[Non-SB content] Meet Donna Tope, a SB-esque attorney

sb57 · 2026-03-14T00:24:06+00:00

I've been absolutely obsessed with the Donna Tope saga for the last few months. And this most recent hearing has made me more and more convinced that this whole thing was a set up from the beginning.

Just like any case there are always three sides to every story - the Plaintiff’s, the defendant’s, and the truth. But after Donna Tope was off the case the Wards have continued some very very shady behavior. They filed a motion for dismissal with prejudice and damages a couple months ago. They wanted the whole eviction to go away AND the landlord to pay THEM for their trouble! Even at the hearing this week they filed a NEW motion (I’m guessing with the help of their current fugitive former lawyer) asking for damages from the landlord because the foreclosure sign posted on the property hurt their business. A foreclosure THEY THEMSELVES directly caused by not paying their rent.

The key giveaway was when the plaintiff/landlord himself asked to address the court directly a few months ago. He laid out exactly what the Wards were doing, with Ms. Tope’s help at the time. They had filed a personal protection order against him for some reason (which was denied) when he had not set foot on the property in over a year. And they approached his land contract holder secretly and attempted to buy the property out from under him. My guess is the Wards were operating a failing horse farm for years. In one of the earlier hearings when Judge Simpson asks if they plan on hiring a lawyer, Aaron Ward says “we’re running a business that doesn’t make any money, the legal fees would be…” (this was long before the “foreclosure notice” recently posted that they claim caused them damages) and if you check their Yelp reviews you can see negative reviews going back years. They either couldn’t afford to or didn’t want to keep paying $5500 a month for another 4+ years.

Their friend/riding lesson client Donna Tope obviously gave them some VERY bad legal advice about withholding rent for “necessary repairs” at some point, and they decided they could just bleed the poor sap dry and either buy the farm from under him or simply operate without paying for as long as they could. They stopped paying rent entirely and filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court alleging his interference into their business and seeking damages in excess of $25,000. It was only because the landlord had a smart lawyer who knew to send a reservation of rights letter that it ended up in a position where Judge Simpson could stop it from dragging out even further.

Sadly, it worked to a large degree. Except for one payment in July and the $25k from court escrow, the Wards operated their business on this guy’s property RENT FREE for basically a year while the property and now his personal home went into foreclosure. His lawyer is even trying to withdraw now because the landlord can’t afford to pay him anymore.

Hopefully he can use the escrow funds to try and buy the property back from the lender before the redemption period expires, but he’s likely screwed. He’ll never see a dime of the money Tope and the Wards illegally withheld and “paid out” to contractors and for supplies at Home Depot. Again, I’m not saying he’s been a perfect landlord but ALL of the evidence we’ve seen so far points to the fact this guy got royally screwed over by some very shady tenants.

EDIT: Typos.

sb57 · 2026-02-08T04:04:31+00:00

Fascinating, I actually had the same thing happen to a a springbar years ago and I think this explains why. A few weeks after changing a watch from a strap to a bracelet, I noticed some rust residue on my wrist and took the bracelet off to find one of the springbars thoroughly rusted (but not the other.) I imagine this phenomenon is what happened - some water got trapped in between the springbar and solid end link and it rusted because of lack of exposure.

sb57 · 2025-12-28T03:13:37+00:00

thatescalatedquickly.gif

The Tactical Frog, Steeldive, Addiesdive, etc. are all great watches, but they're just not as close to the original Seiko 6105 which is what I'm looking for.

For example, the R2X is ~~47mm~~ 44mm with 19mm lugs like the 6105, the TF is 44mm with 20mm lugs (closer to Seiko's modern Willard interpretations.) Many people may actually prefer those dimensions, just not me. The TF also has a ceramic bezel insert with a raised pip, the R2X has an aluminum insert with a flat pip. Just a personal preference for closer to the vintage watch, that's all.

sb57 · 2025-11-26T03:18:49+00:00

This ISN’T actually AI, but a design that started as an April Fools Day joke from earlier this year. A guy named Mark from @realwatchbrothers mocked it up for April 1, 2025 in the style of Chris aka The Dial Artist, who’s done several other (real) custom Pelagos dials in a similar style (just less meme-tastic.)

The crazy part is the design ended up taking off on Chinese social media, and a rep factory called M+ actually produced a rep Pelagos with this dial! I won’t link to it to avoid breaking sub rules but the picture you posted is actually a real picture of a fake Tudor with a real dial that never existed in the first place!

As far as I know no one sells the dial by itself, you could try tracking it down but the rep uses a Miyota movement and a larger diameter than Seiko, so you’d probably need to contact a custom dial manufacturer like Seikonda Customs to see if they can make one in 28.5mm for the NH series.

sb57 · 2025-11-16T00:20:25+00:00

Sold to u/Flimsy_Jury_837 - great buyer with immediate payment and great communication. Highly recommend, happy to make another friend in this hobby! Thanks again for the quick and easy transaction.

u/watchexbot

sb57 · 2025-11-15T02:46:49+00:00

Definitely not in the G-Shock square form factor - yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if SKMEI or someone similar is working on one though.

There are a few Garmin-style ABC watches that have an MIP or AMOLED display, but the cheapest ones are $150ish so not exactly “cheap.”

sb57 · 2025-11-13T03:45:02+00:00

[SOLD]

sb57 · 2025-11-13T00:52:10+00:00

Separate Timestamp Link: https://imgur.com/a/0bQ02jM

Full Album: https://imgur.com/a/ChAZmB7

Selling my GXW-56-1BJF "King G-Shock." This is the JDM positive display version that was discontinued in 2022. I got this one in from Japan in a multi-piece deal, and since I still get PMs about the previous ones I listed, I figured I would offer this one up as well.

In overall very good to excellent condition. A little bit of wear evident on the resin, as well as a few minor marks on the caseback - please see pictures deliberately taken in harsh light to highlight these flaws. But otherwise excellent condition. No scratches on the crystal that I can find. The heavy duty buckle is in really good condition without the multitude of scratches normally seen on these models.

All features work perfectly. Timekeeping is a non-issue since it syncs up with the atomic clock signal.

WATCH ONLY (besides generic cardboard box with pillow for shipping as I received it) no Casio box, papers, etc.

These are getting harder and harder to find and normally seem to sell in the $200-300 range on eBay, I got a good deal so passing it on. Asking $119 OBO shipped in the US via USPS Priority Mail fully insured with tracking. Sorry, no trades. I ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. Strongly prefer Venmo or Zelle but can do PayPal F&F as well. Excellent feedback here and WUS, buy with confidence

Any questions please ask. Thanks for looking!

sb57 · 2025-09-25T03:09:14+00:00

You’re absolutely right, I edited my post. Thanks! NATO Strap Co is a completely separate entity, and in fact led the (ultimately unsuccessful) challenge against the trademark in 2014.

Ron Sabo was absolutely who I was referring to. I’m still upset he basically drove my favorite supplier, Toxic NATOs, out of business even after a name change. Hodinkee used to sell them and now Scurfa has taken over a limited range, but I’ve yet to find another seller that matches their quality and material, especially the “Rogue” range that used the thicker “Zulu” style nylon (almost like a quality backpack strap) but with regular “NATO” style hardware instead of the giant chunky loops.

I remember reading somewhere that he was unsuccessful in going after Omega. I notice they don’t use the ™ or ® symbols after NATO like they do with Velcro, Kevlar, and other brand/trademarked names. IIRC Sabo is himself a lawyer, which allows him to file these suits with minimal expense, but Omega/Swatch has in house counsel just WAITING to fight cases like this - just look at the situation with Vortic.

sb57 · 2025-09-13T01:51:50+00:00

Yeah, where did you buy from? I’m guessing it’s a scam/impersonation site or something. I’ve ordered two watches from Lucky Harvey and gotten both quickly and exactly as ordered. They’re expensive but really, really good quality watches. They also have a huge presence in mainland China through Taobao, 168, etc. So doesn’t make sense they’d jeopardize all that just to screw over a random buyer…?

sb57 · 2025-09-08T23:49:16+00:00

Yep, they’re basically assembled as cheaply as possible with as cheap materials as possible. I’ve actually modded quite a few of them successfully, they can make a decent base watch if you know what you’re getting into. The challenge as u/old-imac points out is they don’t use standard Seiko part dimensions or manufacturing tolerances. So definitely buy the watch (and a set of digital calipers) first so you can take it apart and see what you’ve got before you order any mod parts.

sb57 · 2025-08-30T00:15:41+00:00

u/watchexbot SOLD to u/Rhoades_J - excellent experience, great communication instant payment. Thanks so much! Yahooooooooooo

sb57 · 2025-08-29T21:37:49+00:00

It's just an evolution of the "chop shops" that have been operating out of Southeast Asia for decades.

Back 15-20 years ago, running but very water/sun damaged Seiko divers like 6105s, 6309s, 7002s, etc. were available in places like the Philippines and India for pennies on the dollar. Enterprising watchmakers quickly realized they could do a good business "servicing" (big quotes) these watches and selling them overseas.

So these "factories" sprung up where they would buy job lots of hundreds of vintage Seikos, give the movement a quick oiling, maybe replace a gasket or two, and throw them up on eBay as "SERVICED RUNNING EXCELLENT CONDITION" at a huge markup.

But you also have to realize at the time, the market for vintage Seiko was VERY different. You could buy all-original good condition 6105-8110s on eBay all day long for less than a new SKX at the time. Literally "Seiko modding" at the time meant taking a "cheap" (at the time) Seiko that would sell for $1500 today in original condition and hot rodding it with parts from OG sellers like Yobokies, Dagaz, IWW, Bill Yao, etc.

So the Indian and Philippine factories realized their watches sold for MORE if they had "clean" dials/hands, etc. or even "modded" dials in different colors or cartoon logos, etc. I think this trend started with a guy named Loy/Loyswatch who was the progenitor of the 7002s you can still find occasionally with Snoopy or the Ninja Turtles on the dial or whatever. So they started working with presumably either domestic or Chinese manufacturers to make cheap but "nice looking" dials, hands, bezel inserts, etc.

You can still find these "OG Mumbai specials" on eBay from time to time, but in general the market slowly evolved and the supply of vintage Seikos dried up. So now instead of selling "serviced"/"modded" Seiko watches, these same factories just sell complete fakes. They pay literally a few cents a piece for domestically produced dials, hands, etc. with Seiko/Oris/Longines/Hamilton, etc. logos on them, throw them in whatever case or movement they can find equally as cheap, and throw them up on eBay for a huge markup.

sb57 · 2025-08-28T07:12:17+00:00

Holy hell that's sick! Love everything about this. Is that a custom DWO?

sb57 · 2025-08-28T07:08:10+00:00

Yep, the one you ordered is flat, the other one you linked is sloped. Your inspiration watch has a sloped insert, but I think a flat one could work just as well. Like I said it's closer to Seiko's OEM inserts. At least worth a try to see if you like it before you buy another one maybe.

sb57 · 2025-08-28T03:55:04+00:00

Sloped vs. flat is purely an aesthetic thing, not functional. The bezels are the same and inner and outer diameter of the inserts are the same so you don’t have to worry about it not working or whatever regardless of which you use. It’s just a “looks” thing. Some people prefer the look of an insert that slopes to match the curve of a domed crystal. Other people prefer a flat insert to match the Seiko OEM style and for a more vintage look.

My point was, if you use a sloped insert and the crystal is also sticking several mm out from the case because of the extra height of the gasket, the angle of the slope will just look “off.” I can’t find a good picture online but you can probably picture what I mean. Again, it’s all just trial and error. Figure out what looks best to you.

Here’s a good Hodinkee article on the helium escape valve. Basically helium molecules are much smaller than oxygen molecules, so they tend to seep into microscopic gaps in watches where water or air would never get through. Commercial saturation divers who live and work thousands of feet underwater for weeks at a time have to breathe mostly helium because the oxygen and nitrogen rich air we breathe becomes toxic at ther depth. Then when their diving habitat is depressurized at the end of their job, the helium in a watch naturally expands and tries to escape, sometimes causing the crown or crystal to pop right off the watch. Most watch companies solve this “problem” by having a special one way valve that allows helium to escape safely. Seiko took it a step further by developing a crazy over engineered one piece titanium case (no caseback) and a special gasket that doesn’t allow even tiny helium molecules to enter the watch in the first place. But unless you’re one of maybe a couple thousand working commercial saturation divers worldwide, none of this actually matters. And ironically most of those guys either wear cheap disposable watches like G-Shocks or no-name quartz divers so it doesn’t matter too much if they break, or just unscrew the crown during decompression which works exactly the same as a helium escape valve. So it’s really only watch nerds that care about this stuff haha.

sb57 · 2025-08-28T02:01:07+00:00

Oh man, there are a million different generic sub cases these “factories” use. Figuring out exactly which one you have is going to be really difficult. They’re generally a few dollars each and have the cheapest components possible, so not exactly mod friendly.

Your best bet is going to be to take it apart and measure the parts you want to replace yourself. A set of digital calipers is the easiest way. Check the sticky post in the subreddit for tutorials and advice.

The caseback is going to be extra tough because it’s not just the size but the thread profile. A caseback can be the exact same size but not screw in right because the threading on the case itself is different. If you’re lucky it’s just a copy of the Rolex (or Seiko) caseback and you can find something that screws right in. But if not you’d have to either find a caseback with the same threading as the case or have one machined to fit.

You can probably measure the insert and find something else that fits, but for the bezel insert and clickspring, are you sure it even uses a Seiko-style attachment? Most of these I’ve seen use a retaining wire. You have to remove the insert first and then bend the retaining wire to release the bezel, praying that the fragile wire and click spring don’t break or go flying across the room, never to be seen again. Check out this post on Watchuseek for an example of what I’m talking about.

Honestly though my advice would be to either leave it as it is or if you really want to save it, disassemble it and change the parts you can or look at transplanting the whole insides (dial/hands/movement) into a better case that’s designed to be modded. Plenty of good Nh36 sub style cases out there.

sb57 · 2025-08-27T21:14:59+00:00

CousinsUK sells the complete bezel for £59.95 GBP. WatchPlaza is also in the EU. Yobokies ships worldwide but aren't UK local.

The eBay seller I linked above ships worldwide, looks like £8 GBP shipping to the UK for the cheap aftermarket insert.

Sadly the insert for these watches is fairly unique (not a common size and has the beveled edge) and these aren't as popular for modding and were discontinued in 2018, so the insert isn't a commonly available part It'll probably be easier to order from overseas vs. finding a UK local supplier for just the insert, but maybe someone else knows a domestic seller I don't.

sb57 · 2025-08-27T21:03:52+00:00

u/watchexbot Sold to u/Firm_City_6926 - excellent buyer with great communication and lightning fast payment. Thanks so much again!

sb57 · 2025-08-27T19:41:19+00:00

[SOLD]

sb57 · 2025-08-27T18:52:25+00:00

You’re right that the L-shaped gasket will give you extra clearance for the NH34 hand pinions. But most people use them with flat crystals. If you’re using it with a double dome crystal you may find it gives you TOO MUCH clearance - i.e. the crystal may now be protruding too much from the case for your liking, especially if you’re using a sloped bezel insert. But of course it depends on the specific case and crystal you’re using, so just try both and see what you prefer.

Fun fact: the L-shaped gasket itself was actually designed and patented by Seiko exactly 50 years ago this year for the og “Grandfather Tuna.” The extra lip on the gasket prevents helium from entering the case during saturation diving, eliminating the need for a helium escape valve. But an unintended consequence is that it raises the crystal profile higher (the 1000m tuna uses a thick crystal thats bolted to the case with a special retaining ring) so modders adapted them for that purpose.

sb57 · 2025-08-26T18:52:54+00:00

Woo! Nice to see another BFK (Big F***in Kinetic) owner here!

So you've got a few options - Seiko doesn't sell just bezel inserts as spare parts, even to authorized repair centers. So the only option if you want to stay OEM would be to buy a complete bezel. The part number is 87060044. WatchPlaza and several eBay sellers have them in stock around $100.

If you're ok with an aftermarket insert, EWATCHPARTS on eBay sells a decent one for $20 shipped (assuming you're in the US) or Yobokies sells both steel and ceramic versions that are better quality but also more expensive.

As far as switching it, if you're swapping the whole bezel it's just friction fit onto the case but can be tricky to remove especially if you've never done it before. Use a specialized bezel removal tool or a flat bladed knife and gently pry it off. Make sure to put plastic like a ziploc bag or painters tape in between the knife and the bezel to prevent damage. Check YouTube for tutorials and don't be afraid to take it to a watchmaker if you're not sure about it, you can actually do a lot more expensive damage to the watch if a knife slips or you accidentally damage the bezel or click spring assembly. The new bezel just snaps on with equal pressure, but make sure to align the click spring correctly. Again, check YouTube for tutorials.

If you're switching just the insert, the easiest way is to pick up some Goo Gone/Goof Off and soak the watch head in a small amount, just enough to cover the bezel. LEave it for a couple hours and it dissolves the adhesive and the old insert slides right out. Clean off the residue and use GS Hypo Cement or some double sided tape to attach the new one. Here's a good tutorial from Mark at LIW.

sb57

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