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To those have posted on these here fora I would like to extend my thanks, for I have been quietly gleaning information from your posts over the past months that I might build a watch for work. I like the simplicity of the oyster case and the explorer dial so decided to go that way...sans branding as I just wanted watch that would stand up to daily use of shovels, chainsaws, and every other unsavoury job the council can throw at me. I stripped an old Ollech und Wajs that had seen better days and salvaged a couple of other bits and pieces from a couple of other watches, these parts I put together in an unbranded Raffles case with dial and hands from same vendor. Raffles 16200 case Raffles dial Raffles hand set Eta 2824-2 Elabore unmarked jubilee bracelet from ebay. Shitload of patience, tweezers, and large magnifying glass...and very sore knees from crawling about on the wood floor looking for all those damnably horrible wee screws I dropped. Please note that I was not trying to emulate a Rolex so didn't give a toss if the whole thing isn't correct...it works and suits me, twenty one seconds slow in the past seven days is good enough. Regards. Ps, yes that big scarred mitt with the calluses all over it did actually manage the task. Had not done this before, it was interesting.

No. This was due to a technical glitch where a bunch of old sales posts were pinned and this means they are displayed first. This was fixed yesterday 😉

Update -- After nearly 4 months of nearly daily driving, the Big Kahuna continues to exceed Rolex's specs -- running within +/- 1 sec/day! On my Timegrapher, in all positions, it returns no more than 2 secs deviation with 0.1% beat error and an amplitude of between 285-310. Typical rates for a modern, well-regulated 4130-powered Daytona. Because the fashionistas are now fixated on the latest, ceramic-bezeled models, these more understated, all-steel classics tend to fly below the-radar, which is more my style. & values for white, APH-dialed Daytonas (not counting the racy chrono sweep hand) are once again heading for the stratosphere.

I do not like the clowns in the video below, but I have heard the exact same thing from people in the biz that I respect. They pick up on some of the comments earlier in this thread referencing the tough position Rolex finds itself in as gen market realities alienate their customer base at a time when the Chinese factories are filling the widening void by pumping out fakes that are nearly indistinguishable -- visually, tactilely & functionally -- from what Rolex is producing at a fraction of the cost. So I think every potential Rolex buyer should view this -- The Rolex Waitlist is Fake

Update -- The big kahuna has arrived! Even before I begin work (to correct the big kahuna's few faults with gen fixes), the profile/dimensional differences between the new (left) & old (right) 'tonas are easily apparent.............& the old 'tona is a beauty & has passed muster with many experts without so much as a raised eyebrow out in the wild. The big kahuna sits (properly) lower on the wrist &, from any angle, is virtually indistinguishable from the gen. The caseback, bezel & xtal are dimensionally accurate & present correct profiles out of the box. No modding required there! Unlike the old 'tona's twitchy sweep seconds hand & crude pusher feel, the big kahuna's sweep seconds and pusher functions are smooth as butter. You really could strap this watch on & go without concern of being ID'd in the wild, even by a trained eye. Viewed from an arm's length -- still, my benchmark for accuracy -- this watch has 0 tells &, if seen on another's wrist, there is nothing that would cause me to think anything other than 'he must be 1 of the lucky few who got the call'. Trust me on this -- if you have ever had the gen on your wrist, you would know, instantly, that this watch is a game-changer! Unlike the previous best, which, on the wrist, felt real close, this 1 feels 100%...........& I mean 100%. More -- much more -- to come. Stay tuned --

Keep it up! What's everyone been up to? Working hard here... Just finished a Pam pxxxx clone repair... Next on the bench probably another sub of some sort... Its weird to look back at how absolutely busy this forum used to be now Reddit looks to be taking over the forum game. These last 15 years definitely feel like 30 on my mind body and soul. The past two years with the infighting over politics/elections and covid have been absolutely exhausting.

Hi all. It's me. Again. Your "old" admin. Had some terrible news that has forced me to resurface a bit here: I received news a couple of days ago that George, the new admin, has passed away. Apparently he was in a snow mobile accident while on easter vacation in Sweden 😮 I've been trying to get a hold of him for a while as he still owes me the money he was supposed to pay for the forum and haven't been able to reach him by email or phone. Got a call from what turns out to be his wife, who had opened up his laptop and read his emails, where I told him to contact me as soon as possible. I have talked to her 2 times the last days and she was injured in the same accident. Apparently, the snow mobile hit a large branch that was hidden under the snow and they lost control of the snow mobile. According to her the snow mobile flipped around, throwing her off and she is not sure how it happened, but George ended up under the snow mobile and died immediately 😢 Not a person I know very well, as I have only talked to him a few times and dealt with him about the forum, but tragic nevertheless. George removed me as an admin, but since full payment for the forum was not received, I have kept the server passwords and login keys, so I still have full access to everything. I will spend some time to think about what I am going to do with the forum. So it seems you are still stuck with me for a while....