TeeJay

I like the explanation from the ever eloquent Maddox (paraphrasing) : If it said "long life" in English, it would look stupid. But done in Chinese characters, it somehow looks cool and mysterious.

That's as good an explanation as I've ever heard

"the dealer" I got the watch from,is living somewhere in the chinatown district in Bangkok. So,in order to get the insert I need,I have to go back to Bangkok,to meet him again,as I will later next year,but that doesn't help me now. ;-)

Anyone?

In that case, I'd suggest looking on eBay, and avoiding the seller named in the above link Best of luck with your search

Does your GMT have pilot holes between the lugs? If so, then a rep strap should fit no trouble. The strap you want for a GMT Seamaster, is the standard 20mm rubber strap that is sold on most Planet Oceans. Rectangular notches, buckle with 10mm tongue, that's the one you need

I had mine--a not-too-intersting or skillfully apllied black panther on my left rear shoulder removed a few years ago, since it's it's significace was known only to the drunken 21 yr old marine that got it...and he forgot what it was by the next morning. I'm all for tatoos, especially if they mean something to the person wearing them, although like a buddy of mine told a stripper:..."I'd love to be in the room when your great-grandkid asks, "'Grammy, why do you have a picture of barbed wire wrapped around your arm?'"

By that time, I'm sure the great-grandkids will have full Japanese sleeves

PS Anyone who would tattoo someone that was intoxicated, isn't much of an artist... You mentioned it's not too interesting or skillfully applied, had you thought of having it re-worked by a better artist, who could tidy up the design and then expand it into a more artistic piece? (Possible starting point for a Japanese-style half-sleeve, perhaps?)

Indeed. The barbed wire biceps and the meaninglessly random scroll work above the butt crack are my two "favorites" on the ladies....

The best kind of 'ass-antlers' are the ones which are still visible when the lady is wearing pulled up jeans. When they're nude, it looks like the design is 'floating' halfway up their back Properly positioned 'ass-antlers' should closely follow (even be directy on) the upper curve of the buttocks)

And here's one I simply don't understand - caucasians with tattoos of oriental characters that translate to English phrases like "strength and courage" or "long life." I can only wonder if the following case is a good indication of the thought process in general: http://www.zug.com/pranks/tattoo/index.html ?

Yup, that's always good for a chuckle, I mean, why have script done in a language one can't understand? If I recall, the script on David Beckham's inner left arm, is supposed to read 'Victoria', but, is actually how the name would be phonetically spelled in that language, so not actually accurate at all

What?

I am not native English speaking.

Care to explain?

It's a figure of speach, refering to hypocricy Essentially, it applies to this scenario thus: It would be rather hypocritical of the Chinese Customs to have issue with a replica watch entering their country, as it was manufactured in their country.

Whatever you don't have, or need, I will give you. It'll be a very nice Christmas for you, TeeJay. Or Ramadan in your case.

Hee hee, Ramadan's been and gone, but the sentiment is more than appreciated I'm hoping the buckles will arrive tomorrow. Both are the 'whale-tail' style, one is shiny, the other PVDd

(if they don't, the seller will only get neutral feedback, and that will be based on the product quality. When I pay express shipping, then I expect it to arrive on the 7th day, not the 10th... I know from experience that a letter/small parcel can get to/from the USA in about 4 days )

I was about to say "Nice malachite table", then I saw it was a photo

Awesome watches though

As per last week, I'm still wearing this

Now, if the 24mm buckles I have on order were to arrive, then I'd have more strap options I could use

Does anyone else got another good source for good quality omega inserts? The ones on Ebay all look the same, and on all of them is the pearl to big and off center,meaning sticking outside of the triangle.

Thanks

As in my previous comment, sending an email to the dealer the watch came from is often likely to yield a positive result

Have to admit, I've had no worse problems from CQout dealers than trivial, niggly issues which, to be honest, could happen with any dealer, and worse problems with a 'recommended dealer' than I have with any CQout/LoudFrog dealer, so I guess it's a case of going with who you're happy with. I have complete confidence in the person I do business with, and am happy with both what I buy, and what I pay. Maybe not "1:1, try and pass it off as gen in an AD" perfect, but, as those aren't my reasons for buying reps, they're good enough for me

Well I know for sure that many had problems sending stuff back

For me reg. airmail arrived fine once.

EMS package rejected => 2x never showed up -.-

Safer to stick with regular mail then?

You are very good at reading a watch or person. It is my work watch. In my line of work, I don't want anything flashy in appearence or reflective for safety/tactical reasons. The movment (as I requested) is an unmarked Swiss 6497 movement which can be viewed through its exhibition back. The movement winds much better than my asian copy and even my swisenese copy. I has a very light easy wind that progressively tightens up but is never hard to turn. The sound it gives off is totally different than my other two. The sound (of course) is hard to articulate, but it doesen't seem to have the (tingy?) (reverby?)like metal sound the other two give off while running. Very interesting to me. I'll tell you a secret and if you repeat it I'll deny it......I actually listen to my watches for about a minute before I place them on my wrist....LOL...don't know why...LOL....just like hearing it run. The sound of the watch reminds me of the incredible skill and mechanical genius that it took to place this small complex engine onto my wrist....amazing to me.

For what it's worth, I listen to my watches as well, and prefer the sound of my PAMs to my others

Dear all.

I've never sent back any faulty watches for repair.

What if my package is opened by the chinese customs and confiscated?

What should I expect from my dealer?

Any input?

All I can really say, is that I've never had any problems sending watches back to the dealer. I just wrapped them in the bubble-wrap they came in, put them in a cushioned envelope, and sent them via the regular mail. All arrived without problem.

anyway.. thanks for the post TJ.. and nice ink on you... black and red always looks good on tribal.. if your wondering...

Thanks, that was a really informative post, a lot of information I didn't know, especially about the scrubbing of the tattoos Indeed, red definitely goes well with tribal. I think the 'Kryptonite' tattoos I have planned will look okay, as the design will be complementary/negative image of what I have done (I also get to include a green crescent, to represent my conversion to Islam )

(and before anyone says anything, yes, I know tattoos are supposedly forbidden to Muslims, but, that is only going by the opinions/guidance of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, not by actual 'commandment' laid out in the Holy Qur'an, indeed, one passage in the Holy Qur'an specifically says: Their guidance is not thine affair, O Muhammad: But Allah guideth whom he pleaseth. So in all honesty, a Muslim need only look to the Holy Qur'an for guidance on what is or is nor forbidden, and not necessarily to the opinions of the Prophet.)

Never understood the appeal behind tattoos... especially among young people who will probably regret it down the road. I must admit some of the artwork is really nice and I like it, but the though of it being permanent makes me cringe. I'm the kind of person who changes his mind in a snap, and can only make quick (sometimes irrational decisions).

That could be why uou don't understand the appeal behind tattoos Sometimes, people want permanant things, to distract from scars, or to comemorate special occasions. Of course, it is quite funny to see the typical jocks with their 'tribal armbands' or Chinese and Japanese characters

I took another shot for you

also, you need a 24mm strap to fit the lugs.

Mmmmm.... tactical....

Something I have noticed, which goes well with the Ferrari PAMs, is if the stitching of the strap is colored yellow, to match the accents and hands of the watch

You could try these folks, but the UPO pearl is part of the bezel not the insert. That still confuses me...

http://cgi.ebay.com/BEZEL-INSERT-ORANGE-FO...3QQcmdZViewItem

Actually, I'd advise against doing business with that seller as they are a liar. They might have a good rating, but, look at all the negative ones as well. They all say near enough the same thing, which shows a consistent pattern of behaviour.

I've found the best source for inserts, is the dealer you ordered the watch from. My man sent me inesrts for my 2220.80 (which wound up on my 2531.80 ) and my Planet Ocean Big Size, and shipped them free with another order

I've been waiting over TWELVE WEEKS now for a replacement dial because the incorrect vintage Rolex was shipped, and waiting for the jubilee bracelet which I paid for at the same time as the Rolex, but was never included in the shipping.

hopefully my collector will suply a replacement movement that I can sent off to Canada...

Sounds like plan

The watch looks great, but, I think an unbranded caseback and buckle would look better with the unbranded movement and dial...

That's a shame, that's a really nice watch. Best of luck sourcing a new movement, or failing that, an identical replacement A watch that looks that good deserves to be replaced with a like for like replacement, not something new

I'll have to agree with you. A lighter strap gives it more presence. I think a caramel or even a lighter color will really bring out the black of the PVD. Thnx for the pic

No problem Indeed, the lighter straps bring out the black much more. When it has the black strap, it's almost like a digital watch, in that it all just 'blends in'. By wearing the different color strap, it's not so much a case of saying "Look at my watch!!!", just a case of bringing attention to the fact that there is a watch, and a strap, each worthy of note on their own merits

There is a reason why all the original PAM PVD's came on a tan or caramel strap.

As soon as the 24mm buckles I've ordered arrive, I'll be putting it onto a honey-gold sharkskin strap, which arrived courtesy of Lanikai

Radiomir 210 dial and Luminor 112 dial are not the same... In MANY ways..

Oh well, at least that saves me buying one for such a procedure Thanks for the headsup I'd really like a 112h dial for my PVD PAM, but only have a 111h dial 'spare' at present... Oh well, I can live with the second sweep...

For now

If a rep has been modded in some way which is actually beneficial to it, ie re-lumed, better quality movement, crystal been AR coated etc, then a re-sale price should certainly reflect that, and be higher than the original sale price (even taking into account that the item is now pre-owned, the work done to it, improves it from it's original state, so the original price no longer really applies) That's not to say that people should start trying to charge silly money for a modded watch, as after all, it is still only a rep, and not a genuine item, but, beneficial mods should definitely be taken into account.

With regards to the cost vs value, I'd have to agree that these are novelty items, and, novelty items, can often command very high prices. As I've mentioned before, I'm a collector of movie memorabelia. I read an article recently that a piece of plastic celery, worn by Peter Davison in a charity-filmed short of Doctor Who sold for

Awesome piece

What kind of back/movement has it got?

My PVD 111g gets priority wrist-time, and has a few modifications planned, so I can more than appreciate yours

Bad news on this one. The 112H is out of production from my supplier, I have also confirmed this with other GZ suppliers. Now i still think they are in produciton in Taiwan and malayasia but GZ stopped production a few months ago. I was fortunate enough to get four in a couple weeks ago but they have all sold.

No this is not really a problem as I can convert a a unitas movement with running seconds over to a 112 movement, but i have to commission an order of at least 500 dials

This is not good!

If I was to provide a 112 dial (say by cannibalizing a Radiomir) would it be possible to modify a unitas movement to a 112 movement and fit the 112 dial to it?

The black makes it look so MI5 though! Well perhaps more SAS, but still.

Overall, I like the browns better, but let me tell you TeeJay, not bad, not bad at all.

I know what you mean, the black does give it a more 'tactical' look, but strangely, I think it's the matte texture of the PVD which actually gives the impression of it being a 'stealth' watch, rather than the strap, which in all fairness, would be quite acceptable on a dress watch

In terms of color, Emily, her mum and her step-dad all prefer how it looks on the black, but personally, I find the black a bit monotonous, and prefer it on browns