txcollector

the new ultimate 253I has a very good crystal.

and that's not the name of the watch. That's just what the seller named it. The actual name of this Chinese watch is something like AD0921-1

OEM crystals are very expensive and hard to find. What many have been doing is to get the 117L, the 219L or the 005k/318, keep the crystal and sell the other parts. You can get any of those for around $200. After you sell the parts the crystal ends up being less expensive than any source and only losing to the OEM (which would cost more than any of those models).

nothing wrong with the seller but I'd stay away from their PAM crystals.

not really. Poor AR and expensive. The H factory crystals are a LOT better.

from what I've heard buyer 1 paid for the auction after bidding ended. Buyer 2 offered more money so seller created another ad so buyer 2 could win it. Buyer 2 paid for it and received the clock. Not clear if buyer 1 has been refunded but that's an ebay standard case to get the money back. The net of the story is: buyer 2 most likely knew exactly what he was doing to buyer 1 and even tried to photoshop pics to hide the deed.

If this was 1960 this would cost around $5.5K today if using the gold standard.

the smallest watch I wear is the SD at 40mm (it took a while to get used to it). I draw the line at 47mm though. I could get to the U-Boat at 50mm but just for diving, not for regular use.

I believe buyer 1 paid and of course did not receive the item.

you must be missing an important point here: buyer 2 contacted the seller of a rare clock telling he sold the said clock for less than market value and buyer 2 was ready to pay the fair market value. In other words: "dude, you sold that one for cheap. I can pay more than that if you have another one." This would be not a problem if it was a readily available item. An Angelus clock with an SF240 is not readily available these days and any interested buyer would know. From what I've heard, that was really the funny part. Apparently buyer 2 tried to disguise his mischief by posting a photoshop'ing the clock's picture. I believe buyer 1 was smart enough to put 2+2 together and buyer 1 was exposed. for me it looks like it smells.

yep, that sounds strange.

W, just to clarify, siesta181 is just reporting the incident. He was not a participant. for me buyer 2 knew exactly what he was doing. He was stiffing the other buyer. Being caught is just the awkward consequence.

it's so cute you think you still have any

carriers maintain logs of where your phone is at all times by logging the towers that are servicing your phone. There are several legitime reasons to to so like analyzing network loads, quality of calls and improvements need for service. They also use that to provide customer service (some do better than others). They also keep all your text messages, phone numbers that interact with your phone (numbers you call, numbers that call you, numbers involved in txt) and how long each call took. That's just standard data collection. Now the scary part. Depending on the type of investigation needed they can also track conversations involving multiple parties (you call a friend, that friend calls someone else, etc.) and your actual voice conversation can be analyzed in multiple languages. Oh yes and all of that in real time. If you are using an electronic device today be sure you are being tracked somehow. That's just the price of modern life. Wait until your car insurance company starts to mandate you put a GPS in your car so they know how dangerous of a driver you are (speeding, where you go, what time of day, etc.) Some companies already offer a discount today if you do it voluntarily.

this is what I use http://www.eta.ch/swisslab/7750/7750.html Unfortunately for you to get to the keyless you need to remove the date plate (not necessary to remove the DW etc which is a pain to put back). Be very careful with the spring for the hour counter (the little bastard has a tendency to disappear without warning) and careful aligning the chrono posts with the top plate.

these guys for diving

when mounted it's not that visible. If this was a gen dial it would be worth the $200

are you sure it's the latest one? Mine the construction is exactly like the gen. If it wasn't for the movement I'd say it's a gen.

LSML too close to the 6 eBay seller claims it's a sandwich dial but it looks like a sausage one. If sandwich the top plate is way too thin. If sausage it should be a LSL dial (G series). Fake.

mine doesn't look so bad. Without doing a side by side at the AD I really can't tell the difference (other than the DW of course). Mine Gen

not sure which version you bought but I have 3 and none have that problem.

+1, many of us have the luxury to be able to discuss, analyze and get informed about what can be repped easily, what requires a ton of work and what can't be done. If you are looking for buy one of those vintage pieces thinking you have the real thing because you think you can compare with some Internet photos and see that kind of replication you start wondering if stuff in your watch box is real or not.

I've done that with the white and black OEM dials. The rep dials are too dull in comparison with the OEM. Like calatrava mentioned the numerals are also noticeably different on the OEM as well. @calatrava, any word on the crown? what makes the rep stick out so much?

nice project but curious what led you to put a G series on an L watch? Would it be better to save it for a Fiddy or other nice G series projects?

definitely take one of those resort dives to see if you are OK with it. Chances are you will love it, get certified and enjoy it for the rest of your life.