alligoat

Beautiful! Congratulations!

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&0&2uswk&ETA_2836 You can start by looking at Ranfft- check out the 2836, 2836-1 and the 2836-2. I don't know what the differences are, probably small improvements over the years.

Looks like you dropped the first 'one' in the listing number. That is an expensive watch- way over priced! Can't tell if that's a black movement ring in there or what? I consider my DJ frankens to be worth maybe $600-750- with Swiss etas maybe. I built them 12-13 years ago when parts were cheaper and more readily available- cost me around $500 each to build back in the day. They've been trouble free so far but I guess they could be due for a service.

Your ebay number produced no results

Swapping in a better dial in a cartel watch is not for the feint of heart- in other words it would take an experienced expert to do it and would require a mod to the 6 o'clock subdial. Swapping out the bezel might work... But I do think the cartel watches are a good start- see if you enjoy the watch and then decide if you want to spend the $2-3K to build a V72 model. Or just enjoy the cartel watch- no one is ever going to probably notice anyway.

These days to build a 6263 with the Newman dial, I guess you could start with a Rubyswatch.com case http://www.rubyswatch.com/Products/watch-cases/da-6263 I don't know what it would cost but I'm thinking that it's in the $600-1000 usd range. Next you'd need to pick up a V72- that could be expensive- you'd be lucky to pick one up for $1500 these days and then you'd probably have to spend $300-500 to have it serviced. A more correct 726 movement would probably cost even more- it has the higher 21,600 beat rate as opposed the earlier V72 which is 18,000. The V726 is more correct for a 6263 build, but hey, who's counting. Next would be the dial- once again, let's look at Ruby's selection http://www.rubyswatch.com/products/a14-2-|-vintage-|-paul-newman-|-6263-|-print-dial-2625 I don't know what this dial costs, you'd have to check with Ruby. Other sources are Phong, maybe around $400, or Minh Quy- MQvintagewatches. Lastly, you'd need a set of hands- maybe $100-150 from the usual suspects once again. Then you'd need a watchmaker to assemble it all and that could be $300-500 maybe. Back in the old days you could build a V72 6263 for around $2000, but alas, those days are gone!

A while back I got a 16800 matte dial from NDTrading. I did it via email. I was doing it for a friend and I/we sent the money via paypal to an address that my friend swears is MQ's. At any rate we got the dial. Natalie is long gone as far as I can tell.

You can't beat those old 16610 rep cases like the last run of the MBW(Ks), WM9, TWBest. That's a beautiful watch Tribal! This is a late MBW with the gen like bezel construction, a WM9 dial and hands, and a TC 93250 It also has the drilled lugholes which are hard to see in this photo This watch has a swiss eta- they're getting harder to find these days. But alas I'm on to a 16610 with the SH3135- as soon as it comes back from NY.

Ofrei.com and Athayavintage.com are other sellers

I like this one also https://www.ebay.com/itm/SEIKO-SKX031-Submariner-Modified-Mens-Watch-Nice-Collections/223911768338?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3D37bfe83e966e40e7b956e0493fe1af0b%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D143462684005%26itm%3D223911768338%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWeb&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 Yobokies has the parts for these builds- like the hands, maybe the bezel inserts and even some no name dials

Yes, the numbers are incorrect. You are right, the 0 means a smooth bezel and 6 is Platinum, I believe. But there's no point in worrying about China getting the numbers wrong. I don't see a problem with the blue dial either but the Rolex picture is a computer pic so it's not very good- but I don't see it as being a brushed dial. Maybe you would be better off with a white dial or a silver one. But the biggest trap you're falling into is expecting a rep to be a perfect copy- it ain't ever going to happen.

This watch is a BP- they make some of the best rep DDs and DJs. No one will be able to tell that it's SS and not WG, but the weight is a giveaway- SS is much lighter that WG. The corona virus can't survive crossing the Pacific so don't worry about that. The big question is can you pull off wearing a rep of a $30K watch?

You're not going to be able to build this watch franken- won't be able to get the parts- Matt can't get them either. Just go with one from Andrew https://www.trustytime.org/watch-brands/rolex/daydate-40mm/rdd0200h-daydate-40mm-ss-ss-blue-roman-flut-bp-a2836-mod3255.html It will be a whole lot easier!

I was watching NCIS Sunday evening on my little 84" flat screen TV and it sure looks like Dwayne Pride/Scott Bakula is wearing a Seiko SNZG15- a nice 42mm Seiko 'military' watch with a black strap. Here's a pic of mine on a modified James Bond NATO. Mine is actually a SNZG13 which came on a metal bracelet, but I actually like the James Bond strap a little better. I picked mine up for around $105- I think that's a pretty good deal for a nice beater- can't be bad if Pride's wearing one!

To answer your question we're going to need a little more info. Breitling has been making the Navitimer for over 60 years! So the first question is- is it real or is it a rep? And how old is it? If it's a rep, you'll have to determine what movement is in there- if it's a Asian 7750, it could get tricky- I'm still looking for someone who will service an A7750 myself. If it's real, you can always take it to a Breitling AD and they can typically service it, it might not be cheap but they can certainly handle it. Or you can look for a independent repair shop in your neck of the woods. As for reluming, you need to check out the people listed here on the forum and ask them if they do reluming. Good luck!

Ryan is a trusted dealer over at RWI and he's been around for a number of years. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him myself if he had something I liked. BTW, welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard! You've certainly chosen an expensive watch- a wrapped gold model. The story is that wrapped gold will hold up better than gold plated. Whether it last 3-5 years or longer, who can say. Some of it depends on how much you wear it. The bezel and the crown on the case will probably do ok, the bracelet is where you'll see wear- if it becomes noticeable just go buy another TT bracelet. This a rep watch so no Intime doesn't use real mother of pearl and the diamonds are faux. The watch may or may not be waterproof- you'll have to find a watchmaker to test it. You can check around on this site under watchmakers or repairs and probably find someone who can do it for you. Adding a Yuki movement, or installing other parts is probably getting ahead of yourself at this point. I would recommend that you find a nice rep DJ in the $200-400 range , preferably in ss and see how it goes first. After you've done a bunch of reading you will have a better feel for the rep watch scene and can plan your next move. These DJs are really pretty decent so I would think that you wouldn't have to go changing out a bunch of parts- enjoy your rep and get a feel for the hobby- good luck

You might want to check your math on the price increases of the subs. I figure in 2025 that the sub will be worth $13,334. And at 8.3% increase it takes around 8.67 years to double- that's called the rule of 72!

All I can see doing is getting another 702 crown from Athaya. Maybe he'll cut you some slack. Gen 702 crowns on ebay are ridiculous these days. 703 crowns are another possibility, but then you'd have to change out the tube. Freddy333 knows about refurbing crowns but he's rarely around these days.

This is more like trivia overload!

I think you may be barking up the wrong tree thinking you can drill holes in a 2824-2 movement to fit a 1016 gen dial on there. You could remove the dial feet and glue a new set in the eta positions, but then you've ruined a gen dial. Or you can buy a 1570/1520 movement and use that. Lastly, you could buy a Yuki eta 1016 dial and sell the gen dial- selling the gen dial would probably pay for the whole build. https://www.yukiwatch.com/catalog/item/7518423/10260988.htm BTW, you get a set of eta hands when you buy the Yuki dial. I used a 1601 case when I built my 1016 Explorer and a 2824-2 movement- worked like a charm. But if you're going into a 16013, 16014 or a 16030 case, you might have to use a 2836-2 movement unless your spacer moves the stem of the 2824-2 down to where it lines up with the case hole correctly. I used 2836-2s when I built my 16013 and 16014 DJ frankens. A 2846-2 would be the same as a 2836-2 as far as dimensions and would give you the slower beat closer to a 1570/1520. Seems like I ran across a smooth bezel on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/A-STEEL-SMOOTH-BEZEL-FOR-MENS-VINTAGE-36MM-ROLEX-DATEJUST-OR-EXPLORER-WATCH-CASE/142894860301?hash=item214532880d:g:218AAOSw44BYId4w maybe this would work. I would think the raffles #2 ring would work fine- that's what I've been using. Also, a T-21 has the same ID as a T-22, but the T-22 is a thicker crystal and might not fit a DJ bezel w/o a lot of sanding.

Looks like a hulk in gold to me.

One important thing to remember is Startime isn't in to replicas- they're a supply house.

Nobody cares about the 5513 other than collectors- it went out of production in 1990- 30 years ago. And parts for the 1520 are getting hard to get these days. Take a look at the Helenarou 5513- with a few mods it could be turned into a decent watch case. https://www.helenarou.com/5513-submariner-retro-vintage-diving-watch-with-swiss-eta551328242.html And do you remember the ST 3035 case? It's no longer available either- I'm sure there's a lot of WIS out there that would love to get their hands on a ST3035 case and build 16800s.

You're on your own there! You could ask the seller. There's two things to think about. One, the DRSD or any 1665 SD is thicker than the 5513/1680 watches because it was designed to withstand greater pressures. This might account for the thicker caseback which you don't like. Secondly, buying a VN caseback probably will cost more than your JKF cost. JKFs are ok but they really are just a budget SD. There's probably other improvements that you could make to improve your JKF that would give you more bang for the buck than changing out the caseback. Better dial, bezel insert, crystal, crown and tube come to mind. People like to swap out the 2836-2 for a 2846-2 which is a lower beat movement- closer to the 1575 movement. Trimming crown guards and drilling lugholes are other improvements that improve the look and get you closer to a gen-like look.