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Hello all, I'm going to show you my first build (or, better...assembly) that has been very easy (only effort was to source the parts) and very rewarding... Googling for watch parts I stumbled in "Raffles Dials" that has some ice cases and dials and hands (I say "some" because some sellers have a larger choice...) The price was right (cheap) and the quality was looking good (even a good picture can't tell anything about the "feel" of a well polished case or the "real life" detail of a dial...) so I pulled the trigger for : 1) TUDOR SIGNED VINTAGE STYLE OF 34MM STAINLESS STEEL PRINCE WATCH CASE WITH SMOOTH BEZEL AND 19MM LUGS SIZE FIT ETA 2824 MOVEMENT (First pic) 2) 27MM SILVER DIAL MARKED TUDOR LOGO WITH SILVER STICKS AND DATE WINDOW FIT ETA 2836 OR 2824 MOVEMENT FOR MENS STEEL PRINCE DATE WATCH (2nd pic) 3) ONE SET OF SILVER TUDOR PRINCE WATCH HANDS WITH LUMINOVA FIT ETA 2836 OR 2824 FOR MENS 34MM WATCH (3rd pic) As said before the price was good as I paid the whole set a little less than 81 USD... (with a little discount from Ken) But I was still in the need of a movement... Since I don't like the look of the cheaper Asian 2824 I went for a better look clone (although the solid case back)... Look at the pics #5... isn't it a beauty? That was 87 USD shipped (bought on eBay)... Now what? I can't assemble the watch myself! (Never done before and I have no tools at all!) Solution? : Bring the whole package to the Watchsmith... He said it was a very easy task (everything were fitting and there was no needs for additional spare parts...) and he was asking a very little money so I bought a nice Blue Croc Strap (Morellato) from him. The Pics from 6 to 12 show the final result... It looks a really nice watch although a minor flaw... (the date window is a bit off center) All in all it has been funny to choose the dial,the bezel,the movement... I will do it again (..next time it will be SS and Gold...) Thank you for reading this and thank you Ken (RafflesDials)... You have acquired another happy customer! P.S. Sorry, I don't know how post pictures between the text lines...

I finally got in some 2824 16200 cases, it was a really long wait as they have been unavailable since about Feb of this year! Dimensionally these appear to be the same although the machining tolerances were not as tight as older batches. Progress, right? I snapped some pics of the steps these go through to make 1016 cases although I forgot to take a pic of the rough machined case before drilling any holes. I start out with a plain "vintage" style 16200 case They then spend some time on a little CNC lathe I built and get the tops of the lugs machined to give them a thinner profile. You notice the burr left side of the lug top. All of these burrs have to be removed by hand with a file and sanding. After they come off the lathe they head to the mill where the lug get "ventilated. I set up on the right, drill hole, rotate case 180 degrees and drill another hole. When they are all done I set up on the left and repeat the process for the remainder of the holes. When this is finished I finish de-burring the case, brush the lug tops, and it's ready for either a polished or aged finish. Here is a comparison between the original and re-shaped cases. I hope this sheds a little light on the process.

Over the past 4years that I have been active in the rep community, I have come across only a few inexpensive rep cases I would consider “workhorses”. Cases like Silix Big crown and Cartel 5513/1680 might be mentioned in this category but even them 2 cases are far from correct. Silix case doesn’t take any gen part while the Cartel 5513 only takes gen dial & crystal without modding. Why do I think this rep 16200 case is the ultimate workhorse? 1. It’s accepts all the Gen parts you would need to make a Franken DJ like Crystal, dial, bezel & Crown without any mods...straight plug & play [emoji1474][emoji1474][emoji1474] 2. It’s quite versatile. I have used it to build numerous franken DJs & Explorer 14270s.[emoji1474] 3. It’s quite inexpensive. You can get a complete case set as cheap as $40.[emoji1474] 4. If not for this case, we wouldn’t have a JMB 1016 Explorer V1 or V2. I have actually built a rare 1018 OP using a JMB v1 case. [emoji1474][emoji1474]@JMB pls bring back the V1 cases. 5. Even though the only Gen part that wouldn’t fit without mods is the case back. The rep case back actually fits gen 16200 case. [emoji1490][emoji1490][emoji1490] But with all the Pros there are sure some cons. - I noticed that the 2824 versions sometimes have a wider dial rehaut which causes dial alignment issue or might cut of railroad tracks & “Swiss” @ 6digits. “T Swiss T dials arent period correct for 16200 anyways so avoid using them. Keep those Dials for your 160xx builds - The lugs are a little bit to robust for majority of the Datejust I build which are with tritium Dials. This “con” is pretty easy fix though. It can be done with a mid-level dremmel multipurpose hand tool like this Here are pics of the stock(sterile) case, before and after the reshaping. A little metal of the top & side of lugs I replaced the case tube, brushed & polished. Compare the results Stock rep case(left), reshaped rep case(middle) & Gen case (right) And here a complete franken 16233 w/ the reshaped rep case. What do you guys think? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

that's a very handsome build

That turned out great and looks very Gen like! Nice work!

I agree on that one, a straight on picture is a reasonable request for QC or even a M2M sale

MY = Michael Young. Well respected in the gen scene for his work on repairing bracelets. He also produces highly quality T19 crystals: http://www.classicwatchrepair.com/english/shop/rolex-5513-submariner-replacement-domed-crystal Sometimes you can pick up a used T19 service crystal from chronic-shop at a reasonable price: https://www.chrono-shop.net/en/plexis-sapphires-crystals/736-rolex-preowned-submariner-5512-5513-5514-5517-watches-service-crystal-tropic-19-factory-domed-.html

MM20 on Timebandit's MP43 strap Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Even service prices are getting silly, $250 a service crystal on vrm, I’d rarther buy a new MY one.

Very nice, good job. A Prince Date is probably the best build for a "greenhorn" to tackle as there are rarely any surprises and you learn how things are supposed to fit together.

Ask for it if you feel it's needed. The TD should have the watch there and be able to do so quickly and easily.

You too buddy

Had this worked for anyone?

Gaytona? Pfffft that ain't bling. THIS is bling.

I just took delivery of this fine BP piece from Andrew... As I've said before, I'm not really a Rolex enthusiast, but this has definitely changed my feelings. Previous experience with Subs and SDs was that they were too small and light for me, but this is a whole different beast! It feels very substantial on my wrist, but not overbearing... a perfect fit. The bezel is really well done, with 'platinum' hued indices and the pearl seems perfect. The dial is very high quality and all the markers are flawless; Lume is bright and even. The crystal sticks up a bit from the bezel and the edge of it is beveled beautifully. I really love the bracelet, as it's super comfortable with the glidelock clasp. I might go for a Rubber B strap with this clasp down the track just to tone it down and tool it up a notch or 2 :-) Maybe some experts can chime in on the photos, but I can't flaw this, especially for under $250