alligoat

Nice find POTR. Has the detachable end pieces which I like better for the model Date. It would probably look fine w/o the Rolex crown on the clasp- who cares, the watch is a gen!

I just got two Florida Watch bezel inserts, but I went thru Gioarmani's tutorial and ordered online and had to use a credit card- took 2-3 weeks. They're ok, especially at $15 each- slightly smaller than a gen insert's pearl, a little greener, but acceptable IMO- probably equal to the watchmaterial pearl, but since I lost my watchmaterial pearl, I don't have one to compare it with! Nice job on the cg's bk, kept the slight inside angle around the crown which is good. I also wondered about the SSD being out of the noob factory with the last three digits being 117! I do like the rep crown and tube on the SSD- may be a copy of the gen.

Yep, there are alot of noobs out there, but if you're only looking for the dial, the beginmariner is fine. It is a noob, but there have been some issues with it- like the bolder font on the date overlay. The case is F520117 and the movement is the asian 21j from PTS Resources in China (it is not an eta copy as Josh says, but it isn't a bad 21j asian movement, it's the DG 2813 which Ofrei and Jules Borel sell). Also seen a few "zit pearls" on beginmariner!

A Date will have 19mm lugs, so you need a bracelet that's 19mm. The current bracelet appears to have solid end links, which is interesting- I've would have figured the watch itself as a 1500 or 15000 series- both of which predate SEL's. You could always ask Rolex what a gold plated bracelet would run, or individual links if they are available. Next stop would be to check ebay and if you find a good one, maybe you could swap out the original Rolex clasp. Silix sells individual bracelets- maybe you could get a GP 19mm oyster from him. What about a nice brown crocodile strap w/ a gold Rolex buckle? Or just a plain gold buckle. I see you're missing some lume on the hour hand- might not be a bad idea to get a service and a new set of hands. That watch w/o strap has a value of $1200-1500 or more if in really good condition. So it looks like you got a pretty good deal. Congratulations.

You've pretty much answered your own question. If you can't find a genuine insert, a www.watchmaterial.com pearl is a good option. I don't think the cyclops is that big an issue- Rolex date mag isn't as large as most people seem to think. As for the bezel teeth, you're probably stuck. WM9 has a more correct bezel assembly- closest to the gen, but can a gen assembly be swapped in there- who knows and finding gen parts isn't that easy for most of us. Crown position will always be wrong with the rep makers using the 2836 movt. You can file/shave the back side of the bezel insert to make it sit lower in the bezel and thereby elevating the crystal profile a little and improving the insert to bezel look. Gen crown and tube mods are good, but I don't recall the WM9 crown being that bad- it's not oversized like the noob crown. And don't forget- these are still reps! You can get close, but it's still a rep.

illumes dots are on this page- below the last GMT bezel insert: http://www.ofrei.com/page_151.html

TWG is Andrew, trustywatchguy. This was a 21j dial which I'm thinking predates the noob dial. Nowdays a noob dial with eta and TW Best case would do the same thing for you. Plus, of course, the crown and tube, mod the cg's and a gen insert. Noob bracelet is also great- hollow mid links.

For the price, Rolex could give you solid gold mid-links and still make a profit!

mezz, If I were to hazard a guess in this increasingly rarified air of gen parts, I'd say a clasp is $200-250, but I could be low. Last week on ebay I watched a 93150 w/ correct end pieces (can't remember which ones) go for $1476. Unbelieveable! Great to see you back Ubi!

The 580 end pieces are perfect for the 1680. The correct bracelet would be the 93150. Early 1680's had the 9315 bracelet w/ the 280 or 380 end pieces. The 78360 is correct for the Explorers (1016, 14270, 1655, 16550, 16570), GMT (1675, 16750), and Milgauss Try this link: http://www.14270.com/spec-rolex.htm

ND Trading was the closest I could come http://ndtradingcorp.com/zen/index.php?mai...hite_01_LRG.jpg The other usual suspects are of course, jewelry and watch- no case, as I recall, and vintagewatchesmq in Viet Nam- he never replies to my inquiries. Nanuq isn't saying much either!

Yes, it's a fake, and a real gem- but it's not gen. It could certainly be a ND Trading case and dial, and at that point you'd really have to put a 1520/30 movement in there and you'd have a beautiful rep. All for around $2K or so, certainly under $2500, I would think.

I guess you don't want to share the details with us, Nanuq?

WOW! Nanuq, that's a pretty nice bezel on that 5508. Would that be a Silix vintage w/ the Michael Young bezel and a gen Superdome?

Those two movements look amazingly similar. The IV 68 on yellowmen's case back along with the CRS are pretty convincing arguments for gen. ETA movement in an old Tudor..., what would it be??? Both are cool watches.

I'm with justasgood, leave the bezel on your GW alone and replace the bezel insert with a gen. If you can't find a gen insert, maybe one of those illumes dots from Ofrei might pop into your MBW insert and replace the bad pearl that it comes with.

On closer inspection, I see the protective plastic, but it doesn't change the shape of the cg's- especially at the ends. At least the hologram/barcode at 9 o'clock would go away.

There's no doubt the cg's have a more rounded over- pointed look, harks back to the pointed cg's on the 5513's in the early 60's. Just more proof that Rolex is a moving target. But I'm with Rosnik, what is that hologram like marking on the case at 9 o'clock? Why booger up a nice polished case?

Try julesborel.com or ofrei.com.

River's noob is the best deal out there, IMO! Mine is keeping great time, DW and dial are perfect, put a gen crown and aftermarket tube in there, had a watchmaterial pearl for a while- now it's a Raymond Lee pearl since the watchmaterial got busted out. Go for it, you won't be sorry. It's my favorite noob- a great beater.

OK, Thanks B-T for the clarification. Too bad they can't get those marker surrounds the right color.

I'd think a 2824-2 movement from jules borel would be the best bet http://www.julesborel.com/ Look under watch movements, then mechanical movements- $71.35 plus s&h. But before you do that, have you tried finding a local watchmaker? Mine fixed my original noobmariner for $40 6 months ago. And anyone worth his salt can work on an eta. I just had an eta serviced for $75.

Happy New Year in China!

You might want to check out Puretime (Angus), he has as Explorer II New which has the correct hand stack and the noob case, black hour surrounds, well positioned date window. The only thing I don't like about it is the thick date font. http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/pure...nt=DSCN0108.jpg There were issues with the correct hand stack movements in the past, don't know if those issues have been taken care of. A franken is a watch that contains some genuine parts and has been put together. A non-franken would then have all rep parts, I guess. It's a double negative sort of.

A 19mm x 16mm works well with a Rolex buckle- 19mm at the lugs and 16mm at the buckle. I bought a Breitling strap the other day, 22/20. 22mm at the lugs, 20 at the buckle. Oh, 19mm is vintage, 20mm is modern for 16520 and on. Check Timezone. I recently bought some 20mm Bros straps for $15 each from Freda. They were 20/18's, but really nice. Had the emblem of a swimmer on them on the back- good for swimming, I guess!