jmb

It might be best to get something like the Euromariner or Noobmariner as a "entry level" Submariner and once you have read a few thousand posts then decide what is the next step!The Noobmariner can be had with basic 21 jewel movement for under $100 and is quite accurate right out of the box. After some research on your part decide which dealer you feel most comfortable with then tell them what you want. Again, research is key as some dealers, although honest and proficient, are not very "newbie friendly" and while they might offer very good prices, etc., might not be the best choice for someone's first purchase.

If you have (or can get) some Dykem Blue (machinist's metal dye) you could coat the areas that are suspected, reassemble, rotate through the tight spot one time, and disassemble and see exactly where the contact points are...

I'm not a real big fan but I do have the Turn-O-Graph version and wife.gov has a couple ladies Datejusts silver and black dials with stick markers...

I don't have any experience with the particular watch you are looking at but the products that come out of the "Noob" factory are generally very good quality. I have a basic Submariner from the Noob factory (commonly referred to as a Noobmariner) and it is a very nice good quality watch that is fairly accurate. I'm sure someone who has the version you are looking at will chime in... Looking at your picture the rehaut engraving is terribly "off". The "R" should line up on the 9:00 marker - but a lot (most?) of the reps seem to have problems with this little detail... Maybe this is the "new oversize case" but the CGs look somewhat overfed as well

Here is my "bargain basement" lineup:

Velasco, that thing really looks OLD! As with Cats, it's a bit more ancient for my tastes but it looks believable, not artificial. Good job

Omega, it's a homemade fixture that I clamp into my mill vise with a "channel" I can hold the watch into to keep it stable while I'm re-drilling the holes. I have a different fixture that completely clamps down on the watch if I am drilling holes in a case that did not previously have them but it requires complete disassembly including the crystal.

Somebody please explain (pictorially would be nice) to me what is meant by the 10 being evenly spaced on the bezel.

What is "wrong" (other than the "SWISS MADE" at the bottom of the dial) that can't be fixed? I might use this as an test subject to practice "lettering under the microscope" to get prepared for fixing the Tudor Chrono dial

OK, thanks. I'm just curious about the e-mail that I received, seems rather strange...

I got an e-mail the other day stating that RWG was down and it referred me to this site: http://www.homage-watches-guide.com/forum/ I never remember the site being down so, being suspicious, I never registered at the site to look around... Is it real and connected to this site?

I received my replacement DSSD bezel insert today as promised by Helina and the adhesive is drying as I type this! My original insert was installed about a degree off and when I wore the watch it was the only thing I could look at! I corresponded with ETZ and Helina said to try and remove and reinstall it and she would send a new one of I messed it up. I tried to carefully pry off the insert (after getting it toasty with the heat gun) but it cracked at the edge of the "0" in the "50". The heat gun had the original glue very soft and pliable but the area where it cracked looks to be a very weak spot and I was not prepared at how brittle the ceramic inserts apparently are. Even though the crack was hardly visible Helina was true to her word and came to the rescue and shipped me a new one. Kudos for excellent after-sales support. Also, the hand set NEO sourced for my Tudor Chrono project has also been shipped so I'm a happy camper!!!

The whole DSSD alphabet soup thing is really getting confusing. I'm glad I decided to buy and get out of the game at the V5 "upgraded" exit so I can put up with it's shortcomings and enjoy life!

I figure it'll be something fun to "mess" with and probably worth that in parts value...

TeeJay, did you check out the price on the COMEX Sub in the Specials section? Right up our ally, I was flabbergasted!!!

Mr. Goat, I'm thinking that even if a crystal has a bit too small of an ID I could possibly turn a spacer ring to "shim" out the existing case so that a more standard crystal would fit, all other things being equal. gpl, I'm starting to like the vintage look more and more. In fact, the last 4 of the last 5 watches I've bought have been "vintage" models. Don't tell anybody, but Silix has a budget COMEX Vintage Sub on special right now for an unbelievably low price. I've just ordered a couple...

Thanks, that'll give me a starting point. I guess I need to make me a retaining ring puller and do some measuring on this one to make sure. Maybe that'll be next weekend's project as I need to "whittle" the CGs on this one a bit anyway...

You can use something like a 2813 if you clip the feet off the dial and use dial dots, or something similar, to stick the dial to the movement.

Yeah, that sucker looks like it has a few miles on it now! It has a more "sandblasted" look than I would have imagined...

As I've never had a plexi crystal off let me make some assumptions and y'all tell me if I'm wrong. The crystal is place over a lip on the top of the case and then the ring that the bezel snaps into is pressed over the crystal and this "squeezes" the crystal the crystal between the ring and and "lip" providing the seal. It would be an easy matter to measure the case, ring, and crystal and compare them to the dimensions of an original but apparently these dimensions do not exist "in the wild" as I've never had any response despite numerous requests for these values. I guess I'll just have to be content with popping in the Clark's pearl when it gets here and call it fini!

freddy, interesting link, thanks! The one in this rep is constructed the same other than the shape of the head of the "plunger" or "plug". I have ordered the Clark's pearl and now just need to decide which crystal to get. The current crystal has an OD of 30.30 mm

Maybe mask off the crystal and put the whole thing in a bag of drywall screws and shake for a while? Drywall screws are hard and pretty sharp and I have read of people using them inside of a motorcycle tank (shaking/tumbling once screws are inside) to knock off rust so I suppose they would leave all kinds of marks!

goat, I have ordered the "pearl" and would like to find a more correct crystal. Problem being most of the crystal listings don't have any dimension information so even if I measure the current crystal it's not much help! marina, I'm sure your's will look every bit as good, probably better since you have a more correct looking crystal to work with!

Looks like a nice project and it sounds like you have a good "roadmap" laid out. You do realize that you will have to re-drill your lug holes to get those proper spring bars to fit? I think there's a tutorial on the board here for that...

Thanks, gpl. Hopefully people will see that an $85 watch can be built to the same quality as a $200 watch! I think the 2813 powered DSSD from ETZ illustrates this as well.