Fake Rolex Ladies Datejust

This is a fake women's Rolex. Very low quality build. This is a watch that is left behind by my wife's grandparents.

As you can see, everything about it is low quality, the crystal is foggy and not sapphire, the case is not well polished. And one of the "diamonds" near the crown is missing.

I am not condoning fakes, as you can see by above I point out just how bad it is. But in my neck of woods back then, these fakes are everywhere and authorities don't give a damn about it. Almost everyone I know had grandparents or parents who had one at some point.

Unique Watch: Swatch Irony

This is a unique one. The Swatch Irony.

 

This watch belongs to my friend as well. He got it from a trip to Switzerland.

A very big & heavy watch, this 4 jewel sealed caseback chronograph Swatch Irony is unique. How unique? Well, the case is sealed. It is big, and heavy, and the crystal is domed. And the patented design for a water-resist turn-to-open swap battery opening works quite well. How water-resist? It doesn't say. I suspect , based on how it looks, at most just 3ATM, for normal accidental splashing and so on.

Even though it is large heavy, when I wear it, it feels quite comfortable due to the sealed case and the smooth surface.The leather strap is the quick-release type, and is thick and feels quite nice. I did not try the chronograph.

This is one of the more unique watches I have seen, so far.

Nearly ruining another watch

So something I don't understand. I took apart a cheap quartz watch easily and did some cleaning and took apart the dial and removed the logo. Then I put it back together again. Of course, something came loose, so I took it apart again to fix it.

Except, this time no matter what I try, for a good hour or so, I was not even able to take out the crown stem, which I was able to do easily earlier. I gave up.

UPDATE: Pictures & more info.


So the story goes like this. One of the dial lumes came loose and I wanted to fix it, but then I can no longer take it apart, to a point where I am almost ruining the inside of the watch. I simply can't understand why I took the crown stem apart on the first try easily to take out the movement, and then on the second try I can't. Eventually all that shaking knocking and pulling made more of the dial lumes come loose, and I ended up with a watch that looks like the above, which I STILL can't take apart.

Wow, that was frustrating. What a mystery. Thinking that I may have remembered the wrong things to depress to get the crown stem out, I began pressing all sorts of combinations on the movement and I may have destroyed some of the plastic parts within. But of course it still won't come out, so I think I might have broken something on the first try.

Time to visit my watch guy again. sigh.

Tonino Lamborghini Quartz Watch

A Tonino Lamborghini watch, belongs to my friend. 3ATM Water resist. Contemporary rectangle design, on black leather strap. This watch was given to him by his uncle.

According to Wikipedia, Tonino is the son of Ferruccio Lamborghini, an Italian industrialist known best known for the Lamborghini supercars. Tonino Lamborghini designs a collection of clothing and accessories under the Tonino Lamborghini brand.

So I decided some watch customizing...

I found a fake automatic Rolux™ at my parent's storeroom, which was just sitting there probably waiting to be thrown out. It once belonged to my grandfather. So I took it, shook it, and wow, it still ticks. So I took it and thought about customizing the watch.

What made me interested to customize it is because it doesn't look like the usual Rolux™ fakes, in fact it doesn't look like any Rolux™ that I know of. And also, aside from that, it is a see-through transparent skeleton watch. It isn't all see-thru though, it's mostly just fake stuff on the dial like it is see-through, but good enough.

So I thought, why not customize it? Just paint or stick something over the logo and the words "co-axial escapemint", and I would have a decent looking watch. Decent, maybe from 25 feet away. 

Taking it apart was fairly easy, but when I figured out how to take out the stem, I was hooked. I began taking apart more and more, polishing the case and crystal, and put it back together. By then it look clean. But when I put it back together I dropped the whole thing (clumsy me) and bent the minute hand. OK, fine - just bend it back to shape, since it's crashing with the seconds hand. 

By this time I dropped it again and bent the second hand AND the crown stem. GRRRR.

So bending the hands back to shape, and putting it together, with a wonky crown stem that doesn't turn well, I pressed too hard on the crystal and cracked it.

This was all after midnight of course, when I start doing things like this.

The next day I took it to a watch repair shop, and asked if it could be repaired. The watch guy said, yes, in fact he could do it immediately, I was surprised. Well I didn't leave it with him and thought about asking other places, but I didn't have time and brought it home.

Back home, sitting at my desk, holding it in my hand, it managed to slip while I was pulling out the crown and then I dropped it. AGAIN. And this time I broke the stem.

....and here is the result:

Broken crown and crack at 3 o'clock position

So I guess that the lesson is if you're going to do something, use the proper tools, use the proper space, do it in the morning when your mind is fresh and hands are steady, and don't rush it.

But the loss isn't that bad, after all it is a bad fake, and at least I learnt how to take apart a watch. It still ticks, but can't set it obviously with a broken crown.

B.U.M. Equipment Watch

 

This B.U.M. Equipment also belongs to my friend. He didn't quite remember how he got it. 100M Water Resistance, rubber strap, and 4-screw down caseback. This watch saw some light used, there are some scratches on the case and crystal.

Hard Rock Cafe Watch

This watch belongs to a friend of mine. He got this in a trip to the Las Vegas, United States in a Hard Rock Cafe. What we both like most about the watch is its unique leather strap. The red stiching and the big strap looks Rock ! Not much information I know about the watch itself, except that it is Quartz. The watch face is a bit on the small side, but wow, that strap.

Fake Tissot PRC200

This "Tissot Prc200" is most definitely a fake. It belongs to my sister-in-law, who got it off a night market for cheap. I am hardly an expert on telling between fake and authentic watches, but this one I can really tell it's fake easily. The overall low quality of the metal (it is very light and flimsy) and the metal bracelet is the cheaper folded type. Plus it is bought at a night market, without box, warranty card, or documentation, that is real warning sign.

Here're the pictures:

Casio Ladies LTF-115

Sorry for bad photos, these were taken at night.

Another Casio in our collection, this scratched and heavily worn "Pink Butterfly" Casio belongs to my lovely wife. She has another 2 watches in her collection, which I will put on here some other time. But this is the watch that she wears the most. Indeed, she has worn out the original leather strap, and this one in the pictures is a replacement. Other than needing a new battery, this watch never gave her any problems. 

It's no wonder Casios are so popular in our family, unlike some cheaper Quartz watches which fall apart, Casios last even with very heavy use.

Here's a promo image of that watch in proper lighting:

It is weird that I could not find this watch on Casio's web site, perhaps it had been discontinued.

Eyeing the Casio Edifice EQS-700DB-1AV

Uh oh, I am getting the collectors addiction....

Lately I have set my eyes on this very nice Edifice:

• Partial ion plated
• Neobrite
• Sapphire Glass
• 100-meter water resistance
• Case / bezel material: Stainless steel
• Stainless Steel Band
• One-touch 3-fold Buckle
• Solid Band
• Solar powered
• World time
  29 time zones (29 cities + coordinated universal time), daylight saving on/off, Home city / World time city swapping
• 1/100-second stopwatch
  Measuring capacity: 23'59.99''
  Measuring modes: Elapsed time, split time
• Daily alarm
• Low battery alert
• Power Saving (Hands stop to save power when the watch is left in the dark.)
• Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)
• Regular timekeeping
  Analog: 3 hands (hour, minute (hand moves every 10 seconds), second),
  3 dials (24-hour, world time hour and minutes, day), date
• Accuracy: ±15 seconds per month
• Approx. battery operating time:
  6 months on rechargeable battery (operation period with normal use without exposure to light after full charge)
  28 months on rechargeable battery (operation period when stored in total darkness with the power save function on after full charge)
• Size of case/total weight: 50.5 X 47.3 X 12.6 mm/184 g

Sapphire crystal? And with all the gizmos? I seriously hope I don't get it, makes my wallet complain. ;)

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