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I have my collection noted on the home and contents policy at an agreed value. I've supplied the insurance company with a list of the watches and their original costs. I also keep the Paypal records to back that up. The insurance company was surprisingly happy to accept all that, there was no drama over them being replicas, although I did have to explain that they were not the canal st type. They did think I was a little mad though.. Having said that I have never had to actually claim. Most insurance policies do exclude illegal goods. Replica's are not strictly illegal to own or import for personal use here in New Zealand but there is obviously some danger if you catch the wrong person when you make the claim, or they thing you're having them on. Also watch for depreciation clauses where goods are depreciated to "todays value" when you claim. Theres a chance they could claim used fake watches are valueless. Its much better to have an agreed value for this kind of product. Remember the golden rule of insurance.. Tell the insurance company EVERYTHING before you need to make a claim. Be totally up front about them being replicas so there is no argument later. (obviously that may vary in less replica friendly countries.. eg Italy & Switzerland). I also have a suitably mounted and hidden floor safe to actually keep them in. If you're really concerned consider a safe deposit box and rotate a selection out to home for wearing every few weeks.

People need to remember this isn't Walmart.. and stuff does not have a no obligation warranty, trial period, refund policy etc. Its simple enough, make sure you really want the item before you pay. Ask any questions you need to. If it arrives as advertised then you own it. Wrist measurements are notoriously hard to make, and inconsistent. I can't imagine any seller giving a guarantee that a watch will fit, especially given the tolerances you're described.

I think he is confused with the Barrichello, that one does have ceramic pushers.

It looks less like an expensive novelty watch, and more like something you'd seriously keep and wear for a while..

I've heard some horror stories about service times on various brands.. but 68 weeks is insane.. Really, why buy something that will spend anything up to one third of its life (if you follow recommended service times) sitting in a drawer in a work shop somewhere. You pay so much and don't even have it in your possession. Do Patek actually expect owners to wear these thing or just admire them under a loupe from time to time?

Options are: a/ A proper valuation, no arguments with this, but send your insurance co a copy first to be completely covered. b/ Photo's showing the watch and serial number, good but not as good as a valuation. Most reasonable insurance companies will accept these c/ ebay & paypal records showing the purchase, it'll depend on the insurance co, many will not take this alone. Remember travel insurance often has much lower item limits then home and contents does, so clear this up first. The golden rule with insurance is always.. Tell them everything before you need to claim. It worth mentioning that I never travel with genuines, or more expensive looking replicas, I can't speak for Morocco specifically but you are asking for trouble in many non first world countries.

I measured a bunch a while back, did some plans, and made up some tubes. You really need to custom build each one to the case, crown and crown guard you are combining. Also genuine crowns with o-rings on the crown need a smooth bore tube, as opposed to the rep style, where the o-rings are inside the tube. (and the crown shaft is smooth) Also not all genuine crowns are the same, I've got 4-5 here and they are all different diameters inside and different offsets. I do not currently have a lathe or I'd make one up for you, but I can dig around and try to find the various measurements I used if it helps. I did find that each tube really had to be made over length and test fitted, then recut to get the crown offset, and hence the locking point of the CG correct. Due to the rebate in the case where the tube sits, and the shaping of the CG mounting point it really isn't practical to get perfect measurements before you start. I made mine using a cheap chinese mini lathe, however this was only just accurate enough for the job, you really need minimum of a Sherline or similar with a collet chuck to do the job properly.

Yes there have been a few reps over the years.. no idea what they are made from.. I guessing printed.

I rather like the Bullet Bang, I never wear gold watches, but this one is kind of different. I would only buy a ceramic rep though, the metal one just doesn't seem close enough to the real material.

I suppose this new gold ceramic means a decent Bullet Bang is probably not far off.. just a slightly different mix in the ceramic and we'd have it.

holy sh*t.... sometime I'm really glad I live on an island country with no snakes..

Its great the scammers are out of business.. but lets not forget, they were not shut down for being scammers, they were shut down for selling fakes.. just like the ones we love and collect right here. As tough as it is to say, I don't think this is a victory we should celebrate too much. I can only hope removing them will satisfy the copyright holders for a while, and not leave them looking for the next target.

I'm struggling to imagine what kind of person (race, occupation, personality type etc) actually wears something like that

Nice collection, thanks for sharing.

I find jb-weld or similar inside the case does a great job of fixing the HE valves permanently.

When you're buying loc-tite or any thread lock remember there are many different grades, ranging from "never come undone" down to "just strong enough".. I strongly suggest using the lower grades, the non-removable ones are fine if you're totally sure you won't ever undo the screws.. but if you ever try you will break the screws. The hublot ones especially are really crap metal and break very easily.

Its easy to replace, but you'll need the special screwdriver to fit the "H" shaped heads on the screws. Most dealers stock these. Also you need to use some low strength thread lock on the screws, and don't over tighten them. they are low quality and will strip or break easily.

YUCK.. and in the highest wear areas too. I guess this is yet another trap we need to watch out for.

Yes all those will work. Filing the underside of the existing CG is probably the easiest but also the slowest and most laborious option. I find a whet stone works quite well as the steel is usually very soft. Its also hard to stuff up this option as you'll be working quite slowly and its very quick and easy to do a test fit.

The Valgranges series is essentially just a 7750 with a larger rotor and larger diameter plates allowing a larger date wheel. Other than that they appear to use all 7750 parts. From the limited amount I've seen the Asian ones are just a larger date wheel and front plate, the rotors are the same as the 7750.. this might have changed on some models though

Its just a case of CNC machining, theres a been a few projects over the years to make them. The quality has been pretty good, at least the one I have, but certainly not up to the genuine standards. I spent quite a while on mine getting the edges and brushed finish right. The steel used was very soft low grade compared to what we would expect from the genuine too. CNC machining though is something that sounds easy, but its actually extremely hard to get the fit and finish to the standards we expect on watch parts. The swiss makers invest millions on gear to make this stuff for a reason.

Genuine IWC tang buckles are actually not as expensive as you might think. And locally at least its usually possible to buy IWC straps and buckles without a serial number etc. I've also seen them online but I can't recall any links sorry.

Anytime I read any of the genuine watch forums I'm amazed by how many similar stories there are out there, and its often the most expensive brands having these issues. I guess the whole business model is based on getting these over priced thing out there and marketing them into buyers hands.. and of course getting the money. After sales service just doesn't bring in the margins in comparison. Hopefully the recession might wake a few of these guys up a little. A drop in demand might also free up some of the better watchmakers for the service department instead of all hands on deck making new models as quick as you can.

Its attached like most reps with a 12 sided wire spring.. but its very heavy compared to smaller reps, so it'll need a very strong tool to remove it. I actually cut the bezel in half to remove an old one I had spare (on a case that lost bezel markers) Making the bezel align after will involve grinding the click spring down a little which will be fairly easy

Very nice looking dial. The rep straps have taken a bit of a jump in quality recently.. but no idea about this one