The Mentalist

I saw Stallone in London once and it amazed me that he was the same height as me. I'm 5 8" so Stallone is probably around that mark.

Same here. I would never hesitate to buy from Angus. I'm very pleased with my 111E

Not anymore. Unless anyone knows otherwise.

He is and comes highly recommended.

To be honest, Angus has always been a fantastic dealer. One of the best, in fact. I'm sure this was just a minor [censored]-up. He'll sort you out. Before someone pointed it out to you, you were very happy with the watch.

Good luck getting a Silix dial. I can't find one for love nor money.

Ahhhhhh, that would explain it and would solve one of my major gripes. I'll look into it!

A triumph of marketing over reality.

Ok, I finally managed to track down one of those Panerai double deployants (thanks to Paso). It looks great but is it me, but is this the most uncomfortable, badly designed P.O.S. buckle ever devised?! A few observations: 1. It does not really fit most leather straps as the straps tend to be too thick where it overlaps and you don't get that satisfying 'click' you hear and feel with most deployants. It locks but because the straps are too thick the buckle needs to be pressed hard to make it engage and most of the time you don't really know if it has locked properly. It's this sponginess that is really irritating. 2. The springbar is a nightmare to install especially on thicker straps and can easily be bent. 3. It's so bloody uncomfortable! It's not really curved to match the human wrist and the edges dig in and chafe. 4. The butterfly configuration is very fiddly to put on one handed and requires some serious digital dexterity. I've had it all of a couple of weeks and worn it only once. I'm going back to the regular tang and buckle.

Victoria, try wrapping the strap in a cotton handkerchief and then bury it in a tupperware box filled with baking soda. That should do the trick. Lighter fuel would also help leach the perfume oils out but you may need to recondition the leather with Pecards or Lexol afterwards. Coolwater?

According to you, Daniel Craig looks like Hoagy Carmichael. No, you're quite right. Fleming's picture of Bond looks nothing like Dalton. In fact, I thought it was a picture of Daniel Craig the moment I saw it. Thank you for making see how wrong I was.

Dunno about that: Certainly closer to the ideal than Daniel Craig looks wise. Nah, Chuck Norris can have 'em all.

If you're splitting hairs here's Vesper's description of Bond from the Casino Royale book: "reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless." and in Moonraker, Gala Brand notes: "certainly good-looking . . . Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way. That black hair falling down over the right eyebrow. Much the same bones. But there was something a bit cruel in the mouth, and the eyes were cold." Dalton was the closest to the Hoagy Carmichael ideal Fleming envisioned, IMO. Here's a pic Ian Fleming commissioned to give readers an idea as to what he imagined his Bond to look like: Looks like a less craggy Dalton to me. Don't get me wrong, I love DC but he look more Boris Becker than James Bond. He really should have dyed the hair.

I jest not. Just look at the fella. He's half italian, half english, looks like a young Connery, tall, good looking and has a pedigree in action roles. He's a trained fighter and he used to be a fashion model so looks good in a tux. Only problem is that he has as much acting ability as a 2 x 4 but that never stopped Moore. I can't think of someone who would be more perfect.

Bond should look like a killer. Clive Owen doesn't look like he could punch his way out of a wet paper bag. The ultimate choice, and christ knows why the Broccoli's never cast him, has got to be Adrian Paul.

I've been after one of these since I started collecting.

You've got the right dealer. Between Andrew and Angus at Puretime, you got the two most upstanding dealers around. I happen to think the 45mm UPO is the better watch. In any case, you won't be disappointed. I haven't bought a duff watch from Andrew yet.

Hamster wears a Tag Monza, I believe.

What the hell are you talking about? Chuck Norris doesn't wear a watch. He decides what time it is.

Lazenby was probably the hardest of all the Bond's. He was a student of Bruce Lee. Personally I wouldn't want to get into a dust up with Dalton but I agree, Craig does look like a hard nut but you see blokes like him all the time on building sites and in pubs.

I doubt it's the 42mm as we know that he sported the 45.5mm one, albeit with a rubber strap, and it looked fine. Glad to see my initial suspicions about the PO w/bracelet being the next official Bond watch has been bourne out.

Over here it would usually be case of having a pair of juggs stare at you on Page 3 or maybe it's the type of papers I read?

I think I know what you're getting at in the same way that even the best Rolex or Omega rep will always miss something. That said, unless you know what you are looking for, I still think that you won't get called on it. Why do I say that? Because most AD's are staffed by clueless salespeople. I'm not going to relate what happened when I walked into a Bond street watch dealer but it did make me wonder why we agonise over the most infinitesimal detail when eve glaring ones get overlooked.