alligoat

Try Yukiwatch over in hong Kong: http://cgi.ebay.com/Full-Complete-Set-of-S...%3A1%7C294%3A50 The 1680 case used to be listed for $350 plus shipping. A friend said they will take the Rolex 1575 movt and are as good as Phong's. Also, Chris at Eurotimez has the MBW 1680 case for $165. This doesn't take a gen movt w/o some mods, if I recall correctly.

I'd opt for the 6536 first- with that bezel, a no-pearl red triangle insert, the 6mm crown, and the 100m=330ft dial, that's the closest you can come to a faithful rep, with the parts you have. The 6542 is the first GMT w/ date, so the bezel is correct for that watch as well as the 6538. The 6538 is the big crown- 8mm, don't know how you'd get the big crown look w/o spending a lot of money.

30 mm is just a little under the boys DJ size- referred to as mid-size. Like Freddy says, check TWG or Josh, I like them because they take Credit cards these days.

Beautiful pics! I didn't realize the DDII was 41mm, I thought it was in the 38mm range.

My info came out of the SK catalog, then I measured a G-S T-39- ID 28.06, OD 30.42 SK T-19- from Ofrei as seen on the web site as 279/305, ID 28.23, OD 30.45 Faisal Ali's T-127 ID 28.13, OD 30.35 Ofrei has 4 T-19's listed. So I don't really know. And I guess Rolex really doesn't like to share this information- these crystals may have been reverse engineered- kinda like our reps. I do know Ziggy has mentioned problems fitting plastic crystals. I do think they tend to vary. And my calipers are from Harbor Freight!

Stephane, that is a beautiful collection of watches. Of course, the fact that you hang out with Tribal could have something to do with it! Kinda like BK, you guys are Sub Cannibals! Congratulations on a fantastic collection. @ Nanuq, I'm thinking a T-19 won't fit on a 1680. From what I've seen, ID on a T-19 is 27.9, and a T-127 is 28.9. OD is 30.3 and 30.5 respectively. It stands to reason that depth of movements might be slightly different- date vs no-date. So, the cases are different, but with some similarities- just like the 1665- all take the same bezel insert... That's my 2 cents.

I'm also prone to the Seikos, like this SKX033: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...=tab%3DWatching Heck, even the Invictas are rated to 200m/660ft and you can buy those all day long for a little over $100- like the 8926- the Rolex Submariner knock-off.

I believe you're talking about the bezel insert, not the bezel itself which is the metal part which holds the insert in place. Some people buy a genuine Rolex bezel insert and put it on their rep. A gen insert will run $70-100 on ebay. Second choice is the jewelryoutlet555 insert with the watchmaterial pearl installed. You can find jewelryoutlet555 on ebay and www.watchmaterial.com sells the bettter pearl for $10 plus s&h. People like Helfands and Raymond Lee Jewelers also sell better inserts on ebay. Keep searching around here for how-tos on the insert swaps.

Darn, I didn't realize my buddy down here in Sugar Land was selling decent 580 rep end pieces. I bought a whole gen 93150 w/ 580 ends and would have been just as happy with the rep end pieces and a rep bracelet from Chris.

I think the DG2813 movt is hacking- chinese 21j, or asian as we call it. But I have no idea where you could get hands. This watch looks similar to one I got from Watcheden last month. Poor date mag, but it has the black hour marker surrounds. You could buy an eta GMT type of watch and the hands from wholesaleoutlet 990 might work. You'd have to remove the dial feet from the dial and glue it to the movt ring of the eta. Might have to swap out the datewheel and probably would need a better cyclops. Might have to change out the crown on the stem, also. Asian clone eta GMT- say $200 ETA hands $30 datewheel 25 cyclops & glue 30 Watchmaker 50-100 Total $335-385- heck, call it $400 You might be better off just buying a noob EXPII w/ white dial, silver hour marker surrounds and hands and go down the road. At least it'll have better date mag and be under $150. Or buy the white dial noob EXPII w/ a Swiss eta and spend a little more- maybe $300 or so from Eurotimez.

First of all, I doubt it's a Japanese movt. It's probably a CN movt, which is a copy of the Miyota 8215. So right off, Rolex hands will not fit. And finding CN hands is tough- it could be 150/100/17, but no one sells CN hands here in the US. Lastly, you'd probably be best off leaving the watch alone. The metal surrounds on the hour markers should be black. I couldn't tell from the pic, but if they are silver, there's no point in changing the hands- leave them silver. The white dial ExpII is a tough one, read By-Tor's review and everything else you can and you'll realize that it's almost impossible to come up w/ a good rep- they just don't make one and building one is also next to impossible. Maybe you could look around for a Noobmariner ExpII w/ a black dial. BTW, Welcome aboard and keep reading! Edit: The eta hands won't fit the chinese movt!

580's all the way then

I saw that Chris @ Eurotimez has a 1680 and 5513 case only for sale for $165. Maybe he would sell you just a 1665 case and you couold swap in the current movement and dial which you have- of course, I can't guarantee the dial would fit. But it's just a thought. I've got a CN 5513 with a nice aftermarket dial and an older eta (swiss?) and was thinking about buying the 5513 MBW case.

With a M458117 SN, me thinks this is a noob LV. Great photos.

Very nice. Wasn't it Eric Clapton who had one of these a few years back and had it up for sale?

Also 280's will go with the 9315. But then you're talking a gen bracelet. Jewelerstools has one for a Buy it now price of just over a grand. Early 5512/3's had the 7206 oyster bracelet w/ intergral 80 end pieces. I'm pretty sure that predates the safety clasp.

Well, it took me a while to figure this out! You're supposed to vote once in each category! I kept just voting for the 16800, but got an error message. So I voted for the GWSD, the 16800 and the 5508, and it looks like it worked! The 16800 has become my grail watch of sorts, with a gen matte dial, a gen tritium dial w/ wg surrounds that still glows- a late 90's replacement dial, and the 16800 franken w/ the relumed matte dial, it's certainly my favorite model. The sapphire crystal does show smudges, but I do feel it's a heartier watch than the plastic crystal subs.

The MBW white 1680 dial from Eurotimez would at least have eta dial feet- with a relume, it might be pretty cool. And it's not as flawed as the red 1680 dial, IMO.

A Miyota 8215 swap into a Sub w/ an asian movement would be one possiblity. With any kind of luck, hand sizes would work, dial feet may be in the same place. The 8215 is very dependable. Next is a Seiko diver: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...=tab%3DWatching Add a set of hands from www.mkii.com- the mercedes hands for Seiko and just enjoy the heck out of the watch- great cheap beater. I'm thinking about doing this one myself. But I need another watch like a hole in the head...

I agree w/ JoJo. The "Submariner" printing on that dial doesn't look too good. Dial feet are correct for the 1575 movt. But for $129 at least you're not out too much money. Next step up is gen or NDT. Don't know how hard it is to find good gen dials these days- too many of us franken builders out there!

I've got some springbars w/ rounded ends- seems like they came from timeholder (ebay) over in Hong Kong maybe. It's been 4 years or so, so the CRS takes over.

I've heard about those Rolex bridges being bad in the past quite a few times. I agree w/ freddy, don't worry about it. It's more important to spend money servicing the movement than to worry about correct bridges.

I can't say, but if they don't, they're just like the gen which would be cool if you only pay rep prices for them- not so cool if you pay gen prices. I do have some rep bracelets w/ correct end pieces, like 19mm 571's. Also, I haven't checked out Eurotimez's 93150 rep bracelet end pieces yet. I suspect there are some correct rep 580 ends out there, but then your going to have to be pretty astute at spotting them, like looking at the stamping of the 580 and knowing it's slightly different. A pair of gen 580 ends would run $100-125.

When you have the CN reps, it's always a challenge to swap parts. So basically you're just experimenting. Jewelryoutlet555/whoesaleoutlet999 may have replacement bezels, you could check Clark's Watch Supply- nostalgia2000 on the bay. Maybe try Helfands, or watchbandman50 also. These are all aftermarket parts made to fit gen, so they may not fit your rep. Good luck.

The only difference between a gen 580 end link and the rep 580's is that the reps have the little rounded notches on the back side for removing the springbars. On the gens, the only way to remove the spring bars is by the holes in the lugs- the backs are solid, with the rounded tabs against the case. This 16610 on ebay has the correct 501B end pieces for this model sub: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROLEX-SUBMARINER-SUB-W...%3A1%7C294%3A50 Here's a gen band w/ 593 ends- correct for the 16800 and 168000 Subs: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROLEX-AUTHENTIC-SUBMAR...%3A4%7C294%3A50 And here is the 9315 (predecessor to the 93150, c. 1960's) band with the gen 380 end pieces which are correct: http://cgi.ebay.com/20mm-Mens-Rolex-Submar...%3A4%7C294%3A50 Ironically the rep 580 ends look similar to these 380 (older) ends, but they should look like the gen 593's and 501B's to be correct. Rep 580's are fine, fit is OK- they're just not correct with the little notches on the backside to access the spring bars.