ubiquitous

I'm pretty sure it would be 4th quarter 1967, or 1st quarter 1968. Tudors date a little different from Rolex, but that should be a fairly close window for a production date...

Could be a number of crevices, grooves or channels where the dust could be hiding, just waiting to be bumped out during wear. Or, as TeeJay mentioned, it could even be the lume flaking/crumbling a slight bit as well. Regardless, Freddy333 brings up a good point; the movement should probably be serviced anyways, if not for the sake of keeping the movement in proper running condition alone. If you have debris under the crystal, it's quite possible that it could be finding it's way to the inner workings and gears of the movement where it could cause additional, functional trouble in the long run.

Hmmmm... 6822XX- I think that's late '67 or early '68? Not sure if it should be a strap or bracelet, however...

On my wife's J12 rep, I use a toothbrush and hot water to steam the surface.

Franken 3717 for today-

I'd be in for one of these, plus a U1 black as well...

Hope it helps! Good luck... //ubi

Have to agree- Once going with Chief's AR, nothing else compares. Not even gen.

The only thing you can really do in that case is make sure the pin holding the strap to the case is centered in the lugs, and try wiggling/finessing the release button to see if you can coax it back up. The good thing with the strap on the Cousteau is that the button is not integrated in the case, but rather the strap. If need be, you can always get a replacement...

It's not too difficult to actually remove the pins; the tough part comes when one of the release buttons doesn't want to pop back up Why do you want to remove the strap?

Looking good, buddy Can't wait to see the finished result!

Always best to avoid manually changing the date between the hours of 7pm and 2am; the datewheel engages with the hour wheel for the switch over during these hours. Manually adjusting/setting within this time frame will cause the mech to jam.

Speechless, Lani? I bet you never thought you'd see the day that I'd give one of these a try, eh?

Pho- Great to hear that things are going well with life, and that things are starting to turn around. Very glad to hear that you are in good health and that things are on the up and up! Out of curiosity, what exactly transpired between you and the admin team to cause this animosity? Can you give some background regarding the situation?

I'm going to give this one a try for Monday. I've not been a huge fan when it comes to the Hublot BB; when kruzer00 showed me this all black variation while he was in town, I have to admit- I was intrigued. He left it with me on loan; I've worn it around the house from time to time, but tomorrow I think I'll give it some wrist time The only gripe I have with this watch is the clasp- It really digs into the underside of my wrist. Visibility is surprisingly good, considering the all black dial/hands/indicies/date. Also, it's a bit difficult to capture in pics Great looking piece otherwise! Have a great week! //ubi

The caseback in the first one is more accurate to the gen, except it's signed 'automatic' instead of 'quartz': Comparison: There are some other variations of the caseback, but I felt that this comparison was more relevant. My wife has a 33mm quartz that has the same back as the second, except it's signed quartz:

Top notch, N! Looking sweet!

Pics please!

I forgot to post these pics- I received mine early December, but ended up giving it to a friend as a gift Note and compare the shape of the indicies as compared to the gen dial on my 3717: The hands and dial are crudely finished (in my opinion), but the case is decent despite having the wrong dial aperture and bezel shape. An interesting observation to note- My watch came with a completely unlumed dial; just painted plots (i.e. no lume on the quarter markers). Lume on the hands is very weak sauce, as typical of rep M.O. Yes, the crown is huge! Looks like one of frankenstein's bolts sticking out of his neck Caseback: I am not sure if the AR is really AR at all. It seems to me that it was just a tinted crystal. Here's a comparison to Chief AR: Granted, nothing really compares to Chief AR, but the crystal on this rep lacked any AR properties at all, producing the same glare as my other non-coated crystals. My suspicion that the case is surplus old stock from their XV production was confirmed after seeing this watch in person. It's not a bad watch, but it's not very accurate to gen either. My initial consideration for this watch was to use it as a beater for working on the car, house, etc. My second thought was to convert it into a sterile dial project, but felt that the cost to modify it wasn't worth it. In the end, I just gifted it to a buddy of mine who enjoys wearing the watch as-is (yes, he knows it's a replica) Some say that the 39mm size is too small, and in truth it does wear a bit small especially in comparison to my other IWCs which measure in at 42mm. I don't think that will stop me from buying a better replicated version of this watch, however. The XVI is a great watch, and sometimes less is more

Now that's what I call an XVI done right No surprise though, seeing as how your's was assembled within the walls of IWC's factory

Mr. D- I love the finished result. Looks great! And a nice idea on the conversion. Very well done!

Glad to see that your PO has made it home with the final installment of the facelift completed Looks great with the bezel finally fitted! Thanks for letting me assist in your project, buddy. These are always a lot of fun to put together! Cheers, //ubi

Sat- 3717 franken: Sun- 3719:

It's a full functioning 1 min tourbillon. Kept great time, was quite durable and with decent finishing, though in comparing with a Swiss Haute piece, you'd paying mostly for the handcrafted work/finishing/overall quality, precious metal case and of course the name on the dial that the Chinese tourby doesn't match. For the money, the Chinese tourby is a good buy if you want a neat conversation piece. The best value for Swiss is the Chronoswiss Tourbillon, in my opinion. Even in platinum, they can be had for $35k-ish on the secondary market. Not all Swiss brands are in the 6 figures

44mm Pre-A 009 on my wife's wrist: