TeeJay

Well, both my wife and Cheryl Cole wear the Hublot Big Bang Aspen (I'm guessing Chez's isn't a rep ) so maybe one of the others in the Big Bang range? HBB Black Magic, for example.... If you like the 'old school' looks, then maybe a 'Newman' Daytona... Best of luck with your search

I have one of these, which I wear on my 029a, my 104 and the One Eight Something. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. The strap is butter-soft, and does not attract dust. The deployant also operates smoothly, and locks securely. Would I recommend the dealer? Well, I've bought most of my watches from Tony, and ordered one for myself, and one for my wife last night

Strange as it might sound, but the distortion of the numerals from the curved crystal (as well as the gold hands) are something you will get used to, and, with the 127, despite being things which can irritate, they actually add to the character of the watch. Mine's getting serviced at the moment, and I really miss it That said, the black hands are much more subtle, and, personally, I find blend in with the look of the dial/numerals, rather than standing apart from it, as the gold hands do.

I once bought a Vacheron Constantine Overseas from a dealer on LoudFrog called Replica2U. Their communication was non-existent, but, the watch arrived in the specified time, and, despite having an Asian movement (and advertized as having an Asian movement) it had the same chassis as the VCO sold by the Cartel Dealers. I don't own it anymore, as I never really 'bonded' with it, so I gave it to a friend. Only time will tell if your transaction pans out, but, I try and keep this in mind: Just because someone pays to be a dealer here, that does not guarantee 100% that they are trustworthy, and will give a flawless transaction, and equally, just because someone does not have a presense here, that does not always mean they are a scammer I hope it all works out well for you

Of all my PAMs (111h, 111g, 127 029a 18Something and 104) only the 104 and 127 were not water-resistant. The 127, I know is due to an issue with the tube not being properly positioned to press the crown against the inside of the crownguard lever, but, when I hold the crown down tight, the case itself is water-resistant, so I know that's just the tube issue, which, hopefully, will be resolved while the watch is being serviced. The first 104 I got fogged up in the shower, so I sent it back, but, the replacement is absolutely fine. Chances are the watch will be water-resistant rather than not. To be honest, a watch like a PAM has no reason not to be water-resistant other than shoddy manufacture, as it has no real 'weak spots' in the case which could flood (say like the HE valves on Omegas) Best of luck

To be honest, I've had bad experiences from posting personal photos online... That said, I'd be happy to've posted pics, but I honestly haven't seen the ones which were taken yet

Wow, all I can say is thanks for the work you put in I only played the first game, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not too sure what you make of the film adaptation, but personally, I really enjoyed it. At the end of the day, Agent 47 is responsible for my choice of attire for my 'formal' wedding next year I haven't had the barcode tattooed on the back of my head, but, I did notice that at the christening I mentioned, wearing 47's 'uniform', I was one of the more smartly dressed people in the room, even though the suit, shirt and tie were pretty much 'bargain bin' 'off the rack' garments. Simple, clean, classic. A winning combination

So can a Rolex Oyster Perpetual, according to On Her Majesty's Secret Service R, It doesn't look oversized on you, so just wear it whenever you feel like it

Thanks, and, indeed it is, 47 and I share the same hairstyle

Your best move would be to apply for a Fiance Visa. It will enable you to move to the US for a period of time, but, at the end of that time, you will have to actually get married I nearly went down this route myself about 5 years ago, but wound up with a cheating whore for a partner. I was lucky to have a friend good enough to tell me what was going on, and I called things off. Needless to say, had things not changed, I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in now, and instead, would likely be living the life of a cuckold in America, so things turned out good in the end Best of luck with everything [Edit to add] Yes and No. It depends on the working situation. Someone who is emigrating to America with the plans of starting a business (being self-employed) must be establishing a business which will provide work for people in the area (I believe a dozen) Also, if you were going to be going to work there (albeit as your dad's representative) you would have to commute to a place of business. You could not claim your domicile as the business premesis. Another option, I believe, is to be contributing $1M to local industry. I only know these conditions as a friend also planned to emigrate with an American fiance, and, while he worked remotely for an IT company, so they said he could simply work remotely from the US as easily as he did in the UK, because he would not have to travel to a place of business, the powers that be did not consider that to be acceptable...

Done. As someone who has lived a life ashamed of their teeth, I have nothing but sympathy for the guy (My lower front teeth are too small, so appear very gappy. Fortunately, I can keep my bottom lip covering them ) Looking at the votes, Ethan's the clear leader, so good luck to him

My reason has already been given by someone else : At the end of the day, I won't buy anything purely for it's 'brandname', for example, if I can buy a generic version of cola rather than Pepsi, I buy the generic version... Some might say "Well why not buy a $10 Quartz?!" For the simple reason that I do not like how the $10 Quartz looks, in terms of aesthetics and styling. The $10 Quartz might have really poor quality lume, or not be water resistant, or not have many strap options... That's why I like Panerai watches. They're large and clear enough for me to read easily in any lighting condition, won't flood if they get wet, and, being automatic or manual, I know that the only reason for it stopping, will be mechanical failure, not just the need for a new battery. A quick story of the most recent compliment I got on a watch. I was at a christening party and talking to a guy about stuff in general, when he asked the time. I told him, and he was so shocked at the time, I held my wrist up for him to see that that was indeed what the time was. He then said "Wow! That is some watch!" (I was wearing my 104 on its SS bracelet. Yes, I know I still need to take photos and post a review of it... ) As he was clearly interested in it, I took it off so he could view it better, and, when he took it in his hand, he was really surprized and impressed with the weight of it. Now, he obviously wasn't a collector, so the dreaded "Is it real?" question never cropped up, but, it was nice to have a quick chat about something, and have someone genuinely appreciate a watch, which, I suspect, many of the 'purists'* would possibly turn their noses up at Of course, if he had asked if it was real, I would have explained that it was a rep, but, as it was, he just appreciated it 'as a watch', which was nice * Translation = Overly anal people who obsess over minutia and flaws in replication which many others can overlook or ignore

Thanks for the congrats From my experiences with the APRO, I'm not too sure if the PP would definitely be 'my style'. I know there's a white dialled variant available, which would be in keeping with my idea for a white dialled watch, but I'm a little concerned about the size... Does anyone have any comparison shots of a PP Nautilus next to a 44mm PAM? I know the PP would be the smarter watch, I'm just wondering if the PAM would be more 'me'...

Thanks for the suggestions and comments, guys I've had both the white Vacheron Constantine Overseas and the AP Royal Oak, but never really 'felt' them. I think the easiest thing for me to do would be to buy both watches and see which goes best with my suit. PAMs are definitely my favorite, the PP is definitley the smarter of the two, I'm just wondering if I could deal with the PPs smaller dial... Thanks also for all the congratulations, it is most appreciated

A quick test for sapphire crystals, is to drop a single droplet of water onto the crystal. If it remains like a 'bead', chances are it's sapphire. If it 'spreads out', it's not sapphire.

This is for my 'official' wedding in February. I'm going to order a specific watch, as well as duplicates for my best men. We're all going to be wearing black suits, white shirts, and red ties (Agent 47-style ) The options are: Panerai 114 on SS Bracelet, or, Patek Philippe Nautilus (blue) on SS Bracelet. It's going to be either one of those two watches, but nothing else, and I don't want other suggestions. At the moment, I'm leaning more towards the 114, as PAMs are what I feel more comfortable with, but, I'm wondering if the PP might be that little bit more elegant for the event... Thanks in advance

Nevermind, I just read Andrew's response

I never aim to pass my watches off as gens. If someone assumes it's real, that's up to them. If they think it's a fake, then good for them. If they actually bother to ask me, I'll tell them I wear reps because I don't think they (gens)(as a brand name product) are worth the price tag. I'm simply not prepared to pay it, as I have more important things to spend money on. Reps give me a watch I like, for a fraction of the cost of the gen, meaning I can have a larger collection.

One of the wrist shots, was of a watch which I sent her (the VCO I couldn't 'bond with') If this was the work of a faker, they were either a ) female, or b ) getting a female to pose for wrist shots.... Fakers might wind people up for their own amusement, send people on stupid errands or ask for money, but they would not be spending this much of their own money just to maintain a charade. Personally, I don't think Victoria is anything other than what she said she was, and, as your message says, I think she might just have had too much, which is sad, as, the worst offenders are no longer around (and good riddance to them being gone)

I have to admit, I've got a hunch that Victoria won't be returning... I hope I'm wrong, as it's not the same without her. It's too quiet, like being in town really early, and it's light, but there's no one else about...

Ziggy will be back when he feels the time is right

Thanks for explaining, that certainly clarifies things, I guess what I was meaning, was that once dealers are 'approved', it is very rare for a dealer to be 'unapproved' (unless they get personal TTK-style), and that can make it appear, that if a dealer si going through a rough patch, as if they are still being treated as 'approved' by the admin, rather than a closer eye being paid to their practices. As I said before, this is just 'cloud gazing'. It's probably no more than putting two and two together to make five. I was simply commenting on things as I saw them. Maybe the choice of words was a little 'adventurous', but there have recently been quite a few issues regarding DSN, where six months ago, he was the Golden Boy when it came to PAMs, and it made me wonder what kind of scrutiny the admin pay to dealers, and at what point do they decide that they're not providing a good service anymore, and no longer eligible to have their space here as a dealer. I'm not saying DSN should be banned, not at all, I am simply using him as an example of the situation of how there can be instances of a dealer falling below the acceptable level, but not facing any visible sanctions from the admin... That's all

I agree with all of what you've said there I admit, I've had success with 'out of the box' Asian reps, but, I know they'll need servicing eventually (probably sooner rather than later) indeed, that's why I haven't worn my 127 for a while... It's being serviced

I quite agree with that, but, all the time there are any dealers listed on forums, there will always be the assumption (and we all know how bad those can be ) that their presense is due to a level of endorsement on the part of the officials. Or rather, a reverse almost. If dealers were utterly unreliable, they would not be tollerated at all. The fact they are tollerated, gives rise to the opinion that that is official, even if that is not, technically speaking, the 'party line'... That is why I felt, that for an official to turn round and say "There are no recommended dealers..." could appear somewhat contradictory. The fact that the impression might be incorrect, does not prevent that impression from appearing... Oh definitely the case. Maybe if there were more options available, people wouldn't feel the need to rely solely on the Cartel, although, in all honesty, given the levels of anal behaviour and unreasonable demands exhibited by some, who would willingly want to submit themselves to that potential abuse... (regardless of the cash which would be made)

Sorry folks, I didn't expect it to be this long bvefore I could get back to the computer, it's been a long day.... Not directed at By-Tor personally, but to touch upon the points raised in the post: While this is certainly true, I dont believe that this is how the information is conveyed to newcomers to the forum(s). Such n00bs are often told (when asking about A N Other dealer) to buy from (insert Cartel Dealer of choice here) instead, as they offer super-dooper, Triple A Grade service, and are 'forum recommended'. I consider it somewhat conflicted for dealers to be able to have 'a pitch' here (even if it is at their expense), with all the benefits which come with it, (even if they are not 'officially sanctioned') only to have a comment that there are no 'official approved dealers'. If they are not approved, they should not be allowed to have a pitch here. Again, I might be 'cloud watching', but that is certainly how that situation is being described: On one hand, people are told "iOffer/CQOut dealers are scammers, our dealers are trusted, buy from our dealers," but on the other hand, told "There are no sanctioned dealers..." That does sound somewhat contradictory to me... As I pointed out when starting this thread, there would appear to be some dealers, who, recently, have not been up to snuff, yet, all the time their practices are allowed to go unchecked, then the members who are mentioned as the main concern, are at risk from their practices...