sssurfer

Ouch! Did you pay for a whole new watch? About the buckles, I suppose that you just swapped them?

After having worn the watch a while under several different light conditions, I am now forced to admit that the rose accent of the replate is very far from the original. Very, very paler. It's not worth any pics. Even worse, no local plater here seems able or willing to assure a more reddish accent. It seems as the original rose tone of this watch is impossible to replicate (!?!). I am going to ask Josh for a solution...

Thanks again for your reply. Just some more questions, if you like. I too have that A*F Switzerland luminous paste that you got from Ofrei. It comes with a glue and with a diluent. As your medium did you use the glue? Did you dilute it with the diluent? And, as your black oiler, did you use the one that comes with that box? I am asking this as I am considering to use one of those 'automatic oilers' from Ofrei instead -- those oilers that resemble a pen and have a trigger to release a drop -- in hope to get a better control that way. Do you have any experiences or opinions about them, by chance? Lastly, did you find it absolutely necessary to crush the pigment powder? It already seems quite fine, like flour or talcum powder... I did not try to mix it with the medium, though, so it could rather come out like fine sand instead. Thank you, and apologies for bothering you. I am a complete newcomer in the matter, and I've heard it is quite a difficult task, so I would really like to start it the right way and I'm eager on your expertise considering how you have been succesful at it.

... and naturally one for me too

You are welcome. Btw, you can easily get that info in my PAM table.

Holy crap, what a lume!!! And great hint, thanks!!! I too purchased some RSG pigments (green/green, uncolored/green, uncolored/acqua, and uncolored/yellow) some time ago, and I was just waiting to get the nerve (and info) to try them on a test dial. Please give us some more details -- especially: - What did you use as a medium? - Which ratio of pigment vs medium did you use? - How did you obtain a proper adhesion to the hands and marks? (glue into the medium, or what?) - Did you relume the hands on their back or front? - What did you use to apply the lume? Really thanks! I am eager to try to follow your steps...

No pure titanium 40 mm, but if you are happy with titanium+steel then you may want to consider the 072, 074, 108, 121, and 122.

Good. Thanks for the link! Great! Now, if you are going to fix the loose lever problem, there's literature here around...

...PROTOTYPE CG?!?

Currently it is at watchsmith for reassembling, and I'll soon have a holiday week far away from my PC, so I think I'll be able to post pics on the 2nd half of September. Tnx for your interest.

Well, that is great news indeed! Eagerly awaiting for any update from you, Mark. (But how many projects are you currently working on?!?... )

Your size is 35.5 or 36 mm. If your broken crystal still allows measuring, better measure it with a precision caliper or a micrometer (possibly a digital one) to know your size. Anyway, the teflon gasket on which the crystal sits might compensate for small differences. Just be aware that those crystals from Ofrei are mineral glass, not sapphire. Should you find a source for 35.5-36 mm not expensive sapphire crystals please let us know, I am sure that many members here would be interested. Btw, ebay x-jewelry crystals advertised as sapphire are actually mineral glass.

UPDATE AND RESULTS The spot revealed not to be an area of oxidation, but an area where the rose gold plating had peeled off. The greenish color was the color of the underlying layer of non-rose gold (the yellow color of the 'normal' gold just seemed greenish because sort of a color optic illusion for the contrast between the rose and the lemon accent of the two different golds). Considering the abovesaid, no wonder that no wiping or cleaning try resulted successful. Rather, they even enlarge the defective area and surrounding similar-but-smaller spots. A plating pen resulted unhelpful as well. It did NOT replate the defective area, and it rather enlarged it at 10x. The pen revealed able to plate in rose gold only areas where the original gold plating (rose or else) had been completely removed by me. I repeat this in case it may come helpful to some member: GOLD PLATING PENS DO NOT PLATE OVER PRE-EXISTING GOLD PLATING. (Curiously enough, my pen plated bare SS instead without any problems, even without any special pre-treatment). Naturally, stripping away all the original gold plating from the whole case, and plating it again from scratch, was beyond my plane. That pen was meant to perform a small retouch only. So I located a plating service and gave them the whole task. Cost for stripping and plating again all the case and accessories (clasp, screws, etc) in 8 microns gold (rose gold for the surface layer): 50 EUR. I got it back today, and all seems fine.

LOL Try the first tool in this page. It worths every cent it costs.

I too use a link tool (from Ofrei) and it worls perfectly. Just an additional hint: the direction to push the pin is usually from the back side (wrist side) of the CG to the top. But try gently, and if it does not come out easily then try (gently as well) in the opposite direction before applying more pressure from the backside.

Don't worry too much: scammed people before they found their way here are countless (me included naturally): just take it as a paid-for experience. Oh, and welcome aboard! P.S.: really a piece of crap. You'd better ask if anyone is able to find any correct detail in it.

Uhm... hard to give advice without knowing what smell it is. Maybe you can zip it in a file and post it? Else, here are two possible take-all solutions: 1) Dip the strap in a vinegar solution. Start with 10% vinegar and 90% water. If it does not work, rise to 20% / 80%. Then 30% / 70%. And so on. Stop when the smell disappears or as soon as the strap look begins to change. Verify the strap each 30 mins, and if it begins to change then rinse in fresh water for 6 hrs. If look does not change, leave it in solution 12 hrs max., then let it dry 24 hrs and try if the smell disappeared. If not, then go with the next %, and so on. 2) If solution #1 did not work, then, as a last resort, you may purchase a lighter and keep it lighten just below each of your nostrils while deeply inhaling with your nose. 15-20 secs for each nostril should be enough to cauterize your olfactory cells and leave you free from that annoying smell (as well as from any other smells you may encounter afterwards). Abundant alcohol intake is recommended before trying this way. (A similar result may be obtained by using a hair-drier in place of the lighter, but it can require up to 30-40 mins for each of your nostrils).

I don't understand why you all are making such a hubbub... after all, noone was wearing a Rolex in that church, just reps. It may also be that the man with the blue Sub got upset because he believed the asking by Bigshooter's friend - and Bigshooter's reply - referred to his wife's [censored], rather than his watch. As for me, I found a simple and elegant solution: I never enter any church.

Great stuff. This reminds me of an old story about Uri Geller: the spoon bender. He agreed to have his performance in front of a scientist stalls, not in front of a conjurer stalls. Noone is more skilled in rep flaws spotting than a rep lover.

ok, here's my quick wristshot:

Others already said all that worths. Just as a summary: - If you want a great out-of-the-box rep, just get an ETA 2892A2 027 (SS + plain dial). It is 96%. All you have to modify to have it 99% are: the crown (97%), the cyclops (98%) and the datewheel (99%). A relume, and you will go to 99.9%. - If you like challenges, get an ETA 2892A2 028A (PVD + hobnail dial) and have it PVD coated too. You may see a partial result (without a new datewheel) here.

Wow, good info here.

Even if it was a scam it seems quite harmless. Reply by asking him if he can find some good reps for you.

Perfect! At the point to post it on Paneristi's site. Great work, congrats!