HauteHippie

"Binh Cam Tran, who pleaded guilty last year to charges including trafficking in counterfeit goods." He wasn't manufacturing the parts in his house, but rather receiving them and assembling the finished products I would think. Some of our dealers do the same here in the USA.

Very creative! I like it. And the background scenery isn't half bad either...

The T SWISS T dial = REP

Concur with Ubi... Not a great repro.

Wow... catching this thread a bit late... Glad to hear he's OK and back home.

Went with this one yesterday. Sticking with it today. What the weekend will bring, nobody knows...

Ah! You updated the DW on that piece! Nice!!

I think I know what it is....

Wow, with all that IR, I would think you'd need some AR!!

Already have a head start on us, eh?

Here's a piece of The Zigmeister art from my personal collection; a genuine dial blank that arrived unlumed from the FM factory, made perfect by The Zigmeister... Tighter macro shots of this one are most definitely needed!!

Mostly extremely unfortunate, but certainly hard to figure out, indeed. Why would the guy, if his intent was to steal, contact you a year later with [censored] excuses rather than just disappear for good? Like Jakub, for example. Just make a clean getaway. It makes no sense. But I guess there is still that slight glimmer of hope that in the end you'll get your property back.

Price wise, it's not too far off from the melt value of the solid gold components - if they're truly solid 18ct (75% gold). Style wise, I'll pass. But it does look OK to me.

Yep. It's not so bad looking in person. I actually like it. But if I had the ~$4K burning a hole in my pocket, it wouldn't be near the top of my list either. Too much of a novelty.

That'll definitely push the piece over the top!

Make yourself at home.

Well, if Ronin doesn't like the end result, then I'm sure he and I can work something out.... Very nicely done, R.

I would be as unspecific as possible. No quantities. "Fashion jewelry", $30. Then see what happens. My gut says if they haven't ripped it open to see what's in side yet, they're not going to do so after you give them this description. I could, of course, be wrong though. But if you do this, then as I see it, you will have been consistent with the shipper's customs declaration, and so if anything gets seized, your dealer who has guaranteed delivery should reship in multiple packages.

Rumors of a VAT being introduced here in the USA aren't dying easily. So before long, US Customs may have a "good" reason to care. GRRRR!!!! @By-Tor - 22% is an absolute OBSCENITY! **shudder**

At a mere 14 posts away from the 9000 mark, BT, you've been on a roll lately! Wise advise, needless to say...

Declare it "fashion jewelry" - however that translates in to German. (That also translates in to "junk" in English, ) Tell them you paid 50 Euros or so. Then if it gets seized, contact your dealer. Though I am surprised there is no declaration on the parcel by the sender. Try to find out how it was valued by the sender. My $0.02.

+1

Heh, and only single sided AR on this one.