Victoria

RIP...he was an amazing driver...he and Burns were among my favorite 5 modern-era rally drivers, very sad to see this.

Out of the blue. How awful. RIP.

Just watched The Brave One, which opened this weekend in the States, starring Jody Foster and Terrence Howard (Hustle 'n' Flow).

In the first scene, she was wearing a classic vintage black-faced Cartier Tank (got one too! 1970s vintage. Same lizard strap too).

There are reasons why she didn't wear any later on, which I won't spoil.

Terrence Howard's (as usual, fantastic, as was Jody Foster -- when they were on screen together, the film sizzled) watch gave me pause. At first I thought it was a black IWC Porto chrono, with croc strap. But I think that's wish-fulfillment on my part.

Later I could've sworn it was the very lovely JLC Reserve de Marche (doesn't one of our members have one?):

It's possible that it's also the Omega Aquaterra Railmaster XXL:

But then he briefly turned his hand around during a coffeeshop scene, and it was not the typical JLC or Omega logo on the buckle. Looked like a fat "H" with a hat (not Hublot, no).

God, what is that watch! See what a disease we suffer from?

Into beauty, not perfection.

Not to get metaphysical, literally META PHYSICAL , but for most women beauty and physical perfection are synonymous, Ryyannon. That's why cosmetic surgery is so important to women as they age.

This is analogous to men, their strength, and being virile. It's not the same thing, but for many men you can't have one, without the other. Silly.

@Pugwash: No, I didn't! Mind, I only just learnt what passing the Dutchy by the left-hand side meant.

Yeah, me too. And you know what, seeing Orlando Bloom wearing a Fiddy in that "Elisabethtown"- thingy, actually made me buy one myself.

Never having watched Elizabethtown (it was fast on the heels of "Garden State", I recall, so I chose the latter, which was SO good), I am excited to see a film mentioned which shows a Fiddy! Thanks, too, Pug!

However, when I saw Live Free or Die Hard 4.0 which had the baddie wearing a T3, I wanted to buy one immediately, ostensibly for my boyfriend. Same thing happened when I saw the chick wearing a B.A. watch in Transformers -- only I still don't know what watch she wore.

A few lilght scratches on a crystal are like the fine lines that accentuate the beauty of a woman's face: you can relate to that, can't you, Miss Barrett?

Having gotten my first grey hair last year, I can now relate, sadly.

The wrinkles on the face are coming. I have fairly nice hands...I say immodestly...but with the digicam magnification, the wrinkles there look like craters to my eyes. YIPES! I hate that.

Something that looks too new, too perfect, lacks a bit of life, don't you think?

What, are you into Wabi-Sabi?

I think you're turning Japanese, I think you're turning Japanese, I think you're turning Japanese, I really think so!

I'm sorry to hear about your scratch, but look at it this way...at least it's a rep and not a gen. After a night of too much beer and vodka I awoke to find my two month old genuine Rolex Submariner had a scratch on the crystal right at nine o'clock. I have no idea how it got there. And yes, it is a genuine Rolex...I got it from an AD last May.

DEVASTATING. In a watch collector way, obviously, not in a tsunami/Hurricane Andrew kind of way...but still feel for you, M4rcus.

hxxp://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=1932539&rid=0 (don't know it the anonymizer is working, so I replaced the tt in http with xx)

BLIMEY! This might work...wonder why the watchmaker didn't mention this. (Because he wanted the money...why not, he charges little for everything else -- including sizing bracelets)

Quoting:

"It is VERY possible to polish a sapphire crystal and leave no trace of the offending starch. All you will need is some good quality diamond paste, a camera lens cloth (or similar) and a bit of elbow grease."

Dare I try it?? Perhaps I'm too newbie?

Anyway, thanks so much, M4rcus. You're a diamond which doesn't scratch.

More worryingly than the scratch, there is a strange ghostly figure in the reflection of your PAM...

It's the Ghost of Davidsen's Past!!

Only ghost I know which wears a wife-beater. Muy caliente.

This problem justifies that you invest in some...rep rings !

LOL!

My mother adores jewelry, and has no difficulties wearing paste jewelry at all. But Miss Rep Watch collector here refuses. Odd how tastes work...

@Scoobs: Drat, I should've asked about AR coating. I believe Andrew advertises this as "light AR coating" whatever that is. I could be wrong though.

@All: My mother said just now, "I can't see anything. And I am wearing my 4x magnifying reading glasses I got at CVS last night. Where is my loupe!". I'm embarrassed to be making such a palavah about such an insignificant scratch. Hopefully, should a more significant scratch happen to anyone, there is a thread they can research about it.

I can't even see it from the photo! And I gaurantee that nobody but you is looking at your watches under a loup

Guys, thanks so much for the continued replies!!

But to reiterate, the scratch is NOT visible in the photo -- it hadn't happened yet.

I put this watch briefly into a bag containing two diamond rings and a gold ring (all of which are in my Wrist-check) directly after shooting the Wrist-shot seen above.

And it's not a gash. It's a TINY scratch, which I'm embarrassed I feel so badly about, but there you are. I just came back from my watchmaker, and he tested it -- real sapphire crystal. When I showed him the ring, he said, yes it's possible that's what happened.

Didn't mention the stone because I hadn't read that post, although it could've been the reason too, I'm now wondering.

He said one can replace the sapphire crystal with another, but I demurred at the price.

If you ever send it in for a mod (like lume) have the crystal replaced then.

Not quite at the modding stage yet. I even turned down very kind assistance on another matter from a member. I just don't like my watches out of my sight (yet).

On the plus side it is so small I can't even see the scratch.

No, what happened was that the moment I had finished shooting this watch for the Wristies, I put it into the small felt case I received from Narikaa. Inside that was the diamond ring.

TO MY UTTER HORROR JUST NOW, I realised I had briefly placed the DSN PAM 112 inside that same pouch. I had already logged off now, but I ran like Jesse Owens to my watch case -- Davidsen PAM not scratched. Heilige Maria, Mutter von Jesus...!

Whew, guys, I have step back from this hobby, maybe. This is madness. Imagine if I lose a watch?? I would commit ritual seppukku!

And that wrist shot has made me realize I have to get a metal bracelet for my Pams. Looks fantastic.

Well, at least some good came out of the wrist-shot.

So yes, sapphire is scratch "resistant" ... not scratch "proof". Remember, it just gives it character!!!

Thanks, Cranium, for your consolation and information.

I officially hate this ring. Yuck.

(Dings add character to a PAM. I am learning to live with one or two I have made. But scratches on watch crystals just look awful, IMHO. Ah well...licking my wounds just now, but I shall be fine soon. Thanks again)

I would have thought that you could only scratch sapphire crystal with something very hard, a diamond for instance.

THAT'S IT! Do you see my first wrist-shot in that thread? Those are real diamonds.

I STUPIDLY, stupidly just remembered that I put the PAM in the same "case" as the diamond ring -- since I brought down 3 different ring changes, to mix things up a bit for you guys visually.

God what a BERK. Pride cometh before a fall. Vain, vain woman...

Thanks, Hyster.

(I'm guessing there is no fix, unless it's total replacement, yes?)

I am posting this on the Gen Discussion part, rather than just the Panerai part, to get more info.

When I shot this photo for my wrist-check:

To my horror, I must've scratched the sapphire crystal of the PAM 111h from Andrew. Top left corner, near the 10. Tiny scratch.

Thing of it is, it REALLY is sapphire not mineral glass, or "synthetic sapphire". Water bead test and sound test (hard sound when tapping, rather than the hollow plasticky sound of mineral glass) absolutely confirms it.

How on earth then, could a sapphire crystal scratch, since I always thought it was nearly impossible to do so?

Is it visible? To me, yes, and therefore very frustrating. I don't plan on selling any of my watches, so that's not a consideration. I just genuinely want to know if one can scratch sapphire crystal?? Can I fix this, short of replacing the crystal?

TIA. *sad*

I've watched Fracture with Antony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling (the attorney) a few days ago,

Ryan Gosling is wearing a huge chrono with white dial witch I think looks like a IWC during all the story.

Is there somebody who noticed this?

I'm wondering witch model is that.

That's the first thing I wondered, throughout the film -- what watch is it! I even saw someone posting on that in a film forum.

It's as Maciek above said, the IWC Porto in white.

As for the film itself, my impressions: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?s=&amp...st&p=298709

I was not so high on it. It's enjoyable, instantly forgettable, and nothing more.

Dear Vbarrett:

Big surprise! Really surprise!

After compare your original OEM with mine; I found that design, colour & quality are much much better.'

Well, I'll going to source it again!

Yes, sorry about that, Raymond. When I saw your strap, which is not bad, I thought to myself -- he's not going to be satisfied after he compares that one to mine or takes another look at DuDro's. It's just very different, even taking into account that mine is second-hand.

However, I have seen BRAND NEW calf tan OEM straps, and there is not much difference in colour.

Yesterday, Davidsen offer me the following strap:

Yes, in one of the three watches he sent me, I got those calf tan straps for the Fiddy AND PAM 112. I wasn't impressed, Raymond. They are MUCH better than your average rep strap, but NO WHERE near as nice as OEM calf tan.

Do U think the colour is same as yours?

Quite simply, no.

And his calf tans vary in colour, to boot. I received one which was very light tan, then another closer to the photo you show above. I wish I could show you them, but I sent them back for black ones...

What is "Non-Taper"?

Taper means narrowing -- like when you have a 24mm strap at the lug, but the buckle is smaller (say, 22mm). There are variations, like 26/24, or 27/22 for Radiomirs.

The one he is offering you must be 24/24, not 24/22.

OEM calf tans you receive in your pearwood PAM box are 115/75, 24/22 by default, so that non-tapering would be an immediate tell.

What different between "Calf or Buffalo gain"?

Apart from hide considerations, visually it means that calf is smooth, and buffalo has "grain", like the brown you see above in photo #1.

Last I heard from DSN, he told me he had only the buffalo ones available (in black). Maybe he's gotten a shipment of tans.

Bottom line is, I would not buy the strap unless he were offering it to you for free, or basically free. If you go to the Hong Kong Panerai boutique, you will see all their OEM straps, and the difference is VERY palpable -- starting with the "smell" of genuine leather which DSN's doesn't have.

If you need further info, just ask! Good luck.

EDIT: IF you absolutely must go with DSN's, then at least ask for the tan you see in photo #1. It is closest. But make sure you mention to him you want a deep tan, not a light tan, that he sometimes gives out.

EDIT #2: Just checked your white-stitch versus mine, DuDro's, and the DSN model. Though OEM calf tans are not the end-all, be-all of straps, you do see a lot more attention to detail than in your white-stitch. The markings inside yours are different. And the stitches are not the same. This is particularly evident in the stitches nearer the lugs.

Both DuDro's and mine have a slight up-down pattern, whereas yours and DSN's above are straight stitches. And of course, the leather in our OEMs is just darker than yours, and DSN's. The overall finishing is also not as good.

Basically, what I am trying to say is, bite the bullet, go for an OEM. Check out Risti's Accessories site for affordable ones. I wouldn't pay more than USD75-85 for an OEM calf tan in 98% condition. Note that there is one at the moment going for almost USD200! Crazy. That's boutique prices. These tans come up ALL the time, but if you're like me, you want it yesterday.

For sure, but they're all we've got - and they do a good job of being funny and insolent.

It took ages for this type of humor to make its way past the censors and onto French television - and then only because Canal Plus was the first privately- run (and not State-run) channel.

Sure! L'etat c'est moi was not just Louis XIV you know. It permeates all levels of French elitism.

If it weren't for exceptions like this, we'd all be watching the French equivalent of "Leave It To Beaver" and the "Ozzie and Harriet Show" for eternity.... And now that I think of it, not even the French equivalents: the original American series in endless re-runs!

Ooh, I remember a particularly brain-dead programme when I was a kid:

"H

I think the sharpest humor is on a show called "Les Guignols" (The Puppets) on the cable channel Canal Plus. Even when they satirize Bush and the U.S. - which is often - I just have to laugh. Some examples: Stallone and Bush clones singing "We F.uck The World" - a parody of "We Are The World"...

LOL! That was awesome.

But Les Guignols are a rip off of Spitting Image!

Brief, but oh so funny.

@Ryyannon followup "Wonder Chirac, dites Super Liar": LMAO! "Ultra Menteur, mon h

Mouiii...

Problem is, ain't rpractically no one around here is gonna understand those vids....

I was hoping there were ENOUGH French-speakers to be able to comment, but you may be right. EDIT: Did you have a particular fave amongst the ones I posted?

Still, I'm hoping for a Stephane, Pix, Navigater, Usil, and others to chime in. Maybe Puggy remembers her too.

Plus, this is a springboard post to get us to talking about comedy shows, duh! In Living Colour, anyone?

Hi dear all, I need a little favor. Does anyone has any Panerai watches from TWP? Any comments/advice on the quality?

My TWP PAM 217

(My favourite. An amazing looking watch. Works like a charm. Touch wood)

My TWP PAM 183

My TWP 190

My TWP PAM 210

I've also bought an Bunnymariner LV from him, and I have a modded PAM 005 coming soon.

Let's just say, I highly recommend TWP, especially given his rededication to being a stellar merchant. His responsiveness to any problem is professional and swift. From what I've seen, he's doing amazing work modding the PAMs, particularly.

He's just a great guy.

(Erm, if you don't know of her already, of course!)

Florence Foresti is that rarest of modern comics on television -- a skit or sketch artist of the finest calibre, analogous to perhaps French & Saunders in the UK, or Carol Burnett in the US.

Her many recurring personalities include:

Lady Zbouba: the hyperactive, no airs and graces product of the immigrant banlieues.

Cl

Not normally a fan of the white PAM.. But that's a mighty pretty combination a on a girl.

Why thank you, Apey.

I have to admit, almost every Risti shot of a woman wearing a PAM, seems to be that of a PAM 113 on a light-coloured strap (pink, baby blue, white). At first, I was like nhuh-nhuh, but yeah, I bought a Don pink croc strap last week. It's on its way.

POLL UNOFFICIALLY CLOSED, 8 PM EDT! (Keep voting if you wish)

Results as follow:

Strap Culture's Skull-n-Swords [ 14 ] ** [38.89%]

Gregoire Texier's Anchor [ 10 ] ** [27.78%]

Other (Reply below) [ 12 ] ** [33.33%]

So Strap Culture Skull-n-Swords win!

Please note though, that the Returning Officer is a Floridian, and thus there may be pregnant chads.

Promises, promises.

FRIDAY

Today I offer you a megapost of Wristies! Are you ready? Let's start off with my brand new PAM metal bracelet from Davidsen!!

Mmm, luscious. Unfortunately installing this puppy was like giving birth to one -- slow and painful. But once Subzero1 gave me the hint about the pliers, bending the "wings" 30 degrees, and the secret Davidsen handshake, it was on like THAT.

A closeup of the metal bracelet deployant.

I fitted the bracelet unto one of my two Andrew PAM 111hs. I had also changed the CG to a polished E-series looking one, so this baby really SHINES. Thanks for the CG, Taiji!

SATURDAY

I'm tired of looking either pale or red-blotchy in Wristies, so I am going to the pool to get a tan! This is my Top Gear: Video iPod, Anthelios XL SPF 60 (which every hot chick uses in St. Barths), a blood-red Starbucks frap mug, and my DSN PAM 112 with Toscana Siena carbon strap. AND BREATHE.

Nice carbon strap, BTW. Soft, and made of leather inside. Right, Stephane?

Johnny Cash, or Arctic Monkeys? Toughie.

SUNDAY

Gotta a fancy do Sunday, so I'm lugging out the Louis Vuitton B.A. face-watch.

I bought this 7 years ago, just when B.A. watches were starting to make waves...and the trend shows no sign of dissipating.

Trademarked cut-out strap shot. Sooooft LV strap.

EXTRA

Raymond/RCHK asked Paneristi for OEM calf tan shots, so here you go, bubeleh -- your OEM calf tan deployant strap with gold stitching on my Andrew PAM 113.

I think it looks fantastic.

Will post separately with more shots, as I feel people's eyeballs glazing over.

+1. I used LED toches for 1 minute on the dial and it fully charges the lume. Better than anything else I've used before.

OMG. I have to get an LED torch/flash light stat! Only thing is, I don't go to Home Depot or Ace, etc. Will your normal local US supermarket carry them?

@Kollektor: THANKS! I will try that out and buy it on *bay.

For those interested, here is the torch you can buy: Streamlight PROPOLYMER