ubiquitous

Mark- Any chance you can do this with the 45mm Radiomirs (e.g. Blackseal)?

Oooh... So hot!!

Yeah... It's real. I believe that the number in the upper right hand corner is the s/n for the watch (the 2M number coincides with a watch from that time frame). I am not sure if these are being issued only in certain countries, but I am quite sure that Rolex Bienne, Bex, the US branches, etc. are all following the course of action that I mentioned prior.

What can I say that hasn't been said already? Oli does some excellent work!

The RSC's, from what I understand, are not doing authentications the way they used to. In the past, they would do verifications/authentications- At first, they would do them via phone and fax, and then after getting stung a few times with that process, they started only doing authentications with the watch in hand. Now, they will not even go to that extent; i.e. if you have a red font 1680, and send it in for service/authentication, they will no longer give specification as to which dial is on your watch (like they used to). The reason for this- Many unscrupulous individuals would send in their watch for authentication with a very specific rare/exotic dial, asking for aditional confirmation on the dial type, etc. After the watch was returned, they would have a 3rd party watchmaker replace the dial with an aftermarket piece, yet they would have the document in hand from Rolex stating the dial to be authentic (meanwhile, they sell the watch, and then either keep the original dial, or sell it a la carte for an additional profit). Thus, RSC's will no longer provide this kind of service. So... Now, if you have a genuine watch, and you send it in for repair/service, you will have to make do with the fact that Rolex serviced the watch as authentication. Since they will only service a genuine watch, this is, what they will deem as an acceptable document to prove your watch as genuine. Hope this helps... R

Oooh! Very nice! That is going to be one awesome franken!! Can't wait to see the results

Royal Oak for Monday....

Hmmm... Fixing scratches on dials... It's really quite an easy fix. Simply spray the dial with clear laquer or varnish. If your dial is matte, use a matte finish spray. If it's gloss... Use gloss In some situations where you want a little bit of sheen, you can use satin. The spray conceals the scratches, and gives a nice, even finish without blurring or hazing the existing font. Hope this helps... R

Fat Tony hands...

Reminds me of a Corona commercial

That's an excellent Chrono Avenger, Frank! Very well done... The genuine dial and hands are a huge improvement! As for mine... I'm still unsure how to proceed with getting that ring out. Until I figure it out, I've put everything back together, and left it all as-is. I almost suspect that the movement and dial will need to come out the front. Not 100% certain about this... But that ring is most certainly not budging. With regards to the He Valve- I am not sure if it is 100% functional or not. I'm able to push the valve in, and as my pics above show, when the valve is pressed in, you can see the stem hit the spring. I am not certain how this impacts water resistance; I'll have to get it tested (most likely when the dial is done and everything is sealed back up). Anyhow... I'll update if/when I figure anything out. Surely, the assembly has to come out somehow. Cheers, Randy

$295 obo...

There's just something about seeing a TRUE tourbillon in motion that's just mesmerizing. It's really a very lovely horological complication. I've only had the opportunity to handle 3 tourbillons in person; I love them, but could not afford nor justify a 6 figure pricetag on a watch. I've been contemplating one of these Chinese made tourbillons... From what I understand, the newest generation is much more reliable, and quality in craftsmanship improved.

Heehee... No, no... This one took TWO years to make! Heh, heh... Okay, okay. It took 20 minutes to dig around my spare parts bin to gather the junk, and maybe another 15 minutes to put together The really funny thing is that this watch is keeping excellent time! Hasn't even lost a second since slapping it together last night. So.... Here's the parts breakdown: -Dial is from a TW Sub. -Hands are a combination of Sub and DateJust hands. -Movement is a 21j Asian. -Datewheel is a generic 3135 (ordered and disappinted with it's quality; had to put it to use somewhere). -Crown is from the TWG 21j Sub -Case and bracelet... Not sure where these are from. Just had them sitting in a junk pile. -Insert is an aftermarket; one of 5 or 6 I picked up to practice modding/trimming on The SUPER-FICIALLY CERTIFIED was my wife's idea

Thanks for the kind words!! I had a lot of fun puttin this one together... It actually went quite fast once I had all the parts in hand! Oh, and speaking of which... My magical parts fairy says 'hello' to all of the RWG guys I must give credit where credit is due, and she has always come through for me As for the Tudor hands- I tried the ones in Aligoat's link, but unfortunately, they didn't work out so well. Here's a pic of them installed: If you'll notice, the back end of the hand on this one is too short. That portion should be right aroun .5x as long. So, I called up my supplier, and asked if he had a set for a Tudor Sub with 2824. I took his last set in stock Anyways... Thanks again for the very kind comments! It may be a while before this one goes up for sale. Best, Randy P.S. link- Nice gen

Looking good! The PR is an interesting watch... Surprisingly, it has a very nice balance to the dial, despite how busy it is Enjoy! Looks great!

Alex- For my insert vintagizing jobs, I use bleach. Usually, 3 - 5 minutes in gives a nice faded result. I recently did one that came out looking chocolate brown. Perhaps the new owner will post pics of it when he has it installed Here's one I did recently- In the bath for 5 minutes...

Happy birthday, Ken! All the best to you... Cheers, R

A treasured piece in my collection

Damn... That ring is not coming out. Sooooo... For now, I went ahead and removed the minute track ring, and worked on some of those scratches. There's a pretty bad one that I couldn't fix. For the most part, not bad...

So, which PAM was it, W?

Swapping bezels is an easy fix. Simply remove the old (wedge a razorblade between the case and bezel) and give it a lift. Should come right up. With the new bezel... Just press it back on

Not sure yet, Mahler.... I'll know better when (if) I have it all apart. As for dial scratches... Yes, I can fix them. Shouldn't be a big problem Ken- Already tried those tools! And they still didn't work!

IG- I gave that a try, and this mofo is in there! I figured it shouldn't anything more than just tension fit... But this thing is tight. I don't want to bung anything up by forcing it out...

Well, my genuine dial arrived today. Interesting. First impressions- The dial *seems* darker than the one on the watch. That might be an artifact of the crystal perhaps, as in certain angles in certain lighting, both dials have the same color. The second thing I noticed- The minute chapter/track ring is significantly smaller on the genuine. I should be able to remove the one on the gen and reuse the rep ring, though I won't know until I have the movement/dial out. Which segues me into the next point. How on earth do I get this movement out? It appears there is a large movement ring/spacer inside the case- I am unsure how to extract without damaging. This is new territory for me, so if anyone has some experience here, I'd appreciate it. Anyhow... Some pics to get started with... See what I mean about the movement ring? I was quite amused to see such a little movement in such a big case... ETA 2824 And, here's something else I found of interest- Note that tab there on the outside of the ring. That's te He Valve. If I press it in... You can see the stem extend Neat-O! Anyways... Don't mind the scratches on the dial face. If I'm able to get everything apart and confirm that the dial color is an okay match for the minute track, I'll fix those Well... I'm at a standstill until I can confirm how to get that ring out... For now... Thanks for looking. Best, R