ubiquitous

A little vintage love... The NATO is an interesting strap. I gave one a try... But it just didn't jive with me. I think it's the type of NATO I have, as it's a bit stiff. Perhaps with a softer, thicker strap I'll have a different perspective on the matter

Chunky, it is. Most certainly. The weight is simply amazing... From memory, it feels to be about the same weight as my MBW 1665 (but don't quote me on that). For it's size... It's quite light. It's amuzing, actually. The bezel alone is about the same size, profile-wise, as my Royal Oak. Pretty funny...

Okay gang... The week is coming to a close. What will you be winding down your week with? Here's my line up... Friday- Slightly modified AP RO from Jos; Saturday- Franken Daytona; Sunday- Franken 16610 (now complete with correct color seconds hand ) Have a great weekend!

Well.... Initially, what got me into this hobby was this specific case set: I picked up this genuine 16234 case set, which consists of a genuine Service Replacement case, 18k WG bezel, genuine dial, crystal, etc. My initial plan was the use a genuine Rolex 3135 to transplant in, and build something for my son; my wife and I were still expecting him at the time (I think she was 6 or 7 months pregnant), but I wanted to get a head start on putting something that I could hand down to him someday... Maybe at graduation or something fun like that. That case kit was the start of a relationship with one of my good suppliers that I use to this day, and little did I know what would develop. So, in the meantime, I started to look for a movement. The 3135's were (and still are) quite expensive; most of which cost 4x the cost of my case at minimum. So... I started to look at other alternatives. My paths crossed with reps (I was looking at ETA movements, and in trying to research if an ETA would fit my Rolex case, I found discussion of ETA based reps. Go figure ), and I stumbled onto RWG and TRC by chance. I had been a fan of watches for a very long time; owned some gens... And some replicas prior. Had an Idealwatches Sub, and interestingly enough, I had also purchased some watches from Eddie and River prior to even knowing about RWG or TRC. It's a small world. But, I digress. Having found RWG, an entire world of new, cool stuff had opened up to me. So... I started looking around. Picked up some stuff here and there... Discovered modding watches, which seemed to be inline with what I wanted to do- Build watches. I started off by farming my stuff out... Sending stuff to a member at the time, who I later discovered wasn't in good graces with a lot of members. Long story short... This was the motivation to start learning how to do my own mods and work. I started off light, and gradually worked my way into other projects of different skill set. My first build. Still have it and love it to this day From there... I went on to the fabled MBW's. Their allure of accepting genuine parts intrigued me. So, I gave a few a shot... One of my first MBW's evolved into this Tudor Sub (7928)... And, well... Several watches later (not a lot, but quite a few), the rest, as they say is old news I know that some people find spending money on mods and parts for rep watches to be ridiculous; after all, at the end of the day, it's still a rep. But, for me... It's more than just the money factor. It's truly a hobby. One that carrys a huge amount of satisfaction, along with a number of challenges and so forth. The fun for me is to see what I can build. Also... It's a lot of fun chasing down rare parts, finding useful and creative ways to use parts from the parts box, etc. I've never had this much fun with genuines. And that's why I continue to build. Frankenstein on.... Best, R

*ding* That, sir... Is correct.

Just sized the silly thing... Man, for as big as it is, it's surprisingly comfortable, thanks to it's weight. I can see this thing catching door frames-a-plenty, however. The bracelet is... Interesting. an intriguing design, as is the case. It's oddly appealing, yet I still don't see how I can wear the blasted thing. As for the 300m flaw on the caseback... Well, it's on the caseback At least it's not on the front

$2600 on this one... Genuine case, el primero 400, etc. On average, I spend between $600 and $1100 in upgrades. But, keep in mind... Genuine Rolex parts are never cheap.

Thanks, as always, for the kind words, gang. I spent the day with this one, and *looks around*, don't tell my El Primero Daytona this... But I could see myself wearing this for a good majority of the time I have a watch on the wrist. The look and feel of this one is completely changed. Me loves... Cheers, R

Look closely... Notice anything different between the pair? Here's something to coincide... See any relation?

Hari- Got a black dial. Should be NOS... I should have it soon. Also... Should have some new bezel screws soon too. In the meantime... Some comparison pics. The first 4 turned out really bad- Using my wife's camera, and not used to the digital zoom/macro, so please bear with me. The rest of the pics turned out better... But that's cause I didn't use the zoom. I figure for some quick pics, these'll do Full frontals... With 16610 RO Daytona And Luminor... Now the profiles... Sub... RO Daytona PAM The mug shots reveal the watch to be within a reasonable size when talking case diameter. But once you get it on it's side... A completely different story. It just towers over everything. And now... some wrist shots. Since I haven't had a chance to see how the links come apart yet, I didn't resize, but simply let dangle from my wrist. Please don't mind the laziness... Not bad... Seems reasonable... Stop the press Holy jeebus. Glad this thing is made of Ti! If this case were SS, it would outweigh an anchor... And there you also see the missing screw (doh). Hope you enjoyed... Cheers R

Agree... The Mickey is the one that (oddly enough) caught my eye! I've been casually looking for an old vintage... But, somehow, it always gets pushed back to lower priority on my list of watches. Maybe I just need to buy one and be done with it Gorgeous box. Very lavishly finished on the exterior. Where did you source this from? Enjoy... Randy

Sorry cosmo, but no plans to sell... At least not in the immediate future. But, one never knows when a particularly expensive project might come up that might need funding...

Why, yes it is

Thanks, Sony! Yeah... This sucker's TALL. It's a thick, meaty case. Very hefty.

Thanks, guys. The watch looks and feels completely different. It's amazing the difference a bracelet can make! I have but one more mod I might make... That being the hands. Somewhere in one of my pars boxes, I know I have a different set of hands from an old ETA Royal Oak- The hour and seconds hand are slimmer if I recall correct. I might have to dig them out to have a look-see. As for where the replacement bracelet originally came from? Good question. I don't recall. I've had a number of the old TW Royal Oaks that River and EL sold over a year ago, as well as a few others from King and other dealers. I don't quite recall which one this was off of...

Horatio is a chump Seriously... I think David Caruso is a bad, bad actor. I usually watch CSI Miami for the humor aspect that is known as his acting. Terrible, terrible.

All great questions, J. I'll have to take some comparo and wrist shots tonight. Looks like the wrap is coming off...

Thanks, Jet. I have all sorts of stuff in my parts box. Some of it is stuff that I am not even sure how it got there. And yes... Not all of it is Rolex either The bracelet is a rep... But it is quite a bit nicer than the original that came with this watch. I'm looking at it now as I type... I love it

My wrist is 6.8"- Not huge, but man, this thing is like wearing a roll of duct tape on the wrist. I have not sized it yet... Just staring at it sitting next to all my other watches for now... The replica is indeed quite nice... Overall quality is great, and excellent detail. Interesting (but not unheard of) knowing that the genuines also carry silly faults. Guess some just get past QC....

I'm not typically a Breitling kind of guy, but after reading about the Titanium Seawolf's demise in production, I thought I'd pick one up when the chance recently presented itself, and get this- It was new from a dealer (but not from any of the usuals). I placed my order, and 3 days later, I had a bit of an overengineered package sitting on my counter top, just waiting to be opened. I spent 10 minutes or so (the packing was really, really, really thorough), I started pulling out my goodies. And yes... The Seawolf was amongst the treats. Now... Nothing had ever prepared me for what a behemoth this monster is. The thing is freaking huge- Not so much in diameter, but in height. The thing is enormous... And it's a good thing it's in Ti; it's still got a little heft to it, but I could not imagine if this thing were SS! Anyhow... enough jibber jabber. On to the pics... Overall... I'm not exactly sure this is my kind of watch. I mean... It's nice and of decent quality, but the sheer size detracts to my taste just a bit. As you can see... The wrap is still on it, as I'm giving it some thought. The ETA 2824 has been performing flawlessly, and winds buttery smooth. The crown is nice and substantial- Threads onto the tube with precision and confidence. The bezel seems a little loose, and one of the little screws from the side is missing. I'm going to see if my dealer will sell me a complete batch of replacement screws, as I can see the possibility for needing spares (I double checked all of the rest on the bezel- a few were loose, but now tightened). The bezel markings are quite nice- The '4' in '45' looks correct (open top), and the pearl is also quite decent. The case is thick and hefty; well finished, and the He Valve even appears to be somewhat functional (if you push on it, it moves back and forth). The bracelet and clasp are two items I have not examined closely as the wrap is still on them. I have a genuine dial on it's way to me... Perhaps I will see if it fits. Who knows... I may just hang on to this one for the sheer novelty of it. For now, the jury is still out... Thanks for looking... R

In a previous thread, I mentioned that my new Royal Oak would be a watch I would leave untouched. No mods, no anything. How many of you believed me? I tried and I tried, but damn it all... I just couldn't leave it alone. Now... Such mentality has backfired in the past, resulting in disappointment, and soemtimes disaster, but this time things worked out alright. I only made one change, and that was a swap of the bracelet. I went through one of my parts boxes, and sure enough, I had a complete Royal Oak bracelet for my watch. As luck would have it, the first link was larger on this one, and even luckier still, the end link tabs lined right up with the slots in the case lugs. Now, this might sound like an easy job, but much to my expectation, I found that it was not (these things are never as easy as they seem to be). The holes drilled for the lug pins in the bracelet end links were positioned too far back, while the new Royal Oak case had the holes too far forward. The holes were also positioned quite close to the bottom surface of the links, so I didn't want to risk cutting through on the bottom by drilling. No, no... Only one method made sense to me, and that was the one I dreaded the most. Using a needle file and my hands, I went to work enlarging the holes. 2 hours later (1/2 hour on each link) and a bunch of cramped up fingers later, I now have a Royal Oak with a much less severe transition from the case to the bracelet... Here is a 'before' shot... And an equally crappy 'after' shot... Before... After... Big difference, no? The difference might not be so apparent in photos, but in person, it's a completely different watch than the one I received two days ago. Definitely a keeper in my books now Thanks for looking... R

CONGRATS!! Man... There is nothing quite like the feeling of being a Dad. Best feeling in the world Have fun, and be sure to spend as much time as possible with your son. They grow up faster than you can imagine

I dig the white... Definitely! And, who knows... Perhaps we'll see a Classic Royal Oak Chronograph by year's end?

You'll want the following parts: Triplock Crown (7mm) - P/N 24-703 Triplock Tube (7mm) - P/N 24-7030

Oooh! Me likey!! That crystal is beyond words... Absolutely drool worth!