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Thanks, I've almost got the lug-hole thing figured out - I think... I have to put any more "practicing" on hold until I get some more drill bits as the case on this one had a lot harder stainless than the first and I busted all my drills on it! What happens is all is OK drilling through the solid part of the lug but as soon as the drill starts to break out into the existing inner hole it will grab and snap unless you are either very careful or lucky! I have been rather unlucky even keeping my eye glued to the digital readout on the drilling depth. The drills are not wearing out just grabbing and snapping... You are the first to point out the band being on wrong! It was late and after I took the pix I went to put it on and realized the boo-boo but I was too lazy to put it on correctly and retake pix! I'm not sure what you're saying about the Noob.

I think I understand about the end-links, now. Since I have to change the crystal again anyway I think ofrei has the plastic ones so I can go with a thinner glass crystal and this dial or if I put an "older" dial on I would need to change to a plastic crystal and non-SEL band, correct? I'll just change the crystal... Geeze, I need beer... OK, right now the crystal sticks up 1.63 mm above the bezel. How much should stick up? Seems I read quite often critical reviews of reps and a grip being the crystal doesn't stick up far enough! This is a 3.0 mm crystal, ofrei has 2.5 mm, 2.25 mm, and 2.0 mm. Which one would "look" the most correct?

I have a "source", but I would be willing to either share it with Chris or source the dials for this project to save us some money if they would be good enough.

I'm sorta building it. I thought the crystal needed to be a little taller so I put in a 3.0 mm thick crystal but I went too far. Next ofrei order will have a 2.0 mm thick crystal in it... Either that or I'll put a vintage dial on it, don't the old buggers have a pretty thick crystal?

Very nice...

Just out of curiosity, is this dial close? I can take a bigger one of needed...

Thanks!

catboy, cool, I know what you do. I get bored sometimes and start swapping dials around just to see what things would look like! I have requested a bit better pictures of these dials, don't know if I'll get em or not. There are also some "no-date" dials with vintage looking markers.

predfan, you have more "grit" than I, I would have given up long before that! Locating and drilling "non existent" holes is kinda tricky and you need the right equipment. OTOH, enlarging existing holes can be done with a hand drill if careful and patient, although I probably wouldn't do 'em that way. There are a couple of tutorials around that describe enlarging. Now, if the factory will make the existing holes the correct size for, say, maybe $10 - $15 then I would say to go for it. If we're talking $10-$15 per hole, then I'd just as soon do it myself. Chris, maybe take a different angle with the factory, especially if they are the ones actually making the case and pride themselves on authenticity - convince them that if they made ALL of their "lug-hole style cases" with the correct hole size it would enhance their credibility and likely increase demand for their product. If you could convince them of that then it might even be done at no cost. I know if I, as a manufacturer, could modify an existing operation (at little or no cost to myself) that would generate more demand for my product I'd do it in a heartbeat. But, maybe that's just my view of the process...

I started with a $43!

If the lug holes add significantly to the cost then I would say to pass. As long as there are existing holes it's pretty easy to drill them larger.

usmctowgnr, that's kinda my thinking about it and if they do turn out to be excellent dials so much the better. The other dials (although I'm far from being an expert on nit-picky details) I've bought appear to be quite nice.

It's interesting to read all of the "reasons" people get involved in this "mess". I had gotten spam for years pointing me to this or that fake site, I would be mildly curious, bookmark some of the more interesting ones (remember, this was years ago) and revisit after a couple of months to find they had all disappeared. This confirmed my suspicion that accurate fakes were all just a scam. Roll forward to the present. I was just looking for another cheap watch after demolishing the crystal on my Casio Hunter! As I researched I stumbled across a lot of rep sites and immediately searched for forums to crawl. By staying glued to three forums for about 2 weeks I discovered I could get a low end rep for about what I was going to spend on another Casio so I ordered a low-end Daytona with a21j movement that had running seconds at 6 (I plan on freezing the sweep hand at 12:00 some day) and thought I was done with it. I wore it for a couple of weeks and decided it was really too dressy to wear in a manufacturing environment so I ordered a Noobmariner. I should have recognized this as a warning sign, red flag if you will, but I told myself I just needed to get a more utilitarian "shop watch". A few weeks later I received the Noob and was floored at how close it looked to a pictures I'd looked at of "real ones" and the overall fit and finish was excellent. Alas, after a day the movement in the Noob started it's death spiral so I bought a really cheap Sub to wear while I gathered tools and looked for a replacement movement for the Noob. I was really astonished with what could be had for under $50 and how easy some (and sometimes no money involved) of the mods were to make them look a bit nicer. At that point I realized I had a new hobby and was unable to stop myself! I enjoyed tearing them apart, tinkering with them, and marveling at how something so complex could be made so small for such a small amount of money. I sometimes think that maybe I should have just drove up the street to Academy Sports and bought another Casio - nah!

When I read the title I thought your were going to give a dissertation on how to decide whether to keep a watch, or not! You sound like you might have lucked out, I also have a "keeper" (33 years) but she shares my motorcycle addiction but always wonders why somebody would need more than one watch since you only wear one! Somehow I can't fault her bedrock logic and I'll let it slide since she lets me get away with a garage full of two-wheelers!

Oh, OK, guess better make it the 4813 then...

Put me down, provisionally, for the 2813 version. This watch would normally have came with low-beat movement, correct?

Don't have very good pictures but the no-date dial I posted is hi-res and these are supposed to be of the same quality. Here's the best I can do

I have a source where I can get new rep dials. I was thumbing through their stuff the other day and found several vintage Sub dials and also the "Red" and "Double Red" dials. The quality is "standard" and you can get an idea of the quality by looking at pictures of the 2 GMT Master II dials I posted on the parts and tools for sale board. The price would vary, depending on quantity, but I would expect them to be in the $10 - $15 neighborhood. Here's an example of a non-vintage "no-date" dial:

Even though it would be cool would the superlume be proper for a watch of this vintage?

I doubt Eurotimez has anything to worry about. I have a crown and tube on order from the same supplier I used for the GMT Master crown and tube swap so I'll change it out when it gets here and also order a 2 mm crystal on the next ofrei order. Hopefully the crystal gasket will stand up to another mangling from me! I guess I don't completely understand what a solid end link is, then. I thought it was an end link that was cast and machined, the ones on this band are basically heavy "sheet metal".

I got my wife 2 Ladies Datejusts one with silver dial w/stick markers and the other black dial w/stick markers. The Silver dial (which I think looks classier) stays in the box and she wears the black dial all the time.

And I may get the a21j version, you know what a cheapskate I am! ;-)

Nice looking dial, I didn't know tritium had that short of a life. Makes me glad I didn't get that high-dollar tritium front sight put on my Colt!

gavidoc, thanks for pointing that out a bit clearer, that's why I decided not to do a "how-to" on the procedure. I really can't think of any easier way of doing it and the only way I've found that works reliably is to locate and drill each hole. Drilling through and nailing the bottom in the same setup was what got one of my holes a couple thou off and slightly buggered up the back side when the bit broke through. But, if anybody is curious and has a Harbor Freight store nearby... I

Now that it's sorta done I think I'll wear it for a few days to see if the crystal will fall out...