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Regarding the use of a Poljot as a 7734 proxy, the answer is a loud, depressing, "NO!" While they bear a very strong resemblance to each other, no parts can be interchanged between the two and dimensions are sufficiently different to nix any plans for a swap. Please see this comparison for some sobering reading. I know this was discussed in the Rolex subforum some time ago. You'd think posting under the movement section would make more sense, but it just reinforces my belief that more categories mean fewer readers.

jmb is so good with a lathe that he could fit an 8-day Angelus in there!

whoever: It's based on the Apollo XI 35th Anniversary Speedmaster.

I saw that last night, too! I've always heard that there were aftermarket, beveled-edge, T21s in existence (Zigmeister mentioned this in a couple of posts; he said they were 'indistinguishable' from gens), but this is the first time I've seen one being sold! I'd love to see one up close, and find out just who is making them.

Grr... That guy had better not show his mug in this thread, if he knows what's good for him! Ubi: The assembly is impeccable, as always.

Thanks, guys! coolfire: I may need a 128, but I also need that three hundred bucks right now! I wonder if Gary Clark will do special requests... C: I hope the shield stays right where it is. That one drop of glue seems to have done the trick. alligoat: I wonder if there's any greater significance to DW's aftermarket V72 parts? Or maybe he just bent a bunch of paperclips? flyingwedge: When I wrote about my Space-Dweller way back in... August? Oh crap, forget about the rest of that sentence. There HAS been a lot of going on in a short amount of time! I much appreciate the tip on the 128s, as I am sick and tired of willingly letting myself get ripped off!

I've been waiting for the release of this one since March, when I first heard from gplracer that DW was planning a 7032 case set for May. That was one long summer! But it was worth the wait, because the end result was a relatively affordable Tudor Oysterdate chronograph aka "Home Plate" aka "Monte Carlo". To be precise, it's only affordable relative to offerings from J&W, NDT, and Yuki. It's still a pricey project to undertake, but DW's achievement was to peg the minimum total cost below $900. A complete 7032 from the others could easily run for more than double that. If you're an eBay ace and go easy on the genuine bits, you could conceivably put a watch together for as little as $600-700. Which, again, will sound very expensive to most people. Normal people. But for us, that counts as a $@%^# bargain! This isn't a review of the DW 7032, but a few pictures and a rundown of work done, and work that remains to be done. But my early impressions of the rep are very positive. Movement: Here's where the most work needs to be done. The 7734 I have is in good shape, though every now and then the minute counter resets to 43.5 or 42. That's a clue to the bigger problem: tthe movement is geared for a 30-minute counter. It's not a fatal flaw, and not something that is easily detected, but it's sufficiently annoying for anyone who wants a full replication of the gen's functions. I've ordered parts to attempt a conversion, but I'm not sure if it will work. Please contact me if you have any ideas! Even if the 30- to 45-minute conversion is successful, it is not a cheap way of sourcing a proper movement. Hands: DW's three main hands were replaced with items from Classic Watch Parts. In stark contrast to the excellent dial, DW's handset is surprisingly off. Both the hour and minute hands are too long, and have lumed areas that are too small and too far from the center. DW's sweep hand has too short a tail and is noticeably more reddish than the 5-10-minute sector. The CWP hands are not perfect, but they are a big improvement. Dial: I wanted the home plates to both match the color of the CWP handset, and to match the look of genuine examples. If you look at 7031/7032s being sold online, you'll notice that the tritium often looks as if it was applied by a developmentally challenged monkey on his fifth cup of coffee. So I decided to do it myself. At one point, most of the markers were neatly lumed, as I had figured out a way to corral the drying, gummy, lume within the plates. Unfortunately, I packed the dial a bit too tightly for its trip to the watchsmith, and ended up with a bunch of squashed markers. I was despondent, but when I rechecked my pictures of gen Monte Carlos, the markers looked about right! Crown: The rep crown from DW is actually rather nice, with a well defined coronet and solid feel. Unfortunately, I couldn't use it as DW had sent a tube that would only accept a 703. Gen Triplock it is. Bracelet: Thanks to the great experience I had on my last 1016 project, I ordered another rep 7836 from Watch International. Getting the endlinks between the lugs was a brutal experience for my thumbs, but they're in. Inside them are 2mm bars from Yukiwatch, which is another plus for Mary's 7836. Yuki's own 7836 will only take bars as wide as 1.8mm. What's left to do? Aside from the movement conversion, I'm looking to change the crystal, but I'm loath to pay $350 for a genuine C128. After all, I can already play all of my favorite games on my Commodore 64! (Little computer joke for you little computer people out there.) I would like to experiment on cheaper alternatives, maybe even crystals without magnifiers. There are a few other tweaks I have in mind, but I'll save those for the final post. Big thanks to ubiquitous, ChiMan12, modelizer, and gplracer for all the Monte Carlo help!

Home Plate don't move:

Beautiful, and the X-33 has some of the best strap/bracelet options for any Omega. Titanium is terrific, but try to get one of those double-ridged kevlar straps, too!

Great job on the tritium decay! Will you be aging the case, as well?

I'm not too familiar with Omega reps to know for sure, but based on what I've seen, the lugholes are often drilled higher and closer to the head on the reps. You could try mixing and matching gen and rep endlinks and bracelets, though that isn't possible with the fixed endlinks on the newer gen types.

They were selling for roughly USD 3600-3700 at one of the watch shops along Kimberley Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Along with Holiday Inn Golden Mile, Kimberley off Nathan is a great place for watch lovers to go window shopping!

Explorer Friday:

Finally, Chi! I've been waiting for you to wrap up this project, and Justin did a great job adjusting the rep case. You may need a rep bracelet to fit the rep case, as the lughole alignment on Omega reps is not the same as on the gens. A mesh bracelet will avoid the endlink problem entirely, but a 'Racing' dial on mesh may look a bit louche! If I can find a loose Lemania, maybe I'll try a Mitsukoshi white dial... Definitely no Moon-to-Mars for me; NOBODY wants a Moon-to-Mars!

Mm... I'll take the blue Snowflake!

Good arguments for and against. Do you have a spare 7205 that could be used for a visual demonstration? What endlinks does the 6202 take? 57s? And while I love vintage Tropic rubber, I think it would look borderline anachronistic on an early-50s Turn-O-Graph. EDIT: Whoops! My workplace firewall was blocking pictures in the OP, and I couldn't see the side-by-side. Now I'm leaning towards brown leather as the primary choice. I would choose an original 'Rolex of Geneva' brown croc.

Keep looking for the gray dial, if that's the color you want, even if you have to pay a little extra for it. I just got back from Hong Kong and saw several examples in both black and gray. None of the Authorized Dealers had them in stock, but there were dealers who listed the Heritage at a slight premium (<5% over retail).

At the risk of sounding redundant, I like the way they look! But do consider the little bit of outsourcing work I suggested for your Texan neighbor. Either watch would make a great candidate for a 'Transformer' bezel setup! As for convincing DW to make a special dial, that may be a bit trickier. But if you do succeed, I would like to propose a limited run of very early black 6239 dials--the ones that only say "Rolex" under the coronet.

Daytona-shmaytona... That looks excellent, J! I love the Captain America dial!

I'm disappointed that my new car's dashboard lights don't work, but the salesman at the dealership was ever so good to me, and he let me buy rustproofing for 30% off the usual rate! He probably made an honest mistake, and I'd hate for him to lose his job over this. Were his boss to even lightly reprimand him, I don't think I'd be able to live with myself. I don't want to cause any trouble for anyone, but now I'm so afraid to drive at night! Why must I be tested by these impossible circumstances? Oh, woe is me!

Now that's what I call the choice of a new generation! Beautiful piece, Red! I wish they were still in production, too...

To date, no one has found a suitable alternative to the Valjoux 72. The V23 is the closest, mechanically, but you'll have to make do with a frozen subdial at 6. The rotorless 7750 is the best compromise. The V7736 has identical functionality and, I think, identical subdial spacing to the V72, but I don't know anyone who has been able to fit it into a Daytona case.

Beautiful! Now all you need is a perfect replica of a yacht!