alligoat

Maybe enlarging the holes on the inside of the lugs would help also....

Looking good Chi! But I didn't sell you the case, I sold you a pearl and a working HE valve! The case came with it. I'm amazed you were able to fit a Clark's T-19 on there- I'd tried an Ofrei crystal but it was too big, as I recall. Age that pearl and take down the outsides of those cg's and you'll have a fine watch. It's a great resurrection and I'm excited to see it. P.S. I miss your dog! I've got a runtweiler that is always sticking her tongue out- I've thought of making it my avatar. Her name is Alli!

On the 727 Rolex changed the balance and upped the beat from 18,000 bph to 21,600 bph. This modification entails the replacement of 15 parts, screws and clamps. It makes the movement more precise than the older movements. This is from "Rolex Daytona, a legend is born". All phong is going to do is replace bridges and make the 72 look more like a 727.

Thanks for the kind words boomer. It's always a pleasure to help someone out and I'm happy to do it. Hope your noob bracelet works out well for you.

I echo Freddy here. I had a rough time finding a T-16- they're just not around much. I finally snagged a couple from Sheartime off of ebay in the $75/ea range. In the meantime my watchmaker had fitted an A&S crystal to my 5508 and I'm still using it at this time. I'll eventually swap to the T-16, probably after I get through slimming up the lugs!

Looking good , sly! Like highoey says, you,re as close to gen as you can get as far as the case is concerned, except maybe for the crown position since it's built for a 2836-2 originally.

This 5508 showed up on VRF this morning http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-JAMES-BOND-SUBMARINER-REF-5508_W0QQitemZ180603952195QQcategoryZ31387QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp5197.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5854582545250287682 The dial looks a little too good to be true to me and the exclamation point would push it to '62 or so. I think the whole watch is a fabrication of parts myself. Weak seller to boot! It's a jungle out there!

Boomer, You need to check the tools and parts section- Bruce79 has a couple of gen inserts for $85 each- that's a price that's hard to beat.

I doubt it. Josh doesn't sell much of anything that accepts gen parts- maybe a 1680 or a 1665, which would be a PT type of sub/sd watch.

I've also heard they can be tricky and don't necessarily fit.

The lugs are too fat, IMO The bezel is too deeply notched The crown guards need to be reduced on both sides and maybe shortened You can fix the lugs and the crown guards and maybe the bezel isn't too bad when you compare it to this one from Robt Maron Maybe sanding down the bezel to soften it would help- we're talking about 40 yrs of wear- old bezels tend to be fairly smooth if the watch has been used at all.

+1 what watcher says- get a DW overlay from BK.

I ordered a watch from Mary about 6 weeks ago. After a month I emailed her to check on it. She checked on her end and came back and said she'd reship. This time I got a shipment # for the EMS package. It was shipped the 30th of Novemeber and cleared Guangzhou Customs on the 1st of Decemeber. Can't get anymore info on it at this time on line. Luckily I've had much better and faster results with DW and PT- stuff gets here in 10 days to 2 weeks.

I would think sanding a little off the top of the 7020 tube would be the easiest route. Marsupilami did a run of 7020 tubes about 1-1/2 yrs ago, don't know if he has anymore at this point. I also thought the chinese had duplicated the 7020 tube, but I don't know where I saw them.

I guess with a Tudor dial, a T-19, and a 702 or 703 crown and tube you be about back to legitimate

Yep, probably a stretch rivet bracelet which has seen better days. Don't know if they can be repaired or you just pony up for a better condition vintage bracelet.

Beautiful watch J! Date mag is awesome. I like the bracelet also- the illustrious 70216!

Your specs are basically the Rolex spec- 29.5mm and 30.5mm with about a 1mm lip and the gasket is maybe 2mm overall because it slide over the case rehaut ring. Clark's may carry a crystal for Tudor- ask Gary, but his profile may not be as good as Cousin's. http://www.cousinsuk.com/catalog/4/494/1957.aspx

CousinsUK has decent crystals, they might even carry it w/ the cyclops to the right for Tudor.

The Rolex 25-295-1 would do it, but it has no cyclops.

Since wholesaleoutlet no longer carries them, your best bet might be VRM- Vintage Rolex Market for a pair of gens- $80-100, maybe. 585's are more of course. Might check with puretime and see if he'd sell you a bracelet and the 580 ends- maybe for $70 or so. It's worth a try.

Looks to me like your watch is a noobmariner. What I've done on my noobs was pop out the bezel insert and remove the pearl and glue in a watchmaterial pearl after enlarging the hole with an x-acto knife. $10 maybe plus shipping. I can also probably help you with a new clasp, give me a PM and we can discuss it- I hope you're in Conus!

Interesting note at the top of the watch section- these are produced by our sister company.

Looks like a good starting point to me. The bezel insert pearl has to go, the dial needs 50 years of aging, etc. The price is reasonable, as good as an MBW.

The two biggest differences between your case and Sheartime's are of course the cg's and secondly, his has well rounded (over polished?) lugs. Of course, how's the bezel assembly on yours? Also, your caseback is (too)deep. I was thinking about the $99 1680 case that DW was advertizing, but the 1680 dial is 26.5mm and we don't know how a movt would fit in there since it's made for a 1575. A new $10 crystal on the DW case would be easy. That case with the HE valve would make for a novel 5512! Certainly the only one in existance to my knowledge!