alligoat

They're around- start with this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/Watch-Movement-Repair-Adapter-Securing-Screws-Washers-For-ETA-2836-2834-2846/152962498055?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 and keep looking

Cavi, have you seen that 43mm Seiko sub with a black dial and bezel insert? That would be cool, IMO!

Here's another one of my budget replicas- I call it a 16238 with a $50 raffles dials case and a $25 riyi002 jubilee bracelet.That's a gen DJ dial and it has a 2836-2 swiss inside. Come to think of it, it might be a 2836-1 inside- which was serviced maybe 5 years ago. If the gold wears off, I can replace the case and bracelet for $75 and swap out the innards in 5 or 10 minutes! Here's the same watch with the $25 oyster bracelet The DJ gold case isn't exactly correct, but I try not to get bogged down with the details when I'm wearing reps. The Riyi002 bracelets don't have the Rolex emblem on the clasp, I've heard of people asking for them but I've never been able to get a bracelet with the Rolex crown on the clasp .

I'd figure $600 to $750 each. I was looking at a couple of DDs over a Silix Prime the other day- maybe pick up one of those and put a swiss eta and a gen dial in there. A gen dial is whatever you have to pay on ebay or wherever. As for the 1016, I'm not sure what you do these days. JMB is on an extended vacation so you can't get his case setup these days. You could check out rafflesdials.com and maybe get a case there and a modern dial. Check out Yukiwatch.com also for vintage dials. If you find a used Rolex 1500 or 5500 case, you can use it to build an Explorer. I think those cases will take a 2824-2 movement with a movement spacer- raffles #2 spacer.

Swiss movements are still around, they just cost a couple of hundred dollars instead of $100. This watch has a swiss 2834-2 in it. The dial is from Rafflesdials This 1016 Explorer has a swiss 2824-2 in it- I call it the updated version of the 1016 since it has the 28,800 bph movement. I typically just gather up the parts and have a watchmaker put them together. Mymanmatt built the DD, and my watchmaker put the Explorer together.

Aren't the 17 jewel movements a thing of the past? I would figure anything new is 25 jewels these days.

LOL, that's a MBW/MBK- 'orig polex design' and the opaque white pearl in the bezel insert- maybe you could pop that pearl out and get a Yuki or Athaya pearl to replace it. And age the dial and hands, or replace them with something with a little more yellow color.

Who knows! But do you feel lucky? Personally, I'd go with a TD here or on the other rep sites. https://puretime.io/featured-products/sea-dweller-two-tone-ss-yg-126603-arf-1-1-best-edition-904l-ss-yg-case-and-bracelet-a2824.html

Pricing in the USA is considerably less- hundreds of 16610s for $7000-8000 usd. And NOS is already 10 years old these days. https://www.ebay.com/itm/STEEL-ROLEX-SUBMARINER-16610-NOS-CONDITION-AUTOMATIC-PAPERS-AND-BOX-Z-SERIAL/123762272178?hash=item1cd0ce67b2:g:t6EAAOSwyOVc03Py

Nice job and you saved 30-40% over what a late model 16610 would cost.

"pf-838.com is listed as the URL on RWI in the TDs listings. That’s what I’ve been using." Josh isn't on RWI AFAIK, he and Trusty got bumped from there a long time ago. But I do believe this is his new site- these guys keep getting bumped by the Feds and are constantly changing websites.

I found it! https://www.pf-838.com/ it's gone from 818 to 828 to this!

The noob crystal is basically a press in deal- from the top with the gasket. Removing the bezel is definitely a chore- a very slow and difficult operation where, as auto says, you have to insert a knife or razor and slowly work around the bezel to lift it. The trick is to get it off w/o bending the bezel. I recently tried to remove one on an old noob- F520117- and bent the bezel. I'm looking at maybe turning the case on a lathe to take down the outside of the rehaut ring to see if a gen crystal and retaining ring could be fitted to the case along with a gen bezel assembly. I'll look around and see if I can find the old crystal and gasket. Although the noob was a good sub at the time (2008), now days there's much better more gen like cases- Watchmaker, WM9, late MBWs, TW Best, the ST 3135 case, TC and now the JF16610 if it's still available.

That's the thing about vintage Rolex bracelets- they're pretty thin- but that's the way they were. For more beef you could buy a solid mid link bracelet from rafflesdials. http://rafflesdials.com/20mm-solid-stainless-steel-all-brushed-vintage-93150-submariner-style-oyster-watch-band-bracelet-strap-marked-rolex-crown-logo-for-rolex-14060-or-16610-or-16800/ And like DH said, get a pair of 580 ends from WSO990 to be more correct.

You'd accomplish nothing using a 2834-2- it's 28800 beat and like you said, has a wider diameter with an extra ring to support the day function on the outside of the movement. Your best bet is a 2846-2 for the 21600 beat. The only advantage to your older 2834 with 17 jewels is that it's a swiss eta, but probably needs a service.

The lug holes are a little bit high, but there's nothing you can do other than enlarge the holes to accept gen-like spring bars. The bezel insert looks good, stock dial and hands are ok. Big things to do are to trim the crown guards and replace the crown and tube. Maybe you could just replace the crown, but you won't know until you get a better crown. An Athaya crown and tube are only like $50. That Helenarou dial is awfully white- could use some aging.

http://vintagewatchesmq.com/minhquy/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=853&category_id=96&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 Minh Quy is a dealer over in Saigon. He can be a little tricky to deal with, but I think he eventually comes thru in the end. Rubyswatch is another Vietnamese dealer- check her out also http://rubyswatch.com/Products/watch-cases/sub-c5513 Phong also has the 5513 case but he's probably quite a bit more expensive- around $1000 maybe

It would help if you posted a link to the auction, but what you describe does sound fishy.

Does $450 for a non running mbw watch head only with gen crystal sound like an alright deal? I'd probably get the cartel watch and save the money for some mods. An MBW has to have the lugs drilled, cgs trimmed, and a gen crown and tube (or the Athaya 702 crown and tube assembly) are needed. Plus with the cartel watch you get a working movement and a bracelet.

Excellent advice DH. I did something similar with the cartel 5513 with stubby cgs- filed the cgs inside and out, filed the seat down between the cgs, installed a 702 crown and tube, drilled the lugholes. It's still running fine on the dg2813 and is somewhat WR- I haven't been past lite swimming. A 2846 would be a good low beat swap on the TT 5513.

You're still going backwards! First you need to pick a model. Secondly, you probably ought to just buy a rep that you like and then figure out what mods you can/want to do to improve it. And remember, there's two types of etas these days- swiss and clone. Anything coming from the rep mfrs these days is probably clone, but a clone can be serviced and do ok- it's just not the same level of quality as a swiss eta. A while back I looked at a JF16610, it has the 3135 copy movement- the SH3135. So you buy the JF 16610 and then you have to get the movement serviced (tickleshoes or misiekeped) and spend maybe $400 with a gen datewheel. At that point you have a pretty nice watch with $850 or so in it. Or you can go with the 116610 V9- that is probably a pretty decent watch OOTB, so you just enjoy. Maybe at some point you put a gen crystal in it, maybe you don't. If you get it with the 2824-2 or 2836-2 clone, maybe you have to service it after a while- no big deal- maybe $100-150. The options are pretty much unlimited, but it will be a lot easier when you pick which model you like first.

$40 is what it's worth- meaning it's a bad rep. This is what's referred to as a Canal St. rep. The dial is awful and the date font indicates it's just a Chinese movement with the date window too far to the right. The only plus I see is that the case has lugholes which could be enlarged. It's a sub case btw.

Andrew has a similar watch for $348- it's in 36mm http://www.trustytime.club/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_14&products_id=17639 He also has it in 40 mm with a clone 3255 for $10 more http://www.trustytime.club/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_452&products_id=17170 I don't know about the clone 3255- I'd stick to the 36mm model myself with the eta- don't know if it's swiss, but at least it can be dealt with easily enough.

Looking good C! Glad to see that you finally got it together- enjoy!

Assuming that you have a president's bracelet, you could buy a bracelet from rafflesdials and take a few links off of it http://rafflesdials.com/20mm-signed-stainless-steel-golden-president-watch-band-bracelet-strap-flat-end-pieces-for-vintage-36mm-rolex-gold-day-date-watch/