TeeJay

Totally off-topic, but thanks for posting the link. I love reading John's reviews. Infact, it was his Seamaster Vs Submariner review which first made me consider a watch other than a Rolex, and, I'm glad I did. Without that impetus, I'd've never delved as far into horology as I have. I also used his review as a template for the review of the VC Overseas I wrote earlier in the year.

That's a real shame that it's not adjustable. Might it be worth stipping the watch down to manually replace the GMT hand so it would then make the 24 hour track out of synch with the main hands but in the '2nd' time zone? Sorry to hear that the watch wasn't as you'd hoped for.

Absolutely beautiful work.

As a cheapskate, I try to buy as cheaply as possible, and prefer to buy watches for under

Absolutely, I understand what you mean, but, at the end of the day, dealers should provide a uniform service to all their clients, not good deals for 'the Cool Kids', bad deals for the others... That's fair enough, at the end of the day, it's who you're comfortable doing business with. Something I forgot to mention in my last post, as a response to your point about delays in communication from Tony (which again, I've never really experienced), I'd have to use as an example, the dealer I bought the VCO from. Other than giving me feedback as a fast payer, they did not give me any other kind of communication at all. No tracking number, no "Thaks for the purchase..." etc. But, the watch arrived within the promised time frame, and we both know how nice it is I guess my point is that instant communication from a dealer isn't always a requirement for them shipping the goods as promised Now that, is precicely the kind of thing that puts me off Jay right away. As a drop-shipper, it is impossible for him to check the watches, and, as my X-33 showed, (and your mention of DOA watches) 'his staff' don't really do much of a job in that aspect either. Maybe not lies like "Yes, my friend, that watch is waterproof" *puts watch under water... Condensation...* but still lies, and I think you appreciate the premium I place on honesty Indeed, as you say, at the end of the day, it's about establishing a rapport and who you feel comfortable doing business with. I'm planning on having TWP 'plume' my PVD PAM when it arrives, and I've found him a nice person to communicate with

I have to admit, the watches Tony sells might not be Super Reps, (although something tells me he could probably get them if he wanted to) they're still good value for money, and certainly accurate enough for my purposes of collection and self-amusement. I got an AP RO for a friend, and, although I found it a bit small (like the Submariner) it was a really nice watch, and other circumstanes, one I would have definitely have kept and worn. Out of curiousity, did you just email him 'out of the blue', or did you first make contact about a piece via the CQout question system? Could it have been somekind of miss-communication? (I do remember you saying you got some rather 'strange' ( ) responses ) From my own experiences, I can only say that I've only ever found Tony to be prompt and professional in his communications, as well as extremely accomodating when it comes to custom orders (swapping straps etc) Total reverse for me. Nearly 12 weeks and I still haven't received the replacement dial I was promised for the shipment of the wrong vintage Rolex, nor the Jubilee band I paid for... They were promised to be delivered, but, still no sign... Of course, I know if I send an email, I'll be told "customs intercepted parcel, will resend" If that's the case, and as it shows knowledge of the parcel's location, why not just resend it anyway without the need for prompting? Sorry, but my opinion of Jay is not particularly good. Particularly not when I've dealt with another drop-shipper in the past who, although they did initially send the wrong watch, did actually correct the issue as promised, and in the promised time frame... For a watch which was only ever intended as a 'paper weight', it's not worth the runaround trying to get it sorted (afterall, I now have a nice Skeleton Sub ) but in terms of business practice, it's not very good...

As he's been a jerk to you in the past, then no reason for letting him in on the inside track As mentioned, some fan if he didn't recognize the running seconds, but, as has been mentioned before, many gen owners simply don't know anything about the watches themselves beyond the branding, so I'd say the encounter went pretty well Also, a fine choice of dealer, I now order all my watches from Tony, unless there's something specific I want and he can't source. Absolutely fantastic person to do business with, I couldn't speak more highly about him

Out of curiosity, is the GMT hand running on a 24 hr sweep with the main hands? If it's not adjustable at all, that might well be all it will do. If that is the case, and it's not even synched to the correct time zone, I'd suggest stripping the watch, re-setting the hands to 12, pulling them off, putting the GMT hand on set to 12, and then reassembling. Sorry to hear you might've got a lemon...

Not sure if it's intentional, but in GTA:San Andreas, a watch very similar to the Chanel J12 Superleggera is available to CJ at the begining of his exploits... My fiance quite liked her J12 (which was put on a white faux-leather bund strap when the coated links got beaten up) but she immediately ditched it in favor of the Hublot Big Bang Aspen (and the J12 was lost for several months in a bag, but when it was found, the quartz movement had kept perfect time )

It could only be affecting the underside of the wrist as the skin there is much more sensitive and delicate than the skin on the other side and sides of the wrist. It is also an area with typically thinner hair coverage, so it would also be (slightly) more in contact with the strap than the other parts of the wrist... If I recall, the operating manual which came with my Casios advised wearing a watch with enough slack to insert a finger between the wrist and the strap/bracelet. That's certainly always been the rule I've tried to stick to. If I really wanted to, I could just about force my Planet Ocean (on rubber) to twist round my wrist, but it would be a push. There's just over a finger's worth of slack on the strap, and personally, I find that the perfect size for a watch as it lets the watch move about on the arm as needbe, without slopping about. Interesting. Stupid as it might sound, the thicker leathers might be 'more warming', and 'heat things up' more than the thinner leathers... Might just be fractions of a degree, but, in microbiology and chemistry, those minute variances can make all the difference. It's certainly a real phenomenon. I have a cousin who can't wear a mechanical watch for more than a few hours without it stopping, so she's always been forced to wear digital

I think that the white dial certainly looks more 'dress' than the black dial (and even then, the watch is very versatile) I really liked the color of the white VCO, as it's a really nice off-white, that said, I just didn't like wearing it, and seem to subconsciously prefer dark dials. If you have a white dial which you like, then you might well like the white dial VCO. Best of luck with your purchase

Gorgeous watch I only wore my 127 for about 12 hours before deciding to ship it back (and I'd still like to get another) but it made quite an impression. Too big for daily wear, but certainly nice to swap into every now and again I'm sure you'll be wearing the 127 way more than your Rollies, which might now feel a little small, and, dare I say 'feminine' in comparison to such a large watch Oh, and I take back what I said about the strap, it looks great on the watch Wear it well, amigo

I remember from one of your 'wrist checks' (without a watch) that the imprint of the watch and strap was still visible on your wrist. To me, that says you're wearing the watch too tight. I used to do the same thing when I was about 10, and would buckle my Casios as tight as they'd go without cutting off the circulation. Not so long after that, I developed a rash on my wrist, which, when I temporarily transfered my watch to my left wrist ( which felt ) cleared up pretty fast. Since then, I've never worn a watch as tight, and can always get a finger between my wrist and bracelet/strap. [Edit to add] And never had such a rash develop under a watch again... On topic, my initial thoughts were that it might have been a reaction to the chemicals in the tanning/manufacturing process. I'm intrigued that people think it might be a nickel reaction to the buckle. Not so much that it's not a possibility, but I just would have thought that the buckle wouldn't have come into close enough contact to the skin to cause a reaction, which was why my first thoughts ran to chemical reactions... Hope it gets worked out

I've no idea, but that's what I read

From what I've read, it's just a case of ettiquete and common sense. Someone in a board meeting wearing a watch vastly more expensive than their pay grade would allow is going to either raise suspiciouns, or be a sure sign of a fake. I've read that the best choice for a corporate environment, is a watch within, or slightly above the pay grade for the position, as that way it is a believable purchase (maybe a treat to self with a bonus, for example)

Thumb-sucking is a cheaper and healthier habit than smoking Doesn't make one's clothes stink either I don't drive either. I simply never had the need to learn as everywhere I needed to get to was either within walking distance, or I could get on a train. I'll get round to learning eventually, but it's not the top of my list of priorities. Nice choice with the IWC, I hope the first day goes well And remember, no matter how cute the girls in the typing pool are, it doesn't do to dip your nib in the office ink

Sorry, but there's only so much ignorance from a jackass that I'm prepared to take. Ham's the kind of person that has no business being behind the wheel of a car and frankly, comes across as a disgusting example of a human being, and I'm sick of playing 'Mr Nice Guy' and tollerating people's insults towards me.

Can't wait to see the results, best of luck with the projects

Don't you have a wrist check to take on the freeway? Down a bottle of jack before you start out, you'll be doing the world a favor

And a damn fine move that was Nothing like a little healthy competition to bring about market changes Out of curiosity, how does one aquire a pet wombat? Was it a rescue/adoption?

That's absolutely fair enough. Maybe I am somewhat biased in my view of American educational standards due to anecdotes from a cousin who lived in Houston, but from what I have read on other forums, there is a lot of unintentional ignorance about Islam. I myself was once of the opinion that it was an utterly vile religion, but a recent experience made me reconsider my opinion, research Islam more fully and with a totally open mind, and now I am proud to call myself a Muslim and live by the guidlines laid down in the Holy Qur'an And indeed, your intent was totally understood Sometimes, one must play devil's advocate for a subject to be properly discussed

Absolutely so, however, the Holy Qur'an itself specifically forbids 'throwing yourself into destruction' (aka suicide bombing) and states that when fighting against disbelievers, a jihadist must first give the infidel the option to accept Islam, failing that, the option to pay a 'tax' and live as a dhimi*, or as a last resort, smite off their head and finger-tips. The Holy Qur'an also states, that when fighting in Allah's name, one should not exceed the bounds, as Allah does not love those who exceed the bounds (which a suicide bomber most certainly would) As previously mentioned, not all Muslim Communities have that freedom of speech, and, a major contributing factor to Bin Laden's 'jihad' is economical and political, not religious, he just uses religion to manipulate weak-minded and impressionable people into following him. Of course, I wouldn't expect people unfamiliar with Islam to appreciate that. Absolutely so. To quote from the Holy Qur'an: (emphasis and punctuation as written in the Holy Qur'an) *a non-Muslim who is allowed to live within a Muslim community and retain religious autonomy, but is considered a 2nd Class Citizen

Anyone seen/used a Motorola F3? Basic, simple, minimalist, but damn it's nice Sure, my long-term plan is to replace my V5 Razr with the latest gen Razr in the new year, and, having a camera function, calculator, datebook, and text messages which can have upper and lower case letters is nice, but, for going on vacation, an F3 is plenty good enough to risk immersion in water/getting scuffed up/stolen by local pick-pockets

Sorry for the delay... I also had a friend killed in the WTC, I have a cousin who would have been killed had his business meeting not been called off, and I have a friend whos aunt was on one of the planes, so don't think you have a monopoly on grief on that issue, and don't inflict the bigotry of your 'coping strategies' on others. If you seriously think that the fanatic scum who carried out those attacks represent the vast majority of Muslims, or are acting in a way consistent with Islam, then frankly, you are an ignorant, bigoted fool. There are plenty of members of the Muslim Community who speak up against terrorist attrocities. What you must remember is that in some countries, like Iraq, the people there do not have the freedom of speech to speak up, for fear of reprisals. Also, the reason behind the attacks has virtually nothing to do with an 'Islamic Crusade' against the West, but people in a region of the world getting [censored] off by a bunch of Western Politicos telling them how to run things. I was not so much offended by the comment you made about Allah, but your insinuation that all Muslims are extremist fanatics. Try reading the Qur'an, you might learn something. Out of curiousity, are you a religious man? I recall you are married, was that a civil or religious ceremony? I'm asking purely out of idle curiousity. [Edit for SPAG]

Absolutely, and I have no issue with that or TTK at all. Infact, he's one of the few forum dealers I would consider buying from if I was having difficulty sourcing a piece. Sure, he can be abrasive and has no tollerance for a55holes, but that's the way I like people. I have no respect for two-faced people who say one thing and mean something else. We may be disagreeing on this issue, but he calls a spade a spade, and I respect him for that. I also respect that people don't accuse him of being a scammer. Indeed, Guinness's on me