lhooq

I choose to play your lame game... with Tropic rubber!

Oh, but that's just a scammy "FATION WTCHES" site!

I've had my eyes open for a gen SM300, too. You do still find good examples (sometimes re-conditioned a la Watchco, with new dials, hands, bezels &c.) for less than $2000. Unfortunately, you're just as likely to find a turkey that ticks every box on the Fake Vintage Seamaster checklist. I wouldn't bother getting getting a gen movement or caseback for the rep, but a real Omega Mesh would look terrific and be a good investment for a potential purchase of the real thing. (Well, that's one justification for the >$200 expense!) Also, it will fit the rep; I'm pretty sure a genuine 1171 bracelet won't.

6263 Work-In-Progress:

Yes, but they were all sold to me, and no one gets to see my collection--ever. Your pal, H. Bolkiah

I see... A Big Egiziano on a brown leather strap. And Elvis on the dial, playing a guitar.

Inspired by Lani... Christmas takes us back to the beginning, and the Speedy is my first love:

First, let me kick myself for not even mentioning "Fifty Fathoms" in either the title or the original post. The Davidsen has a bezel that's 42mm in diameter; the genuine, big, Fifty Fathoms models ranged from just over 41mm to just over 42mm. There's 22mm between the rep's lugs. The genuine items were either 20mm or 22mm. This one's a 20.

Let's start with the box: Unremarkable without a point of reference, so here's one: As I said when I bought it, "This is ------' heavy." It gets better when opened: The Book of Exploits is a weighty bit of fluff, and the manual generically covers all Longines models. The Diver, however, is marvelous: The LLD on its original strap. Thin, but much nicer than you might have been led to believe: How did this screenshot of 'Space War' get in here? Fascinating pattern, but weak lume: Lovely caseback engraving is faithful to the 1960 original. Hash marks on the buckle recall those on the crowns of the LLD, and on the crowns of past Super Compressors and their descendents: Two days ago, I received the vintage Tropic rubber strap I'd ordered from Squinky. Not too pretty up close but, boy, does it look right: Domed sapphire crystal: The biggest visual departure from the original design, and the one thing I would change once the warranty period ends. Anyone want to get rid of a spare JLC Polaris crystal? Prettiest of the Super Compressor re-issues? I think so, but feel free to send me your Vintage Aquatimers and Memovox Polarises to try to change my mind. Thanks for looking.

A quick side-by-side of one of my favorite reps and its source material: Obviously this is the angle most favorable to the DSN. Look at the watch from its side or from behind and the differences would become much clearer i.e. thicker bezel on the rep and a single-piece caseback. Still, I think it's commendable how many styling cues Davidsen was able to replicate. Just be sure to ask him if he's got a rounded crown in stock!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Please pair the Blancpain with a Tropic strap!

Thanks for clearing that up, alligoat. It was the "Officially Certified Chronometer" label that threw me off. Despite all my reading about it, the history of the Explorer always manages to confuse the hell out of me!

I suppose this is a moot point now, but with that dial I think it would have been more of a 6610 project. Condolences for your loss, regardless! EDIT: I originally wrote '6350', which I now think is incorrect.

Vintage Tropic rubber on gen LLD:

You might want to try mounting a 22mm/22mm Panerai-type strap on that Monaco. You lose the 4mm taper to the buckle, and generally get to choose from a thicker selection of leather. You could also trim the corners off of a 24 or a 26, if a Monaco wristband is what you really want!

In my research, I read a post by The Zigmeister, who mentioned that he had a source for aftermarket, bevelled-edge T21s that were -in his words- identical to the gens. Unfortunately, I can't ask him about it until mid-January! There are a couple of sources of genuine T21s on eBay with prices of $75 and lower. Unfortunately, they're either CONUS-only, or don't want to sell to people who've been buying fake Rolex parts on eBay. Seriously! Thanks! I'm already enjoying it as-is, but it's nice to know that it only gets better from here on. (Fingers crossed.) And from past examples I've seen on RWG, the effort and expense looks to be well worth it. alligoat: 7750 movement minus the rotor. A Valjoux-based DW would be a nice thing to have down the road, but I don't know if I have the heart to tear apart a vintage chronograph, no matter how small the name!

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take the plunge into the rough and ready world of vintage Daytonas. I ordered a DW kit through eBay and received the package a week later. I guess I should have taken a photo of the contents when I first opened it, but everything looked OK at the time. All I noticed amiss was that one edge of the 3 o'clock subdial seemed a bit "hairy", as if the minute indicators were peeling off. I guess I dismissed it too quickly, as I repacked everything and brought it to my watchsmith. Aside from a loose start/stop pusher, he didn't report any problems with the build. It was only when I picked up the finished watch that I noticed the problems with the dial: Yes, that's bare metal on the edge of the minute totalizer. I think the minute decals went away and took some black paint with them! (I could try convincing myself that it's a bit of patina, but that's a stretch.) Were it not for those missing flecks, I think I'd be very satisfied by the watch as it is. However, the more I examined the dial, the more familiar it looked to me. It turned out I'd read about these issues not long ago in a thread started by auman20 (My first rep: Spin's DW 6263: am I the only unlucky guy?). The differences between this dial and those of, say, freddy333 or vlaletom are not subtle at all. I sent David an email asking if he could replace my dial with one of the older, nicer ones (I attached a picture from RWG as reference). He apologized for the problems and said that he could, but that I'd have to wait a month, as the better dials are sold out. I don't have many other options, so I'll be waiting. Waiting and accumulating parts: I have a gen 7836 lined up , and I hope to replace the Clark dome with the later, edged Tropic 21. Any good aftermarket crystals out there, or should I bite the bullet and go genuine with that, too? The dull and tatty-looking second hand will also have to go. Surprisingly, I'm still happy with this watch on the balance. It's a striking piece from six inches away, and I love the overall look of the silver panda dial--chipped paint and fuzzy text notwithstanding. The case is a beauty, though I have to be careful not to cut myself while stroking its curves! I only wish I'd ordered the DW6263 earlier, so I could be enjoying a completed Daytona today. Definitely a work-in-progress. Updates to follow.

Thanks, Lani and cornerstone. I tried a genuine Ing at a second-hand shop, and found it beefy but wearable on my smallish wrist. It's a really impressive hunk of metal and the rep seems no different. I think the IWC just moved up my list of future rep purchases, but I'll be keeping an eye open for the right VCO.

It's beautiful, Lani. I've been thinking of getting a big, chunky, 70s-styled watch, and I'm torn between the Ingenieur and the VC Overseas. Any thoughts on the pros and cons of each rep?

Freddy posted his impressions here. His review led to my buying the 7206 immediately, and my skipping on the bezel a few months later.

Looks like one of Reg's Nymphos!

It's a shame that Narikaa doesn't carry that 1016 anymore; it was definitely the best at that price point. Nevertheless, you still might want to give Reg a try the next time he's in Thailand. He was open to the idea of getting me an MBK 1016 a few months ago, but I decided to take a somewhat cheaper route. I may still get an MBK in the future, as it's really the best 1016 rep out of the box. The shape of the MBK case is very close to the genuine article, which I recently had the chance to examine closely. Most striking are the softly curving and smoothed lugs, in contrast to the harder edges of the Datejust-based reps. These aren't features that you'll notice from a couple of feet away, but they are comforting to obsessive types! The MBK dial is also one of the best, though some (well, one guy on another forum) have complained about sloppy application of the indices.

My eyes thank you! As for the LLD: I saw one on another forum go for $1200 just a few hours after the seller's post went up. Heck of a deal for the buyer.

Red, you need to reshoot that macro on the dial. The second photo in your series is one of the best SOSF shots I've ever seen, but that last one is killing my eyes! Still enjoying the NATO'd Legend today:

Thanks, guys! It's a Longines Legend Diver that I picked up in Singapore last month. The LLD Is a very faithful reissue of Longines' Super Compressor diving watch from the 60s. Took a bit of searching and some luck to find one, but I'm glad I did. I've been after this watch for most of the year! The bad news is that it's a gen. The good news is that it's reasonably priced gen, especially when compared to the other Super Compressor reissues out there e.g. the IWC Aquatimer Vintage and the JLC Polaris.