alligoat

Yes, Arthur, from what we've seen, the quality may not be what it once was. Like you say, if you can find a truely old case, it's worth buying it.

The replica market is constantly evolving, and MBW is no exception. We saw this earlier this year with Cats MBW 1680- the bezel construction wasn't as good as on previous versions. Looking at the pics, it does appear that the 5513 case on Euro's site may have a thicker bezel than the 1680 case. Was it an oversite, they used a 1665 bezel and didn't realize it, or is it a change? It might be best to email Chris and ask him. Maybe include a few links to back up your case and illustrate your concern. They do a fair job of watching the forum, are receptive to suggestions and are willing to help. If MBW quality is slipping, maybe they can take it up with the factory. And maybe by calling it to their attention, you can get a decent case from them. Either case should work, but if Cats bezel assembly wasn't that good, you have to realize that maybe these MBW cases aren't as good as they used to be.

Although all Valjoux 72s are basically the same, there are levels of quality. Rolex took the basic V72 and made improvements as did other watch mfrs (Breguet comes to mind). But to build the V72 powered 6263, you'll need to find a chronograph w/ the V72 in it- ebay is a good place to start. Expect to spend $700-1000. And then plan on spending $300 or so to have it serviced. No point in building a $2000+ watch w/ an unserviced movement. Since you already have a watchmaker, maybe he can help you. Like Toad, I would not recommend trying to learn on such a project w/ such a high degree of difficulty. Just gathering all of the correct parts is an experience in itself. But if you are successful, and are able to find a watchmaker to build it for you, it will be satisfying to know that you've replicated a $20,000-40,000 watch for $2000-3000!

Beautiful job, lani! That Yuki dial is very nice and Zig did a great job matching the hands. These Explorers are growing on me, the gold, the 3-6-9, the classic understatement. Wear it in good health!

Decisions, decisions, 16800's- gen left, franken right or should I opt for vintage- 1680 Been wearing the franken for a couple of days- love that Ziggy relume! Oh, heck, maybe I'll do the O&W on a croc strap- military Friday (not that I was ever in the military)

+1 Thanks for the update Freddy.

If you go w/ the 2846, you'll need a set of eta hands. go to nostalgia_2000 on ebay- Tudor hands (which are 90/150/25)will work. Datewheels won't swap. An overlay might- always have to check window location. rolex date windows sit slightly inboard of the eta date window, hence the overlay. A lot of asian 21j's are set up w/ the datewheel in the Rolex position- ironic??

The stem screws into the crown. This also means that it can come unscrewed. If it does, maybe you can rescrew it back into the crown, or if it's too short, you may need to get a new stem. You'll have to open the case and remove the stem from the backside- depress the release, etc. At that point you might want to consider a watchmaker. ETA stems are easy to get, not so sure about the asian 21j's though... I did have the stem threads on a gen 1680 sub crown strip out- had to get a new crown at that point. Stem was OK.

The silver one from Eurotimez is your best bet. It would be correct for a late 70's GWSD, same time frame as my gen 1680 (1978)which has the original silver DW. Slartiblast and Stilty have shown some stuff in the past, but I don't know if it's ever come to fruition.

I bought the white dialed ExpII from Watcheden- same crappy date mag and I'll have to check the crown- it might be 7mm. I just put the watch on top of the desk and went on to other things. Fixing bad date mag is tough- maybe I can swap out w/ a noob crystal if the Watcheden one isn't glued in there! But yes it does have black marker surrounds and the dial print isn't too good....

Fun of your cyclops, shoot JB, I like that 7mm crown you got there!

Thanks for posting this Hike.

A 702 crown won't fit on a 703 tube and vice versa. A 702 was the first 'trip-lock' crown- two o-rings in the tube and one at the base of the crown- nothing on the outside of the case tube. The 703 has two in the tube, one at the base of the crown and one on the outside of the tube. The 702 assembly came out in the early 70's and was replaced by the 703 assembly around 1980. So when subs like the 1680, 1665 and 5513 go to Rolex for service, it's not uncommon for Rolex to change out the crown and tube to the 703 assembly. Rolex considers these parts serviceable- throw away and replace in order to maintain WR integrity.

You have a 702 crown. It's the only crown w/ 3 dots other than the 703/704 crowns. All previous 7mm crowns had no dots below the crown (700, 701). And marsupilami is your guy to go to- I believe that's his site on ebay! You can use the 3.0mm x .35 tap to clean out the hole on your case- same as with the 703 tube. But 703 and 702's are not interchangeable.

They are tough to find, short of having a watchmaker with a Rolex parts account. Keep your eye peeled on the bay, frequent VRF, but their parts are usually priced dearly. The rep bezels usually fit poorly, if at all.

He has the 1675 dial, also.

Your pearl looks pretty decent. Amazing how noobs change as far as pearls go. Some are zits, some are OK. Here's my old noob from 2006- WM pearl, trimmed the cg's and installed a gen crown and aftermarket tube- it's been rode hard and put up wet as we say in Texas! Stole the dial and eta out of it to use in my Euromariner and swapped back in a DG2813.

Dial feet for a 2836 are roughly 2:30 and 8:30. Eurotimez sells dials- MBW/MBK's for vintage, 5513/1680/1665.

Actually this is a forum for people with OCD- obsessive compulsive disorder- we just parade around discussing replica watches as a form of therapy. But seriously, this is where you can probably learn just as much about real watches as you can on any gen forum. Take the Comex 1665 SD- the model you are trying to emulate- yes, the pearl is all acrylic- the site you linked to shows an all acrylic pearl- you just need to look more closely. Yes, your watch already has lugholes, but they are too small. Rolex uses a 2mm springbar pin and those are bigger than typical pins- look at them almost sticking out og the gen watch. So to get the more correct size, you drill out the lugholes with a #55 cobalt drill bit (maybe 1.3mm)and then repolish the lugs. Same with the crown guards- look at the gen then look at yours. Yours are typical CN lugs, too fat and they envelope the crown. You need to file at the base and create something thinner- look at the gen. These are fine points, granted, but the closer your watch looks to the gen, the better your replica is and the less likely you'll be called out. But remember, in the wild, if you happen upon a WIS, you will be spotted in a heartbeat. He may not call you out, but he will know you're wearing a fake! The Comex 1665 SD is very rare and valuable and you wouldn't be wearing it as an everyday watch- maybe to a watch show of other OCD type people- but not as a beater everyday- it's just too friggin valuable! Welcome aboard!

here's DW on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/DIY-CASE-SET-WITH-ASIA-7750-MOVEMENT_W0QQitemZ330390600234QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4cecd07a2a Now this doesn't have a dial, or a bracelet, but you could contact David and basically order what you want, dial, case, etc. But remember, it's still an asian 7750, but if it works you're in good shape and his cases are the best w/ the assymetrical pushers. Sure the case is too thick, but who's gonna notice. Also, if you have to get the A7750 serviced, it may run a couple hundred dollars, but then you should have a very dependable watch. But anytime you buy any watch with an asian 7750, you're taking a chance. It helps if you have a watchmaker that'll service it for you.

Ran across this on the bay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ETA-Valjoux-7750-Tourbillon-Automatic-Gold-Chrono-Watch_W0QQitemZ200420200816QQcmdZViewItemQQptZWristwatches?hash=item2ea9f99170 This could be what you're looking for!

Nice job on the lume. Those are never easy and an exercise in patience. I remember Ziggy saying once he applies the lume w/ a needle or pin- very precise work. The pearl looks good, but it's the wrong one for that model SD- should be an all acrylic one w/ no metal surround. Not a big deal- alot of the replacement inserts for the 1665/5513/1680 have the metal even. Trimming the cg's and maybe drilling the lugholes are other mods to consider, but certainly having a nicely lumed rep is a great first step, along with the swiss eta. Congrats.

Yes, LHOOQ, I see the similiarities in taste!

DW looks fine, with small serifs on the ends of the 3. I'd also be interested to hear how the 2893 stem lined up, but the watch definitely looks very cool. Certainly a top notch franken.

Sure, LH! I kinda think of it as a mini-explorer. Like the Rolex 5500 Explorers- Air King case, Explorer dial. Thanks RS. It's always nice when you can put something cool together for not too much money. I like this watch so much, I don't even wear it as a beater- I save it for those occasions when I'm not tearing things up!