automatico

"I agree except that I am not a fan of their horrible diashock spring jewel above the escape wheel!" I am not a fan of them either. It's not used for a shock spring on the rlx 15xx but as a removable cap jewel retainer to hold the escape wheel jewel in place while allowing the cap jewel to be r/r for c/o. My main gripe with rlx 15xx is where they cheap skated and did not put a bushing or jewel in the main plate where the MS arbor turns. I remember seeing a picture from a post by 'misiekped' showing a rlx 15xx (GMT?) with a MS arbor bushing in the main plate. Always wondered if it came that way or was a repair. Had not seen one in a 15xx movement before...or since. "If I were to be perfectly honest, the 15xx movements do nothing for me apart that Rolex uses them as their yardstick and keep the market inflated, so I would never lose my money on them." I like watches with 15xx movements because I grew up with them but since the huge price inflation of anything rolex and NPFY, I have turned to ETA movements for projects along with the occasional Seagull ST16 or ST6. My cartel '5513' with a ST16 is +6 seconds in one week, I hand wind it every morning...the autowind parts have been removed. Better time keeper than my rlx 15xx MBK '5512' was.

"and what watch would you buy with the remaining 22k if you hadn't got anything else to spend it on" I have enough watches. Maybe wait and see how things go. "...and everything else in life is sorted by a fair margin" Life is full of surprises. Believe me, I know. I did not retire at 46 by buying $25k depreciating assets.

If I had $25k to spend... Something low key and simple that will hold its value. Wind up steel rolex 6694 or 1603 auto DJ in fine condition, no corrosion. Maybe go so far as to splurge on a solid gold 1960s/1970s water resistant classic watch of some sort on a strap (after gold prices drop). Example...I paid $300 for a like new 18k Gübelin 36mm automatic in a round WR screw back case in 2012. Similar watch today could probably be found for $1500 or $1800. A timeless (affordable) classic. Here is one for $1700: eBay item number 233507608781 Or an original 'Bullitt' Benrus... Save the remaining $22k. Most $25k watches drop 50% in a year or two. Today I am celebrating high gold prices by wearing a 14k Mickey Mouse project watch with 14k buckle made out of a 1953 round case Bulova. Total cost about $200...bought the Bulova in the late 1990s when gold was under $300 troz and a friend cast the buckle from scrap. https://onlygold.com/gold-prices/historical-gold-prices/

"I have also learnt that some professional watchmakers refuse to replace the balances and then who would buy these separate parts if they are such a pain. The chances of damaging them is quite high." I guess guys working on them for a living do not want to take a chance on damaging a HS so they refuse to r/r the balance. I don't blame them. ETA/swatch decided to go to glued and clipped balance spring studs for one reason...it's cheaper and does not have any effect on accuracy. They do not care what happens after it is put in a watch because it is someone else's headache. RWC started laser welding the HS with the cal 3035. If you look down and your 3035 has stopped for 'no reason at all', it might be a detached HS. The fix is a balance complete but I have read that some claim to be able to cement the HS back on. I do not know if this would work or not. I still have a 'just in case' spare 3035 balance/HS left from when I was trading 3035 powered watches but all of mine ran long enough to get rid of them...except for a few broken balance staffs and HS hung on the balance rooster (co-ck is censored). Rlx 15xx movements are like A model Fords, everything is mechanically attached.

"Anyone ever done this without using some "proper" tool for this. I guess there is a "proper tool" as I cannot see any other way to press fit this stud in?" I place the stud against a solid surface and push the bridge 'fork' down over the stud using a small diameter flat top stump mounted in a staking tool to get it started. It is fairly easy to rig something up...maybe a small post of some sort so it will clear the balance. Be careful to keep away from the tip where the HS is cemented to the stud. No guarantees with this method because I have a lot more 'hairbrained credits' than 'hairspring credits'. Getting the stud fully seated and keeping the HS lined up is also part of the hassle but most of the problem is usually getting the stud started in the fork without having to push on it with a screwdriver (sounds like something out of a porn flick). Once seated the HS can be lined up from the top side but get it as close as possible to start with. You can stick the outer edge of the balance wheel to the leg of the bridge with Rodico to keep it from flopping around. Hairsprings are a curse on the universe imho. Bergeon probably makes a $500 tool that works most of the time. It probably looks like "a screwdriver with an indent like a fork."

"Would a gen 5500 case (complete) be a suitable base to start a build?" Yes. I made a 34mm 'explorer' using a 1002 case with a 1570 and it turned out fine with a Yuki dial and aftmkt 55xx hands. The 1002 and AK are basically the same case and both use 27.0mm dials. Be careful of case rot on the case back to case gasket areas and between the lugs. Many on eBay etc will be shown with the gasket on the case back and cb corrosion will not show. History...I bought the 1002 in 1996 for $650, it was tutone with gold bez/crown, silver dial, and goldtone markers/hands. They made 1002 models in all steel, tutone, and 9kt solid gold. The 9kt examples usually came from England and 14k models were 1003. Not many gold models around. BTW...any opinions on the MoChaCha '1016' case? I have everything but a case to put one together, genuine dial etc. https://www.mochacha.org/shop-1/vintage-rolex-explorer-1016-s-s-watch-case

I like it! I have never seen one anywhere. Rare birds. I have a couple replica 34mm tudor cases and thought about making an 'explorer' out of one with a Yuki AK explorer dial and ETA 2824 with the autowind assembly removed to make it manual wind. Could use an ETA 2801 but already have a 2824. I have removed a few a/w assemblies from ETA 28xx and had no problems at all. The fine teeth on the winding wheels are a bit fragile for hand winding with the a/w assembly attached (a lot of moving parts/friction) but they hold up fine without the a/w assembly as long as you grease the hub on the main plate that the crown wheel turns on. Wind it about 35 or 40 turns from stopped then 20 to 25 turns every day to keep it running. Also have some lower beat rate A Schild movements that might fit. https://www.rescapement.com/blog/what-to-know-about-the-rolex-commando

"I think those laws came to be as an attempt to save American watchmaking, which U.S. policy inadvertently killed by diverting domestic brands (which held a vast majority of the market share) to production of military instruments in WW2. It's sad really, in all likelihood the forums here would read Elgin, Hamilton, Gruen, Waltham Area if not for wartime decree and the ingenuity of the Swiss to capitalize on the situation." You are right. During WWII, USA watch companies went to military watch, bomb timer, ship chronometer etc production thereby allowing the swiss to gain inroads into the civilian watch market and the US brands never recovered.

"...Rolex movements are now being reliably replicated (4130, 3135) and conceivably Rolex’s NPFY possibly is already backfiring. Someone will come fill the void legally or illegally." You are right. The replica movements are a good start but they have no spare parts network. Yet. RWC basically used an obsolete law on the books intended to protect American watch makers against cheap foreign competition to allow their current sharp practices. Interesting: https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/memorandum-united-states-response-motion-rolex-watch-usa-inc-order-terminating On a similar note...a friend needed parts for a copy machine 20 or 25 years ago and IBM would not sell the parts, they said he had to buy a high $$ service contract to have it fixed. He had a few 'influential friends' who got the Feds after them and they sent the parts...free of charge. RWC could be forced to sell parts if there was a heavy push against them in court but that will probably never happen because no one really cares except a few repair shops and there are less and less of them every year. Goliath vs Goliath... Anyone remember when Costco beat Omega/Swatch when Omega sued them for selling their watches? https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1689936.html I remember seeing new rolex watches at Sam's Wholesale Club. Iirc RWC took a run at Sam's/Waldo Marto because of it. Costco still has a new rlx or three for sale now and then. The swiss used to make a lot of junk and were famous for their fake 'American' pocket watches and cheapo pin lever watches. I remember seeing 'swiss made!' pin lever watches in display carousels on truck stop and restaurant counters for about $7.95 when I was a kid. Still have one or two. Oris went so far as to make a pin lever movement that would pass the COSC test, cal 652. https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/the-pin-pallet-chronometer-oris-calibre-652.1927714/ Heard this when working in a MC shop but it may be BS...Harley D threatened to take a certain Japan MC brand to court because their V twin cruiser 'sounded like' a Harley D. The Japan MC company told HD they would buy a big chunk of HD stock and turn it into a lawnmower factory (or something similar). HD shut up. HD is having the Street 750 made in India...HD's fake Indian. Ha! Polaris Industries makes 'genuine' Indians in Iowa. "Since the American motorcycle brand made its debut in India in 2009, Harley-Davidson has sold over 25,000 motorcycles, with the made-in-India Harley-Davidson Street 750 leading the sales numbers."

Check the canon pinion and see if it came apart (outer wheel came loose from minute hand tube) or is too loose to have enough friction to drive the time train. Later ETAs have a CP that is simple and rugged but when they wear out or come apart the symptom you described is what happens. Usually the time stalls when it gets close to changing the date or when the date flipper works starts to load up. The SS hand will continue to run with a loose CP. If the movement does not have a 'keeper plate' holding the CP in mesh the CP can come out of mesh. A dial washer will usually fix this. If you set the time ahead a few hours and it keeps time for a while the CP is usually the problem. Another check is to see if there is much resistance when setting the time...if the crown turns very easily it is an indication that there is not much CP friction. Check the friction with the movement out of the case or with a long stem so the crown gasket is not supplying friction on the case tube. If this is the problem a new CP is the best fix. I never had much luck refitting or tightening them. The 218 Accutron has a similar CP and you can flip the outer drive wheel over and remount it and it will be as good as new. The ETA is similar but this fix does not work very well.

"I pulled the old 7S26 out of this SKX031and installed a new NH36A- should be good for 10-15 years hopefully." Never had much luck with the 7S26. We sold them in a store and a lot of them came back for one reason or another. Heard the NH36A is quite a bit better. I am fine with the MBK to wear when the mech watch mood strikes but still have a few rlx watches and a cigar box full of 15xx movements/parts/crowns/crystals etc and here is what worries me: Will prices go up much more for 6605 and 16xx DJ, 5500 AK, 6694, 1500 OPD etc or will the prices drop? Sell now or later? This is mostly what I have left in a safety deposit box. Every third person I see is wearing a smart watch (if wearing a watch at all) and it brings back memories of the 'quartz crisis'. There were bargains to be had but I did not buy the right stuff. As usual. I figure parts will stay high as long as rlx still has their 'NPFY' policy so the parts do not bother me too much. Where to sell the watches? eBay harbors a band of crooks that make a living taking parts out of watches and sending them back DOA, claiming they were defective or claiming the box was empty making it too dicey for me. I dropped out of the NAWCC because the internet siphoned off the wristwatch guys I traded with at shows and all the local watch traders have stopped trading. Besides that the Wu Flu is keeping them hiding at home with the curtains pulled. Last but not least...I ain't gettin' any younger and my wife can not tell genuine from a $12 HK Special. Watches $10 each! Your Choice!

I have an MBK 55xx case that has had an ETA 2846 or 2879 in it for about 5+ years. It started out with a rolex 1520 about 7 years back but it was removed because I have bad feelings about wearing a watch with a genuine rlx movement so I stuck an ETA 2846 in it for a while, then later a nos ETA 2879. Why? Because genuine 15xx movements are getting old and worn out, and parts are expensive. They are also not as rugged as a swiss ETA 28xx in my experience. So what is the point of this post? I just wanted to say that I would rather wear a watch like the one above than any genuine or Frankenstein rlx watch with a rlx movement.

"24-530 and 24-600 crown is in production both in dash and brevet models." Good news! I have a few older watches that can use them.

I used an ETA 2879 in a '5512' project using an MBK case and it worked fine. My 2879 is 21600 bph and has the same hand sizes/dial foot location as a 2824/36/46. The date wheel spacer is made on many of these movements like on this main plate on eBay: eBay item number 132309997857 Hard to remove if you need it gone. Have another 2879 with a removable two piece metal date wheel spacer that fits in a groove machined on the outside edge of the movement but do not know if it is a later model or an older model, probably earlier. It has the 'twist' type stem and my 2879 movement with the spacer made on the main plate has a regular straight stem. The 'twist' type stems are twisted where they pass through the clutch wheel/winding pinion. The 2879 can be hacking or not depending on if they came with a hack lever. This 2879 has a spacer like an ETA 2824/36: http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&ETA_2879 ETA 2879 parts list: http://www.tztoolshop.com/page173.html The 'old reliable' ETA 2846 is a good choice but it is better to change it over to a fully jeweled auto wind assembly...many are 17 jewel. The catch is the 2846 is a little bit thicker than a 2824 etc. I have one in an 'Abay' '5513' case made for an ETA 2836 and it fits. Never tried a 2846 in a genspec 5512/13 case iirc. Keep in mind the MBK 5512/13 cases are made to 1680 spec inside for a 1570/75 date movement but are made for 26.0mm dials like a 5512/13 so an ETA 2879 may be too thick to go in a genspec 5512/13 case. Imho it is good idea to use an ETA movement when putting a higher grade project watch together with a high quality case and dial because it lowers the cost by $1000 to $1500 and saves all the rlx 15xx movement headaches. The 15xx movements are not really very rugged no matter what the old advertisements said and parts are getting very expensive. "A rolex watch can take anything your arm can take.' Yeah sure...as long as you sell pillows and futons for a living. Common rlx 1570 headaches: Broken top auto rotor jewels. Worn out rotor axles. Bent/broken teeth on 7917 intermediate auto wheel. The MS lube dries out causing the MS bridle not to slip easily on the barrel wall and active wear 'hammers' the intermediate wheel. Not good for reversers either. Worn out reversers...used to be around $25 each, up to $100+ now. Main plates where the mainspring barrel arbor has worn the arbor hole out of round. Broken balance staffs (used to order them by the dozen). Etc, Etc. Besides all that, even the friendly watch repair guy down the street is now charging the 'doctor's price' to work on a rlx movement because they know there are not many competent watch mechanics left. Q..."How much you charge to clean and oil an ETA 2846?" A..."About 75 dollars." Q..."How about a rolex 1570?" A..."$400 plus parts."

"This post has killed my buzz as I have a 1970 mint condition presidential being one of my grail watches, but now I am not so sure if I am still in love with it!" Close as I ever got to a vintage slow set Prez is a movement. A gold and diamond buyer friend bought an 1803 for a few hundred bucks, scrapped the case/bracelet, and sold the movement to me. I remember him saying he was surprised that the case and bracelet were so light. The inside of the cases are hogged out at the factory to save gold and the bracelet links were hollow back then. Cheaply made luxury at a high price...powered by hype and slick advertising. Bulova watches had the most gold in their cases in the 1950s/1960s/1970s in my experience. Many high priced swiss 'luxury' watches had onion skin cases. Two vintage Bulovas I have held on to for years are a matching pair of 1950s Beau Brummels...one 14k yellow gold auto with diamond dial and one 14k white gold auto with diamond dial. Mine are similar to this one: From mybulova.com https://mybulova.com/watches/1958-beau-brummel-11045 More Beau Brummel info: https://www.watchophilia.com/general-information/bulova-beau-brummell-series/

Genuine 1675 watches that came with jubilee bracelets had the same bracelet as a DJ except for different bracelet hoods made to accept submariner type spring bars and the last center link on each end of the bracelet was made to accept the larger spring bar. They also had different reference numbers. You can push a 2mm pin through the end links of a standard jubilee to make them accept the larger spring bars. Slightly taper the end of the pin and use grease to keep it from binding. Put a spacer of some sort between the two loops of the center links when pressing a pin through them to avoid bending the links. Make a spacer out of a piece of aluminum etc with a 2mm+ hole in it. WSO 990 has aftmkt 1675/16750 jubilee type hoods for $24.95...eBay item number 161040367611 You can use standard rlx 55xx/1680 etc spring bars on GMTs. Any jubilee made for a 16750 will also fit a 1675. Some info: https://gmtmaster1675.com/the-bracelet/

From: https://wahawatches.com/radium-lume-really-dangerous/#:~:text=Radium has a half-life of 1600 years. That,types of radiation%3B alpha radiation and gamma radiation. "Radium has a half-life of 1600 years. That means that the old radium on your watch dial and in the hands doesn’t glow anymore, but it’s still radioactive. It emits two types of radiation; alpha radiation and gamma radiation."

I do not know how much demand there would be for the inserts but a high quality red triangle insert would probably sell pretty well because not many high quality inserts are available. Brevet crowns would probably sell pretty good too for older models that came with them originally because there are not many genuine examples left. Dash crowns would be good because they were used for 25+ years and new genuine crowns are now going for $100+ USD and used examples are usually worn out. They would also be better on genuine watches than a worn out original if they were WR to 30 meters or more. The crowns need to have good springs in them so they will retain enough tension to click the movement between setting and winding position. I had some new TC crowns a few years ago and the springs quickly became too weak to push the stem back into winding position and the hands would turn when screwing the crown down. Iirc most of the older genuine crowns had a stainless steel cap crimped over a nickel silver base. The nickel silver base part might be expensive to make today but I have used quite a few replica crowns with stainless caps crimped over a brass base and they seem to hold up very well. A solid one piece steel crown is another option similar to the later rolex monobloc design but it would not be accurate to the original design. Good luck!

This is a Chicken Little answer but I simply stopped taking them apart. I still have a few radium lume watches and I doubt many of of them are worth very much now. There are exceptions of course but since I do not wear them I figure they are just fine stored out in the garage and if someone wants one as/is they can have it for a 'hot' price. I bought a cheap 'GMC 320 Plus' Geiger counter a while back and it took off ticking a lot more than normal around the work area where I keep a lot of watchjunk so I started zeroing in on the source. It was an old Tip Top Jr. pin lever wristwatch from the late 1920s/early 1930s and it was still Hot! It had been about 3 feet from where I work for 20+ years in a shadowbox with some old character watches. Now it is on another wall in the same room and the counter is showing a normal reading where I work but if I move the counter close to the Tip Top it still goes off. If I was cleaning a movement from a watch with radium hands that had been shedding lume material I would throw the cleaner and rinse away when it was done. The question is how do you dispose the cleaner/rinse from the movement and the dust from a radium dial and where do you take it? I do not know. Tritium is bad enough but radium would (legally) be a problem to dispose of. Radium is serious stuff. Nuff said. Otoh here's what really keeps me up at night: You can bet there are Forty Four Fat Feds in extra, extra large shielded hazmat suits riding around eating donuts (and coffee) in lead lined black SUVs just waiting to quarantine your property, beat you down, lock you up, and fine you $214 million if they can find just one loose nanoparticle of radium. But it's your lucky day! Here is what they found instead: Non radioactive! Gluten free! Meanwhile Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Bezerkley CA and the Nuke Weapons Design Lab at Los Alamos NM glow happily in the dark and none of the 44 Fat Feds noticed 'cause their pointy heads are always buried in Dunkin' donut boxes. It's a strange world out there, I'll give you that, but you will be Ok if you just follow the Official US Gummit Rules. (They changed it from US Government to US Gummit because everything is always Gummed Up in Red Tape...GURT for short.) Official Rule # 1...Always Heed Words Of Caution. Of course some Fed Fool pressed it anyway. Now there ain't no need for Official Rule # 2. So...we made up some new rules: 1...Remember the Alamos. (in NM, not the one in TX, it's still there) 2...Vote for Super Luminova in 2020. No Radical Radium. 3...You can no longer believe it all but you can believe: A...One half of what you see with your own two eyeballs. B...One third of what you hear with your own two ears. C...One fourth of what you feel with your own two hands (depending on lights ON or lights OFF). Disclaimer for A and B: If it is on CNN, it drops to 10%. Over and Out. Pin lever Pocket Bens and Tip Tops were 'poor boy' watches. Here is what a Tip Top Jr. looks like: Gluten free! Radium dial Tip Top Jr. from Etsy. No Calories! Radium dial Westclox Pocket Ben from Etsy.

On average they were pretty good. Not many are still around today. I have one similar to yours from 12 or 15 years ago with a swisseta 2836/Asian 24 hour mod. There were a few different models made depending on the basic case used...submariner, 1655 etc. Watches with dials that have 'Oys Perp Date' and 28800 bph movements are closer to a 16750 than a 1675. The 1675 did not have OP 'Date'...OP only and ran at a lower beat rate...18000 or 19800 bph. Mine has 'OP Date' and 28800 beat rate so it leans toward a 16750. Some common faults seen on the various 1675/16750 replicas that were offered: Crowns are usually 6.0mm instead of correct 5.3mm. (relatively minor imho) Crown guards are too narrow. (minor, not many will notice...except on RWG) Bracelets should have regular clasps, no flip locks. Regular oyster or jubilee bracelets are Ok. Should have hollow mid links on oyster bracelets, not solid. (minor) Some replica bezels have click notches, genuine 1675 and 16750 do not. (minor) Some replicas had MG crystals instead of acrylic. (major fault, usually hard to fix) The 1675 and 16750 should have non adjustable 24H hands, not adjustable 24H hands like on later models. (minor) GMT time should be kept the same as 12 hour time if 24H hand is adjustable. (minor) Some replicas have 'blind' spring bar holes in the lugs. (major flaw, hard to fix) Most will need the spring bar holes drilled out. (easy fix if they are through and through, not so easy if blind) Etc, etc. Earlier genuine 16750 came with painted hour markers. Later models had applied markers. Applied markers are cool imho...same goes for the 5513. They look more 'vintage'. Genuine 1675 and 16570 cases look alike, genuine crystals, case tubes, crowns, and bezel assemblies/inserts are the same. The 16750 replicas were also sold as 1675, and 1675 as 16750. Most were the same watch.

"Strange question incoming, but are there any janky DIY ways to pressure test without buying one of those expensive chambers?" You can buy a fake bergeon WP tester for $114 on eBay. This is probably cheaper than a drowned dial and movement. Example...eBay item number 224061751482

"If you use grease at the base of the crystal be EXCEEDINGLY careful not to let it migrate up the walls of the rehaut. It will sneak into your dial face quicker than a punk at a Sex Pistols concert." Wise, wise words. Heed the warning. Grease loves watch dials, especially matte finish dials. Grease can crawl and petroleum base grease is the worst of all. Silicon grease is not quite as bad but it can crawl. I've had good luck with Krytox GPL 205 but you did not hear it from me if something goes wrong. Note...when using Krytox GPL 205 use only the part with a texture similar to toothpaste. The liquid that sometimes separates from the mix is not good to use by itself. Shake the pizz out of it before use to mix it up. Krytox GPL 205 specs: Temp Range: -36C thru 204C (-33F to 400F) Viscosity 18cSt/100C, 160cSt/40C; Stable in a wide variety of operating conditions/environments. Nonflammable: Krytox Grease contains only carbon, oxygen & fluorine, (no hydrogen or silicone); Will not burn or support combustion; Passes impact standards with LOX, Nitrogen Tetroxide, Nitric Acid. Chemically Inert: Resistant to oxygen and inert to most all chemicals; Inert nature allows Krytox Grease to outlast/outperform hydrocarbon products; Chemically insoluble in nearly all solvents. At operating temps and pressures Krytox Grease is highly resistant to attack by gaseous and liquid oxygen; The preferred choice in oxygen; use and manufacturing industry. Exposure to significant radiation causes only minor DE polymerization (8% decrease of viscosity) and no formation of solids or sludge or change in appearance. Fomblin high vacuum grease is what RWC uses on gaskets but it is pricey.

"The reference is 7909." If one turns up at a bargain price I will let you know. I do not have any tudor parts other than a fair 25.5mm dial for a 1980s ETA 28xx submariner of some sort and an old manual wind case. Looking back...I bought a 7909 in January 1991 for $110USD and traded it away a few months later. Back then there were quite a few floating around trading tables at similar prices. "Now I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to prevent the corrosion from getting worse." Maybe use 'Naval Jelly' or something similar to remove the corrosion and hope for the best. Not very encouraging but it is a low cost measure that might help.

I have owned quite a few rolex watches with mild to serious case corrosion and they ended up being used for parts or 'high and dry' wear. Your corrosion is mild but it is in a bad place. Hate to say it but there is not much of a proper fix for this except welding and re-machining. If you could spin the case in a lathe and cut or sand most of the corrosion away, an oem spec crystal may no longer be a good fit. You might find an aftmkt crystal that would work after cutting/machining but it is a gamble. G-S Crystal Co makes dozens of PA type crystals (PA = straight sidewall) and one might fit. G-S crystal specs are available in the older G-S catalogs. Otoh it being a tudor instead of a high $$ rolex, you might find a similar watch with a bad movement/dial and good case at a reasonable price to use for a replacement. Post the case reference number and I/we can be on the lookout if it would help. You never know what might turn up...a watch trader guy called me today with a 1950s gold top rolex 6332 for sale, the next call might be a vintage tudor. Rolex 6332 is a 34mm watch with a gold top cap and gold bezel and 'bubbleback' type A260 movement. The movements are not very good (autowind problems) and parts are not easily available. I call them 'wrist grenades'. I offered $450. He laughed. No sale.

It is airport robbery. Besides that, it probably has an 80 or 90 percent chance of ever getting there because if anyone along the way wants the watch...it's gone without a trace. I've been waiting on 5 or 6 watches from 'WLD' for about 19 years...and three from 'Cal' before that. What's crazy is I still have 'nos' replicas from back then. Maybe I need to have a 'Crazy Sale!' A few shipping cost examples: https://www.parcelmonkey.com/quick-shipping-calculator/results?quote_result_id=80e6f68c-0c2e-49f2-89ba-5dfd8fd50a14