jake48

I didn't know the Grinch posts to RWI under the name Polynomial lol

gvln, You should listen to your Dutch friend. Airing out your disappointment about Davidsen before he even had a chance to respond to you may be your "right" as you put it, but it doesn't mean you have good taste, in fact, handling it the way you did demonstrates a lack of proper manners no matter what country you are from.

I love these comparison threads (BTW - thanks Mikellem) and I usually don''t read them for humour, but come on! With a review of one watch we get a bunch of comments about how we have been "Deceived", the watch is full of "Flaws" real C3 wasn't used and we should "Wait for V2" As much as we all love the QC pics sent to us from the suppliers, really? Do you really think there is a factory with a quality control division keeping an eye on things. These watches are put together in a room that is dimly lit by the soft glow of a '70s style TV while the guy doing it is puffing on a clove ciggy with a bowl of noodles on his "Work bench ". Do you really think you can draw all these conclusions based on one watch? I ordered the noob 243L before the CNY and I am with unregistered on this one. Mine came with an awesome clear single sided AR'd crystal and the lume was as good as unregistered showed in his post compared to a gen with C3. I have watches AR'd by Chief and lumed by The Zigmeister to compare it to and I was stoked on how good the watch looked. As far as the lume goes I can't tell you what they used, but as per my usual routine I set my watch on the nightstand with my other watches (About six or or so other Gens or Reps re-lumed with C-3) and sure enough, when I woke in the morning, before I turned on the light, that 243l looked as bright as the rest, if not brighter as it is new. I was definitely happy with the discharge rate. If it wasn't C3 , could someone tell me what it is becuase I am going to request it be used on my next re- lume! What impressed me most was the quality of the fit, feel & finish all the way around. This is something that will never translate in pictures that are posted to the Web and viewed on a computer screen no matter how good the pictures are. Before we get all up in arms from one watch that was reviewed and claim we were "Deceived" and need a version 2, wouldn't it be prudent to remind ourselves these are Reps, not $8,000.00 Gens and there might, just might, be a few bad ones that make it through "QC"? Right now, from the people who actually own the watch, the count is one thumbs down and two thumbs up. Not so sure we need a V2, you just need a little luck. And after all, isn't that life when buying a Rep? I love my 243L and can't believe how far we have come in this little hobby of ours collecting "Fake" watches

So I was cruising through the link to the Paneristi member who is selling all those gorgeous Panerais when my wife walked by and said "Wow - I really like that strap on that watch. You should get one like that for your new watch" Being that is something I never here my wife say, I am thinking I should honor her request Anyway, I have know idea who makes the strap so I thought I would throw the picture up here so the experts can help me make my wife happy I would like to find the exact strap, but it is the red /beige color that she really liked so any strap maker who makes a strap with the same type of leather and color would probably do. Thanks in advance. Here it is: The host the guy uses for his pics had the bandwidth destroyed. If he fixes it, it is well worth the time to admire all these watches: http://www.network54...8paul+thorpe%29

OK - cool find! Makes me a believer! Glad I didn't take a file to my "Ceramic" bezel... Hahahahahaha Sorry I am such a pessimist, but in the Rep world it has served me well. Of the several hundred deals I have done with sellers, I can say I have really only been burned once. Bound to happen, but being a doubting Thomas has it's benefits - and curses too! Oh yeah, as far as crystal removal goes, if it is for a rollie, PM Bk, he wil help you. If it is for anything else you can PM Chieftang or Vac, both have removed a few... For me, I have found that most crystals are removed the easiest by removing the movement and applying equal pressure with both thumbs to the back side of the crystal through the open case over a soft cloth to catch the crystal. Most will pop out real easy. If it isn't coming out that easy, don't keep pressing harder! You can shatter the crystal for sure if it is stuck or tilted sideways a little and binding. I have had some luck starting the removal by using a very thin case knife or a box cutter type blade and wedging it ever so slightly between the case and crystal, going back and fourth 180 degrees apart and lightly lifting the crystal from the case, then using my thumbs to finish pressing the crystal out once it is loosened. Good luck...

All that glitters isn't gold my friend... When the first run of new (And several of the subsequent updated runs) case 50th Rolex "Ceramic" GMT II's first came out all of the "Ceramic" bezels were just coated aluminum. They didn't crack, but they sure did scratch real easy. Like I said, truthfully, I don't really trust a one of the rep dealers - when the first "Ceramic" insert Roliies first came out and the Rep dealers were questioned as to the authenticity of their alleged "Ceramic" inserts, they all said - "I think so, but I am not sure" In the Rep world I have found that this usually translates into "Probably not" I have not been keeping track for a while and I have not done a search, but I find it interesting that when I asked if anyone cracked one of these "Ceramic" bezels in half to see what it is really made of (First hand experience)- so far all the posts have been from people posting "I know of" or 'I heard of" - no first hand experiences. Certainly I do not know for sure and given the speed at which things develop in the Rep world I have every reason to believe they could be ceramic, I still go with the "Seeing is believing" principal...

Good to know. As I said, I have not removed one of the DSSD "Cermaic" bezels. All of the "Ceramic" Rep bezels I have removed in the past have been coated aluminum. I would be curious to know if any of the bezels are really ceramic, as the Rep manufactures are sure creative when it comes to making their copies. Has someone actually broke one in half to see what the bezel is made of? If it is truly ceramic I would use sandpaper (or emery cloth) like Lani said and not a file, that's for sure. I file will crack ceramic no doubt.

AHHHH... double post - sorry...

Oh man... My first quest for the "Perfect" piece was a TT Submariner (Yes I succeeded) My second quest for the "Perfect" piece was a 111H! You would not believe how much money I put into that thing (The Zigmeister lume/cannon pin fix, Jimmy Fu crown guard, Palp crown, Davidsen dial, Mario Paci PAV strap) and it is still one mod short (Dagger regulator not needle) - I gave up and gave it to my daughter... Anyways, despite it all, it sure has been a blast and it beats putting dollars down a girls.... well you know what I mean Ha! Knew that would be coming! I have not removed the insert yet, but aside from WM9, I have yet to find a Rep Rolex insert that wasn't affixed with double sided tape. In Lani's comparison thread he mentioned replacing the insert in his Noob DSSD. He felt he replacement insert sat a little high and mentioned he was going to use sand paper to take it down a little. I use a very fine file to do mine. I can tell you for sure that you should resist the urge to speed the process up with a dremel - it almost allows ends up in disaster as these bezel inserts are just coated soft aluminum. I get my parts from one of the "Cartel" guys and most often for free. I guess it is the benefit of spending lots of $$$$$ and referring lots of customers over the years...

Mike - Your are all right in my book. I enjoy passionate spirited debates, but I enjoy a gracious man who realizes that this is all just for fun even more. You Sir, are some one I am sure I could share a beer with as you are both passionate and gracious. Thank you for the complement on the pearl. It actually turned out much better than the picture shows, but... You guys got me looking really close and truthfully, I didn't take note of the "Flat top" triangle marker that comes on Trevors' watch until I received it. I have a source who can get me the latest replacement bezel insert and I have been thinking... The curse of trying to make it "Perfect" can be a bummer at times. Maybe I should just let it go... I will try and get some Gen vs Rep pictures up, but truthfully parga did a great job in his thread. Thanks for being so gracious Mike.

I was hoping it was due to the extra platinum or white gold LOL...

Heres' a couple of quick shots. I tried to capture how the modded pearl looks. I will try and get some side by sides with my friends Gen up later. You can definitely tell it has the "Bright" SS...

Got the watch today. Checked with three of my Rep collecting buddies and all three of them got rid of their Noob DSSD's. One of my friends has a Gen DSSD and I thought it would good to post a few pictures of the two side by side, but it got late so we had to schedule a meet in a few days. Don't worry though, HERE is a great review that just went up and I think this is one of Trevor's watches. Sure does look exactly like mine. Parga did a great job of highlighting the differences between the two watches and I concur with what he wrote. It really is just a few minor things that make the watch less than 100%, but it is dang close. I too noticed that the hour marker rings, as they are SS and not white gold, do not quite have the shine of the Gen. Additionally, for me, I noticed the polish on the edge of the Gen bezel has that little extra shine that you just can't seem to get 100% with a Rep. Some one in parga's thread mentioned the bezel insert hight in relation to the bezel (Rep insert sits a little too high). On mine it really is not that much different than the Gen. If it were any higher I would just pop out the bezel insert and shave it a little to lower it. I have done this to many of Rolex Reps, it's real easy, but this one would not be worth the effort as it is so close. It would take a 10x loupe to see it, or running your finger nail across the insert to the outside edge of the bezel to feel it. Not really much of a deal, especially when you compare the pearl to the Gen - and none of the watches have this right. Trevor's pearl is a little flat, but I used an old trick to fix that already. Hold the watch upside down and with a 10x loupe and a steady hand, lightly touch the brush from a clear lacquer finger nail polish bottle to the pearl. Keep the watch upside down for a few minutes to allow the lacquer finger nail polish to dry and you will end up with a very nice domed clear coat over the pearl. the more layers you add, the more domed you can make the pearl. Mine took one application. This simple mod makes the pearl really close to the Gen look and if it ever gets damaged, it is real easy to redo. Make sure you use LACQUER polish not acrylic as lacquer is much harder and when it dries you can even polish it a little to give it that extra shine. As far as the rest of the watch, it is a "Good one" Trevor delivered as promised, the watch has the latest and greatest upgrades and certainly has the "Bright" SS. The date is centered perfect in the date window on all dates and the only real issue I saw was some minor scuffing and light scratching on the left side of the case. The scratches polished out easy enough and it wasn't that big of a deal. I guess I am just used to always finding something wrong with a new Rep watch as it seems to go hand in hand in the Rep world - there's always something.... Overall, Trevor deliver as promised. The transaction was straight forward, he answered his emails promptly and I got exactly what I had asked for. Given that Trevor has one of the better prices for a DSSD with all the latest and greatest upgrades, I feel you can't go wrong with ordering from him if you are in the market for a DSSD and I am very pleased. I am sorry I didn't get the pictures up today, but I will post a few before the end of next week for sure.

Ah - Good eyes mj - didn't see that. Glad to know BK's watch is is sourced from the same place as Lani's. One step closer to figuring it out. Lots of words, but I am still not sure what your point is. Earlier you said "The Trevor's is brighter than BK's" argument is a myth, and unless someone can show me a comparison of Trevor's watch and BK's watch, which shows Trevor's is, in fact, brighter, I don't believe it." I am not sure how you came to that conclusion since no one knows for sure and even BK agrees it could be true. Not to mention that I do read what your write... and I am still wondering why, after earlier in this thread having been admonished about coming on a thread that is about Trevor's watch, questioning his quality and providing directions to BK's site, you don't understand that it is just plain bad thread etiquette to come on a thread about one dealers watch, question it and make statements inferring that anyone considering the watch should go to another dealer. May I suggest you make your comments HERE in your BK ROCKS! thread. It is obvious you don't read your own thread. Notice no one is going on your thread and saying you should really consider Trevor's watch....

Yeah, Lani's review is a good one HERE, but unless we know whether or not Lani's DSSD in that comparison shares the same serail number as BK's watch, it really doesn't prove anything. No one said Trevor's watch is the only watch with the bright stainless steel, but that we know for sure Plaifenders' watch (trevor's version) has bright stainless steel and we know for sure that the serial number in Plaifender's watch is different than the one in BK's watch. When I emailed BK and asked him about the steel in his watch and if he knew if it was the brighter 316F stainless steel, in typical Bk style, he was a straight shooter. He said all he could tell me is that the steel is the same on all latest noob DSSDs. He went on to say if Trevor's is not a noob DSSD, the steel can of course be different/brighter on Trevor's watch. So right now the only thing we know for sure is Trevor's watch, serial number M660304 has been verified to have the bright SS. We also know BK's serial number is M646829. Obviously two different watch sources. We do not know the serial number of the watch in Lani's comparison, so we do not know if BK's watch is the same source as Lani's so we would only be guessing if we tried to say BK's watch is the same bright stainless steel as the one in Lanis comparison. Could BK's watch be as bright as Trevor's - sure it could, but still that would only be a guess, even BK himself has said as much. Could all three, BK's, Lani's and Trevor's have the same bright SS - sure they could, but that would still be guessing... For me, I go with the strongest known and that is Trevor's watch. If I knew for sure BK's watch had the bright stainless steel like Trevor's, even for the extra $140.00, I would take BK's all day long, but we don't. Anyone saying they know for sure is just guessing at this point. And that is how "Myths" are started. I look forward to trying to figure it out and I hope BK's watch has the bright SS - guess we will have to wait and see... Also, good news, checked USPS tracking and Trevor's watch has cleared Customs. Should have it tomorrow. I will check with some of the guys in my area and see if anyone has a BK DSSD or a DSSD that shares BK's serial number. Hope I can find one to compare