looseends

Graphic / web design. And pimping.

Yes, I purchased one too. I am still waiting for it to arrive. I am going to put in a custom dial and an ETA movement just to have an novelty watch.

That was my original thinking, swap out the dial and movement. But I'm going to run with this and see what happens. It's just a fantasy watch either way, and I'd like some modding practice.

1. It's Ok to go with a fantasy PVD.

2. It's OK to go with an "unauthorized" dealer.

It makes the whole thing a lot more fun and I do both from time to time.

I'm still looking for a PVD Daytona.

Carl

I'm not trying to shill for this guy... but PVD Daytona can be seen here. Again, probably just a base for a fantasy watch.

I've been looking for a PVD watch. I was considering a Chase-Durer which are pretty affordable, but I didn't really like the design. Lots of markings leading to a busy dial/bezel. And Submariners have always caught my eye, but I've been happy with my GMT and ExpII. So we've all seen the recent Subs and GMTIIc popping up with PVD coating, and it looks like Angus is going to source a Pro Hunter dial and get us a decent rep (here's hoping ).

But a little over a week ago, I decided to test out an unauthorized dealer, and the PVD Sub. Everything with the dealer turned out okay, and I got my watch in about a week - so that's pretty satisfying for what I considered a shot in the dark. (rolex2u, please note Tony is not an authorized dealer, and I myself have read of mixed experiences). I got this Sub PVD for $93, shipping included. There's a lot of "DateDusts" on the site, if ya know what I mean.

As you'll note, the images on the site do not match my images. However the watch received exceeds my expectations. (Apologies for the poor images, I posess neither a macro lense nor ambition to create studio quality images).

The dial printing is pretty decent. The site pics looked like a bad dial, this one is okay. The lume markers do not lume. But the pearl and hands do.

The bezel insert is decent, can't get a good shot of the pearl, it's okay. At the very least, the font is not too fat.

Poor shot - but he crystal/bezel heights are not even. The bezel is uni-directional, and the clicks/feel are not very refined. The etched Rolex crown is definitely too large, it is obvious to the eye.

What you're seeing is dust on the bracelet, the finish is actually pretty flawless. In the coming weeks I'll see how the coating stands up to scratches.

The coating is very glossy, not what I expected. It is dark and lustrous.

The movement is definitely a cheapo Asian, the rotor sound is distinct but not too noticeable, and the date font is poor. However the second hand sweep is as good as an ETA. The movement still winds when you screw down the crown.

All in all, for $93, I'm pretty happy, even if it breaks down tomorrow (just get a new movement then ).

I'm curious to hear what everybody thinks.

I would take advantage of the relume with SuperLuminova, most definitely. The few watches I own would all get sent in eventually.

Oh, hey, what about WATER PROOFING?

I'm very interested in this. I am already looking into getting a black/PVD watch. What's the time frame for availability?

I'd like a PVD SS bracelet, though.

You just opened up a big can of worms! There is a huge debate regarding the accuracy of these phrases, and many experts believe they are nothing but marketing slogans while in reality gold content is almost impossible to determine given the generally dubious policies of manufacturers.

Same goes for the amount of "mils" watches claim to have.

Exactly why I didn't suggest "Be sure to get gold-xxxxx"

The terminology/usage is weird, but I have at least seen photos claiming one of the two versus the other, and there's a slight difference in appearance - I mean appearance of quality, as far as color/tone/lifetime I certainly have no means by which to measure. Just terms to look out for if he's looking for "solid" gold - more aptly referred to as "full" gold.

Also, look up gold plated vs. gold wrapped.

MacBooks are great, I have one for work. No problems, decent battery life, good looking screen. And I run Parallels (virtual PC software) to do anything I need Windows for. In fact, the only issue I have is maybe 1:50, Parallels up and quits, no explanation.

I've always found Macs to be much simpler (without limiting functionality) than Windows machines. Sure, either works, but what you mention about iPods holds true, their OS has that same sleek feel no one has been able to replicate.

I agree, a replica needs to be near authentic appearance or it's pointless, especially if the price is pretty close in line with the genuine article - the price must be considerably more affordable than a gen. The reps I've bought are anywhere from 10% down to 3-5% the cost of gen - and the inverse percentage in accuracy - 90-95% in my opinion. That's an acceptable ratio.

I've been looking at the PVD Submariner on rolex2u, another questionable site. There's not much info when you search here - but it seems some members have had different experiences. However I'm just darn curious, the movement is obviously POS, and the dial looks bad, and pearl is probably not good, but with a better dial and movement swapped it, it could be interesting. I know some others have posted this, and is not everyone's taste.

Thanks for the compliments man.

But regarding the value... you're completely wrong if you think the prices will drop, and the history proves it. The 16710 prices are going to skyrocket. Ask any Rolex reseller... 1675 prices have increased 150% in merely a year... and while the sapphire models aren't as "collectible" yet, the 16710 is still out of production it will increase in value, rapidly.

This is already apparent when you go to Ebay and compare the prices to what they were 6 months ago, but I predict in 3-4 years the prices are going up a lot. And that's exactly why I bought mine now. Same applies to the classic 16600 and 16570.

I will defer to you on the history/pricing. There's certainly an initial reaction to it being OOP, prices go up, but my feeling is they will calm down after a little while. A 150% jump for now may only be a 125% in a year or so (when the initial OOP fever dissipates) - I certainly never expect it to go down below or even return to previous levels. I just think there's a window I need to watch for in about a year's time.

CGs need reshaped.

Excellent, excellent watch. It will be my first gen, but I don't know when I'm going to get around to it. There should be a period in a couple years where the newest "classic" GMTIIs take a back seat to used GMTIICs on the market. Then I shall pounce on the lower market price.

Wow, great images.

This is one of those reps that makes me amazed - it oozes authenticity. 1:1 compatible with original components? I trust Angus, but anyone have experience to know if this is true?

Boss: Johnson! What happened to those 50 dials we wanted you to quality check and deliver to the dealers?!

Johnson: I think they fell off the truck.

I've only sold one rep, pretty fast and I didn't blow anyone off. I would think the buyer was satisfied. However, speaking from a seller's point of view on something else: a 32" tv I put on craigslist for $150 (I had a succinct description with good photos in the ad, great condition).

Inquiries came in immediately - I tried to be very courteous, the first email got a response, and I told the other emails that came in that someone was interested, but I would let them know. After going through 4 people, answering multiple questions in email, and talking with 2 on the phone, I was still nowhere - everything from not hearing back, to one guy refusing to pay more than $90 and can he come look at it first. This wasn't worth my time - I can make more money working in the equivalent time. The 5th guy sounded interested, talked to him on the phone, and I told him I just wanted to sell it at this point because people were being ridiculous, and agreed on $100. He said it was just a matter of picking it up, but again I did not hear from him the next day when he said he'd come get it. So I went to the next email, and finally hit a normal person who managed to pick it up the next day - and I got rid of it for $125.

My point being, sellers have to put up with a lot of [censored] as well. Of course, what you describe sounds like some [censored] sellers, so perhaps my actual point is that good faith really seems to go out the window on the internet, where face to face would give a lot of signals as to whether someone was on the level or not. I'm not selling anything that way again.

Lets just keep that ignorance that way so it doesn't ruin the hobby.

My thought as well. I'm so glad to see misinformation like this out there.

I don't think I've heard of anyone here trying to represent their rep as a gen - I certainly am not. I happen to like the design, can't afford the gen, so I bought the rep. And now seeing reps, I don't think I would buy a gen, certainly not a used one.

No one I know can recognize a Rolex, I'm not showing off my watch, and it's not flashy enough to warrant notice. I consider it what it is, a nice $200+ watch. And I like that this is more or less a private, or lesser-known, hobby. And I enjoy replica debunking articles.

:::munches popcorn:::

The Zigmeisterzombie

Rest easy, take care.

Minutes are overrated.

If every facet of a Rolex could be duplicated exactly for $300, then a gen Rolex would be overpriced garbage, and then no one would want to buy a Rolex rep.

For what it's worth:

I have the same issue (or similar) with a GMTII Red/Blue - with a 2836-2 modified movement. The Zigmeister has flat out told me this is an unreliable modification to this movement, the best thing would be an actual GMT movement, the 2893. But anyway, I gots what I gots.

The GMT hand will run for a few hours, then stop. Now, either I read something here, or in my instinctive problem-solving brain I decided to experiment, and discovered it either stops after a few hours, or works perfectly... based on how I set the time.

By-Tor has a thread on setting a GMT (search for it), you may recall CHS or IHS, I don't, but it has to do with setting the time an hour back, then setting the GMT hand to match, then setting the time again ahead to the correct hour - which will advance the GMT hand to the correct hour. Well yeah, that works to set the time, but on my GMT, this is when the GMT hand stops functioning after a few hours. (but I have a 2836-2 ExpII where this works just fine, go figure).

My GMT works fine when I set the time, then set the GMT hand, and screw the crown down. If I change the time, I have to set the GMT hand after, or it will stop in a few hours. Also, it has to be set immediately following - setting the time is two positions out - I have to get it to click back one to GMT/date set (or I'm back to it stopping in an hour or two) - and this is the hard part, because 75% of the time, it clicks back to the winding position. So then I have to pull it out and stop the time, then try to click back to the GMT/date position and set the hand, even if it requires (slowly) spinning it around 24 hours.

If I do that exactly, the GMT hands runs fine. I suggest this as I imagine they're using the same hacked 2836 movement in the new GMTIICs. It's worth trying over the hassle of sending it back.

Nice, I'd get a Sub like that - otherwise I don't find them particularly interesting.

I have a GMT Pepsi, which I love, and for tradition sake I have the GMT hand follow GMT - I guess at least so I know what time it is for my UK friends. And I can the whole 3rd timezone with the bezel.

But I just got an Explorer II which I'm digging. It has the GMT hand, but I think it would be more appropriate to set it to the local 24H time - as that was the intention (right?), if I'm stuck in a cave with no daylight, I know whether it's am/pm - which ironically matches my working conditions.

Of course, I could set it to GMT and it would be the same as my GMT watch (keep in mind this way they look cool synced up next to each other in the winder ).

So, just your opinion - what should I use my Explorer's GMT hand for?

I like the SS bracelets, but that looks good.