chefcook

Now we are just waiting for a good SS strap...

Yep. I love the design, the moderate size and the choices of the dial colour but I'd want it on a bracelet.

the name sounds incredibly dumb.

Plus: What for does one need a chronograph that is measuring times shore than one's reaction time?

Sorry but that does not make sence to me. if you are stuggling then write it in german

What does a 14060 solid end link look like exactly, does it just look exactly like the old endlinks with just more metal inside??? If so mute point as the it looks just as good as the old one but heavyer, if it looks like a 16610 end link then it does not look as good as the clasic 14060.

Andy,

There is no 14060 with solid end links. The 14060 basically uses the 5513 case with an additional grove for the case back gasket, a different case back, different crystal retaining ring, bezel and of course different crystal..

Rosnik is correct on the different case sizes. The 14060 uses a completely different case!

The TW bracelet surely is nice but at the moment I'd wait on how TC's third attempt on the bracelet turns out. In two or three weeks we should know...

get a better bracelet and you have a nice sub rep...

No, won't work.

Second questions is: What for? Any asian 2824 is a whole lot nearer to the gen movements than a 56x would be.

I always preferred paint for scale models (e.g. Revell, Tamiya). The paint is thinner than nail polish and is easier to work with.

Domi was even not able to adjust the Chronograph correctly on a V7750 so that it would not reset or start the Chronograph. His solution was sending the watch back with the Chronograph running.

After that he won't get a single penny from me anymore.

If the bevels on the rep movement were more shiny, the Incablock setting corrected and the bridge surfaces cleaner and maybe more polished before grinding and plating them I think it would even fool people that have the possibility to compare reg and gen...

veeeery nice. Did you convert chronograph wheel, hour wheel and minute pinion or were the hands modified to fit the El Primero?

Cooooool

Shitinerand is an incredibly cool country. Have you ever been to Gelena? There is this company Monarch Polfy SA. I think they make the Polex stuff.

Even though you pretend to not compare the shown watch to a Panerai you do it.

What you get für $9 is no way near the material quality, the design complexity or the the built complexity of a mechanical watch.

For example the dial of a real Panerai does cost more than 80 Euros ($105.70 ) to buy. Not for the customer, for Panerai!

That is what they paid their suppliers already in the year 2000 and for a good reason named quality. I know that because I know a company which produced Panerai dials in the past.

The other point you do not consider in your calculation are the dealers. Usually in this industry an authorized dealer pays roughly 50 to 60% of the final MSRP. That does not mean that the dealer makes 100% profit because they have to pay rent, personell, insurance, interests, debts, give discounts, pay taxes and so on. A dealer in the luxury industry needs that margin to have a 12% to 15% profit after discounts and running costs.

After having worked with such companies I can assure you that the cost breakdown typically looks like this for a watch wearing a $5k sticker:

• Dealer Margin 45%: $2,250
  
  Not we watch nerds are the manufacturer's customer. The dealers are their customers. It is not in the manufacturer's interest to take care of us and whoever visited watch shows like SIHH or Baselworld knows that. Unless you are one of their customers, meaning dealers, they won't care about you.
  After serving their real customer the manufacturers have a budget of $2,750 fpr the $5k watch that splits up into:
  • Manufacturer Margin 20%: $550
    
  • Logistics 12%: $330
    
  • Warranty 4%: $110
    
  • R&D 5%: $137.50
    
  • Marketing 14.5%: $400
    
  • COSC Testing: $86
    
  • Budget to built and pack the actual product: $1,136.50
    

  No one is taking a dubious profit out if a $5k watch. Usually you will get it from your dealer in the range of $4,500 unless he was lucky enough to have something really rare and then he still has to pay a lot of stuff from this.

  The watch manufacturer has to pay interests, debts, make new investments, serve shareholders etc.

  I also think that your numbers for reps are a little optimistic. With my end link project I am learning more and more about the cost structure of reps and it gets more and more clear that we don't get ripped that much. It is more that a bracelet for a $300 watch costs $30, not the whole watch. But then you still have to build the rest of the watch and get it into the market to the actual customers.

  People usually underestimate the cost of actually selling something.

TC got the CAD 3D model in the meantime and will see if his chinese manufacturer can produce end links based on my design. If it turns out good this will lower costs significantly. If not I will go on with my search for a manufacturer here in Germany and Switzerland.

I agree with Chefcook the middle link of the SEL must have sharp edges not rounded.

Yes the one piece construction is a step forward for shure.

Shape looks good and also the fitting is nice.

Thanks for your effort on this again.

Not only the middle link must be sharper, also the outer edges that go against the case lugs.

Hi TC,

first of all thanks for your efforts!

One thing you should ask you suppliers for is not to over-brush the end links.

See how sharp the edges on the gen end link are:

And on the rep the sides are much more rounded:

Even if the end links would be a tad wider to receive the same tolerances as on the gen it would not look right with those rounded edges. The rounded edges add a lot to the impression of bad end link fitment and it really is extremely important to have the edges as sharp as possible.

If there is anything I can do to help you with the project let me know...

The problem with all the rep pearls on modern rolex reps (meaning reps of modern rolex watches) is that they lack the sapphire lens the gen has. The gen is a little white gold pot filled with Superluminova and closed with a sapphire lid. Same setup as you can find it in your kitchen but a lot smaller *gg*

As soon as the rep makers find a way to replicate the little sapphire lid they are there IMO. There are already very good bezel inserts available with correct dimensions and fonts but they all come with the typical crappy pearl

The watch looks ok to me. Yes the bezel is a little unusual, but my 16800 ss is also somewhat like yours. Mine also has the service dial, Swiss- T<25 and luminova, glows at nite beautifully. The polish on the lugs is typical for RSC on a 30 yr old watch. If you like blue TTs, and the price is right, $5K or less, it's a good deal.

Sorry, then one should avoid American RSCs. Those lugs are overly rounded and polished, don't show the right brush pattern and are far away from what you'd get from the German, British or Swiss RSC. I would never buy a watch with lugs like this as long as there are other examples available.

Unless the price really is a steal I would stay away. The lugs were re-brushed unprofessionally, the bezel looks to be really worn. I'd wonder if it can hold the bezel insert without glue after being cut down that much.

There is nothing that would suggest that it is not what the seller says but the parts that gave the 16803 its special appeal over the 16613 are already changed for modern replacements (dial / hands) and the rest does not look that good.

If it is significantly below $4k grab it and get a new bezel for a couple of hundreds. Otherwise I'd stay away.

If you would have asked me two years ago about the Yachtmaster I would have said that it is a watch for men preferring ladies' watches. But in the meantime I came to the conclusion that it is a somehow very cool and very different Rolex. It is blingy, flashy and far away from the understated black dialed GMTs and Submariners. It is not a professionals watch but a lifestyle object. It is different but in the meantime I learned to appreciate it.

The TT models with slate or dark blue dials are just stunning in real life, too.

@chef, I think that BK was able to find the source. I will let him say that for sure though. very exciting to say the least!

That would be exciting indeed!

much more important would be a better bezel pearl with correct dimensions and sapphire lens instead of the epoxy / lacquer type [censored]...

Before we do not get a visually acceptable Deep Sea rep we shouldn't think about movement issues...

I think this case set is not available anymore, at least it is not shown on Sean's website at the moment.

Unfortunately I did not buy one when they were available

I'd think it has nothing to do with gen or not but with the model. The Milgauss has polished lugs, polished mid links, a polished steel bezel whereas the Submariner 116610 is mainly brushed and has a ceramic bezel. I think scratches are just not as obvious on the Submariner as they are on the Milgauss.

The movement is quite nice - I am using it in my franken submariner - but the case and bracelet is not even comparable to the Noobmariner from five years ago.

The SA3135 16610 really is only good as a movement / dial / hands donor.