rolexmaniac88

Again, congrats on a great purchase!

BTW, does anyone knows if the gen ETA has been serviced by George or BK? What i mean is properly greased and everything?

Fellow members,

a friend of mine, who is unfortunately not part of our community, wishes to purchase a good replica of an AP Royal Oak (the 38mm version). I'm not really acquainted with this watch so cannot give him any sort of knowledgeable advice. Does anyone know what is the best version? I know MBW got one. WM9 as well.

Thanks for your help and time,

Rolexmaniac88

unfortunately, hands are wrong for this model no?

that happens to me all the time. We don't notice these things!

wow!!!

is BK going to be selling the v2 bracelet separately?

Why ? Is the V2 bracelet better than the V3 version?

i think the only improvement you could make about the WM9 V3 is a gen insert. That is all there is. Some speaks about the crown being too far in the case, but i am not THAT of an expert to notice anything !

Wear it well, this is a beauty i am thinking of getting pretty soon

Where did you get the box? is it genuine?

really, you find the price expensive ? I thought it was a bargain (especially compared to EU prices in stores)

1 hr and 35 minutes- $2550.00. The last minute might be fun to watch.

not fun at all in the end ! Sometimes, it happens and sometimes it doesn't. Strange.

Great job with this 5513 ! Wear it well ! The 1680 has always been one of my favourite.

I haven't seen this post previously and i cannot help but wonder what is this submariner with james bond nato ??? It looks like an early 16610 because of the lugholes. Where did you get it?

I always wondered about the wm9 pearls tho. In pics it looks like a dome, how is it in person?

I have the same impression, the pearl looks rather odd. However, this replica is just wonderful, like others said here, we reached a stage, the stage were identifying the copy from the original is becoming trickier and trickier. I think about getting one actually but with a beautiful nato !

well thanks to everyone for all your help. i'm currently browsing non stop vintagerolexforum for my precious.

Here's one. However, i didn't know that it was possible to have snowflake hands with normal dial. Was a tudor ever issued like this?

@redwatch: i wish! that's the one i'm looking to buy (maybe). I don't own it!

@stephane: will do. Thanks.

This forum is just amazing. I've been wandering here for a while now, it is time to donate!

what do you think?

This is it:

@gofaster: please do ! Thank you

@gavidoc: i have a 9411 all original blue dial and blue insert but instead of being bright it has turned dark blue. It is kind of beautiful. Is the blue of greater value than a black one ? The price is

@redwatch: i bet your happy, your watch is superb !!!!

@vlydog: thanks for the link. No luck so far but still searching...

PS: is timezone another option?

Dear members,

I just fell in love with Redwatch's Tudor. It's just stunning! However, i don't have the courage nor the capacity to build one of my own. I got a little money saved up and consider very seriously buying a genuine tudor snowflake with or without date. What ref should i get (9401, 9411 or else) and where can i find them? I'm in EU and you just can't find them easily. Does anyone know a good seller, website that sell a couple of those? I'm a little afraid of eBay. I don't wanna get ripped of with a semi genuine with an aftermarket insert, etc.

Also, what should this type of watch cost?

Thanks for all your help.

Rolexmaniac

What a beauty ! Thumbs up ! Especially the dial, its texture, its...breathtaking !

However, question to red watch: for the members whom might be interested in such a project, how much did it actually cost (excluding the countless hours seeking parts, etc)?

congratulation again and wear it well !

Thank to all of your for your answers. Indeed, as Nanuq says, its the buyer, not the watch!!!

Dear Members,

I'm looking to purchase a gen rolex. I saw one on www.subgmt.com and i wondered if anyone ever bought anything from them. I know one of the members has a few submariners from this website but i don't remember who it was.

It just to check that what they sell is indeed 100% genuine, good quality, good service.

Thank you in advance for all your help,

Rolexmaniac

First Rolex modding venture:

I've chased after the idea of a 6538 big crown for some time. I finally decided to pull the trigger after I had some positive feedback form members here on rwg.

I started with Yuki's 6538 case set complete with big crown, upgraded bezel, and riveted stretch bracelet.

I'm didn't want to jump right into modding a $850 case set without a little practice first. So, I ordered up a cheap 5517 from Trevor and had at it.

Softened all the sharp edges, soaked the insert in pool chlorine, cleaned up the CGs a bit, softened the dial and relumed and recolored the indices, and "gilted" the hands.

I chose this method of reluming since I read that the tritium in the indice's and hand's integrity tend to degrade over time. I confirm this with a simple google search. I'm not a fan of super clean lines on indices as it tends to make it too new looking.

Not bad for a first effort.

Love the vintage look you gave to this one!

BTW, i'm on my own 5517 project. Who is Trevor? Is he a watch collector?

Thanks for the nice words on my Milsub.

CWP is Classic Watch Parts. A Clarks Tropic 19 is a good budget option, it might be a tad closer in shape to the genuine. What I like about the Clarks T19 is it has the look of an over polished superdome.

So I received a mail from Eurotimez. They don't have a 5517 MBW replica. What they're offering me are the case of a 5513 (without fixed lugs) with the dial and hands of a 5517. Also, the caseback will not be engraved. How can i fix this? What do you reckon?

Are the lugs of the 5513 will be right for a 5517 (2mm)? Will i only have to fix them afterwards? Is fixing really that easy?

So far, if i want to do it right, i think i would have to purchase or do the followings:

- an MBW 5513 case

- an MBW dial

- toomuchgear's hands

- a clarks tropic 19

- a CWP 60min bezel insert

- fixing the lugs

- aging the dial

- a slowbeat 2846 mvmt

What else?

I think i have to find a watchmaker able to do all of this before starting to getting all the pieces. Isn't there any simpler way of doing it?

Geyperman is right, you'd be much better off starting with a MBW 5513 -a better base to work from. See if Eurotimez can swap the dial out with a 5517 dial, he sells a 5517 dial for the MBW's separately.

You would need to drill out the lug holes to 2mm and insert a steel rod for fixed bars and solder them in place to have fixed strap bars. For a quick and dirty method, could just solder springbars in place. Swap with a CWP 60 min insert, use MkII Watches MOD hands and call it a day. BTW, I have a set of vintage lume MkII hands for sale . Note that some 5517's were still marked 5513 on the cases so its not such a big deal with the stampings.

Good luck on your project.

Thanks for the advice. I saw your project 5517 and i must say it is a real beauty !

I'm sending a mail to eurotimez to see if he can do it. Where can i find a CWP insert ? Shouldn't i change to a tropic 19 aswell or whats on the mbw is fine ?

Can you also PM the price of your set of hands. Thanks again.

Don't use this watch as starting point, it's based on a 1665 case, completely innacurate for a 5513/5517 project.

Milsub needs several mods, so it's not a low budget project. A 5513/1680 MBW case it's better than the one you pointed at.

Tritium on vintage Rolex watches is dead, so they're no lume at all, otherwise the aged tritium look is one of the most important things on these watches.

Thanks, yeah that's what i meant by lume. Sorry. But i want to age the dial.

But isn't there any swiss ETA copy with fixed lugs and correct dial with correct engravings that would do the trick ? And then i can work mainly on the outside of the watch. I don't think i would be able, for now, to order every part and then assemble the watch by myself.

Hi everyone,

I've been reading this forum for quite some time now and i'm ready to finally launch my first projet. I'd like it to be a 5517 (or maybe 5513) Military Sub. I'd like to start off with an inexpensive watch ($400 top would prefer $250).

Then, i would probably switch with a tropic 19, lume the dial, add a gen tube and crown, maybe find a more accurate bezel insert.

In order to deliver a fine replica without spending $1000, what do you think i should start with and what mods should i do?

For example, i saw this new replica on josh's website: http://www.jpc8118.com/0000000000rlsv01002-vintage-military-submariner-asia-2836-p-7699.html

What do you think: I like the dimensions 40x13, close to the gen (40x14) but what bugs me is the caseback!!!

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Oh and one more thing, i'm in Europe and therefore looking for someone who knows how to lume a dial in this area or even better tips on how to lume it yourself!