sssurfer

I think that you are right, Stephane, and I'll behave accordingly since now.

Would you mind discussing the positive aspects of your philosophy with my Dearly Beloved?

Sure, I would love doing that.

Just PM me a photo and her phone number and/or address.

Just be warned that someone might

- get scared by the chance that this thread is spotted by someone at their home / office / asylum / whatever;

- find this topic offensive to women / men / watches / whatever;

- think that you are acting on masturbatory purposes.

I might have not been able in covering the whole spectrum of the possibilites, but you might find them sooner or later.

Marco is correct, as usual.

Really thanks, Brian!

But I have been somewhat wrong exactly on this occasion. See below.

Replacing the sandwich crystal with a normal crystal + stronger cyclops is much less hassle than disassembling and reassembling the whole thing. And you also get some improvement in date magnification.

Today I had my 1st attempt in replacing a sandwich crystal + recessed (and weak) cyclops with a normal crystal + stronger cyclops. It went a catastrophe.

WARNING!

Watches with a recessed cyclops may be designed that way because they have no room above the uppermost hand to accept anything thicker.

I hate to say 'no'

232 is 47mm.

Crystals for 47mm models are 44mm diameter.

Ofrei's ones are 32mm max.

Not even enough for a 44mm model.

I too just received mine, and it looks gorgeous.

The watch is currently dismantled for cyclops and crown renewing too, but as soon as I'll have it reassembled I'll post pictures.

(To Finepics: I tried to send you my confirmation and thanks about receiveng the DW, but your PM box is full. I hope you see this here).

Marco-

Funny you mention that. I too have collected crowns Lello (1st and 2nd gen), Homer, PAM, Palp but don't have a Davidsen.

!!! !!!

Perhaps we could ask Admin to open a new section Replica Crown Group.

As for Lello, I have only 2nd gen (I discovered the [old] RWG when the 1st generation was over yet).

But as for Davidsen, I have 1st and 2nd gen, and even PVD!

Too bad they need their own special tube, and Davidsen's PVD looks different from Palp's PVD.

...Just be sure in advance that the cyclops actually can be removed and it's not an all-in-one with the crystal.

I have even been able to break a sapphire crystal that way.

As sort of a crown collector (Lello's, Palpatine's, Davidsen's, Homer's... and naturally several reps) I am considering offering something on these ones, though... I just would like to inspect them with my own eyes... Definitely not gen, but I am curious about their quality -- or lack of...

Just, I don't want to get involved in a bidding war with (at least) other members here.

Anyone else considering bidding in the auction?

As the fellows already said, just a very good glass.

Top-notch glass, I may add. Hard to scratch, and with the same heat conductance of sapphire. Most likely, some rich-in-metal glass.

I suggest you jump on the offer by chieftang. Jimmy's crystals are over now just like Jimmy's crown guards...

If it already is broken in pieces, I suppose you may simply remove the pieces with pliers and tweezers.

You just need to remove them from the teflon gasket on which they seat, taking care not to break them in even more smaller pieces...

I just asked the seller which caliber and which kind of coating the black one is, PVD or black-oxide or what, and he replied:

'I think auto caliber, black oxide'.

Definitely not genuine. Never heard OP black-oxide their crowns.

You got it rite as the watchmaker did mention something like it seems its 2 pieces together and the rainbow is in between but he couldnt 100% confirm that......

If so, those two watches are likely to mount the so-called 'sandwich' (or 'layered') crystal with the 'recessed' cyclops.

In order to get a confirmation about it, just ask your watchsmith whether the cyclops looks like settling in a hole within the inner layer, not bulging out from the inner surface.

If yes, then things are this way:

1. The rainbow effect is very likely due to poor, low-quality glue between the two layers. Less likely, it maybe that some lubricant has got trapped between the two layers in the manufacturing process.

2. You can't replace a sandwich crystal with a normal crystal, as this would lessen the rehaut between the cyclops and the date window, thus greatly reducing the date magnification.

3. Instead you have to disassemble the whole crystal (outer layer, inner layer, and cyclops) and reassemble it with a proper glue. That can be done by heating the crystal.

Edit: actually, you may replace a sandwich crystal with a normal crystal, but you'll also have to replace the cyclops with a stronger (higher mag power) cyclops -- after verifying that there is room enough above the uppermost hand for the new bulging cyclops.

The 199 should have a 7mm diameter cyclops. In this case, one of the new chieftang's cyclopses is perfect for the need.

The 024 should have a 6mm cyclops if it's A-E series, 7mm if F-series onward. In the first case you should get someway, somewhere, a 6mm 'watchmen' cyclops; else, a chieftang's cyclops.

Replacing the sandwich crystal with a normal crystal + stronger cyclops is much less hassle than disassembling and reassembling the whole thing. And you also get some improvement in date magnification.

Congrats!!!

Which moddings are you going to perform on the gen?

Perhaps you chould check out some pictures of the real thing.. pretty much every combination of brushed, polished etc exists

I don't rely on simple inspection of pics, but on the official OP catalogues descriptions -- which I happen to own from 2002 onwards (1997 onwards for special editions).

Thanks Brian. So, in the end even I had come to learn something about AR.

SS models I know for sure they have polished case and brushed CG are the 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 (these G onward) and 219.

Other possible (but unverified) models are the 000, 001 and 005.

I just wonder why you did not declare which model you were talking about.

One thing with these cyclopes is that the new datewheels are now needed more than ever!!

Definitely.

we need new date wheels

Absolutely.

archibald: our 21Js are in your hands.

I love them!

But... 'standard rep straps'? Even the brown one??

Yes, all the datewheel and datewheel-sticker makers here (Finepics, archibald, Lello) had them vectorialized.

Also thanks all other relumers here for their overwhelming responses.

Here is a test pic on one of the new 7mm (actually, 6.75mm) sapphire cyclopses by chieftang, mounted on a PAM104.

As this was just a test I did not take care for perfect alignment and I did not use glue, but just a water drop, to keep the cyclops in place. That enhanced the light reflections and made the area surrounding the date look a little grayish rather than black.

Apologies for that, please just take in consideration the mag power.

The 'original' rep cyclops was a 'recessed' cyclops -- i.e., it was settling in a socket (a hole) in the inner layer of a double-layer crystal ('sandwich crystal').

Instead, I mounted the new chieftang cyclops on a common crystal. This brought the new cyclops 1.4mm closer to the date window.

Reducing the cyclops - date rehaut by such an amount would kill the magnification by any other less thoughtfully designed cyclops.

Instead, the chieftang cyclops held quite a good magnification. Its mag was higher than that by the even recessed 'original' cyclops, and remarkably close with the gen.

Added bonus: substantial lacking of any distortion.

Qualche novit

Really amazing! Those watches almost look as they have no crystals at all! Congrats, Brian!

Flav, that PAM is not supposed to have a double AR coating, is it?