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1665 today

It was 110 on my way home from work yesterday. Going to be a beautiful day. Sent from my droptop using telepathy

Hi Gents, That is a comparison I've been looking for quite some time now. Adrian (Athaya) did that before, in an old post on HF but all the photos are now missing from the original thread, and mostly Tiger-Concept (T-C) case compared at that time was different (I bought mine in sept, 2014, branded as the "V3". Now William propose a V4 case for its builds). I spent some time this year trying to mod the T-C JB-5508 to get close to the 007 watch I was looking for, and have always asked myself: "is the mid-case really that thicker with other 6538 builds; with Silix builds ?" Very few days ago, I received one of the latest 6538-4 liner Big Dazza build (that I originally planned to offer to my father for his birthday but, under the tic-tac spell, decided to keep for myself... and find another gift for him). So, a few comparison shots : From the shots, obvious difference come from the thickness of the mid-case and the overall design. (the Silix is the one with the tallest crystal). You can also compare Silix and Rafflestime crowns. Another difference comes from the bezel shape and height: T-C one is taller than the Silix one. Both cases are not engraved. (Don't mind about the watches spring bar, I did not place them well for the photoshoot, but you can notice the drill lugs provided with Big Dazza build to accept 2mm/gen ones). One of the main difference is about case back: as you can notice, T-C JB5508 one has an "over-leap" case-back that put the entire case at the same "height" as the Silix more conventional case design. That is why from the table they are sitting on, both case seem as high as each other. I put back the insert provided with the original watch Now I'm thinking to mod the Tiger-Concept to a "proper" 5508 or 6204, or 6205, but I'm wondering were I could find "pencil" hands and that gorgeous second hand with the ball at the end, like the one Joey B did and presented on this forum sometimes ago (see for example the "Leiter" thread). Or it could become another BC, as I really love those... Any ideas/thoughts are very welcome: where could I find a 6204 dial? those "pencil" hands? Cheers!

casual weekend

Since found it. Cheers Oggy.

Nice double red, one of these days I'll have to pickup or build one.

Well you've opened a bit of a can of worms here. Yes you need a gen tube unless you have a Phong or MQ and then it might work. But the inner diameter of the tube is probably too small so it will need fitting to the crown, if you don't go gen. Then, the 2813 stem doesn't fit a gen crown, the thread diameter and pitch are wrong. So you need a stem adapter to mate the crown to your 2813 stem. And then the stem will need cutting to the right length. I went down this path with an ETA movement and a gen crown / tube and it was the grace of God that found me a stem to fit the crown and my movement. Actually it was a very kind and generous member here. So. Do you want to put that crown on your DG movement rep or is an Athaya crown good enough for far less money? Face facts, it won't be long until you're knee deep into a franken Big Crown build and you'll want to save the gen crown for that.

3717 @ 42mm is definitely a good size for < 7" wrists. When it starts getting up to 45-46mm, things start looking a bit awkward for us skinny wrist folks. I have a ~6.8" wrist and can wear the Big Pilot from time to time, but I would consider it to be a smidge too big and a bit uncomfortable for everyday wear. It's fine for the occasional weekend or dress watch, but I can't imagine wearing it daily simply because of the heft/size on my wrist. I find that the perfect strap makes most things wearable though, just need to find out what works for you and how comfortable the watches are.

It's 42mm, so it's no problem. I have a 44mm PAM and a 44mm BCE that are also OK.. Anything bigger starts to look clownish on me. As much as I love the Big Pilot, I just can't pull it off.

Reading between the lines, you're really looking for a birth year vintage piece. But you want the right watch to hurry up and appear, so you're frustrated. You're considering something else as a "solution" to scratch the itch. Don't ever do that. It's not the piece you're looking for, and you will sell it later, lose money on the deal, and regret it, And you'll be right back to where you are today. I've done this many times, buying something that's "almost good enough" and every time I've sold it, lost money, and regretted it. If something is worth having, it's worth working and waiting for. Every one of my keepers involves at minimum 4 years of watching and waiting. One of them was almost 20 years. In the end, it's nice to have the right one.

I have no experience at all with the Tiger V3 case that comes with the mineral glass crystal. So, I don't know if it will take a T19 or similar acrylic crystal mounted gen style using the retainer as the V2 does. If it does, let us all know for another source of a less expensive case, as the V2 is no longer available. I thin out the case by taking down the lower edge of both sides of the watch. I use a big buffing wheel, which rounds the edge a bit, but gives the look of being thinner. When the top of the side is beveled, it is very close to the pics I've seen of the old thin cased Subs and GMTs. The caseback is simply wrong, but I'll live with that. The case engraving is by our own JMB. As you can see, he does a great job. I make my own dials using water slide decals, and I lume them using a water based acrylic glow paint that gives the grainy texture and light lume to be age accurate. The 13mm minute hand is from Helenarou, and the second and hour hands are pieced together. I could not find a pencil hour hand, so I took a rep maxi minute hand, cut and pieced together. The plated silver hands have a light plating, so I take them to bare brass 'gilt' using 1500 sandpaper. In a little time the shine fades nicely, but so far -3+ years-, none have tarnished.

A member gave me that case to modify, and it was the first time I saw these markings. Does anyone knows where it comes from? 5513 or 1680 overall shape, 1665 markings between lugs but 5513 markings on the caseback, "stailess steel".... Just curious!

This baby will soon mate with GEN Spider 5513 Dial, GEN T-19, GEN 702 crown[emoji7] ...RJ you did a remarkable job [emoji106]and the result is great. Caseback is a Helenarou which is flatter than cartel and has the proper inscription. Verzonden vanaf mijn iPad met Tapatalk

Build spec's in signature link, 1966 Uber-Franken 5513 PCG Gilt Underline

My feelings are laser welding in itself is not something that is completely taboo. Someone mentioned in the VRF thread that Patek uses laser welding to restore old cases that have been over polished or damaged.What is wrong is misrepresenting the watch as "untouched, pristine,NOS", or whatever catch phrase you want to use to lure unsuspecting buyers into a overpriced watch. That's what is going on here. Lying and deceit to make the watch worth more money, with absolutely no disclosure to the buyer. I wonder how many of those "NOS subs in his showcase will be sold now at the prices he'sa asking? Even though nothing is proven, the seeds of doubt have been sown!!! And boy, if they do get a few Xrayed, and show laser welds, he might as well move to Ebay, where all of his ilk should be anyway. BTW there is now a second thread going Return to Index We've had an offer of access to sophisticated X ray equipment...

Yes but then the RSC records what was improved. It's done honestly. And they will not "upgrade" a watch, like making a white 1680 into a red. My 1680 was literally beat to hell and $1,000 later the NY RSC made it look new again. With documentation for the "upgraded" (new) bezel, insert, crown, tube, crystal and band. Any subsequent buyer will know that work was done. Laser welding a case to improve it, then passing it as an "untouched original" is fraud. It's beneath contempt.

nbtimes is an interesting example. Years ago, I suspected something was up with him because he always came to VRF with absolutely pristine examples of rare watches. Often, appearing with 3 or 4 new pristine rarities in the space of 3-4 days (1 new rarity/day). While not impossible, this was happening, it seemed to me, far too often to be kosher. So I posted a question on VRF about a couple of nbtimes' watches & got blasted by virtually the entire senior membership & then had my account deleted. So much for a free exchange of ideas. Then, a couple years later, I believe it was Philipp, 1 of the more salient regulars there, posted virtually the same questions I had, but it sparked an open debate instead of the lambasting I got. But, now, many are questioning nbtimes' & others who seem to have more luck in the hunt than seems realistic. Some years ago, it was heresay to speak openly about changing a dial or replacing any other component of a Rolex with a part or version of a part that the model was not originally fitted with. I cannot tell you how many times questions would be posted (often by what were clearly RWG members) asking where to source replacement dials, rotors, inserts, bridges, etc in an obvious effort to modify/upgrade a Rolex watch. These threads nearly always went unanswered or were deleted by the moderators. However, sometime within the past year or so, this line-in-the-sand seems to have been erased, as it is now commonplace for lengthy threads discussing how much better a Daydate looks with its 'new' Stella dial, or a Sub has been improved with its newly sourced 'chocolate' dial or sun-'bleached' insert, or how thankful a 1680 owner is for the assistance he received in sourcing the red dial that now makes his watch.