Watchmeister

He means genuine crown guard. R- Beautiful watch. Between the Ar coat, the datewheel and new dial I can only imagine how long this one tool. Well worth it though. Wear it well and proud. I am probably six weeks behind awaiting the crystal from Chieftang's run. I was curious - did you throw on a coat of flat lacquer on the dial? Looking at my dial it looks much shinier and incorrect. Oh yeah, I am the witness.

I am familiar with "Car Envy". A number of years ago I used to have a weekend tennis game with the head of the Vintage Car department at Sothebys. He was 70 years old back then and an incredible tennis player. In any case, becaouse he lived only a couple of miles down the road he would bring out a different car every weekend. In one tennis season he drove over something approximating $10 million worth of cars (and that was twelve years ago). I only know this because I got curious and started writing down whatever the car was he brought over that weekend. He always enjoyed explaining the provenance as older gentlemen do. Of course I couldn't resist and would check the historical auction records for those type of cars. And no, I never got to drive one. Hey V- Glad to hear you are hanging in St. Barts. It is one of my favorite places in the world. I manage to spend 3-4 weeks a year there. Haven't tried the Smart car though. Kids trash that concept.

I don't know the TAG's but there are at least 2 factories making the high beat 7750's.

I do hope other people step up. It is of voluntary but if you spend time here or RWG is what introduced you to the dealers RWG has given you countless hours of enjoyment and most likely saved you quite a bit of money. This may well not be true for all but it is certainly true for hundreds here. And we don't have hundreds of donations. Do the right thing. If you can afford a rep you can afford a donation.

Obviously, credit belongs where credit is due. The only credit I deserve is never accepting a no answer from Rob. He is too thoughtful to want to chance ruining someone else's watch. My approach is "that is why I bought a rep". Ziggy's talents speak for themselves - a true watch smith with an artists soul. And I could not think of a better partner for experimentation. To his credit we have never had to junk one. Or maybe we have but I just don't remember. I knew never to worry when after months of begging I finally convinced Ziggy to do the full mods on an MBW. He had always been happy to do all the movement work he has been doing since childhood but to the best of my knowledge had stayed away from MBW type work on reps. In fairness I knew there wasn't much risk as I had seen the fabulous vintage work he has done for other older members of the forum. Having never touched an MBW he then proceeded to do "the full package" (everyone remember that one) in half the time and at half the price of anyone else. By the way the CD sits on my wrist as I type this and I will testify it glows better and more evenly than the gen. Yes, I ran to the AD as soon as I got it back. I can live with that. Seriously, it makes the watch. So kudos to Rob. For me half the fun is dreaming up wacky projects and challenging Rob to do it. The watches I am most proud of are the ones that are unique in one way or another and Rob makes them that way. Whether it is the first Ziggified MBW, the fully lumed and transplanted CD, the last swiss transplanted Mellow Yellow or all of the many mods on the Davidsen vintage or original Honpo 2893's and Daylights All of his work is what makes them my most treasured watches. I must confess that I have bought more than one watch just to see what Rob can do with it,

Actually I am luckier. I have been wearing mine since it arrived this morning.

In the U.S. most of my friends are waiting for V.2 and the ability to utilize the faster AT&T network. I did have the opportunity to try one and the internet is so slow that you won't use it. The other problem is that it is not being allowed on many corporate networks so the primary buyers are going to be technophiles, rich housewives and rich teenagers.

I often do add gen parts but only to get it up to Frankenwatch status which in my mind is just a better version unless you are using a gen case and a gen movement. Usually at that price you are better off getting the gen. The notable exceptions would be the Rolex vintages and Daytonas (a la Ubi).

Well, I will start then. I never think of it as a new watch. Perhaps a better version of the original rep. There are a number of watches where if you do a fair amount of modding you have significantly enhanced it. Any watch that I think is well built and I like the design gets a movement transplant if the original movement is not Swiss and it is possible to find a Swiss replacement. It is not a new watch but then IMHO I now have a watch which should last for years.

I know she is showing both the 2007 CD and the Slevin. Which one?

Actually I am not convinced that the Big Bang popularity in the gens will continue. The tell tale signs are observing how quickly second hand watches decline in price versus buying new from the AD. It looks to me like they are already starting to trade at 60-70% of new price. That is consistent with more mature models. PAM's until recently were doing better than that although we are seeing the handwind and basic automatic gens coming down in price in the second hand market. What PAM is the master at and other folks, including Hublot with the HBB are following their lead, is making every model exclusive (i.e. in small numbers) with relatively little difference from one series to another. On the rep side IMHO it is too early to tell whether the HBB becomes a stable item with growth potential or it just fades away. So far Hublot has only one blockbuster seller in the HBB. There are many variants. I do own one of the reps (1 of 2 in existence with a transplanted Swiss movement I might add - ) but have no urge to pick up another. This was not true for me as regards most other brands. It is unique - but perhaps a little too unique.

I am with Ubi on this one. The rep industry has made great strides in terms of expanding their offerings. It used to be only Rolex and the occasional Omega. Then cam PAM and a few others. And now folks are readily buying gens and trying to achieve one to one. I am loving that you can pick up a new model like the Cousteau CD at the same time that the classic MBW vintage rolexes are widely available. It is a great time for rep collectors. Yes there are more pitfalls with increasing prices and a few real dogs out there. But if someone had told me that a maker would buy an HBB and dissect every part to recreate the aesthetics (QC issues and all) I would have said no way.

I have had the benefit of staring at both the gen and the rep on the 3717 and I have to agree that is is one of the best reps out of the box currently. By the way, on the AR it is going to vary dramatically from maker to maker and model to model. In general Breitling has some of the best Ar coating of any gen manufacturer. Their coating is far better than the IWC. And I have to say that the Chieftang double AR coat is better than 99% of gens. So, whether drunk or sober enjoy that 3717. And if the second hand bugs you buy the high beat version. I could not discern a major difference.

I am definitely "wing-man" on that caper.

I have to go with Ubi for his eclectic yet all sterling pieces.

IMHO the lume on the gen is better than people are giving IWC credit for. I went and played with it for quite a while at the AD before deciding to add gloss and the gen glowed pretty closely to Ziggy relume. By the way I have no idea whether it is scientifically true but my empirical observation is that lume glows the brightest after being exposed to natural sunlight as opposed to indoor lights.

How could you let your mother do that. Send your mother in with a fully modded MBW and they will be kissing her feet. At least they kissed mine and they ain't pretty.

Was there ever a doubt? Anticipation is mounting for its arrival. But while I am waiting I have the satisfaction of staring at my Swiss Mellow Yellow - a first and a last.

Hey V- Why wouldn't you walk into the Worth Avenue Tourneau with Reps on? I do all the time. And they ooh and aah.

Now I get it. Well, at least show some pictures before you are blasted.

Panerai parts are absolutely catch as catch can. Even Michael at Adam-co has far less ability to get stuff.

And we know those 03 dials and hands are gone.

S- I just underwent the exact same debate. Ten days on the beach and I always bring only two (rep or gen) on vacation - one for day and one for night. I went with PAM 063 GMT on OEM strap for evening wear and Chrono Avenger for beach time. Mine is waterproof (so far). Both are heavily modded with plenty of gen parts so that when I went into all the fabulous watch shops at the beach resorts I had no worries. I even took off that PAM to try on the Big Pilot and I have never seen a salesperson grab my watch so fast. Lots of oohs and aahs. Just smiled back. I keep forgetting to upload my pics but will do so when I get a chance.

Well I certainly do not love the prices. But I would differentiate it from Best Swiss. Best Swiss is selling something which is readily available elsewhere for better prices or better quality for similar prices. The fact is that if you want a rep HBB there is only one source at present. Monopoly pricing is what it is. At least by referring to this forum you know what the pros and cons are and can make an informed decision. If you want to own this now you have to buy from a dealer who is in turn buying from only one source. If these things sell well perhaps other manufacturers will step in. I think back to the original 7753 196's (far better watches of course). It started out with one factory and then another stepped in. Perhaps a better analogy is the $800 Honpo 187 which ultimately led to a $250 version with better movement but lousy aesthetics.

Everybody can gripe all they want to. But reality is that they will either sell enough at the current price or prices will ultimately fall to the level where dealers can clean out inventory. At some point dealer liquidity dries out if they have a number of models that don't sell well. Perhaps this is one. Or perhaps you don't care.