Watchmeister

Great stuff. That V3 diver is fabulous. Not loving the JLC though - then again I didn't like the gen either. Did you fix the pearl on the JLC? It looks better than most of the unmodded pictures posted.

+1. I made it a point to invest in a nice 2 watch carrier as I bring three typically and I have actually gotten nice comments from customs when they do occasionally search your bag. A good case gives a lot of crediblity to even the crappiest rep.

I would hang tough for one of the models with better date placement and date font. Dealers being out of stock is not your problem. They do come up on the forums and often cheaper. There is a great version of the Panda with the better date placement and the dial is spot on with the gen.

Reps of apparel and accessories dwarf watch sales. And half the time the buyer doesn't even know it.

Z-man- Incredible stuff. You will have an incredible franken when you are done.

Ubi- Outrageous stuff.

If no one offers you one I may have one I bought years ago but I would have to take a good look for it. I can tell you that if it is the older model that the roulette mechanism is better on the rep than the gen as I actually walked into a meeting wearing it when they first came out and the guy sitting across the table (who thank god is a long time friend so I could instantly tell him the truth) was wearing the gen in gold which he payed $24k at the Caesar's Mall. We played with both for a few minutes after the meeting and concluded the rep mechanism was better.

Gorgeous watch above, Who made that one? Wearing my contemporary version today:

Holiday over here. My go to weekend warrior watch - with Zorro bezel mod and Swiss 7750 for that smooth second hand sweep.

Great post from days of yore. One of the infamous "three tenors". oops I mean "two Randy" days. I do miss Lani.

Yup, DSN for the hands.

It isn't "genuine".

Great stuff. I may have to build one of these.

Yeah, standard words like "authentic" and citing the brand can be misleading and give the seller plausible deniability. And yes, I learned the hard way.

And they should. I only took a quick look but they look like garbage. Do we really think Audemars or Panerai offers a croco-leather strap? By the way the OEM deployants are more than the entire strap buckle combos he is offering.

Very cool watch. Between use of different materials and clear caseback I am not holdng my breath in the rep world.

You are quite the brother. Kudos to you.

I believe there are front loaded 117's. At least I have one and it is either 3rd or 4rth generation EL.

So here is a question for you. If you are someone who owns reps and gens - do you feel better about your reps because you own gens?

I know this is an old loop but once someone bumped it up again I reread it and am kind of curious. How do you fit a date wheel from a Rolex proprietary movement into an ETA movement? I do love that dial.

The sizing is all personal preferences. At 6.9 inches I think it would look fine. They do wear like PAM's albeit they sit somewhat higher. Most people don't have 7.5" wrists. My wrist is about 7.25" (I have plenty of pics up in various loops so you can take a look) and although I don't currently have a bracelet on a watch it should certainly go small enough with links removed. I have worn both rep and gen bracelets in the past. I would try leather or croc rather than a bracelet though. AP rep bracelets are not particularly adjustable (no Rolex micro adjustment) so they are tough to get a good "loose" fit. My 2 cents.

You guys are way over analyzing this. They hate us because we cheat. We get to look as rich as them for 1/10th or 20th the price. I mean, seriously, if you are a middling wage earner and saved for a year or two to buy that Rolex wouldn't you be resentful when the mailboy shows up with a gold Daytona.

Great strap choice. It really changes the whole feel of the watch in an "elegant informal" manner.

Great thread. Marshaling the resources of the mighty RWG. And I love the add a new strap idea. Making lemonade out of lemons.

I am hopeful that Texski will re-emerge. It is easy to say that someone is a scammer but in reality there is always this grey area of folks who on a smaller scale can offer gen parts or unique services. People are dying for access and it all starts out legitimately providing a boon to the membership. Too often the provider either falls behind, has a real personal issue or screws up the money. And when there is a problem you are still unsure whether the person will be back. IMHO, there are relatively few folks who do these things who get involved specifically to scam others.