alligoat

1. There are posts around here telling how to lube up a bracelet so it won't feel so flimsy, but gen sub bracelets are hollow mid-link and pretty light also. A gen TT will be heavier due to the gold in the mid links. 2. Polished edges- can't say what Rolex is doing on the latest subs, but it's not a big deal IMO 3. Cyclops can be off-center because they are simply glued to the crystal- like someone said- Chinese quality control. 4. Bezel click- still one of the big tells- maybe WM9's latest and greatest sub will solve this problem with a more faithful copy of the gen's bezel assembly. 5. Date change- like suchecracks says, it's probably just a case of the hands being positioned incorrectly- watchmaker can reset in 5 minutes- hopefully it is an eta inside. Every watch that I've ordered w/ an eta inside has indeed had one- but w/ drop shipping, mix-ups are possible.

I've never seen a sleeve extending down from the center link- obviously it slides back up into the centerlink.

www.ofrei.com lists the T-19 as the correct crystal for the 5512, 5513, 6538A, 6540, 7016, 7928, 9401, and 94010. After the 6538A, I hae no idea what those other watches are!

Here's Silix's- same as Paul's- yucky print http://www.silix-prime.com/product.asp?id=1645 Too bad it's so hard to find decent 5513 dials these days without spending a small fortune!

The Explorer (3-6-9) dial 5513 was available from the 60's into the 70's, first with the gold printing and then with the white printing. They changed from gold to white say around '67. Paul and a few other dealers carry this watch (maybe Silix): http://www.pam111.com/product_info.php?cPa...roducts_id=1199 The watch is fine, but the gold print on the dial is more of a yellow/green. The lume is a light yellow and isn't bad IMO. I trimmed my crown guards, changed out the pearl with a supposedly NOS acrylic pearl- popped right in, and siliconed the o-rings- WR tested to 4ATM which is all my watchmaker could do. It's a great beater for under $200. I've thought about a gold wash to make the printing look more gold, or getting a www.jewelryandwatch.com 3-6-9 dial for $265. Interestingly, this case is about 37.5mm and the dial is 26.5mm or thereabouts, so a gen or aftermarket 5513/5512 dial should fit OK. The 2836 movement is fine, but high beat (28,800) and has a stop for the date set, whereas a 1520/30 would have been the correct Rolex movement (19,800 bph). Some of the other vintage Rolexes from Paul, Silix, etc. also have the Explorer dials- so called 6536's, 6538's, 5508's. Some have the white printng which looks better IMO. Haven't tried mixing and matching, but I think the dials on the Silix vintages might be in the 28mm or 29mm range, which would probably be too big for the 5513 case from Paul.

Closed 6 on 26 is correct- just another Rolex idiosyncrasy. But this in not an OEM date disc based on the description, right?

If we can build 16200 series Frankenjusts with eta 2824-2's and it fits in a case for a 3135, why can't the rep makers use a 2824-2 and get the correct crown position like on this YM case, or for that matter the 16610 or the SSD? Why do they keep going to the 2892-2 which is a great movement, but more expensive. A YM with proper crown position and 2824-2 wouldn't have to cost an arm and a leg!

Thanks, Chief. Now I better get to ordering.

I ran across this German made W2- a knock-off of an IWC with a Swiss 7750: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...=tab%3DWatching Hope my ebay link works, if not it's item #330194861057.

Ebay worked for me: Case from roling- both were excellent, I didn't use the dials because they weren't what I wanted hands from Clark's Watch Supply- nostalgia 2000 on ebay date wheel from cubic-works.com in Hong Kong crowns from ebay- like a 24-602-1 - search 'rolex crown' you can't beat it!

I'd seen the gold Daytona, but the big flaw on that watch is the pointer on the balance bridge- first clue that it's not a real Rolex movement w/ the microstella balance. but as avitt says- the other isn't a genuine Rolex movement- these are frankens, but even they have a certain value in the marketplace. There was a gold Daytona similar to the one above that went for around $16K 4-6 months ago- ridiculous, but that's the market- people are buying stuff w/ no real knowledge- more money than brains!

Yes, they have a website. but I don't know what it is- someone brought it up this week, but I can't remember. You might also look at jewelryoutlet990- the guy down here in beautiful Sugar Land, Texas- Faisal Ali, he has all sorts of aftermarket parts, but don't expect too much. BK likes his $10 inserts- puts the watchmaterial pearl in them- thinks they're pretty good. W/ a decent pearl, 99.9% of the people will never know it's a rep! We're all somewhat anal about this stuff!

Glossy is correct, and Raymond Lee inserts are OK as aftermarket inserts go- decent pearl, look fine. You might check Helfands, they also have aftermarket inserts- maybe the same as Raymond Lee. BK, the sub cannibal, likes the pearls in the www.watchmaterial.com inserts. The pearl is the biggest feature on these aftermarket inserts. Stay away from the "zit" pearls or the domed pearls on cheap inserts- they're a dead giveaway.

I think Frankenjusts are a great deal and I've built two of them. This is a 16014 ss case w/ the WG fluted bezel and ss oyster band. 2836-2 movement, datewheel from cubic-works in Hong Kong, case from roling on ebay and the dial came from astorlive. My watchmaker put it together for me for $50 with me supplying all of the parts (except the plastic ring spacer). I spent something like a little over $500. The secoond one is a 16013 TT with the silver dial with gold stick markers, gold hands (Tudor from Clark's Watch Supply), gold crown and TT jubilee band. LOL, I had to get the 2836-2 movement serviced on this one- it was filthy. Around $575 total. Sorry, no pics.

I can think of only one drawback to a beautiful gen like that. You can't call (make) it a beater! But then again, that's what you have your rep for. Congratulations.

OK, thanks. I knew the real SD takes a diffferent size insert from the 16610/16800 Sub, but you never know with the reps. Appreciate it.

Just curious, Omega, which igen insert did you use? The 315-16600-1 for a SD, or the 315-16800-1 for the submariner? Thanks

Last time I dropped my noobmariner in the parking lot, the bezel insert popped right out. And luckily it didn't booger up my watch- just reglued the insert w/ epoxy. But short of dropping your watch, and w/o removing the whole bezel, you are stuck w/ trying to get a knife in there and popping the insert out. Use tape and be careful. Maybe pry from the inside against the crystal, but go slowly and be careful. A www.watchmaterial.com pearl and a wholesaleoutlet990 insert from ebay would make a good replacement. If you get the original insert out in good shape, then you'd only need the watchmaterial pearl to make it look better.

LOL, I was thinking that the SSD was the watch on the left in the second picture. Somewhat better pearl, the newer more triangular 4 on the bezel insert. Taller crown on the dial. Can you see a lug hole on the lower left lug on the watch on the right?

The only difference between 076 and 054 is that 076 has the AR coating (anti-reflective) on the crystal. Both are asian 7750- which is the automatic movement with the working subdials. The outer part is the bezel (or bezel insert when referring to the black plastic part specifically- the metal holding it in place is the bezel.)

I would disagree with B-T on this point and agree with Ziggyzumba's point of view, which is that eta movements in reps are surplus and aren't necessarily new, clean or properly oiled. But you take your chances. I've had to service a couple of them, but it's not a big deal. I've also had a couple of asian 21j's serviced- once again, dirty and not oiled correctly. Andrew has this same eta Noob LV w/o the servicing and WR work for about $100 less.

I believe I read recently on Timezone that the cost of a new 93150 oyster bracelet was $825 at a Rolex AD. Plus tax no doubt. And you'd have to probably have a gen watch for it to go on. Now a 93150 is the designation for a vintage Submariner oyster band used thru around 2000 on even the 16610 (501B end pieces). You can bet a new oyster band w/ solid end links, Rolisor clasp and polished mid-links would cost even more! 904L steel, of course.

I believe the current Rolex parts #'s are 24-602-0 for the 6mm crown and 24-6020-0 for the case tube. Like 2005 submariner said, you need to retap the hole when you remove the rep tube- clean it up so that you can thread the new case tube in there cleanly- you;'ll also need the proper tool for installing the case tube. The eta stem will thread into the Rolex crown. Ofrei sells an aftermarket 6mm case tube for around $6- new style, then all you'd have to do is find the Rolex crown. As Stilty says, you might be better off just sticking w/ the rep crown and case tube. If you're looking for WR, you might try some silicone grease on the o-ring seals and make sure everything is screwing down correctly. At that point you watch should be WR for simple stuff, dishwashing, lite swimming...

I don't think TTK's is a DG2813, at least mine wasn't as far as I could tell. I just recently had it repaired by my watchmaker after a year. I always look for the WO mark on the DG2813 under the balance wheel. I think of TTK's as a generic asian 21j movt, but I don't know which specific factory it comes from. Josh on the other hand has the DG2813 in his beginmariner- clearly marked with the WO logo from PTS Resources. IMO, the DG2813 is the best asian 21j movt- but like all of these rep movts, including the eta's, servicing might be required. So called "noobmariners" w/ an eta movt are sold by Paul, his "so called perfect sub" and by Andrew. River from time to time has the "noobmariner" with the asian eta 2836-2 copy movt. Although TTK doesn't like it, we generally refer to the noobmariner as a type of 16610 with a certain case. This case has about 1.8mm rehaut, the ubquitous serial # F520117, good dial, good bracelet and corrrect placement of the date and cyclops.

Howdy, TXTurbo. It's a little after 5PM here in most of Texas! I guess your local time got screwed up! Oh well. I'm headed to Uvalde this Thursday for a little hunting myself. Cheers