Victoria

*cringe* Was I the only one who winced reading this? Why do people act like this, really? Well, Defacto, thanks for your apposite anecdote. As you know, the season is beginning in Palm Beach, and yet again, I shall be flung amongst these types of high-achievers, not all of them American either -- there are boku foreigners in power in that area, for every Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Anthony Shriver which lives there. We'll see who and how I can put in their place, as elegantly as your chum did. To bring this a little back on topic, my paternal grandfather was a WWII vet, like so many of our grandpas here were. Only he had the rare honour of having served under two Scots, two memorable soldiers of the highest renown, as part of the General Staff, both as a subaltern in WWI, and later as a colonel in WWII. One, General Sir Douglas Haig, wearing his wristwatch (in 1916, unusual for a man): The other, Field Marshal Lord Montgomery, wearing his wristwatch (looks plain Jane to me): The former was the ultimate commander of the BEF -- and according to my granddad, a more gentle, chivalrous gentleman you cannot have imagined. He didn't stand on ceremony, and projected a soft but commanding aura about him. The latter was a grade-A a-hole of the highest category. His vanity, his arrogance, his cruelty towards his subordinates was acute. When I asked, all my grandfather could muster without becoming apoplectic was: "He was a bloody cheat at tennis" (snort) And real gentlemen don't cheat, of course. Guess which one of the two has gone down the history pages as a famous hero? Guess which one was sacked, and called an incompetent? Life isn't fair, I know. But talent shouldn't be reason enough for life to reward such people. Ah well.

If you believe Kinsey, at least 10% of all males are gay. I'm guessing the guys who place slinky females in their avatars are making damn sure no one thinks they're part of the 10%. *g*

Wow, seriously. And I've lived in both Germany and Japan! Could've sworn it was Herbig.

Only if one believes women who wear men's watches are inclined towards bisexuality or lesbianism, even subconsciously. In this forum alone, you have a straight girl who wears Panerai watches. And a lesbian girl who wears Panerai watches. Mind you, a girl did try to kiss me in the age old practise known as "lifting" at my boarding school, but I ducked. If memory serves, I was wearing my Mickey Mouse at the time. Confidence, not sexuality, is the key to wearing big watches.

That men like women's bodies? ...I'll put this out there, though I know a lot of members may be offended because it hits close to home. The ONLY time I have anything approaching a problem with sexy avatars, is when I find out it's their girlfriend's boobs, bottoms, jiggly form, etc. That is a little sleazy. Yeah, even if it's just that they are proud. But I don't think we could imagine our dads doing that about our mums, can you?

He's a famous TV sketch artist, and I was hoping people would have mentioned him in that thread of mine! BTW, have any of you watched the Romy Schneider trilogy on the Empress of Austria -- "Sissi"? Take Sound of Music, and treble that in America, to get a sense of its cultural importance -- it's a staple at the holidays, and even Castro allows it to be shown in Christmas, in Cuba. There is a Sissi fan club in Havana! Anyway, Michael Herbig (yes "Bully") is coming out with a hilarious ripoff of the series: an animated film called "Lissi und der Wilde Kaiser" -- out this October. I CANNOT WAIT.

Favourite Avatar:

May I also recommend Greg Stevens straps? If you go to Risti Accessories corner, you might "Search" for his name, and a boatload of straps will pop up. New, they start at $150, but used $80-100. The Crazy Horse in black stitch and his Naturale are both excellent for the Fiddy! @EVERYONE: The 50% discount ends tonight, midnight, Texas time. Hurry...in fact, haven't ordered mine yet!

First, thanks for clarifying, and it's good to know you're looking out for us, Willith. I'll bear what you said in mind, personally. I just like the Paci/GeF/Toscana straps too much, and I have little to do with anything else. In-between holes is tough. Never had that problem with TC straps. But I often get straps with a long tail, and the first hole is much much below where I could wear my strap comfortably. So I bought a $12 leather hole punch on *Bay. Yes, it's nerve-wracking to try to punch a hole on a $200+ strap, but it's better than letting them go to waste. Thanks again, Willith!

Hehe. I laughed too, Pugwash, don't worry. And I'm very sentimental about people dying. "The great mime Marcel Marceau had speaking roles in some motion pictures ... and this exclusive chart painstakingly lists the best of his film quotations."

Ah, no. I meant if someone had specifically mentioned "exploitation" in their PMs to Admin. Not the general topic of provocative avatars, which I agreed people in workplaces have more right to complain, without being thought of as either repressed or controlling. Thanks for the reading tip! I will check that book out. It's just up my alley, taste-wise. We know what you're trying to do, Mr. Pugwash, and I'm here to tell you, it won't work. So there!

BE VERY CAREFUL...but Highflyingclive himself recommended Lord Sheraton's leather conditioner to me. Read more here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...67&hl=stain I got it from an UK vendor at Fleecebay. Dead cheap, less than $7. My horror story after I applied another product to my Metta Catherina: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...0&hl=metta:

Come on. It's only September! That's t-shirt weather in Canada, so surely also Alaska. "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." (att. Herodotus, c. 400 BC)

OMG! Do people not read my comments on this. Sniff, sniff. I don't care! I like those avatars, and I find it RIDICULOUS that people would complain about grown men wanting to see pretty females in theirs. Okay, there are some issues regarding nudity, and the workplace. I understand that. But I sure hope no one complained about "exploitation" of females in their notices to Admin to censure the racy ones. God, I hate feminists. They take the fun out of life. EDIT: In my haste, I forgot to thank JFreeman for his thoughtfulness towards me. Thanks! No worries on my account though.

(Yes, I laughed. Poor Marcel) People from "Anglo-Saxon" cultures just don't get mimes, and moreover every grown British, American, Canadian, Australian and Kiwi man seems want to kick the snot out of mimes. It's like they stand for all the effete intellectual, conceptual, commedia dell'arte traditions which make the French so ridiculed by us. And I bet you the French loved Benny Hill too.

This was supposed to be a silent thread! Poor Marcel Marceau. Just tried to give the world a little pleasure, and I bet you he will be the butt of jokes when his death is announced to people all over the world. I went up to my dad and said, "Marcel Marceau died last night". Do you know his reaction? Silence. He just put two hands on top of his head, as in "The roof is on fire" gesture, and made a funny face as he kept pushing and touching the sides of the air. That would be Marcel Marceau in his new "box".

Agreed 100%. The point I was making is that the most elite people, I used athletes as an example, can be incredible a-holes. It goes without saying that I myself find that discomfitting. I don't believe in the fairy tales of my childhood, where all the good characters have a fine life, and the bad ones die a cruel, horrible, but fitting end. I'm more mature than that. But perhaps a tiny part of me is aghast at how unbearable people are often the ones who most succeed in life. That they lead a life of inner turmoil, driven on perhaps by demons which we will never be aware, seems poor "recompense" for their outward behaviour. You respectfully disagreed with me, Defacto, but I am going to have to do the same with you. That has not been my experience in all the elite environments I have lived in, and with the TOP people I've observed. It could well be my bad luck meeting the wrong types, but for every Nelson Mandela I have met (kind, noble, transcending time and place, and all human pettiness), I have met a Gordon Brown, bitter, chip-on-shoulder numpty, and a braggart to boot. (How did I meet this people? It's easy. It's to do with my University background. That's all I'll reveal here) Again, I know what you are saying, of course I follow the exact same precepts in life that you do, "iron fist in golden glove" -- LOVE IT! BTW. Successful people come in all kinds. I like to think I am successful. You are too, by the sounds of it. My point was that THE MOST successful people are not ashamed of tooting their own horn, and riding roughshod over others in the process. What say you?

Or as Beckham calls it, metrosexuality. Oh! I thought you meant something different for an instant, before reading below. As in "Of course, I am in accord with females wearing "men's" watches. The opposite thought makes me shudder. Preventing them from wearing what they like, or controlling their dress habits is a barbaric custom", etc. In some poorer countries that I have visited, sometimes these old favourites like Chanel, Miss Dior, Paco Rabanne, Pierre Cardin, Joy by Jean Patou are the only ones that are available or perhaps, 'cemented' in their minds as expensive perfume. I'm not sure what is at work there. Went to Haiti and the entire front desk hotel staff, male and female, reeked of Chanel No. 5. I felt amused, but sad at the same time. @DBR: Meow!

I could elaborate, but I'm feeling frisky. How about a game where you give me all your Tag Heuers and I hide them in my thongs?

This may be the funniest thing I've ever heard on RWG. Other than Ryyannon singing forr

Dude, call me crazy (not that you don't already) but it actually sounds GOOD...

UB7, the reason there are so many models of Panerai, apart from the fact that they're exclusive in production numbers, and therefore it helps to have many versions of the marque -- is that we all seem to follow some kind of pattern when we're beginning our rep PAM careers. 111/112 -- The default beginner's PAMs. They are EVERYTHING the marque is supposed to be. They have sandwich dials which lume better than Pre-Vs. They have exposition casebacks. They are 44mm, which is easier to find straps for (itself, another adjunct hobby). And they are deeply, unbelievably versatile as such. The seconds for the 111 seem to appeal to the mechanically-inclined; the Bauhaus lines of the 112, to the aesthetes. Then, you might choose a white-faced PAM, like the 113. Or perhaps an 005 or similar. They make us interested and yet comfortable at the same time, since it's not a big leap in difference. Since we rep watch owners can, usually the Fiddy follows fast on the heels of the base watches. That's obviously not the case with gen owners, I've noticed on Risti. So we get the Fiddy, and we are OVERWHELMED by it, and the 217. It makes you feel instantly different wearing one. Then you start to wonder, what else is out there. Could I try a Radiomir? ME? The 183 or the 190 soon follow. The 177 or Titaniums are fantastic, people soon find. Then come chronos, and the Arktos and outsized-bezel watches like those. Finally, the Cali dials, which are SO much more covetted in the gen world, than in ours. The 232 is not far behind. Somewhere along the line, we want vintage watches, or Tantaliums, or something REALLY special, which no one out there has. You literally cannot own one Panerai. Eventually, the lure of the other models will get ya, especially in the rep world. So you ask the most fundamental question of all. Can we give you pointers? I just did, others have too. But the journey begins with a single click, with your heart exposed. Have fun.

But I also know where he's coming from, DBR! Just to clarify: This thread was never in doubt about where I stood, yes? I want to be crystal about this. The question was completely rhetorical. OF COURSE women should wear Panerai watches! The title was more in line with my questioning the choice of strap, which clearly was offensive to the history and spirit of the Panerai marque. But since we've come to this point in the thread, why not! As Joan Rivers says, let's talk. Well, as are men wearing man bags. It's not common, it happens, sometimes it looks a bit odd, and yes, effeminate, but it shows a deeper awareness of fashion, and a more modern, perhaps more liberal sensibility towards masculinity. You are right that women are making SOME kind of fashion statement, but not "more than anything else". The only times I think that, is precisely when I see a woman wearing "female" coloured straps, such as pastels. It can be wonderful on the right woman, but like a purple paintjob on a Mercedes, it often throws a person's taste into question. It's almost as you're saying that it's a crutch, or to be more precise, some kind of tool whose main purpose is to attract males. I'm sure everyone knows this, but women dress to impress other women, not other men. Most men don't notice watches. They notice the female form. Each article of clothing we use today in the West, highlights the female form in some way. Stiletto heels make women taller, and throw the pelvis forward, provocatively. Padded bras shape the breast into more rounded, therefore, more enticing (subconsciously maternal) contortions. Thong underwear separate each buttock, making male purses race. I could go on. Indeed, I am taking PayPal donations to go on. But I just don't see watches falling into that sexually alluring, male eye-catching category. Bottom line is, women like pretty, shiny things. And you can't get prettier in an outsized male watch today than Panerais. Else more women would be all over Bell & Rosses. Not that I am representative of my gender, but I hate Bell & Rosses for myself. Ah, well, that's a question as you say, of proportionality, a topic which is central to personal taste. There are absolutes as per Western tastes, of course, as the Greeks like Aristotle taught us to be aware of, but that is certainly more individualistic today. Wow. Just wow. I'll keep it at that, since it is after all, your girlfriend and I've certainly learnt my lesson. But let's just say, Tag Heuers and I don't fit. Panerai and I, fit. Sometimes it's just that simple.

At least, I never had a mullet in the 80s!