alligoat

I used a Clark's in my Euromariner and it's fine. I order from Ofrei from time to time, but I do so online so I avoid Bob Frei! You might also check out Cousinuk, they have a 16610 sapphire which looks almost exactly like a gen in the side profile. It looks like the closest thing to a gen crystal, but I haven't tried it out yet. BTW, I thought BK liked the TW best sapphire, thought it was the best he'd seen of all the rep crystals.

With crown guards, the biggest thing is do you remove the case tube or do you leave it in? If you leave it in, sandpaer is the only way to go and it's fairly slow. I was doing a set with 200 grit wet dry yesterday and finally took out the case tune. But luckily the case tube came out easily. I've ruined a few and then you have to tap the hole and go back w/ a 7030 tube and maybe a gen crown or a good rep crown that fits on the gen or aftermarket tube. I use the case tubes from wholesaleoutlet990, but Yuki has them and also Clarks, maybe others. Whern you remove the case tube, I then go in there w/ a file and take the CG's down, it's fast enough and easier to control than a dremel. Sand paper (400/600/1000) and some polish will wrap it up. Yesterday I polished a case with a dremel w/ a felt polishing wheel and some auto polish, quick and easy, but the movement was out and I just rinsed the case afterwards. 1000 grit sandpaper and a cape cod cloth are way too slow, but they will work eventually.

Good looking watch! JMB was the key to success on my 1016 build also. He turned a stainless steel bezel that fit like a glove on my 1601 DJ case. This watch even passed the WR test at the watchmakers, so it's good for anything. And it has a relumed dial courtesy of LHOOQ so it's great for viewing at night. J also salvaged my PT 1665 by turning another ring for me and recently got me another crystal for my SSD V2 which cured the Wokky blues! He's been my salvation, w/o him I'd be one frustrated cat!

Ingod comes and goes, but I'm sure he'll be back. He actually sells quite a few gen watches, nothing terribly expensive, but gens nonetheless. And of course, we're all looking for his dials!

Natalie's passion is NDTrading Corp's ebay site. Natalie runs NDTrading. The 2846-2 are all swiss so far, but the gmt part is a chinese addition. My watchmaker got mine running again after a service, but his comment about the gmt hand was that it's decorative- not correctly geared. The movements coming out of the Josh 1655- the DG3804- as Rolexaddict calls them, might be another possibility. White dials are hard to find, I saw a couple on Ingod44's site last month, but they were bid up to $300 or so. Nothing currently on NDT, but it doesn't hurt to ask. But an NDT dial could easily run more than a whole PT 6542 w/ a white dial.

Those 571's should fit like a glove. I have gen 571's on my 6238/9 and they're perfect It's the watch on the left. The one on the right has the DW 78350 w/ rep 571 ends, it fits well also. But, I don't think you can swap the 571's for the 357's on your 7835.

Are you sure this isn't a 5500 Explorer ? It would be the smaller 34mm case. The 1016 has 'Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified' on the dial and the 1570 movement like you say. The 5500 was marked 'Precision ' and had either a 1530 or later the 1520. Looks to me like a 5500. Also, the end links on the bracelet are wrong- they fit terribly.

The V2 SSD was certainly a disappointment for me, especially when you compare it to the V1. Wokky rehaut, tall sloped crystal with the visible etched crown, and a solid mid link bracelet. And this new watch has all of those terrible features- it's back! The rep makers get something right for a while then they fall back into the crap.

Case looks a little thick to me and those yellow markers are a turn-off. So far the concensus around here is that sticking to the Josh 1655 Explorer II case and building a 1675 is the best course. But it runs around $500 for all of the parts. Here's the same watch with white markers- much more to my liking http://www.yourtrustytime.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5&products_id=8348&zenid=737009241f5ed06d73622450e4c75956 And you have to admit, it is half what building a 1675 costs. The dial is better, doesn't say 'Oyster Perpetual Date'. And who's gonna really notice the too thick case?

Good luck, this will be pretty much be hit or miss. Check out the dealers, Josh and Andrew come to mind, maybe they could get you a decent TT bracelet. Big problem is I haven't seen a decent one in a while- where the gold wraps down the sides of the SEL center pieces. Angus is advertizing TW Best cases, maybe a TW Best bracelet would work out ok. Who did you get your noobmariner from? At one time the bracelets were good, but quality has slipped recently. This isn't gonna be easy.

Nice looking watch! M550104 SN, would that be a TW Best? Also, is the bezel construction gen-like? Certainly the case has possibilities.

Looks good highoey. Let's see, MBW case, gen dial, gen insert, looks like a 703 crown, T-19 crystal, drilled lugholes... Under the hood, a 2846-2 possibly or a 2836-2

Certainly the first batch of PT 1665's were better, but that was two years ago. The thing about the chinese rep market is that it's always changing. Noobs and SSD's, MBW or MBK's- everything is a moving target. That's why all you can do is hope for the best and if it doesn't work out, go onto the next watch. Sooner or later you'll end up w/ a few keepers.

Yuki watch- www.yukiwatch.com comes to mind. Also, the bracelet might be available from josh- it came on my 1655. http://www.1-pc8838.com/rlbs10001-vintage-stainless-steel-folded-bracelet-16551675-p-9234.html The big problem with the extra links is that they are a pain to install- as Mr. T would say, "I pity the fool who has big wrists!" But I doubt you've ever run across Mr. T, Rene since I fear you're from the EU and maybe even France!

Sure is a beautiful watch and I fall into the Ronin/Tribal camp and see nothing wrong with the dial although I will admit that it would be more suited for a 6241, but both watches were produced concurrently. It's ironic that none of these watches were popular in their time!

Your best bet will be building a 5504 Explorer w/ the Air King case. Yuki has the dials, maybe others. Haven't the rep mfrs made a Tudor mini-sub? Seems like I've seen it before...

http://www.yourtrustytime.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_8 scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the SSD for $318- nothing comes up. Same with the SSD Lite.

Yes, the correct tap is 3.0mm x .35. Jules Borel and Ofrei also carry them. You can find them at tool supply houses also for less, but the .35mm thread pitch is somewhat of an oddball. You could use the silicone grease or the G-S Hypo cement. The original construction was a tight compression fit. Around the 70's Rolex added a rubber gasket under the compression ring. Don't know if they use silicone or not, but probably not G-S Hypo cement.

Freddy, me thinks you are stumped! Even an expert can learn something new! Those gold NCG 1675s could have a 1560 GMT (early) or a 1570 GMT (after 64-65). But it was always my understanding that they were very early 60s.

Nice trio! Back in the 70's, I didn't even know about the Explorer II or the DRSD! Just the subs and DJ's!

Nice 1675! I've seen a few of these and they certainly are beautiful watches.

I was thinking that a 2824-2 would fit in a 1500 DATE case, but I haven't gotten there yet- but I have all of the parts!

Looks fantastic and I really like that open '9' on the datewheel! Great job.

Back around the time of the Euromariner, 2-3 years ago, people were trying the WSO assembly, mostly with not much luck. I'd buy one only if I'd exhausted all other possibilities.

The price is now up to $148 and w/ freight, it was like $173 as I recall. And Frank's right, the DW is the modern DW. But the movement is doing fine and I got the one w/ the white lume and it looks good. I'll probably wear it for a week or two til I tear into it. I already swiped the folded link 7836 bracelet and put it on my Explorer 1016.