TeeJay

My suggestions were going to be the Omega Seamaster 2254.50 or the Planet Ocean 2201.50, but they've already been taken, so I will instead suggest the Rolex Explorer I, the Rolex Sea-Dweller and the Panerai Luminor Base.

I have stopped the group buy because some members have stated that the band offered by my dealer is the same than Joshua's which is cheaper. I asked these members to post some pics once received and therefore I stopped the group buy since it makes no sense going for a more expensive band being the same one being sold by a known dealer. I'm still receiving requests from some members to supply the band and I'm sending this same message to all of them. Nevertheless, if for whatever reason you want me to supply the band from my dealer (it's not "mine" just someone I knew) just let me know and I'll try to make him keeping the group buy price.

Due to the information that came up during the discussion of the group buy, I will not be ordering the resin strap from Joshua. As pointed out in that thread, the strap Joshua offers is an Omega Seamaster strap, it is not an Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean strap, and will not fit on the Planet Ocean without modification of either the strap or lugs. I am still going to be obtaining a Seamaster strap privately from another member in a few weeks, and I will be happy to post pictures of this strap both on it's own and attatched to my 2531.80. I am really not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but if people are looking for resin straps for a Planet Ocean, I would advise them to simply order a Planet Ocean on resin, and swap between the two watches, rather than trying to swap straps over, as the Seamaster strap, as mentioned, is not a perfect fit. Sorry for being the harbinger of Doom and Gloom, but I'm sure everyone here not only wants to get the best possible price for a product, but one that will actually fit properly on their watches... Just to reiterate, I will take pictures of the Seamaster Strap when I get it in two weeks.

Slightly better pic, still a not so great watch...

Gotcha

Although a digital is not really my cup of tea, I know RichardUK likes these types of watches though.

Ken

Fantastic

I have to admit, I prefer analogue to digital, but this was a real 'back-alley-style' purchase, and for the price, I wasn't going to grumble. I wasn't too surprized when the inside of the bracelet started to tarnish, but I bought a black waterproof deployment strap which went really nicely with the dial. I liked the strap so much, that when I bought my father in law a watch for christmas of that year (I forget the make, but think Panerai Base without the crown guard) I bought another of the straps to put on it before I wrapped it, and he was really pleased with it. I'm planning on getting him a decent rep Panerai Base either for his birthday or christmas this year Back to the Softech... Nice watch, excellent 'indiglow' night light, and a stopwatch and alarm. Can't compete with reps in terms of style, but compared to some of the low-end watches, and for the price, I didn't think it was too shabby.

How's this looking? Third time lucky?

Nup no good, that leads to and airport parking site in England

Ken

Really? That is really weird :blink: Oh well, I'll try and dig the watch out of storage tomorrow to get some pictures of it. A quick Google of the make will show that they are not high-end watches by any stretch of the imagination, but, they are quite nice as cheap beaters. Sorry for the confusion.

Tee Jay,

Thanks for posting the additional info on adjusting the bezel insert since I wasn't sure how difficult this mod was. Your feedback is appreciated!

Regards,

Jeff

No problem at all. I found the 'hardest' part of the procedure was getting the bezel back on the watch case without the spring launching itself away, but I think that was something to do with the spring itself. I think the original spring was slightly twisted, so as the locator pin was going into the case hole, the end was then moving down out of the 'saw teeth' inside the bezel and catapaulting away. I lost that spring (still haven't found it) so made a new spring out of a bead bracelet that was the same gauge wire. With the new (un-twisted) spring in place, it went back on almost immediately.

Getting the bezel off really is just a matter of slipping a taped knife blade under (I removed the bracelet so I could use the case lug as a brace) the bezel and giving a slight, but firm twist of your wrist. Obviously, use the length of the blade, not the tip, but you should find it pop off with little trouble. My only other advise is to use a knife that does not have serations on the blade (less chance of it biting into the case) and has as narrow a blade as possible (to assist with getting it under the bezel) Best of luck, and I'm glad to've been of help

Is the picture not working?

Fitmic, sorry about that, ifyou can't see the picture at all, then your comment would certainly make sense...

I'll post the entire url, hopefully that will work better for folks

http://www.elegant-timepieces.com/Swiss/im...igi/Black-1.jpg

If you plan to share any pics, please post them in the first place.

??

Sorry, I don't understand...

Those are pictures of the model of watch I was discussing. As I said, mine is still in storage, so I am not going to go digging it out just to take a picture of it to post. I will post pictures of my watch at some point in the future, but thought that picture would be acceptable to get the discussion going. I saw you did not make a similar comment to the OP of the Urwerk 201 thread, but I guess you liked that watch

This is the same as a watch I bought the summer before last. Mine is still packed away from when I moved, but I thought I'd post a pic of it. Mine was purchassed from a rather shady character in a Merc, and if I recall, I paid

I can't imagine myself ever wearing one, but that is a really innovative watch. I really like it from a design point of view.

That is a really nice looking watch. Removing the bezel to re-allign the insert is very easy. If you do decide to modify the watch, what did you plan on doing? My 2531.80 has a black dial which is also sans 3 marker. I had not planned on replacing the dial as I knew the date-wheel would not line up properly (as the window would be nearer the center of the dial) If (by some remote possibility) you ever decide to replace that dial with one that does have the 3 marker, could I buy that dial from you?

You could always try your dealer and see if they could sell you another bezel and insert. Alternatively, you could try buying a cheap rep as a donor, or, if you don't mind spending $200, you could always order one from Ofrei.com. Another suggestion I just thought of, is raymondleejewelers on eBay. Best of luck

PO on NATO strap. Intersting. Personally, I think it looks like a nice homage to the millitary issue CWC watches. Would I wear it myself? Probably not. I like my SS bracelets, although I wouldn't mind a vintage Submariner on a NATO strap

I'd be interested to see a pic to show the missing marker.

With regards to the bezel, they are very easy to remove. I simply wrapped sellotape around the blade of a thin table knife, slipped it under the bezel and popped it off with a slight twist of the wrist. When doing this, I would advise you to cup your fingers around the watch incase the bezel spring tries to escape. If you then press against the back of the insert, you will see if it is taped or cemented into position. If it's only taped, just press it forwards, re-allign it, and press it back into place If it's cemented, it might be worth taking it to an independent jeweller/watchmaker to get them to re-allign. When it comes to replacing the bezel, the easiest thing to do is to put the bezel spring inside the bezel, allign the spring's pin with the case hole, and then press the bezel back into place. Be warned, doing this, the spring might well launch itself across the room and it is either something that will either go in first go, or take ages to do (not tricky or difficult by any means, it is merely time-consuming) If you do lose the spring, don't worry as I've got a load I made myself when I lost mine

Congrats on the watch, and best of luck with any mods you carry out

I'm not a big fan of Special Editions either, however trying to get the Ultimate of the Ultimate PO's, this one will do for me. I like the idea of the rubber strap, superlume and as opposed to you, double-sided AR coating I'm waiting for some pics of the prototype...

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm all for accuracy in reps, and I love the feel of the resin strap, it is easily the most comfortable strap I have ever worn. My issue was that I think the rectangular notch holes look nicer than the off-round notch holes on the PO strap, and, as mentioned in another thread, with the LE 45 PO I tried on, someone had fitted a standard buckle onto the strap rather than the correct PO buckle.. That strap will certainly start splitting soon As for the AR coating, yes, it will be accurate to the gen, but, as mentioned, AR coating on the outside of the crystal will wear away and spoil the look of the crystal. It only need be on the inside of the crystal, like on the 2245.50. It's like the SS bracelets having screw pins. No, they are not accurate to Omega bracelets, but they are better than the push-pins... Just because the gen is a certain way, that doesn't mean that it can't be improved upon.

PS

I tried one of these on in the AD yesterday, and it really is a very nice watch. By comparison, it dwarfed the 2254.50 I was looking at at the same time. However. I would not want to own one for the following reasons:

1) I prefer the shape of the notch holes in the regular Seamaster strap over the notch holes in the Planet Ocean strap.

2) I do not like the idea of the double-sided AR coating. The outer coating will rub off and spoil the finish.

3) Personally, I think the watch is a little too big for my own tastes, I prefer the 42mm

4) James Bond would never wear a watch with his serial number splashed all over it

Hahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahhaahahaha

If the source of that picture is the source I think it is, on another forum, I actually challenged the person who put the red arrow indicating the mark, pointing out that they were simply making it more identifiable to the people making reps. His half-/\ssed reply was that it didn't matter because "it's a precision mark" ahahahahahahahahaha What a sanctimonious mug! Did it not occur to him that if someone has the means to recreate a lazer-etched crown on a Rolex crystal, or even etch the words Omega Seamaster Professional (rather than engrave them) onto a clasp-back, then etching that 'precision mark' will be no trouble. I'm not naming names, but the guy in question is so far up himself it is ludicrous. I'm glad to see that I was proven right about him actually assisting the people who make replicas

That is exactly why, as I mentioned in another thread.

Bearing that in mind, would it be possible to modify the strap (cut in a second set of 'holes') rather than drilling a second set of holes in the lugs? I've no problem modifying a rubber strap, but drilling a watch case... I'm not that brave

Not really as the strap then sits with a gap between its top edge and the watch case when you actually bend it round your wrist. The genuine Seamaster and Planet Ocean straps have a solid end-link piece embedded into the rubber to prevent this happening, whereas this locating pin was the cheaper rep solution. Get rid of it and you have nothing to stop the rubber flexing and leaving the gap.

Gotcha, so as the strap is tightened, it seperates away from the case... What kind of size gap are we talking here? Ironically, my POS 2531.80 actually has holes pre-drilled into the case, so it'll probably accept the locator pin fine, but getting one for my new Planet Ocean (I have one on SS being fixed, and have decided to treat myself to one on resin as an alternate) will clearly require a bit of modification to make it work... No way I'm paying Ofrei prices for a Planet Ocean strap when I don't even like the look of the holes and the buckle tongue is too large

To be honest, I don't tend to rotate my watches much, so I'm wearing the same as I was monday. Crappy pic of a crappy watch, but I like it

Oneday it'll look good

I wish I'd intervened sooner, guys, but photobucket is filtered where I work so I couldn't see the initial pics to confirm my suspicions.

I treaded this ground a year ago, and established the strap in question was a bad/non fit on the PO.

Could this be because the strap is a Seamaster strap, not a Planet Ocean strap? The Planet Ocean does not have the same case as the Seamaster, and although I would understand if the lugs were machined to the same dimensions, it would also not surprize me if there were minor differences.

plus drill a hole to accept the locating pin, rather than cutting it off.

Silly question, but would it not be easier to cut off the locating pin rather than drilling a hole in the case for it?

Contact me - use the email link from the profile.

It's saying your PM box is full, and it won't let me email from this board... If you email me at xxxxxxxxxxxxx@Hotmail.com, I'm sure we can work something out. Thanks again for the offer of the strap

[Edited to remove email for stalking concerns]

That's a good Ebay seller, great find of the GMT bezel by-Tor.

The 16610 insert is good, but far from accurate to the gen I think. If anybody wants I can post comparison pictures

And this is the entire point I have been making in this (and another) thread. This dealer says in all his auctions that "you will not tell from the original". This is nothing but bullsh*t. My mother in law knows nothing about watches, she thinks my POS 2531.80 looks as nice (in its own way) as any other Omega, but, even she could tell the difference between a gen-accurate bezel and the one I was shipped. The thing that really p*sses me off about this dealer is that he is blatantly lying in ever auction he posts (as they are all clearly template auctions) He uses the same response to people who leave him negative feedback, regardless of their issue. If someone is dissatisfied, then they are dissatisfied, that does not make them a liar. As I said before, I suspect the only reason he has such a high rating, is because he has sold to people who either a) do not know what the genuine bezel looks like, so do not realize they are being ripped off, or know they are inaccurate but do not care that it is inaccurate. I certainly don't care that my 2531.80 is inaccurate, but I would also never try and say that is was indistinguishable from the real thing. I would say avoid like the plague, but if people want to buy from him, that is their choice. The only thing I would say, is do not expect something that is gen-accurate, and you will not be dissapointed.

Without the two straps and whatever version of the Planet Ocean to make comparisons, I can only speculate. However, I would strongly suspect, that the straps Joshua is selling are a uniform 20mm. I would suspect that the inconsistency lies in the watches themselves, not the strap. I would also stronly suspect that the straps mentioned in this thread are the same as the ones Joshua is selling. From the pictures available, I cannot distinguish any differences. With regards to accuracy and perfection, even gens get screwed up. Recently, the AD in town had two watches (one Planet Ocean 45mm and one 007 40th Anniversary SMP) which had defects in the finish of the bezels. These were fresh from the factory, but one was a definite manufacturing flaw, the other was clearly handling damage. When I tried on the LE 45 PO today, I noticed that the tongue of the buckle was wider than the holes in the strap. It was not untill I saw the above linked page to Ofrei that I found out the differences in not only the strap, but also the buckles. Whoever put that watch together, clearly put the wrong buckle on the strap. So all those little flaws people whine about with their reps, just remember, you can still get them in the genuine article... (probably even assembled in the same factories)

Guys... I'm not going to continue with this group buy since seems that Joshua's one is the same as this dealer is selling. TeeJay, please... once you receive the band, post pics like NAVI did. If the bands are not the same and this one looks better, then I will ask again the dealer and if still available I'll let you know. Ok?

I'll be happy to take pics of the strap once it arrives, although with regards to 'watch shots', I am without my Planet Ocean at the moment, so the only watch I could put it on will be my 2531.80 project watch, but I will also do this to demonstrate it's fit on a 20mm rep.

Well I am returning my rep Seamaster strap to the dealer, so I could always send to you if you are in EU... otherwise it goes back with the Chrono Avenger (wrong dial colour sent!) and the Ultimate 45mm PO (wrong bezel colour sent!) for replacements!

I'm in the UK, so that would be awesome. How much would you want for the strap? My funds are a little stretched at present, but I would definitely be interested. Would you be prepared to hang onto it for a few weeks till I can get the spare cash?