alligoat

Well I hope you were able to get my last months donation out of paypals grubby paws. Nevertheless, count me in again.

I got the watch with the Explorer dial and the 200m= 550ft. I should have known better with the depth being incorrect, but for $85 I can't complain. I took the SEL bracelet off (it's incorrect, of course and the spring bars were bent because as Predanfan said the lug holes are too close to the case) and I put on a Nato strap from bandgirl over at TZ- I got the navy/grey combo, which I like. The watch keeps great time and I wear it as a beater- just for knocking around. Oh yeh, one other thing, the bezel clicks, but if you pop it off and remove the little pin, it shuts up and goes both ways- I did this on the original James Bond from Silix which had no lug holes. But I have serious reps, lots of gens and then there's watches like this- for playing around w/ and doing whatever you want to. Luckily, $85 entertainment is cheap for me!

One thing to consider, mezzanine, is that it looks to me like you're in the US or Canada based on your time zone. Laz, tribal and Stephane are in the EU. There is always a customs issue sending stuff across the ocean for mods. I'm in the US and I've shipped to Ziggy(Canada) w/ no problems, and there are guys in the US doing mods as well. Just something to consider. But I must say, that bracelet of Laz's looks very nice, and of course, Tribal does great work, but Customs is Customs and you never know when something might get confiscated. From your pics, it appears that your crown guards have been modded, your pearl does not have a metal surround, and you say the crown and tube have been changed out. It looks like the bracelet you have on your watch is OK for vintage- separate end pieces, probably solid mid links (not technically correct, but that's what come w/ an MBW) and w/ the safety clasp. This is basically correct for your watch- but as laz says, a 93150 w/ hollow mid links and "correct" 580 end pieces would be perfect. But if you want a rivetted bracelet, go for it. A 7206 w/ 80 end pieces might fit the bill. No ones really gonna know. The old saying is, "If you don't want to be called out, go vintage, because no one really knows vintage but the serious collector, and how often have you run into a serious vintage collector?"

Check the sales forum at Timezone- I've bought a couple of leather/croc bands from cheapbas- Kenny is his name, takes paypal, ships quickly. The Watch Prince- is it www.watchprince.com/ I believe, also has bands and of course, the old standby ebay is good.

Very nice job stilty, I'm a big fan of Rolex Date watches- clean lines, nice ss case and bracelet. You've done a great job and fitting an 12892 in there is neat. Congratulations.

Heywood's #1 choice is your best option, the MBW from TTK for $350. It'll take the gen T-19, gen bezel insert, crown and tube and a 1520 or 1530 movt can be fitted with a little filing on the inside of the case.

Here's Andrew's noobmariner: http://www.trustytime88.com/index.php?main...products_id=256 In this pic the crystal sits up nicely, check out the serial # and the crown is slightly too big- another noob tell.

Paul's so called perfect sub is a noobmariner. As is River's eta copy sub and josh's $108 beginmariner. Andrew also has the noob w/ eta- it used to run $188, but prices have been going up. All of these watches have the same case which is marked F520117 between the lugs for the serial number. Eddie also used to sell the eta noob- don't know if he still does. There are some variations seen in this model like the thicker date font on the beginmariner (mine had the thinner font), smaller pearls called the zit or pimple. But they are basically all the same watch. Except of course, the original noob from TTK and the beginmariner have asian 21j movts.

Well, Heywood, I think you've pretty well covered it. I tried contacting the guy over in Viet Nam and got no reply, but I wasn't very persistant. Finding a 5513 case is very tough. You'd almost do as well as to buy the whole watch. The problem is that if you have a case, it's easy to find a movt and dial and build or rebuild a watch. It's just like trying to find a 16610 case- they're just not around. These cases never make it to the marketplace. Anyone who happens to find one is going to keep it and build their own watch.

I would think that with a little looking, you could find a watchmaker in the Sydney area who would work on your reps. Certainly the ones with an eta movt. My watchmaker has even serviced/fixed a couple of my chinese 21j movts. The biggest problem is the unavailability of parts- not so much for an eta movt, but things like crowns, tubes, etc. which are rep parts. I had to order a rep crown from China so he could fix one of my subs! Look for the small independent guy that does his own work. You just got to ask around.

I really don't think there's any point in getting upset about the cloning of the ETA movt. In fact, I'm happy to see it in many respects. First of all, remember that with any movement in a replica watch, Swiss ETA, chinese 21j, asian 7750, there is the question of what condition is the movement in when it arrives at your door. As Ziggy says, these are "surplus movts" and I tend to agree. So even a Swiss ETA may need to be serviced and it could be sooner than later- I had one crap out on me in 3 weeks. Also, I've had my watchmaker service a couple of chinese 21j's- now hopefully they'll keep running for a few more years w/o problems. So just because you have a "Swiss" movt doesn't mean you're out of the woods. When you buy a rep, you have to keep in mind that it may require servicing. Secondly, we all know that Swatch Group has been talking about no longer selling ETA movements to every swinging yahoo. These chinese copys will hopefully be a good substitution. And if you have to service them, so be it. All things considered, you've still got a nice watch at a reasonable price. If you're unhappy, go buy a quartz, a knock-off or an inexpensive gen- damn, there's a tons of them around and they're generally good watches. They just don't have the prestigious name that a rep has! I have the River noobmariner w/ the 2836 clone movement and I must say I'm very happy with it. For $99 it's a great deal and if I have to service it, big deal.

There are a few subtle differences including the absence of the DM, the jewel at the balance, the rotor ball bearing assembly, the plastic ring in lieu of the metal ring and no hold down tabs and screws. Whether or not parts will be interchangable will be the acid test for these new movements.

I had good luck last week putting two of the watchesandparts NOS lume dots in two inserts- one was the Paul DRSD and the other was the 5513 w/ the Explorer dial. In both cases, I popped out the old dots and the new ones just pressed in. Then I took off the bezel with the insert still in place and added a drop of glue from the back side. You could also try the illumes dots from ofrei- at $10 each they are cheaper than the one from watchesandparts which ran $27 each by the time they got here to the USA.

Check out Steinhart (or is it Stienhart?), I believe they have a 43mm case, don't know about two tone though.

I like them. They may be a tad too straight, but a far sight better than what you started with.

Interesting, wight. I wasn't aware of the 701 assembly- but w/o any inside splines in the tube, it must have been a trick to assemble. I can see where it would be replaced by the 702.

Looking at Skeet and Urul, it looks like the earliest SRSD had a twinlock crown and tube, and it would stand to reason that the first DRSD's also probably had the twinlock. I'm also thinking the 24-702 assembly dates from the late 60's or very early 70's, because all of the SD's after 67 they show have the three dot triplock crown. I agree w/ drop, in that finding either a 24-7000 or a 24-7020 tube would be tough. And certainly a 24-703 update on any early Rolex is OK- the SC's would do it.

Too bad you didn't straighten up the inside edges of the crown guards before you installed the OEM tube. The pearl would be the only other thing that comes to mind- maybe a watchmaterial pearl. But overall it looks pretty good, enjoy it.

Early subs had the 24-700 series crown and tube- no dots under the crown. These were on subs from the 60's into the 70's. The 24-702 series crown and tube came out in the middle 70's- two gaskets on the inside of the tube, one in the crown- nothing on the outside of the tube, three dots on the crown- the early triplock assembly. Somewhere around 1980, the current version, 24-703 assembly came out. It had the added outside gasket on the tube, three dots and is the current assembly still in use to this day. As for the 1665, I'm thinking it originally came w/ the 24-702 series crown and tube and would have the three dots on the crown since it dates from the mid 70's. Might check www.doubleredseadweller.com and see if they have the information. I would think it would be hard to get the depth rating w/ the original style 24-700 assembly.

Very nice job, Freddy. And a great little tutorial on how to refinish the jubilee bracelet. Enjoy your DJ.

Buying a 2836-2 movt is going to depend on where you are. In the USA, I'd go to julesborel or ofrei. In the EU, Cousins is probably going to be the easiest. The plastic spacer ring basically comes from an old watch- one you have junked- the movement doesn't work or something like that. The same for the hold down clips. A good watchmaker would also have those parts- they're cheap and really something he'd give you if he's a nice guy. Certainly worth no more than a dollar or two. FYI, my watchmaker built my two Frankens for $50 each w/ the parts I supplied. I think that's a great deal! Saved me hundreds of dollars wprth of aggravation.

I've been told that the best time of day to weigh yourself is the first thing in the morning. Then as you go thru the day, you'll find when you step on the scale you're up a pound or two. Retaining water, eating, drinking too much beer... But then you can go work out, do yard work, or otherwise sweat and drop a few pounds. And all thru this I like my watch either loose or real loose. If it's tight, I loosen it up a notch. But I do think this is pretty normal for the size of your wrist to change thru the day by an 1/8 or as much as a 1/4 inch if you're Hulk Hogan.

The pre 2000 Daytonas w/ the running seconds at 9 are still around. Silix has a few and even if they don't have the new 7750 w/ 28800 bph, I think they are still better than getting a Daytona w/ seconds at 6. Just realize that like w/ any asian 7750, you could be looking at a $200 service w/ ziggy sooner or later. But if you really like the watch, it's worth it IMO. Here's the two-tone- if the link works: http://www.silix-prime.com/product.asp?id=1344

What about the case tubes- 24-7030-0? I'd like to get a few of those also.

You want the 24-703-0 crown which is the latest triplock crown- been in production for over 25 years. Pricing depends on quantities- like how many are you talking about. Also, if they are new, unused, that's important. If used crowns are available for $20-25ea shipped to the US, maybe you could pick up quantities of new crowns in the same price range- in bulk that is. Maybe less if you have a good source and are in a good wholesale position. I've seen larger quantities of used crowns (say 50) go for as low as a couple of dollars each, but w/ used, there is always the cull factor- some of them won't work, some are beat up.