bobkat

I love this!  Thank you for sharing.

Haven't been into vintage rolexes much before, but after the cartel 6263 arrived, I was hooked.

Thanks to StoneP who built this. I think the next few steps are going to be a red triangle insert and nato strap.

Debating on doing 2 mm lugs/ aging the case.  I'm a little squeamish about sand paper, but I might try it at some point.

Thanks for the info on S.O.P hah!

2K ... might be worth it if can get a good dial.  So far everything i'm looking at is wrong in some way or another.  I wonder if it'll have to be a refinished gen dial i go with ... 

Thanks for all the feedback.

Does he still charge around 200 for these?

It was closer to 250 or 260 I think, can't remember exactly.

My oh my, so lovely.

You've pretty well covered the case options, etc. With DW out of the picture and given the fact that Spinmaster worked on DW cases and dials, those two are gone.

 

There is 'Son of Phong' who sells parts on ebay- world_time_inc_online is his store- he's got a few dials and other parts.

 

So like you say, the cartel watches are really the only way to go unless you spend big on Phong stuff, also there's MQ over in Saigon, expensive and always a challenge buying from someone in Vietnam.

M2M is your other option- keep your eyes open.

I certainly will keep an eye on the M2M section, thanks for the advice.

Other options are NDT & MQ. Of the 2, NDT tends to be cheaper & more variable, MQ is probably the most expensive, but also the most accurate (most of the time).

In either case, at this price level (high) I would recommend that YOU do your research (on gens) before clicking any buy buttons. No aftermarket part is perfect. They all contain flaws & YOU need to decide which flaws bother you the least.

Thanks for these other options.  The NDT subdial font on the silver 6263 big red looks too thick. The spacing of the red daytona is also a little off to my eye.  I really love the silver dial at MQ, but it states "sold".  The patina on the lume dots, the fonts, they all look great to my eye.

I guess in the end, case shape becomes less of an issue for me with the dial being the biggest draw back of the cartel.  Thanks for the advice I will look more into these two vendors for dials.

Just out of curiosity, what dealer did you get that from. A link would be great, Ive been looking for a base to start a build on and this one looks better than the last "cartel" daytona I purchased. 

I got this from Sead aka supermirrors

It all depends on your budget! Cartel, Spinmaster, DW, Phong, are all options, but each very different in terms of $ invested

Hi Whoopy!  Thanks for your reply.  Well here's my understanding of the case options:

Cartel: good bang for buck.  But the mid case is too thick. readily available.

Spinmaster: not available

DW: not available

Phong: 2-3k for a case set, but best case dimensions and finishing possible.

Here's my understanding of the dial options:

Cartel: bad daytona font/placement, subdial rings not great

Spinmaster: not sure

DW: not available

Phong: pretty good dial, but the concentric rings aren't correct for the big red silver dial

Yuki: incorrect daytona spacing (not sure on concentric rings for sub dials)

Gen: AWESOMENESS! 

I'm not sure how correct that info is, i've tried to find a good repository of info for building a 6263 and it as most things rep it appears to be constantly evolving.

Really nice photos.  I had a P2 before the reps ... it was a lot of fun.  Is this the rep?  The finishing is exactly the same as my gen!

So much wrong with this rep... Hope for a good ingenieur soon!

That watch looks nothing like your photoshoped "QC" photo. If your story is to be believed, you were scammed very hard.

You did really well, some of those parts were a bargain!

shopping

Really awesome build man.  The gen hands must have been a bear to find!

that CF dial though .... mmmhmmmm 

Wow, I have to get me one of those...

The investment is well worth it. I had considered franken before, but in the end it was worth it for me to take the next step.

This is beautiful

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 4

Thanks bro

Stunner

Thanks a lot!

Fall in love!!!!!!!!! Rare beauty!!!!

When I owned the rep 3714 a few years back, I knew this was something I had to get.  It really is love at first sight with the portuguese.

   grailwatch

<3 for me it definitely was.  I sold many of my reps for her.

Love it aswell but the reps only last for about a year. If they'll fix that problem I would surely buy another one. The current lasted for 9 months and was quite expensive.

Yea that's the problem with the reps.  The movements just aren't reliable.  My rep only lasted a little under a year.  This is why I chose to go gen, I just couldn't stay away from the watch!

Had this gen. Really did like it. Maybeeee, shouldn't have sold it - but, thems the breaks. Enjoy her in good health.

Thanks man, appreciated!  You can always get her back!

Congrats! Looks fantastic.  Take care when wearing it, the finish scratches so easily.

That's really beautiful, great job!  Didn't realize the rep case backs fit directly onto the OEM case sets, WOW!

I've had mine about 2 years now, it's running strong. I hack it when not wearing it though.

Sneed: I used to do this too (hack it when not worn).  Did you do any extra modifications to the movement?  Mine lasted literally 11 months.  Then it came and went back to the watchsmith at least 3 or 4 times over the next few years, never lasting for more than a day.  It's great that yours has lasted!

I already asked Andrew about the reliability and he said that the latest batches of the movement are quite OK.

Quite OK is still not good enough for me... It's a freaking beautiful watch though!

I had a lot of problems with the rep movement. Died after less than a year, couldn't bring it back to life.

She's a beauty!

Great photos:D

Posts like Yours just make me spend even more money on watches:D

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for the kind words.  This hobby is great for photo enthusiasts too 

Is it genuine?

Yes it is.  Waited a few years for it

Oh I miss mine now !!!

There's always time for a 3714 renewal!!!

Andy how do you feel the crown guard cut outs are compared to gen.  The gen are also angled, but I feel the rep is a little more obtuse and thus has a larger "corner surface".

Overall a beautiful piece!

really nice photos, I'm thinking about this one!

Very nice!

The pearl looks centered to me! Great looking case and bezel.