automatico

Why 'down home' crystal measurements may be approximate, not precise... #127...30.3mm od -- 28.2 id -- about 1.0mm thick sidewall at the skirt where it fits over the case neck The 127 sidewall at the skirt is stepped down to approximately 1.0mm thick where it fits over the case neck, it is a little bit thicker above the skirt. If you sand the skirt down to lower the crystal, you have to be sure to leave enough material for a full skirt over the case neck (no full skirt over the neck remarks!). 116...30.2mm od -- 28.9 id -- about .6mm thick sidewall at the skirt where it fits over the case neck, same thickness all the way to the top Measurements are from StarTime generic crystals, genuine rolex, GS, Clark's, Sternkreuz etc may be a bit different. Why these measurements may not be precise... Crystal skirt inside diameter and crystal skirt wall thickness measurements will never be precise with a caliper like the one I use because the jaws are 1.0mm thick and you would need knife edge jaws to get the exact thickness and id. Inside and outside diameter measurements may change in different positions around an unmounted crystal because the crystal is usually a little bit 'out of round' to begin with and caliper jaw tension on the crystal skirt can expand or shrink the skirt. The 1.0mm thick caliper jaws will not matter on outside diameter measurements because you are measuring on the outside of the curve and the jaws will lie flat on the crystal. You really need to measure the od of a crystal after it has been pushed down over the case neck and compare it with other mounted crystals to find the one with the larger or smaller od. You will need a precision digital caliper (I use a Mitutoyo) as cheapo $20 Harbor Freight etc calipers are not good enough for repeated precision comparison measurements. Remembering the id measurement of the bezel will not be exact to start with (unless you have knife edge caliper jaws)...a caliper like mine with 1.0mm thick jaws is Ok for this type of measurement because if nothing is changed, it will show the same measurement every time where cheapo calipers might not. Any difference from cutting or polishing the id of the bezel or crystal can be immediately noted because you are comparing the id from an established base measurement. bezel is too tight = cracked crystal or stretched bezel, (solid gold bezels are fairly easy to stretch or break) bezel is too loose = bezel/crystal easy to pry/knock off, leaks etc GS Hypo cement... It is almost the same stuff as Testor's model airplane cement (aka Huffer's Delight) and is not really suitable for water sealing because it is intended to be used to stick 'fancy' or round crystals in snap-back etc vintage cases. 'fancy' = shaped as in square, rectangular etc The best type of cement to use is probably Seiko brand two part crystal epoxy or regular two part slow set epoxy. Seiko does not turn yellow but regular epoxy is usually yellow tinted to begin with. Seiko epoxy is expen$ive though. On my 1655 projects from 'Abay/Paul' 7 or 8 years ago I had to use #127 crystals with the skirt sanded down to lower the crystal because the case blanks started out as submariners. With replicas you find all kinds of 'irregularities'. Epoxy tip... If you get epoxy on a crystal or case, the easiest way to remove it is with a wet paper towel. Tear off a piece of paper towel, wet it, and squeeze all the water you can out of it and use it to wipe excess epoxy away while the epoxy is still wet. Be sure not to smear epoxy from the wet towel onto the crystal or case by using a fresh section of the towel every time you wipe epoxy away.

"I recommend the 2879 on ebay under eta movements. I have used several and been very satisfied. I do recommend that you lightly oil them when you recieve it." The 2879 is a very good movement. I have a few and one super good runner is in a steel Bucherer 'chronometer' from the 1970s. You see a lot of them in 1970s watches and the eBay nos 2879 for $59 for sale now is a bargain. The 17 jewel Eta 2846 is probably the bottom of the line as for escapement/autowind quality but the plates, train wheels etc are same as the higher grade eta 28xx series. The 25 jewel 2846 is one step up but it probably has the same escapement. I always c/o these old movements even if nos because the oil has usually dried up and there is no way to get around it. The cap jewels in the escapement sometimes will have a spot of dried oli/dirt on them and there is no way to get them clean and properly oiled other than to take them apart and do the job the old fashioned way. C/o escapement cap and hole jewels is one of the worst things about working on mechanical movements but it is one of the most important...not nearly as bad as hairsprings but probably tied with the old automatic A.Schild day/date 'A frame' calendar works. They look like there is a kid's swing set stuffed under the dial.

"I cannot get the tige inside the movement anymore. The button seems to be stuck and as I had to press quite hard to get it to open I fear I have been breaking it... I'm not good at doing those things...." If 'tige' = crown/stem then you have pushed the detent button too far and dislodged the set bridge...you screwed up, but not too bad. Search the forum to find how to repair this and it will be Ok. If you do not want to tackle it, a watch repair guy should be willing to fix it for $10 or $15. It's a 20 minute fix. On Eta 28xx movements always use a screwdriver that fits snugly in the detent slot to push the button. The movement plate is slotted for a screwdriver so you will not push the button too far. Always r/r the stem in setting position.

TeeJay You might see if you can knock your email address off the posts now that the goal has been met. Good luck!

ETA 2846: 0 for 3... "None of them have worked particularly well, all due to old parts (so servicing wasn't really an option)." I have c/o quite a few 2846 both 17 jewel and 25 jewel models and what I find wrong more than anything is worn out or dry/dirty reversers. If you still have all three of them maybe someone could take them all and make one good movement for you. Try to use a 25 jewel a/w assembly if possible and a new mainspring might be a worthwhile addition. Be sure to demagnetize the movement after it is finished. In my experience these movements tend to keep pretty good time (+/-15 to 45 seconds a day after service) but they might run faster or slower than they normally do when the reserve is low or the watch is parked for a long time in one position. I have also seen a few that did not time out very well on a timing machine but kept very good time when worn. I have one 2846 in a 1016 project that used to stop now and then and I took it apart 2 or 3 times and never did find anything wrong (usually caused by a speck on a train wheel etc). What finally fixed it was changing out the case clamp screws for what looked to me to be an identical set. (??) I found the fix by accident when I loosened the screws to remove the movement just after the watch had stopped. Loosey = runney, tightey = stoppey. "What's a better alternative ETA 2783? Or should I just live with hi-beat and go for the more accurate 2836-2?" If it is for a vintage project, I would stick with the 2846 etc because of the 21600 beat rate but if it is a modern type watch the 2824/36 is probably a better choice.

"Bingo, this is my exact setup except my ring is plastic and when installed it causes the dial to shift from the movement which creates alignment issues with the date ect." If the movement/dial can slide around inside the case when pulling the crown out to setting position etc, it will scuff paint off the dial around the edge when it rubs against the dial seat in the case. "Forget dial dots, they're crap. Tell your modder to use hypo cement to glue a dial spacer to the movement then glue the dial to the spacer. It should give enough clearance for the datewheel to move freely and the dial will be secure." "A plastic movement ring won't work because you need a solid platform for the movement clamps and screws. Get a new movement holder from Yuki and maybe a new modder too..." Very good advice. Dial dots and plastic spacers are for kids. ...kid's watches that is.

"Just ran across a 1530 movement on VRM for $695- being sold by Steve Mulholland over in FLA" from VRF... "needs new hairspring...easy fix for any watchmaker" Easy fix for any watchmaker... 1...if they have a Breguet hairspring for a 1030 laying around (pn 6936) not many on eBay 2...if they know how to vibrate/trim/mount the hairspring to make sure the rate spot on each hairspring/balance combo is matched at the factory and there is very little rate adjustment after it is in the watch 3...if they know how to check the poise of the balance wheel to make sure it is Ok 4...if they know how to correct out of flat and out of round balance wheels if needed etc, etc... This is very $pecialized work. Look before you leap.

"I am actually getting pretty good working on them. I have two ETA 2863 movements that I plan to use as practice. One is mint and works perfect and the other doesn't. It's complete but won't stay running. Basically the same problem my 3035 had. I plan to tear it down for practice." 　 　 The hairspring on the 3035 is laser welded to the collet and this connection is very, very fragile and a common source of trouble. If you make one wrong move while handling the balance assembly, the hs/collet connection may come apart and you will need a 'balance complete' (pn 5019) for about $500 at today's 'bargain' prices. There is no proper shop repair for this ailment. Sometimes a fine running 3035 powered watch will stop for no apparent reason and this is sometimes the problem. The hairspring can come loose at any time but handling the balance assembly during service is a great opportunity to cause this trouble. Many repair shops will not touch the 3035...they fix it and it runs fine, then the hs decides to come loose a few months later. ...or some boogerhead superglued the hs to the collet when they broke it and it comes apart during service etc, etc. 　 High beat rolex watches will run on and on without service and sometimes you will find one end of the balance staff worn down. This is sometimes caused by lack of service and laying the watch either face up or face down all the time at night. When the oil goes bad the balance staff will start grinding itself away and after a while the balance staff has enough metal ground away to cause excessive clearance between the cap jewels and balance staff tips to make the balance wheel rub something or bind up and stop the watch. This presents itself by running Ok with the dial in the vertical plane but stopping dial up or dial down. The fix is a new balance staff. Not too bad but these balance wheels are flimsy, fragile, and prone to damage unless the repair guy is A-1. No matter what, the movement probably needs c/o and a new mainspring.

"One big problem is what do you do when you see the lug holes, which may fit the bracelet perfectly from the inside of the lugs, are not at all centered in the location you need on the outside of the case?" I have had that problem too. Probably not much you can do about it. Also have a few submariner type cases with holes all the way through the lugs but they are off center and will not allow drilling them out to 1.3mm without the holes being on the edge of the lug.

"How can somebody do that ? When the holes are on the inside ? I mean how do you mark the case to be perfect ?" I have done a few and the success rate is about 50%. Q...Why is it so hard to do? A...Because case sides are slick and curved (DJ etc, subs are flatter). It is hard to start a hole on a slick, rounded surface. The case material may be a lot harder than you think it is going to be. Drill bits walk, break, and seize in the holes. I drilled a few DJ cases that turned out all right and here is how I did it... 1...Put a springbar in both ends of the case. 2...Eyeball the lugs using the springbar as a reference and make a tiny dot mark on the outside of each lug lined up with the springbar (use a Sharpie etc). 3...Make a dimple in the lug with a spring loaded center punch etc. 4...Make a rigid case mounting device of some sort to sit on a drill press bed to hold the case, making sure it is level so the hole will not be slanted. 5...Start the hole (I usually use a slightly smaller drill bit than the finished hole needs to be) and drill it most or all the way through, while hoping it comes out through the original hole inside the lug. Sometimes I use a short drill bit with only 8 or 10mm sticking out of the chuck to prevent walking...be careful not to allow the spinning chuck jaws to touch the lugs. 6...Finish to size with the proper drill bit. 7...Do not chamfer the holes on the outside of the lugs...they are not chamfered from the factory but by improper polishing. Fold the sandpaper over a Popsicle stick etc when sanding around the lug holes to prevent chamfering the holes. 8...Polish the case sides around the holes with 600 wet or dry sandpaper followed by 1000 and 1500 (plus 2000 if you want to), then polish the case sides with Simichrome polish etc. Fresh 1000 sandpaper may be good enough to smooth down the drill burrs around the holes, try it first. tips... You can use a $79 cheapo drill press from Harbor Freight etc but some bench mounts for a hand drill may not be rigid enough. Try drilling lugs first on a junk case (maybe the last one you tried to drill out). The most important tip... Try to con someone else into doing it for you. To quote Charley Chan: Rotsa ruck!

I bought two genuine ss/18k 'Classic Wave' Ebel watches...one on a strap for $30 and one with a bracelet for $40 plus one in parts free. No one cares much for them and I guess that's why they are so cheap...they are only 5mm thick. Rather have a 1911 but they still cost too much. The Panda looks good! 'Sonny Crockett' wore an 18k gold auto (El Primero) Sport Classic chronograph with gold bracelet on Miami Vice in the second season iirc.

"3 words.......Guns and Ammo.....nuff said. We "The People" better come together." I did not like the way kennedy handled the Bay of Pigs. I saw right then that politicians were not my kind of people. Then it was the draft. I never got called after my physical and I did not call them back. Almost joined the Air Force. Stayed 1-A half way through college. Vietnam changed the way I felt about politicians for good. I did not protest the war at all and I honored the soldiers when they came home. A few of my friends got killed and a few got crippled up. Struggled through that fool president jimmy carter, paying 12% interest on a house and more on a car. This same fool started the Community Investment Act aka 'liar loans inc' so deadbeats could buy a house by forcing banks to make loans (more on this later). Coasted through the reagan years. Ok during bushwhacker 1. Ok through bloomer bill clinton but he helped lay the foundation for the housing/bank meltdown by boosting the Community Investment Act and he failed to push the button on osama bl when he had the chance. He also lied about Monica... I did fair half way through bushwhacker 2 except he started a war in the wrong country imho Hint...it starts with the letter I. Last half of bushwhacker 2...the bottom fell out of the stock market taking a big chunk of my IRA (and everyone else's) with it. I blame the Community Investment Act and greedy banks bundling liar loans and selling them as 'investments' (it all started with that idiot jimmah carter). Look it up. Now we have this sorry excuse for a president for 4 more years. Yeah, I am happy as a dam# clam.

"My, how times have changed." You got that right! If swatch gets permission in 2013 to cut off Eta movements to swiss companies who now rely on them (after already cutting off parts kits aka ebauches)...I bet the next move will be to cut spare movements and parts to supply houses down to almost nothing. Then we will be seeing $300 2824/36, $500 2892, and $1000 7750. There will still be swisseta clones (sellita etc) and asian etaclones but they are not exactly the same when it comes to parts from what I have heard. Parts for sellitas are relatively hard to get and there are no spare parts for asian etaclones to speak of. Companies like TAG Heuer are glad to use sellita movements rather than Eta because this gives them total control of parts until they are stocked in supply houses (if ever). If sellita choses to limit parts, only the oem factories will sell them at their screw-u repair shops forcing the watch owner to send the watch to them and pay $500 for a $50 repair. This is why rolex is cutting off parts to repair shops all over the world. I remember calling ProTime (TAG's repair/parts outfit) a few years ago and a very rude huffy puffy woman told me I was "not qualified to work on their fine swiss timepieces" and therefore they would not sell me a crown. I told her I needed the crown because the watch was to be used for 'boot' in a push mower trade at the local flea market and for some reason all the 'good ole boys' wanted TAG Heuers for boot when trading their worn out lawnmowers and chainsaws. She was not amused. I actually like TAG Heuer watches, mainly because they are so cheap when purchased used. I bought a 'black and gold' TAG 1000 diver with the original bracelet last week (at the flea market of course) for $40...straight out, no lawnmowers or chainsaws involved. It needs a crystal but the crown is good.

In 2005 I bought 10 or 12 vintage style Eta powered watches from Paul/Abay and put them away after discovering they had the crystal glued to the case and the rotating bezel crammed down over it. The spring wire in the bezel snapped in between the short skirt crystal and bezel neck so it would rotate. This was not good as the crystal and rotating bezel soon fell on the floor. Looking back, it was really not so bad as I only paid $99 for some of them and $159 for the others. They also had good date overlays, pretty good cases that would accept genspec crystal/case tube, and all models with He valves had working valves. The dials are fair with the comex 5514 dials being a little better and the hands are good with a slight curve in the middle but the no-glo lume filler is too yellow on some...but no worse than genuine 'sunny bunny' watches. Something else...now new Eta 2836-2 are going for close to $200. I also bought a few of Paul's 'Ultimate!' submariners and all but one had new genuine Eta 2836-2. The last one had a Seagull clone so I stopped buying them. They were $219 at first but I caught most of them later in a 'Crazy Sale!' for $159. Fast forward 7 years and now I am giving the vintage watches a second look after giving up on DW cases with their goofy spring wire bezels, non spec case necks etc. Every one of the Paul/Abay vintage watches came with brand new Eta 2836-2 movements. No used, refurb, or asianclone junk like you see today. They still run fine but need c/o now after being stored so long and that only costs me a few hours and a few bucks each to get them back in gro. I made a beater out of one of the comex no date 5514 and it turned out pretty good. I used a Clark bezel kit, GS domed crystal, replica tube/crown, drilled the lug holes, and stuck a freshly c/o 17 jewel eta 2846 out of a $25 Jaques Prevard (aka Jack the Perve) watch in it. I also pressed some solid rods through the lugs like a 5517 using 1.4mm steel rod after boring the case to accept the rods. These watches are no longer nearly worthless with Etclones everywhere and $200 swissetas. I still have some 'nos' (Ha!) Abay 1655, oversize Seagull ST19 Daytonas, WLD n/d exp, AK, n/d submariners, 'River' SD, ex II, GMT etc (the WLD AK use the same 36mm case/20mm bracelet as the n/d exp). 'nos' replicas...that's a new concept. If you keep junk long enough...it becomes 'collectible'.

I like this forum because... It's hard to find people who take great pride in wearing a $200 reepleeka. No one here takes me seriously. I have not been banned yet. ...and that's as good as it gets. I still miss Stilty though.

My DW 5513/1680 cases are nowhere close to oem specs but they have good casebacks although the gasket groove looked to be a bit shallow. I might make a plain bezel to work with a domed 19 crystal and put a fantasy watch of some sort together using one of the cases and see how it goes. Maybe put an eta with a sterile dial in it with an unsigned 7mm crown from J Borel. I also noticed a genuine or oem spec case tube was a wobbly fit. They sure are pretty though.

"Very new to all this but I have been lurking in the shadows for a while. Now I feel ready to take the plunge and would like to begin with my "grail": A vintage Rolex Explorer I with tritium dial. Anyone can recommend a maker?" I put a few together and here is what I did: 1...start with the dial and hands, genuine or replica, with dial feet for Eta, DG, rolex etc depending on movement to be used (if possible) notes... *genuine trit dials are pricey, replacement T25 dials with Luminova are good too (any dial will work with an Eta if you cement it to the calendar spacer) *try to use a slow beat (21600 bph Eta 2846 etc) movement, not a 28800 bph model (2824/2836 etc), any dial will work with an Eta if you cement it to the calendar spacer *DG 2812/13 etc (21600 bph) is not as easy to mount 'no feet' dials on but it can be done *rolex 1520/70 really needs proper dial feet, (if using a date movement you will need a shorter canon pinion and hour wheel, sweep sec pinion is the same) *Etas are a lot cheaper than rolex! *get a movement spacer for the movement/case combo if you can (may require a little bit of machine work), do not use a plastic spacer but go with a metal spacer and case clamps/screws, sometimes you can cement the dial to the movement spacer without a calendar spacer...'Stilty's Spacers' etc 2...measure the OD of the dial and make a note 3...find a case, genuine (1600, 16000, 16200, or replica case) that will work with the dial note...use a case with lug holes if at all possible and drill them to 1.3mm, then shorten to fit and polish the tips of a set of submariner springbars 4...get a proper 1016 crystal, I use GS PA 464-64C because they are the same spec as genuine and only cost $9 or so 5...get a bezel, a DJ bezel will not work because the 1016 crystal has a thicker sidewall (and top) note...the bezel may have to be 'professionally' fitted if it is aftermarket 6...if using a genuine 1600, 16000, or 16200 case, the standard tube and crown will work (sapphire cases use a 5.3mm tube with a 6.0mm crown), replica cases will usually accept genuine tubes and crowns so it's usually best to go that route 7...decide on a bracelet type...folded, rivet, or later model 8...read all you can on the forums about 1016 projects 9...find someone on the forums who will help you after you get the parts (some members may have a few parts left from projects) 10...disregard all the above and try to find one already assembled (best idea imho) Good luck!

correction: DW case neck...28.06 to 28.08mm.

I have a few DW cases, 5513 and 1680 and I ordered Clark's bezel assemblies for them because of the goofy crystal that comes on DW cases plus the spring wire bezel. I am no better off. Why? Because all the DW case necks are too small...every one of of them, and an oem spec or genuine crystal will not work. DW case neck...28.06 to 26.08mm. Genuine case neck...28.17 to 28.20mm. Later MBK case neck...28.20mm (on two 1680 cases). What happens when using the DW case and Clark's or oem spec crystal retainer ring? The crystal is loose on the case neck and a genuine or oem spec (Clark's for example) crystal retainer will not clamp the crystal tight enough to seal (or stay on the watch if it gets bumped). What is the fix? There is none unless you have another inner bezel made to clamp the oem spec crystal tighter. What am I going to do? Probably use the Paul/Abay cases I have with Clark's bezel kits because they have the correct 28.2mm crystal neck. They are very close to MBK on the outside except for details...dial window size, crown guards, gasket in the case instead of caseback, no gasket under the crystal retainer etc. The Paul/Abay cases will work fine with Eta movements where the later MBK 1680 cases I have are closer to accepting a rolex spec 5512/13 dial and 1520/1570 no date movement. Both MBK 1680 cases originally came with Eta 2836 movements. Any 'free' advice? Buy a case that will at least accept an oem spec crystal and use a Clark's etc bezel kit if the one that came with the watch will not work.

Looking at the 7mm crown on a modern submariner with a gasket on the outside of the case tube, a gasket inside the crown cap, and two gaskets inside the case tube is impressive (the gasket on the outside of the tube is basically a dust seal). But it all depends on one little gasket between the case tube and case. Take a vintage seadweller with the same type of 7mm crown with a few detail differences... That's fine and dandy but it all depends on the little bitty gasket in the helium valve and the tube to case gasket. Some may say the case tube threads seal the case in addition to the gasket, but not much. The only way the case tube could seal is to have tapered pipe threads and it does not. Loctite on the threads provides very little protection against leaks. Gasket sealer might be a little better. What does this all mean? The huge crown and all the gaskets are probably mostly BS (imho). A 1980's GMT, OPD etc was rated to 100m with a 5.3mm crown. With a thicker crystal and the same crown/tube they would probably go 300m too.

"I did have the opportunity to talk to him once or twice and in all honesty he was not a nice guy." I bought parts and a few watches from him at watch shows in the early 1990s when he worked for SMH (now Swatch) in Lancaster PA and talked to him quite a bit. He was a bit 'distant' but always nice to me and his prices were reasonable. 'distant' in this case = seemed like he would rather be somewhere else

"Seems wrong to wear a divers watch that has such great pedigree but can't even be able to take a quick dip in the pool!" Yeah, times have changed. I was around when a new 5513 was a little over $300, and a 1680 or 1665 not much more. Passed on a new Milgauss for $260 at an AD when I bought something else for the same price. The Mg was a dud back then. Now an original dial for the 1665 might be $5k. No way on This Green Earth would I get one of these things wet now. Imho that is why they make Citizen, Seiko, Casio, Timex, etc. " Problem is, if it floods, some parts are hard to get, others are impossible to get." I took a closer look a while back at my very few Frankensteins and all are apart now except for a 1570/75 with a genuine 1680 dial that I will leave in a DW case because I do not have a better case to put it in. All genuine rolex movements will be put in genuine cases or sold for parts...let someone else worry with them. I might still use a genuine crown or something cheap and plentiful on a replica but no more genuine movements or dials/hands. One exception...genuine QSDJ dial on an Eta powered sapphire DJ. Lots of QSDJ dials around. It's hard to beat the piece of mind wearing a swisseta or Asian powered MBW/MBK/cartel watch etc. Any time I wear a genuine rolex or F-stein with rolex movement, I worry about it locking up, getting wet/dropped etc and needing part$. Wearing an old rolex today is like H.I. McDunnough said in 'Raising Arizona': "Well...it ain't Ozzie and Harriet." So...what do I wear? Today, it's an old 'stem wind' Benrus Shock Absorber. How old? It had a lead caseback gasket. "There you have it."

"Gen (Bracelet + Endlinks + Spring bars)" One springbar in the clasp appears to be brass or gold plated with no indention in the center like oem. It's a small detail but it shows up on this super nice watch. HEV valves... I made some and here is what it took to make them: one foot by .125" section of 316L...38 cents from online metals dotcom (I figure abour 3 dollars shipping each by dividing total shp cost into the whole order) various cutter bits for Sherline lathe...$5 O ring...20 cents spring made from ss feeler gauge...50 cents (a real pain in the azz to make with what I had) About two hours cutting/cussing time on the first valve. $0 labor cost (can not charge myself). The more valves you make, the faster you get...up to a point. I cut the 316L to size using the Sherline XY tool mount and cut the O ring and spring grooves using a 'WR Smith' tool rest adapter with hand held graver. This can all be done on a 'WW' lathe by hand since the valve is so short it is not hard to cut the entire valve shaft to 1.1mm by hand. 'WW' lathe = watchmaker's lathe that usually takes common 8mm collets. Mine is an old nickel plated C&E Marshall that I paid $100 for including a bunch of collets. It uses a leather boot string for a drive belt but some WW guys use a rubber O ring. It is so old it has twisted cloth covered electrical wires with a big Bakelite plug. Zap!! Stick a piece of the 316 rod in the lathe and cut the shaft to 1.1mm, cut the gasket and keeper spring grooves, cut the valve head to size (1.9/1.95mm on this one) and cut it off. Polish the valve head. Do not know if all valves are the same or not but this is a duplicate of what was in this particular case...a gift from a TRC guy in the UK (Sept 2006)...no serial number. Easiest way to go on low buck projects (Asian or eta mvt, regular cartel dial etc) is to bore the case and make the HEV valve so it can be pressed into the case and sealed with gasket sealer of some sort (I use ThreeBond), and skip the case grinding, O ring, and spring. Drilling the case can be a big problem...cut the hole off-center, break the bit in the case, polish the O ring seat (or figure out how to cut it to a smooth finish) etc. I polish the seats using a pointed wood dowel mounted in a battery Dremel tool with Simichrome polish. Practice on a dud case first so you won't make a dud out of your good case. The case in this example already had hole a bored in it but if you start from scratch with a no HEV case, you might be in for a real treat. Besides boring the hole in the case you have to grind a relief inside the case to accomodate the valve spring. It has to be cut to the correct depth so the valve will work with the spring. In other words...it has to be real close. Best way to do this is to cut the relief in the case, then cut the HEV valve to work with the case thickness. Get all that done and the only thing left is to grind a flat spot in the movement spacer (Eta etc mvt). Nothin' to it. I am not looking for any orders...

You might swap out the link with the screw head on the wrong side.

"I dont really agree with this VRF post." Me neither. The vast majority of VRF types probably believe if it is not signed 'rolex' that it is not any good, no matter what it is. "A good aftermarket crystal will pass a pressure test. I have done it many times with my watchmaker friend and his rolex pressure testers. Plexiglass is plexiglass. As long as its a proper spec crystal and fit the watch, it will pass pressure test." I have also found this to be true. I can usually tell ahead of the test if a certain crystal might cause trouble....too loose or too tight on the case, bezel too tight or too loose when pressed over the crystal etc. Some crystal material is brittle and some is not...I have seen some crystals that you can twist a quarter turn and not crack, and some that crack with just a slight twist. Brittle crystals will often have tiny cracks running from the bottom edge of the crystal skirt up to the top edge of the crystal retaining bezel. These cracks are hard to spot, especially on watches with rotating bezels that cover the crystal retaining bezel. You can look straight down around the edge of the crystal (mounted on the watch) with a 10x loupe and bright light to find the cracks. Before installing a crystal, look for nicks or scratches on the case neck where the crystal mounts on the case. If someone has pushed a blade too deep under the crystal retaining bezel and pried up on the retaining bezel, they can make scratches and nicks that will cause a leak. Also look for case corrosion around the case neck etc.