Toadtorrent

Jay during the week can take up to 24hrs to respond...and on w/e's even longer...but he'll respond and he will remember the email trail. Unfortunately this was slower than I was hoping and ended up ordering a noobmariner from Josh with free shipping for other items in the same order instead of the SFSO deal. I'm not sure if I still want the SFSO...great deal with Jay.

The SFSO is pretty big on my 6.5" wrists...but I really like the AR, movement and accuracy...with the white face, I may go Asian...I'm waffling.

I'm really surprised. I always thought Breitlings were worth the earth, or at least put Sub Rolexes to shame. Oh, I'm sure there are very pricey Breitlings out there, of course. But the SFSO I though AT LEAST $4K, USED.

Most men's luxury marques are quite affordable, then. Tag Heuer Links, Omega SMP, Breitling SFSO. These are all well-under $3k.

No wonder some guys only know or want to know Rolexes...it's the only one which actually does say, "I spent a wad on this watch", and that's important to some people as proof of their earning power.

True on all counts. New at the AD, the SFSO is $2700 in Canada. Not crazy at all, which as a rep can make it more desireable as it's more believeable. There are some of the solid gold Breitlings which are obviously much more, but they certainly don't even come close to approaching the really expensive pieces like a Vacheron Tourbillon.

At a party, we were talking watches, and one of the guys had a TT Sub (standard with blue), and people were oohing and aaahing over it. Other people had basic Tag links, an SMP, etc...When he mentioned that he also had a Breguet, people didn't even blink or show any awareness of the brand...as Breguet's are marketed at people a few paygrades higher...so conversation went back to the Rollie...people knew that Rollie = luxury. I asked if it was a tourbillon and the guy had no clue what I was asking about...so he knew the Breguet brand, but nothing really about the watch.

There are few in my circles who even know what PAM is...let alone how much a gen is...but they ooh and aaah over my wife's kitzchy Swatches.

I want to take the Silix SFSO deal plunge...just waiting to hear back from an email... because out of principle, a rep that is a close copy on the outside as well as on the inside (movement wise) has a certain cool-factor in my books as a rep-for-reps sake.

The posts are in loud and clear. The Rolex crown post is there for me. It might be because of:

Click Here...

Go Here...and all will be revealed...

RWG Supporter (aka VIP) Upgrade Information

The info I got from this board prior to my first purchase alone was worth giving support back to the cause.

Ace The Zigmeister!

Thanks for all your efforts.

Thanks for the quick response all.

I'm glad to hear it's not just me. I was doing a fair bit of searching on using the Wiki and didn't come up with much...I was feeling very stump-ish as I couldn't find the answer.

Should I contact the mod, or will they be reading this thread to identify it as an issue to be resolved?

Hi All,

So I've upgraded my memberships because of the great material I've found on my forum. The forum gave me great info to go and get my first "real" rep.

Now...I'm ready for the next step of looking at movements in more details, and tear downs, etc...everything a wannabe The Zigmeister needs to know.

The Zigmeister posted that all his articles are in the RWiki...but when I go to the RWiki homepage, and do any kind of searching, no articles are returned (only the 3 or so articles on basic QA, upgrading your membership, etc).

Any search I've tried returns nothing: movement, movements, how-to, how-to's, how to's, 7750, 2892A, etc.

Any suggestions on where to find the The Zigmeister articles?

Thanks from a clueless Noob!

Ah yes I remember waiting for that very first rep... I waited all day for the mailman and of course he showed up when I was in the shower!!

That's why I have my wife home to sign for the packages.

My SMP Chrono from Josh just arrived. AWESOME. Back was pretty tight...HEV was loose...crown was loose...so certainly not water worthy out of the box. HAH. BUT...this one had the bezel aligned correctly, so all my research on bezel removal and realignment was wasted.

One of the adjustable links did have a crap pin whose slot head broke off in half and a stripped head in the link...so I had to take a tiny Dremel bit to get the pin out so I could get the bracelet adjusted properly. Imagine the sweat as I'm pulling out a DREMEL on my brand spanking new By-Tor recommended beauty!! All is well...no scratches!

I'll post photos when I figure out how to take them and post them.

Just received the 41mm black SMP sword hands from Josh ($218 version) and it had a very misalligned bezel, but the watch is very good--

I had been doing research on bezel realignment in anticipation of fixing it on my Josh SMP Chrono...but it arrived today and was perfect, with pearl, 3, and 9 markers on points. Woohoo...go Josh!

I was once posed the question "Is anticipation better than realisation"?

Well i still cant answer it i hate the wait but love the dreams and when it arrives i love to look at whatever is new.

I'm awaiting my first "real" rep as well (SMP Chron from Josh based on By-Tor's review...my first reps were crappy quartz things from almost 20 years ago). It just cleared customs...and I'm hoping it arrives sometime soon. I have a couple of other gen collecting friends who are interested in entering the rep world who are waiting for the results of my first rep order before they jump.

I told them that it's like the casino and the stock market. There is risk involved with reps (i.e. unmet expectations of not getting a perfect 1:1 rep after spending $100 including shipping , having the item seized by customs, having a movement die prematurely, etc).

The process of researching, shopping, and ordering and waiting is as much a part of the fun as the item itself.

If you need a watch to be PERFECT, and completely reliable and will be devastated if it doesn't arrive because the supplier/factory/etc got shutdown by the authorities...stick to gens.

Well...I just paid for my VIP yesterday, and this was based on the value I saw from the FREE non-VIP stuff I was getting, and feeling I should support the cause...this even before I've received my first rep ordered from a recommended collector. Mind you...I also have a regular list of charities I don't to whose services I don't use but I believe in in principle...so I can't say I'm normal (on ANY level).

Like Victoria was saying, there isn't a huge amount of action in the VIP area, and the dealer list is available freely on other sites, so the immediate "additional incentives" of upgrading aren't readily apparent to many people.

I liked the idea of a lot of the good content subject lines being available for people to peruse, but when following the details to get the articles, you get the "this is for VIP's or whatever you want to call them" and link to the upgrade info. I don't think you want to move all the good content entirely to the VIP section...you need to provide tasters for people...so move the meat of the content (the articles themselves) but allow the subjects to be searchable by anybody.

Casual fly through users aren't going to upgrade.

If somebody gets enough "This article is for VIPs only" in their search hits with relevant topic hits in the headers, they will know there is value in upgrading.

I'm currently trying to find out how to get the The Zigmeister articles in the Rwiki...

Josh says that a ceramic version GMT won't be available for another year. Bummer...that I would like...I dig that green 24hr arm.

He has been doing this for a while. I just wonder if the watch itself will still be exactly the same. Example date / markers

I stand corrected...I actually meant to say that as of today, he STILL will do the switch. I'm not sure if it sill be the same...I might order one soon and I'll post the results if I do.

CANADA:

I see a lot of people are reading this...but not a lot are providing actual documentation...so, I'll add a little more.

The Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network (CACN) is a coalition of individuals, companies, firms and associations that have united in the fight against product counterfeiting and copyright piracy in Canada and internationally. They are essentially a lobby and policy group that has partnered with the RCMP and the Federal Government in addressing counterfeiting issues.

The CACN FAQ setion which can be found HERE, reads:

As of today, Josh will sell his Beginmariner with a Swiss ETA movement. To do this, you order the Swiss ETA watch, and specify the Beginmariner caseset in the comments. The price is the higher of the two without shipping of course.

One more reference:

Intellectual Property Congress notes

"In its February

2005, USTR submission, the IACC draws a very negative

comparison between the approach of Canadian and US

border authorities, contrasting a handful of customs

seizures in Canada to more than 37,000 in the US

over a comparable period. Historically, the Canada

Border Services Agency has only been prompted to

act in limited situations, handcuffed by legislation that

never deals squarely with counterfeit issues. Large

scale seizures are extremely rare, due in part to

cumbersome procedures in the relevant statutes.

Under s 44-45 Copyright Act and s 53.1 Trademark

Act, goods can be detained at the border, but only

with a court order that precisely identifies the counterfeit

shipment well before it arrives. This process has only

been used six times in the past 10 years, usually after

Anton Piller Orders have identified incoming shipments

on the water."

Here is a quote from the Canadian RCMP (Canada's national police force) Web Site: "Possession of counterfeit items is not a criminal offence in Canada as long as there is no intent to distribute them" and another from the RCMP web site on downloading music. "Downloading music for personal use is currently not a criminal offence in Canada."

Here is the link to the RCMP web sites where the quotation have been taken: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/fio/intellectual_e.htm

In Canada there is distincition between buying a rep for personal use and buying reps for resale in a commercial venture. The former is legal and the latter illegal.

Here's my second post...super-noob to the rescue. HAH.

I'm no lawyer, but looking at the official Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) website outlines specifically what is supposed to be followed. For reference:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cm/d19-4-3/d19-4-3-e.html

Under the heading: "When does an [intellectual Property] Infringement Occur?" we get the following:

"a) applying a trade-mark without the authorization of the right holder to a watch that is not manufactured by the company that holds the trade-mark;"

This obviously covers manufacturing, and outright, says it is illegal. This does not however, cover importation, possession, etc.

The agreement CBSA has (from what I can read and understand) with IP owners, says the owner of the IP rights can apply for the Minister to take "reasonable measures to detect and detain alleged infringing goods", but that this application requires certain info in the "order" to be specific enough for CCRA (Canada Customs and Revenue Agency) officials to be able to detect the goods prior to detainment...or

"18. To assist in detecting shipments of any goods under the order, the CCRA may require some or all of the following information to be provided by the applicant:

(a) Complete description of the goods;

( Classification of goods under the Harmonized System;

© Quantity and value of goods;

(d) Identity of importer, e.g., name, address (location), Business Number;

(e) Identity of exporter and vendor;

(f) Country of export;

(g) Country of origin;

(h) Place of importation or release;

(i) Approximate date of arrival;

(j) Mode of transportation (e.g., sea, rail, land); and

(k) Notification procedure for the applicant in the event of the detection of the goods (e.g., letter, fax)."

After detaining of goods, they have to notify the IPR holder and the importer.

It seems CCRA (aka Customs) won't (can't??) detain goods without specific court orders. These orders have to be specific enough to reference specific shipments in order to facilitate detection. This means small "personal" shipments won't hit the radar, but the big ones could.

"Canada Customs and Revenue Agency only acts upon the direction of the court" i.e. CCRA is not in the business to enforce the spirit or letter of copyright law without specific orders from the court.

Maybe somebody else more qualified in these matters can provide more direction.

Sure, there is a full rose gold by Hublot. Go to Hublot website, go to hublot TV click on the product tab and watch the video called GOLD FILM PART 3

I just saw it at the gen dealer the other day and held it in my dirty little hands. That sucker is hefty...weighty weighty weighty...in terms of mass, visuals, and price - $33,000 CDN!!! It looked absolutely silly on my little 6.5" wrists I thought. At the same visit...I admired the rose gold Vacheron Constantin Tourbillon's...whoooah!!