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Sorry, in the beginning you just mentioned you wanted a "nice compact-ish camera" in the $300-$450 range and the K2000 is compact-ish for an SLR...

After receiving my new DSSD yesterday it was easy to almost overlook receiving my new Turn-O-Graph from Silix yesterday. At a little over $50 (plus shipping) this is a very "entry level" watch which despite it's bargain basement price tag looks rather smart and overall does not look or feel "cheap". The a21j movement produces a fairly smooth sweep, the uni-directional bezel clicks positively and lines up perfectly with the hour markers, the cyclops is nicely centered over the date window, and the date is perfectly aligned in that window and clicks over nicely when advancing. Although a bit dressy for my tastes I suppose one should have at least one more formal type of timepiece. The engraving on the rehaut lines up nicely with the quadrant hour markers: Although I don't know how correct the band is for this model it has a nice feel and looks quite nice. This must be an example of the latest attempt by Rolex to combat piracy - notice that the majority of the text on the clasp is in some sort of code! This seems so simple a detail to me and for the life of me I cannot understand why the factories can't get something like this correct! Twin-lock crown...

I like the gilt dials but it seems all of the reps I've seen using one have been two-tone. I plan on modifying one of my cheap Subs as soon as I get the gold hands in. This will be a "modern" one using this dial:

It's amazing that as good as most of the detail is on this watch that they still can't grasp the proper function of this valve! I guess it's out with the epoxy this morning... I want to make one observation about the lume. It is a beautiful "true blue", I could not see any greenish tint at all. It seems to be very uniform between the pearl, markers, and hands and I charged it for 15-20 seconds with an LED flashlight last night around midnight and I could still read the time at 06:30 this morning WITHOUT my specs on! Best out-of-the-box lume I have on anything. Oh, Jkay, you were absolutely correct about the screws. Every rep I've bought have had several of the band screws loose and this was no exception - only one of the seven screws were what I considered "snug" enough! I've e-mailed ETZ a note about maybe including this on their QC list. It's a quick and simple thing to check and would go a long way toward further enhancing the "perception of quality" aspect regarding their products.

Jkay, thanks for the info, so eurotimez epoxies the He valves? I thought I had read somewhere that the gen valve did not depress from the outside, really doesn't make any sense to depress from the outside... I'll open mine up to make sure before I get it wet...

You can always tear apart a few, put the bits in a pile, then draw out at random and build a few "interesting" watches! ;-)

I read numerous reviews on-line, as well as buying guides, before buying mine and the research really helped. Google and you shall receive knowledge...

I have a Pentax K2000 digital SLR which has a street price in your neighborhood. It is physically smallish for an SLR, is very fast from power on to first shot, and uses AA batteries which makes it convenient when not around your charger.

No, No, No... Remember, I said that I was now going to have to start buying $30 Subs - I used to buy $40 Subs to experiment on! Puhleeeeeeze don't throw me outa da club! I did get in a $50 Silix Turn-O-Graph today as well, will that help?

Hike, yeah, after this splurge I'll only be able to afford $30 Subs for a while as I also ordered a DRSD last night... Somebody please knock some sense into me! Now that I've had my cold shower I have looked at this with a bit more objective eye and about the only real cosmetic flaw I can find is the bezel insert. It sits a bit above flush and it's about 1/2 click off from being centered. One other thing I think there has been a lot of conjecture about is whether the He valve is now fixed - this one can still be depressed from the outside so I guess not. Jkay, As far as the harsh lighting goes, these pix were taken outdoors. Maybe if some clouds float over tomorrow I'll take some different pix with more diffused light... Logan, I think you have to e-mail for the DG options.

Jkay, yeah, I know what you mean I think every watch I've gotten has had loose screws AND finger tightened case back. But, thanks for the reminder!

I sat out in the garage waiting for the mail carrier so I could intercept this treasure. All I can say is, wow! This is without a doubt the nicest watch (bar none, rep or gen) I've ever owned. Chris and company have outdone themselves in both service and product. I have never seen a "real" DSSD but I can't imagine it could look much better. I am not a DSSD expert but even if it was 100% incorrect I would have to say that at USD $148 (DG2813 version) this has got to be considered one of the best buys (if not the best) on the rep market, in my newbie opinion. This might not the largest watch out there but it truly is massive weighing in at 216 gm. The fit and finish is superb, the band exudes quality, and the glide-lock clasp operates as smooth as butter. Although it's broad daylight I ducked into a dark corner and the lume is a perfect pure blue. Enough of my rambling, on to the pix! OK, time for my cold shower and back to buying cheap Subs!!!

Lani, I'll be forever in your debt. What's that the kids used to say when they were little...oh yeah, "I'll be your best friend!!!" It would be nice to have a gen so all I gotta do is dig up about $1500 more and if it's still available a couple years from now I can snag it! Maybe I'll just have to settle scanning a pic of one and glue it to an old dial! I did find some of the Tudor Prince Date Chrono "Tiger" reps from a couple of dhgate sellers (probably shady ones) but the only one who would really answer any specific questions admitted they had quartz movements in 'em...

Hike, noticed your yaller ball. Does yours have that fukuwhatever chicken on the other side like mine does! I finally had to use my "real" case back wrench. I was gonna grease the seals in the wife's Ladies Datejust before I gave it to her and I guess there wasn't enough area for the sticky-ball to grab onto. I ordered one of those counterfeit Buergeon (sp?) case back wrenches and it took damn near a month to get it, then she wouldn't part with the watch 'cause she was afraid I'd break it! But, finally did it this evening...

Looks kinda cool, I just can't get past the CG on PAMs...

Can't get crystals, already asked about that. I can get most dials, bands, hand-sets, and maybe case assemblies. I should finalize my dial and band order after this weekend as there is one more check going on to see if any of the unavailable dials can be found. Last time they said the Colamariner dial was unavailable but in the end they came up with one from somewhere. I'm keeping my fingers crossed... I'm having one of your weeks as I have 3 in the shipping pipeline and just ordered a DRSD. And now Lani starts this "give my left gonad for" Tudor Prince Data Chrono project, aaargggghhh. I gotta quit...

Cool toyz, Hike! You really need to pay a little more attention to the Milsub, though, it looks mournful!

Yes, when you e-mail it goes into an automated system and attaches to a ticket which is then queued to somebody as best as I can figure out.

That's all you need, and a print! Oh, you'll probably need to do some filing and griding as well. Take plenty of pics and write a tutorial so I can make one too!! One of these days I'm gonna build me a miniature CNC mill...

I want one of those so bad! I've searched and searched and found quartz reps but no mechanical reps... I've also got an a21j Daytona case waiting for new guts...

As far as the loose ring, maybe make a "shim ring" out of tome heavy duty aluminum foil and then press on the ring as alligoat indicated. It may take several layers to get the proper thickness and once pressed on you can trim off all the excess and nobody will ever know - except us!

I take very little "seriously", look at some of the cheap reps I've bought! I just wonder about stuff, sometimes... But, speaking of serious, my eurotimez V5 DSSD is in the local "sort facility" so I should get it tomorrow!!!!!

Sometimes when I have too much time on my hands I start thinking about stuff, and that often gets me in trouble. Last night I started wondering (I don't know why) why these watches are referred to as "replicas". I think maybe what started the gears grinding was all of the recent comparisons between reps and gens, the multitude of of versions (that are almost too numerous to keep track of) of certain items that still aren't perfect, and comments like, "it's a rep, what do you expect?", to people complaining about this or that flaw. According to strict definition by Webster a replica is "a copy exact in all details". We all know that none of our copies is, or is ever likely to be, 100% correct in every detail. We also use the term replica to denote vintage and/or antique items. Having (at one time) been quite active in automotive restoration when a "copy" was made of an obsolete part, or of something else that was no longer produced, it was referred to as a "reproduction". A reproduction can be defined as "implying an exact or close imitation", notice it's still not perfect. What we currently refer to as a replica is not a 100% exact copy in every detail but a close (some closer than others) approximation. I would define that which the majority of us sport on our wrists as a "facsimile". Facsimile coming from the original Latin "fac simile", or to make similar (again, not perfect). It would make more sense to me to refer to our the currently available objects of our interest (which reflect currently manufactured products) as "facsimiles" and the vintage items as "reproductions". I would think the term "replica" should be reserved for that/those possible future item(s), that when inspected and scrutinized in the most critical light, should prove to be indistinguishable in form and function from the original item. I really don't know where I'm going with this, and it probably doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, it's just something that popped into my head and made me start thinking about it...

If it's good quality stainless you could be a while with a pin vise, better to use a drill press... If you run out of options I may be able to help...

highoeyazmuhudee, I may be wrong but I got the impression (somewhere above) that there was no "no-date" Noob dial and getting them to make one is likely a non-starter. I'm gonna build me another one using the dial I posted above...