Watchmeister

Great to hear. And actually not so surprising. NYC never ceases to amaze me. It is a very different place. Frankly, with the exception of a few remaining dark corners it is safer than almost every other City in the U.S. and most suburbs. It is a very different place. The neighborhood where I had my first walk-up apartment directly above a bordello is now the same one where there are cops on every street corner and the houses sell for millions of dollars. Some days the whole town feels too Disneyesque. Congrats on the bike. I will look for you riding around. There aren't very many GT's floating around the City.

No, but cheesy reps do.

I am not sure what else there would be. Strap is certainly common. You wouldn't bother with hands or datewheel as they wouldn't fit the Asian movement. Crown would likely require a custom stem as I would doubt the stem is the same size on the two movements so you would likely require a stem tapered down on one side. The other possibility is crystal but I don't know of anyone who has tried it.

I think that is a good point. Even with stepped up vigilance they can't shut down everyone. But the the bigger more advanced factories (and potentiially dealers) are probably easier prey. They can't just pack up and move on.

Gen dial fits in fine into the rep.

One might guess that as the factories have to go further underground they will be more selective in their distribution so that just puts the burden on us to do our dealer due diligence. make sure your dealer already has, or can really access, what you are looking for.

Our hobby may be under siege but never underestimate capitalism. There is too much "gold in them thar hills". I hope it is not the case but it may just be that this business (dealers, factories) has gotten to big to hide itself in which case it will have to evolve. But with billions on the line reps ain't going anywhere. But yeah, in the short to intermediate term we all should be ordering with caution.The other side of this is that the gen manufacturers are getting much tougher on distribution of their parts so hold onto your frankens. You may not be able to replace them.

I haven't seen a Noob but did try one of the EL's years ago. Wearing it on my left wrist I found the huge CG on the wrong side was uncomfortable. By the way, Pete, that is a gorgeous strap.

That would look very cool on black shark. Can't wait to see the pics.

I didn't know the Ploprof is that good. Is this the same V2 from years ago or is there new one? Did they really get the orange right on the button or elsewhere on the watch? It is the most counter intuitive wind and set watch I have ever encountered so it never gets wrist time on my end.

If you are going for one piece and accuracy the Diver V3 will be the best. It uses a standard automatic movement and so it won't have any of the chrono module issues of the standard Offshore. But you have to decide whether you are an HEV valve guy.

I haven't looked at the reps but on the bigger Survivor and T3 it makes sense. AP is of course using the same pinions as it is the same movement dbut uses a more substantial hand including the size of the hand tube as they are bigger watches than the standard Offshore chrono. In truth, other than in the boutique I don't see either of those watches in the real world. The various standard pieces I see fairly frequently. Just last week I saw my first Vegas in the wild.

Thanks for the review. if it wears comfortably and the only gripe is the stitching (since no two look alike in color once they have been on the wrist for a couple of days) than it sounds like a good addition. I have never been fanatical on the closeness to gen on straps since even Panerai can't make (or subcontract) two batches of light colored straps which are the same. Over the years I have bought the same gen strap 2-3 times when they discolor and I found there is no consistency between color, stitching, etc. It ain't like the Hirsch days when they had one consistent supplier.

Very nicely done. Some day I will learn how to properly shoot a picture. Actually, probably not. Been trying and buying fancy cameras since my first Nikon F3. Pics still suck.

Is that the only thing she take pics of? Seriously, what a stunner.

The oversized hand tubes cannot be remedied without a different movement or at least canon pinion. The size of the hole on the hand tube for a 7750 is larger than the entire tube on the gen hands. And yes, when I lok at someone's wrist that is the first tell I look for.

I haven't looked lately but the last one I saw was coming from DSN.

Gorgeous dial. Can't wait to see the final project.

I am with TX. If you have screws on the markers than I would leave it alone. Does Panerai really use screws on the gen? The earlier subs including the 187 had pressure fit markers rather than screws.

I think you have it covered. Out of curiousity why would you go with one of the few watches where PVD is used in lieu of Carbon and will throw the balance/weight off. Your watch will weigh twice what it should and the case finish won't be correct. If you like PVD why don't you go with one of the watches where the case should be PVD (End of Days, Las Vegas, etc.).

Good point, if the parts are ever going to start flowing again it certainly will be September. I know AP's Le Brasus facility is closed for 3 weeks every year and I assume the other European watch companies follow suit.

You better be a baller to be swinging that latest puppy. That is what I call a high risk piece.....you are either going to get laid or laughed at. Let's go with laid.

It is a beautiful watch but isn't this a Chronopassion? Which part is stainless?

Very nice piece. I know Chief put that piece together with a lot of love and now it is at a new level. Wear it well.

It seems the industry has outgrown its proper role in society. At a minimum it is no longer business as usual as it has been over the last couple of years. Guess it was getting too easy. It is one thing when you have a 50 women in a random basement assembling watches. Very easy to move that " factory". When the factory becomes more of a real high volume factory it is a lot tougher to close up and open elsewhere. As someone who has observed the rep industry for 10 years + the one thing I do know is that it doesn't disappear. It just adapts. So whether we will now go back to "Vietnamese" or "Malaysian" bests the industry will carry on. Heck a majority of our dealers don't even live in China. They are smarter than that. Factories come and go. And the current factories were wielding too much power and making too much money. A smart dealer just moves the card game. From a buyer perspective it is feeling like the old days. Buy very carefully and from trusted dealers.