TeeJay

@ TeeJay: Agreed, to a point. In my experience, the watchmakers and the senior sales staff tend to have a pretty good knowledge of the high end brands (minor historical stuff, etc) but most of the employees are simply sales people...their job is to sell the watch not to know the difference between a rotor on bearings and an oscillating axle.. and to keep it in perspective: that sales attitude works fine for 90% of customers...it's the 10% or so like us that need to know the nitty gritty...but at the same time, if we're in looking at a particular watch...you can be damn sure we've TZ'd and Googled the living hell out of it. At times I do wish for a little more knowledge in the sales staff but I fear that those days are gone in corporate sales.

Oh I agree, but, I mean even in general, regardless of the item actually being sold. For example, if someone was going to buy a new car, walks into the dealership, and asks to see the POS3000xri. If the sales staff was to ask them to point out which car they meant, I don't think the customer would be on the forecourt long Even with more 'low-end' purchasses, the same applies. If I went into an art shop and asked which brand of paint was best for a certain effect, I wouldn't be impressed if they couldn't at least give an opinion on the different ranges they carried, and what other clients had reported on them... If you see what I mean...

To go even simpler, I was not impressed when I went into Subway, asked what meat the meatballs were made of, and the sandwich artist (as I've seen the job advertized) had to ask a manager what meat they were... Okay, it might not be a routine question, but, c'mon, surely that's the kind of thing staff training should cover At the end of the day, I don't care if the sales staff have green hair, toss salad, or are missing fingers, but, I would like them to know about what they sell

I agree, the days of truly knowledgeable staff is gone...

I personally don't care if the salesperson knows every little intricacy about the watch because if you're purchasing a gen of any type you should do the research yourself and not count on someone getting paid $19/hour to figure it out for you. The Tourneau near me knows me by name, sends me catalogs, etc simply because when I buy a watch I've done the research, I know what I want, and I make my purchase...they don't know I'm a WIS or whatever but they know that I make purchases every few months and they probably figure (rightly so) that I'm a collector.

Some of the salespeople there are extremely knowledgeable, some aren't, but at the end of the day their job is to sell me a watch and provide after-sales service

Absolutely so, there's nothing better than doing the research oneself, especially if certain details of 'the item' are 'deal-breakers' (wether it needs to have it, or equally, if it can't have it) but, at the same time, they are being paid $19/hour to know those things. If product knowledge is irrelevent in sales staff, maybe shops could just have members of the public selling their wares, rather than trained staff

I'm regularly astounded by how little the salespeople peddling high end watches know. I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but I invariably know way more than the salesperson. It's gotten to the point that I don't even ask what movement a watch has now as the response is usually something idiotic.

Not just high end watches, it doesn't matter if it's TV sets, cars, art supplies or clothes. If the assistant does not have good product knowledge of what they're being paid to sell, then that's a failing of their management, and if not an 'insult', certainly irritating to customers, who might well have very specific requirements with their purchasses... I know retail can be a soul destroying job, but people really should either take an interest in their job beyond the pay cheque, or find another job which does interest them. We spend so much of our time at work, we owe it to ourselves to make it a job we enjoy, and to do it to the best of our ability

BTW - Spot on TeeJay - That was in essence the point I was trying to make.

Thanks, Chief Like I said, as long as they're courteous, then that covers a lot, but, at the end of the day, they are being paid to represent that company and sell product on its behalf, so it makes sense that they have the product knowledge to do that And it's 'insulting' if, at a corporate level, that the management care so little about their customers satisfaction, that they don't take the time to properly train their staff, beyond operating the cash drawer of the register

Ditto to TeeJay

Jeesh guys, give the woman a break. If she had been a nasty snot I would have been right there with you, but like someone pointed out, this is just a (low paying) job to her. She obviously has no passion for watches, and frankly if she is pleasant and does her job reasonably well, who cares. I think this is what is really going on here:

She was a very sexy older woman. Through the slit in her skirt you could see she was wearing thigh-highs.

Something about her demeanor made you suspect she was single.

It was almost closing time.

You were dressed dapper, wearing a Rolex and offering up an Omega for service.

She should have been impressed and started to flirt with you. Then she should have said "oh my, well, okay!" when you then asked her to have a drink with you after she got off work.

Instead she offered you a free battery for your DateJust and tried to sell you a Seiko.

Now you are bitter and disappointed. I understand - it's a great fantasy. But I could have told you in advance, at Zales this was never going to end the way you wanted it to.

I think you might have misunderstood my tone, amigo, I wasn't bothered that she didn't comment on my 104, infact, I'm glad she didn't. What bothered me, was that she didn't have a clue as to the product she was being paid to sell, because her manager had not properly trained her. So in that regard, while a little leeway is allowed, these people really don't deserve 'a break', as anything they don't know about their product/industry, they could always find out for themselves. When I had the 'pleasure' ( ) of working retail, I made sure I knew as much as I could about what products were available, read industry magazines, to keep abreast of industry shifts, which sometimes weren't even acknowledged by the company, and, when I was a manager, I made sure my staff were equally informed about such things. I don't think there's anything as insulting (in an indirect way) to a customer, as being met by sales staff who don't know anything about the products they are being paid to sell. Not being interetested in the products, fine, I can accept that, afterall, it is just a job, not their hobby, but, it is a job (regardless of pay scale) so I do expect sales staff to have product knowledge, if not because they want to find out for themselves, at least because their management should have trained them sufficiently to know about the products. If I go to buy a TV, and need it to have specific input/output ports, I don't want the sales clerk to look confused and shrug when I ask which set will fit my requirements. I don't know, that's why I'm asking them Of course, as long as they are courteous and helpful, then it's at least ignorable, but from a management point of view, that still doesn't make it right that they aren't informed about their products.

Don't feel too bad about it, you weren't being insulted, she just didn't know what she was talking about. I had the exact same thing happen less than a week ago, when, on impulse, I decided to duck into the AD and try on an Aquaracer. The sales bimbo was very attentive, asked how she could help, etc, so I asked if I could look at the Aquaracer. Confused look. "Can you show me which one you mean?" WHICH ONE?!?!?! THERE WAS ONLY ONE!!!! Nevermind... I pointed it out, and tried it on. Without thinking, I put my 104 on the counter rather than in my pocket, but she didn't even look in it's direction. No danger of being called out there, bless her I wasn't impressed with the Aquaracer, so I thanked her and left.

As mentioned above, much of the time, these are just folks working a retail job, not people with a knowledge or enthusiasm for the product. I admit, I do find it irritating, as I expect sales staff to know about the products they sell, but I blame that on lazy managers not training them properly, not the person themself.

Who's tony? Is that who runs rolex2u.com, or are you talking about tonyxkf on cqout?

Yes, Tonyxkf on CQout. That's his own site

I think Ziggy once said it's impossible to 'over wind' this movement, or at least he never encountered it. So I also think it's the stem/ crown assembly....

Indeed, I remember him making that comment, but, when asked if it was possible to then damage the movement by forcing it past the point of the complete wind, I don't believe he answered. As I said before, the PVD crown appears fine in its connection to the stem, and, when inserted into my 113, was able to wind the movement smoothly and without problem. When I inserted the 113 crown into the 111g movement, the same issue occured when winding. I can only conclude that there has been damage sustained to the part of the movement which engages on the 'square end' of the stem (possibly the clutch wheel?)

Thanks for the input, but I think the fitting of the 113 crown into the 111g movement ruled out the possibility of it being a crown/stem fault, as there was nothing wrong with that crown, yet the issue persisted with the movement

It's not a problem though, I'll just replace the movement when I get the chance

I can't speak highly enough about Tony's professionalism as a dealer, and, barring a watch he can't source from his suppliers, I don't buy watches from anyone else. I have the previous version of the Co-Axial SMP (without the 3 marker, with 'Omega' as dial print rather than the metal attachment) and it's still going strong. I don't wear it anymore, but that's just because I've moved onto PAMs, not because of any issue with the watch. I don't think you'd be disappointed with it

Real Smart mod:

All it needs is some Foose wheels, and it'd be perfect

It's a bit more fiddly than with a Luminor...

On the back, by the lug wires, you'll see four small screws. Undo them carefully (and don't lose them) and you'll be able to pull out the lug wires. (these are L shaped, not one large [ shape) swap the strap, and then carefully replace them, and the screws It is a bit fiddly, and should be done over a desk, but not impossible Best of luck

An emergency bivvy bag, here's one on ebay mate, 310084383871 that's the ebay number for you to have a look. They can be a real lifesaver, cheap, emergency shelter, even for storing kit and they usually have printed survival instructions on them too

It's definitely on my 'to get' list now, thanks for the suggestion, amigo Well, I'm about to put 'the kit' into operation, let's see how well it holds out on an all night paranormal investigation

Where the 127 is concerned, no justification is required

This combo today... UPO on rubber...

You can't go wrong with that combo

Buonas tardes, David I don't speak much Spanish at all (barely enough to order a meal) but I do love Spain

Welcome to the party, I'm sure you'll find everything you need here, and more

Right now, I'm wearing this

But, later on, I'm going on a paranormal investigation, so I'll be wearing this watch:

on this strap (with PVD Pre V Buckle ):

as, regardless of the movement taking a beating, it has the most long-lasting lume of any of my watches

Hope everyone else is having a great weekend

PS: Corgi, awesome collection, that's pure class, bro

Hi TJ,

Sorry to hear that.

I am not able to help to fix the movement, but I can give you my advice about your other question.

G series movements with swan neck are worth a lot these days (if dagger swan neck, even more)! Up to 200-250 USD!

Don't give it away!

Thanks, my friend Sadly, this movement doesn't have the swan neck, just the needle adjustment, so no easy money for me on that count I've been looking through Tony's list, and have a PVD Radiomir project planned, which will involve a dial and movement transplant from a 'sweeping seconds' dial/movement, to a Base dial/movement. The 'sweeping' movement is identical to the movement in my 111g, so it will be a perfect transplant Of course, I think I'll need to sell a few canvasses before I can undertake these projects, and, in all honesty, the 'damaged' movement is still functional, so I know there's no need to rush

Wadan, those are some sweet shots, bro

Nice TeeJay...I saw a UV lume shot on another post somewhere and couldn't find it...then relived it in a Children's Museum exhibit that had my watch glowing. It was pretty awesome.

Thanks It's not only a cool-looking result, but does give an excellent charge to the lume

PS

Awesome result on the IWC

I think it's going to be a Breitling Chornomatic Evolution Black/Graphite V3 incl. Box :)

That'll go really well with your existing collection

I think UV gives the best 'kick' to lume charging Awesome topic to bring up

Here're some old photos of mine

Charging:

Result:

Nice collection, bro What's next on the 'shopping list'?

Further examination....

Ubi, indeed, I have a spare crown and stem, and tried your suggestion. The results were not encouraging...

The PVD crown appears fine in its connection to the stem, and, when inserted into my 113, was able to wind the movement smoothly and without problem. When I inserted the 113 crown into the 111g movement, the same issue occured when winding. I can only conclude that there has been damage sustained to the part of the movement which engages on the 'square end' of the stem (possibly the clutch wheel?) If this is indeed the case, would it be cheaper and easier to just replace the entire movement rather than having the existing movement repaired? (I don't want to replace the entire watch, as it was a birthday gift from my wife, so has sentimental value, despite its lack of wrist time)

[Edit to add]

As before, the function of the watch appears unchanged, and it keeps time (and retains it's power reserve) as before, although, without the pressure of the CG lever, I fear the water resistance of the watch might have been compromised...

I feel that way about the VCO too. I see the pics, and it looks to have a nice balance and clean design...but I think for me, I'll always see VCs as associated with amazing skeleton tourbillons, and fantastic lunar complications...extremely sophisticated and classy watches, and having a sport model with a modern font although extremely well crafted just doesn't seem right.

It's kind of like Porsche making great sports cars...but the Cayenne line just seems wrong...when the only real SUV is an early year Landcruiser, or a Rover Defender 90.

It's a great performing and classy car...but, who is really going to hunt for the Jade Monkey through the jungles of Mayanmar in one??

That's an interesting perspective I totally understand what you mean Personally, I wasn't over familiar with the history or other designs of VC, so I was just viewing it 'as a watch', but it still just 'wasn't doing it' for me

I've just performed a quick examination, and these are the findings...

Upon removing the caseback, there was a few flecks of very fine 'brass colored dust' on the inside of the display back...

I removed the stem very easily. It pretty much just pulled clean out...

The 'square section' at the end of the stem appeared undamaged. There were no 'bites or dents' in the edges...

Putting it back together, the issue is still as before. The watch will wind, but with occasional 'free-wheeling'

Ubi, are you thinking I might have stipped the threads in the crown, rather than the insides of the movement? I'd hope that might be the case, but, the metallic dust on the inside of the case are concerning me...