doc savage

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The bezel is not going to fall off, nor will the paint wear off with normal wear. I managed to bang mine into a door creating a scratch in the bezel paint and metal underneath, but I don't think the gen would have done any better under those circumstances. The fact that I don't care is a pretty good argument for buying the fake instead. Side by side you can spot the fake pretty quickly; it's a nice watch but has a few well-documented flaws (pearl position, Omega logo, poor AR, poor lume). The bracelet is one of it's strong points; it's very well made. Be aware, the "swiss" movement in the newer $250 Planet Ocean Big Size is not made in Switzerland. I suspect that goes for pretty much all current reps; when sources of cheap ETA movements dried up, the rep factories decided to use a little Chinese magic and keep selling them for top dollar even though they don't exist. The word "swiss", when uttered by a dealer of Asian knockoffs, roughly translates to "better quality" and has nothing to do with country of origin. Good luck.

I snagged one on Ioffer, and I'm wearing it today. For some reason, China decided to give it white stitches and a white datewheel, but otherwise it's pretty darn good looking on the surface. It might measure 42mm across at the narrowest point, but it's more like 45mm at the peaks of the case not including the crown. It's a pretty massive watch: As expected, the display caseback leaves much to be desired, due to the tiny 21j movement:

Not a very inspired photo, but it sums up today's activities (catching up on paperwork).

Why the heck should Chinese jeans or dress shirts cost more than $20 or dress shirts more than $12? Don't tell me it's because of the expensive trademark violations printed on them! I am not familiar with this site, but the prices are not a red flag.

Spot on. Their latest ad campaign is to sing the praises of Bud's "drinkability". I guess it's an accomplishment for them that people are physically able to drink their beer? That said, when I lived in a lowbrow backelor pad with four roomates, a case of Bud was always on my shopping list--it was cheaper than bottled water. Anyway, Hublot and Man U go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Blissfully tasteless.

I've never been a big fan of the AP ROO, and I felt like the Jumbo would be too small for me, so I wound up ordering a Wempe Scuba SS on rubber. The date mag and caseback are wrong, of course, but it tuns out to be an extremely nice watch in the hand. As a bonus, the rubber strap is the nice, expensive-feeling sort. I like the looks of the 7750-based Porsche chrono better than it's quartz sibling, so for a beater this low-budget P'6340 made sense. Really nice quality case, band, and single AR for under $150. Here's a few wristshots of some typical reps for comparison (nice, but double the price). Obligatory family shot:

It ran for six hours last night with the CG locked--a huge improvement. I'm definitely taking it to a pro, but I'm curious to see if it runs longer with the CG unlocked.

Thanks! The set screw was definitely loose, tightened it up and the time can be set normally. The CG seems to be putting very little pressure on the crown when it's locked, I think it's just tight enough so that nothing wobbles. How would I find out if the stem is too long?

I bought this watch with known out-of-the-box movement problems, expecting to send it to a pro to have it serviced. It has a tendency to only run for 5-20 minutes with the crown pushed in, but starts right back up when you pull it out. Today, I am suddenly unable to set the time--with the crown guard released and the crown as far out as it will go, turning it still winds the watch. I don't know that much about movements, but it almost feels like it was installed too "deep", causing both issues. Any suggestions?

I love how the dial reads "CHRONOGRAPH" instead of "AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH"--typical rep honesty. At least they didnt print "QUARTZ"! It's clever in a way; someone who inspects it closely enough to notice the ticking seconds hand and read the fine print could still be fooled if they don't happen to know Tags.

Good writeup Slarti; I must have missed it the first time around. The quartz Monaco is one of those terrible reps that I have often put in my online shopping cart and taken out again. I'm quite sure I will eventually buy one, and equally sure that I will end up selling or trading or donating it away. My poison is the white dial Gulf model; who knows if the stripes are supposed to be red or orange, and if the dial is supposed to read Monaco or Gulf? The info I found on the different versions of the gen was a bit confusing. I'm not sure why this has never been repped better; even a 21J movement with the running secs moved to 3:00 and the other hands frozen would be a huge improvement.

Thanks for the info. GRRR the darn thing stopped again! It's pretty useless as a timepiece but I can't seem to get it off of my wrist; SO much nicer than my 'ultimate' 'premodded' 217 from the cartel!

I bought a nearly new DSN 217 (Swiss); the previous owner said it had a low power reserve and didn't feel like sending it back. The watch will only run for a few minutes before stopping--it usually starts right back up when I pull out the crown. Does anyone know a a place in SD, LA or OC where I can get it fixed without too much hassle?

I tried on the gen yesterday; it is obviously a cream color and not even close to white, with dark brown numerals. I think these are photos of the same watch; the colors in Josh's photos look suspiciously tweaked.

I'm pretty sure it says HRS now instead of HOS. It seems that it is now the correct size, making it one whopping huge watch.

I wonder if AP is going to feature in the next episode; the guy that gave Ari the watch is going to try to buy the company.

It looks good on you Moze--classy watch. FYI, bigger isn't always better:

You can get a Japanese minute repeater for $300 or so, sort of.

I need a crystal removal for AR and a logo swapped on my UPO; been putting it off a long time.

Too big you say?

It doesn't look that big sitting in that pelt of fur.

Anybody who thinks rep clothes are a good idea must really live in the sticks. Whether or not the quality is good, the prices are so out of whack it's crazy; one decent sale at Bloomingdale's or one of the high-end Macy's is pretty much all you need. If your tastes are a little more suburban, you can get all the Burberry shirts and True Religion jeans (and plenty of tacky Audigier type crap) you want at Off 5th or Nordstrom Rack at 40-75% off. If for some reason you like Ralph Lauren and such, that stuff is $20 and under at Marshalls and Ross all day long. I don't really know what to say about Abercrombie and Hollister stuff except I was absolutely shocked to see reps of it. That's like making rep Hanes or Old Navy or something. Off topic, a few of my buddies and I decided to get part-time summer jobs at A&F a few years ago as a prank (don't ask what the prank was). I worked the ladies dressing rooms for three weeks--good times.

IMHO Tag is on the right path to get some of that proverbial "fat cash"--their brand name is at least as valuable as Vertu (rebranded Nokias for crying out loud). Vertu customers don't want a slim, unobtrusive phone that gets a lot done; they want something that stands out as much as possible, is so simple even Paris or Ozzy could operate it, and has plenty of places to stick diamonds.