ubiquitous

That is LoLs

True PVD can be had for not much more (thanks to davidsen)...

Excellent work!! The watch is stunning, and one you should be 100% proud of! Nothing quite like having done the job yourself! So.... Now that this one's done, what's next for you?

Whaaa??? No way. It can't be fake! It's advertised as 10000% authentic!! That means it has to be real!

Agree with you 100% fitchy! Let's please be civil and respectable to one another. We may not agree with one another, but everyone has the right to post his/her opinion, and receive a respectful reply in turn.

Since Feb of this year for me. I sent him my AP Royal Oak to brush the bezel and eliminate the gold screws. Granted, I know this isn't exactly a standard request for a modification, so some R&D time is to be expected as the procedures for carrying out such work has to be developed, etc. Do I think 4 months is excessive? For this type of work... I don't know. The scope of the project was beyond my means (plating the bezel screws with WG, etc), which is why I sent it out in the first place. To be honest, I've kinda forgotten about it in the past few months. Out of sight, out of mind I suppose. I would like to add- This is the first and only watch I've sent off for mods since a year ago when I was sending my watches to Base for mod work. The experience from that situation with Bryan is what primarily motivated me to learn how to do my own mods. I don't particularly like to send my watches out, and try to avoid doing so where ever possible. However, there are some instances where there are things that I just don't have the time to do myself, and there are other things that are just beyond my capabilities (i.e. sending Ziggy watches to be overhauled).

Nice review and write up, as always BT! Great stuff! Now, I did happen to notice one modification that you forgot in your how-to's.... And that is retrofitting the laser! Thanks to you, I'm now looking for a nice SMP rep to acompany my vintage 300... Preferrably one of the old factory ones!

L- If you're going to pick up a 5513, now is the time to do it, from both a price and servicing perspective! The SC's are starting to turn away watches within the 60's and early 70's era and are standing firm on this decision; if you want the watch serviced with genuine parts, you should do it as soon as you are able to before they shut the doors completely on the 1520/30/60/70/80 based watches!

So, in your case, are you looking to use the epoxy to reform the threads in the case for your screw? I believe this has been done with some success before...

Crown guard screw as in... A Panerai? My advice would be to try finding a replacement screw instead...

Love the no names... Here's my 'oldie', due to celebrate it's 1st birthday next month

Excellent review Toni! I agree- Overall a very nice watch, but a little too thick on the case and bezel. The bezel is especially noticable since it has more of an angled profile to it. But, regardless, a very nice watch for the money! I remember a little more than a year ago such a Daytona with accurately spaced subdials and seconds at 6:00 was just a dream... Impossible is nothing!

Hmmmm... I may need one of those PVD crowns!

I, too, have many good memories from the original RWG. However, such occurances make me thankful and appreciative that Ken, admin, and our admins and moderators took the appropriate steps to make sure we had a place to land. Their foresight in the matter allows us all to post another day

I bet it's one o dem new fangled Pan-ur-ays. Da one wid da numburs on tha face.

Very nice to see!! Good stuff Floris!

David will sell parts a la carte I believe. I've contacted him with inquiries for parts only, and he is always more than willing to do what he can to assist I'd also like to add- David is an excellent resource and a valuable asset to the community. Top notch service and value for the money!

Thanks, gang! Kind words by all appreciated! I wanted to do a little write up of sorts on the easy mods- The ones that anyone can do. Yes, folks... These tasks are not difficult to perform- Just need the right tools! Ahhh... Yes. The CG's. I'll probably do those when the tube/crown are replaced. I do mine by hand using a file. Old fashioned? Yes... But I prefer this method over the dremel... Just personal choice, I suppose. As for the date font- Serifs are okay. Here's a gen with the dates in serif font... Tribal- I do believe we have the same taste in watches! Vintage is so very nice! I've obtained my bracelets over the past few years via trades, and purchases here and there. The hollow aftermarkets with the loose end links don't come around very often, but when they do, I pick them up Thanks again, everyone for the kind words! These little write ups are fun to do, especially for you guys! Best regards, Randy

To start, it's always best to flip through all 31 dates. Check which ones align and which don't. Make note of the ones that do not, paying the most attention to the worst one, and keep that one in mind- This one will always be the one that is off the most. The goal is to find a happy medium across all dates. Unfortunately, because some datewheel overlays are not printed uniformly, there will be some dates that are always misaligned, though the goal is to minimize the misalignment. Unfortunately, this cannot be helped 100% in these cases. Moving forward, set the watch to the date with the worst alignment, and uncase the movement with the hands at 12:00 for a baseline. Next, remove hands and dial. This will now expose the datewheel overlay, which will need to be lifted and removed. Once removed, clean the glue off of the ETA datewheel, and the back of the overlay. Now... Remember where in relation the alignment of the worst date was? You'll want to glue the overlay back onto the ETA datewheel, giving very slight correction to the position. This will help correct the alignment while not throwing the others off, which were not bad to start with. Be sure to center the overlay evenly on the datewheel- This will ensure that there is no side to side descrepancy. And, remember- Slight adjustment can be exaggerated with the date window and the date mag, so keep the adjustments small. Now, reinstall the dial, hands, and recase. If you are working with a vintage MBW, lining up the dial may be a challenge since the dial feet on the Singer dial have been removed. Patience is key here. Since I'm writing this at the end of my evening while half awake, i'm sure I forgot to mention something. If there is anything I need to clarify, please let me know. Regards, R

Today, I took delivery of a brand new MBW 1680. As I had some genuine parts in my stock that were perfect for this watch, I went about performing some of the simple mods on these watches To start... Here is the watch as I received it. Very nice and clean in it's own right. Close up of the bezel insert- Profile; notice the shape of the crystal... Date mag is quite nice on the newer MBW's! Fills up the cyclops quite a lot! True MBW- The tell tale signs are all there... And, here's what we'll be working with. We have: -Hollow link aftermarket bracelet -Genuine bezel insert -Genuine Tropic 127 A comparison of bracelets. Stock MBW is solid link, while my aftermarket Oyster is hollow- Stamped ref's (aftermarket on left; MBW on right) Clasps (aftermarket on left; MBW on right) A quick look at bezel inserts- (MBW on left; genuine on right) We'll have a quick look at the crystals in just a sec. Alright then. Let's get down to business. I apologize now, as I didn't snap pics on removing the bezel. The process is easy enough; I simply use my debit card to wedge between the bezel and the case and the bezel assembly will pop right off. If anyone wants, I can snap some pics and add them later Once the bezel and washer spring have been removed and set aside, it's time to move onto the retaining ring. For this process I use a razor blade to wedge between the ring and the case like so: Here you can see it lifted slightly- I keep working my way around the ring, gradually working my way up using wider blades until it lifts off. A quick look at the crystals side by side... Profile of the old (again) And now the genuine. Date mag- So, now that the crystal is aligned and seated, let's get that ring back on. Out comes my trusty Omega case... Line it up Press down (almost completely seated) One more press and it's seated (sorry, forgot another pic) Next we move onto the bezel insert. This process is easy- Just press the old out from behind... Take the genuine and press it on from the front, and it's all set to be snapped back onto the watch. From here, just have to put the bracelet back on, and we're all finished up.... Some pics with friends Still have to install my genuine crown and aftermarket tube, along with drilling the lugs, modding the bracelet and end links for 2.0mm pins, and swapping the movement out for a slow beater. More to come soon... Thanks for looking

Absolutely. The 5513 is one of the most under-rated, under-valued vintage Subs (in my opinion). The current trend is indicating that 5513's, 1680's (white font), 1675's etc. will all start to see increases in prices and value (same with the vintage Tudor sports). Now, it is my belief that somewhere in the future the Rolex bubble will burst; some don't agree, but I think that it is inevitable for the inflated prices to hit a cap and then start to decline as more of the serious players in the game move onto the other brands (the brands who take care of their customers by supporting them). This is already happening to some degree. But this is mostly speculation on my part, and would probably be of more impact to the higher, more ridiculously priced sports models. Again, just my opinion...

Indeed. I'm not a big Panerai fan, but I do have two that I will not part with!

I've had to realign some datewheel overlays on several of my watches. Not the most difficult thing to do, but I agree, it's a bit frustrating.

I love my DW's.... But sometimes I hate them, too. A pure love/hate relationship for me...