ubiquitous

Hmmmmm. I think the only major concern is ensuring that if you pay for Swiss, you actually get Swiss I don't think this issue comes up very often, but with some of the clones, it seems that the matter is becoming even more difficult to discern...

$750 USD for the movement; lathe work on the case is an additional cost, and of course the purchase price of the donor watch. Thanks, Lani

It's most certainly a beauty! Very nice!

Personally, I like to use Swiss in all of my keeper watches, and when I can, I'll use original movements. Is one better than the other? Well... In some cases, yes- Especially when it comes to duplicating certain complications that the Asian variation just can't match (a la 7750 sec @ 6:00). But that's just one example. When it comes to standard ETA date/time, I suppose there really aren't any major advantages to using Swiss over Asian, except that the price point is possibly a factor. You're saving about $60 or so by going Asian if you're buying the watch new. Or, you're saving $60 by buying the watch fitted with a Swiss ETA if you factor in what it would cost from a supply house like Ofrei. Personally, I do use Swiss ETA in my watches when I have them in surplus waiting to be consumed in my parts bin And I like knowing that I have a Swiss engine under the hood. Just a mental/OCD thing for me I think. Is the watch going to be one that you plan on keeping for the long haul?

I agree with Lani; for me, watches always appear different in pictures, reflection in a mirror, etc. than when I look at it from a 1st person perspective on my wrist. Not entirely sure why that is...

I am currently in the process of having a gen IWC caliber 79350 fitted to a Portuguese Chrono rep; as the movement is not a direct fit, the case has to be modified in order for the stem to line up with the crown tube, and the hands have to be slightly modified as well (only the subdial and center seconds unless you use a set of gen hands; hour and min should be a direct fit). A bit pricey, but the gen movement and it's reliability are worth it to me...

Fuckity fuck shit bitch fuck a ling a ding dong.

Well, there is currently only one RSC that the 5517 connoisseurs rely on to service and authenticate; they know well enough to leave these watches as original as possible. However, if a part is deemed as a potential risk to the longevity and function of a movement (i.e. crumbling tritium), they would advise the replacement of those parts. The retrofitting of old parts in this case wasn't really an RSC initiative; rather, private dealers and the sort bought what they could when these pieces were sold off at ridiculously cheap prices. Back in this era, Mil spec watches really didn't have the following that they do today, so most were converted for sake of having a sellable product. Little would they know that a few decades following these pieces would command the prices that they do now.

Gen 5517's are hovering around the six figure range for a correct and original example. They're somewhat rare, as many had been converted back to standard 5513's. Gen collectors have a fairly tight knit network and communicate their findings and discoveries, so many are well versed in the existing pieces out there and in whose hands they currently reside. Back in the mid 80's these pieces could be purchased for just a few dollars per tray per dozen. Many of them were retrofitted with non-Mil gen 5513 parts and sold on in the secondary market.

You can always commission a sterile 5513 style dial with places like CWP, or you can probably also get a pre-made sterile dial from sources like MKII as well.

Dunno about any Moscow replica factories producing functional tourbillons, but the Chinese certainly have...

A- Are you looking to achieve just a case set only as a final product? Or is a full, complete and working watch the final goal? If you're looking to achieve a case set only, then I agree with DBR; there are several instances where picking up a dial, movement, hands, crystal, insert etc. are all pretty easy as applicable to certain models. This would be ideal for the hobbyist for certain. However, if you're looking to achieve a complete watch, I think the finer details are usually where the rep manufacturers really fall short. We have cases like the WM9's (for example) that are very true to their gen counterparts, however the small details like pearls, dial print/font, finish, materials, etc. are usually the weak link on such pieces. This is why I usually buy a complete rep, but only use the case with my projects and scrap everything else; I replace those junk bits with gen parts where possible and within reason. Reading between the lines a bit... The good thing with RLX is that a number of ETAs can fit cases intended for gen. So, if the goal was to replicate pieces from this brand and you limited to the date/time models, this should be quite doable if you did want to have complete working pieces as the end product...

Since I have my franken-El Primero Daytonas, I can strike the 16520 off the list of wants for gen If I could only have one impractical gen watch... i'm with Kruz... Urwerk 103. My beaters can be the frankens. For a practical daily wearer... Hard decision. Not sure I could choose just one...

Great collection, buddy! Must be a small fraction of the big pic though... Cause I know this barely scratches the surface BTW... That tourbillon looks familiar

Arch- Hit me up via PM, or maybe we need another conf call this week with kruzer //ubi

A gorgeous and super clean example, Lani! Nice sharp lines and that bezel is just immaculate! An excellent score, my friend!

A little vintage for Monday... And a little more wabi for Tues...

I absolutely love posts like this! Really quite a lot of fun trying to imagine what it must be like there. Somehow, in my mind I can't help but picture a sort of dystopian kind of city scape... Like Blad Runner or something. And I can't even begin to fathom the amount of watches you must be exposed to. Must be overwhelming to say the least. Looking forward to the next chapter...

2nd that

That's a good start to a great watch! Looking forward to seeing the progression as it moves from rep to franken status...

Possible that the dial may be fading... Difficult to say for certain what the catalyst is- the heat, the sun or time. Possibly just a combination of all? By the way... Don't let the insert settle in bleach for too long. I'll post photos tomorrow as to why I advise caution in this regard...

PM replied- I should have a spacer ring for you...

I think b16a actually has that one (gen too)... RobbieG too!

Rick Astley is also pretty bad... Exception being the ol' rickroll... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI

My vote: Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday Or this gem (not really a music video in terms of MTV standards, but still pretty good. And by good, I mean bad)... Note- This one doesn't really get good until almost half way through.