Bansenshukai

I'll get my buddy's permission and take some photos tomorrow. Thanks for your input.

Norbert: 1) Joshua has personally absorbed a $930 hit from a watch he sent but was somehow "intercepted" during transit. This is my personal experience with him after the purchase of about 35 reps (to date). 2) You are overly sensitive. But, then again, I might overly resilient. What you considered "aggressive", or otherwise, angry responses are simply "forward" responses (kind of like, as you admittedly characterized, your topic's title). 3) I imagine that grown adults can exchange differing opinions here without feeling like they must be defensive at all time. If you get some, dust yourself off and offer a counter-point in an eloquent, fact-based manner. 4) Let me guess, you didn't play dodge ball in high school right? (I'm wondering ... will you become angry and defensive at this last statement, or will you accept it in a good-natured manner?) De Oppresso Liber!

Let's see if I can clear any confusion. The gentleman I'm referring to as Paul uses PT as his signature on his e-mail communications and his e-mail begins with "watchcentre@". Maybe I'm referring to him as "Paul" erronously. Sean, you have a point. But, it is not my style to bug a dealer. To make money, one has to spend (invest) some money. Joshua has actually absorbed a similar situation with one of his watches; and the cost was more than $600 due to the movement involved. But, Joshua's willingness to absorb this has brought him the sale of 35 reps ranging from $200 to $930 a rep (that was the one that got lost - the most expensive one having a pretty expensive movement) in about one month - and that's just from one customer - me (as I refer him to other customers here). Since Joshua did that for us on his own, he got our business. I believe a dealer should take a direct interest in his own business and shouldn't need to be "bugged". I'm not saying that PT is not interested in my business. However, had he risked as Joshua did, he'd be doing business with us right now. Then again, Joshua's business bottom line might be bigger, thus allowing him to risk that much. Who knows?

I forgot to update this. Well, I ordered the watch from Paul but never received it. I don't think the problem was Paul, but his method of shipment. I had suggested he use DHL as I've been using it with Joshua exclusively this whole time. Paul went with another service. DHL has an office no more than 100 meters from where I am sitting right now. However, the service Paul likes to use essentially uses regular mail. So, once the item left the UK, there was no way to track it and it was put through the corrupt local mailing system here once it got into country (assuming it actually made it into country). Needless to say, I have never seen my $600 investment. But, Paul did have aparent valid reasons for insisting on using his usual service and, after he explained them to me, they seemed reasonable. I still disagreed with them, but they are valid reasons non-the-less. I had several buyers lined-up for Paul - about thirteen (mainly because of his ability to obtain 14Kt TT models). However, due to my experience, I funneled all the buys towards Joshua and we went with stainless steel models instead. So far, the purchases are so many (like 3 reps a person) that I had to build an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of them along with Joshua (I sent Joshua the same spreadsheet). Anyway, I hope to buy from Paul in the future, when I get back to the US. My bottom-line assessment is that he is most likely a really good dealer. Unfortunately, our first transaction did not go well, so I had to shift to someone else.

Yes. As a matter of fact, the bezel pearl did look like what you have in the picture. So, then it's genuine?

Let’s see: Dive Pay - $340 / mo Jump Pay - $225 / mo Demolition Pay - $225 / mo Assignment Incentive Pay - $750 / mo Foreign Language Proficiency - $300 / mo (from $150 - $300 depending on level of proficiency) “Other” very frequent pay based on increased Operational Tempo (i.e., lots of work, few folks to do it) – Combat Zone Tax Exclusion – Based on your Home of Record, this can go up to about $1000 / mo for a six to eight month deployment Family Separation Pay - $100 / mo for time spent on deployment Imminent Danger Pay (AKA Hostile Fire Pay) - $225 / mo Not including – -Allowance for Housing (we don't pay rent and even if you own your house, you get this which can be from $600 to over $1000/mo, depending on location) -TDY pay for short duration deployments in non-hostile areas. Normal Pay for the average Seal Operator – Assuming an average operator is an E-6: $2465.10 / mo (with 6 years in service) I think a SEAL could afford the $4000 watch. But, then, why risk breaking it with all the abuse it’s going to get in our arena. I personally know of a tough little Omega SMP that has literally been through “hell and back”. But, I can see why the SOCOM would not purchase a $4000/watch contract. I wouldn't either.

I checked all three Pam 172's out. Yep, you were right: Something is wrong with the movement on one of them. After winding, it doesn't "move". So, I'll send this one back to the dealer. No big deal. These things happen. Thanks for your input, however. I think I just became a Panerai fan. My collection is going to veer a different direction from my Rolex fetish.

The movement is Swiss Unitas. I have two other copies of the same model (because three different people ordered it). I'm going to try winding another one and see what happens.

Fellas, I'm probably going to be classified as the head of the chess club here for not knowing this. I checked with the search feature for "How to wind a Panerai?" and "Winding a Panerai" and got no search results. I just got a Pam 172 from Joshua. It looks great. Except I don't know how to wind it. I went to a Panerai website (message board) and it read that I should wind it by flipping open the latch and, with the watch dial facing me, wind upwards, towards the 12 O'Clock of the watch until I felt a point after which it wouldn't be wise to keep going. It basically said to wind until I met some resistance. Which I did ... and very carefully too. But, after that, I set the time, closed the latch and ... nothing. The moment in the back doesn't "move" and I hear no ticking and the time does not change. What did I do wrong? Thanks ... And forgive my ignorance in this subject.

Oh, I didn't mention that my first PAM is en route. It's a PAM 172 with Swiss Unitas Mvt. And, just in case, here's a pic of our latest endeavor. Nope, it's not posed. This was actually taken by the spotter of the sniper next to me during the "real deal". (Unknown to all, there is a gen Omega SMP on my other wrist under the glove.)

I have direct, first-hand experience with another site called "Best Swiss" and they are oddly similar (Ok, how about nearly identical) to "Perfect Swiss" down to their website layout. I can only speak on the subject of "Best Swiss" (I like to use the initials "BS" for two reasons). "BS" is a scam site; no doubt about it. "Perfect Swiss" looks like, smells like and feels like "BS" too (pun intended). Like the Admin here said, they are scammers. Look up the reputable dealers here carefully. You will rarely be disappointed.

I have a friend who sports a really nice TT Rolex Submariner, blue dial, that he acquired in 2002 from an uncle as a gift. I took a good look at it today (he let me see it) and noticed that the second hand was ticking a bit more than, say, the second hand of my gen Omega SMP Automatic. Also, the bezel pearl is not "inset", that is, it's not flush with the surface of the bezel. Rather than some of the bezel pearls from reps I've seen, the pearl looks more rounded, as if you took a tiny spherical pearl, cut it in half and put that half on the bezel surrounded by a thin metal ring. It does not look very large, or out of place, but it is certainly not flush with the bezel. It's more like a little bump on the bezel. The gold parts of the watch look like genuine gold as they have not faded one bit and he wears it everyday (it's like his "beater" watch). Another friend of mine, who is into gen and rep Rolexes (but not an expert, per se) believes that it is a rep because of the bezel pearl. Thing is that the owner of the TT Rolex Submariner plans to take it to an official Rolex dealer/repairer for servicing. But, it might be a fake, I don't know and I certainly have not told him so because, Rolex may have manufactured something like that and I might not be aware of it. So, any of you out there have an idea if Rolex did have a model like that. If I can get a pic of it tommorow, I will. But, we'll see.

These are the first watches I bought from Joshua within the last month. There are others, but this is just a sample. I've been referring him to all my buddies over here and we have completed our fourth group order among us. Just off the top of my head, I think that we've purchased about 25 to 30 reps in about one month. I tried another dealer for a $600 USD rep with real 14Kt Gold links and it never arrived. With Joshua all orders have arrived within 14 days or less. He's a great dealer and he's definately got our business!!!

Ok, then, Joshua is this address good? I received e-mails, supposedly from you on this address: trinicon88@yahoo.com It told me that your e-mail was hijacked and that you wanted me to write to you there. Shortly before that, I received an e-mail from you via the "old" e-mail address saying that I should remit payment via another name (in the same country as we've always done) because you were traveling there for the weekend. So, who's who? Thanks ... Nouns Defions

Actually ... you are almost right. It depends on what market you gravitate to. There are certain places in South America ... Ciudad Del Este, Paraguay, for instance, where the market of all types of reps (to include DVDs, watches, purses and even some electronics) funds some of these terrorist groups. Of course, that is also a reason I don't purchase anything from local vendors (where I am currently at). It's too bad, because many of these local vendors are not related to the bad guys. But, how can one tell? I've had an IED detonate no more than 34 feet away from me, so ... I don't play that game.

It's funny you write that because I went to the old site and spent about an hour reading each and every post regarding Precious Time and found, maybe, one bad review on him (and it really wasn't that bad) among dozens of good ones. I kept seeing references to someone related to "Aspire", however (when my "search" criteria was just "Paul" and not "Precious Time"). Some of the prices I saw quoted did not match what Precious Time "Paul" has quoted me. So, I think that it is a case of mistaken identities. So far, the transaction has gone well. He's communicated with me at every step. There are literally about $2300 USD worth of business coming his way once I determine that he's "good to go". I kid you not, the list of my fellow special operators interested in these watches is growing at an incredible rate. Just today, I had guys from two different teams knocking at my door with "Hey, I heard you got some cool watches...". Yesterday, there was a guy from another team that wants to buy three reps and thinks that five other guys in his team want a few. One of our "support" soldiers wants a Breitling rep. So, I'm going to split some of this business over to Joshua as well, as he did right by me already. As soon as I get my Precious Time stuff "squared away", I'll let the other fellas know - I'm basically on the "recon" patrol for reps for all the guys. Had I known it was going to get this hectic over reps over here (in our firebase), I would have kept my mouth shut. But, I'm not going to turn a fellow warrior away when all he wants is to share in the fun of a quality rep. However ... the jury is still out on this purchase ... I'll keep you all posted.

Well, like I mentioned in the other post (other topic), this is partly "experimental". There are a lot of folks suddenly interested in reps down here and, as I find out more about different dealers, I'll guide the purchases in that direction. After all, these are guys I've been in firefights with and I will not allow them to get taken advantage of. Besides that, I think competition is good for the economy. That's why there are many different dealers. We'll see. Thank you so much for your input. This kind of stuff goes into my personal "rucksack" of knowledge.

On the heels of my successful order from Joshua (whom, by the way, was a pleasure to do business with - I highly recommend him), I decided to give Paul - from Precious Time - a try. I'll tell you this, with Joshua, I took a big leap of faith and did the transaction via Western Union knowing that it was a point of "no return". But, Joshua did not fail me and he is true to his word. I'll deal with him again. I'm taking the same leap of faith with Paul - and as I understand it, his "word is as good as gold". Honestly, Paul's post regarding genuine gold on some of his watches got my attention. So, I contacted him. I looked over his website and settled on the Yatchmaster 14Kt Genuine Gold Two Tone with Blue Dial. Based on the excellent Yatchmaster I got from Joshua, I wanted to give this one a try. The reason I'm trying out two different dealers is that after seeing my reps, I have about 15 people interested in making purchases. Imagine a bunch of guys on a deployment with nowhere to spend any money for the next six months and you can see the big picture; dropping a couple of hundred dollars on a watch is not a big deal to us at this point. Anyway, I will keep you all posted on the purchase and send photos when I get it in. The only concern right now is shipping and tracking of the order. PS - For some reason, my once fast Speedmaster has begun to keep time properly all of the sudden. I'm still going to get it serviced by The Zigmeister, however.

Thank you all for your encouragement. It is folks like you that make these deployments worth it. You guys rock! I received my watches yesterday. I was not able to post them on here right away as we were busy. Today I got a chance to snap one photo of my two reps alond with my gen Omega SMP. On the left is the Rolex Yatchmaster rep. So far, this watch has kept time along with my gen Omega. The Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow is beautiful in all kinds of ways. Except, the Speedmaster is a little too fast for its own good. Last night, I set it along with the gen Omega to see how far along it goes forward and I was surprised to find that it had moved about ten minutes ahead in less than ten hours. I'm thinking I'm going to have this beauty modded by whomever is reccommended out here. You guys recommended Joshua and were right on the money - he's a class act. Who do you recommend for mods? I'm thinking I might want the Speedmaster with a new movement. I'm willing to pay that cost. Anyway, here's my one photo for now. I'll post others tomorrow. PS - Oh yeah, I forgot to add that I showed this to a few members of our unit and now an entire detachment wants at least one rep and they all have the money up front. I'm supposed to make the orders for them. I'm gonna split those orders between Josh and Paul (PT) ... and yep, DHL does deliver to Afghanistan.

Update: Got the shipping tracking number from Joshua today. This means that I should have the reps within a week. Afghanistan Reps: On another note, some of you might be surprised at the huge rep market in Afghanistan. By far, these are some of the most low quality reps I've ever seen. I believe they are made from aluminum, or something. In any case, I'm planning on borrowing one of their reps just to post the photos on here for all to see. I won't purchase one here because a forty dollar rep can buy a couple of RPG rounds which will, undoubtedly come back to haunt us in the worst way. Yet, I was not aware that the rep market had reached here in such numbers. South American Reps: Later this year, I'll be traveling to three South American countries with pretty strong rep markets and they have some pretty impressive replicas. Of all things, my girlfriend's distant cousin happens to be a rep dealer down there. Anyway, I can't wait for Joshua's reps to get here ... my camera is ready.

Just so that this post is not that boring ... I have attached some pics. This is a pic of me in one of our A-Camps with my gen Omega SMP.

So far my first two reps have, apparently, not cleared customs yet. Joshua told me that this part is somewhat time consuming ("a few days") and I believe him. It's been seven days since the order. So, as soon as they clear customs, he'll e-mail me the tracking number (it's being shipped FedEx). Question ... what actually happens at customs as reps are coming out? How do they scrutinize these things? Anyone know? Do they actually sit around in Customs for five or six days? What happens there? Anyway, I sent an e-mail to Joshua today asking him about the Omega Constellation (TT version) for both Ladies and Men. I've read in a few postings that these are among the best reps out there. I've also read that some reps can be had with real gold parts. Is this anywhere near true? I have the Replica Watch Report and I've read extensively on these boards (mostly at the "old" site) and I've seen the warning regarding "real gold" replicas. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks, and I'll keep you all posted on "My First Two Reps" ... and I'll post pictures as soon as they come in. Take care.

Two days ago I ordered my first two reps from Joshua. I ordered a Rolex Rolessium SS, and an Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow Blue and White. The order is an experiment of sorts as well. I'm "collector" from the old website and, as some of you know, I'm deployed overseas. I wanted to see how long it would take for this order to get to an active combat zone (FedEx - I paid extra for that). I have a good quality camera here, so I'll take pics of both watches when they come in. The only issue might be the Asian 7750 movement on the Omega Speedmaster. Based on reading some stuff, I have some concerns. I might send it to The Zigmeister to clean up fairly quickly (might have to anyway). I'll keep you guys posted. PS - The site looks great!