HauteHippie

This is good advice. You might consider replacing the mineral crystal with a sapphire one. Sapphire is not as expensive as you might think, although for thick, large, domed crystals it can be. Still worth looking into. True AR coating is not as effective on a mineral substrate as on a sapphire substrate. This has to do with the index of refraction (IOR) and how the coating is optimized. Genuine sapphire's IOR is anisotropic based on wavelength, and also varies based on purity (quite a bit with our reps). Mineral (i.e. glass) crystals are far outside of sapphire's IOR range. So, when I submit a batch of 40 or so crystals to my coater I ask them to find an IOR midpoint for all the sapphire crystals in the run and optimize the coating based on that midpoint. This is clearly not optimal for the few mineral crystals in the run, but it is really the only method that makes sense for a group of crystals, the majority of which are sapphire. The result on the mineral crystals is less of a color hue and more reflectance off the coated surface than on the sapphire crystals. The optimal way to do it would be to separate sapphire crystals and mineral crystals into different AR runs and optimize the coatings for each. In this case the mineral crystals would perform better, but still not as well as the sapphire. Too much information, I am sure.

The blue tint is a dyed spray on coating meant to look like an AR coating. It is so "light" that it actually does nearly nothing to reduce reflections. A genuine AR coating would not exhibit such a prominent blue tint on a mineral crystal.

There's a reason the waiting list is so long...

The Fiddy crystals have a large curvature and typically distort the dial around the edges.

JOEJOEJOEJOE, very nice collection. The 176 and 111 crowns both look like Palp crowns except perhaps minus the bevel (which to the naked eye isn't very prominent anyhow), and the CG gaps look quite good at least at the angle of incidence shown. Be careful when grinding them down... You'll have to maintain the proper curvature so that you don't introduce any unsightly gaps between the CG and the side of the case. BTW, I'm confused what you mean by "Ruby CG" especially on the 111E, if it came from Angus. Please explain.

Any idea how loud the motor is ?

Here in the US any hedge against the dollar has done well over the last few years. I've been holding RTP and FXI for a while and can't complain about what they've done. I also have a bit of bullion and will continue to hold gold for some time.

Great post. I think it goes to show just how much of an improvement ajoesmith's B&R PVD really is. I do think, however, that the gen B&R is bead blasted. It would appear to be to me in the pics, anyhow. The PVD itself, however, is definitely a darker/blacker PVD than the 8-9 year old PAM PVD. My guess, and it's just a guess, is that the B&R is coated with AlTiN as opposed to TiAlN.

I like the explanation from the ever eloquent Maddox (paraphrasing) : If it said "long life" in English, it would look stupid. But done in Chinese characters, it somehow looks cool and mysterious.

Yea, this would be a sapphire crystal. My first instinct would be finger pressure and GS Hypo gasket as you mention... But I'd be concerned about breaking it if it was a tight fit. The crystal is very thin...

FYI, there is a chance I might be able to offer single AR on an individual crystal basis in the near future.... Still working on that. Price would likely be higher than the group rate... probably closer to $50 USD. Will let you know when I know.

Indeed. The barbed wire biceps and the meaninglessly random scroll work above the butt crack are my two "favorites" on the ladies.... And here's one I simply don't understand - caucasians with tattoos of oriental characters that translate to English phrases like "strength and courage" or "long life." I can only wonder if the following case is a good indication of the thought process in general: http://www.zug.com/pranks/tattoo/index.html ?

Very cool watch... and an AWESOME strap! Is that a Zeuguma (sp) ?

The Franck Muller crystals are quite thin with a fairly good curvature to them and are obviously an oddball shape. Having just double AR coated one for a forum member I got to thinking... It seems like the regular press and die could be a little problematic with this crystal. Has anyone removed and reinstalled a FM crystal, and if so how'd you do it? Thanks in advance.

LOOOOOOL

My strap choice would be the following, and you want 24mm x 24mm: http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l49/greg...opster%20Black/ User: gregstraps Password: gregstraps A good length (IMO) is 135mm x 85mm unless you either have super thin or super thick wrists.

I'll be looking forward to more pics of this beauty when it arrives.

I'll second this. Buy a cheap up-converting DVD player now. Oppo makes a good one. Live with it for a while and wait for dual format players to come down in price.

Oh well.... Good looking dial shots though!

Hard to say. Upgrade to a supporting membership, put it up for sale in the trading section, and find out!

I have a gen ETA 7753 with a ticking chrono hand. The Zigmeister thinks it's a simple adjustment, and the watch is with him right now...

No, it wouldn't surprise me because judging by your wrist shots, I would guess that you probably have iPhone sized fingers. I just don't. Even when using only my pinkie finger - which somehow seems so apropos when typing on an Apple iPhone - I don't consistently get the letter I intend.

Good to know, Zig. Thx.

Well, all said and done, it turned out looking really nice. And it just continues to amaze me how you are able to deal with all the unknowns and surprises that come with our reps, and maintain your sanity, desire, and incredibly generous pricing structure. Bravo!

Looks very sharp on the Ferrari!!!!