automatico

"The gen part does fit ok but was not the problem. It was worth a try but now I have looked closer into the movement the finish of the some of the parts are not great, a found a cog with 4 teeth missing on the date corrector mechanism and a screw head broken off on part of the keyless works parts!" Sorry to hear the movement turned out to be a tur(d). I had high hopes. I guess it's back to eta 2836, date overlays, and epoxy.

It looks a lot like my DW case, CG droop and all. ...but I am more of an 'expert' on shimming 1960's Ducati tower shaft and bevel gear assemblies than rolex cases.

"I have however discovered a problem with the movement, when changing the date manually it is fine but at 12 it changes over in 2 day jumps instead of the next day! Any ideas???" Maybe not enough tension on the the little 'pointer' that locates the date, shown between 12 and 13 in the top date wheel pics and between 5 and 6 in the lower pic. Should not be hard to fix. The first batch of genuine 3035 had this problem but it is not made like the 3135. The movement looks good. I have a few 152xx and 162xx cases, dials etc that have been parted out...maybe get a couple of these movements and fire them up. I could give my wife one just to see how rugged they are.

"Luxury brands are luxury brands because for the most part people are idiots and live their lives by what others (Marketing gurus) tell them to think/like/wear." +1 Then there is the nagging question of what to buy... omega or rolex? patek or vacheron? cartier or piaget? I can not decide. Moving on to really important questions in life... Betty or Veronica? Ginger or Mary Ann? Wilma or Betty? All six!

"Hmm, accuracy aside, could you use this 3135 clone in a vintage rep and use the gen spec dial and hands that yuki sells?" The 3135 has been around since 1986 or so and is still being made today so it is not very well suited to a vintage project. Having a 28800 beat rate does not mix with vintage rolex watches either. What it IS good for is to make 16610, SD, sapphire DJ etc and be able to use genuine or genuine spec cases, dials, date wheels, hands etc. This is a big deal imho. Rather than putting an eta 2836 in a genuine or replica case with a date overlay and genuine rolex dial cemented on, you can buy a used 16200 etc case, dial, hands etc and have a super accurate DJ for not a lot of $$. There are two potential problems with this movement though: 1...Reliability. 2...Parts. We can only hope it is as good as the Seagull ST19. What is needed is a few guinea pigs to buy 'em and try 'em.

"Does anyone know about the pointed crowguard sub when were they available..." I do not know much about them but here is a 1959 'pcg' 5512 on rolexforums .com: http://rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=252508 I am not a big 5512 fan but have a non hack 1570 and thought about making one up using an IG44 dial, low buck DW case, Clark's bezel kit, used genuine crown etc. I may flatten the sides of the case like genuine to make it look more realistic although the DW submariner cases with rounded sides are Ok (to me) after I got used to them. I have a DW 5513 'round side' case with an IG44 dial and 1520 and have showed it to a lot of people but not one of them noticed the rounded sides. If someone is handy at modifying cases (drill lugs, flatten case sides etc) the DW case is a good low buck Frankenstein alternative to high buck cases. Add a Clark's bezel kit and away you go... As time goes by and vintage rolex sporty watch prices go up, up, up...I believe the 'Frankenstein rolex' with aftmkt case, bracelet, dial, genuine movement, crown etc will be popular even with some genuine vintage rolex types for an 'everyday watch'. The difference being that we might brag about making our own Frankenstein watch out of parts from near and far and genuine watch types will not admit to what they have. Tabularasa415's post about buying a F-stein from a VRF member shows that they are slowly leaking into the Hallowed Realm of Straight Arrow Collectors.

"wonder what happened to this gen cgs? mabe we forget that years ago these subs were tool watches and may not have been perfectly finished as todays subs there where so many cgs shapes back then" I had an R42xxxx 16750 GMT that had been damaged somehow at the lower crown guard and it looked similar to this after the AD 'smoothed it out'. The owner traded it in not liking the 'smoothing out' job and I bought it for $900 in 1991. It looked like new except for the CG. It's long gone but it had an oyster bracelet with a long clasp cap similar to a submariner but no extension. I still have the clasp somewhere.

Thanks for the comparison! I have used Star Time rolex type springbars since they first started selling them with no problems at all. I have a few new genuine plus Star Time springbars and if I have both out at the same time, I mark the genuine springbars with a Sharpie so I can tell them apart. Star Time springbars might be made by the same company that makes rolex springbars. Who knows? Star Time also has a lower priced line of Asian made rolex type springbars but I have never used them.

"I thought it was dw. Cgs look pretty good. Price is very good. Just wondered if anyone had their hands on one." I bought two...here is the scoop: There are no numbers etc between the lugs on either end. There are no obvious signs of removal and the case ends have a brushed finish, maybe caused by grinding the numbers off, who knows? Anyway they did an excellent job and the case is very well finished. The inside of the caseback has the lettering and numbers roughly ground off. The crystal, crystal retainer, and rotating bezel are not oem spec. The rotating bezel is held on the crystal retaining ring by a spring wire...not snap on like oem. Both bezel pearls were missing. The settings are in place though. The case neck is oem spec so an oem crystal and Clark's bezel kit will work. The case is threaded for an oem case tube. I do not know if a genuine case tube to case gasket will work or not. I bead blasted the inside of the case backs to smooth them out and the writing became barely visible. It says: Montres Rolex SA...Geneva Switzerland...Patented...Stainless Steel (above center). And below is 5513 (!!) These two are 5513 cases...not 1680 as advertised and ordered. They are 5.2mm thick and the DW 1680 cases are 5.6mm thick...I just now compared them. The ad says: "DIY CASE SET FOR 1570 MOVEMENT." "THIS DIY SET IS FOR YOUSELF DIR PERFECT SUBMARINER 1680 WATCH." I left good feedback because it is not worth the trouble to send them back. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose.

As we say in the South... You done good!

Getting parts in the USA has really tightened up. Dealers usually will not order more than they absolutely need because they are afraid of being accused of selling parts "out the back door". Europe is no doubt different but I would be careful not to flood the dealer with parts orders because if rolex Europe is anything like rolex USA, they closely monitor how much (parts) each dealer is getting now compared to the past. When parts orders jump up, they jump down on the dealer with both feet wanting to check repair invoices to see where the parts have been used. It is hard to believe how bad rolex USA is now compared to 20 years ago. I doubt new rolex watch sales are very good around here now...there used to be three rolex AD in this area and now there is only one. I have not been in a rolex AD in 12 or 15 years and almost everyone I know who used to wear a rolex now wears a quartz watch or no watch at all.

"How do you guys feel about it? Technically we are knowingly supporting illegal activities and when you think about it we're not better than shoplifters. I must admit I sometimes feel bad about it." If it really bothers you...buy replicas from other members in the 'Watches For Sale' section. This way the crime has already been committed and you are just buying a watch from a friend. To qualify as a shoplifter...steal one from another member. Does it all bother me? Deeply. Very deeply. More than anyone will ever know. Some days I can not get out of the house. Yeah sure...

"I have a new version MBW 5513 but I thought I read somewhere that it was not suitable for fitting gen movement, is this not the case (sorry for pun, couldn't resist it)?" I have never examined a 5513 MBK/MBW case and do not know about the internal differences but the newer 1680 case I have is very close to a genuine 5512/13 on the inside. I laid a 1520 with a 26mm IG44 5513 dial mounted on it inside the MBK/MBW 1680 case and it looked like it was a pretty close fit, case screws and all. Since a 1570/75 with a calendar spacer is a bit thicker than the 1520, I doubt it is as close to being a 'drop in' as the 1520 with 5513 dial in the same case. The movement being thicker from the stem center to the dial would cause the stem to be too far to the back side of the case tube. If the MBK/MBW 5513 case uses an eta 2836 with the calendar works removed and the calendar spacer still mounted, it may be the exact same case internally as the 1680 but I do not know what movement etc they used.

There used to be a few dealers, members etc on here who could get them but it seems the guy who sells them at the MBK store is such a p-rick that they are not buying them like they used to. Once in a while one will show up for sale but not that often now that they are harder to get. I have one of the later MBK/MBW 1680 cases and in reality it is more suited to a 5512/13 project if you want to use a genuine rolex 1520 etc movement. There are lots of posts on here about these cases if you search them out.

"I do not see anything especially remarkable about his Sub case." Thanks, that's the way I feel about it. The good thing is the USA address.

Anyone seen this case before? eBay 251144079225 In other words, is it the same as any others that we know of? I have a DW case and this eBay case is not the same so it's probably not a DW case unless the sides have been flattened out. It is in the USA so no delivery hassles for a USA buyer but it seems that $585 is a bit high for an 'unknown' case (to a cheapbas like me anyway). The guy also has a 5513 dial for $89. Maybe turn a ratty AK into a '5513' for about $700 plus a bracelet. I have a couple ratty AK. (everything I have is ratty) I made a '5513' out of my DW case and IG44 dial but the rounded case sides make it look like it has been hanging around an 'all you can eat' seafood buffet. Call it the '5513' Fat Guy.

I just now found a '729' 1665 on watch-international.com. Maybe it has a better bezel assembly.

You might be able to find one of the old 'Paul/Abay' 5514 comex cases from 5 or 7 years ago. The dial window is 25.95 (looking down at the outside of the case) and inside the case, the dial seat is cut big enough to take a dial up to about 29.2mm. Drawbacks: You can not enlarge the dial window much at all because the case neck will be too thin. If you use a large diameter dial (much over 27mm) you may shroud part of the markers. It came with a 'K Mart' bezel set-up and you will need to use a Clark's etc bezel assembly on it (mine came with the crystal glued to the case and a spring wire retainer type rotating bezel stuck down over the crystal...no crystal retainer ring etc). Pluses: It has a 'working' escape valve. They are fairly cheap when you find one (except the 'working' escape valve tends to pump the price up). The case neck will work with a genuine spec 5513 crystal. The case is threaded for a genuine case tube. Afaik they all had the '729' comex signed caseback. The caseback gasket is in the mid case, not the caseback like genuine but for the $$ it is a pretty good case. I got it during one of Paul's "Crazy Sales!!"

"I'm in Orlando Florida. Long ways from eu. I appreciate the offer though." Orlando is not too far from where I am. If no one will help (dealer etc) send me a message and i will take a look at it as long as it is not a chronograph.

It's a bet. You win or you lose. If I was to order a replica watch from a foreign country, I would give it a 50/50 chance of... Arriving at all and being in good condition if it did. You could figure it another way...arriving at all 25% and being in good condition 25% but this is making two bets out of one. Anytime the watch arrived in good condition, I would figure I won the bet and would Be Happy. If the watch did not arrive at all after a 'reasonable' time (a question within itself) or arrived broken, I would see if the 'dealer' would help before I did anything at all. If the 'dealer' would not help, I would ask if a forum member might take a look at the watch. If I paid by paypal, I would absorb the loss every time no matter what and never complain to pp...it is part of the bet.

"Can anyone tell me what these grind marks are on the back?" Marks like that are caused by the hinge in the clasp rubbing the links in the same spot for a looong time.

"...it's very hard to get hold of TC by e-mails..." I sent him a note 8 or 10 days ago wanting to buy some stuff...no reply. Seems like this is the way it is in this 'hobby'.

"I never thought I would be saying this but I am sick of buying those amazing and cheap Zeno 7750's I have too bloody many now." Many moons ago Hamilton ('Swatch' was SMH back then) closed their USA outlet stores and Hamilton Khaki 7750 chronographs hit the NAWCC shows for around $200/$250 each nib (depending on if you knew John Gelson or not (ex prez of SMH USA...he was in charge of the liquidation). I bought about two dozen and thought I would have them forever. Nearly did. All the models I had came with 17 jewel movements and later on there were higher grade 25 jewel 7750 models but they were in retail stores and went for a lot more $$. Nib 17 jewel Eta 2801 Hamilton Khaki manual wind 'field watches' were $50 to $60 at the shows. I remember Bernard's selling nib 17 jewel auto 7750 Hamilton chronographs on a mailing list for $275 in November 1997. I talked to a fellow who worked for SMH at the time and he said as far as he knew, every part of the chronograph except for the movement was made in Tw or China and back then many of their automatic Omega chronographs etc had China made bracelets...both all steel and steel and 18k. Don't know about the cases though. About this time, nib ss/18k automatic Omega Speedmasters with D-D/2894 were going for $750 at the Orlando FL NAWCC show. I bought a few steel 'Schumacher' Speedmasters for $450 but no tutones. They came in a big box made like a wheel on an F1 car. Sold them all a long time ago for a few bucks profit. Now there is a used one on a strap on eBay for $2095 b-i-n!! (item 370643352705). I have always had 100% hindsight...It's a gift.

!! I'll be in for a couple if I can afford it!

I bet if you followed the average Replica Hater Poster (RHP) home you would see that he has a lot of fake and illegal stuff. His computer has pirated programs. His (leased) Lexus has Jiffy Lube oil in it (not $10/quart 'Lexus Certified Oil'). He bought his gen-u-ine rolex...On Credit! He watches bootleg DVDs. He wears fake Oakleys. He is waaay behind on his house payments. His daughter ain't his but he don't know it. His wife has fake ta-tas. ...and a girlfriend. His 'girlfriend' is really a she-him. He has a sock stuffed in his undies. etc, etc...