HauteHippie

Jimmy's CGs are *that* good.

That is beautiful!!

I vote for the Angus 111E. Pass on the H. His E is the best PAM I've ever seen.... unmodded. I'll probably add one to my collection soon.

Heh. Good thing it was modded. You were probably a Finepics datewheel away from being down a watch in your collection. I jest, of course.

I figured you'd be too busy working on a PVD project.

Dunno, but that's one of the watches where I'd say "If it doesn't, it should!" Quite unlike a Rolex.

I'd normally agree about the CG difference, EXCEPT when it comes to H and beyond CGs. One look from the side on the gen tells the tale. There is no rep with a thick CG that has a centered lever as on the H's. Not to my knowledge, anyhow. As to the L SWISS MADE L spacing, I think its the size of the rep lettering (too large) that makes the spacing look off.

Looks really good. Well done!

The bright white dial print is not a marginal complaint. Very in your face. Luminor Marina too big: never noticed. L SWISS MADE L: could we see a pic of yours? I've never seen one that was correctly spaced. Bars too low an A's: I agree. Marginal. Shape of 6 is off as is the 2. No clue where the 9 comes from. The biggest flaw on the H reps, though, is the obviously non-H style CG. And unfortunately, anyone can spot that.

Northern Cali... $3.35 87 $3.55 89 $3.75 91

Mark was seen browsing the board today....

A.R., thanks for the feedback. The coating quality has actually not changed. What's likely to be the case is that your new crystal was a better quality sapphire than your previous one. The higher the index of refraction of the substrate, the better the coating is at inhibiting reflections.

Just have the master send it to me. See if he can do it soon to get you in this run.

I'll buy your PAM 029, to help you out.

The brown marker is removable easily with nail polish remover and a Q tip. These are applied by the coater and used to sort the crystals. As for the lips, they're 0.7mm deep and width will depend on the size of the crystal. You'll notice that when on the watch, they rarely catch your attention.

$40 USD with return air mail included for this run, still. Even if I move to the new company, I will honor the original price and eat the increased cost (this time).

I'm hoping to transition to the new company at once, delta. But there are still some details to be ironed out... Deadline moved to the 10th of Dec to accommodate the few crystals needing recoating from the prior run, so this gives me some time also.

When I first started doing AR about a year ago, I had been working closely with three companies. The one company that I've used for the last year was chosen based on attention to detail, customer service, and turn around time. Until this most recent run, I have been very pleased with all my dealings, and the AR run participants have been pleased as well. However, the snafu with a handful of crystals in the previous run has really gotten under my skin. While the company has offered to recoat these crystals in the upcoming run, and to allow all crystals to cool overnight in the chamber from now on (in case the thicker crystals were retaining too much heat when exposed to the atmosphere), I still have concerns... I've gone back to two of the companies I previously spoke with a year ago and described the situation. They are also unsure how it could happen, but felt that moisture could have been trapped on the problematic crystals. This should never occur. Well, in talking with one of the other companies for about 45 minutes about surface prep, moisture, etc, and discussing past experiences (positives and disappointments) they informed me that they've developed a process to apply the SAME Mil spec coating - FULL APERTURE. To put it another way... this will be the same high temp evaporated MIL-C-675 durable bluish coating but without lip marks. Wow! Previously the only cost effective option for avoiding lip marks were sputter coatings (different coating entirely) that, while fairly durable and attractive, are actually too hard and therefore prone to spider cracks or "crazing" over time (1-2 years). So, to be able to coat crystals with the same coating I've always used AND avoid the ~0.7mm lip marks is quite exciting... My philosophy in the past has been to use the better coating that stands up to the test of time, and live with the barely visible lip marks. But now it seems we can have our cake and eat it too. So, I hope to be offering this capability for all future runs. It is likely to mean a modest price increase and turn around time delay due to the additional prep work that will be needed, but I think we'll still find it very affordable and worth the wait. FYI -Chief

Go ahead and send two with payment for only one, then. I'll add crystal numbers for you to the run 6 status page, and you can follow the usual protocol. 3 minutes is a new record. What stripping method did you use? And just to be clear, you should strip both sides - the uncrazed side also. We'll recoat both sides.

I still have a Natalie watch. A rather nice Cartier Roadster with ETA 2824. To date, it's the most accurate I've seen.... but that's not saying a whole lot.

Update: The coating company has never seen this condition. Here is a direct quote (I sent him bosk's picture): "I have looked at the picture you sent and I have never seen that condition before. I have no idea what is going on

The thickness of the crystal really shouldn't matter. I have coated much thicker PAM crystals with no issues. That Saint Exp. looks really nice, BTW. I will talk to the coater about the issue. Based on what you're saying and the fact that it's more than one crystal, I'm suspecting it is a crazing in the coating rather than anything you've done. And I've never seen it happen before. Let's see what kind of feedback I can get from the coater, but both of you are welcome to try stripping the damaged coating and resubmit those crystals for no charge. Please see the status page for the dates of the new run. I'll also ask the coating company about any potential remedy, so hold off on trying to strip it for now...

Ah, yes, how the time goes by. If it's only 5 years old, then I must have joined TRC within its first 6 months. Boy, I wish I had kept my original nick now. My first rep came through a much maligned TRC dealer who was eventually driven to obscurity (but is actually still out there), Natalie. I even purchased a piece of junk from the Replica Lord (old timers will remember this gem) - which I still have somewhere. Ah yes, the good ole days. Now that I'm feeling nostalgic, I'm going to have to try digging up my Replica Lord beauty. hehehe

Let's just put it this way... There are no undiscovered rep factories producing the holy grail of replica watches that only obscure, high priced web shops have access to. Stick to the trusted dealers. I see no motivation to do otherwise.

Give it a good tug like By Tor suggests to make sure you're not in no man's land. If you still can't change the time, contact your dealer and get a replacement.