automatico

"You buying or selling J?" "Buying :-)" After starting out trading rlx watches waaay back when they were affordable and seeing today's parts prices, I will introduce a bit of perspective... The springbars will fit 1675, 1655, 5513, 1680, 16750 etc. The case tube and crown are also 1600, 16000, 1016 etc parts and should have no premium at all over any nos 6.0mm ct/crown. The crystal and caseback gasket will also fit 1675/16750 so none of the parts pictured are dedicated 1655 parts and should not command a premium price above current market price. If the case is 100% genuine...it is usually worth the $$ to buy genuine replacement parts. If the case is not genuine...oem spec aftmkt gaskets, crystals, springbars etc are usually fine imho. High quality aftmkt springbars are always fine imho as are generic caseback/crown/case tube gaskets from a reliable source. Here is what I paid for the genuine parts last time I bought them (early 2000s)... 25-116 crystal...$17.50 (today's price $35 to $50) 29-325-10 caseback gskt...$1.65 each (generic is 32.5mm x 1.0mm) Today's price for genuine $2 to $5, aftmkt $1 to $2. springbar...$2.50 each. Today's price $5 to $10 each, swiss quality aftmkt $2 to $4 each. 6020 case tube...$10. Today's price $20 to $30. 600-0 steel crown...$20.00. Today's price $35 to $50, good used $20 to $25. My guess for it all is around $100 to $150 at today's prices. etc... There is a silver sealing washer between the case tube and case, it will be hard to find as many 'rolexperts' do not even know they exist...this is why some of them can never get a case to stop leaking under higher pressures. The pn are 29-06020 for regular 6.0mm silver tube gasket, 29-05310 for 5.3mm silver tube gasket. Many 5.3mm aftmkt case tubes now come with silver washers, never seen a 6.0mm aftmkt ct with one though. If the case and/or bezel is aftmkt...make sure the case neck od and bezel id are exactly the same as genuine before installing the genuine crystal. Crunch! $$

I posted this on TRC but do not remember if I put it on here or not. When installing Eta 2824/36/46 etc date wheels there is no need to fight the dw because the overlay hides part of the screws. Put all the date changing pieces on the movement...every last one. Make sure the date flipper arm on the date changing wheel at 10 o'clock is turned away from the dw teeth. Study the notches in the dw keeper at 8 o'clock and you can see how the dw is able to slip into place with everything installed...the keeper is notched for the dw teeth to pass by when half way between dates. Set the dw over the movement and let it catch under the rounded keeper on the 2 o'clock side Turn the dw by hand until it is half way between dates at 3 o'clock. Take a razor blade etc and push the little leaf spring that indexes the datewheel out of the way and push the dw down in place while slowly pulling the blade out (you may have to turn the dw a few degrees back and forth to get it to drop in place). It may take a few tries but after you get the hang of it you can install a dw with overlay in 3 minutes.

"Not sure about whatever case you have but with the original mbw case you also had to drill some metal out between the lugs in order for the tube to seat properly. The gen tube has a diagonal edge where it sits in the case and most cases are flat. So drilling that part, as well as the retap, is necessary in order for the tube to screw in all the way and the crown to sit flush with the case." I have one of the later MBK L342301 '1680' cases and it is bored to accept a genuine or genuine spec case tube and gasket (the gasket between the case tube and case). The case threads were A-Ok and I cleaned the glue residue out with a pipe cleaner dipped in acetone...taps are too risky when the threads are Ok. I was really surprised because this is the first replica case I have owned that would accept a genspec case tube and gasket. I had a Yuki 1680 case a couple years ago but I got it from a member and it already had the case tube in it so I do not know how it was machined. I have a couple DW cases and they will not accept a genspec ct/gskt combo because the relief for the ct O ring is a bit small but you can use a smaller rubber O ring between a 'TC' type case tube and case for a fair seal. Be sure to lube the O ring with silicone grease so it will slip into the recess in the case and watch closely when turning the case tube into the case to make sure the O ring does not get cut. You can poke it with a toothpick to keep it 'in the groove'. 'TC' type case tube = case tube with flat surface where it goes up against the case, no shoulder or tapered area on the case tube. I bought a miniature carbide cutter to make the relief for a genspec gasket in this type of case but have not tried it yet. The catch to this is mounting the case solidly and lined up precisely with the cutter bit. The genuine spec case tubes I use are 'Tech Swiss' brand and are exactly the same as oem. I got them from J. Borel a few years back and they have a full set of threads where they screw into the case same as oem where some other brands may fewer threads. I noticed some of the short thread case tubes did not have exact oem spec threads and they would bind and break off in the case. Otoh they seemed to work Ok on cases with sloppy threads. old info: Submariner type 7.0mm case threads are the same as regular DJ etc 6.0mm case threads...3.0mm x .35mm and the installation tool is the same.

A few years ago a friend and I sold a TAG watch to a fellow in the UK from eBay USA for $1200. The fellow wanted it declared at $100 but we told him it would be declared and insured at $1200. He did not like it but that's the way it was. We were not going to insure a $1200 watch for $100. After a few weeks the UK guy claimed he never received the watch and demanded his $$ back...we already had proof it reached the UK with a note that delivery was refused. Since we had the $$ and proof the watch was refused, we let it ride for a few months because the guy immediately started calling us names and making all kinds of threats. After letting him boil for a few months, we finally went to the US Post Office and showed them all the shipping/insurance info and asked if they could find the watch. A few weeks later the watch arrived back from the UK, unopened and just like it left. The buyer tried getting a 'clawback' from paypal claiming he did not receive the watch but since we emptied the pp account and provided proof of delivery, pp let it ride. This in itself is unusual as pp nearly always sides with the buyer even with solid proof that the buyer is scamming someone. This scam had been tried on us before...claim no delivery, get the $$ back from paypal, then go get the watch = free watch. We informed the guy (who was a genuine 18k pain in the azz by this time) that we now had his $$ and the watch and if he would apologise for the insinuations and threats that we would send it back no charge. He finally relented so we sent it back...valued at $2000. We never heard another word. The watch was at a UK post office for the whole time (over 6 months) so evidently they will sit on a package for a long time. We asked the USPS clerk what would happen if we had not filed a trace on the package and they did not know. Do not know anything about other UK delivery outfits.

I know a guy who had private label cases/bracelets/dials made in china/TW for over 10 years and he told me there was nothing on earth as frustating as trying to deal with them. QC is simply not in their vocabulary. Just look at all the various high $$ 'boutique cases' many of us have tried in the past. It seems that after all these years, they still can not drill case tube and lug holes straight or make a proper crown guard. Name brand swiss etc watch companies that have cases, bracelets etc made in china/TW get good results by having company reps watching every step of production. Without any way of 'cracking the whip' on them you are stuck with 'close enough'. Sad but true. I appreciate your effort, sympathize with your frustrations, and wish you luck.

"I just spoke with phong. He charges $300 to remove the old engraving, and replace it with new engraving." "Being that my case is blank, he's charging $200 for the engraving. It seems he's the only game in town, and apparently has a great reputation, so I'll give it a shot.." What the world needs is a $10 case number overlay.

"But if you say well, even serviced these movt. aren't worth it, then I will wait for a V3 or perhaps even a V4. It is not about the looks of the movt." Service is usually the first step but the major problem with all A-clones is no parts. V3/V4 etc may never come or not be much of an improvement. " I just want to fit gen hands and gen DW on a somewhat reliable movt." Genuine hands... Eta 2824/36/2892 etc hand sizes are 150/90/24 (some models show .25 or .26 ss hand size). Rlx 1530/70 etc 130/80/20 Rlx 3000/3035/3135 etc 140/95/22 You can probably mount 3000 series rlx hands on an Eta movement by broaching the hand holes depending on how thick the material is in the hour/min hands. Rlx 1530 series hands may be too small/thin to broach to Eta sizes. High quality tudor spec hands made for Eta movements are what nearly everyone uses. If you want 'solid gold' rlx hands, remember that rlx used plated hands for many years....and gold hands are very fragile. Date wheel overlays are an option or you could use a genuine rlx 3135 dw for an overlay on an Eta 2836/46 etc...providing you have enough room between the dw and dial. Genuine Eta movements will usually be more reliable than A-clones. I would say 'always' but some may differ. ...in my experience it has always been always.

"If I want to install a #24-603 crown, I need a #24-533-0 tube correct? 600 and 603 should be almost identical by the looks? 24-533-0 tube can be installed into the 6239 case?" . When a case calls for a 600 crown it uses a 6.0mm type case tube and the case is threaded 3.0mm x .35mm. When a case calls for a 603 crown it uses a 5.3mm type case tube and the case is threaded 2.5mm x .25mm.

Tried fitting a couple mvt/dial combos again...here is the deal: A 1520 with 26.0mm 5513 dial will not work in a late MBK 5513/1680 case because when the movement and dial are mounted in the case...the stem is too far to the front and binds in the movement when trying to screw the crown down. A fix? Maybe find/make a spacer of some sort to go between the dial seat in the case and the dial. The movement clamping screws will probably still work with this spacer installed. Putting a spacer between the dial and movement would make the dial feet too short and the hour wheel and cp to be too low. A thinned down 1575 calendar spacer and 1575 hour wheel and cp on a 1520/70 no date movement would probably work Ok except the dial feet will still be too short. The dial screws may not tighten up on the dial feet but as long as the dial feet are started in the holes in the movement, the case clamp screws would hold the dial in place. Both options are viable with the thinned down calendar spacer + hw, cp etc not showing between the dial and case window making it a bit more 'official'. A genuine/genuine spec case tube will fit this case using a genuine 'case tube to case' gasket. A 1575 with genuine 1680 dial will not mount in the case without machining the dial seat in the case. The stem lines up Ok in the case tube but the movement clamping screws will not fit into the groove cut in the case. I tried knife edged screws and they would not fit either...not enough room This is a lost cause imho...probably better to go with Etas in these cases. Correction to post #6: "Since the TC case has a flat mounting surface, all I need is to come up with a gasket of some sort. Should be TC case tube. I found a small rubber O ring that worked Ok.

"5500 usd for a phong case with almost no gen part is crazy imo!" A big +1. "Buy a gen 5513 or 1675." Good advice.

"Wow auto, that's a lot of numbers you're remembering! Are you an accountant?" No, it's all in a notebook going back 40 years. A lot of common stuff is not written down. No notes on quartz watches except maybe cartier, ebel, TAG etc. Wholesale lots listed only for date and quantity. Current inventory would be a fairly close guess. "Yeah somebody's always quoting some super deal. Unfortunately i never get to be that somebody." I'm not that lucky either... A friend of mine bought a grab bag full of costume jewelry at a yard sale for $2 and it had an 18k gent's Vacheron in it (!!). Not long after that he bought a brand new Ridgeway Grandfather clock in the box for $30. He hauled it to his jewelry store, put it together, and sold it for $1200. Then he drug an old ugly azz $25 triple date moon phase mantel clock of some sort in...it was on the shelf in his shop for a week or two and a guy walked in and said "Will you take a $thousand for that?" He said "I'll load it for you." Away it went. I saw him about a month ago and he gave me a titanium Citizen Eco-D Navihawk because he could not set it. I offered to pay him for it and he said "Forget it, I only gave $5 for it." I need to follow him around. The guy is a real character, a few years ago we paid him and his store partner 25 cents each to put batteries in 25,000 watches...911 (right now!). We furnished the batts...Maxell 377 in packs of 500 in trays with a big piece of tape over it. It took them a month. I watched them after they had the routine perfected...one popped the caseback off, flipped the battery in the floor, and laid the watch parts on the work bench. The other guy stuck a battery in and snapped the back on. They just walked around on the old batteries, kicking them under the bench now and then. After they got done, they picked the old batts up and sold them for $600. After they got to 25,000 there were still a couple thousand watches left that we did not need so I carried them home and still have them. Should have pitched them in the trash. After that, he said every time he closed his eyes he saw a 377 battery. Since then we call him 3-7-7.

"Sorry for digging out this old thread, but I found this by searching for an ETA movement adapter. I have a RLX 1002 case (Oyster perpetual, 34 mm) and want to attach a 2824-2 to this case. Do you have such a movement holder left for me?" Sad to say but Stilty has just about dropped out of the replica hobby and does not post very often. He might pop up though, you never know. The last project I worked on (replica DJ/replica dial/eta 2836), I had to stick the dial to the regular brass movement holder with dial dots (no dial feet). This seems to work Ok and the dial dots give a little extra space between the dial and date wheel overlay. The catch is getting it all together while locating the dial correctly, installing the case clamps and screws without moving the dial, or allowing the hands to scratch the dial if the movement falls away from the dial etc. The same type of project is much easier if you have dial feet and the proper spacer though. The inside dimensions of the 1002 case are the same as a no date submariner, AK etc so any spacer that will work in this situation will also work in the 1002. Iirc the spacer needed is a little bit thinner than the standard brass spacers in Eta powered replicas so you may need to have the od cut down a little. The Eta 2824 is also thinner than the 'replica standard' 2836/46 so if you use a date dial and an overlay with rolex font, you may run into a space problem between the dial and date wheel. Try to stay away from plastic spacers and always use case screws/clamps if at all possible. If there are no case clamp grooves in a case, you can cut them with a cut-off wheel in a Dremel tool...just mark the spots with a Sharpie marker and cut two small grooves inside the case where they are needed being careful not to cut into the caseback threads. You will need to remove the crystal so it will not get damaged. You might read up on various projects in the forum and see how others solved similar problems.

"I recall someone saying a gen dial can be had for $250?! I'd love to buy 2 if it's possible" Facts, figures and misc BS... I bought a new 1016 dial from a 'friendly' rolex AD 5-13-96 and it was $60 for the dial, $11 shipping (USPS registered mail) and $4.75 tax = $75.75. Bought a new 1016 Lumi dial (signed T-25) a few years later from an AD in Denmark and it was $250 + DHL shp and $30 import fees = about $300. My first new Zenith Daytona 12-18-92 was $3865 out the door. The last two 10-1-96 and 10-30-97 were $5100 each - 10%, no sales tax = $4590. New GMT Master II (3085 mvt) 5-89 $1465 (store closing blowout price). New steel submariner/date 8-25-94 $2065. Used GMT 1675 6-10-97 $325. Used 90% 16233 DJ w/22 link jubilee bct 1-9-08 $1000. NOS 1957+/- Ingraham Roy Rogers and Trigger wristwatch in original box (model 53) $0, 5-19-93. NOS Bradley mechanical Star Wars wristwatch with C3PO and R2D2 (cpyrt 1977) in orig box $0, 5-19-93. Not many deals like this around now. They have all gone away thanks to eBay etc.

(Yuki dials) "They used to be very good and then went downhill" I got a Yuki 5512 dial a few months ago and the black paint and white letters are very good but a couple of the lume dots look like melted ice cream. I used it anyway and might get a dial from IG44 when there are no more complaints about luminous paint falling off. It's hard to believe that 'Paul' sold me some (1680/5514/SD) Eta dials almost as good for $10 each 8 or 9 years back. Some of the lume dots were the same color as Ole Yeller though.

"Same old deal- the gen 1680 dial is 26.5mm and won't fit in the MBW case (which is really a 5513 case). MBW 1680 dials are 26.2mm so they will fit in the MBW case. Dilemma still is how do you trim the 1680 gen or good aftermarket dial down .3mm or enlarge the 5513 case to accept the 26.5mm dial (metal shop lathe)." Yep. I tried the 1575 with genuine 1680 dial in my MBW/MBK 5513 and 1680 cases just now and the movement/dial will not lay flat in the case because the dial will not sit down all the way into the dial seat. There is a small shoulder cut into the dial seat but it is not wide enough to accept the 1680 dial. I could cut the dial seat to accomodate the dial but it is really not worth the trouble to me as the 1575 with 1680 dial fits just fine in my DW 1680 case. After I go to the trouble to cut the dial seat to accept the 1680 dial, the stem still may not line up just right in the ct...I do not know. The only problem I have with DW cases is the smaller than oem spec crystal neck and spring wire bezel. I left them both on this 1680 case so everything fits fine. I am installing a TC case tube and crown into the DW case and as soon as I come up with a gasket of some sort to fit between the case tube and case, it will be done. The cut made below the ct threads for a gasket in the DW case is not big enough in diameter to accept an oem gasket/ct combo. An oem spec ct has a shoulder made on it to mount against the gasket in the case and if you use an oem spec ct with a DW case...the crown will sit too far from the case when screwed down. Since the TC case has a flat mounting surface, all I need is to come up with a gasket of some sort. A genuine crown will screw down onto the TC case tube just fine but since the TC ct has a flat mounting surface, the crown may screw down against the case without a proper spacer/gasket of some sort between the ct and case. The TC case tube and crown are very high quality btw.

"the 1575 movement w/date fits fine in a MBW 1665 case, Others have put 1575's in MBW 1680's." I have a 1575 with the original 1680 dial on it so I will try it in a few days. It would be nice if it would work in the MBW/MBK case.

I just now tried a rolex 1570 with a Yuki 5512 dial into two MBW/MBK cases...a 5513 case #L342386 from Freddy and a late MBW/MBK 1680 case #L342301 from Reg. 1...Both cases are identical in all measurements and were made to accept Eta 2836 movements. 2...Both dial window openings are 25.5mm. 3...The stem lines up Ok in the approximate center of the case tube. 4...The movement is just a little bit loose in the case on the sides but it is Ok after the movement is tight in the case. Might put a shim (strip of feeler gauge etc) between the movement and case to prevent dial scuffing from the movement sliding side to side when the crown is pulled into setting position. 5...The original washer head rolex movement clamp screws are too short and will screw almost all the way out before the movement is tight in the case. Longer screws or screws with thicker heads are needed. 6...I did not try a date movement but date movements are a little thicker because of the calendar spacer and the stem would be too far toward the back of the case and the stem would be in a bind. I have read about 1575 date movements in MBW cases but they might have been earlier cases and could be different internally. 7...Machining the dial seat deeper into the case and cutting the case clamp screw groove deeper to install a date movement might not be a good move because when you cut into the dial seat to lower the movement, the reflector ring area (rehaut) would be reduced and may become too thin.

"Could not agree more. I have answered questions and even sent a few watch parts to a few new folks. Not one "thank you" 99% of the time. How about some common courtesy/decency?" +1 Same thing happened to me a few times. I do not mind answering a question or two but maybe a two answer limit is a good idea for noobs until they learn more. Learn more = actually taking the time to read about the subject on various forums! One thing that stands out to me (ever since the mid 1990s TZ/VRF days) is that genuine watch forums do not have much technical information (one shining exception was Walt Odets' posts on TZ) and you could find more tech stuff on TRC than most genuine watch forums of the same period. I can even remember reading a few techy type posts on RWCC. Anyone remember RWCC? Now the TZ/TRF etc rolex forums are basically GQ for watches...can't learn much over there unless you want to read arguments about a 'Mk I' dial of some sort or a guy's new submareener bezel insert being .1mm off at 12 high (disregarding parallax). On the lighter side...it looks like TZ patek philippe guys will never understand that a pp is just a 'highly rated' ($$$!!) average watch with a very fancy (and fragile) movement. Imho for a classic time only watch (no calatrava for me!), a solid gold square or rectangular USA Hamilton beats them all. I must call them 'one drops' though...one drop of water or one drop on the floor and it's amf.

"I do not trust water pressure claims. Never shower in your watch any watch and buy a real diver (you can get one cheap) for water these are reps." +1 Rule of thumb... 1...Replica watches will not leak in replica water. 2...Real water will drown most of them. #2 is from experience. Kidding aside, I have had the best luck with oem spec rlx vintage type replicas using oem spec or genuine crystals, bezels, case tubes, crowns, and cb gaskets. Most F520117 etc noob subs with the stepped crystal were Ok too. I would be afraid to get an 'out of the box' replica wet until it has been tested. When testing in a 'wet' tester, it is a good idea to remove the movement/dial because a fast leak may flood the watch and a slow leak may blow the crystal off. Matter of fact, I have removed solid gold DJ, OPD etc bezels/crystals by allowing a slow leak at the crown (no inside case tube gskt, crown slightly loose) and let the sudden change in pressure (from about 90psi) when the case is dunked to blow the crystal off to keep from running a blade under the soft gold bezel (they are so easy to nick or bend). Sometimes this will just blow the top off an acrylic crystal or blow the crystal out of a sapphire crystal case leaving the bezel clamped over the acrylic crystal skirt or sapphire crystal gasket...then it is back to the blade.

"What I have trouble with in this whole argument is that no one wants to ban guns totally, just automatic guns and yet we hear the 2nd amendment quoted time and again." "No one who signed the 2nd amendment would have, nor could have, had even the slightest concept of what an automatic rifle was." True automatics are not the same as semi-automatics (full autos are strictly regulated) but it is always semi-automatics that fuzz up hand wringing USA liberals after each shooting...and they always call them 'automatics'. I doubt they know the difference. I see no real need for 30, 60, 100 etc round clips or full automatics. Video... I used to see Lance Thomas at NAWCC shows. I still have one of his business cards with the motto "No Obsene Profit Here." A super nice guy...unless you try to rob him. Look at 5:35 where the liberal leaning interviewer tried to blame a shooting on LT. I keep a sawed off 12 guage pump handy. The original 'point and click'.

"What about brush and straight that rehaut, it would look pretty decent then?" Removing the lettering on the reflector (rehaut) is fairly easy but 'straightening' the rehaut comes with one problem...it increases the diameter of the dial seat 'window'. This may require a larger od dial (maybe not) and it may expose scratches around the od of the original dial if any are present. If you need to make a 1.0mm cut to 'straighten' the rehaut, you have enlarged the dial window by 2.0mm thereby showing a lot more dial. There are two basic ways to 'straighten' the rehaut... 1...Cut the outer edge of the dial seat window at a 90 degree angle to the dial to basically shorten the slope making it appear to be steeper. note... Some F520117 'noobmariners' came this way and since the rehaut did not have much area to begin with, it made the reflector portion appear to be too short. 2...Cut a steeper taper on the rehaut...hard to do without machine tools. Both methods will result in a bigger dial window. Imho 'wokky' cases should be avoided if possible. "But sometimes I think that 'smart' would be doing what By-Tor did and get a genuine one!" Wearing a genuine rlx watch would worry me to no end...just waiting for it to break down or fall apart. Then it's Ultra High $$ parts etc. That's why I like reeplickas. Imho genuines are for tradin' and sellin', not wearin'. Today it's a Paul/Abay Crazy Sale! 'comex 5514' with 2846, Clark bez kit, GS19, drilled lugs etc...a ten year old 'antique'. It would not fool anyone but me...

"...I would NEVER put a 1000$ in a bracelet." Me neither unless it had at least 3/4 Troy oz of 18k gold in it. "But after spending a fortune in reps to make them as accurate as possible I am now looking at wearing watches I like to wear! If they are not 100% accurate, I don't care." I feel the same way. If a watch is 80/90% accurate, it suits me. "The average guy can't tell a Rolex from a Timex, much less whether or not the coronet on your clasp is .0002mm too long!!! "The prices of genuine Rolex parts has gotten completely insane." That's the truth if I ever saw it, especially the parts situation. Crowns that I bought new for $20, $35, and $75 are selling for $60 to $250 each new now. I remember trying to sell 100 nib assorted rlx steel and gold cap crowns (with 10 or 12 new tubes thrown in) for $2000 in the early 2000s at NAWCC shows etc and all the gomers said I was crazy because they "can buy them all day long". Not now. If I sell 'em one now I make their sorry azz bleed. After all...bizness is bizness. "I bet there aren't 200 people in the entire world excepting older Rolex trained watchmakers who can tell you which bracelet/end link combo is correct for all the rolex sport watches." "Another thing, if you own a 40 year old genuine Rolex, and had it serviced by your local watchmaker, often times he replaced parts with what he had on hand, especially things like end links,springbars." I know this to be true because I have been trading rlx watches this long and have seen it over and over. "By the way just to let you know how things have changed, I sold a very nice C & I 7206 with almost no stretch 80 end links and genuine springbars back about 6 years ago, and I got 200.00 USD for it, now the rep 7206's are that much or more!!" I have two 20mm genuines left from a few years back, one 'stretchey' and one 'stiffey'...I paid less than $25 each for them because people called them 'hairpullers' and considered them to be junk a few years ago. Also have a few USA oval link jubilees for $0 because watch traders gave them to me. Some old Bulovas etc had the exact same bracelets except for the clasp and hoods, most were 18mm or 19mm though. The 19mm models will work on a 20mm watch just fine. Rlx is hot but other brands are dead in the water... Last week one of the local watch traders had a like new tungsten carbide Rado Jubile on a bracelet for $100 with no takers. Three or four weeks ago I bought a super nice 18k E. Gubelin automatic for $300 because it needed a crown, crystal, and cb gasket and no one would fix it for a reasonable price (about $7 cost using a gf crown). The empty case has 18.6g of 18k yellow gold in it. What's crazy is that I got one just like it in May 2009 for $200. On the down side...it seems like no one has any $$ left to blow. On the up side...after four more years of this president, a nice 5513 may be going for $200. Q...How come I did not offer to fix the Gubelin for the guy? A...Because I do not take any outside work in at all. Q...Why? A...If you take a few 'trader watches' in, pretty soon you will have 100 pieces of junk to fix...and they all will not pay over $20 for any repair. I learned this the hard way.

My GMT experiences... The only swissetas with Asian GMT conversions I had good luck with were the older type with non adjustable 24 hour hands. The hand stack (24h, 12h, m) is right for vintage models but wrong for later models except acrylic crystal GMT master quicksets. One problem is the 24h and 12h hands are crammed together in the space for the 12h hand making the 24 hour hand too close to the dial and 12 hour hand. You really need longer cp and hour wheel to make them right. Every swisseta I had with adjustable 24 hour hand caused trouble but iirc there was at least one later model with fewer problems but I never had one and know nothing about them. Never had an Asian etaclone GMT and know nothing about them. Changed a few swisseta 2836 with Asian GMT conversions over to swisseta 2846 with Asian GMT conversions with no problems. Never had a swisseta 2893 GMT in anything. Stayed with vintage swisseta powered GMT/Ex II because of adjustable 24h hand problems. Had good luck with early DG/NN non adjustable 24h GMT movements depending on condition of the basic movement. Also good luck with DG 3804 depending on movement condition. It runs at 21600 bph so the ss hand is a bit notchy compared to 28800 used in most modern watches but it is a very good choice for vintage GMT/Ex II. Never tried to swap parts around with a DG 4813 and early DG 2813 GMT to make 28800 bph GMT movement.

"C/O means clean and oil?" Yes. Sometimes you see coa = clean, oil, adjust. 'Adjust' usually just means adjust timing. 'Adjust' may go so far as to include checking the balance wheel in the round and flat plus 'poise' as well as checking the hairspring to see that it is level and even with no close coils etc. 'Poise' means balancing the balance wheel after it is checked to be round and flat. You do not get this much now because the fellows who know how to do it are mostly gone from the business. When a balance staff is replaced, some of the better repair guys will take time to check the balance wheel for flat and round plus poise, especially on a high grade watch. I need to shut up!

It is very hard to explain what is going on so you might be better off to find a repair guy to fix it. Trying to follow written instructions without detailed pictures is almost impossible unless you are familiar with part names, part locations etc. I would stop where you are and wait until you can get help from another member (pictures) or find a low buck repair guy. Here is a good article on the 2824 but it is not much help for repairs: http://www.chronometrie.com/eta2824/eta2824.html