolex newer than about 1975 even if it was given to me. But I love the vintage models.

Awesome story I bet the salesman got a little chat after you left about how they should enquire what watch Sir is wearing at the moment before launching into their sales show Totally with you on the vintage aspect as well. Okay, so the Tudor Sub I wear should be 80s-90s vintage, rather than 70s, but, it at least says Tudor on the dial, so it has a bit of camouflage The only modern Rolex I felt really comfortable wearing, was the Yacht-Master

Despite what Rolex stands for (whether good or bad depends on your perception), IMHO, Rolex has the most classic design. That's why Sub is the most copied watch in the world ever.

Absolutely so, and that is what keeps me from drifting to other brands like Patek (as I do rather like the look of the Nautilus) I keep thinking, "Yeah, it looks nice, but it doesn't have a timing bezel..."

Did i miss something??

Just sent a mail today!!

Will post the outcome

George

Suffice it to say.. I generally agree with the whole post. I own 3.. but I don't wear any of them enough(besides the dssd ) sadly because they have the name.. "rolex" written on their dials. The one real thing that sets rolex apart from everyone else is their name. Instantly you say the name rolex.. and automatically someone gets a mental image. This works both FOR and against rolex. It must be admitted that 85% of people don't by a rolex for their designs.. The designs.. (albeit original) have not changed for the most part during the last half century and many mid-range companies make watches with almost exact specifications to rolex for half the price and just as good quality.. There's something about having the name ROLEX written on your watch that does something to all of us psychologically...

+1

Given my brief period of collecting, I've gone from Rolex, to Omega, to Panerai, and back to Rolex, or rather, Tudor, again. As watches, they fit the niche of my requirements, but I agree absolutely about the point of them having 'Rolex' on the dial. That is what I like about Tudor: All the design heritage, and none of the less flattering perceptions/misconceptions that 'the R Word' conveys to others. I think I realized this most the other day when I decided to abort my Daytona project, and instead build a Tudor chronograph instead, even though it's going to cost me twice as much (both movement and dial, rather than just a new movement) simply so it won't be 'a Rolex' when it's finished.

Awesome piece, amigo Out of curiosity, how does it wear with the stabilizer straps? Would you say it increases or decreases wearer comfort?

You've got to hand it to her. Having studied the purchasing behaviour across the forum for several months for rich people to fleece, you've got to admire her capacity for picking a mark

I am just kidding. I think the real reason is she looked at the hitman signature, noticed the art connection, spotted the $120m heist in Paris yesterday and reckons she's found her man. (PS probably all those expensive brand watches you keep wearing)

By the way, the Picasso is mine, right?

All bubblewrapped and awaiting collection

I wish I had the cash to get fleeced by a scammer in the first place

. Double post

why dont i get those

I wish I didn't, I often wonder if I have 'mug' tattooed on my forehead, given the beggars and weirdos who tend to hassle me when we're out

She seems like a nice girl.. Do you mind if my friend (single/ non RWG member) has a go?

All yours, bro

From LilianZubah:

Hello dear,

My name is Lilian girl, I have a warm and friendly feeling as I saw your profile today at (..rwgforum.com)and became intrested in you, I will like to know more about you and I want you to send a mail to my email address so that I can give you my picture for you to know whom I am. If it touches you to be a friend you can reach me through my e-mail address lilianzubah@yahoo.com I believe we can start from here to know each other better, Distance or colour and age does not matter is only love that matters in life. I will be happy to see a good responds from you. Cheers and have a nice day Lilian.

Oh deary deary me...

Congratulations to you both, prayers and good vibes heading your way

The London Underground is not a political movement

If you're ever near Euston or Kings Cross station (you can walk between each in about 15 minutes) halfway between them, is a pub called The Rocket. Cheap drinks and awesome food, I highly recommend it

Welcome back, my man

Exactly. Look, also, at how much more bold the subdial printing is on the new dial vs the DW (& most aftermarket Daytona dials). Even with heavy patina, the gen subdial printing is always very striking in its contrast against the underlying subdial color. This is another thing the factory that made this new dial got correct. And those fonts on the long-tail 3...... ......I have only ever seen them on gens & Texas dials (which are nearly impossible to detect with 100% reliability). Getting such an obscure detail like that font's serifs exactly right - & I mean EXACTLY - & then printing the T SWISS T too large & in white........that can only have been done on purpose. If these types of 'mistakes' are not done as a favor to Rolex, then maybe the factories do it in an effort to identify their dials from the next factory's? Whatever it is, 'mistakes' like that on a dial like this are not accidental.

The difference in printing is striking, as it is not only bolder, but also brighter. In a way, I would wonder if the difference might be because the more subtle dial color makes the subdial printing appar brighter by comparison, buy as it's a side by side comparison, it's clear that the printing is definitely brighter and bolder. I've heard that the subtle differences to the gen are deliberate so it could be argued in court that they are not a 100% replica, but to be honest, with such accuracy of the other details, I couldn't ever see that defence holding water... As you say, maybe it's so the makers can spot their own work

I love the off-white color of the dial on the left, it's so much more subtle

were the pain in the ass of the rep world.

granted, I am about one watch away from throwing in the towel as far as buying and returning $300+ DOA's. That scene is dead to me.

Building and Modding is where the fun's at, bro

I'm learning from the Master

TeeJay - I only question the credulity of the clasp. The watch, as it is, looks ok. That said, often, where there is smoke......

Exactly... The engraving on the caseback might well be kosher, but I do wonder if it has undergone artificial aging by someone who is really skilled at it, maybe that's just because I'm looking for flaws due to suspicion about other things... The one thing about the clasp which doesn't seem quite right to me, is that there is no 'nail indent' under the safety clasp for easy operation, although maybe Rolex didn't initially consider that detail, until the now-familiar oyster clasps I think this may be one of those things which is never truly known...

It's what I would do!

I think I'm going to go for it All I need to do now is start watching the bay for a black on silver Tudor Chronograph dial (I want to stick with the color scheme of the Daytona dial I have now) when I can afford to buy one

This is the reason most often cited when something Rolex-related pops up with questionable provenance. Of course, anything is possible, but, based on what I have seen so far, I remain unconvinced. Though, for what it is worth, I hope I am wrong & the clasp is gen, because it is a beauty.

Looking at the photos on the other site, I'm really in two minds as to the legitimacy of it... On the one hand, the watch does seem to be of the correct age, but on the other hand, I know that it is possible to artificially age a watch to a similar appearance... It's the caseback engravings that I'm most curious about, given how the numbers appear more worn away towards one edge, rather than in the middle, which I would have thought would have had the most wrist contact over the years...

As you say though, could this simply be a fabricated story, similar to the Rolex/Tudor marine prototypes, or, even if the history is accurate, maybe the watches given were only standard issue Rolex, rather than custom and someone has merely usurped the story to qualify the clasp... So many inconsistent practices in Rolex history, such as replacing some parts, using up spares and changing details mid-production run, allowing watches issued to people 'for evaluation' to retain original parts etc, this may well be a mystery which is never solved

Alli - A similar watch popped up on VRF early last year & the clasp (not the watch) was concluded to be a knockoff. While I am firmly in the 'never say never with Rolex' camp, eventually, just about every oddity like this gets found in a Rolex publication of some kind. To date, I have yet to see a clasp like this listed in any Rolex product catalog, parts list or service manual, which, while not conclusive proof of fakery, leaves me much less than convinced as to the clasp's authenticity.

If the clasp was some kind of prototype, and only fitted on literally a handful of custom-issued watches, would it show up under regular inventory? I'm just wondering, if maybe it was a prototype part of which only a few were made and fitted on those water polo team watches, and when those watches were returned for servicing, as per Rolex SOP, might the clasps then been replaced with standard oyster clasps (assuming there were no other of that clasp produced beyond the original run)? I'm just thinking of reasons why the part has never been listed in catalogues, yet still have been produced initially