ubiquitous

I suppose the short and sweet of it all is- If the all original, all documented and working grail piece are fewer and fewer on the market due to replacement parts during service to keep them going, how likely are those values going to sustain? If the support to maintain those watches isn't there from an official standpoint (i.e. RSCs), then what guarantee will there be that pieces remain all original in terms of parts content, etc? Price correction/compression may take effect at that point... Afterall this ain't vintage Patek, a company that actually cares about their history (with stratospheric prices to reflect that interest and vintage support). Rolex is over 100 years old... You'd think they'd leverage that history and build it into their marketing campaign like the other watch brands that could only wish for such heritage... Instead, they'd rather you buy a new hideous Sub or oversized Day-Date that has little to do with what Rolex is really about, and more to do with blending in with current trend.

jmb- Nice to see that one on the gen bracelet! Eton- Diggin' the new sig pic!!

Hell, if Rolex needs to simulate a year's worth of wear in just a day, they can hire my wife to wear one of their QC samples. She'll give it TWO years' worth of wear in as much time as some silly robot can do it...

20mm!

Gabus- I believe there are some MBW 5513s fitted with 2824 ETAs floating about; if you can get a hold of one of those, that case should accept the 1520. The donor that I pulled my 1520 was retrofitted with a 2824 and a yuki gilt 5500 dial. So, I know that the 1520 and 2824 share the same stem height toward the dial side If you're going to stay ETA, you can also swap in a 284 or 2783 if you want a slower beat rate. Hope this helps! //ubi

Favorite Navitimer ever? Probably one of the old Valjoux 72 806 models for me...

A 1520 is not a direct drop in to a case holding a 2836/2846. The 1520 sits roughly 1mm closer on the dial side than a 2836, and hence the stem does not line up center. This I learned from first hand experience building my 5514. I was originally going to use this MBW case, which was drilled for an HeV: When the movement didn't fit, I ended up using a Phong case specifically for a 1520: I then fit the old MBW case with a 2783 and gave it to watchmeister as a gift. You can probably get a 1520 to fit by installing the date retention ring from a 1570, but you'd need to add the taller pinion and hour wheel for the hands to fit and clear appropriately. However, because of the physical differences between the movements, the gen movment is not a drop in solution.

And that's more or less what I had implied, but maybe didn't properly convey in my post. As a whole, the collector's world really drives the market force, and collectors can be a fickle bunch. The point I was making above is that the values of such watches will depend entirely on whether such watches are complete, boxed/documented/all original... Collectors as we know like their watches original, unpolished, minty, etc. But when such watches require maintenance, service, replacement parts, etc. the value of such examples can drop significantly if a non-genuine replacement part (or even a gen replacement part not of the same standard; i.e. a rare MKI or whatever dial replaced with a newer dial or steel insert as opposed to a bakelite insert on a 6542), a watch's value can decrease by substantial amounts. The more and more this kind of practice goes widespread throughout the current vintage line (since 727's and 15xx movments are on that teetering edge), the more we'll see higher premiums for all original, working and documented pieces, or fall out of interest from collectors as finding/maintaining/sustaining such pieces will become problematic with the only possible outlet to keeping a watch in original condition will require buying parts from the secondary market; if Rolex is no longer servicing those watches (some still do, some don't) and parts are not as available, those holding such parts on the secondary market will be able to develop their own premium prices for such parts. This will inherently either drive prices of those 'all correct' watches up, or people looking to cash in on the Rolex phenominon will become frustrated/disillusioned with the pricing structures of the secondary market and find something else to put their money into. If those selling such pieces have no buyers... Prices will crash.

If your MBW is currently fitted with a 2836, the answer is no...

Should fit fine, as long as the rotor fits the 2783 properly. 2784 is more or less the same except for beat rate (21600bph v. 28800bph).

I see a robot in the Rolex factory that is about to steal $15M in gold rods from the foundry

Let's look at this from the angle of what determines the worth of an item? The short and simple is whatever someone is willing to pay for it. If there is a buyer out there that deems an item to be worth the sum of money he or she is willing to part in exchange for said item, that helps shape and determine the going rate for such items. However, with that in mind there are also many factors to consider, such as availability/rarity, condition, whether an item is 100% original, has service replacement parts, aftermarket parts, has all boxes and papers and/or partial documentation, etc. But let's specifically take into consideration the aspect of condition and parts content, as that could be a factor that really determines the increase or decrease of such an item. As time progresses forward, and with the stance Rolex has taken on (not) supporting certain watches or movements within a certain time frame or era, this alone will have a major impact on what collectors perceive as original or collectible watches. If one were to buy a 6265 for $30k for example, and if that same 6265 turned out to need some serious overhaul work in the next 10 years with movement parts required, what do you think will happen to the value of that watch if said Rolex specific parts were not available, or if those parts had to be replaced with a standard Valjoux 72 equivalent (say the signed bridge for instance). That is going to cause that watch to drop in value, as it will now be a non-original-now-frankenstein, or an all original watch that doesn't work correctly or at all. Which is worse? Keep in mind that the possibility of getting an RSC to even do the work may not be a possibility. I suppose there will be a long supply of Rolex parts on the secondary markets, but with all things being driven on supply and demand, if those parts cannot be procurred via the RSC channels, this is going to really drive prices up for such things (as if it weren't the case already). Will this have an impact on the overall value of a watch? Will it cause people to buy watches to simply part out? I know people that do this already, as it appears to be quite the lucrative sport for the pocket book. And with those watches now exiting the overall global market, what will that do for values of existing watches remaining in the market? Less supply... Maybe more demand? A bit of a cannibalised scenario I suppose, as perfectly fine watches are taken out of the market and dismantled to service those that stay.

That one made my pants tighten!

Now that's what I'm talking about, ChiMan!

Some 50mm macro lens. I'll check the specifics when I get home tonight...

For cannon pinions, you have at least three sizes (possibly more?): 2.70 2.95 3.20 For hour wheels, I believe there are: 1.76 2.00 2.25 Depending on how much clearance over the dial/markers is needed (I believe the lumed dial numerals are a bit raised?) and how much clearance under the crystal present, you can have a potential .95mm clearance if using the 2.00/2.95 combo all the way to 1.44mm if using the 1.76/3.20 combination.

You could get one of the DW's with V7750 from Spin... Or build one (which is what I ended up doing)...

5514 today...

Wow... To both of those beauties! VERY well done! Amazing how the dials just take those watches to a completely different aesthetic level...

Indeed- Mr. W0lf has really gone way above and beyond. His gesture has definitely left me speechless! I just need a few things to bring to the party before I can call it done, but for the time being I do consider it to be in a 'working development' state; it's far from done, but I can at least wear it and enjoy it until it sees completion! Mrs. Ubi loves it, BTW. The contrast of the aged markers and dark Ti case... Not to mention how light it is... I may find myself having to 'borrow' it from her when I want to wear it!

I wish there were a sterile, hommage no-date compressor on the market! I'd love to build one... If it existed...

What height hour and cannon pinion do you currently have? The answer could be as simple as stepping down 1 height for the hour wheel?

That's pretty damn minty! Wow... Look at the profile on that bezel's coin edge!

I see you didn't notice how slow the Omega's running, eh?

How does one express a level of gratitude when words just aren't enough? As I type this, I am without the words to adequately express my appreciation of the generosity demonstrated by a friend. For no rhyme or reason, I was gifted with this phenominal (and quite rare) titanium Panerai case by w0lf, an amazing member, contributor and friend here on RWG. What began as a series of questions after seeing his stunning PAM40 project, he not only educated me on what to look for, but he also gave me the basis for a project of my own. Thanks just isn't enough... And of course, you guys know I couldn't hold back with such goodies in my hand! I went straight to work in putting a quick, working mock up together. This is just a rough sketch for now; the final draft will be comprised of a Swiss 6497 and fine tuning of the components. FGD Dial and Asian 6497 Case bits And all together on a Dirk Deluxe with sewn in PVD buckle... What's that they always say? So much more than just a watch? Yes... Yes, indeed! Thank you, Mr. K! Cheers, //ubi