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Quick thoughts: -The MQ's a good dial, overall, but it looks as if you'll still need to paint black enamel on all the metal hour markers. For the price paid, it would have been much better if you didn't need to mod it post-purchase! -Subdial fonts and markings look good, but are spaced too far away from the outer edges. Look at the white space on each subdial's circumference. Now compare it with Phong's and the gen's* *As alluded to by Akira, a lot of Rolex experts (including the majority of VRF, I think) believe that the 3-Color Rolex Oyster Cosmograph is not a legitimate dial. Google "3CROC" to find the article on DRSD (first hit), and to read the long and unexciting debate between John Mayer and Kamal Choraria. This dial is now referred to as "The Mayer Dial", so you know which side he comes down on.

FYI: 'Compressor' is more a description of the caseback/seals of certain cases manufactured by EPSA. It doesn't necessarily mean "twin-crown, internal bezel", even though that's probably the first image that comes to mind when you see the word. You can find dive watches with one crown and an external turning bezel that are still considered Compressors or Super Compressors. Scubawatch has a good summary that will clarify the issue--after you get through the initial confusion! That said, JLC's 'Master Compressor' only refers to its peculiar type of screwdown crowns. JLC dive watches did use EPSA Compressor cases from the late 1950s until the latter company went out of business in the mid-70s. When JLC unveiled its new dive watch in 2002, someone got the bright idea of appropriating the Compressor name for it. Voila: Instant heritage for the Master Compressor Memovox. Yes! Here's my current Compressor collection:

Thanks! It's very comfortable and so... SOLID!

I love the idea, but how much does that thing weigh?

Sunday Speeding:

chieftang/vlydog/woof*: It's funny how J started this thread, considering I slept through most of it! Yes, it's the 1450 bracelet, which I've wanted for some time. It's the first solid-link/solid-endlink Speedy band, and only the second (after the short-lived 1447) with a named clasp. Outwardly, it resembles an 1171 (which I also like), but it's a big improvement in almost every way. Unfortunately, it's also the most I've ever spent on a bracelet that didn't have a crown on it! Good times!

After a long search, I have found the Grail Speedmaster... bracelet.

Thanks, guys, for bringing up this old thread! As woof* mentioned, there was a sequel writeup the following year, once I finally received a genuine replacement case from Cousins. You can read it here.

I can almost see her Assolutamente.

Aah!!! Thirteen!

A Tropic 22 crystal is correct for a genuine 1016, but it's too big to fit on any of the 1016 reps being sold. The 1016 reps, like most Datejust reps, have inner diameters between 28-29mm. As I mentioned in my PM, you could try a generic Tropic 13, which is around 28.5mm.

I guess it really depends on the people you hang around with. Ordinarily, I wouldn't think twice about wearing reps of supposedly $25,000 Daytonas. I like the way they look, and most people have no idea that they're anything special. That changes when, to use your analogy, you become a blip on other people's radars and they become interested in what watch so-and-so is wearing today. Yes, self-confidence is key to convincing people that a watch is real. But what if you end up convincing the people around you have a wristwatch budget that's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? I suddenly feel very paranoid, and will be heading straight for the "Where do you hide your watches?" thread for advice!

I would kill for that blue Snowflake, sgtuk. Ideally from a long distance, as the guy wearing it is probably some mean, old French ex-Navy dude... Gallet Tuesday:

Beautiful dial on that one, K.

Longines Super Compressor. No, not that one:

An opening bid of NZD 4000 is way too much for most Flightmasters. You can get decent ones for <USD 2000, if you're patient.

Thanks, A, but I already do have a CWP sweep. It just happens to be painted a bit lumpily. Of course. '6' is a freebie: Feels like it's Sesame Street in here.

Sure, S, and I'm glad you asked since it showed me just how incredibly minor the visual difference is. Fasci: Gen: So the difference -and only if you're looking really hard- is that the gen pivots are shinier and protrude a little bit more. Not captured in the photo is the much tighter feel of the endlinks. So, yes, my suggestion would be to take your favorite Submariner bars, file them down, and polish the tips. Counting cards. Yeah, counting cards...

No problem, B! Condition aside, this bezel insert looks worse thsn the Phong pictured in the OP. The fonts are off (look at the '4' and '7'), and the spacing is inconsistent with gen pieces. Thankfully, most of Phong's stock looks better than it does on the J&W website--cases included.

Thanks, K! Yes, I spent years being completely uninterested in the Sub. Then came the 5512 build, and suddenly I can't resist the TC.

That's the 'Fasci' bar in the OP. Definitely the second-best in this group, and the tips look nice enough. But in hindsight, an even better alternative would have been to take a Submariner-size bar and just get busy with a file!

Oh no! More comparos! Daytona fever is at an all-time high on RWG, so let's take a look at one of the key pieces of any good 6241/6263 build: The acrylic bezel. (Please, let's not call it "Bakelite", because it isn't!) It's hard for many of us to justify the >EUR1000 outlay for a genuine bezel, but how good are the aftermarkets? I ordered from Phong for the first time last month, and he was nice enough to gift me a 6263 bezel. Granted, it's in pretty rough shape, but then I didn't ask for it. A more cynical man might think that he's using me as a dumping ground for dud parts, but I appreciated the freebie and the opportunity to compare it with its two closest competitors: The bezels of good ol' DW (grr...), and the moderately-priced bezel from a seller in New York. As mentioned, the Phong insert is damaged, though it's hard to notice from many angles and certain lighting conditions. But when the light hits it straight-on... Yow! The order of each trio will be DW/Phong/WatchNY: UNITS PER HOUR -DW is easily spotted by its rounded 'S', close spacing, and proximity to the outer edge. Fonts are inconsistent for any given genuine example. Decent printing. -Phong's printing has the finest details, but suffers from poor application. I'm not sure if that's unique to this damaged insert. -WatchNY has less distinct printing than the other two, but the fonts and markings are generally correct. LOWER QUADRANT -DW's bezel is infamous for its widely spaced (and wrong) '1 1 0'. The insert is protruding because it hasn't been glued to the metal. This is not the first time I've received a DW bezel with a loose insert. -Again, good details from Phong but spotty print quality. -The consolation for WatchNY's bezel is that the printing looks very good under ordinary conditions. But it suffers when closely magnified. -Slightly thin lip on the DW bezel. Also note the polished circumference, versus the brushed finish on the other two. Jury's still out on which is correct to gen. -Disregard the dirt on the Phong bezel and appreciate the correctly thicker lip. However, I think that the angle of the insert is too steep, but I'm not certain. -WatchNY is somewhere in between. Its lip is lower and a bit thicker than DW's, while the insert has a shallower rise. Now would be a good time to note that the DW bezel will not accept a genuine Tropic 21 (or similar-spec crystal) unless the inner edge is trimmed. The other two have no such problem. Conclusion? I'm using the WatchNY hoop for my next build, but I'd like to see the pick of Phong's bezel crop.

Hell of a find, C! Yee-haa!!!

RWG.cc sometimes gets derided as the rep forum for anal-retentive types who obsess over trivial details like genuine Rolex springbars. I can't claim to speak for the majority of fine people, but I plead guilty as charged. Genuine Rolex springbars for the 1016 can be very hard to come by. After years of admittedly light searching, I was able to snag a pair last month for the grand sum of $10. These 20mm springbars for the 1016 Explorer are assigned p/n 23-9293, as opposed to the 20mm bars for for older Submariners (23-9291), and Datejusts (23-9290). In the past, I've used Fasci's "Genuine" 1016 bars for my builds, as I liked their rounded tips and thought they were identical to the gens. I've also used Yuki's "short" 20mm springbars with thin pivots. Lastly I've included for comparative purposes a generic Submariner-type springbar bought from Nam Hing Watch Supply in Hong Kong. These are pretty good. So how do they compare dimensionally? (mm) Shaft-Lngth Pivot-Lngth Shaft-Diam Pivot-Diam Fasci 19.85 1.65 1.82 1.27 NamHing 19.85 2.70 2.02 1.20 Rolex 19.75 1.58 2.03 1.21 Yuki 19.85 2.22 1.80 0.81 The Fasci and Yuki units are 0.2mm thinner than gen-spec, which is useful if you're trying to squeeze them into, say, one of Yuki's 7206 bracelets. Similarly, the Yuki's needle tips offer more flexibility, at the expense of stability once in place. Finally, a closer look at the pivot tips, which will peek through the lugholes: J.Borel also sells 23-9293 substitutes, though I've never managed to get any. If any of you has one, please let me know how they match up with the gen.

No, I'm the big and fat cat after everything I ate in Manhattan, not to mention that 24 oz Ribeye in Hoboken, and the decadent servings of foie gras in Poughkeepsie. I'm back home now, so it's time to starve. Yes, it's my TC Sub, recently fixed by Sneed12. It's fantastically modern for the likes of me! EDIT: That's foie gras, not "fois gras". Moi, je fail dans le French.