tomhorn

TeeJay ... my belief is this ... If Rolex starts selling a low priced/quality watch in the $1,000 range then Rolex (the brand) begins to be devalued. If (relatively) anyone can buy one, then it's no longer the watch you're supposed to purchase when 'you've made it' or are celebrating a milestone in your life. It won't happen immediately, but over time it surely will happen. If anyone can buy one, they are no longer 'special'. This will affect the 'high end line' because people don't buy a $10k Rolex because of it's price. They buy it because it's a Rolex, and what it stands for. If that's no longer the reason, there are a lot of $10k watches out there. Here's a $10k Invicta, for example. http://www.ebay.com/...pos=33767&gbr=1 Assume that someone equally like the looks of this watch and the Rolex Daytona. Which watch do you think the general consumer is going to pick? The brand they've probably never heard of as being associated with luxury (or worse that they've seen hawked on Shop NBC), or Rolex? Fast forward 10 years when Rolex is selling it's entry level watches everywhere (maybe even on Shop NBC), and the perception that Rolex is special is gone.

Couldn't disagree more. Luxury brands are luxury brands for a reason. They have been designed, built, marketed and priced to be that way. If Rolex came out with a Chinese made (and appropriately priced) line, it would absolutely de-value the brand. Exclusivity is the hallmark of a luxury brand. If anyone can afford one, you lose that. There is actually no reason Rolex couldn't sell a Submariner right now for $1,000, and they'd sell millions. They don't because they know it would kill their brand. Failure happens all the time with perceived high end companies trying to move down market (anyone remember the Cadillac Catera?). The masses who buy gen Rolex's do so precisely because they are perceived to have been built well, are expensive, and not everyone will have one. The smarter companies come out with an different branded product (for example, Tudor) when they want to try to go down or up markets. That way if it fails, the original mark isn't affected. By the way, it also doesn't work moving up-market. Toyota, Honda and Nissan were smart in this regard, others, not so much. By all accounts, the Hyundai Equus is supposed to be a magnificent automobile, but most buyers of a $60k car don't want a Hyundai badge on the back. Same with the VW Phaeton ... a $70k VW. What were they thinking? Most recently, even though they made one good move with Infiniti, Nissan made a huge (IMO) mistake branding the GT-R a Nissan and not an Infiniti. On the watch side of things, look at the Grand Seiko line ... I would doubt that outside the Asian market they sell all that well despite being very well made and innovative timepieces. Who wants to spend $5k+ for a simple 3-hand automatic with Seiko on the dial? Oh, and well said panerai153. Agree 100%. It's also why it took me so long to come back around to Rolex.

The date wheel is BK's so not historically correct for this model, and I'm not sure the dial I used was available for the 16014. Technicalities for sure, but I'm happy with how it turned out.

Speaking of PBdad ... he just sent me a teaser of my latest project. Can't wait until it gets here!

I don't either, so I just collected the parts and sent them off to PBdad ...

I was actually referring to ASCIWhite's Oysterdate Precision, but it's possible the OP's picture is also not of a 16030. The engine turned bezels photograph differently depending on the lighting. Here is one on eBay for reference: http://www.ebay.com/...=item27cacd6653 Cases are definitely getting harder to find, which is why JMB's offering is so good. Also probably why I am still hording my last one (16014) and haven't turned it into an Explorer ... yet ...

Unfortunately I didn't ask the details. In the garage, there were 3 cars that were supposedly 'concept' cars from the late 50's - early 60s, and 3 actual race cars from the 50's. The other concept car that I thought was a direct influence on Ford looked very much like a Mustang fastback, and one of the others looked a lot like a Jaguar from a distance. They weren't directly copied per se, but you could definitely see the strong influence.

Except that's not a 16030 ASCIWhite. Best thing to do would be to build a franken. There are plenty of gen cases available on eBay, and the rest of the parts can be found without too much trouble. Alternatively, get a hold of JMB for one of his DJ cases for a 2824 movement, and then search out the gen dial of your choice. You'll also need to find an engine turned bezel, but they are relatively cheap.

I would second the Corvette and CTS-V, but the Ford GT40 is a carbon copy of a Ferrari concept car which a guy I know that owns the only one in existence (that he knows of). When I first walked into his garage I said, 'oh, you've got a GT40' and he said, 'look again'. The Ford Mustang was also evolved from a Ferrari concept car (which he also owned and was another 1 of 1 in existence). One could also argue the Willys/Jeep CJ qualifies, and I am a huge fan of the Packards and pretty much anything Carol Shelby had his hands in.

If you're just looking for a base watch and won't be modding it, then check with the trusted dealers. If you want to mod I'd try to find one of the MBWs on the sales board or wait for the new case that's being developed by highoeyazmuhudee. Read the forum ... plenty of info on the 1680 available.

If you are looking for a modded one, you can also contact Vac and see if he has any in the pipeline for sale.

What exactly are you trying to build? A gen 16xxx DateJust uses a 3035 movement, which has the same beat rate as a 2824 (28.8 ) If you are using a DateJust case to build an Explorer I (1016) on the other hand, then the lower beat rate movement is a better choice as the 1570 was at 19.8. And for the record, I agree with mymanmatt on using the 2824 in the DateJust. The 2836 does work (and many here have used it), but the stem alignment is slightly off.

Looks gen to me, but the price is on the high side. DCpark87 had a couple for sale here. Might want to check and see if he still has one.

And that is because he is engaged in 'selling and transporting' which is illegal here in the US. Unless something's changed that we haven't heard about, owning is not a crime here in the US. That isn't to say a rep won't get stopped by customs, because it does happen. That's why you work with the trusted dealers. They have experience in shipping, and most also have policies to take care of you if the worst happens. You can also look for items in the sales section that are being sold by US members and avoid customs altogether.

Many have built frankens with the 2836 using the gen 16xxx cases (16013, 16014, 16030). If you have acquired the movement yet, check with JMB on his custom 2824 case.

Funny ... I had a nurse who had 3 kids tell me she'd rather give birth again. When they start, the pain is actually in your lower back area. Imagine someone hitting you repeatedly with a baseball bat in that area and you'll come close to what it feels like. The majority of the pain is actually caused by the stone moving through the ureter to the bladder. The first one I had was jagged, and got stuck at the entrance to my bladder. Was in and out of the ER for four days (gotta love morphine though). Had to be surgically removed, and I'll spare the squeemish from exactly how it came out, but I'm sure you can guess. Second one hurt just as bad, but passed on it's own after a few days. Here's a trick that will help ... in addition to whatever else (like Percoset) they give you, ask for a 800mg prescription of Ibuprophen. My urologist told me it's fast acting to the kidneys. Had that for my second bout and it made it almost bearable. Also, if you are prone calcium stones, the doc will likely tell you to have something acidic in your drink (like lemon) or drink cranberry juice. Guess it helps keep them from forming. So far it's working for me, and I knock on wood every day.

No doubt. I missed on two of them a few months ago at less than $600. Now it's hard to find them for less than $1,000.

I used the Clark springbars. Good quality for the price.

Try the search function. Several posts on the subject, including this one. Or you could just reach out to Narika.

Many of the dealers drop-ship and never actually see the watch you receive. Depending on who you purchased from, this could in fact be 'part of the game'. Also, you don't state what movement it was, but assuming it was an ETA 2836, it's also 'part of the game' that you received a recycled movement. The ETA movements have become increasingly difficult to source, so I'm sure it's more common for the factories to find recycled movements these days. You're more likely to get a 'new' movement if you go with the Asian clones, but even then, the movements will likely not be lubricated properly and you could still have problems. That's why I factor a service into anything I buy, and send the watch off once I've determined I'm keeping it long term. No, it's not right, but it's also not that surprising. Have you contacted your dealer about the situation? Yes, it's a hassle to sent it back, but if they are one of the TD's here, I'm sure they'll take care of you.

Beautiful. Why even sleep on it? Go for it!

Another great build! I have two I'm in the middle of now, but once complete I hope to go down the same path ... except I will swap bezels and make it a 6265. Thanks for the inspiration.

Not 4.8%, 4.8 people/100,000. Big difference. It's still too high, but I've always believed that the drug trade in the US is the cause of a large chunk of the gun related killing. I don't pretend to know how to fix that problem, but I think it would go a long way to reducing our rate. Here's what no one is talking about (other than SFA on RG). How does an unemployed college kid get his hands on enough cash and knowledge to purchase everything he used, and the training to rig his apartment with the explosives in such a way that it took a military grade bomb squad to disarm? Logically, I don't see how this could have been just some isolated psycho kid acting alone. There has to be more to this story (that we'll also probably never know).

If you're looking for something stylish, you don't want mine. Victorinox Trevi rolling brieface ... here's one on eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VICTORINOX-Rolling-BRIEFCASE-Tote-laptop-case-Architecture-Trevi-Google-logo-BLK-/251073987201?pt=US_Laptop_Cases_Bags&hash=item3a752d0281 I carry a lot of stuff through airports ...

I considered myself very lucky to find a complete 16014 case set (case, crown, tube, crystal, 18k WG bezel) for $220 (inc. PP and shipping) a couple of months ago. Even the aftermarket WG bezels are going for $150-$200 alone. Have seen some sellers ask $300 for the gen WG bezel (which is way too high IMO). The prices on Rolex parts on eBay are getting out of control. You have to be very, very, patient these days to find something priced well. Still kicking myself for missing the end time for the Tropic 22 that went for $21.51 a couple of weeks ago.