TeeJay

Decided to go retro with this 1959 Timex Self-Wind (as identified by date stamp inside). I found this piece while working on my house and it was behind a baseboard in my kitchen!

I cleaned it up, added a cheap band and wound it up and it still works just fine in it's 50th year! Not sure how long it was in the wall of the house,

which was built in 1971 and I bought 4 years ago.

What an awesome find Makes you wonder how it got in the wall in the first place I bet it'll get some good wrist time

Woah great gesture Nikki6, very kind of you! The watch looks wicked bro, definitely a "wedding watch"

Yeah, Nikki6 definitely went above and beyond with this on The photos really don't do the dial justice, but I know it'll look great in photos on the day

Thanks again, bro, you really came stepped up to the plate

Meanwhile we will all sit back and enjoy our watches rep and gen!

That sounds like a plan to me, bro Double Ten boys rollin' through

Exactly. And this whole discussion even is what sets us apart from the pack - and why I hang out here instead of TZ (well I do post there a bit...). There is just a higher level of conciousness about it all here.

You're right there, that's what makes this such an awesome community People're here because they love watches, regardless of what kind they are

As you know, I'm exactly the opposite of you and I usually think it is the reps which are not worth the money and wish they solved the little detail issues and were a grand instead of three hundred, but had dirt free crystals and movements. LOL.

The thing is though, if they were that bit more expensive, then they'd be nearing gen prices (with watches like Omega and Rolex) and I think that might be prohibitive to people who buy reps because they can't afford the gens. I think it would put me off, as again, I would think that a high price, but also, it would be prohibitive to having a collection of several nice reps. While the gen world could survive on those prices, I'm not so sure the rep world could... I mean, sure, someone could save up and then buy the expensive rep, but, by the time they've save that much, they'd probably just be prepared to buy the gen and be done with it...

I repeat all this really just to reiterate that we are both the exception to the rule in that we have trancended what was supposed to be a simple luxury item and choice based on status to most into something that is pure truth and feeling. And that is something 99% of anyone who buys a luxury watch - rep of gen never even considers. We discuss, purchase, enjoy what moves us - NOT what moves others which as you point out is assumed to be the motivation of EVERY rep buyer and of course it isn't so. But I say let them obsess on it and be tortured by it.

I think you're spot on there, bro. I think once people start buying watches to please themselves, rather than to please others, that's when they'll start being happier with their purchases

Not so much a wrist shot to show what I'm wearing, as, surprise surprise, I'm still wearing the GMT Sub, but, this is a wrist shot to show what I will be wearing for my wedding and reception.

This awesome watch was a very generous gift from Nikki6 as a wedding present. Sadly, the photos do not do the dial justice, but suffice to say, this will look awesome with the rest of my gear

Thanks

My Service and Reputation is everything.

Refund has been issued to the member

Transfer to:

xxxxxx

Email:

xxxxxxxxx

Total Amount:

-$175.00 USD

Fee:

$5.38 USD

Total:

-$169.62 USD

Date:

Jan. 28, 2009

Time:

21:14:45 EST

Status:

Completed

Subject:

You have sent $169.62 USD to xxxxxxxx with PayPal

Note:

I have been in sales for a long time and also a partner in another business. My Service and Reputation is very important to me. Here is the refund for the transaction. Please keep the product since I have no use for it.

Thanks

Pure class, bro

In my country you would have to be tested to have the right of having kids... Part of the problem in Britain is lower class children having children, causing generations of useless and lazy scroungers...

Harsh i know, but true.

Very true. Personally, I'm for chemical contraceptives in the drinking water, and a temporary antidote only beng made available to people who can pass tests which prove they are at a point in their lives where the are ready to have a child, can afford to support their increased family, and more importantly, actually want a child...

Sorry if that opinion is unpalatable to some, but that's just how my wife and I both feel about the subject, based on the current state of things in the UK with many unplanned pregnancies simply being the result of personal ignorance and laziness with regard contraception.

I'm having a bit of a problem with this part of the statement, does the UK actually believe their entire workforce is drug free?

Ken

The issue is not a case of if the entire work force is drug free, because the work force would be spending earned wages. The issue, is not letting government benefits be used to finance drug habits, or, to put it another way, if someone wants a smack habit, let them get a job and pay for it themselves, rather than government benefits

More of an issue of if you cross the line of tact, class, decorum and grace...don't expect to be treated with that which a civil person should expect.

If somebody out of the blue appears to be generally interested in watches and wants more details...I will be honest...but be an idiot about it...I'll be an idiot back...get what you project...that's what I'm saying.

Precisely, it's about mutual respect from both parties, not just some jackass asking a question, and demanding an answer

Yeah I think that is a fair statement. Hypocrites abound on both sides of the issue. You have gen owners who buy them as status symbols but you also have rep owners who buy reps so others will notice that they are wearing status symbols. Most of them in fact.

Look, the whole industry rep and gen is populated by some very vain people. I'm not, and my interest is purely in perfected horology, but we can't just will away the truth of what makes the luxury world tick. Reps are really just an extention of that for people who want to look rich but aren't. Before anyone freaks out, I'm well aware that there are exceptions and most of those are here on RWG and the other rep forums. But make no mistake, most rep owners are not watch lovers or passionate people at all, they are trying to fool someone - mostly themselves. They are the exactly the people that ad was written for. It wasn't written for us watch lovers. It was written to tell people that if you want a status symbol buy a genuine one. Nothing personal - they don't even know or care about our little subset. In fact Bytor is right - most serious collectors here own both reps and gens.

And I have to disagree with the statement earlier about gen forums. I have to say that you will find even more true watch lovers there by the numbers than here. Sorry but it is true. Most people who populate watch forums are enthusiasts and they are generally not interested in showing off. And TZ for one has been around a long time and just by the sheer numbers alone I have no doubt that there are more hardcore, true watch loving, non status symbol caring types there than here. Just a numbers game really. People like us and them just love watches. Look at me. I hang out on a rep forum and don't even own one. My collection is all gens. The lines are blurred...

Is it true that lots of gen sales are to people who buy them as status symbols - yes. But they aren't usually on watch forums afterwards. They don't even know there is a forum. They are either golfing or counting stacks of hundreds...

I think you're absolutely right there, bro. I think the reason why rep owners get on the defensive, is because the overwhelming opinion of the uninformed masses, is that as soon as a watch is discovered to be a rep, the immediate assumption is that they've bought the rep to fool everyone into thinking it's a gen, as if no other possible reason for having a rep could exist, and it's then very hard to try and convince someone that a watch has not been purchased to try and pass it off as gen, especially when the some wag from the peanut gallery can always be guaranteed to chime in "Me thinks he doth protesteth too much..." Fuck that. I buy reps because I'm too tight-fisted to buy the gens. Even if I could afford them, I wouldn't buy them. I don't think they're worth the money, but that's just my personal opinion. I'm quite happy to tell anyone who is genuinely interested in my watch that it's a rep, but if someone is simply displaying their lack of class, or trying to 'score points' (which to be honest, no one ever has) I don't see why I should dignify their comments with a serious response. Sure, they're right, it is a rep, but it's not a rep purchased for the reasons they want to imply, so from that point of view, I'd be quite happy to just brush them off with a snarky comment, but I still wouldn't actually lie about it

I picked up a bottle of sewing machine oil today (

Hi TTK and FxrAndy,

Thanks FxrAndy, I was unaware of that. I have an Asian 21J and it works pleasantly fine.

As far as using TTK, I don't think there are any other dealers with this watch as I can't find any. I've used him before I had a good transaction however I'm aware that other people have not. I guess I should email all the dealers and see if they have it before purchasing from TTK. Thanks for the help TeeJay!

No problem at all, if you've used TTK before and are happy to use him, then by all means, go for it I was merely making the suggestion thinking you may not have dealt with him before As mentioned, I've always found Asian movements to be perfectly acceptable

Guys....

When the replica sellers write: sapphire, the mean the synthetically made hard to scratch sapphire. The best to get in replica watches.

BUT....

when they write synthetic sapphire. IT IS MINERAL CRYSTAL.

good luck.

Ahh, I wondered if that might have been the case, but I didn't want to say that specifically, as I know that the sapphire crystals used in watches is, in itself, defined as 'synthetic sapphire'

Hi my friend,

you get what you pay for.... just 108usd will only get you mineral crystal. Not sapphire.

when they write 'synthetic sapphire', you will get mineral. that is their way of working. And yes it is confusing. but you get what you pay for. and 108usd is cheap....

And your other question:

all sapphire used in watches is man made and thus is synthetic. Otherwise with 'nature sapphire' the crystal will never really really clean to see through i guess. And will also be way to expensive. remember how much they need to cut off with a domed crystal for example....

cheers!

That clarifies it even better As far as I understand, synthetic crystals are used to ensure a uniform finish of product. I think I have read elsewhere that synthetic jewels are used in the movements as well

Hi Teejay,

What I'm still confused about (forgive me I'm slow...) is the sapphire vs synthetic sapphire. On TTKs site, he sells watches that are both Sapphire and Synthetic Sapphire. Obviously, the two are different or else he would have just sold them all labeled as Sapphire. But perhaps you did answer my question but I didn't understand it. Are what you saying is that Synthetic Sapphire is just as good as his watches labeled just plainly as "Sapphire"?

I'll address my question on the movement in the "Movement Q&A" section. Dummy me

Thanks again!

How TTK chooses to identify items in his sales, is his prerogative, and I wouldn't want to comment on that. As far as I am aware, any kind of sapphire crystal, has been artificially created, but is chemically sapphire. These crystals are used in both replica and genuine watches. With regards TTK as a dealer, I would suggest considering a different dealer, as TTK can be extremely unpleasant, but that is obviously your choice

I wasn't meaning the Movement section (although that wouldn't hurt) but I was meaning the AP watch section, because as they are popular watches, someone might have experience of the one you are interested in, and be able to give you a better answer than I can

So in theory it's ok to lie to a self absorbed ignorant person since they wouldn't know or care if you were telling the truth or not?

If someone tries calling someone out in a public gathering, with the sole intention of making that person look bad, do they really deserve the courtesy of the truth?

Thx TeeJay. I was just worried if the crystal would hold up to the same conditions as the advertised "sapphire".

As far as the movement, is there any web sites or posts on it?

No problem. As long as the crystal actually is sapphire, then yes, it will hold up As I mentioned, the sapphire involved in all these applications is synthetically produced, so from that perspective, it doesn't make a difference that it is called 'synthetic sapphire'. A more accurate term, would be 'man-made sapphire', as ultimately, that's what it is... It is real sapphire, it was just made in a lab rather than mined out of the ground

I'm not too sure about that particular movement. The models I've had experience with, have been in Panerai replicas, and I've found them very reliable. If you were to post your question in the section for that watch manufacturer, you're more likely to get a reply for someone with specific experience of it

Ka-ching!!!

There can be only one

Lying to people that are idiots and asking stupid questions of strangers however...is FAIR GAME in my books.

Or, as it was put in an episode of Highlander, "It's not about if you give your word, but who you give it too..."

I cant agree a fake watch is for a fake dude, but what about passing your rep of as real, surely its that act that make you fake?

Absolutley. As long as someone is honest about the providence of their watch, there's no deception or falsehood

I think that's reasonable, no reason why people on benefits shouldn't take tests, afterall, the benefits are for them to survive on, not pay for smack... In my experience, the only people afraid to take tests, are those who know they will fail them...

Are these what you're looking for? Given they deal in classic parts, I'd guess that they size them for an ETA movement... Also available un-aged

Best of luck - and shave!

Thanks bro, I will indeed I've just been lazy the past week

Damn, I guess I'd better find a fake person and give them their watch back... I'm a real person, all my parts are genuine (thus far )

It's threads like this which made me stop loving all my watches, and only focus on a very select few

Right now, I've got a 004 with a dead movement, which was a birthday present the birthday before last, and even though it's not getting any wrist time, it's going no-where I've also got two SMPs (2531.80 and 2220.80) and my 45mm Planet Ocean. The 2531.80 and Planet Ocean were bought with inheritance money, so again, they're going no-where I've then got my two cobbled together Submariners. One is a work in progress, the other, I'm happy with 'as is', and has become my permanant beater. When I say I'm happy with it 'as is', that's not quite accurate. The watch is acceptable to me, but there are tweaks I would continue to make to it, and, by the time I get the parts to perform those tweaks, and the modifications it would involve (including a movement transplant) it would make more sense, and be easier to simply build 'V2.0', and have an improved version, rather than 'patch' this one (or replace so many parts, it would ultimately be a different watch anyway )

That said, I have got plans to re-build my collection when finances allow, but I'm going to be much more selective this time round, and most likely with different watches than before... Afterall, if I loved them that much, and they were that perfect for me, I wouldn't've considered selling them (even though circumstances forced me to sell them, I was considering selling them quite a while before I actually had to sell them... )

Hello,

I'm thinking of buying an Audemars Piguet Classique:

http://www.tt88time.com/index.php?main_pag...;products_id=51

I'm not sure how accurate it is to the original, would help if anyone could chime in?

My main question is how different is Synthetic Sapphire from Sapphire? Same with mineral crystal? Also, any experiences with Asian Manual Wind? Thanks.

Synthetic Sapphire, is, chemically speaking, real sapphire, it is simply formulated and 'grown' in a lab. Genuine watches use synthetic sapphire. It does not mean that it is a 'replica sapphire', it just means that it is not a naturally formed and mined crystal. I am not too sure about mineral crystals, so I will pass that question to others more knowledgable than myself...

Asian Manual Wind = in my book Reliable time-keeping, and easy to regulate at home, if one is thus inclined, and has some basic tools

Haha congrats to you both. I know spidey will be sporting a pretty beautiful piece in the next photo he shoots .

I myself just got engaged. Whoo hoo!

Thanks, bro, and congratulations to you too

Just do like me and wear both of them on your left hand. It's just for one day.

Crazy as it might sound, I don't think I'd be able to stand it I've always worn a watch on my right wrist, and it just feels totally wrong to wear a watch on my left wrist