Leaderboard

This old thing...

Update fellas: The server is configured very nice. It is running smooth and fast. And can handle loads off traffic ;-) I bought myself a nice domain name for it and configured it so that it will redirect to my dedicated server where the platform is hosted. The visual design is 75% done and the platform is 80% done. Now I'm adding all watch attributes, adding all attribute options which is ALOT of work! After that I will insert all PAMs, implement the visual design and fine tweak the platform. Stay tuned...

*Updated 2008/Sep/20 - Added movement modability, better close-up pics, orange hand painting issue and lume shot What the @#%!$?? Another Omega Seamaster (SMP 300) Chronograph review? A quick search on RWG will show that many people have bought this watch, and many people have reviewed it. So, what's the point of yet another Omega SMP 300 review? Some examples include: Gioarmani's Gen vs. Rep Comparison Andreww's Review Jasonz1000 Review Taiji's Review and obviously...By-Tor's SMP Entry in his excellent Omega guide. The fact of the matter is this: this is an awesome rep. Is it the most accurate out of the box? No. Is it covered in shiny ceramic, chunky rubber and have a multi-layered carbon fiber dial? No. Does this even have an exotic new movement, decorated rotors or anything made in Switzerland on it? No, no and no. So really...what's the point? I bought this rep from Joshua over a year go shortly after discovering RWG, making it my first high end rep after spending hours doing research here and asking dumb questions on this forum ("Who makes the best SMP Chrono?" is significantly more sophisticated a query than "Who makes the best Sub?"...I assure you). Not only does this make my watch an old model it also means this review is NOT of a shiny new timepiece, but of an old, scratched up, used fake. I have always liked Omega Seamasters and Rolex Submariners ever since my interest in high end timepieces was piqued. Much of this interest I'll admit, was generated from watching a lot of James Bond movies, being equally as interested in finding out what his watch could do, as seeing if these movies really were filled with Pussy Galore. While I know my watches will never be able to saw through ropes or chains, search for radioactive ore or fire a frickin' laser, I like them nonetheless. After receiving my tiny box from China a whole new world of high quality, affordable timepieces was introduced. And since this rep just came back from the The Zigmeister spa receiving a complete servicing and some mods a whole new world of what a rep can not only look and feel like...but now OPERATE and FUNCTION like has arrived. This has inspired me to write this review. I'm also hoping to consolidate a lot of the info out there on modding this watch...and who really needs an excuse to take and post more pictures? I'm no Seadweller when it comes to reviews...or By-Tor when it comes to photographs...or Ubi/Freddy/Stephane who can showcase ultimate modded Frankens...or even a Lanikai who can take a wristie shot and make any watch look small. BUT, I can give you high value in word count and minutia. So...as always...enough of the chat...onto the business... OMEGA HISTORY The Omega History is essentially recycled from my Hour Vision Preview here: Toad's Omega Hour Vision Preview Ask anyone to name a high end watch and besides the reality of probably getting named Seiko, Timex and Swiss Army, Omega will likely appear near the top of the list for most well known luxury brand of watch. "The details of my life are quite inconsequential...very well, where do I begin?" Dr. Evil ...roots in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1848 and a 23 year old Louis Brandt setting up an assembly workshop producing pocket watches using components delivered by local craftsman. These roots based on high end device manufacturing using third party components had formed the backbone behind modern Omega manufacturing for years, where modern Omegas for the most part, were built upon movement bases supplied by ETA and not built in-house. Current production is now based in Biel, Switzerland and is now owned by the Swatch Group, makers of fine luxury products the world over. With the introduction of the caliber 8500 movement in 2007, Omega has branched out to production of beautifully finished movements using their Cotes de Geneve in Arabesque scalloped finish with polish and performance rivalling that of hand made boutique houses, but using more economical industrialized manufacturing techniques. ...a far cry from Unlike lesser known high end brands like IWC or A. Lange & Sohne, media exposure through high end endorsements and high profile product placement has been a key strategy for Omega since the early days of the company. Omega has placed itself as official timekeeper at a number of significant sporting events from the 1909 Gordon-Bennett Cup ballooning race to a series of Olympics from the first official timekeeper in the 1932 LA Summer Olympics to the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as well. Key endorsements include media superstars like Nicole Kidman, Cindy Crawford, Pierce Brosnan, and of course Daniel Craig and the whole James Bond franchise, as well as sporting stars like Michael Schumacher, Ellen MacArthur and uber-swimmer Michael Phelps. I mean who wouldn't want a little Nicole Kidman in their lives? The occasional trip to the moon doesn't hurt Omega's spotlight placement in the media either. Mmmmm...Nicole Product placement and endorsements are not necessarily a bad thing as they help define the image portrayed by the items at hand. Omega's approach differentiates the various Omega lines: Constellation - Contemporary dress styling...inherently more feminine (don't hit me for this one...I'm an SMP guy)...endorsed by Nicole Kidman Speedmaster - Sport and racing...with limited edition lines for Michael Schumacher Seamaster - Dress, sport and Diving...Bond and the like, and includes the Aquaterra and Railmaster lines Museum - Limited edition line reviving the style of the 1900's Deville - Traditional styling...used by David Duchovny in the X-Files, and Will Smith in Enemy of the State SEAMASTER HISTORY In 1932, with the Omega Marine, Omega introduced arguably the first waterproof watch in the world (they could use waterproof vs. water resistant back in those days). Having water resistance to 13.5 atmospheres or 135 meters made it popular among the ocean explorers and the ever popular submarine sect. Jacques Cousteau wearing an Omega Marine below. Aaaaarrr...I'll show YOU who has the best Sub! It wasn't until 1947 that the Seamaster name was first used, and 1948 that the first Seamaster was produced. The Seamaster line was inspired by the rugged waterproofness of the Omega Marine and it's succeeding 30 mm model and was sold widely to the British army during WWII and proved to be the most precise wristwatch caliber ever tested at Geneva. I say Commander, off to kick some Commie Pinko hiney, wot? While the Seamaster line traditionally was modelled along the lines of traditional style dress watches which could take the occasional dip, from the 1970s onwards Omega re-tooled the line to follow a sportier, chunkier and trendier route adding a heavier look, diver-oriented features like calibrated rotating bezels, chronograph functions and easier to read dials and often specialty aqua-oriented features like my favourite...the regatta countdown timer Mmmm...Titanium! Complex? I suppose...but not so complex this function can't be found on a $200 Nautica watch. The Omega execution of this feature however, has definite class. Currently, the Seamaster line includes the descendents of the Seamaster Deville - the Aqua Terras which follow dressier stylings and 150m water resistance and the Seamaster Professional (aka SMP 300m) series introduced in 1993 having 300m water resistance. OMEGA MODEL NUMBERS 2599.80.00?? What do these numbers mean? WARNING: The following codes are not used consistently by Omega, but are entertaining as a guide. So, a model 2831.80.08 is a full-size Seamaster Professional, stainless steel case, with blue bezel and dial, on the optional blue sharkskin strap. Mmmm...did I say Titanium? The 2299.80.00 is a Seamaster Chronograph Automatic in Titanium with blue bezel and blue dial and default straps, and the 2599.80.00 is a Seamaster Chronograph Automatic with blue bezel with blue dial and default straps...our piece in question here. The current SMP 300 Chrono model 2225.80.00 doesn't work with the table above. SMP 300m CHRONO SPECS The specs for the gen are: Steel on steel Reference: 2599.80.00 MOVEMENT Caliber: Omega 1164 (ETA/Valjoux 7750 base) Self-winding chronograph, chronometer movement with rhodium-plated finish antimagnetic cover Sweep 1/8s running seconds gradual date change Power Reserve: 44 hours CRYSTAL Domed, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal CASE & DIAL Stainless steel case Blue dial WATER RESISTANCE Down to: 300 meters / 1000 feet SIZE Case Diameter: 42 mm The specs for the rep are: Steel on steel Reference: 2599.80.00 MOVEMENT Caliber: New Asian 7750 running at 28.8k Self-winding chronograph, calibrated by The Zigmeister to chronometer specs antimagnetic cover Sweep 1/8s running seconds gradual date change Power Reserve: ~44 hours CRYSTAL Domed, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal CASE & DIAL Stainless steel case Blue dial WATER RESISTANCE Down to: running tap water SIZE Case Diameter: 42 mm THE REVIEW THE CASE What else can be said, but that the case is beautiful. It captures the same brushed and polished details as the gen in every way with the same dimensions. There is even a non-functional HEV included in the correct 10-o-clock position. CASEBACK This is probably the biggest flaw on the whole watch. The caseback captures the essence and function of the gen but that's about it. The hole pattern will work with gen Omega tools, and works just fine with an El Cheapo Jaxa caseback tool. As seen below the wave pattern of the rep is merely created using engraving and brushing to finish. The gen wave pattern is much more refined with graduated depth to the edges. The sea monster shape is correct enough, but the background beaded matte finish does not match the etching of the gen, nor does the lack of the polished sea monster. I've been tempted to get a gen caseback...but these are hard to come by, and when they do, they come at a premium. A gen case set with caseback from Ofrei goes new for over $800USD. ANTIMAGNETIC COVER The rep even includes the antimag cover, nicely engraved. A dealer pic is enclosed above. When I first opened this rep...remember...this was my first rep. I tried to look at the movement. I ordered a Jaxa tool and cracked open the case. When I took the case off, I had no idea how to remove the antimag cover. There were no screws...no tabs...nothing. That stumped me. Thanks to RWG...somebody else posed this stupid question so I didn't have to look like a stump, and I found out that on close examination, you will see a couple little gaps where the antimag cover meets the case. CAREFULLY stick a screwdriver into the space, and pop up the cover. Simple MOVEMENT Obviously the movement uses a New Asian 7750 running at 28.8k producing a nice smooth sweep at 1/8s on the running seconds at 6 subdial. The movement being what it is, means the subidal layout is bang on...unlike the problems with the tight spacing of the 3-6-9 Speedy's. Having the standard Asian rep movement, I was victim to the noisy, dry rotor. The movement is NOT rhodium plated like the gen, but instead according to The Zigmeister was nicely plated in gummed up dirt and a lack of oil. A full breakdown and servicing and everything works great. The rotor is silent, power reserve is up, accuracy is as per COSC spec. DIAL The dial is beautiful. Accurate in almost every way. An ultra macro comparison of the dial with side-by-side images (i.e. not reproducable in real life unless using a loupe with both a gen and rep side by side) will show that the wave pattern is not quite as pronounced on the rep. Other than that...we're good to go. The lume isn't the greatest, but the lume dots look accurate. Some people have upgraded the dial to a gen dial as in Lazarini's pictured below. This is a great option if you can get a gen dial (which fits without problem) for a reasonable price. A The Zigmeister lume job might have been in order to bring out the day-glo...but given that the artistic element of this dials lume doesn't quite compare to that of a Muller or IWC Cousteau Diver, I didn't bother. A re-lume job can cost in the neighbourhood of $100 and up using RC Tritec Superluminova...and a used gen dial can be had for as little as $50 used, to over $100 from the few I've seen on eBay in the past...so the choice is yours...re-lume or gen dial...or even better...never look at your watch at night without a black light!! The current version of the SMP 300 Chrono uses redder hands and chapter ring markers, and adds a bit of red lettering along with the double AR. This makes for a very nice but subtle splash of colour and is going to cause a few people to upgrade when they make a good rep of it. "Red letters? RED LETTERS???...must spend $300 for new version of watch." SUBDIALS By-Tor's snappy photo They look good to me. Who says there are no Swiss grade AAA+++ reps? Ooooh...if it says Swiss Made...you know it's good!! HANDS They look fine to me...now. There has been discussion whether or not the hands of the subdials and chrono seconds are too orange or too red, but there appears to be some variation on the gens depending on the year the watch was bought. Remember, this watch has essentially been in production unchanged for over over 10 years. Only in the last couple years did they make a stylistic change to the 2225.80.00 adding a bit of red lettering and definitely red hands. The big issue with the rep however, is that the hands are more orange than the markers on the rehaut ring/chapter ring. If you look at By-Tor's photos, you will notice this difference. The Zigmeister repainted the hands on my piece to match the colour of the ring markers. He did it as a surprise to see if I would notice...but in comparing my watch with that of pics of Lanikai's...I couldn't notice the difference. The Zigmeister did the paint mod to Lanikai's before mine so of course I couldn't see a difference when comparing pieces. Dooh!! Thanks again The Zigmeister for the amazing work. It's a small thing, and if you know to look for it...you will not be able to keep your eyes off of it. DATEWHEEL FONT Original Rep Datewheel Takashi's Datewheel Comparison This is another shortcoming of the rep. There appear to be a few datefont variations out there. The one that came with mine wasn't too bad, but was a tad small and the wrong font. The Zigmeister upgraded it to the proper genuine ETA datewheel to get things looking good. The datefont mod does make a difference and with a movement servicing is an inexpensive upgrade. BRACELET The bracelet feels great. No rough edges..smooth and buttery. It has the nice polished and brushed finish of the gen, but uses screws for the adjustable links instead of the gens pins. Is this a shortcoming? For accuracy yes...for function...yes too as sthe screws are rep cheap Asian screws which busted off on me when I was adjusting the bracelet. The Asian screws use cheaper materials and have low QC/QA so the threads are not as precise and the heads not as strong. The INSIDE of the bracelet is where you can see differences with the gen as well. The level of polish is not as high in the rep as the gen, and the ends of the polished-brushed-polished link pieces are not as equally lined up on the rep as the gen...especially at the join on the SEL. This is noticeable if you know what to look for...but only if you have the watch in hand and not on the wrist. Otherwise...the bracelet feels and looks great. CLASP The clasp operates just like the gen, and has a very good quality feel to it. The divers extension is operational and manufactured much better than that found on the Rolex Subs. The "S" on Seamaster sits a little lower than the gen, and the PROFESSIONAL font is a little different but again, this is hardly noticeable on lettering that measure 1-2mm high. Comparison with Gioarmani's gen CROWN The rep crown to me looked great, but it threaded in over only a couple turns. It was also not mounted to the stem very tightly (a quick fix). Although following The Zigmeister's advice for screwing back in the crown of rotating the crown COUNTER-CLOCKWISE while pushing it in until you feel the click of the threads lining up BEFORE screwing the crown in using a clockwise fashion, I still stripped the crown threads after a year. Insert one The Zigmeister installed gen case tube and gen crown...and boy, does it feel different. The gen tube and crown look the same, but the threads are cut deeper and at a different angle so the crown screws in more securely and smoothly with less risk of stripping. And of course, Rob lined everything up so the Omega character is lined up vertically...better than the gen. This mod can be performed by either drilling out the old tube and press-fitting a new tube INTO the drilled out REMAINS of the old tube, or removing the old tube entirely and glueing in the gen tube using a gap filling glue like epoxy or gorilla glue. The risk with this mod is, because the gen tube and rep tube case hole are not the same size requiring the tube to be glued in, once installed, you should not screw the crown down very hard, or you risk detaching the tube from the case. The crown will be sealed to the tube correctly once the threading begins...but given that mine was never waterproof to begin with...it's a moot point. Discussion on this mod can be found here: [*]Crown and Tube Replacement [*]Ofrei Crown and Tube Parts BEZEL Lani's Amazing Metallic Morphing Bezel Shot The bezel itself is great as is the insert. The insert pearl on my rep didn't look too bad in my opinion (a bit rough magnified many many times compared to the gen...but great in person). The big criticism on the pearl however, is that many of the rep pearls are either off-centre, or too low. My pearl was centred correctly, but sits a little low in the triangle compared with the gen. To me, this is minor and not worth fixing. If you do want to do the fix, directions can be found here: Bezel Pearl Upgrade Mod Current versions of this rep appear to have the insert markers lined up on the bezel points as opposed to the older versions which were lined up on the recessed parts of the bezel. Mine arrived correct. What I mean by the points is illustrated below. CRYSTAL The crystal is accurate. Unfortunately. This means it lacks AR so it does produce quite a lot of glare. It is very difficult to get decent pics of the dial because of the glare. The current version of the SMP Chrono (with red letters) includes an anti-reflective coating making the dial easier to read, so that is a big improvement. 2006 IWC CD with stock AR and SMP Chrono with no AR If you want to get the ultimate in dial popping beautiness...you can take the easy way out like Lanikai, and go for an aftermarket uber-AR treatment by Jakub or Chief. ;p Killer!! or even better...go for the crystal-less option of Lazarini: Lazarini's SMP Mod Thread Sweeeeet...Nice AR...Where's the Crystal??? By-Tor has shot a couple amazing photos of this watch in spite of the glare on the dial. How does he do it..."Lighting...". Hmmm...simple to say...hard to execute. WATER RESISTANCE Gioarmani has bought 2 of these reps from Andrew and both passed water resistance with flying colours. Other users have experienced the same water proof performance. Me? Out of luck...I have standard Asian rep, non-water resistance. The crown, crystal and caseback were alright...but as usual, leaks were present in the chrono pushers. I get the standard Josh/Andrew water resistance of a "50m dash in the rain". My thread on this can be found here: Toad's Waterproof Test Thread of the SMP Chrono MODDING ABILITY This watch can get a few mods. ETA/Valjoux 7750 Movement A few people have done this and it will obviously work. I'm assuming the usual new ETA compatible hands will be required...or possibly broaching to make it work. - Gen crown and tube (not visibly different, but the performance is greatly improved and fixes stripped threads) The case number of this watch is 178.0514 The Omega part numbers are: Crown No. 42154, Tube No. 090 ST 1237 - Gen dial According to Taka, the gen dial fits without problems. IMHO, this upgrade is good if you can get a gen dial for a reasonable price otherwise stick with a... - RC Tritec Super Luminova Re-lume The lume out of the box is not great...but usable in very dark rooms and readable even after 8 hours. In semi-dark rooms, the watch is actually hard to read as the lume is nowhere near strong enough to make very low light visibility happen...pitch dark visibility is barely adequate. - Orange hand paint matching The hands for the subdial and centre seconds out-of-the-box are painted more orange than the ring markers. Ideally, colour matching like The Zigmeister's on this piece will make the whole watch blend together properly. - Crystal AR Lani removed the crystal himself. I'm not at that point to be willing to do that myself...but if you are...go for it and send it out for a relume...or send out the watch head for crystal removal service with the re-lume. Although not accurate, this is a nice upgrade. - Insert pearl upgrade To me, I don't see the low pearl as that much of an issue...but it can be upgraded as outlined above. - Caseback I'm not sure if a gen caseback would fit. Pretty sure...but I haven't heard of anybody doing it so I'm not sure. That would be a nice upgrade...but again, given that the watch should be on your wrist and not crystal down...the inaccurate back is not much of an issue. - Gen bracelet Again, I'm not sure if a gen bracelet would fit...so YMMV and proceed with caution. CONCLUSIONS Yeah it's a PAM movement but I thought it was cool... This is a great watch...one of my all time faves. After receiving a The Zigmeister movement servicing, I can assure you that the performance and reliability of the movement is greatly improved. Was it worth paying with shipping and service more than the initial capital cost of the piece? That depends on how much you want the watch. There have been great rep watches that have had production stop and availability scarce. Not knowing if the SMP Chrono would be one of them, I thought a little servicing and couple mods would help future proof my ownership of such a great looking and now great performing item. So to me, having the master The Zigmeister work on this piece was more than worth it. Rob is a gentleman and a scholar, and his professionalism and pride in work are evident in both communication and the final product and I thank him for a great job (and free bubble wrap!). The datewheel mod makes a nice visible difference, and the gen crown and tube upgrade really make the piece feel high quality when setting the time. For more discussion on the long term expectation of reps...click here Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading this (if you made it through to the end), and I hope you learned at least a little something. I look forward to possibly amending this if the new red lettered chrono ever comes into Rep Land. As always, I look forward to comments and questions.

Looking to get a pro hunter daytona. I know there are issues with the movement. I have a daytona that I bought from trusty that is worthless. I sent it back to him and he sent the same watch back to me without fixing it. Not bashing him just telling the facts. I am looking to get a pro hunter daytona because I like the look so much. Anyone have one that they would like to share seller/quality? I am looking to use either Josh or Trusty. Not 100% sure with which color scheme to go with either. Here is my two options:

Hi Everyone, I just couldn't wait any longer, I put together all the spare parts I had lying around and had to put this thing together. Unfortunately I did not have all the parts to match the case so you will notice the dial is a little large for the case and I had to trim down the hands so they wouldn't hit the bezel. However I just needed to see how this thing was going to look assembled. The movement bridge is one of my test bridges so it too is not perfect, but since I got bit by the vintage bug I have loved the look of the 3646 Brevettato, so I just could no longer contain myself. Here are all the pictures, though not perfect it looks great. This watch was my inspiration..... It's a modem burner, so here we go..... Made my own front and back crystals from some of the old Molly pocket watches I had. They were so old and weathered I couldn't pass them up. I trimmed them down and vuala, nothing more vintage than vintage.. Here are some close ups of the dial I made with rodium burns at 3:41 to simulate where the hands were sitting for a very long time while the watch sat undiscovered for years. You'll notice the hour hand left a stronger imprint because it sits closer to the dial. Too bad the "ROLEX" engraving came out so bad, the rest of the engravings were pretty good.. Finally, the vintage lume seen thru the cracked indices [ Thanks for looking.......

Is it me or is this app not functioning all that well? I've actually seen different info on the app than what is on the actual website. What's the deal , anyone know ?

Looking at the price of 2-tone Daytonas, it dawned on me that a 16523 is the perfect donor watch. Stick with me... ### ASSUMING you want to go balls-deep into a Franken 16520. ### They routinely sell for $8-9K The case is stainless Steel. The bezel is solid 18k gold. An weighs about 1.1oz. That's about $1,300. (So, worth more melted than it is as a part.) The Dial usually sells for $1,200 with the hands. Bracelet is worth another $600-$800 Gold Pushers & Crown $600 So now you're at $4,900. Let's build it back up. Gen SS Bezel $800 Gen Crown $100 Gen Pushers $500 Rep Bracelet $150 (We can get a real bracelet later) $6,400 for the "Perfect Franken" that has an authentic case/movement.

Lovin it a lot.

If a watch can't take a couple of light taps into your palm, they shouldn't be selling them.

Holding on to this for a fellow diamond member for a couple of days. I wasnt an AP fan, until this arrived. This is going for a franken experience with Domi soon and the results should be spectacular!

Just my superfranken Navi today.... My GRAIL...

Wearing this today.

Marathon JSAR

This is going to turn into a picture dump and after I"ll attach stories to each watch. First Watch I ever bought White Dialed Gen SOSF. Sold it and bought it again and have since sold it Old new Then I owned a black dialed AP millenary, still wish I never sold it as they are really hard to find at a good price Next was a Gen Breguet XX Ti Chrono that a beat the heck out of for about 5 years and then sold it for what I paid for it 5 years ago. Gotta love Gen Watches for holding their value Up next was a grand Seiko quartz that I bought for cheap and sold for breakeven and to this day regret selling it. I can't find one for less than double what I sold it for. Bought a Rep Vacheron which had been completely redone with a lumed dial and the cross placed in the correct spot. I once again should have never sold this watch. Custom Yggdrisail (sp?) painted dial of the back of a watch movement that I had custom made. Wish I hadn't sold it. I wonder who has it now? REP Omega Broadarrow AND it had the engraving on the movement REP Hublot Big Bang Tuiga Girlfriend at the time (now wife) got me this Seiko Spring drive 600m which is an incredible feat of engineering. one of my biggest regrets ever was getting rid of this RXW Plasmir. If anyone has one that is willing to sell let me know. Rep Dewitt Academia that I have now owned 3 different times. Keep coming back to this watch. I wish the gen wasn't so outrageously expensive for what it is. but the rep's crown would dig into my wrist something fierce. I bought the tools from Andrew to change the strap and to get at the caseback but even with a new croc strap the crown issue always had me selling the watch. REP Roxex GMT II that I bought at Kowloon while in HK .its sooooo crappy but the experience was so fun REP Panerai 229 Firenze, with a gorgeous blue dial that wasn't purple. I replaced the crystal with a newer Cartel Crystal and it looked fantastic, but because the dial was a 2 piece the datewheel was recessed and I couldn't get over that so I Sold it. Fantasy Franck Mullet Tourbillon. This didn't last long as the movement was obnoxiously loud Cool custom Pilot watch from the guy who wound up making the LUM-Tec brand Had a REP Chopard MM panda that didn't last very long. Great watch, lume was fantastic but was heavy and thick Rep Breitling Skyline Avenger that didn't last very long on the wrist MBW/MBK aquanaut which led me to buy a Gen 5066A but I Can't find the pictures (Place Holder for GEN Patek 5066A) Gen Ebel chrono, bought it for cheap and was going to turn it into a Franken 16520 but wound up flipping it REP PAM 112 Little Hero MBW/MBK Rolex DRSD liked it, but didn't love it Next was a Gen Ulysse Nardin Maxi marine. I owned this watch previously for about 3 weeks, went to vegas, got drunk and left it outside the pool when we all went for a 4am swim, never got it back. So I bought another one. Old New Got this Gen Tag Heuer Grand Carrera Tourneau Special Edition that I had for maybe a month before selling it to a friend Franken Rolex 1675 bought it from someone who took a cartel 1655 reshaped the case and put a gen bezel and gen dial. Love this watch Gen JLC Moonphase tried but I always feel dumb with gold watches. Gen JLC REVERSO SUN/MOON still can't do the gold watch GEN Rolex 16750 TT Brown dial with brown bezel. I posted a thread about how I bought it on a whim off crappy pictures on e-bay and had it fixed up and the bracelet sent to Michael Young to get refurbished and this is how it came out. Made a pretty penny on it but probably should have kept it. Franken PAM 024A I enjoyed it while I had it, but couldn't get over the crappy DSN pearl and couldn't find one of the old school cartel cases so I sold it. Gen PAM 024G Loved it but just didn't quite do it for me. Gen PAM 072 Loved this watch but found myself never actually wearing it so off it went to a new home Tried a PAM 121 but that didn't stick either. It was untouched when I bought it and couldn't bring myself to wear it out at all. White Dialed Heuer Monza. Impuse buy while at Seregens fine time in SF. got it for a decent price. Only stayed with me for about 6 months and I sold it. Bought this Blancpain Perpetual calendar in white gold and flipped it when I should have kept it as this was the perfect dress watch, the prospect of making a lot of money in only a week kept me from doing so. REP PAM 201A build, with WOLF case, LH CG, FGD Dial, JAkob Caseback My baby my custom made PBDad Milsub GMT rolex I love it My gen 16800 that the wife got me whose serial matches up pretty close to my birth year Glashutte Senator Chrono Limited

1665

Still in the GMT mode

Yep, they have some real wrist presence. My boss just commented on it, which he has never done with any of my watches!

OP, Trust me, Angus is a TD here and has been for much longer than I have been a member. It seems you a kind of new here, so it might be helpful to know that Angus and Toro are the go to TD's for Noob watches and Josh and Andrew are the go to TD's for H-factory. Keep in mind that does not mean that they can not get the other factory watches. I have bought several watches from both Toro and Angus and highly recommend them both. I will definitely use both in the future. Sometimes one of them can get me a watch that the other can't at that time. Both usually have the same watches at the same price as is the case with the 292J w/ pig dial. I chose Toro this time as I haven't dealt with him in awhile and he has always treated me very well and usually gets me what I need very quickly. I ordered and paid last nite and had QC pics waiting for me in the morning when I awoke. Talk about great service!! Toro would have already shipped the watch, but I asked him to wait as I may add another watch to my order. As for the date added you referred on the PT website, that is probably the date they updated the price to the sale price. I would recommend emailing the TD to confirm availability of a watch before placing an order. It will help alleviate the frustration of getting an email telling you the watch is out of stock and to please make another choice. At least most of the time. And as a newbie, the MOST IMPORTANT RULE you should know is that if you ever have an issue with a TD, do NOT start a Paypal dispute as that just screws things up for the other members of the forum as well as the TD. Any issues should be handled directly with the TD and if that fails to work, contact a Moderator. If you need more help, feel free to PM me.

layout should be the same! hmm new name? u sure? there is a brand built up here. the new name should have references to replica, watches and guide/forum on some level. RRWG: "theRealRWG -not that fake one-" joke aside.. this feels like "new coke". but i know i never like changes anyways..

You say "attacked with a blow torch" like it's a bad thing! In all sincerity, the dials on all my vintage gens are pristine, though tropical or with discolored lume. The lume on my 1665 is white as snow, like it's been bleached. My only gen showing dial damage is a glossy gilt Sub from 1958. I'm building a 6538 and that's the dial effect I'm going for. I think an appropriately aged watch should look like an old car that has seen a lot of sun and has been washed a few hundred times. No more sharp edges, and lots of surface patina.

plus 1 for RICHARD then!

A new name? Well frankly that's a tough one. I can see the confusion with that other RWG... But this RWG is thee real deal Mothership from the Old Days. Perhaps a new name is indeed warranted but hopefully it will be a historically relevant name. Not sure how this would take shape but a proper ode or tip of the hat to our roots is crucial in maintaining the empirical provenance we have forged thru time.

Wednesday... Been waaaaaay too long since wearing this rep. Was very close to pulling the trigger on a pre-owned gen Ingy recently, but pulled this one out of the watch box and scratched the itch for now. This old rep saved me a few thousand this month. .

A normal sub caseback does not fit because the diameter of the thread is much smaller and it's only one piece construction. You can rework the two pieces of the DSSD caseback on a lathe and loose about 1mm in thickness. But you are loosing the engraved words, too. I did this with a cheap sterile DSSD caseback. But it's only 1mm, you do not really feel it on your wrist. Only with a Nato it may be an advantage. Here are pictures, the caseback was sanblasted again after reworking.