The Mentalist

We've checked out now, so I'll be able to sleep again. Just arrived in Bangkok.

Going to MBK tomorrow to scout for watches. Probably wont find anything :-(

Regards

Just pray that the spider you whacked don't have relatives in Bangkok. You might wake up to find a cockroach's head in the bed next to you.

You betcha I did. Found him two days later on the window. He aint among us today

Guess how well we slept the second night when we didn't know where he was..

Regards

Maybe you didn't splat the right one. Maybe there are hundreds of the little sods...

Sleep well.....

PS. Get a cat. They are the best anti spider device known to man.

Jesus h. I would have shat myself.

Reminds me of the spiders I saw at home in Hong Kong.

I hope you splatted the bas tard.

I should now add that I have been in touch with TTK over at Repgeeks and he has explained the situation, that in fact the routing was unnecessary and that the credit is waiting for me for another order and has been all along. He did in fact try to explain this to me through PM before I ordered but I must have misunderstood his explanation. I'm satisfied with the outcome.

That sounds very fair. Good on Neil. Goes to show that a bit of communication and trust go a long way.

Everytime I fill up in the UK I bring a tube of KY with me. Then it doesn't hurt as much.

Q. Why did you pay extra for 'UK routing'?!

A. To avoid possible customs seizure?!

Q. Was the watch seized?!

A. No.

Q. What difference did it make?!

A. None.

You paid extra for insurance that wasn't required. I doubt if you didn't claim on your car insurance after a year anyone would sympathise if you asked for a refund.

As for losing your appetite for the watch - since when was that the fault of the person that sold you it?!

This really is clutching at straws now.

PS. If you really have an issue - talk to the man directly. No point in griping here as he can't see you......

I find that sort of attitude incredulous. If someone charges for a service then does not provide that service, irrespective of the final outcome, then it is just plain wrong. Neil has made money for charging for a service he never provided. Is that right? This was not an insurance service that was not claimed on. It was an insurance service that was paid for but not claimed on out of pure luck, not through anything Neil did. Car insurance paid for and not claimed on is not the same. At least you have the peace of mind that if anything did happen, you could claim on it. Musicale paid for UK routing so that there would not be the hassle of replacing a seized watch and having to claim for a loss, as it were. Whether the worst case happened or not is totally immaterial. I personally think that Neil should do the right thing and refund that extra fee.

That thing looks effing gorgeous! I want one. Are you selling them perchance?

Im not so sure that it is a Chrono Avenger. The subdials are in the wrong place for the auto version (wasn't in Yellow either) and the only other one that comes in yellow with similar subdial layout is the Chrono Avenger M1, but the spacing doesn't look right...

Maybe it's a Guangzhou special.

About 10 years ago, I had a pair of Raybans (the same as Snipes wore on the DVD Cover of Blade (Not the ones he wore in the movie)) and they fell apart within 6 months. And I do mean fell apart. Just about every screw and joint opened. They were utter garbage. When X-Men came out, I bought a pair of Juliets. Barring a few lens scratches, and some tightening required, they are in as good condition as the day I bought them.

You can get replacement lenses for about $50. Or just send them into Oakley for a 'tune-up' where they replace the lenses, change the unobtanium and tighten up the flex couplers and the frame screws.

besides TTK, who else can source this very same noob?

Thanks

Narikaa's Nymphomariner is the very same one but most dealers can get it.

I'm going to raise a bit of ire here, but if you are wearing Oakleys (any style) with something more formal than boardshorts--ouch. Nothing classic about those things.

I dunno, I often wear a pair of Juliets with my bespoke suits and they look just fine.

I just found this thread.

Suit Supply is a very gimmick laden concept that relies purely on the ignorance of quality tailoring. They are an off-the-rack and Made-to-measure operation that relies on quick turnover. All their suits are fused with ZERO hand finishing. Don't expect working cuff buttons, hand felled linings, real horn buttons and full canvassing. This is 'tailoring' for the iPod generation who want instant gratification. This is not bespoke, this isn't even MTM. This is pre-conceived designs from a defined 'collection' that are just altered to fit the client. It's like choosing a new sofa and being asked the material and colour you want it. It is choice, but choice within a certain set of parameters defined by the seller. Hardly bespoke and hardly 'custom-made'.

I trained under the legendary jewish tailor Albert Broider (a contemporary of the equally legendary tailor Scholte) and he was the one who pointed out how good the M&S MtM suits actually were. I had a look and I was impressed. Personally, I would take an M&S suit over SuitSupply any day of the week.

at The Mentalist: unfortunately i tryed oakley's couple of years ago and never liked how they look on me so never touched a pair since.

Im more fan of aviators or something big like what Vicky has in her avatar

Try Oakley Crosshair:

http://oakley.com/pd/2064

hehe just checked their website and the price for a pair is $420 x dozen = $5k )))

I don't know about all the above posts but based on my last summer experience i think there is much more "close to perfect" fakes then you guys think. The biggest problem i encounter was with aviator style sunglasses as i think they are pretty simple to copy because of their shape and in most cases simple metal frame, but fake or not they can easily be sold for $350

Yup

I went a bit nuts a while back after X-Men 2 came out (The Cyclops sunglasses are based on Oakley Juliets/Penny). At one point I had every frame and lense combo (I forget exactly how many, but it was around 25+) but I had to slim down the collection.

They are incredible sunglasses and what's more incredible is the way they are made and where they are made (it's a bunker in the Nevada desert called 'Hades'). Each mould is zapped with millions of volts of electricity at temperatures close to nuclear levels. It gives me a hard-on thinking about it......

here's my noobie sub from TTK with aftermarket bezel and CG mod. just need new crown and tube

next to a gen LV sub

gen on right

only noticeable difference now is bezel lip and the sweep. If u watn smoother sweep like gen, might as well go with ETA!

IMO you should have stuck with the original bezel as the new insert has much thinner numbers than the original Noob insert and the Gen.

I recently spend $600 for a pair of Mont Blanc sunglasses and the craftsmanship and quality of them is unlike anything I have every touched in this line of product. They are so solidly constructed and everything is right where it should be, nothing flopping about and no squeaking or cracking its just precision precision precision.

Obviously you've never handled a pair of Oakley Juliets. That is engineering taken to a stupid level. It's probably the most over engineered piece of eyewear ever created. They ever feature teflon coated washers to eliminate the need for lubricated hinges and are made from a custom Titanium alloy called 'x-metal'.

I love 'em and own over a dozen pairs.

Trusty sells the noob w/ an eta movt for $200+. Don't buy the $78 one and expect to change to an eta- it'll cost you more in the long run.

I agree with that. I have one of Trusty's ETA Noobs and they are superb watches. If you want an ETA Noob, buy an ETA Noob.

I know we're totally OT from Ken's suits here - we're talking off-the-shelf versus made-to-measure / bespoke (i.e. a genuine brand suit is off-the-shelf; many high street suits (e.g. Marks and Spencer) are fused)

My problem with made-to-measure is that's it's a moving frickin' target, so it's not going to fit in a few weeks anyway. In the past, when I've moved houses/countries I've gone through suits throwing out what doesn't fit, only to find out that two doughnuts later it might have again

I'm only half-kidding. What I really want from a new suit is fifteen pairs of trousers, just to cover a rainbow of different sizes I may or may not be at some point in the future. Seriously, there's no point wearing an impressive suit if at the end of any meeting you can only walk bandy-legged because the circulation to your feet has been cut off for the past two hours....

Funnily enough, M&S's MtM suits are phenomenal for the price. They are made in Shanghai, fully canvassed (albeit machine pad stitched) and are tremendously well made and finished. They are as good, if not better in many respects to Brioni and are defintiely on par with current Savile Row.

Made to measure only takes into account sleeve length, waist and trouser and jacket length. The standard block pattern can only have so much done with it before it looks visibly altered.

Bespoke, on the other hand, has a lot more latitude. I put on 35lb last year and my suits still fit and do not look noticeably tight (they do feel a touch touch tight around the waist but nothing major). There is usually about 3/4 inches of extra seamage built in and also the cut is designed to flatter and deceive so any weight gain or loss is well disguised.

Doc if it cost the same as a rep suit thats because it is a rep suit.

Let me put it another way the guys doing these online bespoke are the same quality tailors who make the reps they just simply run different angle.

Ken

That's a bit of a generalisation and not entirely true. The rep suits are, I will virtually guarantee, are machine made using fused construction with no hand finishing using a STANDARD pattern. Many of the online tailors (including a great deal of the travelling 'tailors') do the same as these 'tailors' are nothing but salesmen who are just funnelling orders to a centralised factory who make these things up in no time. How they can call it 'bespoke' is beyond me as it is a blatant misrepresentation. A true bespoke suit is fully canvassed and pad stitched, cut from pattern made just for that client with hand finished linings, buttonholes and prickstitching. It takes on average 40-50 man hours and needs at least one fitting.

Many of the Hong Kong travelling tailors are atrocious and are nothing but a little step up from having an off-the-peg suit altered to fit. At best it is made-to-measure but for true bespoke, you will still need to pay. Unfortunately, 99% of the public won't know a [censored] suit if it they saw one and would not know what to ask for so these tailors give them a super good deal and then give them a suit commensurate with that price.

I happen to know one of the world's leading travelling tailors (I've know him since I was 6 years old), an Indian chap from Hong Kong. He advertises ludicrously 'starting from' prices designed to lure you in but once you're their he will upsell terribly using a mixture of humilation, embarassment and sheer vanity. Basically, if you want something good, you're up near Savile Row prices and you'll have to wait for his next return trip to get fitting which also removes his USP. His factory turns out 20,000 suits a month. Some excellent, some mediocre and some I wouldn't dress my pet munchkin in.

The smaller Thai tailors can still provide decent workmanship as can the Hong Kong tailors but you need to know what to ask for and also be prepared to pay more for it otherwise the order will go straight to a 'factory' instead of a proper workshop.

"Old fashioned mustiness"??? Massive stereotype. Not in the last 5 years, evolve or die. Kilgour is the perfect example of that.

p.s. It's Savile Row, not Saville.

My showroom is right next to Kilgour and I often share an office with Kilgour's Creative director Carlo Brandelli as their office is part of the same building. I have discussed this very thing with Carlo and like it or not the Row is changing and moving more into mainstream fashion with the off-the-rack, instant gratification attitude it brings. Take a look at Richard James and Boateng and compare their sensibilities with the likes of Henry Poole and Anderson & Shepherd. Even Gieves has repositioned itself as a fashion brand. The latter ooze a prestige and quality that the former lack - primarily because the former are geared towards selling ready to wear suits. You can still get bespoke from them, but prepare to pay silly money and the suits will all come from the same source - a hardcore cadre of independent contractors who do piece work for the big Row houses.

Fortunately, the artisanal tailor can and does survive but does so more as a bespoke couturier than as a tailor. I myself have operated in this way ever since I started out on my own 5 years ago and my suits are, in the most matter of fact way I can describe, amongst the best you can buy anywhere and I would certainly have no qualms about comparing them to the likes of Kiton, Oxxford, Huntsman or Poole.

Proper bespoke comes at a price, but you get with it something indefinable: a unique piece that is inherently part of 'you'.

To keep this on topic, Ken's suits are ok. Nothing spectacular. just your run of the mill, factory made 'designer' tat made using generic cloth and cut and sewn in a generic fashion. If you are paying more than a bog standard department store suit just to get the name, then I despair.

Yeah and his communication methods are clearly outlined also, but that doesn't stop people from screwing it up. Having been around these boards for quite a while, there are three things I have learned Neil...............................

1. He is a man of his word, maybe not necessarily on the buyers timeline, but he goes beyond most dealers to correct the situation.

2. He has no hesitation calling out bullshitter's or scammers when they try to screw him over, which despite popular belief, is quite often. Its funny how when he calls someone out, there is never a justified response from the buyer.

3. He is one of the very few true collectors. Most of you only have an interest in buying the "best Submariner" out today, not a true appreciation for fine timepieces, rep or gen. Neil is a guy who you can talk to for hours, if not days, about the subject.

Too many people are here for the wrong reasons, sadly it shows in this decision.....................

Sorry TT, you and the rest of the team got this one wrong!

If I recall what TT said correctly, he was not banned because of his business practices but because Neil reacted badly to having his collector status on this board revoked. If he did and broke the forum rules then the Admin have to call it like they see it and if that means a ban, so be it. I feel for him but ultimately, rules are rules and should be respected.

Apparently, for us Bond fans, we may have to buy a new watch afterall.

http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=5982&catid=9

Yes, but is this just a shameless cash in or will Craig be sporting a non-007 branded black SMP in the film after all? I have to admit, bar the cheesy 007 logo, the watch does look quite sexy. Should be a piece of pi55 to rep.

The compassion shown on this board amazes me.

Heed Lanikai's advice. He's a good sort and speaks a lot of truth. I only wish Lani and some of you other folks were around during my darkest days.

Old Chinese proverb: "Better to light a candle than complain about the darkness".

You've done an incredibly brave thing by writing and admitting your perceived sins to essentially a room full of strangers. You've lit that candle and I think I can speak for everyone here by saying that we don't judge you for it and we all wish you the very best in your battles, now and yet to come.

In a healthy marriage one would not expect to find offerings of sex reinforced with nude pictures in email.

We could all hope to be so lucky.

It takes a strong man to resist that kind of temptation and an even stronger man to admit it, take his lumps and try and make things right. Sounds like you did just that and I admire that.

BTW, do you still have her number?

Life has really kicked you in the balls. I wish you all the best. It takes a lot of guts to write what you just did. I hope it all works out and you have a better year.

Now about your suppliers.....