sneed12

This guy is not nearly as entertaining as the conspiracy theory guy.

When I mentioned that I have a PhD in physics, that guy kept demanding that I provide my "PhD number". What a weirdo.

Once upon a time, there was a factory in China that invested in building a high-quality, very accurate rep Submariner at a higher price point than was typical for reps (then, anyway). That factory was known as the watchmaker9 factory (WM9). The exclusive source for these watches in the US was a guy named BK, who did quite a bit of quality control and some additional mods before selling the watches on.

Then BK's contact at the factory disappeared (this was around 2011 or so, the rumor is he was killed in a car crash) and the watches were unavailable for a while.

A couple years later, out of nowhere, this TC guy shows up selling what are clearly updated versions of the WM9 watch. Apparently he reconnected with someone else at the same factory. (More details and speculation about this in BK's section of the website.) Some of us were sketched out at first (and I still, frankly, don't believe his original story that he just started building watches one day and the TC sub was the result) but he's clearly pushed hard to improve the product, has worked with different factories to get better parts, and has proven himself a trustworthy dealer to the rep community.

That's who this TC guy is. I won't post his name but he's not private about it, I think it's on his blog.

I'm not trying to shred it apart, it's amazing the work TC has done and it's worth collecting, there could be a good chance of being an actual collectible one day by gen owners.

You sound insane.

"Date system"? What does that even mean? You can't see the "date system" without taking the dial off.

Any properly machined modern watch case will achieve 300m water resistance if sealed correctly. 

And that last comment is downright perverted.

It's a nice watch at a good price, but FYI they have never sold for anywhere near the $195 retail. These usually sold for ~$80 4 years ago.

Personal rule. NEVER buy a Rep Chrono. 

Personal rule. NEVER listen to kingfrog.

No (to both questions).

I've built a couple of CHS watches using the movement jpz is talking about, they are still running strong a couple of years later (old pic)

Tell me... could it be that there STILL isn't a good replication of the GMT 1675?

It is true... but it's possible to build a decent one with readily available parts finally.

http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/159208-1675-el-cornino-build/

Not perfect, but pretty good and none of the parts are unobtanium.

It's either Swiss or a really good example of the new superclone, and if it's from 2006 the superclone didn't exist then. So it's Swiss.

As for value--frankly, not a whole lot. $60-100 maybe. A Swiss movement from a rep built in 06 was probably taken from a much older watch, and really is due for a service by now.

22 seconds/day is well within the generally acceptable spec for any non-COSC Swiss movement... yes, you can often get a movement regulated better than that but honestly if accuracy is your number one concern then a fake mechanical swiss watch is probably not for you.

When I first came to these forums I was annoyed when people told me they didn't sell to members.

Now I get it. I'd much rather sell at a lower price to someone I know and trust than take a chance on selling to a brand new member.

I'm trying to imagine why you'd want to... but if you do, please sell me that WM9 blue two tone dial and hands!

You always have the weirdest questions. I keep thinking you've run out of absolutely random things to ask about but you keep proving me wrong.

And yes, Rolex has changed the font of the DWO slightly many times over the years.

you NEVER turn the time backwards past midnight. EVER.

 

bad bad bad.

i hope you didnt break something..

On an ETA 28xx, you will not break anything by doing this.

the problem with chs hands is unless you are building vintage, new model hands are next to impossible to find. ive been looking for 116710 hands for around 2 years now. its pretty easy to find 16710 hands but 116710 has eluded me.

Make some. You can use the regular ETA minute and seconds hand. You'll have to make the bottom two, but you can use a gen-spec 3185 hour hand for the bottom (cut off the too-skinny hour hand and glue on a maxi hour hand from an ICHS set) and an ETA hour hand for the GMT.

could hopefully (probably) change out the hour markers for smaller ones and drill lug holes on a tc case if not using a star time one. this whole experiment or project comes down to this dial being of the right size. (same as TCs 16610 dial)

Fonts would still be wrong, the new short font for "ft" was never used on a 14060

$3k for just a midcase?

Gorgeous.  I'd be very interested to see a side-by-side with a gen, once it's available.  It looks good right now, but I'm curious as to how closely the blue matches. 

 

Also, I would love to see the blue Black Bay with gilt hands/dial.  Now who can I convince to take one in red and silver?

If you're serious I'll swap with you. Now we just have to buy one in each color...

Don't worry guys this guy has so many watches it honestly doesn't matter plus he will be able to swap back 

It doesn't matter how many watches he has, the project is stupid. A 79090 case is not correct for a 1680; among other things, it has a different caseback. If all you're using from the Tudor is the midcase, what is the point? It would be cheaper and simpler to buy a gen 1680 or build a super-rep from scratch then to convert a 79090.

 but I was a bit sensitive to no replies for hours 

The man had no response for HOURS, guys! Literally dozens of minutes passed without hearing anything from the dealer! Of course he filed a Paypal dispute!

So modify the rep click spring to fit in the gen bezel insert holes. I think all you need to do is file down the posts (make them thinner a bit, and only in one dimension, you don't have to keep them round).

Always put the cheapest, most replaceable part at risk first.

No, there's no way to pull it out without digging into it and I don't want to damage it. It also may not be a plug, just a black plastic piece under the hole for whatever reason. I think the next step is to unscrew those brass screws around the outside part and take the plate off and see what I see.

Worth noting that all gen blue dial YMs have rehaut engraving, and the sean case does not. Neither does the TC case, so there does not exist a decent YM case as a base for this build, which is why I haven't done one yet.

looks great but why did you not use the gen assembly

This -- the entire gen assembly will press right on

Yes, I'm sure! It's not a hole at all, that's why it can't be a stem release, it has a plastic plug in it. I guess next thing I'll do is start unscrewing the brass screws... thanks for your effort