Random musings and general banter.

[Wanderer]

If it's a special occasion
View attachment 30182

I have mint one in freezer.....

 

[Craftalot]

I think the last time we had one in the freezer, it lasted less than one hour between buying it and eating it. Not allowed to buy them now.

 

[Hammy60]

Trying to work out if I have ever seen RoofGuardian demonstrated before, as P Volumizer said they've used the same cardboard box to demo it for last twelve years.

I def remember a dfferently named product being demo'd'

ahh here we are roofix from Flag Paints - https://www.facebook.com/idealworld...plication-of-roofix-its-on/10160042649260562/

Edit - Tried googling roofguardian and seem unable to find anywhere that sells it, apart from IW.

What will also confuses things is there are Tins with "Roof Guardian" and Tins with "Roof Guard". I'm wondering if because JCB is called Roof Guard if they decided to change to Guardian after launching it, to claim exclusivity like with roofix.

In the show the Graphics says 'Roof Guard' but Tin says 'Roof Guardian'

On the web site, it's Roof Guard on the Tin and Description.

A few things Peter V has said makes it sound like it's just another Roofix (Flag Paints) but under name just for IW to claim exclusivity, similar to the old IW where their exclusive 'Roofix M' which you couldn't buy anywhere else was just 'Roofix 20/10, which was available everywhere, in a different tin. Of course they can't do 'Roofix M' as Shop on Tv have that.

Now that seems plausible that it's from Flag Paints but for the fact the pictures on the Roof Guardian tin also features on JCB Roof-Guard which is supplied by Assured Products Ltd (Same folks that supply all the different waterless wax), maybe the waterless wax folk are the suppliers and in reality Roof Guardian is just the same product as JCB / Spear & Jacksons, but in different tins to claim exclusivity.

That part of the pic is taken from the part of the photo (yellow box) on the roof guardian tin.

 

[Professor Branestawm]

From the footage I saw that led to his Ideal World suspension several years ago, he seemed an extraordinarily unpleasant person, and that's putting it mildly.

I agree with this. It was extraordinary and really should be played mentally alongside his ‘cheeky chappie Larry Grayson-lite’ TV image
I think I know which one represents the ‘real’ Pope Peter of the Worry Angels…

 

[Jazzydrury]

Vinettas are lovely, If Dad buys one, me and him generally have half each as mum dont like them, same goes with Artic Roll

 

[Professor Branestawm]

There is no shame with him. He’s been allowed to get away with it for too long. He should have been got rid of after his European workers on-air rant several years ago. Clearly, he thinks he is untouchable.

Heirloom Value, my Ar se…In fact, my ar se has more heirloom value.. You MUST insure it - each buttock…

Could you claim if there was a crack in it?

 

[Professor Branestawm]

Anyone fancy starting a list up to Xmas. I'll try a few to start off:

Tandy... so...

Maplin
Woolworth's
Dolcis
Freeman Hardy & Willis
C&A (remember my joke last year?? Gone from uk)
Burton's
Bejam's (ok, now Iceland)
BHS (British Home Stores)
Littlewoods (online now, Very, etc.)
Damart shops (online now, French owned)
Multiyork (furniture/sofas)
Beatties (model maker kit, train sets, airfix)
Broomfield's/Baker's Oven bakers (now Gregg's)
Golden Egg (before my time)
ABC cafés (just before)
Lyon's corner houses (very before).
Clas Ohlson (gone from UK)

You could name 'heritage' watch brands after these!

Doesn't just have to be shops.
Over to you all...

Rumbelows
Radio Rentals
Fine Fare
Timothy Whites

 

[SiRich]

the worlds no 1 self appointed expert on perfume again, 'taught by Peter Sherlock blah blah....along with Perry Reynolds'.

Taught about the equivalent of the back of a fag packet

'Rollerball technology' - that'll be a roller then

 

[Professor Branestawm]

Radio Rentals
Rumbelows
Julian Graves
Andy's Records
Dixons
Mcolls

I had totally forgotten Andy’s Records!
When I lived in Manchester there was a fantastic record shop in a basement just behind Oxford Road, called ‘Yanks’.
When it was a fiver for an album, it was £2.99 there - and they were all US or Canadian imports (I’m sure they’d been smuggled in with other products - they sometimes smelled of bananas - or is that my memory playing tricks?)
It mattered, because I got £3 left from my weeks wages, so if I went there I could get an LP.
Happy, happy days.

 

[Professor Branestawm]

Personally I wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole, even if you paid me, not because of the quality of the watches but because of the Brand itself and how they have marketed their brand and the watches.

Well it’s hard to give an exact figure, I’m no expert or a retailer so just my opinion.

As Duke has said, these aren’t cheap or crap watches like Swan & Edgar, and definitely better than Solar Time/Resultco brands, but nor are they high end luxury watches as IW claim.

The one bit of credit I will give Duchamp, and this is probably as a result of the Brand Logic connection, is that unlike a lot of micro brands, like Swan & Edgar, Solar Time etc, they didn’t go the direct to China route when they started their brand, they went to a decent Swiss watchmaking Company, Watchmakers CH, who produce watches for a lot of different brands (Swiss, Non-Swiss, Fashion etc). Watchmakers CH are able to supply a range of watches from highly affordable (Sub £500) to entry level luxury (£500-£1500), they can do this by having facilities in Switzerland and Far East, so are able to supply from lower costs fully Chinese assembled watches (choices of various quality Chinese/Japanese/Swiss movements) to higher cost fully Swiss assembled watches (Choice of quality of Swiss movements).

I would say the nearest quality Chinese brands taking into account movements/finishing etc, would be the likes of San Martin, Sea-gull etc, definitely better than the average Ali Express or standard fashion brands.

Now to Duchamp, they have a few Swiss made watches, ie Audace £2995 rrp , which is by far the best watch Duchamp sell, but it’s just another Rolex day/Date homage and copy of the Roamer Primeline which is produced in the same facilities. The Roamer retails around £700 (discounts and sales are available regularly) depending on bracelet or strap, but personally would be looking at paying a max of around £500.

At the other end of the scale you have the likes of the Grand Mont, has a £35 Swiss quartz in it, assembled in the Far East, Duchamp claim £1750 rrp , similar quality and specs to the Roamer Rimini which can retail £200-£300, but the Rimini is assembled in Switzerland and Duchamp is assembled in the Far East so Duchamp is £150-£200 max, mostly due to the movement and decent case finishing.

So in summary, Duchamp would range from approx. £150-£500 depending on which watch in their range. They have 9 men’s watches and 5 Lady’s watches, only the men’s Audace comes near being worth £500, the rest would probably fit in the £150-£300 range.

Phew, need a cuppa coffee after that.

I agree totally with this for what it’s worth.
Thanks Hammy.
Most micro brands with Swiss partners or manufacturers sell the equivalent of Duchamp around £200-£300.

 

[Professor Branestawm]

That's quite a write up, thanks Hammy.

Have heard of both San Martin and Sea-Gull, but with those commanding higher prices on Ali, etc I was a bit wary in case they arrived and I didn't like the watch or it didn't sit well on my slim wrist.

I think the problem is that the Chinese are capable of tremendous quality, but also real tat - and the numbers always favour the tat.
A respected Chinese maker like Sea Gull can make good quality mechanisms, (though as a watchmaker, I’ve never found their quality control up to much - there are ALWAYS tooling marks on bridges and plates, often fingerprints, and more often than you’d expect, hairs. Maybe fewer than other makes, but always there. And a single hair can and will stop a mechanism.) They will make whatever they are commissioned to make - Sea Gull used to do a double retrograde movement (I forget the movement number, but retrograde day and retrograde date) that the selly-telly brands all used (Constantin Weisz , Ingersoll, Louis Bolle etc). I worked on so many of those I could disassemble one in the dark! Most never got as far as the first service (hopefully not because of my repairs!)
Which, of course, is the dirty little secret of selly-telly watches. Most are, pretty much, unserviceable, and will have a lifespan of less than 5 years. It’s usually more economical to drop in a new movement, and spares availability is close to zero.
I do remember a customer of the ‘old’ IW who had amassed a collection he’d spent (from memory) around £30k on. I vividly remember working out the value of it just 3 years later - he’d turned his £30k into around £500.
If that.
And that, more than anything, is why I don’t like their sales techniques. It was, presumably, his life savings, gone on a pile of cheaply made tat. He’d clearly fallen, hook line and sinker for the stories of ‘heirloom’ pieces.

 

[Wanderer]

Local weather forecast was for fog this morning, not this afternoon.......

 

[cheeky chappie]

Generalising of course; but the more people say they have done career wise, the reality can be a different story.

I said exactly this to Tom when sitting beside him between scenes on Mission Impossible III.

Oh, I mean Cruise, for those on here who don't know him personally.

Anyways must dash, got myself a gig managing Billy's upcoming tour, so lots of planning!!!

Oh, I mean Joel, for those on here who don't know him personally.

 

[historymystery]

Right at the start of Covid my aunt and uncle moved to a care home from a warden controlled home as their dementia was increasing. Their daughter could only see them from the window, she couldn't go in to help them settle. I can't imagine how it made her feel hearing how politicians behaved. It was a very long time before she could visit properly.

It would have made me feel like pulling Wurzel Gummidge (Boris's) badly thatched peroxide yellow roof (aka his hair) out by the roots, but he wasn't the only one by a long way. I really feel for those who never got to say 'goodbye' to relatives who died, to see them for one last time. How these people sleep at nights I don't know, but they are without any moral compass so I guess it's easy.

 

[Wanderer]

I think the problem is that the Chinese are capable of tremendous quality, but also real tat - and the numbers always favour the tat.
A respected Chinese maker like Sea Gull can make good quality mechanisms, (though as a watchmaker, I’ve never found their quality control up to much - there are ALWAYS tooling marks on bridges and plates, often fingerprints, and more often than you’d expect, hairs. Maybe fewer than other makes, but always there. And a single hair can and will stop a mechanism.) They will make whatever they are commissioned to make - Sea Gull used to do a double retrograde movement (I forget the movement number, but retrograde day and retrograde date) that the selly-telly brands all used (Constantin Weisz , Ingersoll, Louis Bolle etc). I worked on so many of those I could disassemble one in the dark! Most never got as far as the first service (hopefully not because of my repairs!)

I do remember a customer of the ‘old’ IW who had amassed a collection he’d spent (from memory) around £30k on. I vividly remember working out the value of it just 3 years later - he’d turned his £30k into around £500.
If that.
And that, more than anything, is why I don’t like their sales techniques. It was, presumably, his life savings, gone on a pile of cheaply made tat. He’d clearly fallen, hook line and sinker for the stories of ‘heirloom’ pieces.

Interesting, thanks Professor.

Ingersoll, thats a name from the past. My first watch back in the late 70s was an Ingersoll. Back then it was a brand that was known and trusted.

I do kinda feel sorry for those who fall for the underhand tactics of both the brands sold on TV and those who sell them. At one time I must admit I was tempted myself, I know a little better now.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

Ingersoll - the watches you looked at ih the Green Shield or Embassy catalogues, checked your books and coupons and realised it was a Timex moment, or no moment at all!!

 

[Professor Branestawm]

"I just want to own one", groans Pedro. "So few of us can own a watch worth 2000 pound".

Just buy one then Peter - you'll find a space beside the rest of the tat in your draughty hovel

And he can keep it next to the solid gold Rolex he often wears….

 

[Professor Branestawm]

They say some stupid stuff.

'And if the person you've bought the watch for goes online to see how much it cost, they'll see this ...'

Cue a screenshot of the brand website showing the watch and its RRP of £1699.99.

'They'll think you've spent all of that on them!!!'

MMmmm, and they might also see other websites selling the watch for a few hundred

So, essentially, they are shysters, hoping to sell to liars.
Heck of a brand strategy, that…
Is the ‘liar’ market a buoyant one, then?

 

[Professor Branestawm]

Thanks for the compliment, but as i keep saying i ain't an expert, just smitten by the watch collecting bug.

No way IW would use me, unless they want their watch sales to slump.

Can I disagree?
I’ve been a professional watchmaker, fully qualified, for almost 20 years, and Hammy is better than me at identifying mechanisms. Oh, I know I’d get there in the end, but Hammy is so quick, and always accurate.
Don’t do yourself down, Hammy!

 

[Wanderer]

Ingersoll - the watches you looked at ih the Green Shield or Embassy catalogues, checked your books and coupons and realised it was a Timex moment, or no moment at all!!

Now that is old school, collecting Green Shield stamps.