I was about to say the same, Ken. I was completely unaware of this also. I took several months off from the forum, so granted I missed a lot, but this is certainly news to me!
Just got off the phone with the big man. I have to say, this is the first day in which he's starting to sound like his old self.
He's now in General Care, so no more ICU. A good sign that he's improving.
He did say that what he had was not pneumonia, but rather influenza A(?).
Hopefully, he'll be home this weekend.
He sends his regards to all, and I was sure to let him know that we're all thinking of him
Cheers,
R
Some prolific and high profile folks here on the forum. Kind of funny to think- According to the average TZ WIS and what they perceive as a typical replica owner, none of us should even be here
I think the transition took place with the 168000; say around 1986/7? I think those were brought out in the 9.5M serial range. I know the 16800 was still using 316...
IIII as opposed to IV is fine and the Swiss were the ones to originate it on clocks, watches, etc. I believe. It's supposedly done for aesthtics...
IIII instead of IV
Typically, most inserts won't fit without some work. You're likely going to have to either file down the back of the insert, the O.D. or possibly both. Difficult to say for certain, as there's so much variation in both the rep Subs as well as aftermarket parts in general. Combining the two makes for an even more difficult situation. The only time I've had a simple no-mod fit was when I installed a gen insert to the gen bezel that I fitted to my old WM9 Sub.
If all you're missing is the pearl, I'd say get some watchmaterial pearls and fit those to the existing inserts. You may need to expand the hole for the pearl, but that's much easier than modding the entire insert and/or bezel to fit.
Kind of a tough spot to be in at the moment- Resale of gens is not great as the market is somewhat saturated with people selling because of the current economic environment. Given the laws of supply and demand, I'm fairly certain that you'd likely take a hit on selling each if you bought new at the AD. However, right now is a prime opportunity to pick up some gens for the very same reason- Lots of people are liquidating and to add to that, ADs are offering some good deals as well, thus driving down prices even more for the secondary market.
I'm in the same boat, except with houses. It's a great time to upgrade to a larger house, but selling the one we're currently in will mean that we will not realize the kind of equity we once had.
That's easy.
All one needs to do is listen to the sound the rotor makes. That's an instant tell as ETAs use ball bearings; Rolex 3135's use an axle rotor. That and the direction the crown rotates to set the time.
Aside from that, hands, dial, crown position/height relative to the case etc.
Been there, done that with a well modded Z serial WM9 (one of the originals direct from George)...