alligoat

Noobfactory is an actual watch assembly shop in the Ghangzhou area of China. The first watch from there was the noobmariner- SN F520117- which came out 4 years ago. A good deal back in those days, it also came with the eta movt (for a little more $). Other watches made by the noofactory are the GMT II, Explorer II, SSD- Super Sea-Dweller, the newer M serial 16610 sub and who knows what else. These are still a good deal for $100 or more w/ the eta, but a highoey says, the WM9v2 is really the most accurate sub out there at this point, but not everyone wants to spent the $500+. I consider the noob a great beater and surprisingly a lot of them are WR out of the box- my two are.

Welcome aboard! You've come to the right place. Now you just have to spend some time reading and learning. The DRSD is a beautiful watch, and Big Crown's example is one of the best frankens out there. But for a beginner, you might want to check out some of the dealers like Paul who has an economy DRSD: http://www.pam111.com/product_info.php?cPa...;products_id=44 This watch isn't the greatest but it's a good starter watch. If you want to spend more money, you could get an MBW/MBK from someone like Eurotimez http://www.eurotimez.com/ Couldn't link you directly, but he has the DRSD- just look under MBK. It'll cost you more, but it'll be a better watch- the DRSD w/ a verified 'swiss' eta will run $400 plus s&h. But you can do more with this watch than Paul's. Also, you might pay some money and become a supporter here- that will give you access to the dealers section, and maybe you'll find a DRSD for sale that fits your needs. Good luck.

A lot of watchmakers aren't too keen on the asian 21j movement. Mine is also a little skittish about working on the eta clones. And if you really like a watch, it might be best to try to get it with the 'swiss' eta (if that's possible). The last 21j asian that I got arrived DOA and my watchmaker swapped out the movement- that wasn't too bad. The asians are great when they work, but they're not really viable for the long run (3-5 years). Hopefully you'll be able to find a rep friendly watchmaker closer to home.

"I prefer not to discuss my financial indiscretions." That is a good one. Kind of hints at the fact that you might have spent too much money on a gen, or did you get ripped off buying a fake! It should stop the obnoxious questioner at that point, hopefully.

10-4! 'Rolex Daytona, a legend is born' shows the Brevet crown as part No. 22, 8mm (twinlock) with 1.1mm threads. Later the number was changed to 800. Case tube is PN 207, later referred to as 800 also.

This is what happened to my euromariner! Luckily it was still above the water. After that my watchmaker said "Sorry Charlie, No more water tests on that watch." Maybe some day I'll get around to trying a new gasket and crystal and see if it helps.

It all depends on what they say. And to tell you the truth, people rarely comment on the watch I'm wearing, rep or real. I did see a young sales kid in West Marine wearing a blue dialed SFSO this weekend. I said, "Hey. I like your watch, have you been down 6000 ft yet?" He just smiled and said, "I doubt I'll ever get that deep!" Who knows if it was a rep, it looked good, and I liked the dial. But it is kinda rude to ask someone if their watch is a fake, or real. tacky, tacky. You could always just say thanks and leave it at that. My friends know I do collect watches, but other than my watch friends, the rest could care less, so I typically don't say anything. And if I'm concerned about being called out, I'll wear a gen, or at least a very good franken. If you're worried, just tell them your rep is a beater, you didn't want to tear up a good watch. That's when I wear my reps most of the time anyway.

So is a standard stem for a 1030 a tap 10/.9mm? Sounds like you'd need to go to the next larger size and I wonder if even Rolex would have one- maybe in Geneva... This stuff is like ancient- 50 years old! freddy333 might be the one to ask. Also, the Daytona book has some good technical info, I'll look in that tonite. "Daytona, a legend is born" covers the Daytona from the 6238 thru the 6365 and the 16520- pretty good stuff- unfortunately it's out of print now.

You can try either one. Judging by your user's time, you look to be in the eatern timezone of the US or Canada, so I'd try bk first, but if he's too backed up, you could go to WM9 and see what his response is. I'd get the WM9 2007 z-serial w/o the rehaut printing if it's still available, myself. I didn't see any of the refurbed v1's from WM9 that were priced at $375 listed on his site. Hope he's not sold out of 16610 subs!

I can understand a watchmaker not wanting to waterproof a rep. If he works on it for 30 minutes and it doesn't pass the test, what's he going to do? He can't get parts, it's a rep. And he'll be lucky to get paid for his time. On a Rolex, a watchmaker can keep putting new parts on it until it passes and you get to pay the bill. Now take a Rolex since it's what I know- four keys to WR: 1. Crown seals when screwed into the case tube 2. Case tube is screwed into the case and seals 3. Crystal is attached to the case and seals 4. Case back is screwed on to the case and seals In a 16610 Sub, all four connections have o-ring gaskets and can be silicone greased. Earlier subs and other models may vary slightly. But the four components make the watch WR (to a certain depth). So if you want your rep to be WR, you pretty much either get lucky or you work on it yourself. That entails taking it apart and making sure all four parts are WR. If it fails the WR pressure test, it's back to try again, maybe some new parts, maybe some glue, maybe more silicone, maybe new o-rings. It may or may not work. But a lot of people do get lucky and end up w/ a WR rep. You might also consider a dive watch like a Seiko, or an Invicta- they're inexpensive and reliable. When I dive, I don't wear a real Rolex or a rep, I wear a $200 dive watch- that way if anything happens, I'll get over it!

I'd say they're about the same. The 5512 is rarer in the real world because it's a chronometer rated movement. The 5513 is the plain jane dive watch and the least expensive of the two. As far as the MBW's, it would really just be your preference.

T-19 for either 5512 or 5513.

I saw one of these watches recently here at the Houston GTG. Most impressive is the 37mm case and the assymetrical pushers. Very good looking watch. There's only one drawback- the subdial spacing is slightly outside of the v72 subdial spacing. But it's not really noticable unless you have a trained eye, or were directly comparing it to a v72 dial. I think it's an excellent alternative to spending the additional $1,500-2000 to put together a v72 powered 6263.

Although the movements are the same, I'm not sure about the dials. And the Air King cases I have measured under 34mm and just over 34 mm. The later Air King dial measured 26.95mm. The earlier Air King dial is still in the watch so I can't measure it. But I think the Explorer I case is around 36mm- not that an Explorer I dial won't fit in an Air King case- but you are on your own. As for Tudor- the stem/crown position may be different, since Tudor uses an ETA movt- the cases are different, but who knows, you may get lucky. If you use an Explorer I dial w/ an ETA movt in a Tudor case- that might just work. But I'd figure you're flying solo here, if you get what I mean.

I leave the lughole drilling to the pros, like Omega. He drilled the holes on a noob case that I used for my 16800 franken. Before that, I had already ruined one case trying.

The story I've always heard was the early dials were meters first- European, kinda. Then due to the American market, around 1970 or so, they started with the feet first dials. Meters first are an indication of an earlier dial typically.

Certainly kin has done a beautiful job vintagizing his Explorer I. But I noticed his case has no lugholes. Unfortunately, lugholes have been disappearing lately which is unfortunate. I'm sure it's just a cost saving measure over in China. I noticed that Narikaa's and Paul vintage Explorers didn't have the lugholes, but Silix has one w/ the lugholes: http://www.silix-prime.com/product.asp?id=1644 But you'd certainly have to confirm this w/ him, since it may just be an old picture. But Jay was the one largely responsible for getting the factories to drill lugholes in the vintage 'Bond type' subs a couple of years ago.

The MBK DRSD is certainly a very nice rep, and with some mods, it can become an excellent rep. But what you have to realize is that there aren't that many gens out there in the wild and they are very expensive- typically $20K and up. Interwatches has a PP- Patent Pending- listed for $179,000.00. But since few people can afford a $20K watch, wearing a rep that costs around $400 and with mods can be made to look good for under $1K isn't too bad a deal. But you're not going to fool a WIS- watch idiot savant, i.e. an expert. Some people opt for the GWSD- the later 'great white sea-dweller' since it's a little less conspicuous. But 99.9% of the people aren't going to pay any attention to what watch you're wearing anyway- maybe they'll notice it's a Rolex, but that's probably about it. A lot of peple around here have done the DRSD, Freddy comes to mind- he added a working HEV to his MBW and put in a 1570 Rolex movement- a very nice franken. Just this week Big Crown sold a very nice DRSD with a vietnamese case, 1570 movt, some gen parts- a beautiful watch. So there's really no end to what you can achieve here- just keep reading and learning. You also might consider donating to this forum- it'll give you access to dealers and more and is well worth it. Welcome aboard.

Interesting, Freddy. It just goes to show that things are always changing. My WM 1680 (which is basically an MBW) has no glow to the lume- it's a 4-5 year old rep. And of course, as we've seen with Cats MBW 1680 recently, the dials and cases are changing and not necessarily for the better. But as an aside, I kinda like the relumed dials on a rep- you can't (or shouldn't) relume a gen, so that's what I think is cool about a rep- who cares, it's still only a rep.

The lume won't shine much at all, if any. That is just like a 30+ year old tritium dial- the lume is basically dead. But I agree w/ Highoey and Shawn, the 5513/5512 MBW's are excellent reps. With a better acrylic pearl and some modding of the cg's, they are really cool.

I'm doing it the same way Kurt is, but next time I might try a countersink bit if it has a steeper pitch to the cutting edge. But you'd have to be careful not to make the hole too big/wide.

I'm seeing that also. The bracelet isn't that good- coronet on the clasp sucks. Dial is a flat S dial like WM9v1. Case could be a TWBest- the differences between a WM9 and TWB aren't much- esp. if it has the newer gen like bezel assembly. WM9 is in Taiwan, I thought. Crown guards could use a trim and a better pearl would be in order. I would think for $240 you would get an asian movt, but the watch could look pretty good w/ a few mods.

On cases like the noobmariner, it's about impossible to countersink w/o wallowing out a little bit on the underside. The position of the hole is too low on the case. Luckliy it doesn't affect the WR of the watch- or least it didn't in my two cases.

I put a set on my 16800 franken and they are OK, but just a step below Ziggy's dial relume as far as overall brightness- however, I can still see them at 4am. I did notice that www.mkii.com has a set of eta hands for $45- they are supposed to be SL also. Haven't tried those yet

White is definitely the better choice if you're getting an MBW/K dial. It's a better looking dial. The red has more issues like size of printing- but then again, whose gonna know - a WIS! And how many WIS have you ever run into?