giorgio

I stand corrected - No way you can compare a true SLR with a camera that's now well under $200. I agree that a wide angle lens would be useful. Here's a quick and dirty shot of my watch on auto. No lighting and pardon the fingerprints (like I said - quick and dirty shot, untouched) Close enough for wristshots anyway.

The focal point on this camera is actually 6.3 - 63 mm, so yeah - it is pretty decent for macro shots. More than adequate for taking shots of watches.

I have one. Not a bad camera. Pictures are okay. Cheap camera for what it is. The lense barrel is threaded so you can use 46mm filters and lens kits with it. Battery life is awesome. Manual and automatic settings. Hard to beat at the sub $200 level. If you get it - DO NOT install the crappy software - it's slow as sh*t and terribly cumbersome. Use it as an external drive and pull the pics off manually.

If you're lucky. But I think Swiss ETA is overrated. Sure it will last forever if you do a $200 service job on it every other year. But if they put DG4813's in the reps you could replace the whole movement for $25 and it would visually have the same effect as an eta movement (8 beats/sec). Hell, I have an old sea dweller with some crappy 17 jewel movement in it that I got for $100 from a yahoo auction and it doesn't miss a beat. Just because it's Swiss, doesn't mean it's good, and vice versa. There are tonnes of stories on here about people's "Swiss ETAs" dying only for them to discover their watch had a 10 year old rusty movement in it while others have had $50 street junk watches that have lasted a decade.

Of all my screens, the only one I have with a glossy screen is my laptop - and I wish I didn't. The thing is useless outside - or even in brightly lit rooms, but the picture quality's okay.

Has to do with colour fidelity and contrast ratio. On the "shiny" screens, the colours seem to appear brighter and more true to life. Just go to Best buy and look at 2 laptops (one with glossy screen, one with matte screen) and you'll see what I mean. The colours will appear more vivid on the gloss screen.

I would go with a Datejust or an Air king. I don't know how old your dad is, but 38mm has been a good sized watch for a long time. The reps are pretty good, not too expensive, and despite their simplicity, they look classy. For a little more flash I'd get something with a fluted bezel like the Turn-o-graph

My undergrad was in sociology, so I know all about groupthink. First thing I learned was to ask of any situation "how did it come to be" -- next lesson was to try to put myself in a fish's position and realize that it might not even have a concept of water. He exercises his critical thinking skills when talking about GWB - indeed, anyone who could get into one of the top schools in the country, graduate, and get a master's degree from an even better school, can't possibly be an idiot. Then to fly fighter jets on top of that - I know graduates who can barely drive a car. Give them a cell phone, and that's too information for them to process all at once. I have no problem with his opinion/position being biased - that's what an opinion is after all. Just don't disguise it as a lesson in critical thinking - he's like the fish who has yet to discover water.

That's a pretty interesting editorial Ryannon, many good points and well written - though for someone who rants on about critical thinking skills, the author seems to be lacking. Though many of his views are well thought out and backed, his entire position is biased and the fact that he doesn't acknowledge that is surprising. He cites "selective reporting" as the cause of mass ignorance many times, but fails to see how that same brainwashing would cloud judgment and shape his view of history. @ Slay - I believe in the puppet master conspiracy as much as the next guy, but even if you believe that there's a secret "shadow government" running the show, a little historical research will show you how that entire family's been a key player in shaping U.S. policy and foreign relations. It's not so much that he's a puppet, as he is playing his role, and doing it quite well. Like the article says - the man has an MBA, has graduated from 2 of the best universities in U.S., and flew fighter jets. - I'd rather overestimate a guy like that than be foolish enough to underestimate him.

It always cracks me up when people actually refer to how stupid GWB is. Sure he's dyslexic, but he's probably one of the sharpest guys on the planet. He's screwed over entire countries to the financial benefit of himself and his friends and convinced others to join in his cause to their detriment. Notice how he has no problem making fun of himself in public? He probably laughs his ass off every time someone "misunderestimates" him. His brilliance is that he has convinced millions of people that he's a simple, bumbling bafoon - and that makes him dangerous.

Put up some pictures and try to capture what you mean. Since the subdials are going to be a lighter colour, it might not look as bad as you think. But yeah, gold plated reps are a crap shoot.

Quite a few differences on closer exam:

I think reading that confused me more. I was sure the x-plus had polished sides, found a pic of one, then found another pic that looked all brushed... and that article says they are all brushed, but the brushed one I foung had a curved "s", while the polished one had a straight "s" and they were both from resale sites.

I'm not entirely sure (I'm a BCE CA SA guy) but I think the sides if the case and bezel are polished. *edit*nm - diff pic . Leave it to the pros

Yeah, the difference is you can see the embossing on the rep from a mile away. By the way, I can't believe you got - then got rid of - the Blackbird. One of my all time favourite watches. How does it feel, moneybags!

There's no question that the pic on ebay is that of a gen - but I must say - you must have a V1 BCE because I've compared my bracelet to a gen, and the only flaws I could find were the screws, the datestamp (C5304 - wed, 53rd week of 2004), the English on the clasp (and an almost indiscernible difference in the engraving quality), and the embossing on the reverse side of the clasp from the logo punch showing through (yeah, that sounds like a lot know) . But as far as fit, finish, and feel go - it's almost dead on. (I don't own the SOSF, so I can't comment on that, but aside from that one) this as close as it gets. I think the ultimate BCE crosses the line from simply being a "replica" to actually being a "counterfeit" watch.

I wish! ...but then again, I'm completely satisfied with the rep bracelet. I'm not bothered by the English print on the clasp, or that it was manufactured the 53rd week of 2204. The rep straps suck, but they got the second version of this bracelet dead on (considering it's less than 10% of the cost of a gen). Now if I could steal that S.A. bezel on Sunday.... but then I'd need AR, a Datewheel, and a 24mm Pro II bracelet ...if only I had more money

No prob. It's a nice enough watch, would go very well with a nice shirt - just not accurate as a rep.

If you're talking about a "strap" I usually try to bunch it up a bit to give me some room to work with. Bracelets can be a PITA sometimes. I usually use a small screwdriver (i.e. really small) to "ramp" the end of the springbar in. HTH. *edit* Rubber's always a PITA

*Subdials are too far apart *Missing 3:00 and 9:00 markers (to make up for subdial spacing) *Outer ring should be closer to rehaut *Tachymeter says 220 at 6 telemetre - should be 200 *Missing "swiss made" print inside outer ring on dial ...and that's just the dial So, close - but not even close... If you're trying to pull off a $25K watch - you're not going to fool anyone who knows - and anyone who doesn't would think this is on par with a $50 Timex.

Then you'd know that etiology is the 'cause of disease or disorder, used almost exclusively in a medical context. I'm sure you were reaching for etymology... FWIW, you're correct in assuming that its etymology is the same as that of a "tin can jockey"...

Should've known that you would've known that.....

Glass is relatively shatter resistant, but scratches easily Sapphire is scratch resistant, but shatters relatively easily Hardlex or Saphlex claim to be almost as hard as saphire, but far more shatter resistant. It makes more sense, from a practical standpoint, for a diver watch to be shatter resistant as a sapphire crystal will shatter pretty easily if it's bumped on anything while under pressure.

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If you strip the paint off it you'll be ok. The only obvious tell after that would be the size of the holes for removing the caseback - but most people don't even know that they're too long, so only a pro could tell. Here's a good review...