alligoat

Quite all right- I should have prefaced that those were RolexRalph's answers to my question.

Very nice group of watches, kruzer. Oldies but goodies.

I looked at Skeet and Urul, at that point the insert didn't bother me so much, but the dial should have said 'Swiss' in my mind, predating the T<25 era by 5 years or so, date wheel is another issue. But this was Ralph's response. Somewhat ambiguous, but I thought I'd share it w/ the rest of you.

Interesting idea. I just got the Trusty 'noob' special last month- a YM w/ the white dial, black onyx markers http://www.tt88time.com/index.php?main_pag...roducts_id=1714 Maybe I'll throw a brown croc strap on it and see what it looks like!

Very nice 1665. Nice pearl, crown and tube, drilled lugholes, trimmed crown guards... Were the dial and hands relumed or just aged? All in all, this is about as far as I think one should go with an MBW rep. BTW, I get a kick out of it when you guys converse in German. I know a little French, Italian, and Tex-Mex, but nicht Deutsch.

This is the aftermarket T-135 http://cgi.ebay.com/Cyclop-135-To-FIT-ROLE...%3A4%7C294%3A50 the one for the 1601 is a T-118 The 16200's take a 295-C1 sapphire crystal.

The plastic crystal for the 16014/16013/16030 is a T-135, as I recall. Clarks watch Supply sells it on ebay- look for nostalgia2000. I don't know if they have the sapphire conversion crystal or not- but you can find it on ebay- that's where I see it all the time. There is an earlier crystal for the 1601 Datejust which I'm not sure of- that watch was produced from the early 60's to late 70's, but frankens are typically made with the 16000 series and 16200 series cases.

That's pretty nifty, SB. The lume job looks pretty damn good. Heck, the whole process is fantastic- way to go!

I've never seen a press on rotor. Like Freddy says, you screw it back on. It sounds like a very strange 'asian 2836'.

I agree with Nanuq and Freddy- no bakelite bezel and the dial is a later replacement- tritium wasn't used in 1958. Sure, it may have been replaced by Rolex, but it's not original. Still a nice watch.

I like the dark brown croco straps, but on the modern Explorer, the black you have in mind may be best.

I can certainly see why luxury watch sales are slow these days, even the rich are watching their dollars. Of course, wives will still buy purses and handbags- those are necessities! All in all, I would think there are some bargains to be had on luxury watches- you just have to be persistent and shop around. Certainly I've noticed prices have come down on ebay for watches and I pretty much consider it a wholesale market place, but you have to know what you're doing. And I would think retail dealers will come around sooner or later- they've got rent and salaries to pay.

If it's only a month old, maybe Josh will send you a new movement- but the postage is more than the movement probably. Here's the movement that goes in the beginmariner- scroll down to the DG2813: http://www.ofrei.com/page1119.html As you can see, at $15.40 it's cheaper to replace it than to service it. If your cousins have jewelry stores maybe they have watchmakers who could help you out. It might be easier than you trying it yourself. There's other guys around here who are in NYC, I'm sure someone has a watchmaker in your area.

I would agree with Cats, I think the stem might be too short. I'm having the same problem on a clone 2836. Just have'nt gotten around to taking it apart- otherwise the watch keeps good time, but I don't wear it that much- just when I'm doing dirty jobs and don't want to tear up a good watch!

It's probably time for you to start looking around and find a local watchsmith. Possibly he could regulate your asian 21j movement in your beginmariner. If not, maybe he could replace the movement for you. Judging by your current time, I'd figure you're somewhere in the EU, or thereabouts. You might also check w/ some of the EU members to help you find a watchsmith in your area.

Welcome aboard. There's a ton of reading for you to do and the search feature is your friend. But you've come to the right place. I will give you a bit of advice- 18K triple wrapped gold is not all it's cracked up to be- all of the gold plated reps are a risky proposition- the gold might hold up or it might not- that's why most people recommend sticking to stainless, or two-tone if you still insist. Full gold plated is not for everyday wear.

I agree 100% TeeJay, these are excellent watches to practice on. I've bought a number of these type of watches to play with and destroy myself. Might even consider one of those Explorer II's.

I think this is the seller that used to go by the name Luenfat. Like Freddy says, you're basically experimenting. And if you had an old 1680 dial with asian dial feet, it might be as simple as changing out the dial. Of course, next is the crown- maybe just put a rep Rolex crown on. Change out the clasp to a Rolex clasp and you're there. But at the same time, you could buy a $100 Rolex rep and save yourself the time, work and possible disappointment. I've pretty much found that these asian watches are worth about what you pay for them, i.e. not very much. Some do OK, others self destruct.

I really don't have a problem with Pug's white markers on his 1680. But that's because I have a gen 1680 from 1978 that has the same white (tritium) markers- they don't glow, but they're still a beautiful white. I don't know why some turn yellow and some stay white. But I sure like my white markers. I don't know if more exposure to the sun make them turn yellow or what... I agree with Pug, fix the DW clearance issue, drill the lugholes and put in some gen springbars and it's a great watch.

Learn something everyday here! Either way, it's still pretty darn hot. I would have figured 230 degrees F would have been hot enough. 20 years ago the US was supposed to convert to the metric system- by and large it still hasn't happened to this day. But at least w/ watchmaking, I'm learning a little bit more metric, day by day.

Wow! Like gavidoc, I didn't see those pics last week. And I just realized you EU guys work on the centigrade scale. For us yanks, that would be 446 degrees, Farenheit, if my math is correct. That's a pretty hot oven!

And this morning I found this one over at Phong's: http://www.jewelryandwatch.com/index1.html Look under the special prices section w/ the watches for sale Scroll down to the 7031 $1,900.00 w/ the 7734

It would have been nice to see a pic of the movement. These have a VJ7734, if I'm not mistaken. earlier ones had the VJ234. There are reps out there- Indyberetta has one, but I can't remember which exact one.

I'm with highoey, get a watchmaterial pearl, or maybe you could find a gen insert for $70-100 and put it on.

I thought Phong had 702 tubes a month ago for $150- of course, those could have been aftermarket tubes like the 703 tubes we all use in our modern subs. But checking his site, they're no longer listed. But I do expect some interesting news shortly on aftermarket 702 tubes. As gavidoc pointed out, with a Rolex parts account, you can certainly do better. And a lot of times, I shy away from gen parts if they get too expensive- just looking at VFR makes me wonder what the heck type of crack are those guys smoking, the prices are outasight. I like using gen parts, but at some point it no longer makes sense.