Bansenshukai

The Zigmeister is an artist, plain and simple. Amazing work! Enjoy your watch!

How do I resist purchasing watches? Priorities and discipline. It makes the one watch I purchase every so often that much more special. Besides, my watch box is full and I have a standing policy of not purchasing any other watch boxes for storage.

Absolutely! It works perfectly as it did before. Thanks.

I want to post this just in case someone else comes up with this issue in the future. At first I thought that I would either have to send this watch away for repair, or that the movement was shot. I woke up one morning, tried to wind my Panerai 111H rep and all I heard was a very weak clicking and I saw no winding. I was befuddled and had no idea what could have gone wrong. I had not dropped the watch, or otherwise mistreated it. It is truly one of my all-time favorite reps purchased right here on RWG. After some research online and some diagram study from a .pdf I found in the ETA website, I figured out the issue: The Crown Wheel (A) was not making consistent positive contact with the Winding Pinion (small red square; pinion is barely visible on the movement, but it's under the Main Plate and its connected to the Crown Stem). The apparent reason was that the Main Plate was lifting up slightly (maybe 2 mm) due to a proximal Screw for the Barrel Bridge (red arrow) that was loose on the Main Plate. So, every time I turned the crown to wind the movement, and the Winding Pinion would engage the teeth of the Crown Wheel, the loose screw would allow the Main Plate to lift slightly towards the display crystal - hardly noticeable to the naked eye (those "2 mm" mentioned above) - and would cause a lack of proper contact between the Winding Pinion and the Crown Wheel. The Winding Pinion is the gear that sits at a 90 degree angle to the Crown Wheel in order to engage it, turn the larger Rachet Wheel, and winds the movement. (This photo - not mine and I don't know the author - shows a slightly different movement, but the parts I mention match - for illustrative purposes) At first, I didn't know what to make of the inability for the movement to wind. I was horrified. This watch has a The The Zigmeister-serviced movement with Vac Lume on the dial and I purchased it from a very reputable member on this board. I purchased an excellent strap from Geneve, Switzerland, and I seldom take this watch off. But, I thought about the physics of how the watch should wind, researched a little, decided to risk opening the case and adjusted the screws as required. Needless to say, the easy fix saved me a lot of money that I would have had to spend to send the watch away to fix the problem. The watch now winds perfectly.

The lume looks really weak. But, to me - in the picture - it looks to be blue. Maybe it's just my computer.

I looked on Ebay and this is the only one matching the description. It is being offered starting at 0.00 and no reserve. Screams FAKE already. And, no box and no papers. This is the item number 250555803529

Totally agree.

Ouch! This does not sound good. How much did you end up spending and what are the circumstances of your purchase (from whom, where, etc). Those facts alone will tell us pretty much where this is going to go. Except, I have a feeling this is not going anywhere good.

I originally purchased this watch from Joshua in 2006. Surprisingly, and this is no exaggeration, this watch is among my most accurate (time keeping) in my collection of both reps and gens. Anyway, I recently re-polished the bracelet and left it looking like new. Then, I sent it to Kent Parks for relume. Kent applied a "vintage-like light aged Super-LumiNova

You are describing the dial layout of a chronograph. The "second hand" IS the "seconds at 9" subdial. What you'd normally consider the "second hand" - the long and thin hand that stays perfectly still at 12 o'clock - is the chrono hand. The chrono hand is supposed to stay still at all times, unless you activate the top pusher and begin to measure the passing of time as related to a separate event (a race, or how long it takes to bake a cookie, etc). You should not let the "chrono hand" run indefinitely as if it is the second hand, because it is NOT the second hand. The "seconds at 9" is your second hand. The chrono hand should always reset to the 12 o'clock position when you hit the bottom pusher AFTER you have stopped the chrono hand by pushing the top pusher. There are others in this forum, far more adept at this subject than I am, who can explain the mechanics as to why is not a good thing to continously run the second hand and when it is a bad idea to change the date on a chrono, etc. I suggest you use the "search" function for a while as I am pretty sure it has been posted before on numerous threads. Welcome to the forum.

There is no need to feel as if you have to defend the fact that you guys are pretty busy. Please, re-read the post I made and tell me where I posted something that is not true. You guys are busy. It is obvious that if this is the case, I either wait, or find another modder. That's not a criticism. I have no idea why you are responding in this manner. What assumption is it that I'm actually making on my post? I find your post/response interesting because in order to make it, it must have required you to make time to comb through e-mails to find that data regarding my specific inquiry long ago. For what reason, I don't know. Sir, you are an artist in your own right with plenty of tremendous work that I have personally seen in amazing pics on this very forum. Your defensive response is not necessary. No one is making assumptions, or accusations. If you indeed find them in my post, please quote them to me. Otherwise, let's stay on topic. I believe that the watch being showcased here was lumed by Kent Parks and he was the person whose work I was praising from personal experience.

I tried another guy up in NC by the name of Jack Alexyon from International Watch Works. His work was pretty precise (I sent him an Invicta Grand Diver as a sacrificial "lamb" to test him out). He did bead blasting on the case and bracelet as well as re-lume on the dial and hands. The bead blast was awesome! But, although the lume was very well executed, the quality of the C3 he put in there - assuming that's what he put there (that's what I asked for) - left a lot to be desired. The watch I sent Kent and the one I sent Jack came a day apart from one another. But, the brightness of what Kent put on the dial far out-shines what Jack put on the Invicta. So, now I'm dealing solely with Kent on my re-lumes. Plus, at this point, I have a direct line to him and I don't have to feel that he will not get around to do one of my mods. However, for bead blasting and that kind of stuff ... I recommend Jack.

Kent Parks is an absolute artist! For a long time I tried to get on the list with two of our well-known modders and I either received no reply, or very, very short replies that were usually something like "I am full with work right now." Well, from the moment I contacted Kent, he was absolutely spot-on with his communication and very polite. I sent him a watch for modding - paint chrono hands as well as C3 lume - and it came back tremendously beautiful and was shipped in record time!!! I have just sent Kent my rep Yachtmaster (Swiss ETA, acquired from Josh back in '06) and I expect that it will come back just amazing. I highly recommend Kent; I will do business with no other modder ... he's awesome!

The following pics are from a Rolex that a person seeks to trade with me for another watch. The person has been forthcoming thus far and has supplied the following information (I include it here as he already posted it in another watch forum): Make: Rolex Model: GMT MASTER II Reference Number: 16713 Tab: 401B Band: 78363 Serial Number: E483166 Year 1990

I can only imagine that Vac is extremely busy as I've tried to e-mail him on this a few days ago and he has not replied as of yet. I know he has to be up to his armpits in mod jobs right now, so I understand. That being the case, I wanted to ask some of you guys that send your watches for mods about a mod I'd like to do, if Vac can do it. I purchased a modded PAM 111H from DVN about two weeks ago. This watch gets all of my current wrist time. It has a crazy powerful lume (thanks to Vac) and a crown mod as well. I've ordered an awesome strap from Geneva, Switzerland (Mandaly No. 2 from Kaktus Straps) and I'm thinking of doing the crystal mod. The thing is that I really don't want to wait several months for a crystal AR mod from Chief, so, I've decided to purchase a sapphire crystal replacement with the AR issue already worked out and sending that - along with the watch - to Vac for install, and that's it. Does Vac do this kind of stuff? I'm not that new around here, but I've been gone for a while, so I don't know much about Vac. Thanks for any input you all may have. Thanks.

I just e-mailed him about getting onto his waiting list of awaiting customers and got an "auto reply" about some AR crystals he is getting from Chieftang. My e-mail was about my own watch crystal, though not about anything previously sent to him; just an inquiry about getting some future work done.

I already see this thread is not heading anywhere good. Besides, no matter the ramblings on this thread, it will not change a thing in the real world. How about treating others with respect and approaching these difficult subjects with a touch of civility without having to resort to blanket statements about an entire nation. Is it too much to ask?

To me, it makes no difference what people may think. Today, in fact, I wore my genuine Rolex Explorer II to the workplace and I had three co-workers tell me that they thought it was a low quality rep. Then, the same people are impressed if I wear an Invicta Reserve. Go figure. It only matters to you, in the end. Besides, I am the one wearing it; I care not what others think.

I swim with all my reps and gens. I don't differentiate between them - I don't want them to fight among themselves at night inside the magical watch display box. Not, but really, I swim with them and I have never had an issue. But, be adviced, it has been luck on my part.

The funny thing is that the part I need for the watch is about $10 tops. It's just that this watch - apparently - requires the highest skill from a watchmaker. Oddly, it would cost me less to have my gen Rolex Explorer II serviced.

I have a watch that sports the ETA 2894 movement. It requires that the chrono pinion (I don't know what the technical term is, but it's the pinion that holds the chrono hand) be replaced for the current one is damaged. How did it get damaged, I don't know, but I found out that it has that problem from a watchmaker that is currently holding the watch (I sent it because it needed to have the hands installed) - I bought the watch this way and I am planning on having it repaired, put Superlume on the watch dial and new Superlumed hands (it's a project of sorts). I have contacted Watchdog in the past on this watch, but he told me that this watch movement was beyond his skill. His actual words were "... the ETA 2894 is a very specialized movement that can't be repaired or worked on by anyone else but the ETA factory. No watchmaker has the tooling or skills required to work on this movement, me included...". So, I am at a loss as to what to do. I really hoped that the repair work was possible. Does anyone have any idea as to whether this is something I'm supposed to send to ETA themselves (if that is even possible)? My other option is to purchase a brand new ETA 2894 and have that installed into the watch case. But, at about $650 (on the bay), I was hoping for another option first.

Rockstar ... occassionally wear a green hat of french origin.

I can pretty much guarantee that the head of every entity that answers to the Chief Executive nearly fall all over themselves to be looked upon with favor by the latter. This "spy machinery" that you attribute to only the Republicans, is actually a servant to whomever is inside the Oval Office, regardless of party affiliation, by design. If Obama wanted to, he could probably find out what hand you wipe your behind with (as well as Gov. Palin's). But, heck, I think conspiracy theories are entertaining too.

Great point. You are absolutely right on this point.

We were discussing this very thing at the office today. In the final analysis, President Barack Obama was a product of shrewd marketing on a population thirsty for anything "not-Bush". He was certainly less experienced in the political arena than Hillary Clinton (I hate myself for even writing it, but it's true). In my opinion, he needed more time in the arena. In fact, I considered McCain and Hillary as poor choices for President of the US, but both were certainly better choices than Obama. McCain suffered from the fact that he was a Republican (and, some Republicans might say that he was that in name only). Hillary suffered from the fact that she was trust up against the very constituency that her and her husband counted on as "theirs", the unified black vote (which brings along many other minority votes with it). That, and the fact that people were weary of family "legacies" in the White House. Add to that Barack Obama's incredible charisma, eloquence, education and oratory skill. It's like reading the fancy package of a product. You figure if the company spends that much money in making the package look that good, and it's sooo expensive, it's got to be good, if not great. I am sad to admit that Barack Obama has disappointed me multiple times already, and he just got into office. This current spending bill he is backing as an economic "stimulus", is really pissing me off too. It's like a list of everything every member of Congress ever wanted to get money to do, hidden inside a campaign of fear ("we must act now, or else"), with a fancy PC name like an "Economic Stimulus Package". I for one don't think that "$400 million for global-warming research" is going to somehow create thousands of jobs, and somehow get our economy moving. That Obama is even spending his political capita to push this bill as is just screams "inexperienced".