sydneysider

Hey guys, thanks for the kind replies, regarding pricing, I can just say it really varies. some items are much cheaper than what we pay on the board, yet again the same guy giving me a cheaper price just would NOT budge down below 320 euros for instance for the royal oak offshore. no discussion whatsoever! (thus, i am better off buying it from josh, etc. if i take the euro/dollar rate into consideration.) regarding the two tones, the turn o graphs were quite good ( again, just not my thing, so i dont judge them the same way), while a simple two tone datejust mens size with a champagne dial and non fluted bezel totally amazed me. I bought my girlfriend the watch as a gen, and she was wearing it the next day we went to the market, there just was no difference in colour, weight, etc. truly worth it! good thing is, the guy had tubs of water where he would dump the watches inside to prove to me they were waterproof. and whenever i have a problem, i can return the watches regardless of how long it takes for my next trip back to beijing. if any more questions i would be glad to answer. p.s Yes, I came back quite broke!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi guys, just came back from a trip in China, mostly Beijing and Shanghai, saw alot and thought i would share here: So, Beijing is paradise for high end stuff, I found that walking in the markets and flashing a high end rep (in this case my Pam 183) instantly gets you access to the high end filled boxes. A day before, even wearing a genuine Rolex, they were highly reluctant to showing the better stuff and always came with cheap asian crap stating "no better in all of market, yadi-ya...." Well, found a dealer that had really good quality and selection, went to a shady apartement behind the market place and behold: WATCH REP PARADISE! it was ALL there, HBB, the new Royal Oak, every rolex, etc. over around 1000 pieces (no, i am NOT kidding!!) all in presentation glass stands. I am VERY picky with my reps, as I have a number of genuines, no bragging here, but if i do choose to wear a rep rather than my gens, then i want it to be convincing and not scream FAKE!so i went about sifting through the watches: Alot of watches look good in pics, but crap in person, while then again I am sometimes amazed by others that did not seem all too appealing on our dealers´ websites. so, here just my 2 cents on what i found: ( i had a look at the gens before and afterwards, so i got a feel for them) 1. Hublot BB: Amazing!!the quality and feel of this watch is to me probably the best workmanship in the rep world. OK, so its got the rotor issues, but the steel bezel version is a beauty!!!! The rose gold i felt to be not as nice, but probably personal judgement as no big gold fan. The watch feels like a million bucks. I didnt actually like the BB, but it is stunning! The dealers prices were fair, but on this, there was no discussion: around 350 bucks. 2. IWC: Ingenieurs are amazing too, feel and finish perfect, heavy, yes, but beautifully made. I dont personally like the chrono, but its just as nicely done as the 3 hand model. the Jones´ are crap! they are too light and the dial in my opinion screams fake. The Potugieser is my favorite, I just had to get it, although the dials varied quite alot, as some were too yellowish, but i picked from around 25 pieces, so i found the best ones and took 1 in blue hands only and 1 in blue/gold which i think is a bit better. The watches are AMAZING, a friend of mine has the gen and is [censored] off now that i showed him, as he spent more than 10 times as much! 3. Rolex: The new datejusts are getting better. The jubilee´s are crisper and more solid, the colouration is better too. I have a gen new one, however of the production before the current ones, and the feel and colour is spot on. The rose gold and two tones are VERY good, while the Daydates are still pretty crap, the feel (weight!) and finish just does not seem believable enough for me, then again whenever i see and handle gens, I am also somewhat dissapointed! Vintage stuff was pretty crap, red subs totally off and seadweller with wrong bezels and raised plexiglass, horrendous. One tiffany and co vintage explorer was pretty good, which i ended up buying. Vintage valjoux daytonas crap, feel and spacing terrible. Asian valjoux daytonas are OK, but not too great, subdial colouration not good enough, compared it with my gen daytona and didnt do it for me. The daytonas on leather were absolutely HIDEOUS!!subdials were off as hell and too silvery, simply to stay away from, this was dissapointing to me, as i had always contemplated buying one for a while. The only daytona worth it to me was the White gold daytona, however there are quality 3 versions, of which the one with the black numerals and correct subdial spacing is GREAT! The only massive flaw ,apart from incorrect stampings and weight naturally, is the silver hands as opposed to black on the gens. love the watch and bought it with the silver dial , the only one he had ( had hundreds of the other valjoux versions). A day later i wanted the same one again and it could not be found on 3 markets i looked! 4. Omega: I am absolutely not a fan of omega, never wanted one and still dont, but the seamaster chrono and the PO´s are really good. the chrono is actually quite stunning. The seamaster GMT is perhaps the closest to gen you can get. Was really close to buying one as it looked so darn real, but then i kept myself from buying an omega, as just not my thing really. 5. AP offshore: i have wanted one of these for ages, and was close to buying a gen in titanium i found in London for a price that was so good, it was probably stolen! I ended up not doung it. Well, the rep ( asian valjoux) is alright, but i stayed away. The subdial issue and the non existent cyclops was too much of a giveaway. The watch is however nicely finished and very heavy, but as i guess many others feel too, i am waiting for the seconds issue to be resolved. Ionly got to see the blue dial version, but it was nicer than it looks on pics. 6. Pams: the usual, 183, 111, etc were all very good but ranged from good to excellent, as cannon pinions and swannecks and reflective coating was so mixed, there seemed no system in what the dealer had, some had this and not that and vice versa. All of them were pretty much exactly as they look on the pics, except for th luminor 1950 flyback, which I found to be quite a lot worse in person, yet again a disappointment, as i actualy had my heart set on one. 7. Asian auto, handwind, etc.: too much to list up, lots of good looking reps, be it fantasy or real, too much to sift through, i concentrated on eta quality, but there is enough to do on my next trip, let me tell you!!!! well, those were some of my impressions, just thought i would share it with you all, as I was lucky to see pretty much all of the dealers´offerings on one spot, it is seldom that one gets to do that, and seeing watches in person is quite a different game. These are all my personal opinions and i do not mean to talk anything down, just what i found, so I hope no one takes offence at me putting down a watch they might personally like! Its all a matter of taste and being anal about certain things!! I have of course not seen every version of these watches, although I belive to have seen most, as the dealer had pretty much every version and quality we can arrange through our board here. He did however not have any rosegold full versions, the only gold i would have bought! Shanghai: only visited 1 market, and the quality was crap, really disappointing, mediocre valjoux at too high prices, although i did find a dealer that had amazing tudor reps, subs, princes, especially the tiny ladies size was quite amazing, but by then i had too many watches already! So, i cannot get my eyes off my freshly filled new watch presentation box, brings a smile to my face each morning!!!will get some pics up soon! Happy hunting to us all! Cheers, Robbie

yes....sadly, it was me. i am now writing from the SKÄLDEFRÖ prison in the outskirts of Oslo. They are treating me alright, but the food really sucks!whats up with all this SMÖRREBRÖ? dont they ever eat anything warm in this country? The chapstick was an old family heirloom, passed on from one generation to the next! That f$(&/(ing bastard!!!!!! no, thanks alot again!

advice still appreciated!

hi, maybe you/they/we/us/he/it/that should take the time to use the SEARCH function and maybe look through the DEALERS section, as we all have had to do in the past. We/they/it/them/us/that also have a REQUEST section on the board where such questions could be posted! MBW has the best, but Paul and others also carry the milgauss models by the way. Please use the SEARCH function if u r not familiar with mbw. cheers Robbie

Hi guys, will be flying to china in two weeks and plan to stock up on a few things, mainly watches. I have to return to Germany, and customs is a pain in the ass at the moment, German efficiency really gets on my nerves sometimes!!! Does anyone have any advice on how to ship a few watches form China to Germany? Should i send separately or in a bundle, etc? I plan to buy quite a few, around 20 or so. Any advice, even from you dealers on the board, would be greatly appreciated! cheers, Robbie

Hi guys, Thanks to all who helped me in finding an old friend, it was indeed the right telephone number and I have caught up with someone i hadnt seen or heard form in 12 years! Love this Forum, all the best Robbie

you have answered your own question We do indeed have a flaw here! They all have the same problem, I have tried finding ones without the lacque stamp, no chance! cheers Robbie

Hi, I hope there are some Norwegian members here that might give me some advice on how to get hold of the address of an old friend who lives in Oslo. His name is Isaak Ladegard, we went to school together in Africa and I think he is now a cook in one of the top 5 restaurants there. Sounds like a REALLY strange thing to ask, but the world is sooo small, maybe someone can help! All the best, Robbie

thank you very much for all the input, I have decided to gather some more info before i buy one, you are right, one should buy for what ones likes and not for investment! Will kep you updated, but the current offer i had was gone this morning!

ok, but what is the price say for a 5513 in redialed, etc vs a good condition all original piece?

the problem is i cant walk into the guys shop and start taking pictures. how variable is the price according to different factors? say later original dial vs original dial, etc? is 2950 EURO a high price for a 5513? I have researched and have not found a 1964 model, the later models with white gold indices seem to be going for more and an older model should fetch even more? does the new band affect value?

yes, i have seen the watch myself. The dealer, whom i trust, states dial is original, may have been replaced at Rolex during a servicing,but it is from Rolex. Watch is from the original first owner but he did not find papers and box (hey, the watch is from 1964!!) I have checked the case, says 5513, as i said the bezel is slightly nicely faded, not grey yet but on the way there, some scratches to the bezel but nothing huge, it looks like a vintage piece is supposed to. The other dial would be original too, does this make a difference?both dials look great but i guess the original is better? how could i check for authenticity of the dial? I have heard these models are getting extremely rare and i thought i might get it and hope for increase in value. Am not looking to have it become a daily beater, have enough others for that:) is the price ok? p.s no service records supplied.

Hi guys, Have found a Rolex Submariner 5513 at one of my local watch dealers who has a good reputation, he is selling a 5513 1964 model,, curved glass, with a replacement non fliplock oyster band, sorry couldnt take pics, dial seems alright albeit relatively white and not too gilt, crown may have been replaced along the way, all services at Rolex, price asked is 2950 EUROS. he offered to install a more gilt dial (original with matching hands) if i wanted. what do the experts think? ( I know its hard with no pics, but help me out if u can!) If I should go for it, wat dial would be better? cheers, Robbie

thanks guys, i was really lucky i guess! hope i dont have to pull that story again any time soon!

ok, went to customs and they were really nice about the whole thing, i told them i bought the watch in australia and a friend of mine took it to the US to have it repaired as his dad was a watchmaker. my passport proved the story to a certain extent, then off i went! The lady took a very close look at it, said : "Well, its definetely real" and let me go with it. thank you all for the advice, I will EVER have anyone use EMS, as yes, thats what it was sent with! all the best, Robbie

thanks guys, will give it a try at customs and let u know how things went!

the watch was, naturally, not repaired, the comment on the package was merely meant to make custom problems easier. any ideas to get out of this one?

hi guys, am in a bit of a problem, a watch ( breitling navi 7750) from the US and declared as a repair was sent to me in Germany..... Now i get a slip from customs telling me to bring in a warranty, ebay bill or dealers bill. what should i do? any help appreciated, auch von euch die dieses Problem schon hatten!!! cheers, Robbie

Hi guys, need someone who coulod help me mod my MBW red sub in germany, does anyone have an idea? thanks in advance, Robbie

Does anyone know where one could get hands for a DW daytona? need the black dial hands and subdials. also, how can one get hold of kenhonpo regarding the vintage daytona´s? thanks, merry christmas to you all, Robbie

Thank you very much for the info, it is highly appreciated! Robbie

Hi guys, am in the process of becoming the owner of a DW 6263 (bicompax), now: what are the flaws?(or are there any!!!!) I would normally search for hours, but have too much work right now but am dying to know. thanks to those kind enough to reply without telling me to f&"k off and search for myself! cheers, Robbie

oh, have a solid gold jubilee on offer, the guy wants 500 euros, its fake but real gold. good deal or not?

ok, solid gold 6263, i think the size is 19 mm, not sure, can someone help me out? cheers, Robbie