Highflyingclive

So, Cwai ... Lazurus ripped you off - and you are still sucking?

It takes all sorts

I can lick my eyebrows and breath through my ears.

Honest, luv...

The "Ignore button" also works well on E. Lazurus syncophants...

Did he give you a nice strap, Cwai?

He was not always so nice.

Some people were told that he would rather not sell a strap than see it on a rep... then he sent out spurious "legal threat" hate mail to Pam rep collectors. The famous, (infamous) "VP Legal" messages.

Then he discovered that he can sell more straps to the thousands of rep collectors on these boards than he can to the few hundred on Paneristi. $$$$ rule, eh, Elliot?

I don't mind that he hated rep collectors,.. it's the hyprocracy that I cannot abide.

His presence on this board makes me feel sick to my stomach.

Good, for sure... but perhaps you have distresed it a little too much.

Personally, I'd apply a very gentle layer of coloured wax (shoe polish So that it looks as if it had rich colour, back in the dim and distant past.

But now, you need to distress the watch so that it looks as old as the strap.... are you brave enough?

I doubt that I would be.

True... but it has a soul.

Duke reliability is much improved over the bad old "I have a Desmo... currently in bits" days.

Veni... don't let the bastards get you down. Stay- you can do some good, here. You know what I mean.

I bow to the master... and English isn't even his mother tongue.

Hiding my head in shame...

Try this... "Will You" from Hazel O'Connor's 1980 "Breaking Glass" soundtrack.

You get the lyrics and the full 4.49 here, when you click on "listen to a sample": http://www.breakingglass.net/music/will.htm

If that evocative saxaphone solo doesn't touch your heart, you are probably dead. Inform the authorities immediately.

Nobody... NOBODY... has ever asked me. My friends know my watches are replicas... strangers would never ask. Not in England. Brits would never be so impertinent.

I keep hearing that a real GMT Sub is coming, so I am looking forward to that.

Bill

I don't know a lot about Rolex... I don't like them much. But a GMT Sub... wouldn't that be the GMTII?

I look forward to being stood corrected... :-)

Happy timekeeping!

Clive

I have more than a dozen GMT watches. Most have basic Chinese movements - I have had no problems with any of the Chinese cheapies... except that the hands fell off my Alain Silberstein... and were fixed in a pub by Davy (Thanks, mate) Probably the most true to the original are the Vacheron Constantine Dual Time Regualtor and the Maurice Lacroix Pontos GMT. My Rolex GMTII won't satisfy a purist... but fooled a Rolex collector :-)

As for better movements...

I have an Asain 21J Pam 0GMT from Jos Nana - no problems to report. Lovely watch.

I also have two GMTs powered by ETA 2836-2 movements, both bought at the Guangzhou watch market. One has developed a slight problem - the GMT hand will no longer move. But I am sure that there is a simple fix for this.

As far as accuracy to the original is concerned, you won't go far wrong with the Pam 063 and 029. The new Seamaster Professional looks good, too... I'm hesitating over this because I really don't like metal bracelets.

EDIT to add: Sorry... What is your definition of "a real GMT movement"?

Happy timekeeping!

Clive

Hmmm... go easy on the aspirations. Both are great bikes - I'd go for the Duke every time... but you are still wet behind the ears - get some more experience before you leap from a 125 to a 600.

Best advice - book a days tuition at the Donington race track. You will learn so much ... and it will stand you in good stead.

I know what I'm talking about. I've held a motorcycle licence for more than forty years, own five bikes and spent two years as a London motorcycle courier. Despite these credentials, I learned a great deal from Donington (it taught me that I'm a really crap rider :-) and had a marked improvement on the way I ride on the road.

Another tip: Follow police patrol bikes through traffic... they don't hurry... but they get through very quickly. Do what they do... and so will you. When I was a courier, these guys taught me a lot about riding in thick traffic. Free lessons from police motorcyclists... that has to be a bargain :-)

Next tip: Get out of the way of motorbike couriers. They know what they are doing - you don't. Don't try to race them - you'll just make a prat of yourself. Especially, don't get in their way when running between lanes of traffic 'cos it pisses them off to be delayed by a set of L-plates.

Final tip: If you see a motorcycle courier with L-plates, really, really get out of his way - fast. These people are complete nutters anxious to demonstrate their riding skills to the rest of the two-wheeled community. Such people are dangerous! They have something to prove - you don't. Don't be part of their accident.

But honestly, I don't think he is making a lot of money for selling a few straps at RWI or RWG.

Yes... it is probably a purely philanthropic gesture because he loves replicas so much...

The best reply I've heard, although I never used it is:

"I don't know, I took it off a dead guy."

Thanks for that - I really laughed out loud!

I just hope that I get the opportunity to use it someday

The Ship Tavern, 12 Gate St, Holborn

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?Gri...map=&scale=5000

Has a large, comfortable, private room upstairs. I have no idea what charge, if any, is made for its use.

The Old Red Lion, in Red Lion St, just off High Holborn, also has a private upstairs room.

Keep me posted... if health permits, I'll be there, wherever you decide to meet.

Happy timekeeping!

Clive

I am disgusted as well...

Snakes change their skins but they ALWAYS, and i mean ALWAYS remain snakes.

There is an old proverb which runs something like this:

Never let the same snake bite you twice

In view of the "VP Legal" threats that were sent to members of RWG1, I am amazed - gobsmacked - that E Lazarus has been allowed anywhere near this forum.

How times change...

I'm actually disgusted.

This is a well-known problem. The threads on the insert that engages with the threads on the crown are made of soft metal - and those threads strip.

The Zigmeister has a fix - which involves removing the insert and shortening the winding stem.

This means, of course, that there is no water resistance around the crown.

But would you really want to take a replica swimming?

I take mine off when I wash my hands.

Happy timekeeping!

Clive

Get out more. Meet girls. Find a life.

Seriously.

Let the watches do the talking

Lets hope he will not end up like with Nixon.....

"Tricky-Dickie"

Character Watch

Nixon!

My hero.

I have been suspended until 2033. I must have been really wicked!

Don't mess about.

Go Panerai!

Happy timekeeping!

Clive

This is one Lazurus who should not be raised from the dead.

The last time that I was in HK, (October last year) I was saddened to see that there had been a police crack-down on replicas. The usual places - in the Temple Street market and the Ladies Market were bereft of all replicas... even clothing and belts. The rep watches did come out, very late at night... but not many of them.

The same was true of the big shopping mall in Luwo (just over the border in ShenZhen).. usually a rep paradise, this time almost all the reps had gone under the counter.

Maybe things will be different when you get there... but do not expect to find high end reps in HK. For that you need to go to Guangzhou (Canton)... and even there you need to search dilligently.

On the plus side, in Lowu you can get OK reps at very good prices. This sapphire GMT ll will not satisfy the purists but it only cost me £20 in Lowu. Of course, that was the tourist price... in Guangzhou, I bought a Colamariner for £7.50 :-)

But HK does have other attractions. Go to Lantau Island (that is the island where you come into HK, so you can get the MTR (subway) there from anywhere in HK) and visit the monastry - there is is the largest seated bhudda in the world there... bloody huge. But the astmosphere in the monastry, which covers several acres is just sublime. They are building a cable-car run to it from the airport, but I don't think it will be completed until the summer. No sweat, take a taxi, or if you are really on a budget, a bus.

When I visit HK, I usually stay at the Intercontinental on Kowloon. The view from the bar of the Intercontinental at night is probably the best man-made view in the world. Have a Tsingtao beer for me.

If you will be in HK on a Sunday, book a table for Sunday Brunch at the Intercontinental. All you can eat... from a huge range of food from Western, Japanese and several Chinese cuisines... plus bottomless Moet & Chandon for a fixed price... about £40... I think, I usually start wirh a few lobsters, then head for the sashimi, then hit the Chinese buffet, then have a few more lobsters, sushimi and scallops before settling down to the desserts. I had six, last time I was there. Then I had to have a little lie down :-)

If you company is paying for the trip, you could do worse than stay at the Intercontinental. Ask for room 800 - it a fantastic suite. I got upgraded to it, once... it has unbelievable harbour views and a jacuzzi that you could swim across. The Peninsular Hotel is also very good... heads of state tend to stay there. I have done and it is astonishingly good... but I prefer the friendly atmosphere of the Intercontinental.

Or you could try the Four Seasons. I have not stayed there yet, but I understand that it a six-star hotel. so should be quite nice.

Happy landings!

Clive