DemonSlayer

I think it all boils down to what you want out of watches you own. When I first began to collect reps, it was all about variety. I thought it was cool to own loads of reps of expensive brand watches and then wear them to make everyone else think how rich I am. Sad, yes, and many of us have been guilty of it and still are to this day. After giving it some thought, I personally found that loads of reps/variety just wasn't right for me. I began to appreciate the watches for what they were, and looked beyond the brand name purely. With loads of variety there was no way I could appreciate them all properly, as many of them wouldn't receive much wrist time. I also found that I was buying several reps simply because they were 'in' at the time and were new releases etc. but they weren't right for me. I admire my watches while worn on the wrist, not looking through glass or sitting on a shelf. Now I have a different outlook on watches/reps. I now buy with the intention of wearing them for many years. Not suprisingly, there are several reps out there where the quality of the fit and finish is on par with the gen, (at a fraction of the gen price) and these are the ones I go for. I keep my collection nice and compact, because I only want to buy watches that I truly like and receive ample wrist time. I'm all for collecting, and do appreciate that there are collectors who collect items simply to have in the collection, not necessarily to be used, thats just not me

Hey Teejay, I just watched the movie as well, wicked film Bale is wearing a Patek Philippe 10 Day Tourbillon (5101P): I believe the case is Platinum. Not cheap by any means Here's some links on this amazing watch: link 1 link 2

Nice review Francisco. It appears that there always seems to be problems whenever modifications are done to A7750's.

Thats a wicked collection bro Though I feel PAMS are not for me they are certainly nice watches and I can see their appeal and appreciate the history associated with them.

Hey whitestripes, yes it is now common to find ETA clones in these SMP reps. I believe that Silix's SMP contains the clone movement, its really uncommon now to find a rep that costs $200 with a real ETA movement. Another thing which gives it away about the Silix version is the datefont, it's not a true ETA datefont. However his version is apparantly very good, and so far, there haven't been any real complaints about the clone movement. Of course the true test for these movements would be to see how they are performing 3-4 years down the line, or when it's time for a service

Hi, welcome to the board! I'm from London too! I'm not a Panerai expert, the only one I've owned is the 111h (fantastic watch). I can tell you that Josh & Andrew usually have higher prices for the same watch compared to the other dealers. I'm pretty sure this Black seal you're after is the same everywhere, with no different 'versions' so it should be the same if you get it from King, or Josh or any other dealer. You can ofcourse improve it by getting it relumed, rep lume is always crap compared to the gen lume.

Fantastic review! A definite kick ass sports watch.

Contact Andrew, most of the dealers can source bracelets.

Absolutely sick watch! I love the ROO but steel would be too big for my small wrists, when the price on this comes down, its on my to-get list for the future.

UPDATE: After time and patience, and A LOT of WD-40, I managed to remove the VERY STUCK screw in my old Jubilee bracelet. It was soaked in WD-40 for 36 hours, then I removed it and tapped the screw head with a screwdriver and hammer. Then I sprayed more WD-40 and really worked it in by moving the links on the jubilee bracelet. I then waited for 4 more hours and took a screwdriver, began to turn it hard, and to my suprise it started to move I guess with this particular bracelet I got lucky as the design of the Jubilee bracelet has a lot of openings, thus giving the WD-40 a greater chance of penetrating and reaching the threads. Now, I could try the same method with my Nautilus bracelet, but I think I will need more patience with this one. It doesn't have as many openings on its bracelet as the Jubilee bracelet does, so it will be harder for the WD-40 to penetrate. First I will give acetone a go (nail polish remover), I was also thinking of purchasing a higher watt soldering iron. I am almost certain the screws have been glued (epoxied) rather than the cause of the stuck screws being corrosion. After today, I have more faith in the good old WD-40 Granted, there are far better penetrating oils out there, but luckily for me it did work on this Jubilee bracelet screw, and believe me it was solidly stuck!

From what it seems to me, there isn't much info available on the forums about the quality of copy ETA movements. I remember reading a post from The Zigmeister, where he stated that after servicing a copy ETA movement, he had trouble regulating it amongst other things. I would very much appreciate it if members here could give some insight on their experiences with these movements. Have they held well over time? Have any members got them serviced, or are thinking of getting them serviced? If it breaks down, is it fairly easy to purchase replacement parts, or a new movement entirely? Thanks

Thanks Rod, another valuable piece of information I've had this exact thing happen to me also, I've just left it and forgotten about it.

Ah that sucks man What shipping method did you choose and where are you based? It has happened to a few members here and on other boards. Its highly unlikely they know about EuroTimez's packages, I'm guessing the x-ray scan showed a watch, and they decided to open the package, thinking it was a fake as it came from Thailand. Email Chris and let him know of the situation. It really does sadden and anger me when I read about these incidents. Luckily it has never happened to me, but I can understand what the buyer must be going through.

Does anyone have any tips on how to prevent bracelet screws from getting stuck? I'm sure screws are at risk at getting stuck over the years of usage. My initial thoughts were to dip the screws in some oil or lubricant and then screw them back in, but would this potentially be increasing the chances of the screws getting stuck over time?

Very nice work The Zigmeister, you never fail to impress

I noticed this strap a few days ago, I don't know how long it has been on his site. Maybe the quality isn't as good as the one Joshua and Andrew will release?

Ah yes I know what you mean about the accents. Once you do the swap, see how you like it. If you like it how it is with the brushed case, then leave it. Polishing the case is not that difficult if you have a dremel. Just pick up some polishing paste and you should have it gleaming Alternatively, you could perhaps ask your watchsmith if they can do it, shouldn't be too difficult especially if they do restorations etc.

Nice watch bro It looks great on you, I think it will look even better on SS. This one is made for the SS

I would say grey, the soldering iron caused the screws I touched with it to go a dark grey.

I've been waiting for something like this for ages. Let's hope dealers manage to get their hands on this one pretty soon. Dammit, I was hoping this was the 42mm version

I'm waiting for another penetrating oil to be delivered, its known as 'PlusGas' and apparantly is one of the best penetrating oils available in the UK. WD40 is apparantly a joke compared to this (for penetrating anyway). Its used by many mechanics, but I'm not sure if its suitable to use on watch bracelets, but I'm going to give it a try anyway. FXrAndy, the reason why I used the soldering iron on the screw is so that it would melt any threadlock adhesives, is that the correct way to do it? Heating the links would expand the metal, but I thought that the main aim of the heat is to melt any adhesives holding the screw in. I did a bit of research on how to remove threadlock. Heat is one of the best solutions, however according to Loctite's website, the heat must be 350F for standard adhesives, thats about 177C. I thought a soldering iron did go upto this level heat, but I guess I could be wrong. Anyway I know which device you're referring to and I'm sure we have one in the garage somewhere.

Thanks again for the suggestions/tips. Unfortunately Liquid Wrench is another penetrating oil which is not available to the UK. I may be able to get it from ebay from a US seller, but the chances are slim. @Jeff: The watch was bought from a member. He had his watchmaker adjust the bracelet for him, I'm not sure if watchmakers commonly use loctite (threadlock) after adjusting bands with screws, but the member I bought it from was unaware of it if his watchsmith did indeed use it. Yes it does seem strange to me that all the screws on this bracelet are stuck like that, especially coming from MBK. I read that if threadlock had been used (or any other adhesive), heat would be the best solution. I tried a soldering iron on all of the screws, I even held it to some of them for upto a minute! but it made no difference. Does any one know if a butane torch (pencil torch) would be a better tool to use instead of a soldering iron? I think what I will do is buy all the best penetrating oils I can, and use them all on the screws. Over time, it may break whatever is bonding those screws.

I have to agree with Jeff on this one, the Nautilus is both a dress watch and a sports watch, IMO a very handsome watch. Many also think a dress watch must have a leather strap, I beg to differ

Yes, for the past 2 days I have been researching extensively on the best penetrating oils/fluids out there. It seems USA have extremely good ones, PB Blaster being one. Unfortunately in boring UK we don't have access to any of that stuff. Most of us have to make do with WD40 and most of the other penetrating oils here are on the same caliber as WD40. However, today I managed to find one available to the UK which is apparantly one of the best. I'll purchase it and try it out and then report my findings. There may be hope for us UK folks.

Emuozz makes some very good points. A dealer has verified with me that their $200 DJ and DD do in fact contain asian eta clones. If it is indeed true that dealers are charging $300 for the ETA versions, then the TW Best seems like a good deal. I have never handled a TW Best DJ or DD before, but several members have spoken of its high quality and its 'close to gen' appearance and feel. I have no idea how good the ETA clones are. I intend to wear my DJ for many many years, its going to be a definite permanent keeper, and therefore it will be serviced. If I were to purchase a DJ with a clone movement, what would I do if there is a problem in servicing these clone movements, or if I need spare parts? How will I be able to track down parts for these clones? Are these clones even available to purchase as stand alone movements from any of our dealers? If they are, will they be in 5 years? I remember reading a post by The Zigmeister where he stated he encountered problems servicing a clone movement and it was also difficult to regulate. The issues go on... Now if I wanted a DJ 'just for fun' I would have no problem going for the ETA clone. However, I am purchasing this DJ to wear as a good quality watch. I won't see it as a gen, nor will I see it as a rep, just as a good quality watch that will hopefully last many years. I therefore want to purchase the best possible version not only in terms of build quality, but the movement as well. Here is my TW Best DJ photographed by the dealer, it is now on its way to me: Again, I don't really care for any visual flaws on the dial, most people wouldn't be able to spot them anyway as Rolex have made so many variations on their dials. I'm not even sure if that datefont 6 is supposed to be open or not, again its not something which really bothers me. Emuozz, you have a PM