unreformed66

So tell me, when was the last time THAT happened? Oh, never. I'm not a religious guy, but I don't see any other religion doing this sort of crap anymore. The days of the IRA and ETA are in the past. It would seem that 100% of the acts of terrorism perpetrated in the last 10 years were perpetrated by one religion. And it wasn't Christians, or Bhuddists, or Hare Krishnas. I'm also not for "nuke them all".

I've always thought that the Blackbays were "just OK". This one ups my opinion of them a couple of notches. I'd actually buy that. But used in a couple of years because I'm cheap....;)

$200.00 for a service and mainspring on a 6497 is ridiculous in my opinion. They're a very simple movement that's very easy to work on. I'm going to let everybody in on a little secret. There are lots of qualified watchmakers that never went to ETA's school. I've been doing watch repair for 25 years. I am for the most part self-taught and partially educated by a watchmaker who sat at the bench for 70 years who himself started as an apprentice boy at 15. Just because you didn't attend their school doesn't mean you couldn't read and comprehend. I can have a 6497 apart and in the cleaning basket in 10 minutes. I can have it back together, oiled and ready for regulation in around 20. The dead time while it's in the cleaning machine is usually used to work on something else. Unless there's a problem you missed during the service they regulate quickly and well. A mainspring is less than $20.00. So basically the quote is for $180.00 an hour labor, which actually isn't even at the high end of things. Try paying for factory service. And yes, I've cleaned up after the factory service guys from time to time and they all went to WOSTEP. My point is that there are lots of "certified" watchmakers who cut corners and rush jobs to bill more. I know more about watch theory and design than most of the "school" watch technicians that I've ever talked to, but the reason for that was I wanted to learn it and did so on my own. Some of them did too. Others didn't. I've got copies of the ETA technical sheets (and many others) and I read those too. Where the WOSTEP trained guys have an advantage is that they devoted a couple of years of their life full-time to learning watch repair while guys like me had to build the skills over a longer period of time.   

This is an every day thing on Ebay. And most of the auctions go right through to completion.

In my experience vintage Rolex watches on Ebay are a minefield. I'm not any kind of an expert so I stay away from them for the most part. It looks to be all real parts at least, and is most probably all genuine but personally I'd shy away from this one. Just call it a gut feeling...

And Ebay doesn't give a rat's butt. I've reported several outright scams and have watches every single one of the auctions go through to completion. Some of these I reported a week before the closing date and they sold like nothing was wrong. I've never received any response from Ebay other than the message you get thanking you for reporting it. They could care less about fraud, all they care about is the fees. 

So do you think the AD would crap their pants if they knew where those screws were REALLY going?

It is cool, but it's nothing new. Heck, go look up "Golden Hour Clock" for an example of the same principle in action. I've seen other watches with this complication but my senility is kicking in right now and I can't think of the names.

I don't have a source for those but quite frankly you'd be better off to just buy a chronometer movement if you want one. There are other finish differences and nobody would ever believe that it was a true chronometer plus the fact that since it's never been certified it CAN'T be called a chronometer. 2824 chronometer grade movements aren't especially hard to find and can be had as complete watches for under $300.00 if you are patient. You'd pay that much for the parts IF you can find them. 

While it's definitely different I just can't see myself wearing that one to work.......or anywhere else. 

Wearing my new gen pickup for the weekend.

I always said that Roger Moore was way too prissy to be a good James Bond. The watches they had him wear just bear out my thoughts.....;)

I've not had one of these across my bench yet but are you sure that the movement won't just drop out the back once the stem is removed? I've seen watches in which the movement mounts to a movement ring and then the whole thing drops in and is held in place with pressure from the back once it's screwed on. And besides, if you're not opening the watch it shouldn't get any dust in it anyway! 

That could be a host of different things. It could be dry or dirty, that will cause watches to run fast in the vertical positions but not as much in the horizontal but with the HUGE difference you're talking about I'd lean a lot more towards the hairspring rubbing on something or the regulator pins being bent. Of course it's impossible to say without having the watch in my hand to inspect. It could even be a guard pin problem a bent balance pivot. Just no telling without being able to actually look at it and diagnose it.

I"m not even that big of a fan of Datejusts, but I'd wear that one! Very nice.

The Japanese movements are pretty decent. The quality control is FAR better than the Chinese movements and they're good solid designs for the most part. I know of Seikos that guys brought home from Vietnam in the 60's that are still running and keeping time and some of them haven't ever been serviced according to their owners.

I think it's great that you've got the desire and the means to follow your dream! AWCI's program has a good reputation so I'm sure you'll learn a ton there. I thought about trying to take classes there myself about 20 years ago but real life and responsibilities got in the way of that. I live about 120 miles east of Cincy, we're practically neighbors...

I know I'm brand new here but I read this thread and wanted to throw my two cents in. I've been selling on Ebay since 1998. Once Ebay bought Paypal and required you to take it as a form of payment things started going downhill for sellers. A couple of years ago they basically kicked sellers in the nuts by taking the buyer's word for absolutely everything with no proof. I've had a few try to extort "discounts" from me by filing complaints saying the item wasn't as described. I've had them steal parts out of watches and replace them with their broken parts and file a claim that the watch was "broken". I pretty much hate people sometimes.... 

I've been ebaying since 1997 and selling on there since 1998. I've had lots of luck on there, more so in the earlier years. I'm not looking for top-end pieces on Ebay, I'm looking for fixer-uppers and money makers for the most part. My first love is antique pocketwatches and I still do well once in a while. For example I bought a 24 jewel Rockford Model 900 movement and dial on Ebay for $800.00 about 2 months ago. I cleaned it and cased it up the day I got it. The low book value is $2000.00 and the middle book is $2500.00. So yes, it can be done but it involves staring at the computer until you're nearly blind!  

The $10,000 version will be a hit with rappers, reality TV stars, professional atheletes, and other people with absolutely no class and a pile of money.  

Can a brand new guy get in on this with his first post?