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Toadtorrent

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Posts posted by Toadtorrent

  2. Hey Im new at all this!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Also...read the Noob Guide linked in my signature. It will introduce you to the rep buying experience and some of the things that need to be considered.

    When you say Swiss reps...remember...all decent reps are made in China. Only some have Swiss movements...and these movements are almost all made in China too in Chinese based ETA factories. Go figger! :rolleyes:

    Chinese reps can be good...look at the reviews and wrist-check threads on this site, and you'll see that there some STUNNING reps out there...and moreso, RWG is a Community of watch enthusiasts...not just The Shopping Channel.

  4. Noisy A7750 rotor: what to do?

    in The Audemars Piguet Area

    Posted

    From Gisbert L. Brunner's fantastic article "The Fall and Rise of the Valjoux 7750" from the June-2008 issue of Watch Time:

    "In addition, some wearers

    are conscious of the sound the rotor

    makes. It occurs because the large oscillating

    weight with its heavy metal segment

    can reach very high speeds when rotating

    in its non-winding direction. The

    sound is unavoidable, however, and

    shouldn

  7. AT 3719 "Slevin" - Wow

    in The IWC Area

    Posted

    for a first rep you did pick one of the all time best !!!!

    bet you were floored by the Quality of a "rep".. with the 3719 Slevin??? :good:

    And for your first rep post you went the yard!!!

    Like myself and many others there is some fascination and mystique to replications..

    This is just the beginning OS.. because there is really no end..

    Lani's said it all. You picked an awesome start. And, WOW...great first rep post. Awesome.

    More importantly, you put back to the community that helped you out...and that goes miles. Well done...and welcome aboard.

  11. Hello, Noob here... are there any Canadian members/dealers?

    in Introduction/Rules/Support

    Posted

    Hate to break it to you...there are no CDN Dealers worth looking at. Sorry. We have a lot of VERY experienced rep buyers, modders, and watch aficianados on this forum...and they will eventually chime in likely and repeat this.

    The dealers here are all generally good.

    I'm from Toronto...and have ordered from most of the recommended dealers here and have good experiences with all of them. Read the dealer reviews in the review subsection of the forum, pick the one that you feel best with and your good to go.

    There have been next to no customs seizures in Canada (see my Noob Guide for links to more info). I've only heard of one person having problems.

    AND...read the reviews here...get psyched...and buy with confidence...or search for members in Canada/US selling them personally.

    Good Luck. Check these out:

    AP ROO Survivor

    Read any of the reviews in my signature...all bought from China...(well almost all...some were bought from members)...and read the reviews in the the signature of sql_pl who wrote the post in the link above for how good some of these watches can be.

    Welcome to the forum. We help those in need...with the hope you'll be active members on the forum.

    Read the Noob Guide linked in my signature for more info on rep buying.

  17. Moonwatch - My first replica has arrived!

    in The Omega Area

    Posted

    Any other?

    I'm not so bothered by the incorrect subdial spacing. On the moonie I think it's actually harder to spot as there is the mid-sized moonie which has the same subdial appearance (though in a smaller case) than the full-sized one with the narrow spacing.

    I know true Speedie afficianados would poo-poo my inaccurate (questionably) preference for the display back, because the movement is so beautiful to look at. Given that there were variations with the display back in the gen form, and that the movements between the Seagull ST1902 and the older Omega cal. 321 are similar because of the chronograph bridge (of course the current ones have a different looking movement and the sapphire crystal like yours likely has...but I'm sure you get what I'm saying) I'm not bothered by these issues.

    BTW...the 40th Anniversary one has the eagle moon landing silver medallion on 9-o-clock.

    As to how to freeze the 6-o-clock subdial, check out the guide in my signature.

    Awesome!! Love the piece and congrats for getting it, and contributing back to the forum by making this post.

  23. Immediate movement service required?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Welcome to the forum CJR. As others have said, the info has been posted on various threads on the forum, but if you're new to this place it can be a bit overwhelming to get the info you need...so, we're all about community here so I'll give you a quick overview here.

    There are a few expense scenarios:

    ASIAN NON-CHRONO

    COST OF WATCH: ~$180 (incl shipping)

    COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: $15 - 40

    COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$75

    CONCLUSION:

    On a cheap Asian, servicing is not possible as no replacement parts exist and replacement movements are so cheap that would be the only route to trouble shooting if the root cause of a problem is not immediately apparent. A movement swap is doable if need be, but can be expensive to have a watchsmith perform it given the initial cost of the watch. Many have had cheap Asian reps last years with no problems. I have a couple that are a couple years old that are going fine after minor repairs ($20 if paid for but I do them myself).

    Consider them disposable...or do what many do...buy one, to test the waters on a the quality of the case (the movement may or may not be good), get yourself a beginner toolset from Offshore here on the forum, and do a movement swap yourself to learn the skills.

    ETA NON-CHRONO

    COST OF WATCH: ~$300+ (incl shipping)

    COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: $100 - $120

    COST OF SERVICING: $150

    COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$75

    CONCLUSION:

    Many have found ETA's from China to be surplus and dirty so not as reliable as a new one from a North American supplier...so an unserviced movement may not have the traditional reliability of a new-from-the-bubble-wrap movement.

    Either way, they are serviceable, with parts readily available...and any watch repair person should be able to work on and repair these. It's not worth a movement swap (unless you get the Asian ETA clone)...but servicing can cost about $150...a little less than the replacement movement + the swap...so you can go either way on choosing to service or swap...but remember...repairs can be done...so you may not need a servicing for many years.

    Mechanical watches should all be serviced every 5 years...ETA or not. Many don't do this and have had watches run fine for DECADES...so YMMV!!!

    ASIAN 7750

    COST OF WATCH: ~$200+ (incl shipping)

    COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: ~$150

    COST OF SERVICING: $200

    COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$100

    CONCLUSION:

    If you get a cheap one like the Skyland linked in my signature, you can have yourself a great, well built disposable watch that can last many years unserviced if you're lucky. Unserviced, the movements have been known to fail anywhere from 6 months to 4 years or longer. So, if you're lucky, you may have a well running watch that lasts as long as a gen unserviced.

    If you're not lucky, you may replace the movement yourself to save the swap money after it fails the first time, and then get another dodgy unserviced movement (as new Asian 7750's are still from shoddy clone factories with poor QC) that fails prematurely...making it a costly watch due to repairs.

    You could swap it out for a $350 - $450 gen Swiss ETA which will be serviceable by SOME repair guys who can work on complex mechanical chronos (not all can)...that can make for an expensive watch...costing close to $1000.

    You could service the watch after a year or so (the recommended initial cycle) and you should get yourself a watch that is as reliable as its gen counterpart for $200. The problem with A7750's is not their reliability after servicing, it's finding somebody who can work on them and not bugger them up because there are some idiosyncracies with the Asian version of the 7750 compared to the Swiss 7750...so finding somebody who can work on a mech chrono is one thing...on an A7750 is another!!

    REMEMBER...ALL mechanical chronos should be serviced every 5 years...INCLUDING gen ones...and the cost of gen Swiss servicing is the same as an Asian 7750 as they are mechanically the same.

    • Initial cost - ~$200 minimum (depends on the watch)
    • Initial service - $230 (with shipping)
    • Cost of watch after 7 years ownership with servicing - $430


      SWISS 7750
      COST OF WATCH: ~$700+ (incl shipping)
      COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: ~$350-400
      COST OF SERVICING: $200
      COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$100

      CONCLUSION:

      • Initial cost - ~$700 minimum (depends on the watch)
      • Initial service - $230 (with shipping)
      • Cost of watch after 7 years ownership with servicing - $930

      Initial premium for the watch is high and you will still possibly get an unserviced or dry and dirty Swiss 7750 that needs servicing before the usual 5 year cycle. SO, you end up paying for the Swiss movement and still have to pay for servicing so it's expensive.

      The big push to go Swiss is that they are serviceable by more people because of the availability of parts.

      Hope this helps.

  25. Rep Bracelets - any good?

    in The Panerai Area

    Posted

    I think the bracelet is good and could use an oil treatment, altough I never did that. But the deployment is still rep quality. Probably not as smooth as a gen.

    And you can always sell the rep bracelet back here on the forum if it doesn't suit your taste..

    +1

    I never bothered oiling either. Another thing to note though is that from what I can see on the site, the bracelets they have are not correct for the 312. They have what I consider the more stylish bracelet for the PAMs...but technically not accurate for the 312. Mind you, many folks will swap out the 312 bracelet for the one sold on the submersible line...but in the gen world, that's a $3,000 option.

    It will be burly with the bracelet on...it's heavy...but like Ubi said, I think for the most part, the 312 looks better on a strap, but YMMV!!

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