alligoat

The old smoke treatment is where you say put the dial in a container and blow smoke in there. Maybe it's cigarette smoke, maybe some smoke from some burning paper, anything that will give the dial an aged look. I've never done it myself, but have seen it used around here a few times. Spraying a light coat of matte varnish might also give the dial a little color and an aged look. This wouldn't be the clear varnish, but one that has an aged tint to it.

Looking good! I'd still like to see a tinge of brown on there- maybe a tea or coffee bath, or the old smoke treatment

The CousinsUK has the correct side profile- like a Rolex crystal. As for the greasy part, that's going to happen with any sapphire crystal- they aren't as nice as a plastic crystal in that respect. Even my gen subs show fingerprints- I just keep wiping with my shirt- old t-shirts are the best!

Why don't you just order a 25-295-C2 crystal from CousinsUK- a lot quicker and cheaper and they have a nice 295-C crystal.

Send it back! A watchmaker wouldn't be able to machine threads on there- might ask jmb if he can.

Hontwatch sounds familiar and when you go to the site he mentions Davidsen- also a familiar name. Hontwatch.com has been shut down by the Chanel/Cartier etc. group. Hont may be on other rep forums or even the homage forum- might check around some more

I liked some of those vintage watches- looks like you could pick up the Ocean One Vintage Red for around $350usd plus s&h. That Soprod A10-2 movement in the Ocean Ti is a new one on me. And the ST-5 looks like their version of the A2824-2, but with a Swiss twist

Nice job Kime! HR is Helenarou- a seller over in HK

Looking good J! I'd like to see the lume a shade or two darker- a deeper yellow with a tinge of brown to it. Which 18K movement are you planning to use? I thought this watch sold for $181K!

An older MBW won't accept a gen crystal. The first MBW to accept a gen crystal was the Euromariner from Chris at Eurotimez- that was around 2010. By swapping out a few parts, I ended up with a nice gen like 16610 bezel assembly on my Euromariner and a watch that would be comparable to a WM9 or a TC 16610.

This is the standard MBW 1680 dial issue- the MBW 1680 dial is 26.2mm to fit in the MBW 5513 case- which is what MBW used to make the 1680 rep. 5513 dials are smaller at 26.0 - 26.2mm. So as has been said, you can shave the dial or try to mill out the dial seat in the case a little. Take your pick. If you mill out the dial seat with a dremel it will hopefully never be seen. Shaving a dial as has been mentioned should be taken slowly to avoid messing up the dial. As off ronin007, you'll need a different 16610 case that will take a gen dial- old style noobmariner, ST3135 case, WM9 or TC. Old style MBW cases took a 28mm or larger dial and gen 16800/16610 dials are 27.3mm.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20MM-GOLDEN-PRESIDENT-BAND-BRACELET-WITH-FLAT-ENDS-FOR-ROLEX-MEN-DAY-DATE-WATCH-/141760202903?hash=item2101910897 Here's Riyi's band with flat ends

First of all, which type of DD case do you have? The 1803, 18038 and the 18238 all have a flat spot between the lugs http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODUzWDEyODA=/z/bKQAAOSwgQ9Vl3EG/$_103.JPG?set_id=880000500F Later models like the 118238 have the typical round curve between the lugs. so you need to find your bracelet according to which type of lug design you have. I haven't run across any dealers just selling the bracelet, so you may have to buy the whole watch to get the bracelet- buying a cheapo from Silix prime might work, but it wouldn't be an A quality type of deal You might also try looking for an aftermarket dealer like Riyi002 on ebay- presidential type bracelet w/o the logo Lastly, try a WTB in the sales area, maybe someone has one they don't need. This isn't going to be easy!

That 1016 looks pretty good- three little niggledy things- the minute hand could be a tad longer- was it rafflestime that has a 13mm minute hand? Crown could screw down a little bit more on the case tube and if you crimped/squeezed the end pieces they might look better against the case. But it looks good!

It sure looks like Rolesium and you'd hope that's what you get if you order one.

Thanks metalmickey! That certainly is interesting- I can see why they call it a clone of a clone and not a very good one at that. Just one more thing to look out for when buying a rep!

It would be interesting to see a pic of the movement. I've had good luck with the 2813 lately, so I'd probably stay away from the 'Z2"

I think the gasket is supposed to be on the underside of the crystal retention ring and not on the midcase. This happened sometime around the early 70s so the 5.4m SN would have it, but not on the top of the midcase IMO.

Don't want to burst your bubble, but the hi-beat dg2813 is not a copy of the 2824-2- it's just a dg2813 that has been reved up to 28,800 bph. Typical dg2813s rev at 21,600 The asian eta clone is the copy of either the eta 2824-2 or the 2836-2. But the watch looks good, as does the lume

Ofrei has the Sternkruz http://www.ofrei.com/page419.html XS305-451 They also have a good selection of GS crystals. Trevor's 5513 looks like a cartel model and I just got one and the T-19 which I had didn't fit, so I stuck with the domed crystal that came with the watch.

Check out a 552 on Ranftt http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?13&ranfft&0&2uswk&Omega_552 It's a pretty wide movement- 27.9mm and D overall is 28.4. Hand sizes are 150/80/18- Also, it's pretty slim- 4.5mm- don't know if the stem position would line up with the case tube. But like Panerai says, try it and let us know.

Didn't Michelle give you a name to send it to. Typically they pick up the payment at the WU office

I wouldn't worry about it. The movements are similar in quality so get whichever watch works best for you. I've noticed on Breitlings before that one will take a 2824 and another dealer will have a 2836 in his model- I just figured that there were slight differences in the two cases to accommodate the two different movements. Could be different rep manufacturers.

That set that themannier linked to should work. But it is the chinese copy of the better set made by Bergeon. Also, sometimes the Rolex dies don't work on the rep casebacks, but they're usually close enough to get the watch opened.

I got the 1655 with the dg3804 movement- filed down the case at the cgs to make it like the 1675 and added a bezel from Clarks- built a white dialed Pan Am 1675. Can't get the white GMT dial from Ingod44 anymore.