alligoat

Ditto on the modern. The early 24-703-0 crown had a taller crown emblem. I guess those would run from the early 80's up til around 1990 maybe.

Interesting and informative write-up. Although I own a number of reps w/ asian 21j movements, I always consider them somewhat of a gamble- how long will they continue to function? I still consider the noob as a better entry level sub than the VIPmariner. This one from Paul w/ the asian 2836-2 would be another possibility: http://www.pam111.com/product_info.php?products_id=1165&osCsid=22b19b413f6c19613c01fac59f526fea This watch has the updated crown and tube, the new rehaut engraving and maybe a better pearl. CG's look decent and a WM pearl for $10 is an easy swap. The asian 2836-2 is still a gamble, but if worse came to worse, maybe you could find a true Swiss eta and swap it in there- the only tricky part might be moving the datewheel overlay over to the swiss movt. I guess with any Rolex sub rep, you'll always know it's a fake, but sometimes it's better to beat up a fake than to tear up a gen. I always try to avoid wearing a gen when the work gets ugly! That's when I enjoy my reps most- when the going gets tough!

Beautiful watch, JoJo. That gold case looks fantastic, and everything else is pristine, too.

If you want to buy a gen Datejust, first you have to decide what you want and how much you want to spend. Ermitage Jewelers looks OK, but it's a typical retail establishment- prices are probably 25% higher than what you'd pay on ebay. Ebay is really pretty much a wholesale marketplace, but as Freddy says, you have to know the seller. Look for lots of sales, excellent feedback and good pics on the site. DJ prices run from around $1250 for a 1601 (c.60's-70's) up to over $10K for gold and diamonds. I would think you could find a nice used one for $2-3000. New from one of the grey market resellers- maybe $3500-6000. On older watches you may have to add in the cost of a service- $200-300. If anything looks funny, you need to walk away. Beckertime in Dallas sells alot of Rolex, DeMesy's, Bernard Watch in Austin, DJ's are the most popular watch in the Rolex line, so there's lots to choose from- esp. now.

COOL!

Do a search for Slartiblast's post on datewheel transfers- this is the closest thing we've seen lately to a correct datewheel for a 1575 series Rolex sub rep. 16800 datewheel is the same as an MBW vintage datewheel- open 6's and 9's and round top 3's, but it goes in the opposite direction from the eta datewheel.

Ha! Instead of a Seiko, I bought an Invicta last week- I'm kinda liking the Miyota 8215 movements in them and you can't beat the price. http://www.shopnbc.com/product/?familyid=j177927&rap=2774&WT.mc_id=CMail_1489479458&cm_ven=cheetahmail&cm_ite=product&cm_lm=cm:mac@hmdbuilders.com

I don't know if a Clark's 116 will fit or not. It's kinda hit or miss trying to fit a crystal on a rep. Might be best to just stick w/ what you have there. Datewheel overlays are tricky also. The correct datewheel for this watch is the one on a Rolex 1575 movement- flat top 3's and open 6's and 9's (except 26). Hard to find a copy of that one. Next might be an old MBW open 6's and 9's w/ round top 3's- close, so to speak. Even a Rolex datewheel w/ correct fonts and closed 6's and 9's would be an improvement like www.cubic-works.com sells. Once again, maybe you just enjoy it the way it is- wear it and age it. If anyone really goes gaga over it, it might be best to admit it's a rep. The gens are worth $15-20K these days. Don't even bother w/ a higher beat movement- the gen is a 19.8k beat anyway- the asian 21j is 21.6k. Someone mentioned Andrew was coming out with a better rep of this watch- might keep an eye peeled for that one. The great thing about your rep is it didn't cost much and you can still enjoy it. 99.9% of the people have no idea what watch it is anyway.

For an asian 21j, it's not too bad. The date font jumps out at me, but I'm betting some days will be better than others. A good datewheel overlay would correct that- this looks like the standard asian 21j datewheel- no overlay. Pluses are the lugholes, decent crystal, good bracelet w/ the detachable end links, 6mm crown. Considering what you paid, it's a good deal. Coming up with a kick-a$$ 1655 certainly ain't easy.

If you're a "Sub guy", then it's worth it to buy a gen. If you're only so-so about Subs, a WM9 should be fine. In my case, I'm pretty much like Stephane, it's my go to watch and gen is the ticket a lot of the time. Three gen subs, a couple of frankens and a bunch of reps. It is nice to wear the reps when I'm 'beating' around though. I realize prices are less here in the states- you could find a decent 16610 for $3500-4000 and maybe for $3K if you looked hard and were patient. You see new on ebay for $5250 from the reseller guys.

Welcome aboard. Yes, you're in the right place. The bad news is that there's a ton of reading for you to do! You might even check in the Rolex forum for the top 5 Rolex reps- it was a post sometime last week- that would be a good place to start. Also, don't be afraid to try the search feature. Lot's to learn, and it can take a month or longer. good luck

The crown/stem position of the 2824-2 very closely approximates the Rolex 3135. The 2836-2 is lower and similar to the older 3035 movt. Since the rep makers like to use the 2836-2, that's why the crown is too low on the reps which need a higher crown position like the 16610 or the 16234 (Datejust). Any rep that is copying the 3135 movement and using a 2836-2 will have a crown position that is too low (or the rehaut will be too shallow- a common fault of the early 16610 sub reps). I don't know enough about the 14060 which had the 3000 movement or the newer 14060M w/ the COSC 3130 movement, but my guess is that the 3130 is basically a 3135 w/o the date feature and therefore has the high crown position. But crown position doesn't bother me as much as some people. But it is so simple, it would be nice if the rep mfrs would get it right- just use a 2824-2 instead of a 2836-2, it can't be that hard.

I think the Eromariner V3 would be a good case. If you were to fit a 2824-2 in there, I think you would get the correct higher crown position. I know BK is doing that on his new WM9 YM. The 93150 bracelet is perfect. So all you need then is the correct dial. For the record, the gen 14060 is slightly smaller than the 16610- smaller bezel, insert, crystal, & case. But a good rep based on the Euro V3 would work fine, IMO. Just need a good dial.

A 2836-2 will fit- I have a clone in mine, doing just fine.

That'll work. Just get the silver hands. All eta's take the same size hands (2824, 2836, 2846)- 90/150/25.

Here they are in yellow: http://cgi.ebay.com/Hands-ETA-2824-2824-2-yellow-for-Rolex-Tudor-Submariner_W0QQitemZ250423057726QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a4e609d3e&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

nostalgia2000 on the bay. maybe he refers to them as Tudor hands for eta, or vice versa

Certainly Clarks are good- the lume is pretty decent, I used them on on my 16800 franken- not quite as bright as the Ziggy relumed matte dial, but still good. MKII sells a set of eta mercedes hands for around $45- supposed to be excellent lume, but haven't tried those yet.

The watch looks OK from what I can see, but that leads to step two- buy the seller. Is he/she reputable, can you have the watch checked, stuff like that. Wholesale on a watch like that would be around $3500US, so $2800 is a good deal, but it's got to pass the smell test, as we say here in the states. If it smells fishy, get out of there.

You can buy hands at Clark Watch Supply for Tudor/ETA- the standard sub hands. Goes by Nostalgia2000 on ebay. 2846 matches 2836, 2824, etc. 93150, you can buy from eurotimez- chris has it for about $75. You can buy the 580 end links if Chris doesn't supply them, from Freddy's and my close friend, Faisal Ali over at wholesaleoutlet990/watchbandman50/jewelryoutlet550 for $10-20 dollars. Clark's also has the correct pearl for the insert, as does Ofrei.

Beautiful group of watches JoJo. The 1530/1560's were 18K beats and were supplanted by the 1520/1570 in the middle 60's (19800bph). That 1005 is a beaut, but the 1002 is the epitome of Rolex classic design- understated, but classic.

Definitely time to find that local independent watchmaker that'll reset the hands. Tell him it's an ETA, and don't mention replica. It's a $20 job If you're in the US, it's only $10-12 to ship it back to bk. He can pick up the return shipping, of course.

I'm familiar with: 1. Tiajin Seagull 2. Nanning 3. Hangzhou Seagull makes a 2824-2 copy- ST-21, as does Hangzhou Here's a link from watchuseek: http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=746 I don't know if the ETA factory in China is in Guangzhou or not- I couldn't track it down- maybe not on the internet- esp. since ETA is stopping the sale of ebauches.

Here's a used jubilee off of a 16013 for $850- used in decent shape- the seller says a new one would run $2800! Seems a bit steep to me, but a new TT Dj would run over $6K these days. Try ebay searches for Rolex Jubilee bracelet and Rolex jubilee band- more shows up under band. There's a guy in Ohio- hitec-pro- as I recall, who has had gen jubilee TT bands for around $200- sells a lot of other gen Rolex parts.

Just think of all the money we've saved!