lhooq

His neck is smaller than I imagined. I also dealt with Steve a couple of times over the past few years, and every transaction was fine. Sad that it's come to this. Unfortunately, while you can buy the seller and make sure that you deal with someone with a good reputation, you can't buy certainty that he'll flake out in the future.

A friend of mine bought a Seiko Astron GPS. Too big for my wrist, but it's a stunning piece with great technology behind it. I'm still on the look-out for a panda 6138 in good condition.

I am suddenly reminded of the "World's oldest animal killed by scientists" story from a few months back! (It was a mollusk that researchers opened while trying to determine its age. And the Black Bay DOES have an Oyster case...)

Yikes! The price that Phong wants for a gold Daytona is about 3/4 the cost of a genuine 6239!

My sympathies, concepta. That's my biggest fear whenever I mail out a franken build. With all the effort that goes into finding these parts, I'd prefer to lose a fully-assembled gen!

I just don't see why the process of replication is necessarily destructive. A purchased gen used as a model will be deconstructed to its component parts, sure. But afterward it can be rebuilt and sold on the genuine market. The domed sapphire bezel really does seem to be an expensive piece to make. Nearly all of the FF homage manufacturers use acrylic inserts (e.g. Mk II and Precista), flat sapphire inserts (Helson), or make the domed sapphire insert an extra-cost option (Corvus). I'd take an acrylic bezel for this rep if it would halve the price.

Great info about the Aqua Lung, Doug! Sadly, the history of the Fifty Fathoms isn't so well documented on the web. Heck, some decent websites dedicated to the watch have even disappeared in the last few years. While we're showing each other's pieces, here's my modded DSN:

Superb, Doug!

Love the "bezel" on your burned-brown Radiomir! Great trio of watches.

Thank you, although I would always suggest to buy second-hand unless you enjoy seriously overpaying! Have you seen the current MSRP for a Speedmaster Professional? Minimum of $5000 to get you into the Moon Watch Club!

Stonehenge! 'Tis a magic place! Another Speedmaster day:

Ordinarily, I would be ecstatic to finally see this coming out. However, it's very hard to justify that price for a rep with ropey side engravings, and a case that looks not too different from those used in the old quartz FF chronograph reps. $500! How much did the PloProf reps cost when they were released?

After nearly four years since this thread began, how about an update? Some of you already know that I was finally able to find the Junghans fliegerchronograph that I mentioned several times on this page. During the long search for that watch, I also had a couple of near-misses for Hanharts--one for a wartime example, and the other for a post-war Hanhart 417 (aka one of Steve McQueen's real favorites). Unfortunately, prices for all vintage Hanharts have been steadily rising since then, so it's unlikely that I'll be adding one to my collection anytime soon. Too bad, as they're lovely watches. How lovely? One of my friends has an amazing collection of vintage watches. It's mostly old Rolex, but also includes several Heuer Bunds and, more pertinently, a Hanhart 417 ES. The 'ES' denotes the rarer stainless steel model, as everything that came before was made of nickel-plated brass. I took a few pictures of his watches, along with my Junghans and my old Poljot rep. The Poljot-Hanhart scores low in terms of outright accuracy, but it hits the right notes. A good view of the difference in case profile and finish. It really does look a lot older than most watches from the mid 1950s: Wears comfortably on the wrist. Three generations of Bundesluftwaffe chronographs. Too bad we couldn't find someone with a Lemania 5100-powered Orfina or Tutima to complete the series.

Not my watch, sadly.

Sure wish I had a blue Snowflake of my own.

I actually didn't notice that difference until you pointed it out! However, I reckoned that the guys making these dials don't just pluck these words out of thin air, so I did a bit of searching. It looks like both variants are legitimate! From a VRM listing: From James Dowling's website, where Gentleman Jim calls the MILE tachymetre "unusual": Also note the "-T SWISS T-" on both dials, and the font used for "ROLEX", which are different from the ones you posted, M. Which dials are older, I wonder? I'll go through the tedious task of comparing serial numbers some other time!

Were you the one who made that offer, then? Congrats, if so!

Thanks for clarifying, M! Looks can be deceiving! The Phong dial has more detail; unfortunately, those details are (as alligoat points out) mostly wrong. The overly-bolded "Rolex" and open 6s and 9s are some of the most obvious sins on this dial. If you're going to pay that much for a 6238 dial from Phong, you might as well go all the way and get one from Minh Quy. These dials --both the silver and the black-- look fantastic in the website photos. That said, I don't know of anyone who's actually ordered an MQ 6238 dial. Let's see if I can scrounge up the funds before the year is over...

M, I thought this was a Phong dial? Regarding the watch in the OP, my guess is that all the parts (other than the movement) are from Phong.

The plates are finished more roughly than what I usually see, but it looks like an Excelsior Park 40.

Great job, blue. The MBW Explorer is a terrific mid-case let down by its bezel/crystal profile, so I'm glad that J's bezel fit. Any plans for lughole drilling?

I yield to no one in my love for the Fifty Fathoms, but to suggest that Blancpain was "first" or was copied by Rolex is off-base. Both the FF and the Sub were introduced in 1953 and the evidence suggests that both pieces were designed independently. An analogous situation is the fight over who made the first automatic chronograph in 1969. I honestly believe that Zenith, Heuer, and Seiko all have equally strong claims. The Speedy did have one innovation in its tachymetric bezel. I know: "Ooh... Amazing." However, that's one more innovation than the Daytona had!

Much as it pains me not to put the Explorer on the list, I think the Oyster Perpetual line is well covered by the Datejust already. I'm also tempted to add a Heuer (Carrera or Monaco), and I agree with donerix that an IWC could represent the classic B-Uhr pilot watch. Or, alternatively, just the Heuer 1550SG. Choosing ten pieces is tough!