horologist

Yes they are accurate within COSC as far as I am aware and very affordable too!! COSC mechanism at the price of an ordinary watch! I can't complain! I have never seen any for sale at snatch away prices as consumers are starting to wake upto them! One does not have to spend big to get big, contrary to the typical marketing scam! Reason why I treasure my replica as much as a genuine! Tissot has in my opinion has always been the quiet achiever, being very under rated and very affordable which is what one expects from a watch! I had an excellent divers tissot with a strong super heavy duty case and was a also a great time keeper! Long gone now but wished I had it still! I kept wondering why is a an eta powered TAG or any other similar watch cost umpteen times more than a tissot of the same structure and quality? Let's not forget that Tissot is a very old traditional brand that was often sold side by side with omega

This has been the situation in my part of the world for over a couple of years!! You could still buy complete movements at the cost of possibly a complete new watch, but parts have been unavailable for longer than a couple of years already!!! This was consistent with when Rolex Tudor introduced their new in-house mechanism which I kept wondering how they were going to deal with the situation. As we all know Tudor housed eta mechanisms in all their lines until their recent new movement. Makes sense as Rolex/Tudor is not part of the Swatch umbrella!!!!! I also do not care much as it has totally destroyed my hobby to the point I am just a lurker and occasionally take on a limited time only special, as with when McDonalds do with their two for one deals which my cardiologist has pre-warmed me not to fall for!!!

I am not so sure if those dials look right? Maybe it is me or perhaps the photograph! Someone with a sharper eye may prove me wrong! is seller also in Philippines? I would hold on for now and just be patient until something better comes along. If I were buying a manual wind omega of that vintage, I would buy the one with the sub dial as they seem to hold their value more especially the oversized 37mm ones. I must admit that those oversized subdial models look very classy!

I was just reaching out of infancy in the late 1960's where I recall that I had some nice toys which kept breaking down or did not work properly when they came out of the box and my late father said "what do you expect " made in Japan!!" I grew up with the fear to keep away from anything made in Japan if quality was at risk! Well we have made a complete turnaround that anything made in Japan is second to none for quite a long time now!! As I began to discover this ,I bought with total confidence and never looked back! I bought my first seiko from a garage sale for under $10 back in 1991 and used it as a beater for when doing work around the house and changing the oil in my car. Never serviced it and surprise surprise it still runs some 10 seconds fast per day. I recently opened of up to check the seals and even more surprising is that it is corrosion free and mechanism still looks pretty clean. It is a 17 jewel 6309 day date . Over the years I have seen many seikos which are a mixed bag of either very good or very #*%+#~. Then there is the Grand Seiko, high beat king seiko and the credor. I even remember the seiko Lassale where a watchmaker said back in 1982, "it is the best thing I have seen as a Japanese equivalent to a high end Longines" when Longines models sold for double the price of equivalent Omega models, but I was still not convinced at the time as I still had some Japanese broken toys in the back of the garage

Thanks - where from? I believe this is the non date mechanism and was looking to see if a date version exists like the 5S42?

There has been a lot of talk about making a functional replica with all the looks of the real deal minus the expenses and headaches that come with it! a quartz replica is very practical but also very obvious with the cha- cha- cha seconds hand motion giving away the nature of the step motor quartz and the next best substitute would be the other impractical tuning fork Bulova style mechanism. Upon recently changing a battery in my kitchen quartz clock which has a sweep seconds hand, made me want to look into for a watch equivalent And stumbled on this quartz powered seiko which surprises me why not more of these types of mvts were not so common. It would be practical to build an MBW with this type of movement and mist of my headaches would be gone!! Food for thought https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h8ZC3vsBPLg

Great post - entertaining and educational all in one, especially with the case manufacturing which is one area of horology that is so overlooked and under rated! Thanks for sharing

I have never had a problem removing the stem in the time setting position! Makes sense if you see what happens in https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bIaS4tiG7q8 The only time I did have issues was when I removed them in different positions such as in the winding position for example and it was because I was working on two different things at once having forgotten to pull stem out in winding position. As for the clones it makes no difference as they might as well be made of kitchen foil as I steer away from them ( also my opinion!)!

This coming Sunday will be Father's Day in my part of the world ! The staff& volunteers at my children's primary school had stalls for a charity fund raising of donated goods from various businesses so children could buy Father's Day presents! interestingly, when 6 year old son Joey came home from school, he said "dad I bought you a watch to add to your collection but you have to wait for Sunday to wear it- it is called a fit bit watch! I asked every stall seller if they had any Omega or Rolex watches for sale and all they did was laughed at me without giving me an answer! My teacher said to me that they didn't have any this year- maybe next year! Dad you have to wait for next year! i can't wait!! The count down to next year begins as of Sunday! Happy Father's Day and men's day to ALL!

your model looks like one I foolishly sold many moons ago. it was a 15505 Date model which is the gold capped model. They were in my opinion better than gold plated watches. Mine had a caliber 3035 movement in it. Like Timelord mentioned, Omegas also made them and in my opinion were the best models ever made as you had a gold sheet to protect them whilst they had the toughness of stainless steel back bone. I once read an article by Frank Nikolassen (spelling????) on warpspace who had a nice write up on gold shell omegas which used the same principal, I could never find his webpage after that and he had a wealth of information where it was a process invented by Jewish American jewelers where they fused gold cap onto stainless steel as it was a very difficult process to do for that era. There is another one like yours on this website https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-lot/Mens-Rolex-Oyster-Perpetual-Date-ref.-15505_4CC4F9B84D but without seeing the movement in your photographs, I cannot say for sure if it is the same. However, if I were to wager on whether yours is genuine, I would bet money that it is. Enjoy to good health and welcome aboard!! i would say yours houses a 3035 movement based on the back lip of the case meeting the back lid

A great post with very valid points!!!! Firstly, my belief is that "there are replicas" and "there are also replicas". When I first had access to the internet over 20 years ago, I was amazed at discovering a world that I never imagined and when I first heard of a replica watch forum, I almost burst out laughing!!!! I thought - "seriously we have stooped so low that we need a forum to discuss $10 junk battery operated flea market copies? really??? what have we come down to? " Well my judgement could not have been more wrong as I then saw a world I never imagined, as I met some of the most intelligent, knowledgable, skilled and friendly people that one could ever meet who have educated me more than any other forum I know and have never looked back!!!! My first experience in buying replicas was when Paul had his crazy $159 sales with high quality merchandise and was immediately hooked on this bug. I never had a problem with any of his items and the quality for a "non quality control" outlet was impeccable, His submariners were well made with a quality eta 2836-2 movement and also passed the pressure test which I used it for swimming for many years. I had a similar experience with Silix when Jay and Angel ran the show!!! Then lets not forget the F series noobmariner!!!! I prize it as much as the other quality pieces. I also know that people who are into replicas also have the real McCoy but prefer to use their replicas as every day beaters purely because of the high costs of maintenance and parts issue Then later when demand increased with more factories in the Far East opening, compounded with when the Swatch group got nasty with their parts issue, I noticed a decline in the quality of most of the replicas thereafter. I too had problems with what I purchased and had similar experiences to you, especially with their crappy eta clones that were purely junk in my opinion. Mind you in the past I also had similar problems with high quality genuine timepieces and even though I had warranty etc. in most cases I never got the satisfaction I expected. It definitely was NOT a "no quibble warranty" !!! That is another story!!! I then decided to build my own replicas in buying quality yuki cases and old stock sealed eta movements that were left over in watch supply houses resulting in a high quality watch. I replaced the seals with genuine watch parts seals and gave them a good quality makeover exceeding my satisfaction. I guess it is all in the mind as if you replace the dial with a sterile dial or have it redone with whatever label you want ( your girlfriends name for example LOL!!), you still have a quality watch of similar quality to other legit eta powered timepieces. You then have a unique custom watch which is a far outcry from a crappy copy or replica!!!! As with Steinhart, it is a good watch for the money you pay, but in my opinion it is nothing special as for the same money you could buy an identical homage watch such as Squale and even other well known brands. It never attracted to me just as suggested by Sogeha and for the same price if I can build my own, you can build it to your specifications and end up with a good custom watch if you can overlook the label Rolex or Omega which should not legally be there!!! Each to their own!!!!

Oopsie, I meant " was your timepiece dry tested AND wet tested? Small slip with the "or" dry testing is again different!

As with any timepiece regardless of if it is a replica or licensed brand, the water resistant properties become as intense as the technicalities of the whole timepiece itself. If it has passed the pressure test according to your watchmaker, then any air bubbles which may arise may not necessarily be a leak as the pressure exerted by the tester attempts to pump air into the watch itself, so if there is a leak, the flow of bubbles would be continuous until it gets filled with water. If there was one or two bubbles arising, it may be an air lock somewhere between the crystal gasket and the case . The old story is that if a watch passes the pressure test today may not necessarily imply that it will pass the test in a few weeks time especially if there is a change in temperature in weather ( for example winter to spring) as the coefficient of expansion in the metal is not directly proportional to that of the crystal. i personally would not even trust my genuine timepieces in deep water even if it passed the pressure test long before swimming and was stored away directly after , simply because the seals do deteriorate over time and changes in environment may not be homogeneous. If you imust use your timepiece in deep water, I would suggest you have it re- tested closer to the period of when you intend to swim and at the change of each season. Whenever I am in doubt about crystals, I use the following product around the crystal and gasket as an extra security https://www.ebay.com/itm/10ml-Uv-Resin-Glue-21-LED-UV-Torch-Crystal-Watch-Glass-Metal-Furniture/263367610652?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190711095549%26meid%3Dbb00c345372d4902ab1cfdd925b316c7%26pid%3D100047%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D253296207519%26itm%3D263367610652%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100047.m2108 ( disclaimer I am in no way recommending this as bullet proof, nor do I have any direct or indirect vested interests in this product apart for personal use and educational purposes only ) BTW was your timepiece dry tested or wet tested?

Now that is a really noble gesture which is what makes this forum unique ! i have replaced the complete assembly from a a genuine to a clone and has worked really well apart from having to regulate the time. However never been successful in getting a complete balance from a clone into a genuine to work well at all ! Could never really work out why? I personally find that 4 out of 5 eta clones are junk i have myself tried to do the above exercise and it does take a lot of practise on a few dead balance assemblies as I have messed up more than I have succeeded. If the beat goes out, it is a tedious task to get it right if your electronic timer is not the best Like Timelord, I also was under the impression that the genuine eta ones were never sold as complete assemblies. Wished I had known this as I would have stocked up on a few

True true true!!! very valid points! I am not sure who sells the older type submariner cases any more! Yuki had very good case kits at very reasonable prices and were my favourite. I thought they would be around forever. His last email reply to me was "sorry no longer in production". I foolishly sold off most of what I had purely because of the spare parts issue which was bestowed upon us by the swatch group's Draconian decision to make our lives miserable. Not only for eta parts but even to replace a $20 plexi on my late father's omega watch that sits in my top drawer in its gravely state. i was lucky enough to build a noobmariner thanks to Alligoat supplying me tha case! I stuck an eta in it and am even worried to wear it if it were to fall off my arm and am in the dilemma of spare parts ordeal. Didn't even feel like this when wearing a genuine Datejust. the new tuna can cases made both by rolex and rep makers are as interesting to me as watching the paint dry!

Although I don't post as often as before, I still lurk here as I feel part of a great unique and esoteric community. Old habits do tend to die hard. Once addicted to this, it is hard to break the chain! i too found Paul to be one of my favorite dealer who was he very first person I bought from some 15 years ago and everything he sold me was flawless unlike he myth that these places lack quality control. Although I did have problems with genuine watches in the past. So much for the hype! Since the swatch group have clamped down on who the prefer to sell, I also wound down and decided to build my own as I was buying case kits from yuki and sticking in genuine eta movements in them from older genuine watches! Thus also came to an end when they ceased production of the traditional submariner case and began production of the bulky new style case with the ceramic bezel that practically does nothing for me! As a result, I no longer as active but f the right deal comes along, I sometimes take the plunge!

Totally agree!! Couldn't have put it better myself! Imagine now Doctor Who character is going to be replaced by a woman and what next? Mary Poppins portrayed as a male commando soldier! LOL!

Thanks and sorry for my late acknowledgement ! Been away for surgery! did you still use the crystal gasket as my understanding is that most of the UV glues bond glass to metal ?

Greetings I have a submariner replica which I purchased many moons ago which has had little use after having forgotten about it when moving places. I cannot recall if it was from silix or from Paul . But all I can say is that I have has difficulties keeping the sapphire coated crystal in the case as no matter how many times I have replaced the crystal gasket nothing seems to help. The crystal is a simple straight edge without any steps measuring 30.47mm and somehow none of the gaskets seem to hold it in. I even tried the UV glass to metal product with no luck! Anyone ever experienced a stubborn fickle crystal staying put in the case and solved the issue apart from putting it under your car tyre for good, I would appreciate your input with thanks!

I have done it many times with 2 round quality tooth picks where one puts a gentle hold on the center pinions & the other to gently lift or push the hand you are trying to adjust. Sometimes a 3 rd toothpick splintered for size under the hand that is to be worked on also helps. The key here is to be as gentle as possible and to use a piece of plastic between the dial and hands. With wooden or plastic tooth picks you have Buckley's chance of marring the dial as opposed to metal objects! Good luck!!

This is not just a forum, nor just a forum on replica watches, nor a forum on just watches regardless, nor anything on what you will find anywhere in the world on internet. This is a SPECIAL FRATERNITY, where you do not need any minimum qualifications to be part of, nor do you need to be of any particular status whether you belong to the House of Lords or live in a cardboard box!!!! There are no initiation rites here, there are no judgements made here, there are people from all walks of life that never boast to be Professors or high profile people even if they are!!!! We respect each other, we have debates, arguments but at the end of the day we are still a Fraternity that values each other in peace. Where will we find this?? Do I need to say anymore? John Lennon would be as close to his dream of Imagine in a place like here!!! On a final note, I experienced the passing of two family members while I was on this forum and the solace and sanity I got here ( where today is the 5th anniversary of one of them) gives me the will to move on!!!!! I am privileged to be here!!!!!

Is this movement you have a clone or a genuine? it sounds like all the notorious hallmarks of a typical clone to me as every clone I purchased had exactly this same problem! They work for a while and then all of a sudden they come to an abrupt halt. The typical suggestions are that they all need to be serviced before use, but even after serviced the same happens!! Something inferior in some the quality of the parts- who knows? I gave.up and keep well away from them!

Agree, very appealing watch but a watch without lugs just doesn't do it for me. I prefer a watch with lugs as it gives you the option of looking appealing in both a leather strap and a bracelet without one compromising over the other! Sort of reminds me of my very first omega which only looked good with a bracelet http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/Z8YAAOSwlfxXGjko/%24_57.JPG

Watchuseek was the very first forum I joined and after a couple of weeks I never logged on again! it looks like it is a club where morons like to meet up and dribble from both their top and bottom mouths at the same time! At first I thought that I was the problem until I read many more posts like yours over the decades! I find similar attitude from most TAG Whorer ( let me correct that -Heuer) owners

The same can be said of most items if not all items that once belonged to someone important! Houses belonging to important people usually have blue plaques outside the-front door in the UK, the Parker pen Einstein wrote the Theory of relativity or even a handkerchief used in the top pocket of a suit of a famous person etc all tell some story or more accurately ; History. This is where I see an astronomical difference between having material items and relics ( which are also material items). I do not always agree with those that always bash at materialistic people, as in this case there is a difference! i guess the OP wqs trying to ask is; where does one draw a line between what is a sane and appropriate premium to pay for such items and if the money justifies the satisfaction it could bring without overriding the spending on more practical priorities! I love the mil sub purely because it is basic and less busy than the mainstream one of its vintage, as the bezel and sword hands truly do it for me. If I could have ordered a bespoke one from Rolex themselves, it would be exactly that configuration! That is it for me and I would not ask for any better! Enjoy to good health!! BTW can you build me one? (Yeah in my dreams! Ha!)