alligoat

I would rate the build quality of the WM9V3 by BK as excellent. This is what I would call the culmination of the search for the perfect rep sub. For 1/10th of the price, you're getting a great rep which is basically indistinguishable from the gen. You can't tell the difference w/o taking off the caseback and looking at the movement. Some other reps are also of a similar quality, especially with modifications, and there are even the budget reps which are a good value given their reasonable price tag. I guess it's just a matter of reading enough and learning. I just ordered the GWSD from Puretime- it'll be interesting to see how it stacks up- but having only spent $223 w/ shipping, I haven't blown a huge amount so that's nice also.

I haven't read all 20 pages, but... I noticed KyleL is up on his reps- DSSD, and the 3135 eta movt, he must frequent one (or all )of the rep forums. He definitely knows more than he lets on to. It's unfortunate that someone (or a number of people) are trying to pass DSSD's as real, but these guys ought to know Rule No. 1 by now- open the friggin watch- who cares if you have to pay Rolex to reseal and test it, it beats buying a fake everyday in my book! Half these guys probably don't know what a real 3135 movement looks like either. And Rule No. 2 is know the seller! I can't believe an AD wouldn't check every used watch.

That is a beautiful watch, Arthur. The hands and dial match perfectly and look fantastic. And with that new 93150, you're set to go. Congrats.

Very nice, Red! That white dial is beautiful.

Actually it's a comparison of the Zenith 400 and the Rolex 4030 showing the mods Rolex made to the Zenith movement. This movement was used in the Daytona 16520 series. The 4130 was later and was developed exclusively by Rolex.

What the heck, I ordered a GWSD. I guess I could always put a Yuki dial in there if it bothers me. But this watch already has $300 worth of mods so I'm money ahead!

There are comparisons from time to time, but it more of a collective experience. You begin to develop an 'eye' after looking at various watches over time. It helps if you study pics of gens for instance and then compare them to reps. From there you begin to isolate certain features or 'tells' as we say, which are indicative of the gens and learn how to recognize them. You also learn about the various reps out there. You begin to recognize the use of gen parts on reps to help improve their appearance. As the reps are modded, they become more like the gens and it becomes difficult at some point to tell them apart. There's gen, franken and rep, so there's plenty to look at. How long does it take to develop an 'eye'? Well, maybe a year, maybe 3, maybe 5. It all depends on how hard you work at it, and how quickly you pick it up. But there's no one tutorial, no one comparison. The 16610 has been out for over 20 years now, and the watch itself has changed over the 20 years. It really is a learning experience and like a lot of things in life, you're learning everday, something new, everyday. Enjoy the trip. Here's a dirty pic, a 16800 gen left and a ETZ 16610 A serial right: So what are the differences between a 16800 and a 16610?

Welcome aboard Mau, You've come to the right place and there's lots of people here that can help you. As for your LV noob, I doubt the Alpha bezel will swap out with the noob bezel. And rather than replace the whole noob insert, maybe just put in the WM pearl. One of the problems with the noob bezel insert is that it's slightly smaller than the gen and aftermarket inserts. So then you'd have to file down the replacement insert which is a lot of work. Easier to just replace the pearl and leave the insert in the watch. I'd hoped by now that the noob would have come with the updated better crown and tube, but the BK ones are fine- I think you can screw in the tube fairly easily. Don't forget to trim the cg's before you put the new tube in! This beat up old noob has a gen crown and tube, Wm pearl and trimmed cg's. It's water resistant in the swimming pool, it's been a good beater! Good luck

Heck JB, that's not a bad looking watch. Put a $10 oyster band on it, it might make a good beater- of course it fits our description of beater already- the price is right! I bought this Invicta pro Diver a few months ago on sale for $104: http://www.amazon.com/Invicta-Signature-Collection-Diver-Automatic/dp/B00135400C/ref=pd_sbs_watch_33 Popped off the black insert and then I put a ss YM bezel insert on it, which fit BTW. Looks good for a $125 dive watch w/ the jap Miyota movement in it. Kinda like your $39 watch

Heuer Carrera 1964 Re-Edition For you V72 fans, a true c. 1964 Heuer Carrera in ss went for $1925 on ebay this morning.

And don't forget about WM9's site being hacked last week and redirecting to ETZ's site. Someone's messing around out there. It's no wonder Josh, Paul and Andrew are constantly changing site addresses.

Yeh, the closest you can get to a OP Date is the 6694 OysterDate from Silix And the real OysterDate 6694 is actually a manual wind watch- the rep has an auto 2836-2 and small date mag, but the case is OK and I was able to build this watch as a result- a 5500 MKII"mini"-Explorer It's not too hard to pick up 1500 Date cases on ebay, etc. Someone already will have taken the 1570 movement out of it, of course. And you can buy a gen 1500 Date for $1000 and up.

MBW does make a 16610 rep. Chris at Eurotimez used to sell the Euromariner which was an MBW case and a noobmariner dial. The case has gen like bezel construction, but it leaves something to be desired. Here's my A serial w/ lugholes, 93150 bracelet w/ 501B ends, gen insert and a DW that sits too low. Quick dirty pic. I trimmed the cg's, drilled the lugs, gen crown and tube, gen tension ring- lots of work and the bezel is still loose- problem is the aftermarket bezels suck and gen bezels are tough to come by. BK did send me another noob DW so I'll fix the DW sometime, but I'm more worried about the loose bezel- it popped off this morning doing laundry- found the click spring in the hamper! At least it didn't happen at the gym. So like mjmj says, "Don't be a pug! Get a BK-WM9 V3." Then you won't have to do all of the mods I did. (just kidding mjmj- the pug deal is an old forum joke!)

Aren't you referring to the bezel insert? In that case, you clean off the old glue and reglue. Just make sure you don't get any glue under the bezel itself (the silver metal ring) or it might not turn. GS Hypo-cement is so-so, epoxy is better, but more permanent, maybe rubber cement/contact cement. Gorilla glue has a tendency to grow and is less suitable!

Ha! By the time Thunderball came around, Sean Connery was already wearing a hairpiece! That one pic of the dial from the side looks like a nice coat of matte varnish has been applied! Instant patina???

Rolex uses better o-rings! Actually, I agree with highoey. Take the Submariner, you're buying a great $500-1000 watch for $6K. It's all in the marketing, but it's very good marketing because Rolex watches also hold their value!

I have the same NN on a movement in my noobmariner- I believe it's for Nanking Watch Co. Anyway, its' basically a DG2813 asian 21j movement. The Miyota 8215 is a replacement and often times the hands will fit. You do need to use the DW overlay from the noob movement, that's the only tricky part, swapping it over. The 8215 is a very good dependable movment. I've got a sub from Invicta and a YM knock-off from Charles Hubert ($100-150 watches) with the Miyota movement inside- great beaters. good luck.

Wore this to work today since all I do is sit behind a desk This baby wears big at 38mm. The V22 is 14 lignes. Funny how the later V23/72 at 13 lignes were fitted in smaller cases- like 35 and 36mm.

Man, Arthur, that would be my holy grail Since I would never spend that kind of money on a gen gold 6238, I'd love to build a rep of this watch. I tried to buy a gold Heuer Carrera V72 a year ago on ebay, figuring that was the closest I'd ever get to a gold 6238 but got beat out at the end- went for over $2600.

Thanks for the side shot, JB. The later GWSD's had a crystal with a lower profile, and of course not all DRSD's have the high dome. Sometimes a high dome can be a liability- I know, I smacked my rep 1680 w/ a gen T-127 on a concrete bench at the rifle range a few months ago- put a big gouge on the cyclops and another one across the body of the crystal- still got some more polishing to do on it.

That's cool you could put a T-19 on there, you need to shoot a side pic to let us see what it looks like. It's cool that the pearl mod worked out- looks great. What about the HE valve, does it work? And yes, you need to do the cg's. Good job! You can't beat these budget subs!

Yeh, the subdials are spread out a little further on the rep, and the lume dots are missing at 3, 6 and 9, but I agree, the dial isn't that bad. The next step would be to get DW to put the guts and dial in a 6239 case and machine a smooth bezel for it- similar to the DW 6239 w/ either the 7750 or the 7760 movement. Then you could run a gen T-21 and crown and tube w/ the assymetrical pushers and have a nice rep. Better subdial hands would also be a plus.

I just wanted to post acouple of pics for a comparison: A gen 6238 from Interwatches Next a rep 6238 I wanted to do a comparison of the dials to see what the differences are... thanks

Actually the V 72 is 13 ligne, so it's apparently smaller than the 7736 which is 14. The V71 was also 14 ligne. Don't know about subdial spacing.

Thanks Slice. It's looking good, date mag is excellent. It looks very similar to this one from Silix: http://www.silix-prime.com/rols117-p-1767.html I'm liking the 1675 more and more- even w/ the incorrect dial- 'Oyster Perpetual Date' but who's gonna notice!