automatico

"Haha, the old "movement not running but balance swings freely." That's a pretty good sales pitch! I went down that road when I bought a drowned 15003 a few years back for $450. It turned out the balance/hairspring and a few brass parts were the only good movement parts in it. Evidently it had been stored with the balance out of the water until someone drained the water out of the case and it saved the balance parts but ruined the rest of it. It was a gob of rust inside, stuck solid with most of the pivots on the train wheels rusted away. I parted it out and sold the case and worn out SS/18k oyster bracelet and finally got the $450 back. My profit was the balance complete, shock/jewel settings, and a couple brass parts now residing in my parts box. The main plate is stained by rust and any pressed in steel posts etc are rusted away. The barrel bridge and autowind plates could probably be used but are badly stained. Most of the date parts were junk and the brass mainspring barrel is basically Ok but the barrel arbor was rusty along with the steel reverser parts. Was the 15003 a lesson learned? Not yet... I bought a lady tutone 69173 with a stretched TT jubilee bracelet, cracked winding rotor, and chipped crystal for $500 a few months back (the rotor was cracked where the rotor axle is pressed in). It runs just fine and I paid $100 for a 'like new' rotor plus $35 for a new aftmkt sapphire crystal with gasket so I am up to about $635 already and it still needs a dial (paint is bad). Otoh I have a good steel case and most of a genuine SS bracelet so I might turn it into a steel watch and sell the tutone parts. I also have a blue 'snap on' dial for a SS lady watch around here somewhere but I have not decided which way to go. The TT case has no corrosion and is in good condition but the flutes on the bezel are worn. I could turn the flutes down on the lathe and make a smooth bezel out of it, I have done this before and it turned out Ok. Note...I already had a new rotor for a rolex 2135 in my parts so I figured the watch could be repaired for maybe an additional $100 or so, but No!...the rotor is for a mid size watch with a 2135 and the rotor was too big in diameter for the lady size case. Maybe it was a better buy than the 'Davy Jones' 15003. Maybe not. Time will tell. Three basic choices: 1...Fix it up as a tutone model. 2...Fix it up as a SS model and sell the TT parts. 3...Sell the rolex 2135 movement on eBay along with the TT parts or sell the complete watch 'as is' for parts...after the virus dies down. Now is probably not a good time to sell a useless rolex.

"When I first became active here, instead of lurking, I was all into Frankens with genuine movements. Times have changed, prices have changed and the repair parts situation has changed. I followed your advice, a good low beat ETA is where I’m at these days." Me too. I killed off almost all of my Frankensteins because of the parts situation and removed all genuine rlx movements from them except for one, a 1570/75 with a genuine MK1 Lemrich 1680 matte dial in a David Wong '1680' case, I left it in the DW case to keep it sealed up. On an MBK '5512' F-stein I removed the 1570 movement and put an Eta 2879 in it and the watch turned out real good. It looks exactly the same and runs close to the same way it did before. I still have one F-stein project on the burner, a Phong cased 1655 but it is only about half done. I'll probably go ahead and finish it because I have the movement and nowhere else to put it. "Ruby’s 1680 is a 5513 case." DW '5513' cases are really '1680' cases. Sticky note on DW cases: DW 5513 and 1680 cases... These are all really 1680 spec cases (more or less) so if you have one with 5513 stamped on it, a 1520 and 26mm 5513 dial will mount up in the case but the dial is a bit too small for the dial window and will also be too far from the dial seat. What you end up with is a 26mm dial in a 26mm dial window with the dial mounted about .8mm below the dial seat and nothing holding the dial in place except the dial screws. I did make a very thin spacer out of aluminum to fill in the space on one DW '5513' but it took a long time to make the spacer in a lathe because it was so thin and flimsy. I had to finish it up in an old 8mm WW type 'bezel chuck' made in the 1920s. WW = regular watchmaker lathe. 'Bezel chuck' = a chuck that looks like a steel wheel with concentric grooves cut in it. It will expand or contract a few mm to accommodate small, thin bezel rings etc. DW cases are a low $$ alternative to expensive 'genspec cases' but you will need a genspec bezel kit, crystal, tube, crown etc. Also...as I have mentioned many times before, the DW cases have rounded case sides like a DJ and not flat like a submariner. They could be sanded flat on a disc grinder or by hand but it would take a lot of careful work. One good thing about the rounded case sides is they make the watch look like an old 'high mileage' example with a storied history after they get sufficiently scuffed up. I have seen a few genuine 1680/5512/13 with the case sides rounded from years of wear and numerous polish jobs so there are genuine examples with rounded case sides in circulation. Sticky note on a DW Frankenstein '5513' project with prices: Here is the info on one of my MBK 5513 projects a few years ago, 2011 or 2012 iirc (I have posted this before). It ended up costing about $1300. I still have it but it is apart right now. (still apart 4-17-20) $300 or less for case (can not remember exact $$, got it from a member) $102 for Yuki dial $25 for TC tube and crown $12 for ST hands $650 for 26 jewel rolex 1520 (hack) mvt $20 for mainspring etc $0 for c/o (did it myself) $85 for fake 358 hoods and put together '93150' bracelet, also have a folded oyster from 'Mary' that adds up to about the same $12 for GS crystal $68 for ST bezel kit (better fit than MBK bez with the GS crystal that was used) $25 misc...spring bars, gaskets, case screws etc Had to use a 1575 date center wheel/cp and calendar spacer on the 1520 because the MBK 5513 case is made to 1680 spec, not 5513 spec (but uses a 5512/13 26.0mm dial). Extra cost is included with movement. If you want to make up an MBK 5512/13 it would be easier to start out with a date movement (1570/75) and just remove the date works. If you do not want a '5513' with a chronometer movement, many of the early 5512 did not have the 'officially certified chronometer' blurb on the dials and they looked like a 5513 except for the movement and reference number so you could make an early '5512' with a '5513' dial. As far as time keeping...the 1520s I have owned kept time about as good as the 'certified chronometer' 15xx movements. Most have been apart 5 or 10 times by now and very few watch fixers worry with them if they are within 10 or 12 seconds a day. The 1570/5 in my MBK '5512' has gained about 10 seconds since Tuesday and that's pretty good for a 45 or 50 year old no hack movement (most were hack after 1972). The center sweep sec pivot is the same on 1520/30/60/70 and 1575, the date movements have a second hand with a longer tube, GMT second hand tube is longest of all.

"Price of it was a shock - £1500 / $2000 US". "If it had been a HR 6538 at $500 then it would have been slightly more understandable." Imho that sums it up. I have never had a replica 6538 or toot 7032 but do like 55xx models. Besides that...for a basically simple watch like a 6538, it would probably be difficult to put one together that looks genuine because most of the aftmkt cases and dials are simply not too hot. The spring wire mounted plated brass bezels can also be a headache because they can be difficult to mount/remove and easy to damage or break. Looks to me like a toot 7032 would also be a real PIA because of the 45 minute Val 7734. Old mech chronographs can equal $$ and trouble because most 'Eta Guys' we would know do not work on them. You end up on Main Street paying the Doctor Price. Otoh the 7733/34 is pretty good, it is basically what the 7750 started out from...stamped out parts, no column wheel. I have put a lot of watch projects together and my advice is to spend enough to get a good case, dial, and hands if you can. The rest of it does not show so go with Eta etc and always go with a movement with a beat rate close to the original when possible. Also make sure the holes in the lugs are not bored too close to an edge because you will be reminded of it every time you look at the side of the watch and this is a flaw that can not be easily corrected. If a watch has crown guards they can be detailed as long as there is enough metal in them and on the 55xx/1680 cases look for the 'droop' of the crown guards because many ↑$$↑ high grade cases may not have it. The dial and movement combo needs to be securely mounted together in the case and not Scotch taped to the movement. Attention to details separate the Watch Men from the Watch Boys on project watches. Considering that a 'Ruby' case is close to the fit and finish of a Phong case, I would go for the lower priced case.

"Today I picked up the movement from the revision and my watchmaker advised me not to remove the daywheel from the movement as it supposedly is holding some wheels in place that might come loose. Can anyone confirm that? Should I glue the 3135 datewheel straight on and live with the fact that it will rub against the daywheel?" Look at pictures of an Eta 2836 with the day works removed to see what you do not need...the extra Day parts must be removed. You may need a different repair guy, many can not/will not perform minor modifications. "The crown turned out to be a 24-600-0 and therefore doesn‘t fit the tube. Thus I will stick with the stock rafflesdials crown for now." You will need to install a regular 6.0 case tube if you use a vintage type 6mm crown. The catch is when you drill and tap the case for the larger case tube threads, you sometimes cut into the gasket groove. Probably be better to find a genuine 6mm crown that fits the case tube in your case.

"...my tender, delicate little tundra flower..." I been wondering who she ran off with. I miss her cookin'.

"...give it a quick spray of WD40 and a sharp smack on the side of the desk at some point." (The culprit) +(The 'quick sprayer') + (The 'sharp smacker') + (The 'sharp smack' provider) + (The 'desk') = FIXED! NO SKILL REQUIRED. Who has the best sub?

The 5513 case may be genuine but the 9 in the serial # is sorta fishy and the lug holes appear to be double drilled aka 'chamfered'. It does have a few authentic looking specks (aka 'Rot Dots') between the lugs though. I would not venture a guess if the case is genuine or not. 'Case Rot' comes in three stages: 1...Rot Dots (aka Pre Rot). 2...Case Rot (RDs are deep enough to snag a pin/screwdriver). 3...'Helium Holes' (easy to spot). "Please tell me about your “genuine” quartz Submariner." It has a plated 'pot metal' case with a 'nip' dial similar to yours and an ISA 1198 quartz movement. The bracelet has solid steel links with push pins. Last time I put a batt in it a few years ago it took off running as usual. Iirc the watch was about $25. I have a few nos ISA 1198 movements from back then and they are marked $12, now they are 2 or 3 times that much. I have moved up in life since then...now I have a couple all steel 'submariners' aka 'genumariners' with Seagull ST16 automatics and push pin steel bracelets. They were $35 each. The story is they came in the country with plain dials and the dials were printed in the USA somewhere, probably NYC. You had the choice of black or blue dials (aka 'summer blue') with matching bezels The lettering on the dials is silver instead of white and a bit sloppy. They keep pretty good time and are 'Tuff as a Timex'. Better to wear them at night or under a sleeve.

"For a watch that age where is the bracelet wear on the back of the lugs?" Good question. On a lot of high mileage watches I have also seen the tips of the lugs worn enough that there is a slight taper on the insides of the tips where the outer edges of the bracelet links have rubbed them over the years. "I wonder if it’s a Phong case?" The cases and artificial 'ageing' are so good now that I can not tell much of the time. We tend to question a lot of watches (because we have seen it all, or most of it), when the next guy may have no questions at all. Just about the only difference between a genuine case and a very good 'aged' Phong etc case is the wear patterns (if the lettering and numbers are good enough to pass). If it is good enough to pass for genuine... it IS genuine until someone proves otherwise. Anyone remember the 'genuine' quartz submariners from 25 or 30 years ago? I still have mine.

"I keep trying with Rolex, I can't seem to love the brand..." I know what you mean. I liked them just fine back when they made regular watches. Now they make high priced jewelry/status symbols. Can't blame them though, if they did not change their direction they might be a minor player by now. The same thing has happened to Omega...I remember 25 years ago when vintage Omegas were popular 'trader watches' but did not sell for much. That too has changed, they are Hot now, maybe because of them being worn in later James Bond movies, 'First on the Moon' hype, plus the co-axial escapement. Bulova tuning fork Accutron watches/Accutron clocks timed many of of the space/moon trips that required precise time keeping...not Omega. Of course Omega Speedmasters did time a few critical procedures though. Dave Scott's famous mechanical Bulova Moon Watch: From https://www.all-the-bests.com/bulova-moonwatch-watch-of-the-moon/ The story of the Bulova Moon Watch began with a specially designed one-of-a-kind Bulova gifted to NASA Apollo Mission astronaut Dave Scott in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Dave Scott took the unique Bulova watch gifted to him by the brand with him on the 1971 Apollo 15 mission to the Moon. At the time, astronauts had government-issued Omega Speedmaster watches. The mere fact that astronauts had Omega Speedmaster watches was not without controversy, as Omega was a Swiss watch brand and certain people in the US believed that the astronauts should be wearing an American watch (at the time, Bulova was a fully American company). As the story goes, Dave Scott’s Speedmaster became damaged and the front crystal popped off, which necessitated he wear his back-up Bulova. Colonel Scott went on to walk on the Moon’s surface and was the first person to operate a lunar rover vehicle. One his wrist at the time was reportedly the Bulova watch. After the Apollo 15 mission, the Bulova watch – as it was Scott’s personal property – remained his personal possession for many years. In 2015, Scott himself decided to auction off the Bulova watch, along with a few other items he had on the Apollo 15 mission with him. An affordable modern historical 'Moon' watch:

It's a sign of the times. Three GGOR... 'Only' $1200 and rising with 3 days to go. Insanity imho unless you have an empty genuine case and send it all to RSC to be 'fixed' for a lot of $$$. I just wonder how much that band of crooks would charge to fix it. They would probably have you send it to their 'legacy' fix-it shop in Geneva and charge $20k+/-. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolex-Submariner-Ref-5513-Cal-1520-Movement/324118705097 eBay item number 324118705097 Here is one for $850 with 4 days to go but no dial: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ROLEX-Cal-1570-Movement-26J-Submariner-GMT/324119430451 eBay item number 324119430451 While talking about chasing ghosts... This GGOR went for $988 last week: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolex-Oyster-Perpetual-Date-Cal-1570-Movement-For-Parts-Repair-/124132149491 eBay item number 124132149491 I tried all the links and they worked for me but you may need to use the item number. 'Sign of the Times' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPtwk8qK7yM

Welcome to the forum! Right now your only problem is a slightly misaligned date wheel on a complete, running watch. If you pay maybe $1500 to $2000 for a genuine 3135 you may have more expensive troubles on the horizon in addition to the purchase price: It may need full service...about $200 to $300. It may need a few parts...more $$ Etc, etc. First off, I have owned a lot of genuine rolex watches, some were Ok, some needed service and parts. All in all I am basically even $$ on them. Q...Do I wear a genuine rolex watch? A...Not now. Q...Why not? A 1...They are overly expensive today compared to when I started buying/selling/working on them and I will not pay today's prices. A 2...Besides the above, my main reason is they stopped selling parts making them not worth the hassle to me. Q...What do I wear? A...Accutron II. Otoh, I have owned a lot of replicas and Frankensteins over the years. They are a lot less $$ to begin with and do not cost much to repair when they stop running or get dropped. So...my advice is to keep what you have and maybe fix the date alignment sooner or later. After all, this is a replica forum...Ha! Good luck! Btw...I have a T69xxxx 15200 OPD Frankenstein with everything genuine except it has a nos Eterna/Eta 12892 movement in it (signed Mido). Even the hands and date wheel are genuine modified rlx parts and the case still has the faded factory sticker on the back. It was put together by a former RWG member (Stilty) and imho is every bit as good as the genuine article for a lot less $$ and no fear of a $1200 repair bill in the future if it gets dropped or slammed against a door frame. Something else...I have found Eta 28xx movements to be more rugged than genuine rolex movements except for the Eta rotor weight...it is pressed over the ball bearing outer race and can come off if it gets a hard knock. It still beats the ruby jewels and rotor axles on most rolex auto winding assemblies imho. Edit: 4-3-20...some of the story of my 15200 F-Stein: https://rwg.cc/topic/25638-want-to-put-eta-movement-in-gen-rolex-oyster-34mm-case/ I wrote 'chronometer grade' in the post above and it is not a chronometer, so I changed it.

Z... "According to automatico's "Crown info" thread it could either be a 24-600-x crown on a 24-60xx tube or a 24-603-x crown on a 24-53xx tube. Furthermore it is also possible that the case I ordered has a completely different tube spec than any Rolex." 'goat... "The rafflesdials cases come with a crown- why not just use that crown?" Imho, if the crown looks pretty good, I would follow the 'goat's advice and use it for now. When the crown or case tube threads go bad...install better parts. Take note of the case tube and crown types and be on the lookout for a good deal in a used genuine crown meanwhile. In my experience, aftmkt case tubes from reputable dealers are fine...Clark etc. You might buy an extra tube so you will have one if you need it later on. Most of my no lug hole replica DJ type cases came with 5.3mm case tubes and 603 type crowns...not all but most.

"Just thought I would share this link with you, that I found very helpful." Thanks, much appreciated! Very good information.

Even I can understand how this virus operates by listening to this guy. I hope his projections are way high but in the week since he posted this the USA has jumped to around 125,000 known cases and 2100 deaths. This whole thing just pizzes me off because the (guess who) let it get away from them and then lied about it... 'No human to human transmissions' my azz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J0d59dd-qM Never was a fan of the WHO either. W(ORLD HEALTH ORIG. Buncha goofballs imho. The World Health Organization is now haunted by a tweet it sent earlier this year when it cited "Chinese health officials who claimed there had been no human transmissions of the novel coronovirus within the country yet." Key word...YET. Otoh the real WHO: Pete Townshend, Roger Daltry, John Entwistle, Moon the Loon etc...Those Kids Were Alright.

"I will follow your advice and order an inexpensive spare dial for fitting as well." I use a low cost or no cost dial from a quartz watch or anything the right diameter and thickness (usually .4mm). A repair shop may have one or eBay for very little $$. You can mount a dial in a Dremel tool arbor like used for cut-off discs to spin the dial and sand it down to size if it is too big. You might have to enlarge the center hole to accept the arbor screw first. "Will normal ETA hands work or do I need ones with a longer post?" Regular DJ/tudor type hands to fit Eta 28xx should be fine. The hour and minute wheels on the movement should be tall enough to give sufficient hand distance from the dial and each other. "I've read a lot about how adhesives can get soft and work their way into the movement when the watch heats up. Can you comment on that and perhaps recommend a tape that you have had good experiences with?" I have used two part 'slow set' epoxy and clear Gorilla glue with good results...epoxy being slightly better of the two. Never had any trouble with epoxy or Gorilla glue 'crawling' away from where it was applied after it sets up. Dial dots/dial strips can allow dials to crawl because the adhesive remains soft and some types will also bleed the adhesive away from where the dot/strip was applied. Dial dots and strips are handy for cheapo quartz projects, they work fine for things like that with light weight parts and no auto winding weight flopping around.

"I've found a Swiss ETA 2836-2 on Ebay for 98€, however it says it has been in storage for 10 years and would require a cleaning. My watchmaker offered me to clean and regulate it for 100€. Would that be a good deal, or would it make more sense to buy a new (pre-sealed) one on CousinsUK for 250€ and mount it without cleaning or regulating it?" Because I do my own cleaning/oiling I am not one to ask but many times repair guys will not completely go through a nos movement, they just clean and oil the balance jewels, escape wheel/pallet fork, and reoil the rest of the pivots.. Just sayin'. The guy who said "You get what you pay for" never fooled with watches. 'Adjustment'... Most nos Etas keep good time as is and 'adjustment' will consist of simple regulation. 'Technical adjustment' consists of truing/poising, the balance wheel, checking/truing the hairspring etc but imho this is wasted effort on a movement that runs within 15 or 20 seconds a day. Only the 'Top grade' Etas are fully adjusted and they will have higher grade balance wheels, hairsprings etc. The 5 or 8 second per day stuff is not for me and as for me to attempt to 'adjust' a watch...I can see no reason to chase a ghost down a dark tunnel...imho. Otoh if a watch happens to run that close, it's fine with me. I have a watch with a $25 Seagull ST16 that is that close. Been that way for about 6 months (fingers crossed). "Why do you think it might be necessary to remove the teeth from the gen datewheel? Shouln't there be enough clearance after removing the day wheel on the inside?" Only if there is not enough room to run the various screws in and out. I have had trouble with some DWO covering screw heads but never used a genspec 3135 calendar disc on an Eta 2836 to see how they fit. A case tube is where the crown screws into right? Yes. "I didn't even know those were removable... do you think a gen crown might not fit on the raffles dials case tube, or is it only about the quality?" It depends on quality and type. Review the 'Crown Info' sticky at the top of the rolex section. "Do you mean that the dial does not have to be glued at all, if the spacer and case clamps are closely fitting or do you mean that the glued feet are more likely not to break in that case?" I have seen watches with dials just laying on the movement that stayed in place and have also seen glued on platform dial feet broken off. It is always better to have some kind of adhesive or mechanical means holding the dial to the movement though. On the 2836 there is a stamped sheet metal calendar spacer that can be glued to the dial to hold the dial in place until the whole assembly is put together. Close fitting spacers also help a lot. If the DWO rubs the dial you can put some equally spaced small dents in the underside of the spacer for additional clearance between the dial and DWO. "And One more thing that makes me worry: The gen dials that I had in mind are 27,8 mm in diameter according to the seller, whereas the raffle dials case is fit for 28,0 mm dials as sold by them. Is my concern that it might be too small for the case justified?" Two things: 1...Is the dial seat large enough to accommodate a 28.0mm dial? 'Dial seat' = the machined flat surface inside the case where the dial is mounted. 2...Will the printed outer minute track (if there is one the dial) be under the edge of the case and are printed or applied hour markers up against the edge of the case? Not good if yes. The dial needs to be about 1mm more or less (more is better) bigger than the dial window to hold it in place and not have any markers covered or open space between the dial and case where you can see into the case from the front side. 'Dial window' = the open space around the dial as seen from the front. Once you start on the project, all this will begin to make sense as you move along. It is a good idea to use a spare dial with the same diameter as your dial for fitting the dial/movement combo to a case to keep from scratching the dial. I use a spare dial and movement plate with no guts in it with a calendar spacer for trial and error fitting.

rafflesdials DJ36 smooth bezel case I am still unsure whether to use a raffles 2824 or 2836 case as base. If you go with the 2836 case and 2836 movement you will have a taller canon pinion/hour wheel for more hand clearance. You will also have the instant date change like a genuine rlx where the 2824 is gradual date change...plus you have more room for a date wheel overlay. The 2824 makes these conversions a little bit harder imho. Removing the unwanted 2836 day of the week parts is easy to do. There is not much if any outside spec difference between a lot of aftmkt 2836 and 2824 cases because many of the cases are the same except for interior machining. Swiss ETA Good choice...imho most Asian eta clones are junk. rafflesdials silver lumed DJ36 handset rafflesdials vintage hollow end link 20mm jubilee for DJ36 gen blue sunburst DJ36 dial with lumed stick indices glued on .74mm dial feet from CousinsUK (item nr. D38748) gen 3135 DW, rafflesdials ETA DWO or a BP v2 DW whatever works best? gen 6mm crown Good choices. Might go with a genspec high quality aftmkt case tube. I've had hit or miss luck with glue on platform dial feet because they break off at the glue joint if there is much slack between the spacer, movement, and case. I have tried all kinds of methods to mount 'no foot' dials to Eta movements and the key is a closely fitting metal movement spacer and case clamps/screws that put downward pressure on the movement. Platform dial feet are usually Ok if the movement/dial combo is securely mounted. A genuine or genuine spec aftmkt rolex 3135 date wheel can be used for a DWO on Eta 2836 projects. DW for rlx 15xx and 3035 will not work. You may need to remove the teeth on the inside of the genspec DW by sanding them away. DWO made for Etas can be first rate or junk, it's a gamble. Most aftmkt DW for 3135 are pretty good but it is still a gamble. If you have a good case, good swisseta movement, and careful assembly, a watch like this should go 5 to 8 years with no trouble at all. Then c/o, gaskets etc and go again.

"What were they thinking?" Styles change of course but I'll always remember the AK as being a silver dial vintage 34mm 5500. Imho the silver dial 5500 is The Classic AK and the silver dial 34mm 14000M is the Modern Classic AK with a sapphire crystal and 3130 movement while retaining the older style oyster bracelet with removable hoods. If someone wanted to, they could put a 25-12 crystal on a 14000M to make a 'modern classic'. I kept two old AK...a 5501 tutone from 1962 with a 26 jewel 1530 and a 5500 from 1978 with a 17 jewel 1520. The latest AK is basically a redialed Milgauss...same case/bracelet/movement/antimagnetic shield etc at a lower price. I like them both, the AK a little bit better though.

Some combo movement info... https://rwg.cc/topic/192105-jmb-1016-project-update/ From the link above... "Note on the 2824/2846 'combo' movement: Been wearing it since yesterday afternoon and after 3 or 4 'trial and error' regulations it is about 5 or 7 seconds fast in a day. For now. Something else...I did not change out the shock jewels and springs to a matching pair but used the original 'Incabloc' type jewel/shock parts in the 2824 main plate and the 'Etachron' jewel/shock parts on the other side along with the 2846 balance complete, escape wheel, and pallet fork. I did not want to r/r the balance assembly into the other balance bridge and take the chance of #@&%ing the hairspring. The 2846 escapement parts are not finished as carefully as the 2824 parts and the balance wheel/hs are different alloys. A 2824 usually keeps better time. 'Usually' being the key word." Today... Since May 2018 I have worn the watch probably 30 or 40 days total and it still keeps time within 5 or 6 seconds a day. Imho this is outstanding for a movement made up of mostly used parts from here and there. I have a regular (not combo) 2846 in an old Abay '5514' case and it runs about the same until it gets low on reserve and it slows quite a bit. I have seen this before on 2846 movements, probably because of the relatively low grade escapements used in them. The 2846 in the '5514' case is from a 'store return' Jaques Prevard dive style watch from 20+ years ago that was c/o 4 or 5 years ago but not worn very much since then. Here is what the JP donor watch looked like: It was 17 jewel DD with the day works removed. The crown/case tube threads were fragile and a lot of them were returned. Picture from JACK'S TREASURE CHEST OF TIME PIECES BTW there is a 2846 on eBay for $75 + $5 shp from India that looks very good: eBay item number 303274282216

Panic buying... A friend has a commodity wholesale/retail business and he sold $10,000 worth of toilet paper last week at retail. Re-tail toilet paper...there must be a pun in there somewhere. Last I heard the corona virus does not give you the 'sheets'. He bought a tractor trailer load of paper towels a couple weeks ago and they were all gone today except for 20 or 25 eight roll packs. That's a lot of paper towels in two weeks. He had 64 cases with 48 packs in each case of disinfecting wipes four days ago and today there were less than three cases left. No bread. No bottled water. No Little Debbies! When they opened last Saturday he said there were 36 people lined up waiting to get in. My 'Panic Buy'... I went by there this morning and bought a 36 bar box of Kit Kat 'Big Kats' (3 pounds six ounces) for $5. A few weeks ago I got 165 Ghiradelli twin packs of milk chocolate/caramel squares for $10...I gave candy away for a week. He is the same guy I was in a watch store with for 9 years. https://www.amazon.com/Kit-Kat-Big-36-ct/dp/B01M0KDR0P https://www.ghirardelli.com/chocolate-with-caramel/milk-chocolate-caramel-bar-(12-ct---35-oz-ea)-60764cs?yotpo=true The last time I remember toilet paper selling out was because of a Johnny Carson monologue on The Tonight Show in 1973. https://madlyodd.com/johnny-carson-jokes-about-the-recent-toilet-paper-shortage/

"Although MQ does have great looking dials. Personally, I wouldn’t deal with him again. I bought my 94010 case set from him with custom engravings. The whole experience and communication was a pain. Not only that, on arrival, the quality and accuracy of the case set was pretty poor for the price. Especially the case rehaut, which was wokky. The crown and tube proportions were off as well as being poor quality. Not to mention the bezel, with a flimsy-foil buckled tension spring and insert fit for the trash." "Those engravings are similar to mine, they hardly scratch the surface." Sorry to hear about the bad quality. This is none of my business of course but I will always believe some of these guys buy $30 cases and detail them or have them detailed for another $30. A real pro like Rolojack can turn an average case into a showpiece but I believe most of the characters who supply high priced 'hit or miss' watch cases are not much good at what they do...either that or they are simply crooks. I know this does not help but it is the way it seems to me. As for shallow/off center engraving...I have done some case engraving with an old 'New Hermes' engraving machine and it is not hard to do. Set up takes as long or longer than the engraving but it determines the quality of the job. Proper depth is not hard at all to do. Oxymoron...the old Hermes engraving machines are branded 'New Hermes'. The case band can be refinished and the reference number engraved again but it will reduce the OD of the case a little bit on that side and it might be hard to match the grain that is on the other end. If you sand the other end to match, it will make the engraving shallow. The OD reduction usually does not show but it is quite a job because the sanding has to be done at a 90 degree angle so it will not round off the case band edges. It can be done on a belt sander but the belt must have a solid plate or frame behind the sanding belt to keep the sandpaper flat against the case or it will rapidly round off the edges. You also need a flat, level table to lay the case on to keep the case band at a 90 degree angle to the sanding belt. I used a 3/8" wide sanding belt so the cut would not have flat spots but it was a real hassle and I would not do it again unless I had to. This was on some DW cases that had a word misspelled...'stinless'. All that being said, the 5512 and 5513 cases I got from Yuki in May 2014 are first class all the way. Also got a very good 1680 case from a member that came from IG44. I never did a tudor project because an Eta rlx project costs about the same and I have some rlx cases. Vintage 'New Hermes' engraving machine.

"Looks like you dropped the first 'one' in the listing number." Thanks! I fixed it. "That is an expensive watch- way over priced!" Yeah, I figure $500 to $700. "Can't tell if that's a black movement ring in there or what?" The movements come permanently mounted in a black plastic ring and the whole assembly is held in place by a removable white plastic spacer. 'Permanently' = I never tried to separate the movement from the black spacer. The movement in the eBay watch might be glued in the case, I can't tell for sure. "I consider my DJ frankens to be worth maybe $600-750- with Swiss etas maybe. I built them 12-13 years ago when parts were cheaper and more readily available- cost me around $500 each to build back in the day. They've been trouble free so far but I guess they could be due for a service." The DJs look good! I stuck a few together back then and they cost about the same. They had Eta 2836 and were trouble free. I used 160xx cases, you could find them tor $150 back then. One thing a swisseta powered Frankenstein gives me that a genuine example can not is peace of mind. No waiting on them to need a $400 balance because the hairspring came loose when you banged it or needing a rotor axle and c/o. Etas may not have much prestige compared to rlx but they are tough/reliable little bastids. The same watches today would probably be around $1000 for steel and around $2000 for steel and gold using genuine cases and aftmkt bracelets. Too much unless you already have the parts imho but aftmkt cases, bezels etc would cut the cost quite a bit. I stuck a TT DJ together a while back with a replica goldtone dial and Seagull ST6 movement in an aftmkt case with an 18k bezel on a TT replica jubilee. I paid $50 for the bezel a long time ago, it had some mileage on it. It made a real nice watch for about $250 but it ran at 21600bph. No one noticed the beat rate except me. Made up a couple '1016' using 1520/1570 in 162xx cases. They were Ok but I would not advise it at today's prices, a JMB etc '1016' is a better option. A '1016' is easier than a DJ or submariner because the '16 has no date or rotating bezel to hassle with. The problem is finding an accurate case/bezel combo and dial. Using an aftmkt DJ case can make the lug holes too close to one edge or the other when drilled out. Besides that, most cases do not have holes all the way through the lugs and it is a real hassle drilling them in the right spot...for me anyway. My '1016' project using the genuine 162xx case had holes all the way through and plenty room after drilling the lugs but the case is 'humpbacked' in the side view. A 16xxx case is probably closer. Update: I removed a Precisionist movement and measured it: It is 27.75mm in diameter including the permanent black plastic spacer and 4.15mm thick not including the 2016 battery. The hour hand wheel tube is approx. 1.16mm. The hour wheel is plastic, this is Ok but it is fragile. It could have started out at 1.2mm and been squeezed down by the hour hand, I do not know. Minute hand tube is approx .7mm and it is metal. Second hand post is approx .15mm. The hour wheel tube rises approx 1.3mm above the top plate but the calendar rises above the top plate a little bit. All in all, the H, M, and SS hands should mount tall enough for most dials. It looked Ok with a .4mm thick dial. The date wheel is slightly recessed in the permanent black movement spacer so a dial will mount on top of the movement with no additional spacer. A DW overlay may work, it did on the eBay watch, may have to space the dial a bit to accomodate. Dial feet on the dial at 23M and 52 1/2M push down into the black spacer and are held in place by friction. The standard DW has numbers centered at 11.0mm offset. With a .4mm thick dial, the stem is just a hair toward the front of a replica DJ case. I do not know if it is a 2824 or 2836 case though. I'll find out later. There is probably enough flex in the telescoping rlx crown parts to allow for the offset...maybe. The measurements above are very close but may not be exact. Next day: BUL 1.16 .70 .15 RLX 3035/3135 1.40 .95 .22 RLX 1570 1.20 .80 .20 ETA 2824 1.50. .90 .25 Maybe go with 1530 hands: Hour hand BUL 1.16 RLX 1530 1.2 Minute hand BUL .70 RLX 1530 .80 SS hand BUL .15 RLX 1530 .20 The rlx 1570 hands are close but the H and M hands would have to be closed up a bit and the SS hand may need to be broached. It is basically a lot of detail work and you would need to decide if it is worth the hassle. One option might be to use the Bulova hands on a dress style project watch with a rlx type dial. No one would probably notice the hands but if it is a date watch you will have the DW hassle to contend with. Judging the level of skill needed to complete the eBay watch by looking at how the movement is mounted in the case...this could not be too hard to do, even for me. A day later: I have an aftmkt DJ II dial so I laid it over the Bulova movement to see how the date lined up (the DJ II has more date offset). The date is about .5mm too far toward the outside of the date window. The fix? Maybe mount the movement about .5mm toward the right side so the date will line up in the window. Can not enlarge the date window on one side because the dial has a angled edge stamped around the frame. I have an 18k case to use for this project and I may go ahead with putting the Bulova movement in it but it will be a while. The problem has always been that the case is made for a 30mm dial and oem DJ/Prez dials are smaller The DJ II dial is 30mm and will fit in the case but the date offset is not standard 36mm rlx spec so a DWO or a movement with the correct offset must be used.

"Your ebay number produced no results" Here is the whole address: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Unique-ROLEX-Datejust-16014-16200-CUSTOM-BUILD-BULOVA-HAQ-sweep-second-movemnt/114125453598?hash=item1a9268391e:g:dcsAAOSwAJheXoct

There is a first time for everything. Looks like shoddy installation...and it's way too much $$ imho. Pretty good idea though. eBay item number 114125453598 I thought about putting one together a few years ago because I have a couple Precisionist watches that would be good movement donors. Do not know how close the rlx type DWO and hands would be to fitting the Bulova movement, I never tried it. The 9 jewel Precisionist/Accutron II movements are very good. Not fancy at all but high quality and accuracy. Also bought a couple nos ESA balance wheel electric 'Dynatron' movements a while back to put in a no date 'submariner' but never did. Some run at 21600bph and some at 28800bph. http://electric-watches.co.uk/movement-types/transistorised/

"I have a phong 1655 case that needs about a .25 of a mill cut inside under the movement screw ring, it seems it’s not machined correctly for my 1570 movement." One fix might be to use a knife edge screw in place of a square edge screw. Something else when using casing screws with skirts...if the movement and dial does not turn freely inside the case when lining the stem up with the case tube, it can scratch paint off the dial when turning it. I never did mount a complete GMT movement in my Phong '1655' case but did put a 1570 in it with the correct date spacer and dial to see how it would fit and it was Ok except for two tight spots. I ground a tool bit to remove the burrs inside the groove but never did anything to it because it is close work with very little room for error. You need to remove the bezel/crystal or carefully clamp over the numbered bezel to mount the case in a four jaw chuck and center it...either that or put it in a 'self centering' three jaw chuck and see if it centers after a few tries. I decided to try running a small 1 inch OD cut-off wheel around inside the groove a few times by hand (not in a power tool) and see if it would remove the tight spots. This would probably be Ok for removing tight spots but would be slow going to widen the groove all the way around while keeping the cut-off wheel level in the groove. I have an MBK '5513' with the same problem and I used case clamps and screws in it rather than cut the groove wider. I have seen a few pictures of a 5513 with case clamps and screws. Here is a picture of a genuine 1655 with knife edge case screws and afaik many/most of them came that way. They are easy to spot because the knife edge skirt is wider than on screws with square edge skirts. https://sansomwatches.com/product/rolex-explorer-2-orange-hand-1655-steve-mcqueen-vintage/