ubiquitous

If the watch stops at the same time every day, take a close look at the hands. It's likely that they may be coming into contact at some point, and hence causing the movement to hang up.

I myself built a hybrid bracelet: -Old TW Best SELs, which were filed down on the top surface -WM9 outer first links (without the ref stamped) -Noobmariner main links -WM9 clasp The WM9 clasp is one of the nicest rep clasps I've seen. Deep grooved channels and nice coronet.

Datewheel does not have any effect on running performance of the watch. If your watch is stopping once per day, there is likely another issue at hand.

Weds: Thurs:

Difficult to say, really; mixing and matching bracelet parts is one of those things that is more or less uncertain until you have the parts in hand. Especially when dealing with links that have the solid centers; since the holes have to be drilled through the center link, it's entirely possible that the screw pin for a removable link that isn't intended for that bracelet might be too large, not allowing it to fit. At least with the hollow link, you have a little wiggle room. That's the problem with some rep parts. There's no standard amongst parts and there's several different manufacturers producing them (sometimes even for the same assembly plant).

And another (though not mine)...

Thank you everyone for the very kind words! Very much appreciated, and as many of you know, these frankens were amongst some of my first builds; as such (and considering why I built them) these pieces are quite special to me To say I am humbled by your comments is an understatement... BT- It's a difficult decision, actually. Both are appealing in their own right; the white dial is so crisp and clean, yet the black has an interesting tone to the dial; not really black per se, but more of a dark grey-ish brown. It really stands out under sun light and is one reason why I'd recommend having both dials to anyone considering a 16520 Thank you, F333! These days, I'm using natural lighting filtering in through a series of glass cubes (in a window) with a northern exposure: I used to use a light tent, however I'm finding that the natural lighting works quite nicely in this set up! Thanks again one and all for the kind words! Cheers, R

Great pic (as always)! Think I need to compose a similar image (yours has inspired me )...

Happy birthday to two perfect gents. Hope it's a good one! Cheers, R

@ZZ- Man, I love the way the lume turned out on these! Once again, incredible work. Your attention to detail and meticulous work stand out above the rest! @TMG- What can I say? Wow!! I am really quite envious of that beautiful 201A! Cheers, R

The great thing about the WM9 is that it's very easy to work with. Which did you go with? 16610, or 16613?

Finally got around to taking some semi decent pics of the Daytonas. Realized that I didn't have any good, clear images of the pair and figured I needed a few prior to putting them away for a bit. Of all the projects I've built, these are still my favorite by far... Nothing new to the old members, of course. But thanks for looking none the less Cheers, R

Genuine dials won't fit into the 1680 without trimming; gen dials are roughly 1mm too large in diameter which prevents proper fitting (specifically, the dial is too large to allow correct seating to the case behind the rehaut).

Yes, though generally speaking, those parts will fit just fine as a 1:1 replacement. The only reason why I've ever had threads tapped prior to installing a gen tube was to clean the old debris out. It should be known (and perhaps expected), however that there are always exceptions to every rule as differences in tolerances in production are a possibility.

In what sense? Winding? Threading down on the tube? Or the actual crown itself? Winding is going to be largely dependent on the movement you have. Threading the crown to the tube; well, there isn't anything that beats gen in that sense. A genuine crown and tube has a very disctinct feel; very solid, and buttery smooth with tight tolerance. The actual crown itself has some sharp teeth; this characteristic is likely to be less of a 'feel' issue, but more of a visual difference, however.

For a 14270, you'd need the short Oysterlock (a la 78360); the one that comes on the Subs (Fliplock/93150/93250) is too long...

I'm sure there are others out there with specific experience with some of the other pieces (like the Euromariners, SSD's etc.) and hopefully they'll post as well. The list I posted is a very small list of some of the most recent/up to date examples off the top of my head that I have had specific experience with; I didn't bother listing older variations (i.e. like the 16610) in which parts swapping wasn't quite as compatible. If I think of any others, I'll be sure to add those as well...

BT- I ended up selling it off I might look into doing another at some point, but for now, I'm holding steady with 6 watches in the collection; more than enough for me for now... 2892's aren't difficult to source. Just a little more pricey than the standard 2836-2 or 2824-2.

A few to start... REP: WM9 16610 Dealer(s): Case Size: 40mm Movement: ETA 2836-2 NO MODS and Swapable: Crystal: Yes Bezel: Yes Bezel Insert: Yes Hands: No Dial: Yes Crown: Yes Crown Tube: Yes Braclet/strap: No (not a perfect fit) REP: MBK 1680 Dealer(s): Case Size: 40mm Movement: ETA 2836-2 NO MODS and Swapable: Crystal: Yes Bezel: Yes Bezel Insert: Yes Hands: No Dial: Not a direct fit; modification required Crown: Yes; with genuine or aftermarket tube Crown Tube: Yes Braclet/strap: Yes; with the correct end links REP: MBK 1665 Dealer(s): Case Size: 40mm Movement: ETA 2836-2 NO MODS and Swapable: Crystal: Yes Bezel: Yes Bezel Insert: Yes Hands: No Dial: Yes Crown: Yes; with genuine or aftermarket tube Crown Tube: Yes Braclet/strap: Yes; with the correct end links REP: DW 6263/5 Dealer(s): Case Size: 37mm Movement: Mystery Movement; swappable to Swiss V23 NO MODS and Swapable: Crystal: Yes Bezel: Yes Bezel Insert: Yes Hands: Yes and no; only with the Swiss movement installed and only certain hands will fit (you have to use a combination of different hands) Dial: Yes Crown: Yes; with genuine or aftermarket tube Crown Tube: Yes Braclet/strap: Yes; with the correct end links ***Valjoux 72 is also possible with the correct V72 specific case

That Breguet La Tradition...

Absolutely!

Looks interesting with texture! In some ways, it almost reminds me of a Rolex Yachtmaster Rolesium dial. Very neat!

pollux, The franken 14270 EXPI is a great piece to build. Reasonably priced and very easy to achieve near gen results. I used a genuine 16200 DJ case with smooth bezel; I had originally obtained my case from eBay, though there are a number of other sources to pick these up. Dial used was gen: And for the movement, you'll need either a 2824, or a 2892 with a stilty spacer: (unfortunately, mine was built w/o spacer) A 2836-2 will not fit the gen cases for 3135 movements, as it's simply too tall; the stem will not line up center in the tube, so it's not a candidate for this reason alone. Hope this helps! Cheers, R

Easy to build these as well using gen parts (1016 or 5500). Stilty's done one, I believe...

Since most of my pieces are frankensteins with Swiss movements, I'll be arranging to have each serviced at their 5 year intervals... For the pieces that I have with Swiss ETAs, I've kept 3 or 4 spare movements around to pre-service and swap when necessary. Once the old movement is out, I'll retain until the next service and pre-service again and swap. This will keep downtime to a minimum and keep my favorites running for the long term.