1. Zodiac Crystal
2. Restored Zodiac Dial
3. Zodiac Sea Wolf Case
4. Zodiac Sea Wolf Case Back

I know – - – I’m getting more than a few eyebrows raised now because watch collectors are accepted as refined, educated, well-mannered art appreciators & connoisseurs. It is quite shocking & shameful to know that one in our considerable number is not!

What I’m about to relate is the entire truth of the matter & I’ll be inserting screen captures from my email inbox so you can be sure that I haven’t edited anything out! I have blurred out the customer’s name & contact details, however, because we always are respectful of our customer’s privacy.

Oh, & take note that this fellow has represented himself as a Curator of the *censored* Museum of Horology (Watches & Clocks). I expected more from someone who holds a position in the preservation of art!

This watch collector purchased a BULOVA Super Seville from the website. He received the watch on May 27 but found the band too tight.

I offered to send him extension links but informed him that I would need a week to locate the exact links that would fit into the band. We are dealing with vintage watches here – parts are rare & not readily available in stores!

By June 14, I informed him that I located the links. I even attached photos of the links so he would know what to expect. I shipped them a day after in a small Air Mail envelope.

I did not hear from him for a month so I assumed that he received the links we sent to him & the problem was solved. BUT THEN… We received this surprisingly rude email!

I assumed the violent reaction was due to anxiety & disappointment so I did not reply with the same negative intensity. I accept that it is normal for most to let go of biting words when in an emotional state. I am generally sensitive towards the needs of our customers. I also saw it as an opportunity to steer the conversation to a more pleasant way of resolving the issue.

I was looking forward to a reply that demonstrates a willingness to arrive at a solution but I was further surprised to read an even more offensive email that topped off his previous one!

Well, what do you think of this fellow? Have you ever had a similar experience? Have You Ever Met an IMPOSSIBLY RUDE Watch Collector? If yes, how did you respond? If no, what steps would you take?

Guys, we at Big Ben Watches are always honest & sincere in our dealings with all of our customers.

We are always available to resolve matters even after a sale is concluded. You can always count on us to arrive at a solution that works for both of us (dealer & collector)!

If you receive your watch & find that all is not well, feel free to contact us & we’ll make everything right!

Remember, our customer satisfaction is our priority – we won’t last this long in business if it were any other way.

Naturally, I eagerly awaited the first episode of a new TV show on the History Channel, Ancient Aliens, that is based on the same theories. Naturally again, Mr. von Däniken was interviewed in several segments. And so was Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, publisher of Legendary Times magazine & director of Mr. von Däniken’s Center for Ancient Astronaut Research since the 1990s.

The theories presented on the show were familiar to me as they were all tales of celestial beings influencing civilization. But there was a segment featuring the ancient gods of what is now modern-day Iraq that presented something new & exciting. Babylon worshiped gods who wore boots, helmets, wings, & above all… wait for it… wristwatches!

Yes, WRISTWATCHES! Wow! It’s a combination of subjects that I’m most interested in: Aliens & Watches. What could be better than that?!

These theories were founded on ancient Sumerian/Babylonian stone carvings, so they’re supported with historical evidence. See for yourself!

In 1966 director Stanley Kubrick commissioned HAMILTON to design a futuristic watch for his film “2001 – A Space Odyssey”. It was made only as a movie prop prototype due to high cost in manufacturing. Today, it can be admired at the NAWCC (National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors) Museum in Columbia, PA, U.S.A.

In 1969, HAMILTON created a special edition watch to commemorate the film & HAMILTON’s exclusive contribution to it. The commemorative watch was the “Odyssee 2001″, which carries that name on the dial itself.

Here are some awesome blast-from-the-past HAMILTON & Stanley Kubrick’s “2001 – A Space Odyssee” Movie Tie-In print advertisements for your appreciation & reference! Click the images below to expand to full-view.

Now, it’s 2010 and we’re still stuck in road traffic! Still, the HAMILTON Odyssee 2001 serves a historical reminder of what man’s wildest dreams were made of!

U.S.A.
http://usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm?from=home_header&page=trackandconfirm

Canada
http://canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/track/personal/findByTrackNumber?execution=e1s1

United Kingdom
http://parcelforce.com/portal/pw

Australia
http://auspost.com.au/track

Singapore
http://speedpost.com.sg/TrackAndTrace.asp

Please take note that the links provided are for public Post Office couriers. I’m sure these would help you track the delivery status of watches we send to you!

We are finalizing a few things with our supplier. Plus, a redesign of the Big Ben Watches logo to go with the watches is undergoing.

We are hoping for your support in this new venture. If everything works out perfectly, we will be holding this raffle as often as 5 times annually!

He bought a Girard-Perregaux Vermeil Watch from us on September 13. We shipped it out on September 17 & stored all shipping receipts as proof. He made repetitive calls at 3:00 am asking why his watch hasn’t been delivered yet. He paid for Registered Mail, not Express Mail shipping, so he ought to have been aware that it takes 3-4 weeks to deliver!

Later on, he demanded for a refund & threatened to leave negative feedback for us if we don’t. We wanted to keep our eBay feedback profile flawless, so we sent him his refund. Then, he left negative feedback for us, anyway. Fortunately, eBay removed it from our profile.

All other watches that were shipped together with his have been received by their respective buyers. I also wrote to USPS Customer Service & they have confirmed that the buyer has already received the item!

As a result, he has the watch & he has the money.

I wrote an email to the buyer informing him that I am certain that he has the watch & money. I also forwarded the USPS agent’s email confirmation as proof. I requested that he return the watch to us. After a few days, he insisted that he would send back the payment to us & he did.

So, after all the chaos, the buyer got his watch & we, the seller, got the payment. We would have gotten the same ending without much waste of time, effort & emotion if the buyer had only been more pleasant, patient & trusting.

Anyway, just so you won’t have to go through what we did. Here’s some advice:

• Always keep all shipping receipts on file!
• In case of delayed shipment, never send a refund to a buyer if he threatens you with negative feedback!
• Instead, have him open a Dispute.
• Paypal will put a temporary hold on the amount involved until the buyer confirms that he has received the item.
• If the buyer fails to confirm his receipt of the item, the seller still gets the money back after a period of time so long as a valid proof of shipment is attached to the Dispute.
• If the buyer leaves a negative while a Dispute is running, eBay will remove it from your profile because it’s counted as Feedback Abuse.

We have been contacted twice by individuals, asking for shipping information on watches they “purchased from us” at forums. Big Ben Watches does not sell watches on forums!

Please be informed that Big Ben Watches only advertises watches for sale on this website (http://bbwatches.info) and on our eBay seller account (http://myworld.ebay.com/bigbenwatch).

Please be informed that the only rightful owners and representatives of Big Ben Watches are Mary Aileen Oracion and Marc Andrei Villaflor.

If you have any information on this matter that will help us identify this impostor, do contact us.

In the photo above (click to enlarge), Olympic medalist swimmer Michael Phelps is seen wearing his custom-made Omega Speedmaster Broadarrow while smoking marijuana.

Phelps’ custom Omega surprisingly has a Mother-of-Pearl dial and a diamond bezel. I say “surprisingly” because Omega doesn’t usually go for “clash” combination in design material.

Now, I understand that in some parts of the globe, the use of cannabis is legally/morally/socially accepted. But in the U.S. it’s not and that poses a problem.

Kellogg’s took him off their cereal boxes, perhaps Omega would soon take him off their ad campaigns? Who knows?