Jetsons

Excellent review & the usual terrific photos, BT.

Great read but fortunately for my wallet, I have yet to be bitten by the Daytona bug. They are a bit on the small side as you say although the gen is built like an anvil and heavier than one would think.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

J

Tourby, I believe Angus has a new 16600 case in the works that is miles above anything that is currently available. Best to hold off for the time being.

Welcome to the rollie forum.

Well, the "Swiss Made" on the 16613 dial looks to be off center so I would say rep.

I would expect a lot more than a crappy blurred photo from a seller probably asking $3K plus for a watch. I would say pass and suggest checking out reputable sellers on TZ.

Be careful out there!

What a great watch ! Beautifully done by the Zig Man.

The AR makes the dial stand out very nicely indeed. Great strap as well. Is it a Shell Cordovan?

Enjoy!

Awesome pics & thanks for sharing!

Looks like you had a wonderful time. I've never been to Egypt but it looks fantastic.

BTW, the Cousteau is a beauty. I had the opportunity to play with Kruzer's and that is one sweet piece.

Cheers,

J

i will buy a new toy... my favorite watch the IWC big pilot is to expensive now and should wait to christmas.

....Tourby, wait until Christmas & get your favorite.

1. rolex sea-dweller

- you wear a 4.500euro watch and ALL will think this is a cheap rep

....Na! A gen Sea-Dweller is a fantastic watch and doesn't look like any rep plus is not that common. The fit and finish is terrific and the 904 steel cannot be replicated. The SD is built like an anvil, has terrific resale (specially if purchased second hand), has a deep history and will easily last a lifetime beating the crap out of it everyday. Should you tire of it, it is very easy to sell at a minimal loss, if any.

You might also look into the JLCs. Fantastic watches and entirely built in-house. Their fit, finish & movements are superb.

Best of luck with your hunt!

Fantastic review and pictorial, The Zigmeister! Damn, that was a terrific read.

Good news these movements designs are headed in the right direction.

Many thanks for sharing!

Vintage or plastic crystal models' correct insert has an acrylic pearl without the metal ring.

Here you go:

Which arm is which? Great vintage Pannies, gents!

Slay, sorry I missed that GTG. Unfortunately, I was way under the weather.

Great meeting everyone as well. I think it's safe to say that all had a terrific time, including the ladies.

Slay, we had dinner & drinks at Sarabeth's Kitchen @ 92nd & Madison. Ed arrived just in time to inhale a pint of Sambuca.

Very nice review, Stephane. Terrific photos and details as usual.

Fitting the bracelets can be a bit tidious but it is not difficult. As L-dizzle pointed out, you'll need to grind a little off the SEL when installing with the OEM bars. I use a dremel with a sanding drum attachment and evenly remove a small amount of metal from the top and bottom edges at a time and check the fit frequently. The sanding drum makes relatively quick work of this mod. If I can do this, anyone can.

The bracelet metal will look much brighter after a good polishing with a quality fine compound. Cape Cod works as well. The satin finish can be reapplied with a green Scotch-Brite pad.

Damn fine piece of craftsmanship, K! Awesome!

I had an OEM bezel assembly and could not get it to sit on the case of either the MBW 1665 and 1680. For some reason, it would not click into place. Fortunately, the MBW parts are sufficiently close to OEM.

The T-19 looks terrific & have thought about doing the same to my Tudor sub. I've seen gen 1680 owners @ TZ do the same and it's certainly an option if one can't stand the cyclops.

I can imagine the cabbage the gen dial set you back.

Enjoy!

A very pleasant surprise indeed!

Many thanks!

Nice watches but at their offered pries, they have a lot of competition from established makes. Jaeger plus others come to mind.

Interesting that the bottom of their dials are marked "Swiss Movt". I would have thought made in the USA may have been more appropriate.

I used a dremel cutting blade and sliced the little metal hoops at the center.

You can then spread the metal apart with a screw driver and the OEM bar will fit securely.

I drilled another pair but that was very tricky work as there isn't much metal to work with. You also need to be careful performing this operation (use lubricant).

No difference in the movement at all.

Stick with the gold ETA and pocket the difference which will pay for the shipping.

The Paul Newman is a great watch and no mods are necessary.

I replaced the standard bracelet with a vintage rivet and the combination looks killer. The Venus copy movement so far has kept accurate time and all functions work perfectly.

Great bang for the buck if looking for the vintage chrono look.

Added: Nice review @ the rlx forum, http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=7434

The Snap-On Cobalt bits are excellent.

#55 for the case holes, http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?to...re=snapon-store

For the bracelet, the #46 should do the trick.

Good luck!

Indeed it does! Perhaps MBW has a new & improved dial factory.

The print of the hour markers look nicely puffy as well judging from your photos. Expose the dial to direct sunlight for a few hours per day over the course of three weeks or so and the markers will develop a nice golden patina. I did this to my 1665 and the end result was quite good. Depending on the amount of sunlight exposure, you can achieve the desired level of dial aging. The price is very reasonable as well.

Added: Great to hear that you were able to source the T-39 superdome. The distortions this crystal causes on the dial when viewed from different angles is something else. It will transform your watch far more than any other mod.

You're more than welcome.

To add to elprimero, for a nice finishing touch, polish with a dremel (buffing wheel with paste) to round the sharp edges of the print. It's not a perfect solution but it will improve things markedly and it's a breeze to do.

Stephane, the date wheel on this one has improved bold dial print which is a big plus. Very nice SD which will look terrific one the mods are finito!

It seems to have an alarm mechanism so I it may be what you're feeling when shaking the watch. The top crown should be for setting and winding the alarm.

BTW, there is no need to shake a manual winder. Just wind it fully and enjoy.

Yepp,

Tommy makes good work.

Congrats

Thanks Tribal but unfortunately, it's not mine.

This one sold a long time ago on RWG1. I had my hands full at the time and passed on it.

Gunnar, take your time and keep your eyes peeled on the TZ sales corner. Personally, I would take a serious look at Jaeger Le-Coultre. New, they can be found for 30% or so off from very reputable sources. The fit, finish & movements of a JLC will never be replicated in any way that is remotely convincing. They are superb watches and IMO, one of the best relative values in the high end.

Zenith El Primero. Keep and eye on Watchseller and of course, TZ.

Added: Just to give you an idea on the El Primero:

http://watchseller.com/zenporroyelp.html

http://watchseller.com/zenporelprim.html

Another would be Rlx but I don't think you want to go there.

Gunnar, I agree 100% with luisik. The last thing I ever worry about is if someone thinks my gen is a rep. If they did, I would know immediately that they didn't know beans about watches.

For your type of budget, you have a world of fine time pieces to select from. Buy what you truly want and enjoy it. I would only add that in this price range, I suggest concentrating on watches with in-house built movements. The latter keep their values more so that those with off the shelf movements plus those movements will not be replicated.

Strange but there exist huge cultural differences to perceived value for 2nd hand consumer goods.

Rule of thumb where I hail from is instantly 50% of retail. Other countries see it at just a little under retail.

.

Reg, @ 50% off you should be loading up on gens such as Rlx. Patek, JLC, Vacheron and the likes.

As to the original post, I agree that deals are not as common as they once were. On the other hand, customs is more of an issue now than before, shipping costs have soared and the methods of payment have changed for the worse. The latter two can add considerable cost to the advertised prices & pmt can sometimes be a PIA. This is nothing compared to the price escalation of gens (new or used) in the past 2-3 years which is downright amazing.