VDB Goes To Shit! Flushing Down The Sticky Diarrhea

[prestigewatchco 2]

Sanctimonious is a word that describes these people perfectly

Ok for them to treat others like arseholes and unworthy but cry like babies when they get it back

How are these people suprised at normal members attitude toward them what did they expect.

Were they expecting people to say pity for them and they have been badly treated they gave up that right when they shit on others from a great heigth

[ebzen02 341]

I was close to getting shafted myself for backing you.. I like you Baldy and I asked them to stop banning folks btw.. Did it work..nope.. I am as anti-elitist as you..for god sakes I was a social worker in my past life..poor bastard I was..heck still am...lol.. It's just not nice to spit on people for trying to mend relationships...no?

 

I mean c'mon, ask yourself this question, if you were at a dinner party with a dirty old rusty Panerai with a f'kn huge double rivet docker belt on it and the two guys next to you asked what it was and you told them it was an old Panerai WWII diver's watch and that you paid 4k$ for it, they'd give you a funny look, no ?...can you imagine if you then told them it was a fake, they'd look at you as tho' you had seven heads

 

It is not a coincidence that these folks have been trying to unload these paper weights for the past few months and this come to light now..

 

But, yeah, it sounds extremely silly and asinine to think that you have a $4000 beat up fake.. I could almost here VDB saying.. If it is not working it is because it is a homage to a 50+ year old watch..the homage is so good it even breaks down like a really old watch.. So, you paid for a the replication of a broken watch..hmmm..

 

Anyhow, I remember the high fives and belly bumping back in the day when these "high powered" guys met to buy these FAKES. Just read thru the first few pages of the Vintage Wristy thread on RG... Sad..

[AllergyDoc 40]

Sorry guys, but I've always felt that old rusty watches were, well, old and rusty. Paying $1K+ for an old rusty watch, a FAKE old rusty watch, is just plain lunacy. But $4K? For a fake old watch? I'd rather take the wife on a cruise.

[Baldrick 1]

Fortunately, I saved the wear and tear on my eyeballs by deliberately ignoring all that shit, looks like I'm right again, Mrs Baldrick didn't raise any fools

 

I have no problem with guys wanting to modify their own watches, evven if it means buying gen parts, but the law of diminishing returns enters the fray very quickly in these scenarios, I heard people saying that some guys 'lost' $4k+, they didn't lose it, they gave it away, no circumspection allied to a total lack of fiscal responsibilty, for what, so you can say " I have a Panerai WWII MM / Flotilia thingmabob", to whom, each other, it was a 'piss furthest up the wall' contest and everybody ended up having a golden shower, and as robert rightly says, "sanctimonious' is the correct term for these FOOLS

 

@Doc

Sorry guys, but I've always felt that old rusty watches were, well, old and rusty. Paying $1K+ for an old rusty watch, a FAKE old rusty watch, is just plain lunacy. But $4K? For a fake old watch? I'd rather take the wife on a cruise.

 

+1

 

We don't see eye to eye a lot of the time, but I'm happy to be sharing the hymn book with you today

[sfa437 0]

Ya buy a watch with a 40 year old movement ya get.... a watch with a 40 year old movement

 

I'm not bent over any other issue other than the sale of rep parts as gen. That is 110% intolerable to me and yes I feel sorry for anyone who got hosed. We're also looking at it from today's standpoint when we have guys like PBdad and JohnG and NightWatch doing some truly amazing work. Back then it was VDB or nobody and again... sole source supplier.

 

IIRC VDB was machining his own cases so his products weren't Chinese, especially when he used Angelus or Cortebert movements. Yeah some construction turned out to be shoddy but in reality ALL of our rep watches are sub-par compared to gen LOL

[ebzen02 341]

For you guys that are now banned...Here is something to chump on..

 

Pbdad chimed in.. A1 sauce? WTF..

 

 

I apologize for chiming on on this thread so late. I received a couple of emails from friends/members that own more than a few customs I've built for them.

They brought this to my attention and I thought it would be good to post my thoughts on the thread.

 

I was the original owner of the watch in question, which I bought several years ago from directly vdb. At the time i bought the watch he was admittedly new to the vintage custom thing, but after seeing all the vintage porn, I still had to have one. It ended up be about $1200 (maybe a bit more) from what I recall with a swiss unitas mvmt, first generation Ross dial, the extended pin, the stamp on the front of the CG, and shipping. Yes, I thought it too was expensive, but at that time, there were no other options in that market other than doing it yourself.

 

When I received it, I was happy, but felt like "meh, I think I could have done this myself."

Since a kid, I was the type to like to take things apart and learn how things worked together. I recall specifically at age 8, unscrewing all my GiJoes (3" ones), reorgnizing them in piles of legs, heads, and upper torsos and making my own custom figures.

 

I took apart the vdb and found the said gasket in there, the dial glued on (early ross dials had no feet), and a strong familiar smell coming from the dial backplate. It wracked my brain, because i couldn't place a finger on where I knew the smell. One day while eating a burger, I found out where I knew the smell...A1 sauce. He used A1 sauce on the backplate to give it the vintage look. Although the glued on dial and the ****ty mvmt spacer/gasket he used was pretty ghetto, they worked. But the saucy dial just didn't work for me.

At that point I ditched the backplate altogether to give the taller pinion look and redid the dial myself. Re painted it 2 colors, waxed the text, resined the numerals, etc. I tried several different dial dots, and all caused to much side to side play to my satisfaction. So i glued the dial back on the same way vdb had it. At that point I figured if he did it and he was so revered and

"knew what he was doing", it's gotta be ok, right? Maybe, maybe not. But I reassembled the watch exactly the same way as I got it.

 

The watch worked well for me, besides having to shake it to get the motor started. I admittedly had it sitting in the watch box most of the time, as many of us do, as other pieces saw wrist time. But it never gave me any problems.

 

This is the watch though that gave me the courage to start building my own stuff. I've always been good with my hands and artistic, and I figured i could build a "better mousetrap". I've done a good share of vintage PAMs myself for members for most of the time less than 1/2 of what vdb charged me for this one. I've learned a lot along the way and stand behind everything I do.

 

So, to the OP, I'm sorry to hear what has transcribed with this watch. I hope this doesn't put a bad taste in your mouth with all modders. I think there are more than a few that will attest to me as a modder and as a person.

i felt like I needed to chime in to let know what my part was in this watch. If vdb doesn't make it right or you are located in the US and don't want to send it to the EU, feel free to send it to me and I'll do whatever I can to make this watch acceptable.

 

best,

pB

 

p.s. the orange glue is actually the paint being removed from the resin and stuck to the glue when the mvmt and dial seperated.

[AllergyDoc 40]

We don't see eye to eye a lot of the time, but I'm happy to be sharing the hymn book with you today

We prolly see eye-to-eye more than we'd care to admit. For instance, you miss JoeyB's insane diatribes as much as I do.

[AllergyDoc 40]

 

A1 Sauce. A new classic.

[Blackadder 0]

So... they actually advertise in magazines??? I found this on their facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=157...327190?v=photos

 

 

[Brightlight 0]

Guys-

 

First off mebbe we should stop slamming the guys who got taken. The bottom line is good people were fucked out of money on parts supposed to be genuine that were in fact rep parts. This is no different than what Sylar did and we didn't laugh at the guys who got scammed. Granted this isn't my house but it's how I see things.

 

I've also seen VDB watches up close, specifically the Little Egi that Joe had and it was gorgeous. Is it worth 4K... I wouldn't pay that much because I don't have that kind of scratch but it is a BEAUTIFUL watch. Of course I didn't take it apart but it seemed solid and well constructed. If I had the 45 bucks to spare I'd have entered that raffle and been damn proud to wear it anywhere- one of my fave reps ever made anywhere.

 

I'd also like to add that Joe, Paul and the rest of the guys on WC are decent dudes. Joe in particular I consider a friend. Even if I had major issues with them laughing at fellow rep enthusiasts who get shafted is just not cool IMO.

 

I disagree with you on this one Pat, I well remember when VDB took over the Vintage Forum on RG which became his personal sales outlet, and the attempts by Joe and MBW to stop members posting pics of their pathetic vintaging efforts, the only thing suitable for the RG vintage forum was VDB creations at $1000 plus. I, and others, came very close to leaving RG over that. I knew at the time they were arrogant dickheads and nothing that has happened since has changed that view. Maybe they're different in person, and let's face it people don't always express themselves well on the internet or email, but they are condemned by their words and actions I'm afraid. People who buy 'gen' parts on the say so only of the owner deserve what they get IMO and if they don't know the difference does it make any difference to them. If you can't differentiate between a gen and a rep part you shouldn't be buuying gen parts, on or off a watch.

 

But let's be honest, this sort of thing goes on all the time, particularly in the RG sales threads. How often have you seen 'gen tube and crown'. Anyone who can distinguish a fitted Rolex tube to a $10 tube from Cousins is some sort of genius. And most (including me!) wouldn't know the difference between a Rolex crown and a good rep. As for 'gen spring bars'....................

 

I'm not a vindictive person but have to be honest and say I'm geting a great deal of amusement over all this, the small boy has announced the King is naked and the consternation is a delight to see

[sfa437 0]

I've had some epic pissing contests, most getting personal, here and elsewhere. Once they are over though- they are over and those involved would be welcome at my house for a beer & a burger.

 

I remember that toss-up as my 2533 "Vintage on a Budget" got trashed and I did get all pissy over that. Thought it was a pretty decent watch for someone with ham hands and limited imagination and it got shit on as not being "real" vintage.

 

That being said I hate scammers with a passion. Hell if I found out someone had scammed Speedz in the midst of our toss-up and the guy lived close to me I'd personally go pound the guy into hamburger, then return and finish the argument

 

I don't care who got scammed, just that they got scammed.

[prestigewatchco 2]

Pat I don't think anyone is saying scamming is alright because it's not .

What I think the general feeling is if it has to happen better it happen to these people than anyone else

I don't care who you are if you had read the bull shit and nonesense this crowd put out you have to find it mildly amusing them getting their comupance

[Brightlight 0]

Pat I don't think anyone is saying scamming is alright because it's not .

What I think the general feeling is if it has to happen better it happen to these people than anyone else

I don't care who you are if you had read the bull shit and nonesense this crowd put out you have to find it mildly amusing them getting their comupance

 

Couldn't agree more. They're a bit like the woman who strips off in a crowded pub, lies down with her legs open and says "Fuck me", screaming rape afterwards. When that women starts off the evening by pissing in your beer, you tend to have no sympathy whatsoever for her.

[andygt 0]

Seems like everyone on the thread who ever bought a VDB had some misgivings about it but decided to keep schtum until now.

Suprised pbdad has admitted selling on a watch he knew was made from dreams and steak sauce.

 

AON anyone else remember the poor noob who won a VDB in one of the RG raffles and got rounded on because he wound the watch with the caseback off and it fell to pieces?

[Brightlight 0]

Seems like everyone on the thread who ever bought a VDB had some misgivings about it but decided to keep schtum until now.

Suprised pbdad has admitted selling on a watch he knew was made from dreams and steak sauce.

 

AON anyone else remember the poor noob who won a VDB in one of the RG raffles and got rounded on because he wound the watch with the caseback off and it fell to pieces?

 

Well after pbdad's hatchet job on me and my ex Sub, who can say. He's certainly making hay out of this one, riding in to save the world on his white horse.

[ebzen02 341]

Oh..this is so disgusting it makes me wanna spit on my iPad..

[andygt 0]

You mean all the backslapping and general sweeping of rusty movements under carpets that's now going on?

[ebzen02 341]

You mean all the backslapping and general sweeping of rusty movements under carpets that's now going on?

Yup..and vultures..

[ebzen02 341]

How many times can people be taken after they realize their butt hurts and it's profusely bleeding from a rod someone reamed up their assess..

 

Another sad and pathetic story..

 

ok, definitely late to this novel, but here goes....

 

i've had a number of vdb's pass thru my hands and the feelings have been mixed.

 

i remember the first piece i commissioned i asked for a 4liner w/ swiss movt because i didn't want to shell out +$1700 for a cort. (late '08) I received the watch and it was a nice piece but a sour taste developed months later after i had sold it to my friend hotduck who when selling her was asked to pop off the caseback and low and behold there was no swiss engine but a molinja running her. i felt terrible about the transaction i had w/ HD and a little taken aback when i dug up the pm's back and forth between stephan and myself where i specifically asked for swiss, was told it would cost $1200-something for swiss, and it came to be something different and definitely inferior.

 

i never confronted stephan on the issue (which i guess was my fault) as i'm a super mellow cat and unfortunately extremely trusting of people in general...especially ones that are apart of a small community...a brotherhood more-or-less.

 

fast-forward to summer 2010...after buying and selling several more vbd creations i decided to commission another piece but this time w/ a 616. there was no mention of gen this or gen that, just a regular old 6152/1 but i was a little shocked at the +$3500 pricetag...i had my heart set on the piece and so i moved forward...the piece itself runs and i do love it, but at +$3500 i was pretty underwhelmed at the overall craftmanship especially w/ a movt ring that shifts around in the case, so again i felt a little cheated.

 

i believe that the common theme here is a breach of trust...not just because of the misrepresentation of said parts, or the upcharging of your friends, but that they sold us on a mirage that they actually cared on some level.

 

i really do hope that they chime in as well because there have been many years shared in this hobby w/ them and i honestly feel it is owed, but if not so be it...based on threads like this i know we are still a sick little family, but a family all the same and one that won't let sh!t slide...even if it takes a while to bring it to the surface.

 

huge ups to pb who i definitely call my friend and one who really does care about the complete picture!

[ebzen02 341]

Another NOHAPPYENDING..no seriously from member nohappyending..if that is not a self fulfilling prophecies not sure what is.. Pics are graphic..

 

i have bought 3 vdb's. one of them is a new 3646 case.

the other was a 6152/1 "1:1" case that turned out to be a DSN stock case (it even had the ugly lug engravings). it is from late 2008. angelus movement died and "gen" hands were loose. it is still in repair since 2008. was told by steph that movement was serviced but watchman said it had an incredible amount of dirt and had not been serviced.

the 3rd one is a 3646 from 2008. cortebert movement died 4-5 days after received. case quality feels better than the new ones. it is still in repair

 

his newest creations have many problems also. here are some pics and info from my watchmaker from a 2010 piece with "serviced movement":

 

 

Franken Rolex 618

1. winds but cannot adjust time - frozen solid

2. movement disassembled - every screw was loose - movement very dirty - found dial side and keyless works rusted solid - all motion work gears rusted - hour wheel rusted to cannon pinion - movement soaked in penetrating oil overnight - cleaned - frozen gears carefully disassembled - all gears cleaned of rust and polished

3. movement was so dirty that it completely contaminated the cleaning fluids - fluids disregarded

4. over 3 hours required to clean and disassemble rusted parts

7. cannon pinion friction extremely low

8. hand and dial lume very poor quality - back of hands had big blobs and lumpy lume - could not install hands correctly - excess lume removed from back of hands - hands installed parallel and flush

11. overall the case/dial/hands etc. are poor quality and not well made

12. crown spring is very weak - difficult to switch to winding from time setting

 

 

after dial removal

 

 

another view

 

 

 

Winding bridge keyless cutout

 

 

 

keyless cover removal

 

 

 

keyless

 

 

 

keyless

 

 

 

cannon rusted hour

 

 

 

cannon pin removed

 

 

 

cannon pin

 

 

 

After cleaning

 

 

 

the "new 1:1" case quality feels like my $100 silix but with tube/lugs soldered and the insides machined. the crown looks exactly the same as the Silix one. the Nightwatch caseback has better finishings.

[AustinTech 0]

$3,500 for a POS.

 

 

I'm sorry, but you are a damn fool if you spend that kind of money ON A FAKE WATCH. I don't give a crap how much you liked it, you are a damn fool and now it's time to pay the consequences.

 

 

Fools lose money on this type of stuff. If it wasn't this stupid watch, it would have been something else.

 

 

The most disturbing thing about that entire WC forum is how seriously those weirdos take their stupid reps. They have completely bought the VDB illusion, hook-line-sinker. They've gone head first into the vintage rabbit hole and now realize that they are morons who let their imagination, pride, arrogance, and dimly lit computer screens take them for a costly ride.

 

Seriously, think about how much time and effort it take to know all the stupid shit they know about fake watches. All the "Nightwatch this, DSN that, EddieLee handlebars, 2007 VDB crownguard, a caseback from a Rolex 1967 blah, blah, blah..." HOLY SHIT, who cares! These people have not only squandered their money, they've squandered their time and energy on WORTHLESS crap. Some of these guys have families. Kids. Get your damn priorities straight, you idiots.

[dingle 57]

this is like dejavu, a couple months after joining RG, I was banned after TwoTone at RWGjr told them that I was fakemaster. It blew my fucking mind. ME? FAKEMASTER????!!!!

 

And that ass TT never said, sorry, nothing... and they wonder why I had a bad attitude about the place. That and their covering for Dani when he was pm'ing me asking "what's your problem, are you a jew?"

 

.....and I wonder why eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeverybody thinks you log on with sock puppet accounts?..............

 

[Brightlight 0]

Just had a PM from Joewatch, does he seriously think we wouldn't know he had a spy here? My response is also shown.

 

Anyone want to open a book on the inevitably of my being banned from W-C?

 

After what you wrote on RWG, Should I really keep you here as a member ? Do you contribute anything ?

 

I hope you read my reply in the VDB thread, because in the end, I am the one laughing.

 

Up to you Joe, it's your forum. I'm glad you're laughing, I'm even glad you have not been financially disadvantaged by all this, and maybe you understand why I am also laughing, or do I have to remind you of a little bit of history regarding the Vintage Forum on RG and the involvement of VDB and yourself? I'm not laughing about people being conned or scammed however, I think that's bad, it's more that these wonderful examples of the Vintage Pam turn out to be only skin deep.

 

But if you want a bunch of yes men on your forum, then fine, give me the boot, as you say I contribute nothing, rarely visit in fact and then usually for reference only, you can only contribute to so many forums before it takes up your entire day and I have other things to do.

[ebzen02 341]

Got a similar response.. must have copied and pasted..

 

my response:

 

I would prefer to leave RWG out of this..I will not apologize for what is said over there. It is a different beast and things do tend to spill over into drama-- it is actually encouraged.. Man..you can say whatever it is you damn feel like and that is in fact refreshing. Most of it is said in jest and with no intention of maliciously hurting each other-- for the most part.

 

Do I think you are a fool for falling to for the VDB sham? Yes you are, as I would consider myself one if I had spent thousands of dollars on a fake watch, when I could have bought a nice gen that actually kept it's value.

 

I apologized already and refused to do so again for things I said yesterday on THIS forum-- I got a bit enveloped in the drama and some spillage from RWG. I am truely affected by this whole fiasco as I admired their builds as well.. I love Vintage and would hate to be banned here, but that is your choice and call. I stopped the drama here already.

 

Hope all turns out well for you and all those that got..well.. Scammed..

 

Best,

Ernie

[Brightlight 0]

I know SFA says Joe is a good guy, but to be honest, none of the dealings I have had with him have confirmed that opinion. And thinking he can censor what is said on another forum is just crazy. I feel a visit to the Fuck you thread coming on.........................