horologist

Great post! This helped me a while back with restoring my crown!

Well , thanks! Much appreciated! Question that worries me is; will I still run in 20 years without an issue! Even the performance has always been great for a 2836-2 with incabloc shock spring. Believe it or not , it gained between 5- 8 seconds per day! I gave it a backyard service giving the disassembled parts just a wash with a small Remington shaver brush in a mix of cloudy ammonia, distilled water and kitchen detergent followed by another wash in distilled H2O with a finals lighter fluid rinse! I used just basic watch oils and it now runs close to original timing approximately 7-10 seconds per day when timing against a kitchen quartz clock! I don’t have a timing machine after it bit the dust nor a basic Elma cleaning machine! Therefore, I don’t expect better! Bush mechanic = me the bush watch service!

I didn’t see any fakes! Which fakes are you talking about? Does it tell the time? Is it made from the same material? Can anyone make another convincing copy it in their back shed? Does it show any giveaway sign/s to any mainstream observer? I am confused! Fakes really? Pink elephants may be fake! But these are great timepieces! Well priced too! Enjoy to good health!

This was one of my first replica I purchased back around 2004/2005 from Paul’s crazy sale from his ASPiRE site. I never had a problem with it and had worn it on and off over the years! As expected it was now losing time and was in need of some attention! I opens the back case and noticed it has three seals as shown in the attached photo! One in the inner case back is white! It was one of the very few watches I had excellent results for water resistance and I now know why! These products are often referred to as junk by the mainstream. Yet I have never seen this in terms of quality in any licensed product including Rolex themselves Missing your products Paul!

Not unless you are replacing your pallet fork and balance, I would agree! Isopropyl Alcohol will dissolve the shellac that glues the pallet stones and the roller jewel under your balance! looks like benzene based hydrocarbons are still needed!

That is the best news I have read since the new ceramic replica replaced it! For that price, who cares how accurate it is as one can still get some modifications done to it! What is important is that we can still purchase one if needed at a moments notice! How long will they be available is anyones guess!. Hey beggars can’t be choosers! I bought my last one from Yuki to fit an eta 2836 about 3 years ago,! The only gripe I have is that it never came with a bracelet and none of the bracelets I have fit the lug holes! Therefore before you buy it would be wise to ask raffles if he has the matching bracelet if you want a bracelet! thanks for sharing! i So would I! OMG what a nightmare! It definitely becomes a very fine line between pleasure and pain!

Plastic cogs, regardless of if in a watch or in any moving part, is never a close substitute to similar metal components and most likely is designed to fail at some stage! I recently needed to replace a plastic cog in my odometer of my 1986 Ford as it stopped recording the mileage from a broken tooth! Good in some ways and not so good in another as I would have never known when is the right mileage for major services! I have seen plastic components in the automatic seiko and the later 1979 omega which is a real turn off for me! Plastic is a carbon based polymer which will break down given the right conditions when exposed to other external factors including UV, oils and greases, temperature difference and of course age! Plus it is also soft with a low mohr number! The theoretical solution would be to modify a brass hour wheel of some other movement from a similar measure and hopefully it will suffice! It is annoying to find this especially in parts that are more load stressed!

LOL!!!!! Brings back memories back to some 20 years ago when a former neighbor ( who was also a doctor at one of our local hospitals) dropped by whilst I was changing a battery on a watch. He asked if I also knew how to replace a stem on them as he had a broken one on his new watch. I agreed to help him out as a neighbor. When I replaced it for him (which was TAG HEUER eta automatic movement), he was totally jubilant as it did not have to be sent away for 2 weeks and above all it was "FREE" which was no big thing for me!!! . A few days later his wife came over saying that that there was something wrong with the watch 😜. She claimed that; (1) the date clicked over at mid day and not at midnight and (2) the watch had stopped exactly 2 days after he had put it away. I guess you all know the process I had to go through to educate both of them and to save our neighorly relationship!!!!!. It did end well to say the least 🤪 The best thing I learnt from all this was not just the lame ignorance that exists not only amongst our so called educated elites of society, but to avoid that exact hospital if I ever needed medical attention!!! what you do not know doesn't hurt you and this was the perfect example!!! (Anything that stopped my learning was my schooling " Albert Einstein )

R, I like your 1016 construction much better with the genuine 166220 case!! That would be my choice on a practical reason why? Although the original 1016 is a great design which was water resistant to 100 metres compared to the datejusts of this era being WR to 50 metres , the 166220 is also WR to 100 meters PLUS it is from a better grade of stainless steel than the original 1016! The 1016 is from 304L SS whereas the 166220 is from 904L SS! 904L is nothing special but much more corrosion resistant than 394L, but will still corrode under the right conditions! I had a 1016 many moons ago and sold it as it was rotted with corrosion under the rear seal and under the bezel! Case corrosion is a number one turnoff for me! Buyer was ok with it as all he wanted, was to show off with a Rolex on his arm in front of his wife’s sisters husband and other work colleagues! Yes, someone with an observant eye will know that the explorer case is different from the date just case! But who are they?, - those like us or those that have owned many genuine pieces being well aware of the finer details that are fully conscious of all the fine nit picking! I can bet that most people including those who may also own one or maybe two would not know their aR$3 from their mouth! I have met them and believe me when I wore both a rep and a genuine submariner for example,they questioned the genuine more than the replica! What does that say! Hooefully the mods will help you get into your Automatico login! I am sure we all know you are Automatico!

If it is a 1430 quartz movement, you are after and are in the UK , then you may be in luck with this refurbished one listed here https://www.ebay.com/itm/393789549572?hash=item5bafafac04:g:Tk4AAOSw68Nhtxbh I was unaware that so many variations of this eta 955.461 existed as I thought that the number was was identifies the movement such as eta 2824-2 is universally a 2824-2 with the date at 6 being the only variation! I learn something new every day! Do it yourself if you can otherwise at todays rates you may soon need to mortgage your house even to call a plumber to unblock your toilet! LOL!! Otherwise send seller a pm & ask if he has anything else as they do not normally list everything! The only other place in the uk would be May Moorhead , northern watch and clock supplies in hillsborough Down? Found parts for a FHF movement there !Good luck!

This is a great post!! It sums up everything so well!!! I could not have put it better myself!! I think this should be a sticky thread especially as an introductory welcome for all the newbies. They can see what we are all about and why we are here!!!! I too have been privileged to belong here and to have acquainted so many wonderful silent geniuses since joining!! For me it hasn't been just about replica watches, but also the pleasure experienced from those other members that I have communicated with and read posts from, that make this forum a special place so different from others!! Thank you for posting!!!

don’t despair as I recently built one for a friend of the family but he wanted it with a sapphire crystal! I was going to use a Perspex crystal, but I then considered that hardly anyone would really notice and most people would not even know what a Rolex is even if they have heard or know about the name! He wanted a genuine eta2824 which I bought sealed in the packet! It was a very straight forward assemble and came out to be quite a quality piece! It even passed water resistance to some 30m! Can’t justify spending 30x-40x the price for what they go for, when the next available substitute is quite good! I built one using raffles parts including the bracelet and at the time got one from eBay with drilled lug holes from eBay! Check this one out! eBay item number: 353520740302 Raffles has nice dials which would complement the above case and also a bracelet with logo! It would not be a difficult build if the sapphire crystal doesn’t bother you! Think about it!

I have noticed this post rather late and what I would have said is pretty much what others have already done! if it is any consolation, you are not alone and if you ask most people you meet how they feel, the answer would a very much be similar to yours! There are those that put on a good show but deep inside them, all have a story to tell but prefer to be in denial or maybe it is just a way to cope! You have done well to get it off your chest! Bottling up is not always the answer! I too, find that almost everywhere I look, there is something not right! It is sometimes all the little things that just add up and before I can blink, I get into an emotional melt down! It ranges from a leaky tap that I have attended to several times, the car playing up after having spent my half years savings to get right, the hot water boiler just giving cold water soon after the warranty has expired, someone I care for in hospital, etc,,,,I therefore look for something to cope, but then before I know it, I have noticed that there isn’t an angle that is right in the 360” circle. Then there is the current world situations! Where does it end? I often ask is it me or is it just life? It feels like every small move is a climb to Everest!, I then say to myself I would rather have things the way they are than for them to be worse!!! Period!! Coincidentally, today is the 8th anniversary of my fathers passing and in his last years of life I was unhappy, but looking back I was happier then than I am now missing him today! As Timelord has said, hang in there and all I will add is that no matter how dark it gets, midnight will turn to dawn and then the sun will rise! Enjoy your lovely collection and just add or trade to your liking! Life is there to be enjoyed! Follow the sun!

Hi Automatico/Jimmythree, I am glad you are still able to log onto this forum! Must say I somehow will miss your previous title of “Automatico” as I could correlate all your past posts with you easier. Might need to get used to it! In all fairness, the forum admin should still consider your status here as VIP member because of what happened! I had the same problem on the Timezone forum when I got locked out of my old email account when the email provider closed up! I then somehow lost my password to Timezone and could no longer answer to my private messages to those I had developed a strong horological relationship! I had to create a new alias which was very annoying to me! Imagine If I made a deal to buy from someone and I could not log in to arrange payment details or vice versa! Glad you are here as your contributions to this forum are beyond measure! Thanks for being here even as Jimmythree 😊

This is a good post and a great question bringing me unpleasant Deja vu 😱😒!!!! As Freddy and others have already mentioned, all I can add is recall having this problem myself. I tried a process of elimination starting first by replacing the third wheel. My third wheel just sheared just dislodged from the main axle or post of the wheel. I ordered a couple of third wheels from ebay and upon arrival, I fitted it under the train bridge but somehow my escape wheel did not engage with the top teeth with the seconds wheel. I then removed the third wheel and just placed in the other wheels without it and it was spinning fine -no end shake nor side shake!! Replaced the third wheel again and NO GO!!! My first thought was that I had sheared the top pivot of the escape wheel but upon inspecting all the wheels the pivots were all ok. I thought that was strange and before I knew it I had been playing with the damn thing for almost 2 hours with no go!!! Have done dozens of these without a problem!!! I then dismantled another working 2836 to see if it was me or the parts assembled., I then noticed that the third wheel replacement was NOT a genuine as ebay seller had advertised because it was slightly shorter in height. I then took out the third wheel from the other movement and it was spinning better but again the top of the escape wheel was not meshing with the seconds wheel. I changed the seconds wheel and had a similar problem. I then changed the escape wheel from the other movement and again same result. Now I had changed ALL the gear train completely and I thought the thing was jinxed!!! This left me with the only option to also change the train bridge and all I had done is replaced all the wheels and the top bridge. The top bridge must have had a fault with it either the jewels were out of whack or the bridge itself must have got distorted from some shock or overtightening. Who knows??? Like many others, I am not professionally trained and anything I do know is through the school of hard knocks and here I had two movements being put to the slaughter. Anyone more clever than me PLEASE ALSO CHIME in as I may have just fluked the solution. It still haunts me!!!! I guess this is where some watchmakers rule the line and say we need to replace more than what the movement is worth and it would be more practical to replace the whole movement unless it is a 1575 or newer!! I have also had problems when removing the automatic works and the mainspring keeps slipping and does not hold power in 3 consecutive replacements!! HOW IS that for LUCK!! Hope you have better luck than me!!!!🙂

Guys! Thanks for your replies!! Much appreciated!! cap jewels are themselves a pain also because there really is no easy way to work with them regardless of if you use tweezers or rodico to control them (well for me anyway!) practise, practise is true, but it is also true that the nightmare is just transformed to a pitfall! when the spring is user unfriendly, this just adds more stress on the job! I hate the novodiac 3 prong spring or any rotating spring that likes to fly out, My worst are the seiko diashock smaller springs! I don’t bother with those movements at all !! Cheaper to r3place than to repair!

totally agree!! I usually don’t comment on this subject, but it is interesting that in my area you had o follow the 1.5 metre rule everywhere except at the sports and football stadiums where big £££££ are at stake that still needed to be collected! The insulting part of this was that we were suppose to swallow is that the virus could discriminate when to attack you depending on if you’re at the sports venues or anywhere else. Fact- - Two of my in-laws got” COVID” after all their shots whilst others in the household didn’t including those unvaxed, Oh!! Need to rush outside, I saw something fly outside my window, I think I saw two two pigs fly! 🤪

This seems embarrassing as I found my answer in the link below seconds after posting this thread! 😳 I had been searching for weeks without success! It felt like windy rain coming down just after having nicely washed my car! My apologies! Now for anyone else that might have the same enquiry I have posted the link with the the answer to my own question in the reply by ccwatchmaker https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/releasing-kif-shock-absorber.5041935/ thanks for your understanding!

It is one found in some the older Rolex caliber and also in some older day dates ! Scary looking thing shown in the image below ! Is there a special tool to do this or just rotate tweezers and risk losing it forever ? It looks like an even bigger nightmare than the modern novodiac spring found in your typical eta! 🤨 Thanks

My thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time! This reminds me of when this forum played a very special part in my life when I lost my last surviving parent! I never knew that Bob was Nanuq’s real name and his demise will leave a huge emptiness to us all! I am still I’m disbelief as I always remember Bob to be still quite young to be taken from us too soon! It brings back the same pain of when JJ Iranii from the rolexforums passed on a few years back! As someone has already mentioned, thank you for informing us, as we never really know in this virtual world of the web when people we know just pass on! May he Rest In Peace!

did it screw down all the way up to half a turn before fully tightening or only screwed down for half a turn? This is a great post, which is a very important part of horological but seldom discussed! Thanks to the OP for asking as I was about to attempt to straighten dud threads on my gold 1601 using the case back of a replica! I could have made it worse! years ago I purchased an 18k gold DJ 1601 (head only) with dud threads from a now banned member on rolexforums.com, but the case back threads were squeaking and chattering upon the last few turns! My guess is that it is @#$& and I never attempted to open it again in case i would never be able to close it! I was thinking of sending it to the RSC but never did as they would most likely tell me that I need a new case!

totally agree! There is no close substitute for any natural process! Analogous to the Law of entropy!

Hopefully I won’t be banned for responding to your post.If you have a PAM111 in mint condition-of same quality from trusty or Andrew ( something not too way over the top in the 4 digit mods) please pm me. I was contemplating in building my own but can’t seem to source dial anywhere! The homage watches forum do not take too kindly if you just become a member to buy a once off only from them!

let us know how you go as I too have been on the same band wagon! I myself was thinking of buying a sterile dial and letting a dial refinisher print all the inscriptions! There is not much to do if done properly! I am not too fussed about it as no dealer has any complete replica for sale since the raid. Beggars can’t be choosers! Don’t know which would be more cost effective

I have to agree with the earlier response that since the parts issue has become a huge problem, there has been very little happening in the replica world. I have a lot of unfinished projects that I took up prior to parts market drought. In particular with eta movement parts that are not only expensive but also hard to find. I have been in limbo as to whether to wait and see until something that I need comes along, or just dismantle everything and sell for parts myself. This is a difficult one for me as I am in different minds on different days. How much worse for those that have invested a lot more into this game than myself!!!!!! I too believe that the short supply parts issue has also been an agenda in the horology world, purely to stop repairs and in particular to destroy the replica market as nothing else has deterred people from buying replicas. Then there has been the big raids on the factories!!! Too much happening to say its just ' coincidence!!! Nobody is going to spend big $$$$ on a replica that may break down early in its stage and then there are no parts for maintenance. This is a good plan for the big brand company's to put a stop onto this hobby of ours and also so that genuine watch buyers buy new watches all the time. One watch repaired is one watch less sold!!!! What the big brands fail to see is that in a way the replica world is indirectly providing them free advertisement as replica buyers will always ponder on the fact that they may own the genuine product and I assume some already do!!! What puzzles me is that the same way we hobbyists have found this forum to share our like minded interests, so too can others that are not on our side. Who knows what spies the big brands are using to monitor what is happening out in the real world and also what we do and therefore plan ways to make it harder for us? Has anyone ever thought of this? It is sad to acknowledge, because this hobby has given me a lot of emotional and mental therapy when I have been at my worst and I have never done it for financial profit, just as I can assume with most of others here who have purely lost money to enjoy what keeps us ticking (excuse the pun). Money isn't everything, but the way the trend is going, it appears to be that Big watch brand companies are not interested in the satisfaction of their consumers but purely PROFITS, PROFITS & PROFITS!!!! Just my opinion only!!!!! BTW Welcome back Rolojack, this has been the best news so far!!!