ubiquitous

Beautiful!! Absolutely gorgeous! Love those hands... The markers... And that PVD just tops it!! Fantastic!

Decided to give this one a go for today... Been a little while since it's adorned my wrist, so... And for tomorrow... Have a good hump day everyone! Cheers, R

Wow... It's amazing to think of the things this watch has seen in it's lifetime... A symbol to reflect on every Rememberance Day. Thanks for sharing, R.

BY's new LRRP range looks pretty neat! I like the MilSub variation of it with the McQueen style dial. I've also been considering his Stingray as well. Love that Fifty Fathoms look!

Maybe the next time TT breezes into town, we can work on getting a GTG set up.

Looking forward to receiving mine as well. Watcher and I should be getting ours hopefully within the same batch *fingers crossed*.

Nicely done!

Pete is correct- I believe that aftermarket or rep V72 hands need to be opened up a bit.

Interesting to me considering that the dial of a 1665 is too big for a 1680!

Be careful if installing to the stock MBW insert. The metal the insert is made from is pretty soft and will bend if not careful.

I've been using the springbars that look like screws. Seem to do the trick...

Beautiful... Absolutely beautiful...

Looks like you're off to a great start! Looking forward to seeing the finished product Should be quite stellar once completed. Especially as you start replacing rep parts with gen. Quite possibly the most satisfying way to tackle a project as each improvement and upgrade can be relished individually... Cheers, R P.S. I'd go with the un-engraved case. Better to have a blank than to have the wrong engraving (in my opinion).

Here's a closed factory: Sorry... Couldn't resist

Nah... I just postwhore a lot

1000 come and gone. Time flies when you're having fun!

Nothing wrong with that at all People may argue that one should only pass down something of intrinsic value to your children, but in my opinion, if it meant something to you, it's likely that it may mean something to your kids as well. While dollar value is nice, sentimental value is priceless. That's why I built the Daytona pair for my kids It may mean more to my kids that my hands put the parts together specifically for them instead of some guy in Switzerland

Some of you may recall sometime back (maybe a year+ or so ago) that I felt a correction in vintage Rolex prices was long overdue. Looks like that time has come. A little later than I thought, but these pieces have been (in my opinion) largely overvalued with high escalating prices in a short duration of time. As for parts... They're also a victim to the falling price of vintage pieces. Parts were increasing in price sharply in relation to their high priced complete watch counterparts; folks who wanted a period correct 6263, 1655, 1665 DR, COMEX, MilSub, 6542 or whatever were willing to pay outrageous prices for the right parts to make their watch complete. Since prices for the watches are falling, there's no reason to pay $10k for a dial on a $15k watch. With regards to eBay; I think Rolex is really just cracking down on parts and accessories to: 1) Eliminate questionable non-gen and aftermarket parts on eBay 2) Eliminate the source of parts made available for franken builders and those doctoring up reps 3) Tighten up the availability and distribution of parts outside of their own controlled network What's interesting to me is that Rolex is making a large effort to sweep parts out of the Internet markets, but yet they won't fully support their vintage pieces via their RSC network (watches with calibers that are 30 years past production are typically put out to pasture save for support provided to a few valued high profile individuals out there). I wonder how many of the other vintage collectors will be shifting their focus and money to the manufacturers that do support their vintage watches, no matter how bad the customer service is *cough*Patek*cough*? Afterall... Most vintage collectors are also modern enthusiasts as well.

Big R... You're making me blush As per request... My builds of '08 (even though you've seen them a bajillion times ): Franken 9411: 16610 WM9- Modded with gen parts: PAM002 Pre-A: As always, I appreciate the kind words, Lani... And I feel the same about your projects and frankens as well! Now, if only I could do the reviews you do!

2008, while a little slow for me with regards to watches, has been pretty decent. I've been able to build some nice pieces- Some of which I've wanted for some time, so it's nice to make those goals a completed reality ...Even if those pieces just sit in the watch box... *sigh*

As do I...

My primary preference for modern Panerai- Recessed Pre-V/Pre-A sausage:

Thank you, sir! The Omega was $600 well spent a few years back I've not found an example like it since for anywhere near that price! This will be a good one to hand down to my son...

In my opinion... Gen or rep, used or new I think that the pricing will ultimately depend on the piece in question. The good majority of 'common' pieces will likely see a reduction in pricing or perceived value as supply and demand will play a big factor; ergo, the more common the piece, the greater availability and those with the liquid funds ready to purchase will be able to command a lower price or turn to the seller's competitor to get the price they want. For pieces of a more limited nature and/or in higher demand, I feel as though those pieces will either move at the seller's price, or they simply won't sell (i.e. the seller would rather hold vs. take a loss).

Crown looks okay to me. These old crowns had a top layer of thick foil wrapping the actual crown. Those are the striations that you see- The foil where it is pressed and 'sealed' to the crown. Underneath is a solid SS crown complete with the coronet, etc. I know this to be 100% the case as I had coaxed ziggy into unwrapping one of his some time back a few years ago, mostly to see what was underneath. Thankfully, 24-700 crowns are easier to find than the tubes.