tomhorn

Yes, I consider myself very fortunate in that respect. It really came out to about the same as I would have spent completing the build I was in the middle of, and I saved a lot of time and frustration of getting outbid for donor watches on eBay. She's still not done though. I have a couple of tweaks left to do, including swapping the caseback for a 6263, and perhaps replacing the pushers and crown. I would love to find a better dial too due to the flaw at 12 minutes (which surprisingly doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would). The old school DW dials really are excellent. Finding anything better these days pretty much means going gen I think, but I don't remotely have the budget for that. That's what the forum is all about ... sharing intel ... This is not a build for the faint at heart, so good luck on your project.

Great build!

Ezio wins! Assuming it's gen of course ...

8 people making recommendations about the best person to send the light bulb to, so it can be lumed "like a torch" prior to installation.

Another fine project comes to fruition ... great work once again ...

^^ what they said (while I was also typing). Why did you bother asking the question in the first place if you were going to ignore the advice? Find one of the calibers in my earlier post and use it with a 16520 dial instead. Everything will fit properly and you'll have a much better watch without destroying all of your gen parts trying to make them fit. Yes, it's going to cost a bit more, but do it right. You'll thank us later. PS ... this is why anyone attempting to build a franken should do all of their research before buying the first part.

With a gen case, you shouldn't want to use a 775x movement period, even if it would fit. If your case is a 62xx case, find a Valjoux 72 (or variant, like the 726, 727). If it's a 165xx case, then find a Zenith el Primero 400 (or variant, like the Movado Datron, Tag Heuer Cal 36, or Ebel 134).

If it helps any, I use DNS Made Easy for all of my sites. Rock solid and inexpensive. Much better than my various domain registrar's services, which always seem to have issues (especially .... cough ... GoDaddy ... cough ... )

Thanks to MoaB and any of the other mods that got involved to help out. Stark contrast to the reactions elsewhere. Hope you get the watch back Matt. I'm sure you will find a willing buyer for it here if you do.

You are talking about a rep, correct? Expecting the tolerances to be gen-spec will leave you dissapointed more often than not ...

I would fly from the US for that deal ...

That is not a tell. There are "little red" 6263's.

I was referring to the subdial hands. Paint is very white compared to the rest of the watch (which is nicely aged), and they look a little too think and maybe too long (which could just be the pictures).

The subdial hands look like replacements, as does the crystal. I'm unsure on the dial, which if not gen is very good. If I had to wager, I'd say gen. Obviously before buying something that expensive, I would have the watch authenticated.

Excellent job by all. She's a keeper!

There have been several reports that he's no longer in business.

Depends on the State, but yes, you can pretty much get anything as long as it's not offensive and fits within the parameters (there is a limit to the number of charactes for example). Most States charge an additional premium over the normal plate fee. Florida just charges an extra $15/yr. It was $50 in Ohio. There are some States that also charge you to make the plate to begin with.

The point I was making with regard to #2 is that anyone doing a build should have done that sanity check before even starting the build. It's too late to do it after the build is completed. The seller with the $3,500 16610 should have known going in that selling it at anything close to what was going to be invested to put it together would be impossible. If building to keep forever, then any amount you save over the gen price can be acceptable (everyone has their ratio of gen vs rep), but that goes out the door if you have to sell. Then you have to fit into the marketplace, and take the big loss or part things out.

Welcome back ... we get Ubi and The Zigmeister and the band will be back together ...

There will always be examples of where a franken build is priced correctly based upon the sum of it's parts, but is not "worth it" as a whole. Pretty much any Rolex build using a gen movement is going to fall into that category. Most super frankens need to be parted out to get back close to what they have in them. This is doubly true if people don't shop well and overpay for parts (which is easy to do if you aren't careful). As I have said in many similar threads, there are two kinds of frankens, heirloom type pieces (built not for sale, but to keep forever and are worn infrequently), and those that are built to be worn, enjoyed, and at some point either traded or sold. With the first variety, build cost doesn't matter, and people will go the last extra mile to find just one more genuine part to try to get to perfection no matter what. That's OK, but you can't do that with watches that you want to wear regularly and figure to trade or sell, unless you plan on losing a lot of money in the process. I also believe that even though there are many great watches (including some downright bargains) that are offered for sale at over $1,000 USD, the market for watches beyond that pricepoint drops exponentially as the cost rises. It always only takes one buyer, but while you might have 100 potential buyers of a stock TC Sub, you might only have five for a $2,000 USD v72 vintage Daytona build, and you'll be lucky to find one for a $4,500 US vintage Daytona build, based on nothing more than the relative prices. As to the OP, point #1 is a given. Sellers should always advertise their watches truthfully. Not difficult if you did the build yourself. Could be if you originally purchased from someone else. Points #2 and #3 are IMO wrong. Sanity checking your price shouldn't be done vs the price of a gen (that should have been done before/during the build). It should however be sanity checked against similar builds that have sold. As for including labor costs, whether a seller mentions them or not is up to them. They are a part of the total build costs regardless, and they can have value. For example, a recently serviced movement has value over something pulled from a donor watch because the buyer won't have to do a service right away. There is nothing wrong with someone including labor when they state "this is how much I have in this build". Buyers may not want to include it when making an offer, but there is nothing wrong with the seller disclosing it.

Well, it's clear he didn't read the posts ahead of his before gracing us with his presence ...

All of the TD's are trusted for a reason. You can use any of them and will end up getting what you ordered, and some assistance from the moderators if your purchase goes astray. Your "best" choice may depend on the particular model you are looking for, your budget and where you live. That's why they all have sections, so you can read up and make that call for yourself.

The Lambo is definitely a v1. Not sure which factory, but I hope it doesn't have a seconds at six engine under the hood ...

IIRC there was a lot of talk about the quality of the PAM 288 strap when it came out.

Assuming you shop extremely well it's possible. Quick look on eBay and the cheapest prices for the parts that I can find are: Gen Rolex 16013 Case Set - current bid $453.00 Gen Rolex 600 YG crown - $49.75 BIN Gen Rolex TT Bracelet - $600 BIN Gen Rolex Gold Dial - $69.75 BIN Raffle's Time Movement ring - $11.95 BIN ETA 2836 in a donor watch - $66.00 BIN + service; or NOS - $192.00 BIN Clark's Hands - $14.30 BIN And the best datewheel overlay for a DJ: MMM Datewheel overlay - $41.00 So that's $1,305.75 plus service on the donor watch movement. or $1,431.75 with the NOS ETA. Plus assembly if you don't DIY. Can you save money by being patient and shopping better? Certainly. I would call this the high water mark for the parts. You can also save money on the bracelet by not going TT (although the cheapest case set I saw was TT. People are out of control in pricing their gen parts on the bay these days). I got very lucky with some of my purchases so my total came in just under $1,000 (including labor), but you couldn't duplicate the watch now for what I have into it. I doubt I will ever sell it, but to part with it for less than $1,000 would be unthinkable.