oirish

Cheers Toad. I can imagine its a finicky job. I'm looking forward to it in a strange way. I have to start somewhere and besides, this is a good excuse to get myself my first set of tools.

Thats what I was afraid of. I see lots of tutorials here on removing and replacing hands. I reckon I'd be up to the job. Think I'll try the 21j first. Thanks avitt.

I have 3 reps Im very happy with. Two of them have the hour hands well out of synch with the minute hands. The movements are 21j and a venus hand wind. Ive havnt yet opened up the cases and messed around with the internals so I'm a bit nervous about it. I want to take out the movements and physically align the hour hand. Rather than taking off the hands is it ok to pivot the hands on the central stem? Will this action loosen the grip the hands already have or will it damage the works?

Great resources there athan. Nope! No email in signiture. Your info is gold. Cheers.

Thanks b16. So if we want to contact DSN, its best to PM him and take it from there.

For as long as I have been here I have been missing something. I cant get hold of Davidsen's site. Even newer noobies than me know where to look at his wares. I think its www.pam111.com. Could someone verify?

As 7750s are a mainstream movement in the rep world, and relatively cheap, I would've thought that there are lots of scrap ones about. Some parts must be up for salvage. I mean, surely the same parts dont wear out/break all the time... or am I talking through me [censored]???

From what I hear on RWI WatchEden are pretty good to deal with. They have lots of paneral on offer... as do a lot of other dealers, but They seem slightly cheaper than other dealers here. I just want to know if anyone has had any experience with the Pams with them? Yes, I know Davidsen is supposed to be the dogs [censored] at Pams, but I'm not looking for an exquisite rep. Having said that I'm not looking for a piece of crap either. A nice functional Pam that is reasonably accurate with a 21J movement will do me. I know some here here are fanactical about Pams. I'm not looking for a grilling. Us noobs gotta start somewhere and at this stage what is cheap aint gonna hurt either. All opinions welcome...

Great link, By-Tor. Thanks. After following it I decided to get a SOSF and FM crazy hours with date. Toad's review helped me along with the FM decision. Both of these have cheap asian movements. The cost of these two reps is well within budget and in their own way are super reps, IMHO. I have a V3 graphite BCE A7750 I'm really happy with. I reckon I'll chill out on chasing up any more 7750s and give the cheaper mvts a go for a while.

The Asia 4813 movement is a good movement. Its a cheaper alternative to the A7750 for those just getting into this game. Also for those wanting to take apart movements, the 4813 is cheap, http://www.cousinsuk.com/searchresults.aspx?searchtext=8413 at less than 15 Euros. Also, please correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't it more likely for a 4813 rather than a A7750 to leave the factory clean and oiled? Times are tough. I know I'd rather swap out a 4813 rather than a 7750 after it croaks and servicing costs would likely be the same - high. As most of the 'quality' reps have 7750 movements and are kitted out such that the case wont accept a 4813, what reps are the good ones that can accept the 4813 movement? As a side note, seagulls are relatively cheap too. Any suggestions on quality reps with these? (quality meaning accuracy to the gen; face, hands, case, back, etc.) Suggestions welcome on any other cheap quality movements that may have good reps attached and are also cheap to service. Cheers!

Thanks Toad.

Everybody seems to have forgotten about this question. Any ideas as I would be interested to know too?

I've never really considered a DeWitt. Thats an awesome watch. Looks like a quirky design. Could be my next potential rendevouz...

Ah ha! I see... and so all my pennies drop. There you go. Isn't knowlege sharing great. So gen AR can chip too. I'm assuming rep AR is inferior just as its nature its supposed to be. But my BCE AR looks really good. I'm happy with it and to me thats all thats matters. Thanks for the heads up.

Sorry. I'm confused now. I thought the AR was to simulate the appearance of sapphire crystal common on a lot of gen watches. Now you're telling me AR is present on these gens, albeit heavier.

It dinna luick sooo bid... I was imagining serious flaking. I could live with those marks. And after 2 years, Id be surprised if the Ar was immaculate. I'm assuming daily wear there Scotty?

What does it look like when it starts to wear away? Does it chip, get thinner, or flake off? The watches discussed here and those being sold by rwg's recommended dealers probably come from one or two source factories so I'm sure that the applied AR is pretty consistent. Typical noob question I know, but a valid one. Any ideas?

There's talk about a v4 BCE. Whats your take on it?

What gives? This loss in time seems kinda excessive judging by all accounts here. Should I be worried? The rep is due to be serviced by my smith in 4 days time. Would I be throwing money at the smith for nothing as 5 mins diff is a huge red flag? The mvt is a A7750. I followed all care and working instructions here as per the guides for the A7750 and the BCE. I havn't wound it via the crown at all. Would a service sort out this time loss? Maybe all it needs is a fine tune or do I just need to wear it more so that it builds up a good enough charge?

I sorted it. I removed the two links via brute force. There are 2 screws per link with one screw head rounded in each link. I stuck a screwdriver shaft behind each link with the dodgy screw and pulled. It did the job. That was my first mini mod. I reckon I'm ready to take on an A7750 service now. . Me watch hammer is around here somewhere... Thanks for the responses. I'm on the hunt for a strap too. Your tips will come in handy there.

Tan brown leatrher strap at all times. Nothing beats it for sheer class. And it doesnt matter what clothes you wear. Your watch is an independant item. Its a combination of jewellery and clothing so I think its more than capable of standing on its own. just my 2 cents.

Ive just made a mess of the screwheads on my new BCE SS bracelet. I was trying to take off a link or 2 and in my haste I made a balls o' it all. I now have two options; replace the bracelet with a strap or try and bore out the dodgy screws (Which I aint looking forward to). Ive tried taking out the pins to remove the bracelet but I cant get a proper grip to do the job. Any suggestions? Do I need a special tool for this? Should I just go to a smith? Also who is the best to buy Breitling straps from? A tan brown would go nicely with my graphite Evo. Any help appreciated.

My BCE mvt is an A7750 28800. Its a very good mvt by all accounts here, though I know not as good as a swiss ETA 7750. I want this watch to last and not have a reported (very) max life span of 3 years. I'll be treating it like its a gen. I'd like to update the bezel too. Its the biggest flaw at the mo and screams 'REP'. The datewheel has already been updated (still sunken, but thats the tradeoff with the Asian mvt over the ETA). I might let the watch die after a couple of services. I feel it would be cheaper than replacing the mvt whenever it dies. Some reports here state the average unserviced life of a A7750 is about 1 year give or take a few months. So to me thats 200 - 300 Euros service costs for min 10 years life. And min 100 Euros per movement every year for 10 years if I were to replace the movement. Thats a big difference. Maybe I'm off in my assumptions but even erring on the side of caution these calcs still make sense to me. Ive read the servicing forumns here and the 7750 is a very complex mvt so I hope my new smith can deal with it, especially as its a chrono. She used to work at an AD so should be capable. If this fails for me what about the servicing people here in rwg? Who is willing to service my piece and resides in the EU? Ive seen that it may cost around 100 Euros. I dont want to risk another trip to and from China. I have customs worries. I'd feel badly stung financially if customs nabbed my newly serviced loot.

Pics are really nice... does the piece justice. Mine to follow when I get hold of it. Its going to be my daily beater.

Lots of good advice there. Thanks guys. I found two watchsmiths willing to take on reps in my area. I did this by approaching ADs with a story about servicing my 1950 Bulova. I asked for a specialist they might know in the area who has experience with old movements as my watch may need parts. This is a great way to get a list of retired watchsmiths who are glad of the business and would probably like to see the innovations in the modern rep market anyway. My first rep my BCE just arived. Looks good. I'll wait a month or two to make sure its ticking over ok before I get it serviced at one of these guys. I'll let you know how I get on. This whole thing is turning out to be one big adventure...