alligoat

Like armin says, there's eta copies w/o the stampings. But we are getting to the point where the are also eta copies w/ the eta stampings. There's really nothing you can do about it. FWIW, my eta copy in my River noobmariner is keeping great time. And don't forget- even a genuine surplus eta movement probably still needs to be serviced. That accounts for all of the eta movements in all of our reps- unless you buy one of the serviced eta's from someone like Andrew or whoever.

Real.

I would figure that this is a genuine bezel insert. But it will NOT fit a 16610. It is NOS, so the pearl not glowing does not surprise me- it could easily date from the early 80's- like 81 or 82. I don't know what the 81 means- could it be 1981? Anyway, the seller is reputable- I've bought from him before. It's for a Sea-Dweller like the description says.

$530 for a 1530 isn't a bad price, but you always have to add in the cost of a service, say $200, and parts above that if required. S&H brings you to around $750- about par for the course. 1575's run in the $900-1000 and once again, add in the service. If you want a date movement, buy a date movt- don't think you can convert unless you're a watchmaker w/ a stash of parts, because it's not cost efffective.

Yep, I agree w/ Pug- Rolex makes changes, sometimes very small ones, w/o explanation (of course, they never explain!), but we see them from time to time- like the bezel font of the 4 in 40. a few years ago it was more boxy and then a couple of years ago, they switched to a triangular 4- new bezel insert! They might have done it w/ the LV insert also- just don't remember. But about a year ago we noticed the 3 ticks vs 5 tick dials.

I believe the current PN is 24-6020-0 for the case tube in ss. Your prpblem is that you're buying from wholesaleoutlet. Try ofrei, or someone else (maybe Clarks Watch Supply, or Helfands).

Rolex changed the dials a while back. Maybe 3 ticks was first, then 5 ticks. Both are correct, just one of the Rolex idiosyncrasies.

My last Clark tube had good, fairly long threads on the case end, but man they are delicate! I've broke a few putting them in the case. This last one, I tapped the hole all the way, countersunk it, and put some loc-tite on the threads and it went in ok. I've given up on the o-ring, and w/ a noobmariner case, the backside doesn't look too pretty- countersinking eats into the backside of the case. If you've countersunk the case, your only other option might be a gen case tube, but I can't find them for less than $45 plus S&h from Mark Greenberg- moelarrycu, or whatever his name is, on ebay. Helfands also has an aftermarket tube, but it's short on the case end threads, as I recall. Borel and Ofrei have nothing, last itme I looked.

An Ubi datewheel overlay??? Isn't that for a vintage Rolex, like 1680/1665/1601, pre 80's stuff? If you're using a 2824 movt, that would indicate you're doing a 16200 series DJ, the latest and current Rolex production, so an Ubi datewheel would be wrong. You'd do better w/ a datewheel from Cubic Works over in Hong Kong- the one with the closed 6's and 9's, which is the current datewheel for the 3135 Rolex movt. Anyway, GS Hypo-cement would be good, or a few drops of contact cement. I don't know of another way to put the watch together (w/o glue) unless you were to glue dial feet on to the back of the dial and then attach it to the movement that way.

I'm just curious, did the WM9 rep crystal measure the 29.5mm like a gen crystal? If it does, that would be a big step in the right direction. Of course, then a gen bezel assembly would have a better chance of fitting.

Looking at Delgado's site- doubleredseadweller.com, I'd have to figure this MKII dial predates Nanuq's by a good bit. Nanuq is c.1974, I believe he said, and I'd figure this one for late 60's or around 1970. The case back says Rolex Patent, but obviously they hadn't beefed up the case at that point. Maybe you PM the guy on TZ and ask for an approximate date- I wouldn't think that that's rude, but who knows. I pretty much just lurk in the shadows at TZ.

Ofrei sells illumes dots for $10 which some people say work fine. I beleive you just pop out the dot from the back of the MBW insert and glue in the new dot. I bought a pair of dots from watchesandparts on ebay over in Hong Kong and they worked out well. Popped out the small pearls on a couple of inserts on two vintage subs from Paul and the new pearls popped right in. Then I added a drop of glue on the backside of each insert for insurance. Rolex inserts are hard to come by and I was very happy with this alternative.

Sure hope my link works on this. http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tre...85189&rid=0 Early cases for DRSD's were thin, actually Submariner cases w/ the thin bezel. And look at the crystal- no superdome.

You could pop the bezel insert out and then smooth the bezel down w/ some 600 wet/dry sandpaper, or brush it like you say. I had one rep where the edges of the bezel was very sharp and I smoothed it out to give it a softer feel. A well worn look.

Trance, it sounds like you got a better case than I did. Did yours come from Timeholder in Hong Kong, or that other guy that charges $65 postage? I doubt putting a plastic crystal on there would work, because you need the outside retaining ring to hold the crystal down and to hold the bezel. Your crown and tube are rep, so a gen crown won't fit on the rep tube. My cyclops is off-center also! But I don't see a crown at 6- will have to check again.

Rolex makes two models- a blue TT and a black TT. As for 14kt vs 18kt- maybe you get what you pay for- maybe the expensive one is worth more. But as they say here- watch out for plated gold, it is prone to wearing thru. At least w/ ss, all you can do is scratch it- than polish out the scratches, or leave them- they're battle scars.

Nothing bananas about the noob/begin/perfect/eta copy/CN2006 Submariner- I've had 4 of them. My current favorite is my River's eta copy w/ the modded cg's, gen crown and aftermarket tube and a watchmaterial pearl- it's a very nice modern sub- it's just that I'd like to build a 16800 w/ the matte transitional dial- too bad the noob case isn't just a tad smaller- in the diameter of the rehaut ring- it would be perfect. It would also be nice if the rep makers came out w/ a 16800 w/ the transitional matte dial- it would be a great rep! Until then, I will proceed w/ building a 16800 in the TW best case, albeit slowly!

I don't think the 16800 case and the 16610 case are the same. The reason I say this is because when I was building my two Frankenjusts with the Datejust 16000 series cases which originally used the 3035 movt, I had to use the 2836 movt because of the stem/crown position. The later 16200 Datejust cases for the 3135 movement use the 2824 movement when building a franken. So if nothing else, I would say that the crown position is different, but I'm inclined to agree w/ you, haveblue, that the rehaut is shallower on the 16800 case. But the biggest issue in fitting either a gen 16800 dial or a 16610 dial in a rep case is the diameter of the chapter ring. The TW Best is the only case where you can fit a gen dial in there (and just barely- evenly centered), because all of the other cases have the inside diameter of the chapter (rehaut ) ring too large- the dial goes straight thru and presses up against the crystal. Say a gen dial is 27. something mm- 27.4 maybe. Well the typical inside diameter of the chapter ring on a rep is going to be around 28mm- Boom, the dial slides right past. Typical rep dial is 28.4mm, say. The same holds for the crystal- gen is 29.5mm, typical rep is 30.5mm. TW Best is the only case where you can barely fit a gen dial.

Oops, I stand corrected. Jewelry and Watch has redone his website and it's $4500 to build a 6239 w/ you supplying the V72! And he just keeps on building frankens, I guess.

It's kinda like watching the Frankentonas on ebay. The prices range from $4500 and up. And there's no telling how high 'up' is. Obvoiiusly there are collectors out there who have more dollars than sense. And look at the Franken DRSD that went for over $10K on the bay last month. Crazy. BTW, won't Dinh build you a Daytona when you supply the V72 for like $2500?

Well, if it's Dad's, I guess he would frown on you pulling the 1575 movement to use in a Franken Sub! But I still think a new crystal and a polish would be in order. Nice vintage watch.

I'm with Freddy on this. It's not going to do any good getting all upset. Sure Joe takes advantage in a cagey type of way- things like a better crown and a better bezel insert w/ a better pearl. Sure, they're aftermarket parts and really not better as such, but the situation can be salvaged. Putting a decent insert w/ small acrylic pearl on there can still be done, same with a gen crown and tube. Also, the Clark's T-39 if diesel so desires can be fitted on there. It's a good learnig experience and in the end, if diesel stays w/ it, he can have a better DRSD, and we'll all know once again, WATCH OUT FOR JOE!

I thought King's had the 3035 movement- the predecessor to the 3135 movement. BTW, Andrew has just come out with this watch also- same thin bezel, "working" HE valve, WR to 100m, $278.00 plus shipping. Available Oct 25th.

Looks pretty old to me. Could use a new crystal for sure. The jubilee has the folded links- so that would put it in the 60's- never seen a fake folded link bracelet. Rolex bracelets from the 60's were nothing short of flimsy. If it's a gen, you could pull the 1575 movt and go build a kick ass Sea-Dweller or Red Sub.

There is no rep of the 16800. A few people have built their own, but that is not easy these days, especially if you want the matte dial model. The best place to start is w/ a TW Best case, since it will accept a gen dial. The only problem is, it's hard to find the TW Best case w/ lug holes these days- they quit making them a couple of years ago. Maybe you could buy a TW Best and drill your own lug holes. Then you need a gen matte dial- be prepared to pay $500-1000US. The datewheel needs to have open 6's and 9's. A gen bezel insert, gen crown and gen tube would also be nice. A 93150 bracelet w/ 593 end pieces would be the icing on the cake.