automatico

I first try to pop the bezel off by placing the watch on a relatively soft surface (pine wood board etc), leaned slightly toward the front side with the crown up. Next, push down on the case with thumbs on each side of the crown hard enough to push the slack between the bezel and case to the up side while also pushing the bezel away from the case...and awaaay it goes. Usually. They fall off easy enough on their own so it does not take much to pop one off. Pop one off!

Some early '5514' and '1665' replicas had oem spec HE valves. Many long time members have seen them and many came from the long gone 'Abay' website about 15 years ago. I bought a genuine HE valve kit (p/n 24-V50), compared it with one from an Abay watch and they are identical in form and function. Here are pictures of an aftmkt example from Yuki with dimensions: http://www.yukiwatch.com/catalog/item/6784664/7541837.htm If I wanted to mimic a HE valve on the cheap, I would get someone to bore a hole in the case and machine a valve a few .000 mm larger than the hole (without the groove for the leaf spring), then press it into the case. I have done this a few times and the only catch is making the valve stem just the right size so it can be pressed in the case without bending, stay in place, and seal. I did not use an O ring but depended on the tightness of the press fit to seal it up. I do not take in any work.

"But where can I find those notches?" On the top picture, locate the redish purple jewel above the center of the balance wheel. Look closely and you will see a gold three pointed spring ring around the outside diameter of the jewel...this spring holds the balance jewels in place. The silver part just outside of the gold jewel spring is the 'jewel setting' and it has only one notch for removing the three pointed gold spring. Genuine ETAs have three.

Here is a good post about case corrosion on VRF: http://www.network54.com/Forum/207593/thread/1523202036/last-1523243296/View+All This may be why they added an O ring between the case deck and crystal retainer bezel on later models. As for replicas...the later MBK '5512 and 5513' cases I have seen have the extra O ring groove but with no O ring in it when new. Do not know about the early cases. My 12 or 14 year old cartel cases do not have grooves. Do not know about Yuki etc. I have seen quite a few watches with this type of corrosion offered for sale lately but usually not quite as bad as this one. Sellers never mention it and most buyers think it can be wiped off when installing a new crystal. It usually can not be easily removed once it starts and often results in a leak between the case neck and crystal. Rust never sleeps to quote Neil Young. The case in the picture may be genuine but a better term might be 'junkuwine'. Watchjunk that used to be thrown away is hot stuff now. Amazing. Another bargain: https://beckertime.com/product/mens-rolex-datejust-stainless-steel-case-16013 More info: http://www.vintage-watches-collection.com/references/stainless-steel-in-vintage-watch-cases-explained/ https://medium.com/@morningtundra/death-of-a-vintage-watch-by-corrosion-pitting-c187d36d8314

"One more thing, has anyone tried re-positioning dial feet by using epoxy to glue new copper dial feet at the correct positions? I was thinking using dial dots/tape would lead to the tape melting into the movement in the long term causing complications to the movement. Is this true, anyone experienced this before?" I have used the Bergeon platform type dial feet (aka roofing nails) with good luck but the platform may raise the dial up away from the movement plate on some projects. Dial dots are Ok for some jobs but they can allow the dial to slide around on the plate. They hold 'up and down' Ok but not 'side to side'. Imho they are better suited to quartz watch projects with small, lightweight movements and tight movement spacers. Here are some generic platform dial feet: eBay item number 321530693765 I rely on case clamps and screws to hold the dial and movement against the front of the case when there are no dial feet. In order for this to work the movement and/or movement spacer needs to be a good fit and not allow for much side to side movement at all. Side to side dial and/or movement shift can allow the edge of the dial center hole to rub the hour wheel tube or hand hub and stall the movement along with allowing the date window to move out of place. Once the movement is 'bolted down' everything usually stays in place. Sometimes you need to make thicker, stiffer case clamps and I use automotive feeler gauge stock to make them. Drill the case clamp screw hole first. Next, you can usually rough cut the clamps with tin snips to save time, then finish the clamp using a file, cutting disc on a Dremel tool or something similar. I have posted all this a few times before but it's been a while.

TH: Here is one way to spot 28xx etaclones: If there is only one notch in the balance jewel setting for the jewel spring, chances are it is an etaclone. ETA has 3 notches. This is for the balance spring type pictured, Incabloc types are another story. I have two watches with etaclones and both have ETA stamping under the balance wheel but both have only one jewel spring notch so that's still the first thing I look at. Some Asian etaclones may have 3 notches by now but I have not seen any...yet.

Looks good! It definitely has a retro vibe. I have seen quite a few of these combos...gold dial/hands with SS case/bracelet, but not with a gold crown. You also see quite a few black, white, blue etc dials with gold markers/hands and all steel cases/bracelets. Imho it needs a gold bezel to go with the gold crown or a steel crown to go with the steel bezel. Since it is a 16013 case, I would go with a gold bezel. A tutone time head with an all steel bracelet is fairly common. "WAIT - I just noticed - NO SCREWS???" Nope, the USA bracelets had push pins or little bitty spring bars.

"They had a couple of thousand guys on the other day & we a couple of hundred.................." More people watch cartoons than detective shows. The cartoon show of genuine rolex forums is probably www.rolexforums.com. "I knocked a dent in my forehead to match the nick in my Batman."

Looking Good! ...and it did not break the bank. "GS PA-462 19M crystal." I have used PA 462-20A, PA 462-66, and PA 462-67, but not a PA 462-19M. Yet. I'll order a couple next time, they might come in handy. I have quite a few aftmkt T19 from different sources and will say there are lots of different shapes and sizes of them out there. GS has always been high quality in my experience. Sternkreuz too.

Outstanding! "Forgive my ignorance, but is there a difference between this and a gen 1665?" The price maybe? That and anyone with the $$ can buy one but very few can 'make' one.

Free advice: Don't get robbed by a watch parts supply house unless you are in a hurry. Look in the phone directory and see if there is a tool, bolt and screw specialty store in town and call them about the taps. I bought the taps 5 for $25 from a tool/screw shop. They were PRO-CUT brand, very good quality. If I bought 25, they were $4 each. Five was enough... Amazon also has 3.0 x .35mm tap sets for $21.30, free delivery. "Includes 1 each: Taper, Plug & Bottoming Tap." https://www.amazon.com/3-0mm-35mm-Tap-Set-Sets/dp/B00M89XOOA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1522862462&sr=1-1&keywords=3.0mm+x+.35mm+metric+tap Here they are for less than $4 each including delivery: eBay item number 231977555390 Here is an explanation of the different types of taps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_and_die 'Plug Tap' is usually the type needed.

ND Trading also has some pretty good 1016 dials. I have not heard of anyone buying anything from them lately though. http://ndtradingcorp.com/cata-11-dials--rolex//7

"I used a lighter to heat the opposite side of the screw pin then unscrewed it. I did this on a noob bracelet. The bracelet goes black a bit but just wipes off. Not sure if the professionals would recommend this method but it worked for me." I have done this many times except I use a mini torch that has a Bic lighter inside it. The pin point flame at the ceramic tip is blue, very hot, and will melt glue and 'thread crud' quickly. You also need a screwdriver that is a good fit in the screw slot and has straight sides at the end. A tapered 'chisel' shaped screwdriver end tends to rise up out of the screw head and ruin the slot. PS: I am not a professional. I am a screw-up. Mine is a 'MicroJet'. Example: eBay item number 253502020853

"I'm just saying that at some point the accumulator may wake up and realize that things are getting out of hand." Sadly, I woke up to that fact about 35 years ago. "I have over the years found it infinitely easier to sell genuine watches than reps." Me too. Replicas: Run of the mill, cheapo replicas are more or less disposable. Higher grade replicas are fairly easy to sell as long as the condition is good, the price is low, and the movement is running Ok. Frankensteins are a problem because of the overpriced parts involved...plus the labor cost if you farm them out. Looking back, I sold today's 'hot' genuine watches before they got hot (vintage rolex, omega, longines, GP etc, and old chronographs). I got the 'price of the day' but since then, prices have gone crazy. I did keep almost all of the 14k and 18k watches but now they are worth more for scrap than as a running watch and I hate to scrap the vintage 'American Classics'...Hamilton, Elgin etc. Also have a soft spot for Benrus, Gruen, and Bulova even if they were not 100% USA made. I bought most of the gold watches between 1990 and early 2000s when gold was $400 troz or less and an average running 14k Elgin 'stem winder snap back' would go for $75 to $90 from traders/pawn shops that did not care for them. From my experience, solid gold Bulovas seem to have more gold in the cases than most other brands. I used to go to NAWCC shows and buy/sell/trade watches but it looks like NAWCC attendance is dropping fast. WWT etc are better but few and far between. eBay is a crap shoot...you may lose the watch to a crook or have parts swapped out and the watch sent back because "It will not run." We call watches that will not sell 'shroud watches' meaning at the end of the run they pitch them in the coffin just before they lower you down. It ain't very funny now...

"I'm looking for an explorer dial for gen movement." Which one...1016, 114270, or latest model?

afaik: #8038 - center second pinion 5.70mm #8037 - Cannon Pinion 3.39mm #8039 - hour wheel, double tooth 2.44mm #8040 - 24hr wheel 1.41mm #8035 - Calendar Wheel nut #8036 - Date Jumper #8006 - Yoke for cam #8008 - spring for cam yoke #8011 - stud for cam #8030 - Center wheel with Cannon Pinion #8034 - Calendar Wheel

Informative Gay Frères bracelet info in case you missed it: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rolex-oyster-bracelet-historical-perspectives https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/gay-freres-much-more-than-a-simple-manufacturer-of-watch-bracelets

No offense. It's nice but... If I liked the looks, I would go for a Hamilton Jazzmaster. Why? Much less $$. Same type of watch. Same basic movement. No $$ going to the Piranhas at RWC. I look at the toot as a $500 watch (imho). I never was much of a toot fan because (to me) they have always had a rlx wannabe vibe. $465 Jazzmaster example: https://www.jomashop.com/hamilton-jazzmaster-mens-watch-h32515135.html

"Sweet snag! My elderly eyes tell me this is a very early Paul's Abay watch. What a piece of history! Carzy Sale!" "Agreed haven't seen one of those prototype bracelets in years!" Y'all will have to quit calling me a junk man if these things ever become Collector Items. I have about half a dozen of 'em, 5514 and SD, 729 case backs, 'Prototype' bracelets, and 'working' HEV. All NOS with new swisseta 2836 as delivered back then. 'Working' HEV = it might work to let water out. Anyway, the valves are made just like genuine, I bought a genuine set to compare them. NOS... Have a couple nos 'River' SDs too, same motor. They were hot back then. Also a steel automatic Alain Silberstein Arkitek. How many of them have you seen lately? Is there really any such thing as a nos replica? I must be Carzy too! Btw...they ain't for sale. I have a 'collection'. Just now looked at a date dial and it says: COMEX 2000 ft = 610m (2000 ft/610m from the boat dock) SCOC Lookie, Lookie... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolex-5513-Submariner-With-7206-Prototype-Bracelet-Box-Original-Bill-Anchor-/221920434323?hash=item33ab7d1893%3Ag%3Az0oAAOSwA4dWKQ-S&nma=true&si=e9R%252BvWtIe0ergFp1SLi99gslhT0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 L o n g address.

Hodinkee: "So what is new about this watch? Well, for one it has a Jubilee bracelet that hasn't been seen on a GMT-Master since the vintage years and is only used on current Datejust models." It looks good. The tudor looks good too. I would like to see the back side of the bracelet to find out how they applied the rivets...might be like the solid link replicas. My new at the time (1989) 'Coke' 16760 GMT had a Jubilee although it may be considered 'vintage' by now. I paid $1465 for it out the door, I knew someone at the AD back then. Like a fool I sold it too soon. Only GMT I have now is a 555xxxx 'Pepsi' 1675 with the original Jubilee it came with (list price $795 in 1978). I paid $825 in 2007 to the original owner for it. Guess it will have to do because the new models cost too much for me.

"You are better off reselling that crystal or saving it for a future project with a different midcase". Agree. "I went through the GS crystals I bought before ordering the CWP, and one of them - I believe the PA 462-19M - is damn near identical to the CWP, but with a smaller ID (fits like a glove). (Like an idiot, I may have mixed the envelopes up between that and a 462-20A, but I'm pretty sure this is the 19M.)" This is not much help but I had this same trouble when fitting crystals to David Wong aka 'DW' cases. The case neck is about 28.12 to 28.15 and the crystals are too big. When using an oem spec crystal retaining bezel there is a GS no mag domed crystal that fits. Do not know the number of course because I did not write it down. Not as lucky when using a DW case for a '1680' project because I have not found a magnifier crystal that works very well. The DW cases came with an odd size 'spring wire' bezel kit and a lot of the crystals were already cracked when they pressed the inner bezel down over them. DW '1680' bezel kits and crystals were not genuine spec. If I was 'The King of the World'...I would have all replica 5512/13/1680 cases made to oem specs. But I'm not...I'm just a pissant with a digital caliper.

"Rule #1 you don't talk about the Dark Lord. Rule #2 you can't reach the Dark Lord. Rule #3 don't mention his name 3 times in one post." This guy is making super good dials, knows someone who does, or he is going through what he has access to and picking out the best examples. That...or TTK is back from the Hereafter and selling dials. I've had a few 'refinished' dials... 'Paul' sold me some dials (1680, 'COMEX' 5514 etc) for $10USD each. Not real good but well worth the $$. No 'Singer' dial plates. Bought a dozen or so from Yuki over the years. Around $120 each and most were pretty good...6 or 7 on a 10 scale. Got 3 or 4 from IG44 for about $130 each (can not remember exact price), and they were a little better than Yuki. Have 3 or 4 'Phong' dials and they are pretty good too. Bought them from members at good prices. None are on 'original' Singer dial plates although some have Singer stamped on the back. The secret to a good dial is a scratched up crystal or a long sleeve shirt.

Here is something else to think about: An all genuine rolex 1575 GMT movement with fine looking plates (no obvious scratches or corrosion), good screw heads etc will sell for about as much as a complete Frankenstein 1655 or 1675 GMT watch with a genuine rolex 1575 GMT movement no matter who made the case and dial (genuine dial/hands will go higher of course). For this reason it might be a good idea to maybe drop down a few notches and go to a swisseta 2846 GMT movement with an old type Asian non adjustable 24H hand conversion. These conversions are simple and trouble free in my experience. Complete 1575 GMT movements went for $1200 or $1500 about 25 years ago but now they are twice that much or more because RWC cut most of the parts off to convert a regular 1570/5 to a GMT. That and the fact that a 1675 GMT is around $8k and a 1655 is around $12k now (or more). Back then they were $3k or $4k and the 1655 was not much hotter than a 1675. Example: Here is a '1570' GMT movement for $3650 on eBay but it is really a 1565 GMT movement, not a 1575 GMT movement going by the 1560/5 'curb feeler' over the balance wheel and the regulator. It does have a 1570 auto-wind top plate though. Also no way to know if it even has a 24H hand because all the pictures are of the back side and ends. Buyer beware. eBay item number 263554434524 Some smile and cruise through life. Some stagger and struggle. Some get rich. Some go broke. ...and some get whacked.

"What is TC?" https://rwg.cc/topic/142125-tc-submariner-housing-gen-3135-gen-parts-part-i/

"...oh and you can find all the parts for an ETA or Sellita to keep it in good order, I highly doubt that is the case with a 3135 copy." Agree. I have always had a major problem with a durable product without parts availability. Motorcycles for instance...I've owned a lot of them and have never been denied an oem part from a dealer. Sure, the parts get to be obsolete but that is a fact of life and the parts become unavailable because they're obsolete and sold out, not because the AD will not sell them to you. Watches are another matter. Watch companies (especially the greedy swiss watch companies) want complete control of the product even if it was sold 10 years ago. After all, what good is a DOA watch with no parts available to repair it...or a watch where 'The Factory' demands you send it to them for a $700 'overhaul' for a $75 part. Not Good imho. Genuine rolex...I have owned quite a few and many of them needed parts sooner or later. Not too bad back when parts were available from supply houses but that is no longer the case. I know about 'official parts accounts' because we had one for 10 years but not now. For this reason I only wear a 4 digit watch with a 15xx movement if I wear one at all. Why? Because I have spare movements and parts for the oldies but not the newbies. I like the oldies better anyway. Btw, an 'official parts account' does not allow cases, bezels, dials, bracelets etc to be sold to general account holders. As for the SH 3135..they are nice and may accept a few genuine parts but I would still go with a swiss Eta 28xx of some sort. Why? Because they are rugged, reliable, easy to work on, and parts are plentiful, relatively cheap, and easy to find. Problems? Yes. DW overlays are a hassle for example along with dial foot location, hour wheel, CP sizes etc but these obstacles are relatively easy to overcome. Easier than finding a hairspring for an SH3135. My guess is there will be a lot of 'no longer running' SH3135 replicas for sale before too long. One thing I do like about the SH3135 is if you buy the latest 'New, Improved 1 to 1' submariner etc with one in it and install a genuine dial/hand set and genuine 3135, you will have a pretty good Frankenstein that you can turn back into a 100% replica quickly and easily. Just don't get the 'stein wet.