alligoat

I agree with Freddy. First, ETA is not going to build a 2836 w/ Rolex markings- just not gonna happen. Secondly, it's not cost effective to procure a 'swiss' eta, take it apart, decorate it and reassemble it. Not even in China. Therefore, you have to figure these are being built in China and are clones. And don't forget, it's getting harder and harder just to get 'swiss' etas these days. Lord knows how many movements are advertised as 'swiss' and are really clones! You can pay the $60 to $80 more for 'swiss', but then you have to take it to the watchmaker and have him take it apart to see- more money.

Like Kruzer says, plating and wrapped are about the same as far as we can tell. Obviously, Josh charges more for 14k wrapping, $80 less for 18k plated. We still don't know the difference- it's more than likely a chinese marketing phrase used to charge more money.

Welcome aboard! Now you have a ton of reading to do! But a simple answer to your question, Puretime is a dealer here and respected. There's no 100% guarantee, but 99% of the time the dealers here are excellent. Happy hunting.

I used this link from Paul to check my latest watch: http://211.156.193.130/english-main.jsp It worked like clockwork. Unfortunately the USPS tried to make delivery on July 3rd when our office was closed and didn't leave any notification. Luckily I was checking status today and rushed down to the PO, fearing they might have shipped it back (they say 5 working days) since I hadn't claimed it. The package was still there and I got my new Breguet Type XX chronograph today!

Absolutely beautiful. Congratulations.

That's the one.

Aren't rep dials a little better these days? I know they are still typically about a mm bigger than the gens.

Reality can be a bitch! I'm sorry but I'm afraid you might be SOL! The only thing I can think of is to see if Silix has any of the old style 7750 Daytonas w/ the running seconds at 9 and buy a whole nother watch w/ a different dial. You could build a franken w/ a gen dial and a Zenith movement, but that will run over $2k.

It's been a while since I put my noob bezel back on, can't remember if I pressed it on by hand, or used a crystal press. The crystal press (I got mine from Harbor Freight for $15) is a good too to have if you're going to work on watches.

I have no earthly idea where you can find a better dial- you're probably going to have to be happy with the standard 7750 based rep dial. Subdial spacing is off, but those are the breaks. Crown is easy- ebay, 24-703-0 and you'll have to get a case tube to go with it- gen crown won't fit the old rep case tubes and I doubt your case has the new rep case tube which is a copy of the gen case tube. You'll also need a tap and case tube wrench to install the tube. I see that freddy and I concur!

With a noob, you have to glue the bezel in. Press fit only works on a gen, maybe a Euromariner, and possibly a WM9V2.

Prowatch-Polo has just been approved as a dealer here, so he must have gone thru all of the checks and be legit. The $328 WM9v1 sub that prowatch sells is really still a very good rep- trim the crown guards and you'd be set to go. You can add other gen parts as you see fit. But I'm not sure about the eta movt being swiss- I'd figure it as a clone, but it's still not a bad deal.

Cool method for removing a bezel, gavidoc! I'll keep it in mind for my next wrestling match. The easiest way to tell if a watch is a noob is to look at the SN between the lugs- F520117. Otherwise it's something else (newer M serial noobs have the rehaut engraving, but still end in 117). Replacing a gen pearl would require a gen pearl- I doubt a watchmaterial pearl would work- just slightly smaller. Check the SN and let us know.

Removing the noob bezel is a slow and tedious project and as bertie says fraught with peril. Basically you have to go around the entire case gently trying to pry up the bezel in small increments. It helps if you have some small wedges to put in there so that it won't go down on the opposite side while you're prying and lifting on the other side. BTW, the noob insert is slightly smaller (OD) than the gen or aftermarket inserts. This means to install another insert, you have to file it down all the way around. Best option is to pop the pearl, remove the insert, enlarge the pearl hole w/ an x-acto knife and install the Watchmaterial pearl for $10. Then reinstall/reglue the original insert back in. I'd never waste a gen insert on a noobmariner. Save it for a WM9 or Euromariner.

No. It's a different watch. It's a Basel 2008 Sub with the ceramic bezel insert in stainless steel- it's really a fantasy model since Rolex won't make that watch till next year. 2008 saw the 116618- blue dial and bezel in YG and the 116619- blue dial and bezel in WG. This year is TT and next year is ss. But it's not a bad watch, but not on the level of the WM9v2 in terms of accuracy since Rolex doesn't make it yet. Prowatch has the WM9v1 though, not a bad deal.

Isn't the KU24 an asian 2824-2, aka a clone? Sort of like the KU-92- an asian 2892-2. Of course, if George services it, it should be fine. And of course, it's a simple swap to put in the 2824-2 swiss, and it would have the proper crown position

The chinese have been repping the 2892-2 for quite a while now. WM9 is selling it as the KU-92. With a servicing, it would be quite a good movement. With this movement, the crown position on the side of the case ought to be correct.

Certainly it's pretty cool when you can buy a rep like this and save money. If you can find a watchmaker to service it for $200-300, it's a great deal. Then you've got $500-700 in a watch that should be very reliable instead of $2K plus.

The quality is not bad, but the case size is too big- 40mm vs 37mm for the gen and DW copies. Pushers are symmetrical- they should be assymetrical as for the v72 movement. The subdial at 6 mimics the hour hand since the Lemania/Venus copy movt is bi-compax, not tri-compax. The best deal I've seen lately is the same watch from Spin Master with a 7750 modified to manual wind, correct sized case, serviced movt and assymetrical pushers, but it runs $600. DW makes one w/ a 37mm case, assym pushers, and a 7750 for around $450 or so. Don't remember if Josh has one with the Lemania/Venus w/ small case and fixed 6 o'clock subdial in the $200+ range.

Thanks for your reply, avitt. Now you've got me thinking this might be pretty cool for my Euromariner.

Andrew doesn't have a sub which will take the generic 295-C2 crystal and gasket, AFAIK. I looked at his standard black sub- ROLSUB001- it's a noobmariner- SN F520117. Same with the 'Perfect" also a noob. The 'ultimate' is an older CN case w/ the cyclops too far right, SN D320840. If you have a noob, maybe someone might have a noob crystal and gasket to fix you up. Good luck. Or you could buy the $108 noob w/ asian 21j movt and just swap in the eta movt.

I agree with freddy on this- the inexpensive vintage subs definitely leave something to be desired. I looked at the pic on Josh's site and the dial looks better than the one that you got. But at this point, your best bet is going to be to try to tone down the yellow and vintagize the dial- maybe with a brown stain /wash for instance. Losing the pearl would also help, although I doubt you could replace it with a smaller all-acrylic vintage pearl, you might be able to put on a vintage bezel insert with a better all-acrylic pearl. An aged pearl would really look the best. Aging the case would also help- wear off some of the newness. The bracelet doesn't bother me as much as it does freddy, but a Nato or even the new James Bond strap from Corvus Watch Co. would help. Or you could just age the bracelet. Few people really know anything about the early subs, so with some aging, you can probably get by 99.9% of the people- heck, 99% could care less what watch you're wearing anyway.

Wow! That is definitely some pretty slick stuff, T. It's interesting to note that the case tube was removed. Did you coat the caseback, or leave it ss? Also, what about the bezel, that would also need to be coated? I noticed that MKII watches also does this DLC coating. I'm assuming it's a step above PVD in terms of durability.

The buyer has zero feedback. I wonder if the seller is being scammed and this baby will be back on the market in a few days. The other bidders look legit, even if they are gamblers!

I've seen that cracked pearl before- just can't remember where! Nice pics, BTW.