Watchmeister

I thought the "Are We in Crisis?" referred to the forum and the lack of dealer participation and or offerings. And on that I thought the answer would be not in crisis but RWG is largely being ignored by the larger dealers as there is more downside than upside to offering wares here. They are here only enough to make sure members can find them. The Forum now demands accurate descriptions from its dealers. New models get quickly raked over the coals. People [censored] about prices, etc. The other forums are more seller friendly. In theory this is the way it should be if the forum sticks to one of its fundamental credo's of protecting forum members from scams, bad watches and higher prices. The fact that many of the smaller independents have been made targets of paypal, etc. by who or whatever and subsequently fled just exacerbates this slowdown. Folks like TTK and Narikaa who are not drop shippers and can afford the scrutiny are trying. Angus was trying for a while but he appears to have slowed down for whatever reason. I don't know how the economics of this forum work but if it is dependent on dealers offerings through the site this could spell trouble. On the super reps - in truth they have been around for years - whether it was the MBW's or DW's selling for $500-600 or the Honpo PAM's selling for $600-800. But the biggest reason why these products are priced that way is the limited availability. An exclusive offering is just that. You have no where else to turn. This is true at the dealer level and the consumer level. The factories demand larger minimums at higher prices because they can. No one else is making them. The dealers who can get them offer them for what they can. There is even a concept of list price now. If the dealer is selling below list and gets caught they get cut off. Whether it is because the factories cut them off or the purchasing agent on behalf of our larger dealers cuts them off everyone tows the line. A dealer or buying organization's dream is to have an exclusive on an offering and price accordingly. Whether the factories, the dealers or the two working in tandem is causing this I will never know. But clearly this is happening. It is unfortunate that the prices are going up while the Q/C appears to be falling down. In truth the QC may have not changed much. We are just more sensitive to it as the prices have risen. The aesthetic design is certainly improving with watches I would never have imagined coming out and appearing in the first generation with amazing levels of accuracy. The fact that people are lining up for an $800 HBB rep or that there is now a SFSO with Asian movement for $150.00 is a testimony to the fact that the market adjusts to consumer demand. We just have to buy more carefully. But at least we have those choices. This is the golden age of reps in terms of what is out there. We just have to be more selective when buying them - or increase our discretionary income.

No but I will reveal when I receive them.

Most dealers sell a rose gold automatic marina but the dial is plain black not carbon fiber. There may be a carbon fiber dial but I haven't seen it.

No AR coat on that one in the gen.

Life is never that simple. At least two if not three factories have made them. Original old case came first with crappy dial. Then the new inferior cases from the next factory with a similar crappy dial. Now I believe there are new "new" versions and they come with the first decent dial. I bought the dial to update my old case. You will still have to add datewheel though. I believe Lello will be making them shortly if you don't have one already. This one is old case, original dial, repainted hands, homer crown and proper datewheel. As soon as I get the crystal back from Chieftang it is going to Ziggy for gen crown and revised dial. Then it gets put to bed.

Nope. But I am wrapping up an addiction with a gen and a Franken on this brand.

Actually I would be lying if I said it was well thought out. The price was too good. But it will be worn.

New one is sport. K- On the 063 I am happy with how it came out - thanks. In truth I will be replacing the Palp with a gen crown. Then it is done.

Chief- My pleasure. Thanks for the nice words but now I am going to really drive you nuts. I gave in and picked up the first gen for myself in quite a while. And no I won't tell you what it is.

I find the same thing. Early on after I met Ziggy I got all excited about vintages. Although he doesn't display much here he does beautiful vintage work. So I started looking for interesting vintages but found that the only larger vintages are Unitas based.

Looks great. Wear it well.

This watch is not for the meek at heart and nor is it a "macho" watch. I initially did not like the yellow when I got it but it now is in active rotation as one of my summer beach watches. What is interesting is that it is the only watch that has gotten numerous favorable compliments from women rather than men. And unlike other odd-looking reps everyone always assumes it is an expensive watch. I guess it is the mix of materials and the yellow strap. In any case this one has been Ziggified as Riverwind's Black Magic is. I know he won't be doing this again as it required cannibalizing the parts from 3 or 4 different movements. And if he isn't doing it no one else is. Even if you have the skills (which none of us here do other than him) you need an extensive collection of the various 7750 movements to find the various parts. Apologies for the Smudges: Wrist shot: Side Shot - enlarged gap between the the datewheel and dial on the rep has been eliminated: Movement (money shots ) Genuine Mellow Yellow (1 of 100) - $10,000 Ziggified Mellow Yellow (1 of 1) - Priceless

I thought I wold follow up on Stephane's Beach Loop. I manage to get to the beach occasionally as well and love to take some of my better reps with me. I always bring 2-3 watches - no more and no less. I bring them in a generic leather watch case and have never been hassled by customs in any of several countries. Here is my typical day: Tough night last night so I struggle out of bed to a beautiful view but very bright sun: I then head to the beach for a little sun and fun: After a couple of drinks and a solid nap I am off to home to get changed for the evening activities: After a couple of hours of trolling the clubs I come upon this fabulous babe: And success : And the end of another beautiful day in the Carribean. I am already planning my next beach trip and here are my next two candidates for accompaniment: Needless to say this is not my typical day in the Carribean. The kids are up early and running around ergo I am too. By the time the clubs open I am most likely asleep. But the beautiful babe part is true. That is my wife. All watches (or almost all watches - ) are Ziggified and Swiss so as always big thanks to Ziggy for making this hobby so much fun.

Happened on my 212 as well. Those domed crystals are under tremendous pressure when mounted up. If you like the one you got than buy a Davidsen glass. Then you know what you are getting and as far as I know it hasn't exploded on anyone yet.

Nope that is Rolex. But seriously if I remember correctly those "engraved" bridges have foil on them rather than engraving so it would be fairly difficult to "antique" without trashing them. JoJo- Watch looks great. Wear it well.

Beautiful piece. Wear it well. Enzo does fabulous work.

I am loving that IDF. What does IDF stand for?

lello- Many thanks for soldiering on with your efforts. My Inge has never looked better.

I had Ziggy order a gen dial a few weeks ago and am still waiting to receive it. My bet is the dial fits but you may well have to remove the feet (if there are any) and tape to the movement. That is a complete guess but usually how it works if it is going to at all. I have both versions but bought only one dial. I was just curious to see just how close the rep is to the gen in the flesh.

Actually, with the exception of the Breitlings I thought that the trend on these super reps were to copy more expensive pieces. HBB's start at $7,000 used. CD's sell for $6,000 consistently. Upcoming Big Pilot sells for $10,000. Breitlings are the ones I never understood. They just happen to be very popular and people want to spend $300-400 not $1,500-$2,000.

Assuming you can find the gen dial, adjust the hands and have the ability to form a one-off movement spacer.

I asked about the dial because I have one I am about to install and it looks way too shiny sitting on its own. Under your crystal it looks much better. I may still have Ziggy apply the matte lacquer as it seems to make the recessed sub-dials seem more pronounced which is closer to the gen. I did it on the original and my Panda and it was an improvement. I agree with your decision to keep the Lello. It looks like a second generation of his. I actually prefer the 2.0 Palp when you can get them or the Homer but no way should you monkey around any further with that CG.

Unless you bought the limited edition MBW and are buying it as a spare (since AP doesn't repair them either - they just swap in a new one) you aren't missing much. If you did buy the MBW my condolences as that could turn out to be priceless if the MBW ever breaks.