alligoat

There's an old saying around here in the rep world, "Stick with stainless steel and you can't go wrong." Buying a TT sub is OK, but you just have to be ready to buy a new bracelet when the original one wears thru. Probably the crown and bezel would hold up better and not be a problem on the watch itself. Also, you need to check how the the gold plating returns down the sides of the two center end links where the bracelet attaches to the watch itself. In the past this has been a bad detail where you had gold on the top of the center links and the sides were ss. This is a dead giveaway to your bracelet being gold plated. Paul's "Perfect Sub" ain't perfect, but it is a good deal, all things considered.

Rolex made two movements in the 60's-late 70's. A 1575 date and a 1575 gmt with date. And they were labeled 1570, which is the base movement they are derived from. A straight 1570 movt wouldn't have the date feature, and if it has a date feature, it is technically a 1575 movement. The 1575 date and 1575 gmt are of course slightly different, with the gmt having the extra 24 hour hand. Can you modify a 1575 date movement into a 1575 gmt? I would think it is possible, but since these two movements have been out of production for 25 years and parts availability is always an issue, I would think that it wouldn't be cost effective. And of course, then you'd be building an expensive Frankenwatch, and I'm not sure if it's worth the expense at that point. Sometimes, it's better to just go buy the right watch, like a vintage 1675.

Beautiful watches, Pug. I sure wish I had a brother in Bangkok. I guess you saved a little money in the process also. Wear them in good health and keep us posted on the mods.

I just ordered some watch straps that I saw on Timezone this week (go to the sales corner) from fredawatchstraps@comcast.net. www.watchprince.com/ is another good place. As for deployant clasps, if you want a Rolex logo on the back, ebay is probably going to be your best bet, with the clasp coming out of Hong Kong or China, since the legitimate sellers here in the US can't sell anything with a Rolex logo on it.

I vote real for the same reasons as nietzsche, plus the shape of the cg's

You might check with Angel and Jay, @ Silix. I just bought a TT sub bracelet which I'm still waiting on since I didn't spring for the EMS air!

Paul's $149 sub and sub LV are two of the best deals out there. Yes, the dial print is good, date mag is fine, don't try to remove the bezel or you'll be sorry. I did manage to trim the inside cj edges on my Noobmariner (it's the same case and dial w/ an asian 21j movt) w/o removing the case tube or the bezel. Took the dial and movt. out, used masking tape and went slowly w/ a file in one direction and wet/dry sand paper and polish. The crown is too big, but Paul's has a real ETA 25j 2836-2 and that's what sets it apart from the Noobmariner and the Beginmariner. But they're all great watches at great prices. Some people just don't realize how lucky we are!

If you're building a 16200 series Datejust, you might try the aftermarket 3135 date wheel- it's correct as far as the fonts and closed 6's and 9's. On my 16014, I used the Luenfat datewheel, which is the same as Cubic Works, as I understand. But a 16014 is from the early 80's and the open 6's and 9's are correct for that era. I used a 2836 movt. but for a 16200 series, it probably will take a 2824 due to the position of the crown tube. Hopefully the 3135 date wheel will be thin enough to work, you'll still have to glue it on the ETA date wheel. Good Luck.

The standard size for a Datejust used to be 36mm. Yesterday, I saw a new Datejust advertized as 37.5mm, this being the latest series, 1162xx. So it's a little larger. The Date is 34mm and I'm not sure what a medium Datejust is, if I had to guess, I'd say 32mm. As I recall, women's Datejusts are 29mm

Sixteen six ten Five five one three Sixteen eighty Duh, yeh, that one with the black face...

He's referring to the "m" in 300m lining up with the "m" in chronometer. Look at the gen ss dial that bklm1234 posted and compare.

I just ordered an oyster band from them last week. I guess I'll email them and see what the possiblities are of them bringing back the ROL187.

I agree, looks pretty good to me, too. Date mag is good, fills the cyclops correctly. Fluted bezel looks good, case is fine. I don't see how anyone could call you out.

I would think a Milguass case would be too small (around 37mm according to TWG and I would have guessed it was 36mm like a Datejust) and then you have to fit a Sub bezel to it. There is no easy answer at this point. You can go to http://www.watchsilix.com/ and look at the old ROL187 which is the old sorta close to a 6538 watch that Jay and Angel used to carry. Maybe if enough people showed some interest, they could bring it back. It's a good starting point. I have one which I'd like to change into a 6542 GMT, if I could just find a dial (which would have to fit in the case, but real Rolex dials might be too small).

When I typed in www.swissexpert.com, a bunch of advertised sites came up. Jomashop and othe rwatch places... So it must go by another address..... Caveat Emptor!

Damn! I even have the same watch- the 5512 (dial) and the same 5513 case w/ the same SN- 3865055. I sure hope the one bidder is a schill! I'd appreciate everyone reporting this to ebay, these frauds really chap my ....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Rolex-Submarin...tem260081435473 Damn, and no reserve to boot! Of course, you can't really put a reserve on a $100 watch now can you?

A few dealers have sent me parts. Dials, a sub crown. A couple of times, I was ordering a watch and I think this helps. You just gotta ask. The problem is, the crown is a $5-10 part and the postage and handling is probably more than the part.

I still dream of this vintage GMT Master, the 6542 with the white dial, the desk pilot's watch! Heck, if I had the dial, I could build the watch!

I did manage to trim the cg's on my noobmariner w/o removing the bezel or the case tube. I just used masking tape to protect then both and then worked slowly and in one direction w/ the file and wet/dry sandpaper. I did remove the movement, though. I've heard horror stories from people who did try to remove the bezel- bending it, etc.

Beautiful job! The bezel insert and crown look great, as does the whole watch. I'm sure you'll enjoy wearing it.

If I'm going to tear up a watch, I certainly would prefer to be wearing the TTK's noobmariner, or the Josh beginmariner. Paul's perfect sub, TWG's $188 or EL's sub are good if you want to tear up something w/ an ETA inside. I hate being caught w/ the gens on when I find myself in the trenches, doing demo work or out in the yard sweating and gettin. Even when I'm scuba diving, I prefer to wear a $200 knock-off sub dive watch. There's just no point in tearing up a perfectly good Rolex, IMO.

The engraving looks like nothing I've ever seen before, ech!

It would be the same movement, 3135, and I assume you're talking about the gen, so you'd think they'd take the same parts. Date fonts on the newest subs are thinner than the older font. Maybe you're looking at the difference between the latest and fonts from a few years ago.

First, remove the bezel from the case, then remove the insert from the bezel. Then I would sand the outside edge of the bezel down- maybe 600 and 1000 grit wet/dry sand paper, followed by some polishing. Consider it instant aging. My gen 1680 is very smooth, as is my WM 1680. My 5513 sub with the Explorer dial has the same sharp bezel. I've sanded it some, but not enough, yet.