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Angus just posted some pics over on rg about the progress on a black bay from noob. Looks interesting so far! Gen on left, rep on right, a bit of work to do but the build looks extremely promising at this stage!

Shot on Canon 5D mkII and mkIII's using either an 85mm f1.8 or 24-70mm f2.8L and a variety of canon Speedlites. All edited in Adobe Lightroom.

Another quick review with a quick pic! I got this one recently from a terrific forum member What a great piece this is. In person, it is draws a lot of attention to say the very least. The execution of details is phenomenal. Cheers!!

Just put this one together. Ok, so this project started out as an MBW 1680. I used the MBW case for my Snowflake project with the intention of selling the MBW 1680 movement (2836) dial and hands. I had a TC case lying around and decided to make a go of the 16800. I think the MBW datewheel was modeled after the 16800. They are very close. Search for the dial was a bit frustrating with trying to find the right size and availability, but I finally went with bk’s “flat s” dial from the TW sub. Getting the 2836 to fit the TC case was somewhat arduous but it’s in there! I know, this is far from accurate but I liked the look of the old-school datewheel so much that I decided to run with it. I’ve included a gen photo for comparison that apparently had a new “Swiss Made” dial installed. Anyway, check it out. Line up: ETA 2836 with MBW 1680 datewheel TC case/TC tube and crown Clark crystal WSO insert with WM pearl Bk’s “flat s” dial and hands Future mod plans To pbdad for lug drilling Yuki matte 16800 dial (if/when available) Gen crown image ru online photo sharing upload photos upload pic upload pic

All went well (not that i was worried)...thanks for all the help/forum etc etc here's some quick pics...now for the next one

If you find that out let us all know. Haven't been able to figure that our for years...

Great pair ray, would love either one / Just to clarify with the rep crown: there was a bit of confusion over which was gen on the geek, the gen is actually the left in the pics above, it is the heavier engraved design. Some people immediately thought the right one which was thinner engraved was the gen and said it looked a little better cut in teeth and design, but it's actually on the left one. They are updating this on the prototype. I meant to link back to the original thread: http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=187824&page=8

Funniest part is that Luthier came here as an immigrant and now want's to deny everyone else the same opportunities.

Actually that's the kind of wacked reasoning that has other countries laughing at Americans. Sorry but that's in line with the Obama's a commie from Kenya reasoning. Ken

OK, first - I don't know anything about transit visa, all I know is - if you don't have proper chinese visa - you'll sleep on the street, because no hotel will admit you without visa. Transit visa do not allow you to leave airport, and you could be arrested, and pay fine (5000 yuan). Second - if you'll ask a taxi driver to bring you to "watch factory" - he'll refuse to work, until you'll give him an exact address. Third - no taxi could bring you to the watch market, they drop you 2-3 blocks before it. Fourth - when you exist GZ International Airport, new one, bot an old Baiyun, which provide only flights inside China, you'll be surrounded by at least 10-15 people, who will offer you "taxi", but they're not a taxi drivers, the line for taxi will be about 100-200 people. If you'll succumb, and take any of these "taxi", they'll ride you for at least 2 hours, and demand at least 400-500 yuan for the trip. Real taxi cost 180 yuan. Best way is to take the bus #4 and go to Dongguan hotel, where you can easily get a taxi to watch market area (if you speak Putong Hua, of course), for about 25-30 yuan. And the last - ecven if you'll reach watch market, and if you're without chinese guide - you'll pay 800-1000 yuan for crappy 21j or quartz watches. Don't even think to find anything with ETA, clones or A7750, it doesn't exist there. Been there dozens of times. Here's a few pictures.

The company that i used to work for which is a family business they all wear rolexes one of there sons has two datonas two datejusts and a hublot they saw me many times wearing my reps and he used to say hey nice watch any way one day we were talking and i told him that they were reps he stood there and said get outta here they are gen he could not believe they were reps i was wearing a noobmariner tt blue anyway after that he got very interested in reps and often gets me to order him some on condition that i never tell his brothers or anyone else they are rep the guy drives a aston martin and a jag and he wears his reps with pride i have seen him on a number of times at meetings wearing them i asked him why would he want to wear a rep when he can buy a gen like we buy a pair of shoes he was only called out once when showing it to his brother he picked up on the bezel click sound these guys are not like us they no nothing about details of gens or reps or there contruction they just wear them !

Shanghai wasn't a problem for me, as I've heard for Beijing, but for the "smaller" airports, I'm not sure. Boy, would that be fun though Jump in a taxi and say "Wǒ xiǎng qù wàn biǎo gōngchǎng" (i want to go to a replica watch factory) and see what happens!

Few more photos

here is a few quick photos fitted up mabe i will change the insert to red but this brandy colour harley insert is growing on me ! This watch is a keeper for sure ! thanks to my good friend Andreas (georgeloiz) watchmaker for helping me put this project together ! and thanks for using your wrist for the photo no copyright intended ! specs are ruhelena (helenarou) 6538 (sterile case) fitted with saphire crystal AR on the underside pressure rated at 100m (tested to 150m) rafflestime harley davison insert ( i may fit a coke red or if i can find a burgandy red insert) rafflestime tudor rose gloss dial rafflestime gold snowflake hands gen 2824-2 movement yuki tudor shield rotor Remarks : very heavy case and very well finished no case mods were done and the case weighed about the same as my 6538 cartel build without the tudor movement fitted ! Catergory: tudor black bay influenced (not meant to be an exact replica so is it custom? Fantasy model ? homage ? i am very glad to add this to my collection ! oh and almost forgot cost of the build i dont keep good accounts on spending ( nervous twitchy finger) 6538 case 230 usd approx dial 30 usd approx flake hands 24.95 movement cant remember about 185 usd yuki tudor rotor 28 usd total cost 497.95 usd

I have not been able to read this post for awhile, as the subject is painful. I want to express to HauteHippie, how deeply sorry I am for your Mom;s passing and your Dad's decline in health. Life is a precious gift, which we often take for granted. The kind words and cameraderie of the members here is overwhelming. Really. This forum has many very fine people. Now....Good News..The doctors told me my Dad had a 1% chance of ever walking out of a hospital. I flew to Denver weeks ago to see him after a 7 hour operation. He looked so small and nearly dead.I returned to Las Vegas in agony to keep working, as life goes on, and Dad got better day by day. He was transferred back to the nursing home in Morrison, Colorado, where his feeding tube was removed, and now walks around with a cane. He is doing ok for an 80 year old fellow. I have been to Denver so mny times that my employer wont allow more time off, so Dad will fly here first class next week to live with me in my 4 bedroom home with 4 dogs. I am thankful to God for giving my Father the strength to recover from what would have killed most people. My Grand Aunt Lea lived to be 104 years. We are a family of Finlanders, who have good genes, but some of us, myself included, drink to damn much. My Great Grandfather died in a sauna, his last words were that he wanted a beer. Ha! God Bless all of you here at RWG. I am proud to be included in a place with so many fine souls. Thank you all for your support and prayers. They worked!

UPDATED: September 20th, 2012 Just for fun I thought i'd post up some pics of my current collection. Rolex 168000 Triple Zero This was quite a labor of love! Found this gorgeous spider web dial thanks to Ubi and the rest slowly came together over several months and months of searching. What was originally going to be a franken ended up becoming a genenstein. All gen parts were used for this build. Case, caseback, dial, hands, movement, datewheel, bezel, insert, crystal and bracelet. This was a lot of love and definitely one of my current favorites! Rolex Datejust This is one I had a while ago, and then sold it. Now it's back in my collection again. Simple, elegant and a timeless classic. This one is all gen except for the movement & hands. Stilty built this one using a really nice and smooth Gucci ETA 2892 movement. Tudor 9411 A lot of you know this watch already and it is, by far, my favorite. It gets most of my wrist time as it is just so damn comfortable. The gen folded link 9135 bracelet is so soft and flexible (not to mention it weighs next to nothing!) Of course, the Zigmesiter vintage tritium lume is outstanding!!! DW Tudor 7032 This is a very recent build in which the Zigmeister was invaluable in helping me get this one going. Of course it has a gen Valjoux 7734 that was recently assembled and serviced by the master himself. In addition, Ziggy re-lumed the dial with a nice vintage tritium mix and as always it looks just perfect. Also installed is a gen 703 crown & tube. The 7836 bracelet with 380 endlinks was from Mary at Watch International. I aged the case using JMB's famous case aging trick by shaking it in a jar filled with lathe waste (a combination of aluminum, brass, & steel shavings as well as some nuts, bolts & screws). I also aged the crystal by putting some protective plastic on the underside of the crystal and giving it a good shake in the metal shavings jar. The two Tudors: Seiko SKX007/SOXA Sea-Rambler Another very unique piece. This started off as a Seiko SKX007 with a 7s26 movement in it. I bought this off of Ronin and he converted this to a Searambler homage using parts from Noah Fuller (who was a genius with after market seiko parts who sadly died after a long battle with lung cancer). This one has an AR Sapphire Crystal, Yobokies SOXA insert, Yobokies Anvil Bracelet and Doxa Hands (from Yobokies) And also on rubber Vintage Bulova Quartz This belonged to my grandfather and was handed down to me when he passed away 13 years ago. I never understood why I got this piece instead of some of the others but my grandmother then told me that she and I went to the Hudson Bay company when I was very little to buy this for him for Christmas. Apparently I sat on his lap while he opened this watch and it was one that he wore the most. I really do not like gold watches, and the stretchy bracelet just didn't work for me. I kept it put away and never wore it. One day I decided to restore it and make it something that I could wear and then pass on to my kids. I took off the bracelet, uncased the movement and had the case rhodium plated. Offshore helped me out with a new crystal, silver hands & a new polished SS crown. I then had HK Tan make me a beautiful croc strap for it and I added a polished SS deployant buckle. Here is what the watch looked like originally: And here it is today: Now updated with new Ziggy lumed hands & dial dots. Used the vintage tritium mix to match the age of the watch I wore this in honor of my grandfather on my wedding day: Panerai 5218-205a Slytech Pre-Vendome Another custom special. This one took a while to get all the bits together. Of course, it has the infamous w0lf modified 111 case. Also has a V-CG modified by the Zigmeister. Jakob custom case back, FGD Pre-V hands and the dial is a FGD ziggy lumed. Thanks for looking everyone