Exactly 45 days after the purchase; with dozens of email messages to and from the seller; with much nonsense from PayPal and eBay; with a six-hour drive (round trip) through the snow to a remote Serbian town; with a small envelope of cash; with drinks for the seller and a bottle of whiskey for the "boots on the ground"; and with sincere gratitude for the collaboration of some fantastic friends, I am pleased to announce the arrival of the "Serbian Soldier" (center).

Nasty bezel; strange hands; polished case; wrong pushers and crown; scratched crystal; and non-working movement, but ignore all that and look at that damn dial . . . KILLER!! I'm optimistic that we will be able to sort out most of these other little issues!!

And for those who may be wondering, yes, this is the watch that was the subject of an $1,800 BuyItNow on eBay, which the seller then cancelled . . . For anyone who may be interested, we can share these details sometime down the road.

Jeff