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Now it is time for a proper introduction of the Caddell Submariners which members have been seeing on "Caddell Submariner x 2", and "TC/Caddell Vintage Insert". First let me clarify by pointing out the Caddell Submariners are my own iteration of Rolex Submariner. They are custom builds according to my own designs, preferences, and aesthetics based on TC 16610 gen spec parts. While TC Sub, the perfect Submariner project started off about an year and half ago as an spiritual escape from an ugly divorce, Caddell Submariner is a side way tour I recently find fun and excited while sitting on a pile of gen spec TC Sub parts. I wasn't so sure where to start in the beginning or even messing with the original Rolex design was a good idea or not. Rolex designers spent hundreds of hours on research and on drawing board simulations before finalizing a design. The only thing I could do to validate my own is to run the same kind of trials and errors. The more I delved into it, the more addicted I got. I realized that Rolex really hit a home run coming up with this classic 16610 Submariner. My very first mod, a TC 16610 Sub with 25-286 crystal. 25-286 is a 2.00 mm thick pre-modern Rolex crystal that fits Air-King Datejust, Explorer and other models without date window or cyclops. My intention was to give the 16610 a younger, and a more Rolex Sea-Dweller look like face lift. I would not categorize this a Caddell Submariner. To me, and to most members, this is just a mod. It is not really a new creation. During my trip to Japan for TC DWO V3. I had this fantasy making the dates with negative colors. Thought it would give a more aggressive, younger touch to the 16610. By now, I am sure many expert members have been noticing the spectacular gen featured 16610 dials on the Caddell Subs and wondering what that is about. I say gen featured because I still can't be sure what it is about either at this point. During my most recent business trip to Europe, I had a chance to meet a potential business partner whom turned out to be a Rolex aficionado. I was wearing a TC LV Sub with gen black insert that caught his attention. After a few seconds of checking out the watch he praised the maxi dial and black insert combination. Then he asked where I received the insert alteration. I came clean and told him my journey for the perfect Sub which made his jaw drop. He was amazed by the build quality. He did not believe reps can come in at this level. We chatted on some more. I explained to him my recent dial issues and my desperation to find a good dial maker. It was a great chat which lasted into the late night. End of the night he told me he's got some brand new 16610 dials which he couldn't use but would like to pass to me as a gift. We arranged to meet up the next day at his workshop. He opened a fine cherry wood box and handed me a small plastic dial seal. I opened the box and saw a 16610 gen dials inside. I examined it with the magnifying glass. Everything looked right. The indices are gen, the lume application is gen, and the dial print is gen. But when I flipped to the back my jaw dropped. The back is not stamped by Rolex, and the dial feet was made to fit ETA 2800 series movement not the Rolex 3135 movement. I have never ever seen anything like this in the past years trolling in China. This is BIG!!!! I did not know something like this exist. I asked my friend where did he get this? He shrugged. One of the two is gen. The question is, which one? If you ask me TC, so is this gen dial or not? I have to tell you No, because I really do not know. It has the gen dial's pedigree in terms of the way than indices, lume, and fonts. But we all know gen dials have different dial feet and the Rolex Stamps. This might be a hybrid, a mod, or something. But then again, I have never ever seen a rep dial with gen Rolex indices pin holes like this. However baffled, I am very very excited about this discovery. My British friend donated a few of these 16610 dials to me to fund my journey ahead. I requested a bulk order or a quantity purchase but he politely refused. Instead he promised to send over a couple of these 16610 dials from time to time. "Consider it a seed fund for your bigger venture." He said. Hence, I'd like to name the very 16610 dial "Kensington High 16610 dial" or "KH 16610 dial". Since I cannot procure these KH 16610 dials on a regular and consistent bases, I will only be using these on the Caddell Submariner Series. Caddell Submariner features the same "TC V-series Sub case set" as the rest of the TC Sub line. It is also coupled with the "TC 93250 V4 bracelet" and "TC 2824 movement". Caddell Sub also features the very gen Kensington High 16610 dials, TC's home brew flavor black base color, white date DWO and TC/Caddell Vintage Insert. I have dedicated my entire stack of KH 16610 dials to the Caddell Subs this time. I do not know how many my Brit friend will sponsor me next month; turn around time on these may be a while once I sell out. The designations are as followed. Caddell Submariner 25-295-C Caddell Submariner 25-286 Caddell Submariner Rouge 25-295-C Caddell Submariner Rouge 25-286 Thanks for reading. TC 9/21/13

A Sydney BBQ guest posing with my Big Bang.

I have compiled this set of side by side pictures to try to explain to the membership all the differences there are between the two and hopefully finally make clear some confusion, and show the membership how easy it is to mislead buyers on parts that cannot be seen. This may take some time and many edits and picture uploads, so be patient please. Now lest get some things clear, first on ETA, I could rant on about how ETA is the largest Swiss movement maker in the world and blah blah blah, but it is easier if you read for yourself here ( http://www.eta.ch/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA_SA ). Now that you have read a little about ETA (I hope) we can proceed. Here are some other links on the specific movement we are talking about in this thread which is the 6497 (http://www.monochrom...panerai-cimier/ and http://www.watches-w...?title=ETA_6497 ) Now you should understand that in this case Panerai does not make this movement and the fact that the 6497 has been around for over 60 years. Let me make it very clear ETA MAKES THE GUTS OF THIS MOVEMENT AND PANERAI MAKES ALL THE PRETTY STUFF THAT ADORNS IT OR DRESSES IT UP, PANERAI DOES NOT MAKE THE PARTS THAT GO INTO THIS MOVEMENT sorry about the caps but it seems many just don’t get it. Panerai OEM is ETA OEM because only ETA is licensed to produce those parts, it is all proprietary To ETA. http://www.eta.ch/swisslab/6497/6497assem.swf The 6497 has several variants and two beat rates 6497-1 = 18000vph (low beat) sec. @ 9:00 6497-2 = 21600vph (high beat) sec. @ 9:00 (Gen. Panerai use this movement in their watches, practically impossible to get and very expensive when found) 6498-1 = 18000vph sec. @ 6:00 6498-2 = 21600vph sec. @ 6:00 Most of the parts you will see here will never be seen on the watch itself because they are buried deep within the watches guts. So let’s start with the main plate, this can be considered the chassis of the watch just like on a car. Here you can see three one is REP the middle is stock ETA and right is modded to look gen. but is still a stock ETA. Most important thing to look for when a watch is advertised as Swiss is the stamp markings under the balance wheel. Only true Swiss movements have this and it is stamped not etched, the REP has no markings at all. On the 6497 there are some numbers on it but the most important thig to look for is the ETA crest stamp. I have not finished my write up, but I want to make one thing very clear. Though the parts may look very much alike, the difference is enormous in the quality of the parts. The ETA parts are a great deal superior to the Chinese counterparts. The ETA parts are made of superior metals and seem to be stronger and heftier. One obvious example is the bridge screws I have sheared off several Chinese screws with out putting any torque on them as opposed to the ETA, they are hardened and I have yet to shear one off. So please don't be fooled as too how similar they are, the main difference is in the quality and longevity of the ETA parts. Back: Front: Now let’s look at the components that go on the front of the base plate and under the dial. This consists of the list of parts pictured below, most of these parts are never seen. Slide pinion: Virtually identical Winding pinion: Also identical Setting lever: Only difference is finish Yoke: Identical Yoke spring: Identical, the ETA might be a little shiner Setting wheel and Intermediate setting wheel: Only differences is finish, ETA is smoother and shinier Minute wheel: Only difference is finish Set lever jumper: Identical, I added a modded one to show how Panerai brushes theirs, beyond that they are the same Set lever jumper retaining screw: Color is different and Rep is slightly domed on the top and ETA is flat Cannon pinion: ETA has a smother finish and brighter shine Hour wheel: Rep is shinier, however Panerai uses a brass wheel see second picture More to come, need to take more pictures to post below Now lets flip the movement and see what parts are in the back side. These parts are more important because here is where all the main mechanical parts of the watch reside. And in the case of some Panerai watches these parts are completely visible to anyone who looks at the back of the watch, and where the largest amount of "tells" are. Escape wheel Third wheel: The third wheel on the ETA 6497-2 is brushed but not on the 6497-1, on the REP. they are too shiny, I mod them to look more gen. Lighting is different on the picture but they are all a light gold tone Second wheel (they come with long lower pivot for second hand or short pivot for no second hand configurations): The third wheel on the ETA 6497-2 is brushed but not on the 6497-1, on the REP.. they are too shiny, I mod them to look more gen. Lighting is different on the picture but they are all a light gold tone Center wheel:The center wheel on the ETA 6497-2 is brushed but not on the 6497-1, on the REP. they are too shiny, I mod them to look more gen. Lighting is different on the picture but they are all a light gold tone Bridge screws(bolts):The ETA is a thicker screw and has a small grip, while the REP has no grip at all. The color is different as well Barrel: Setting lever screw Crown wheel ring Crown wheel Crown wheel screw Click spring Click Click screw Ratchet Wheel Ratchet wheel screw Pallet fork: Pallet bridge: Pallet bridge screws: Balance: Panerai movement which is the ETA 6497-2 use the Glucydur balance that is made and licensed by ETA, the 6497-1 however does not. Glucydur and the balance wheel One of the trademark features of ETA movements is their Glucydur balance wheels, which look like this: Incabloc shock system: Not made by ETA but by Incabloc S.A. and used on ETA movements I hope this helps members understand the differences between the REP parts and the OEM ETA parts. Most of the parts are identical and function the same. I use the ETA parts on my builds because in some cases the ETA parts are built heftier and are obviously made with quality materials. Thanks for looking........

Just got my blue dial 15400 RO, which is amazing, especially like the improved bracelet with correct decorated clasp. The seller said the noob factory worked with another factory to produce this beauty. Took some group photos with my diver V3.5, enjoy them

Please! Lets not make him out to be a hero. Reality check is Mike brought this all on himself. He should be apologizing to his customers and then we can all move one. Instead, we're now going to vilify the people that had absolutely horrible customer service. I'm sure Mike's a great guy and I'm happy for all the good work he's done. But let's get at least a little mea culpa and maybe the people that got absolutely horrible service can move on. This whole nonsense is about taking care of customers properly and nobody seems to realize it. And, yes, he did pretty much tell all the forum members to F off!

Caught up with Mike this weekend in person. Among other things, we talked at lengths about this thread. He takes everything here with extreme diligence. Yes, at the end of the day he has work to complete--and while it may be hard to remember people, bc this is the internet--he's still a person, and recently suffered a very tragic family loss. I don't speak for him, just trying to supply some reassurances. He's catching up, and ran me through his schedule for working and communication (7 days a week) ... he's incredibly devoted and passionate to his work. I have complete faith that Mike is totally and wholly committed to ensuring timely completion of all jobs on his plate... and given what he's had to go through lately, I sincerely applaud his level of commitment and professionalism. And if he's not replying on this thread, it's because he's probably working... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

al qaeda w/ cheese " Wow from mob to all good friends.... After all the abuse mike took he should tell all of you to *&#@ off." NO NOT The WAY TO GO. There were legitimate concerns reactions not with standing, some over reacted. Let us look at those that voiced their concern and did not over react as a model to emulate. PS That being said I think Mike already told everybody to F%#K off twice anyway so that horse left the stable.

So, should he tell these others to *@ off before or after he addresses why he posted a pic of their property in a for sale ad on Facebook? And why would he ever post a replica watch pic on a mainstream board like Facebook to begin with? But I guess that was everyone else's fault as well. No matter how much good modding work one has done for certain members, it's hard to find an honorable answer to these questions. One's true character always shines through when the going gets tough.

My wife quite likes the Chanel Premiere range, (either with or without faux diamonds). It's quite dainty with a nice bezelled crystal but it depends on what she likes.

Yes it is

No I always strike out so I am a bad picker of women's watches. What we think looks great they hate in my experience, hope that helps.

My lunch had been a bit more "basic" with rolls and jam...but guess what I just prepared for dinner

15400 for today

It looks like I may have found one from three different sources on the ground. Thank you everyone for your very valuable input! Cheers!

Got this last week from a trusted dealer however the movement was stuffed so dropped it off for a service and picked it up today. It is a stunning watch and will be my daily for a while now.

Rep. RM does not (and would not) use a balance bridge or regulators like that.

Got me a Polar Ft7 and now on my 4th week of HIIT. Never felt better. Here's my routine 3x a week: 5 min warm up 20 min 40/20 sec HIIT to between 85-90 Max HR (mine is 162 according to the standards) 3 diff exercises 2 min break 20 min 40/20 sec HIIT (another 3 different exercises) all exercises hit upper/lower body 5 min cool down thats it. I lift heavy 2x/week - upper/lower body - walk 4 miles post (can't run anymore) also walk 4-5 miles on 2 days of no HIIT and Lift So far so good!

The watch in my dinning room, send it over or else!

I think you're talking to the wrong guy, or using instant messaging crap. You gotta email them or send them a PM through this forums. From my experience, if you do send them a PM through the forums, there are only online at certain times, and hence they might only reply once a day. But they are genuine, and please do ur research regarding which watch you want before plunging into buying anything. Once you get familiar with the forums, you'd realize that not all reps are 1:1

Uhmmm...too bad but i'm confused as many guys here state the opposite. In many pics AR looks evident but i'll never know if it's due to photographer skill.