DemonSlayer

This one today:

yes before I thought that auto watches could only be wound by shaking the wrist, but on my Cartier Roadster I can wind it by turning the crown clock-wise whilst it is locked, is it advisable to wind watches in this way or is it better to wind my natural wrist movement?

Thanks for all responses. Clive that's a lovely Panerai, very classy. Forgive my newbie knowledge on crowns but I'm assuming a screw-down crown is one that is turned to wind a watch?

I have decided to purchase my second PAM and I have decided to go for a 183 black seal because I want a dressy PAM in contrast to my rugged 111h. However I have been reading posts that PAM crowns and in particular 183 crowns have a habit of breaking after continous winding. What actually happens? Does the crown thread break after continous winding? How easy is it to fix this issue? Is it a DIY fix or is it best that this is left to someone with more expertise? Thanks for the help.

Everyone is aware of those bastards Nike business practices, which is exactly the reason why I no longer buy genuine Nike items. Huuuuge mark up on their goods, of course dealers here don't have as much as markup on their watches. Exotic fruit prices are also determined by season, rep prices are the same in winter as they are in the summer Wasn't aware pineapples cost us $100 when they cost $5 or less to grow Plus they contain many vitamins and minerals Phones, cars and hi-fis, well certainly for consumer electronics profit margins are very low for the retailer, I'm not sure for the distributor or the factory. For example retailers of iPods on the bay typically make 4-10 Pounds profit per iPod sold, not a lot of money if you ask me and it's usually on the lower end, same goes for video games consoles. Cocaine.... one of the most demanded class A drug in the world, with highly addictive properties that make some people kill for it. I think this allows sellers to charge high prices and get away with it as addicts need their 'fix'.

I didn't understand the fuss about the Panerai watches in general, as the dials looked so simple and the overall design of the watch looked really simple. At the time I was more into watches that had 'busy' dials and with functions such as chronos. Then I got the Pam 111h with SS and after wearing it for a couple of days it really grew on me, my taste for simpler looking watches grew. I haven't yet dabbled with fascinating world of Panerai straps yet and I'm sure that once I buy some really good straps, my appreciation for the Panerai brand will grow.

I agree with this completely. The only reason why we are paying these prices is because not many of us can afford to visit China just to source reps from there! This is what the dealers are completely using to their advantage. If you take a look closely at the salaries of employed persons in China in a variety of different fields, you will see that many of them won't be able to afford the watches at prices that Josh and Andrew are charging for example. In fact I highly doubt that they are selling to any people in their native countries at all, because they know that if they did they wouldn't be making no where near as enough profit as they are doing when they are selling outside their countries. They would have to sell a Submariner in an ETA movement for around $30 !! Now to us they charge around $210? Clearly enough incentive to export. Their business is a pure export business, as this is where they can make most of their money at crazy margins, and they have learnt our requirements for reps by reading posts on various forums, and have managed to source factories who can make reps at these quality levels. Now, I don't know about any of you guys, but I personally don't believe that dealers should be charging around $150 so that you are in peace of mind that they will re-send in case customs seize the watch. As kenmasters said how often does this happen? I realise that different countries have different levels of strictness in customs, but I am sure that 9/10 customs don't seize the watches, and thats an extra $150 going into the dealers pockets everytime the watches are not seized. Everyone is free to buy their reps from whatever dealer they choose, but I will say that for various reasons including the ones outlined above, I won't be buying reps from the so-called trustworthy dealers mentioned on these boards.

A very sporty watch with class at the same time. Too much happening on the dial though for my liking, but having said that, I've now got my eye on the Patek Phillipe Moon Sky Tourbillion after Victoria's review

I would have to say that currently my Pam 111h on SS gets noticed the most. When I used to wear my Cartier Roadster GMT it was hardly noticed and I think that was due to people in general not recognising the brand. On the other hand I would say my Pam gets noticed not because it is a Panerai, but because of its eye-catching size

I would like to start by saying this is my first mini-review type post So please excuse the nowhere near perfect pics I purchased this watch about 4 months ago now, I paid about $70 for it and I have to say I am impressed by it For most of the time this watch was my daily beater until I got my Pam 111h I have always been impressed by the look of the Roadster ever since I first saw it on the net about 2 years ago, I just knew I had to get my hands on one of these. I would say it has a dressy luxury look about it, it's not sporty or rugged like the Panerai, but probably better suited for formal events. I'm planning on purchasing a Santos for my next Cartier. I understand that the gen GMT Roadsters use a 42mm case, but most reps of this model, if not all, use the standard Roadster case of 38 mm which my one happens to have. The date wheel is the wrong color, it is supposed to be black but my one is white as can be seen in the photos, and I'm sure the date font is incorrect also. However these flaws don't bother me in the slightest, as for $70 I can't really complain after receiving a watch that otherwise has a decent overall finish and a good weight to it. Pics are below:

Victoria, I was unaware that Silix sold some watches that cheap, are these available to view at their watchsilix website? I think their silix-prime website only shows watches with higher end movements. I will be taking a look at their asian movement watches, as those prices are definitely good Have you bought any Rolex's from Jay at those kind of prices? How would you describe the quality of these watches, in movement and overall finish of the watch?

It's a cool watch but not my type personally. Definitely a quality watch though.

You guessed right. There was a fascinating post from a member here, when he went to Guangzhou watch market, he really gave us an insight in to the replica world. To me the prices was the most fascinating part of it, he picked up a Cartier Santos in Swiss ETA for about $90. Dealers on this board charge around $250 for it if I'm not mistaken. That Cartier santos would proabably be charged around $50-60 to a Chinese person living in Guangzhou. A Rolex Submariner in Swiss eta was offered to him for $65. These are the kind of prices for watches there, however we are not there so we can't have access to these kind of prices. I would check out other dealers out there as well, not only the ones mentioned on this board, for better pricing. If cost is not an issue to you then by all means you can buy from dealers on this board.

That is a beast of a watch! I need to cop myself a Audemars Piguet know wha' I'm sayin'

Now this is a definitive luxury watch. It's too classy for my taste, as i'm only 22, being seen with one of these on will not look realisitic at all, I won't be able to pull it off!

Hello and welcome to the forum. The watches you bought for $15 where not even worth that much. They are probably sold for around $5 to a Chinese person living there, but as they recognised you as a westerner, they charged a little more. The dealers on this forum do mark up their prices relatively high, this can be seen when comparing their prices for watches and dealers on cqout for example for the same watch, you will sometimes find the difference is a significant amount. However some will argue that the prices the dealers on this board charge are justified because they offer 'exceptional service' such as returns, they take liabilty if the watches are held by customs, communications and so forth. Personally I don't think this justifies and extra $100+ per watch but as other members have replied on this post, the prices will stay this high as long as there are people willing to pay them. I personally don't buy my watches from any of the dealers on this board, so far I have 2 reps, a Cartier Roadster GMT and a Panerai 111h both in asian movements and made at a reasonably good quality. I estimate that I have saved in total about $210 by not buying from a dealer here, it's not a mind blowing amount but that kind of money may still be a significant amount to people.

LOL what a tripod!

The reviews By-Tor makes are great, offers a good insight into the watch and weighs up the pros and cons. Very helpful for newbies

I'm after the Bell and Ross 03-97 in SS in an Asian mvt. Not really a fan of Rolexes though I might change

That's an impressive watch. Also love the orange stitching on the strap, makes it really stand out. I might think of doing a similar thing to remove the wobbliness of the lever.

Excellent review By-Tor, I've never been a fan of Rolex but reading your reviews has increased my interest in the brand.

Those are some nice lookin' straps! Keep up the good work.

I have one of the names of God tattooed in sanskrit text on my right wrist. Plan to get more done however. I am a huge fan of black and grey The artist I would most like to get one or more done by is Kat Von D!

It's about 39mm give or take. When I measured with a tape measure it was showing as 40mm however when I measured with a pair of body fat calipers it shows 39mm Both methods are not accurate so it's around there. Pictures can be deceiving I might actually sell this one as I'm thinking of getting a Cartier Santos.

Fantastic! Nice seeing it done with the pictures as well.