lhooq

I figured that was your bid! Well done--I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures!

M, I can't see any pictures through my workplace firewall, but if this is what I think it is... Big, big congratulations!

"Those eyes, those thighs... SURPRISE! It's the Crying Game!"

Beautiful! Next time I'm in HK, you're bringing that Sub with you!

Yep, there's really nothing new under the sun, and old DW 6263 problems persist to this day! It took me less than an hour to locate a V72 stem, then had the seller send it by EMS. It sucks getting that close to the end and suddenly running out of gas! The lume dots are all "active" and have a very slight greenish tinge that's noticeable under certain lights. I would have liked to get a closer color match to the lume on the hands, but I didn't want to risk damaging the dial. The RCD text is hazier around the edges than on the gen, and has the inconsistent thickness I mentioned in the OP. Finally, I think the overall color of the dial should be a darker silver. It's a good match for a mid-80s 6263/5 dial, or even a service unit, but older gen dials seem to have a deeper sunburst pattern (if that makes any sense). I agree with you and I've thought about it, but it's not noticeable at all, unless you're viewing it through a loupe. Most people don't even look at the caseback until I gently (or not) prod them to do so. I'm still thinking about it...

Here, to satisfy woof* and jmb, is my DJ on my cheap Jubilee (you do NOT want to see the clasp!)... ...and on my rep 7836: Back to searching and bidding!

"Welcome to the No-Date Sub Club!" says one of its newest members.

On Thursday, like mjmj (and jmb-ay!)... a DJ:

mystere: I would tell you to send the dial to me for proper verification, but that would be an overused cliché of a joke. It's legit, and it's beautiful. Subdials, coronet, indices, quality of printing... all perfect!

Thanks for the thread resuscitation, and thanks to the old-timers for their kind words! I loved following polexpete's progress on his own V72 6263, and -while every one of ubi's projects is a treat- his last 6265 was like a dream. "...on the shoulders of giants," and all that!

I'm surprised we're still on page 1 after blix and jmb posted theirs. Looking good, modelizer!

Close-up photos would be nice, but it looks like a genuine service dial to me. Congratulations!

That looks rather nice. Maybe I should be saving my money for a rolled 6251H, instead? I don't think those have been repped.

Thanks for the link! I got excited when I saw the Gay Frères bracelet, but I need one for a Heuer rather than a Rolex. There are some very nice items there, but I'm hoping to pay a little less for my Jubilee, even if the condition isn't as nice as the ones sold by Chrono Shop.

Very nice, valty! Great watches, great camera, and great photographer.

With freddy on one side and J on the other, I think I'm in pretty good company. Thanks for the kind words, everyone! Ronin: My 5512 subtitle had a Lightning Seeds reference, but it was far too obtuse! woof*: Yes, my cup sort of runneth over! There were a lot of concurrent projects that all came good this summer. There's more to come, but that's it for the big builds for a while. It's time to take a breather and think hard about what I want to do next. (GMT, GMT, GMT...) IYSK: My watchsmith did the fitting, but I don't recall him having to do anything around the canon pinion area. The minute hand has a severe bend that doesn't really show up in the photos, while both the sweep and hour hands are straight. Maybe I'm easily amused, but I love seeing how close that hour hand comes to bashing into those metal blocks! The datewheel from Josh is a paper-thin metal wheel--a long way from 1mm. alligoat: Really good catch. Not only is this not a 114, but it's not even a Clark! I'm looking at an empty paper packet for a Sternkreuz C135. J: I'm still working on getting a good 62510H for this, as this lizard isn't going to last long in the heat and humidity over here. The problem is that all examples on eBay have their prices fixed pretty high, and many of them have questionable stampings. Where can I get a good rep Jubilee? I want a clasp coronet that doesn't look like a Nazca glyph!

Here's a dressier build than the last few. I'd been meaning to put together a Datejust for some time. I figured on finishing up the bigger projects first, and then, toward the end of the year, assembling something with a blue sunburst'n'sticks dial. (I really love those.) But circumstances moved this build forward by a couple of seasons. During the course of my big V72 Daytona build, I hit on the idea of modding DW's dial to more closely resemble a gen. Specifically, I meant to take the coronet and metal hour markers from a Datejust dial, reshape the latter, and stick them onto the DW Daytona dial. I'd already bought a couple of ragged Beyeler dials for cheap before finding this one at a good price. It looked decent enough in the pictures, and all of its tall hour blocks were intact. I was ready to take it apart once I got it. Thankfully, it passed through jmb's hands first, and he was horrified when I told him about my plan. I think there was a really good chance that Justin would rescue it from my pliers, and refuse to send it to me! I didn't take long to convince, and vowed to keep it intact and build a watch out of it. When the dial finally arrived, I quickly realized that it was never in any danger. It was a linen dial in almost-perfect condition (other than a curious stain at 4 o'clock). That was back in April, so I spent the next several months gathering the rest of the parts and waiting for packages to arrive. Case Genuine 16014 snagged for $66 from a Korean seller. There was a bit of rust around the rehaut and beneath the gasket, but nothing life-threatening. The genuine engine-turned bezel was bought separately. Movement The Sea-Gull ST2130 (a 2824-2 by another name) was last seen in my Explorer Project 4 before it was replaced by a Rado 2472. The 16000 series Datejusts marked a shift from the aging 1570 of the 1600s to the 28,800BPH 3035. After so many projects with low-beat movements, it's remarkable how smooth 8bps looks. Now I want a Zenith El Primero! '69 with the gray/black/blue subdials, please. Strap Lucky me, finding a Rolex Genuine Lizard for $37! (Notice how I only mention prices on the good deals.) And in perfect shape, too. That said, these old straps are a lot more plasticky and less comfortable than what we expect these days. But it's a gen, dammit! The buckle is a Yuki 16mm. Crown, Crystal, Hands, Datewheel Crown is a genuine 600. Cyclope 114 by Clark. Cyclope 135 by Sternkreuz. Hands provided and lumed by ChiMan. Datewheel was a free gift from Josh, so long as I ordered a watch with it. And that's why I have a Panerai 026K. I can see why Justin builds so many of these. What a looker! Thanks to J for making me see the light, alligoat for his invaluable help in gathering parts, and ChiMan for lending a hand (or three).

whoever: Another excellent Longines! Monte Carlo in Singapore:

J, have you got a spare Jubilee lying around? That and the black bezel make for a really good, early-70s-looking GMT. Everywhere I look these days, all I see are great old GMTs! Must do something...

Sub takes a breather on Tuesday:

Bubbleback, I think, but I'm not sure about the reference number.

Thanks, guys! I've been wearing it on consecutive days, which doesn't happen too often lately. This is exactly right, and why I wanted an MBW, at the very least. I hold my $90 DRSD in my hand and... nothing. But when I grab the patinated 4-liner... Whoa, babe! I fear what Watchmeister said about the inevitability of getting a gen!

Dig deep enough into the archives here, and you'll find that there's nothing new under the sun. As I mentioned in my V72 Daytona thread, I was surprised in 2009 to discover that there was a cheap, accurate 6263 rep available--DW's. I was even more surprised to find out that they'd been around since 2005! The guy who put together that super-duper-hyper-franken (klingsor) actually posted on RWI last year, after I'd mentioned him in someone's 6541 build thread. So he may still be monitoring his old accounts, in case someone has questions. As with an accurate 1019, a super-6541 is a very ambitious build. But if that's the watch you want, then go for it! That said, it would be worth looking closely at the 6541 replacement case offered by NDTrading and comparing it (as much as you can using the photos available) with Phong's. Phong's 1019, for example, is a poor replication, and I've no idea how his 6541 compares with the gen.

6541: Please see this 2007 thread by klingsor to see the deficiencies of the MBW versus a genuine case. Now, I'm not suggesting you go out and buy a genuine case and 1030 movement (five figures minimum for that build), but it would be good to compare these with the current 6541 cartel rep. I would hesitate from buying a crystal until I've had a chance to measure the case carefully. MBW is notorious for having the wrong dimensions. Their 1019, for example, will not take a gen-spec crystal, so I'm doubtful their 6541 will.

One of these: 38mm, pricey for a quartz chronograph, but it's a Cartier and it's got big Roman numerals on the bezel. I imagine he wouldn't consider the Roadster a sporty watch. Made famous by Vic Mackey!