alligoat

Interesting. So 24replicawatches steals the pic- do they send you a rep watch or just take your money? If someone were truely repping a 6542, you know we'd be all over it!

I already know that you can do some pretty neat stuff with the lathe, JB, but this is even better!

This Chronotac watch is similar and sterile if you have a dial and movement it might work: http://cgi.ebay.com/70s-vintage-submariner-chronotac-automatic-watch-/290426483798?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Wristwatches&hash=item439ec47456 They used to make a vintage GMT, but I can't find it now. Might try google! Also one of the dealers out of England- Homer, I believe, used to carry a line of no-name knock-offs- Sub, etc, but they were modern (sapphire/mineral crystal) w/ eta 2836-2's.

Can't tell if it has the T's on either side, but it sure must be about the same timeframe. Cool!

I'll buy that. I had missed the T's, but the 63-64 timeframe is consistent as far as the switch to tritium goes. Reminds me of the 3-6-9 5513 sub dial in Skeet & Urul where the T<25 ended up on both sides of the Swiss at the bottom. Rolex did some unusual things in those days.

One other thought, aeromatic, is swapping to a cyclops plastic crystal- wonder if a T-116 will work? Maybe you just stick with the no cyclops look...

Just the dash between Oyster and Perpetual. Pie-pan dial would seem typical for that time frame

I see that the 1803 also has your signature underline dial, JJ! Circa 1963???

First of all, I wouldn't mess with the bezel which is the metal part. You're not going to be able to find a part that fits probably. Now for the insert, if you have an SSD, Super Sea-Dweller, your best bet is to do the BK mod- buy a watchmaterial pearl from www.watchmaterial.com. Then remove the insert- the black part, pop out the pearl, enlarge the hole slightly and install the new WM pearl w/ a dab of glue. While you're at it, file down the back of the insert and then reinstall it w/ a little bit of glue. At that point it should sit slighty lower in the bezel and look a little better. Good luck.

Cool genzo! That's what makes this place so neat- people from all over the world. I'm headed to Italy in September, Roma, Firenze, Venezia, and Pisa with the wife and my mother in law! Need to brush up on my Italian. Maybe I can visit 'Watches in Rome' while there- can't afford to buy anything!

Funny how the lugholes have disappeared and you've got a bracelet with SEL's. The rep mfrs just keep updating stuff! I also like the CN datewheel. This Chronotac Explorer 2 has worked out well for me at $70. And it's not a fake, it's a knock-off! At least no one will ask me if it's real! Those gen vintage Explorer II's are getting so expensive, it's crazy. Oh, shoot, JB, I missed the sapphire/mineral crystal on yours.

OK, thanks Slarti!

I like this seiko that I just picked up for $140 delivered from Harold @Yobokies over in HK. He also has lots of other modded Seikos, very reasonable. You can find him on the Military Watch Resource website in the sales section. He does a 16610 mod which is cool- uses a SKX009, I believe.

DRSD's started w/ MKI dials and went up, but they started all over w/ the GWSD at MKI again. Same thing with 1680 dials, Reds started at MKI and whites also.

I guess all things considered, it's not a bad price. Isn't that a 'buy it now' price in Italian? Needless to say there's not a lot of Italians here in Houston, so I'm kinda rusty!

What do you do about the cut out for the date window?

Nice job, B! Those cg's look great and the aging of the dial and hands is definitely 'vintage'. Congrats!

Interesting, JB! I took one look at it and thought the bezel was too fat/oversized, but maybe chrgod is right in that the minute marks on the dial make it look smaller...

Looking good RS! I'd love to hear abnout the gilding of the hands from ss to gold- they look great.

Boy, he's sure 'parted' that watch out. Wonder where the bezel went! And too bad he took the DW off the movement. A while back it seems like one of these movements went for $1250 or so. But $1500 or higher wouldn't surprise me.

I just picked up this Yobokies '656' military mod watch It's got a bead blasted finish. LOL, I had Harold change the seiko hands to mbenz hands. I'd love to get a bead blasted bracelet for it. I know Avitt does the DLC, but there must be someone around who does bead blasting...

Beautiful job, B! It's just like having a gen, only it glows! Congrats.

+1

+1 on the frog coronet- read about those dials a couple of months back on VRF. If the GMT hand is off, I would think it would just be a matter of resetting it. Weak date mag could be the crystal, or if rolex serviced it they could have put a new date wheel in there- they could give a hoot about date mag, IMO. I replaced the DW in my 16800 gen beater- found a NOS DW- improved date mag 100%. Rolex had serviced the watch around 98-99- gloss tritium dial (which still glows well), new DW and new clasp (with lines thru the fliplock). Replacement DW's have closed 6's and 9's and round top 3's, typically!

Looks nice, JB. A new set of hands would also be nice. I'd bet your wife could care less about an 'original condition' watch! Which movement is beating inside?