normanduke

First of all, purists, experts, afficianados : Hold your nose or have your barf bag ready. But all information is good and here are the results of a purchase from Hooheng ( .com ). I saw a Sea Dweller for sale. Wildly inaccurate but very thick and hefty case with a high bezel and crystal and extra CG material, a good base for a first mod experiment. Only $ 48 plus $35 shipping and only $5 shipping for another watch so I chose a Summer Blue, also $48. The watches came fast. Very fast, 4 days from Malasia by UPS to Ct. ( Collector/suppliers, take note ! ) Feedback was good from Lay Huat, though I did get my tracking # just by looking at my order, not by e-mail. I did NOT recieve the weirdo Franken Sea Dweller I ordered, but a standard size sub case albeit with gas escape valve and rather tall crystal ( mineral glass...no mag ). The Blue sub is identical with a different bracelet. The rehauts are conical and shiney but not "wok" like, thank you, as I wouldn't want a wok like sub at all, hence, the dials are smaller than my excellent Beginmariner which I got last week. Also the hour markers have a larger dot. Dial print appears to be good. Crisp, clear. The crowns are small, not well cut, but there are IMHO refined looking CG's, more delicate than Josh's. The Blue sub's mag is well placed, correctly placed, though I'd say only 2X. The font is acceptable, not drawn heavily, with open 6's and 9's. The glass crystals are evenly placed, though the " Sea Dweller " ( lol ) is set tall. Unfortunately it's a standard crystal perched up so that the bevel appears as if cut on a corner. The movements are keeping good time for the few hours I've had them. The sweep is really the same as Josh's. I have no idea what's inside as the backs on the cases wouldn't budge with rubber gloves. And they're the shallow style back so that the watch doesn't sit on your wrist as high. These watches do not have the same heft as Josh's, though they have solid center links...they need them ! The bracelets are quite nice, flexible and the finish on the links is very good but the clasps leave much to be desired. There is a diver's link, but it's just a swing-out affair. The bracelets are rattley, but in fairness, they haven't been oiled. The end links are curous. They appear to be solid, but there's sort of a roll to put the pin through. Nonetheless, they look authentic from the front. Both of the watches look good. The Summer Blue has a good dial and bezel, lovely irridescent blue. Both bezels sit just slightly recessed, but the black one is too shiney. The teeth are OK, decent. The pearls, well I am a zero expert, but they are convex and not flat. There is lume...we shall see as Josh's stays lit up for a couple hours after I go to bed. No, you can't read by it.lol The verdict ? If Josh's Beginmariner weren't available for a paltry $108, shipped, I'd be mildly satisfied. If I knew nothing about the reps ( and I know very little ), I'd be satisfied. The watches are not junk. At a glance, the watches look as good. They're not. They lack the weight and feel, absolutely. But now I really do have a " beater", two of them. I'd never use Josh's watch for a beater. It's way too nice, especially the movement. I did get a Summer Blue, cheap which would have been a luxury for me. I did satisfy my addiction ( yes, I've got it bad ) for more watches. Would I do it again ? No. It lessens my appreciation for the Beginmariner by having 3 subs. Or maybe it makes me appreciate it's quality more. At any rate, the watches were only $48 each. Just my 2 cents, fellas, for what it's worth. But Hooheng is worth looking at. They deliver and I found them trustworthy. Low,low prices. Decent quality. Not for afficionados.

The font on his datewheel looks the same as mine. The numbers appear to be sort of squat looking. On the 1st pic with the # 5, tho, my 5 doesn't seem so thickly drawn. The pix are decieving, but my rehaut seems a bit less conical and shinier. Also, the bezel on mine seems less textured and shinier. I'm not sure what you guys are talking about with the 21,600 beat and what the mystery is. How'se about a hint ? Josh did have a pic of the watch hooked up to a machine reading 28,000. What is very important to me is that when I opened the case ( just once ) the movement was gold and finished in damascened metal...engine turned like overlapping fish scales. It was beautiful and unlike pix of any movements I've seen on this site or others, ETA or immitation. The rotors are always rough looking. PZ : Is your movement finished this way ? My movement is running fine. It does tend to lose 4 sec./day, but if I leave the watch crown up overnight, it corrects itself. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks, fellas, Twenty-four hours later, the watch is keeping perfect time. Can't tell you how classy that movement looks. All damascened gold colored metal, so smooth and well machined. With the dollar dropping, I think we should get these while the getting is good. Two more on order from an obscure co. Cheap....inexpensive.lol A blue sub and a modern style Sea Dweller which has a lot of CG mat'l. Maybe my 1st mod. Let you know how it goes.

In only 5 and a half days my watch was delivered. After fighting through at least five layers of plastic wrap, all of my apprehensions were settled as soon as I saw the watch. It is beautiful. The mag is perfectly placed. The crystal is installed evenly all around. There's a bevel to it and it sits about 1 mm or so above the bezel. The finish on the bezel is smooth and shiny. The bezel itself is shiny. The rehaut is just off perpendicular and shiny, not wok-like or conical as that would have ruined the watch for me. Yes, it could be deeper. The lume is good as it shows indoors after being in a shaded spot outdoors. It was running when it arrived, though I did give it a couple of slow turns and it's keeping perfect time for all of the 7 hours I've had it. ( vs. a quartz watch ) I had no trouble setting it or screwing in the crown, but I did put a drop of silicone on the threads. The bracelet was stiff, but it's better with some penetrating oil. One of the links will have to be filed a bit. I did notice while removing a link that one of the screw pins was about to fall out, possibly from manipulating the links to oil them, but it was really loose. Minus one point on a score of 100. I opened the case and there was the most beautiful movement in there. Damascened metal and gleaming rubys. Immaculate. I'm a newbie, but this watch looks good. It feels good. It was only $ 108.00 including shipping. ' Nuff said.

Thank you Aligoat for your comment. As a newbie, it is much appreciated. Shortly after posting this, I "pulled the trigger " and ordered the beginmariner from Josh and I'm glad I did seein that you say the movement keeps good time. This is my first rep purchase so I guess I did OK. I am planning on wearing it to work, daily and I'll probably give it some love and care-type detailing. This is a wild and crazy world I stumbled onto and I can see that there will be more watches in my future...thinking Omega Seamaster. I so very nearly got scammed by " Bluefakes " that I can still feel the rush of air as the door slams shut. Thank God for the Visa card. Norman

Many thanks to all who have added here. I think I dodged the bullet. For one thing, elsewhere, I read that they closed up shop one step ahead of the law this afternoon. I DID get in touch with them by phone and cancelled and also e-mailed them...paper trail. So far there hasn't been a charge to my card, but I did enroll in a month's free fraud protection with the ccd company. Those creeps. Who knows what they'll do with my ccd number ? You guys and forums like this are hidden. I never saw you on Google, maybe because I didn't go to page 25.lol How I stumbled upon you, I don't know. There's a lot to learn here,especially about the collectors on photobucket. One sure thing, I will NOT order anything without putting it on the trusty credit card. Now, on to finding my first rep watch !

Melatonin works for me. Available anywhere. Ther's a hangover for an hour or so the next day, but it works as well as any sleeping med. Norman

Well, you're a good sport to tell that story which is really pretty funny. And thanks. I'll be buying my 1st rep watch soon and I've 90 % decided to admit it's a fake if someone asks. So thanks for filling in the undecided 10 %. Besides, most of these watches look so good that they won't believe you. Norman

Considering shipping, that beginnersub is over $100 less and really, only $ 108 itself with free shipping included. From the pix, the bracelet end clasps look rough, but to a newbie, the rest looks much the same as his Perefect ( which is an MBW ?). I understand there's an ETA movement in the Perfect, but the repro Myota movement may be fine. There's a lot of good stuff coming out of Asia these days. This will be my 1st rep watch so absolute attention to detail such as CG shape is not as important to me as finish, quality feel and weight. I'm willing to take a chance on the Asian movement Question : Will the case on this begginersub watch be very close to the case on his Perfect ? Is it at all possible that it is the same case ? Another question : Somewhere in the past couple of days ( and I'm spending 10 hrs. at a clip reading this stuff and looking at watches [ I'm hooked ] ), I came upon a vintage Sea Dweller with the whole center links and cyclops eye which I like very much but don't remember where I saw it. Any of you hard core addicts know where I saw it ? Norman

Fellas: Matt, Bazz, Nodigital... I]m gonna go with Bazz and Nodigital. I feel in my gut it's a scam. I just found this site tonight, a blessing, I think. I'll read more and learn. I hope I can cancel the order. Also, am having thoughts for going for the Planet Ocean...beautiful looking watch. Thanks, all. Norman

I've ordered a ss Submariner this past Monday using my credit card from a site out of NY that I'm coming to believe is a scam, bluefakes. What is promised is a 31 jewel zenith movement in a " Swiss-like " casing. The price is $300. It is supposed to be shipped in a week. I have to admit that I don't know what I'm doing in the rep market. They are promising a two year guarantee. Is this believable or am I getting scammed ? Can I cancel the order ? Any advice would be appreciated. I've always wanted the Submariner. It's a bag of snakes out there. norman