Vester71

Yes and this is why people should sit back and think about how much it would cost to get your project done.

I have seen too many members here spend a fortune on a top franken and then realise 1) can't recoup much of the costs back if they sale or 2) the genuine version costs not that much more.

But it's a hobby too. The fun part is finding the parts and completing the build - not about the investment.

Superglue a screwdriver or even toothpick to the stuck screw and pull it out.

Make sure you buy a few extras as well.

It should be fine for swimming and showering - assuming the previous owner really did that. The divers (stainless) can be waterproofed and sealed.  It seems they pass from 5ATM to over 10ATM depending on the actual watch.

AP - Porsche (RO and ROO is the 911 equivalent)

Richard Mille - Pagani (very exclusive, use of special materials)

Christophe Claret - Koenigsegg (high and innovative complication)

Rolex - Mercedes (large range of product from low to high)

Breitling - Jaguar

Zenith - Corvette

Panerai - Lexus

Hublot - Lamborghini (materials usage)

Omega - Toyota (high number of watches/cars produce each year)

Tissot - GM (high number of watches/cars produce each year)

IWC - BMW

Breguet - Maserati

JLC - Audi (high complications for JLC compare to Audi technology)

Blancpain - Lotus

Casio - Hummer (g-shock are tough)

Tag Heuer - VW

Patek - Ferrari

Vacheron - Bentley

Lange - Rolls Royce

Smartwatches - Tesla

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Nails it for me

While most of us are not happy with the increase on prices of reps, we seem to grouse and [censored] about it, but then we pony up the money and buy. The problem that I see is the added money that we spend on getting one "right" Just for example, lets use and FC V whatever as and example

 

FC diver new cost                                                                                   528.00 USD

AR'ed crystal or stock crystal relumed                                                    100.00-125.00 USD

Relume                                                                                                    130.00 USD

Movement conversion or slow beat Tissot                                               265.00 - 300.00 USD

Case polish                                                                                                75.00

 

Total                                                                                                         1098.00 -1158.00 USD

 

 

Even with all these expensive mods, you have a nice watch, but this still doesn't address the inner bezel faults, the size and spacing of numbers, DW issues, etc. So what you have is a watch that has doubled in price and it's still only  95-97% , not 99%. The biggest problem with spending double what the watch costs to get it from 94% to 97%, occurs when you try to sell it. You are NOT going to recoup your modding costs. Some folks are luckier than others, sometimes it depends on the model and popularity, but in reality, you will be lucky if you get the cost of the watch and half of your modding costs back at sale. Also, we don't usually factor in the price of shipping a watch back and forth between modders, the frustration factor of getting a freshly modded watch home, only to find out the it's now running 30 minutes per day fast or slow, The chrono subdial hands are not zeroed, and on and on and on!! I believe that all of these factors are a big reason that some of our most active members here, folks who have built or had built some pretty amazing watches, eventually give up in frustration and switch over to gens. 

 

So as folex said, I would much rather pay twice the price upfront for one that is 99% and can be worn straight out the box, needs no mods and is accurate and reliable.

And that's a conservative estimate on costs.

Would love a 99% accurate version, but even then we'll find mods to do, like servicing, sealing, etc

Stunning watch, great job on that build!

I've had the issue on two AP Divers - gave up and went with the Powermatic 80. Had two different watchsmiths do the conversion and same issue on both - one was 15 min fast a day and one was 45 minutes fast a day.

Was going to troubleshoot but decided to just do a Powermatic 80 - luckily found a new one for about $300. 

Ended up going with a Tissot Powermatic 80 movement. The quest for a "perfect" and overly accurate rep continues!

Vac will come through - just be patient.

Test, but should be great in water.

I swim with all mine - once they are sealed and tested of course.

Speedy G

Use KB

I think he has a website now too. I forgot the URL but ill find it later tonight and post it.

Loose - two fingers

The TC YM is beautiful.

Beautiful - I want that! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

You can tell the difference if you are looking for it.

I found some nice ones on ioffer - not always available but keep an eye out. Also, once is a great while they pop up on eBay.

Very cool!

Good to know - I've been trying for a while too.

Don't trust factory claims - pay for a waterproofing and it will be great. Adds $$ but that is worth the piece of mind.

A lot of V3s test to 10 ATM, mine was waterproofed by Vac and is good to 7 ATM. Vac said they all vary, but usually 7 ATM is a safe bet and are good for swimming.

While the WM9 cases accept a gen tube, BK recommends using his custom tube for certain cases. For instance my V3 works best with the BK tube and gen crown. Totally watertight and have survived hours in a hot tub in winter