sneed12

You mean something like this?

You can build a super-franken datejust like that for under $1k if you shop hard (dunno how much the labor adds though, I do my own work). Can't get called out unless someone adjusts the time and notices the hands turn the wrong way.

The DD is a different story though. For starters, you can't (cheaply) use a gen case, because the gen cases are all made in precious metal. Steel is not a good substitute for platinum (b/c of weight), and rep gold doesn't pass the smell test, so you're boned right off the bat.

I don't think someone in your situation should be wearing any rep Rolex other than a superfranken. There are good Rolex reps, but very very few are in the same league as some Panerai or Omega reps. It's a fact of life when dealing with watches that have all in-house movements.

I've had many springbar removal tools, but this is my favorite:

I manage to break the tips on the fork-type springbar removal tools all the time. The fancy screw-caliper-style Bergeron tool is nicer, I've used it before, but I've never actually had one of my own.

Indeed. Also known as the "pepsi" GMT. The transformer is due to the same overall color scheme as Optimus Prime.

Nope.

The Transformer was BK's name for his GMT, because he offered an option where the bezel ring easily came off. It was secure, but lifted off without tools. You could then order multiple bezel rings with inserts installed and easily "transform" the watch from being a pepsi GMT to a coke GMT or all black GMT.

You got it. This "modification" has been around for some time, I have seen a number of them and they are all the same, just like a cod piece, it's fake and does nothing at all...

I don't think that's fair, my cod piece is pretty awesome, the ladies like it and it protects my junk

Freddy, in this pic

the standard ETA balance [censored] is the one that's connected to the movement at the very top (12 o'clock in the pic). The second arm of the "bridge" that connects around 2 o'clock in the pic is fake. It's not connected to the [censored] at all, only to the plate. If you remove that screw the whole thing comes off.

EDITED TO ADD: If I type balance c0ck it censors it. Weird

I was looking (and wearing) the gen version of this just recently and was amazed how bright the bezel is and how the steel is brushed in radial lines from the hand stack/dial centre to the outer edge? It is like a true sunburst pattern - a detail that is not fully visible on the rep - well not on my battered bezel.

Yeah, the way I try to duplicate this when I refinish a rep bezel is to spin the bezel slowly while brushing it. I use a brushing pad in a Dremel to do the brushing and I spin it on a turntable.

Yeah, from the pics it's just a dressed up ETA. Oh well.

You can use a Crayola Crayon to fill in the recess, rub it in, wipe off excess, apply a little heat very carefully (hairdrier or match) and hey presto.

That's a pretty cool idea, I might try that sometime.

Hmm. Now that's something I'm interested in.

I don't think the v2 is that much "better" than the TW. Crown height is better, but that's about it.

ok, i agree with your opinion to wait for one in the Sales Section

I just grabbed one in the sales section last week. Just gotta keep an eye out.

The cost is less than $400 for the parts (and even less if you sell off the parts that you don't use), but the labor is what kills it. Obviously I didn't charge myself for the labor, but if I were doing these builds for other people I'm guessing they'd run around $500 all in.

Since you're going to rebrush it anyway--I'd remove the bezel and spray the whole thing with matte black spray paint, then remove the excess. But that's just me.

I sold a watch and I think it's about to become a problem deal, who do I PM?

That's a nice build Sneed. Where did you get the case from?

Timesshops. Details in the build thread.

I can't believe that no one has noticed the HUGE sized elongated lugs on the genuine, vs the rep which look much thinner, shorter and more like the older 16610 model.

Only fix for that is to switch cases. Here's my custom build:

Asian clone ETA 2836-2.

So the pearl's not missing--the cup is still there--just the luminous material has fallen out.

Honestly, if it were me I'd fill it in with white paint and some epoxy and call it a day.

If you really want to fix it, I have no idea where to buy a ceramic sub pearl, but I know you can get replacement ceramic inserts with (crappy but useable) pearls on eBay for pretty cheap. Last one I bought was $20.

I am mounting a gen dial to a eta gen dial=3130/3135 not ETA??? this is what I was told so my dial does not have feet any more

Ah, I misunderstood.

You can either install feet or use glue or tape.

What does the ring have to do with the dial...? You mount the dial using the dial feet, just like usual.

It looks like a TW case. I'd bet money on it. Definitely not a Noob.

Comparative review: BK Transformer and Noob GMT/Explorer (I think I need a better name for it)

Like many of us, I lusted after a Noob GMT Master II or, better yet, a BK Transformer (which uses the same case) for a long time. At the time I was looking (more than a year ago) they were as rare as hen's teeth, though, and I never managed to grab one.

I got tired of waiting, and eventually built my own. I went through a period last year where I bought 6-7 Noob Explorer IIs, and I had an extra BK Explorer II lying around. It occurred to me that if I could get a bezel assembly installed on it, then I could build a GMT Master II instead. So BK sold me a Noob GMT Master II dial, and I swapped it onto the guts of a BK Explorer II (so my watch still has a BK'ified DW and Swiss movement that he originally provided).

Last week a Transformer popped up in the FS section, and I decided to grab it and compare what I built to BK's masterpiece. Here are the two watches (Pepsi is mine, Coke is the BK Transformer):

In all pics, the Transformer is the one with spring bars installed. This particular Transformer has a gen bezel insert, and I was interested to see how the rep insert (I think my pepsi insert was originally from WSO) compares. The fonts and overall quality on the gen bezel insert are better, but it's not a really drastic difference. With this model there's no pearl to give it away. I don't think if I were asked to pick the gen insert I'd be able to from pics.

The big differences between the construction become more apparent when you take the bezel off. The Noob GMT Master II case (which BK used as the base for his Transformer) has pretty much identical rehaut depth and height, but does not have gen-like construction, it uses a press-in crystal like a Noobmariner. The Explorer II case uses gen-like construction. I have no idea why the factory did it this way, but they did. The obvious way to tell by looking at the front of the watch is to see the white ring of the gasket on the press-in crystal. Gen-style construction does not have that, instead it has a silver "shelf" around the rehaut.

Close ups of both. I didn't disassemble the Transformer at all except to remove the bezel (which is supposed to come off) since BK sealed and pressed everything and I didn't want to have to re-waterproof it.

Side shot showing the rehauts from the outside. You can see the groove where the paper-clip-style retaining wire goes on the Transformer. You can also see that the engraving on my case is "wrong" since it started life as an Explorer.

Both crystals installed. The Explorer case takes a gen-style gasket that slides over the outside of the rehaut rather than sitting on the inside, which is why that white ring doesn't show up under the crystal.

Shot of the bezels. The bezel assembly I'm using is also WSO, and it kinda sucks--it was horrifically expensive ($180 IIRC) and the fit is too loose. I've got a TW bezel assembly on the way, and I hope that it will fit better.

Turn the bezels over and you'll see a difference again:

The Noob GMT bezel uses clicky teeth on the underside like a Noobmariner, while the other one has teeth on the inside edge in the style of the gen. You can see where BK ground the teeth down on the GMT bezel and it looks like he did some fitting to make sure it's flush to the case all around as well. You can also see the work he did to the paper-clip wire to make it a "Transformer"--that must have taken forever to get fitted correctly! It's just tight enough that the bezel stays on, but will come off with light finger pressure so you can swap bezels easily. It's really impressive work.

Here you see the bezel retaining ring fitted to the Explorer case. It slides around the outside of the gasket, and the crystal is held in by the pressure of the inner diameter. Since the WSO bezel is a hair too large, the crystal isn't held on all that tightly and the watch isn't very waterproof. I'm hoping the TW bezel assembly cures that as well.

Bezel installed. You can see my custom clickspring which I made out of a guitar string. After I spent an hour with a tweezers trying to build that [censored] thing, I found out that you can buy them premade (I thought I invented the idea, but apparently the gen works exactly the same way) for $3. Oh well.

Fully assembled. Look how much nicer the CG's look on the BK watch than on mine. They're trimmed perfectly, they're even, and the corners are sharp. BK does a great job with the CG trim. Mine never look quite that nice.

Here's the first pic again:

Can you see the white ring now that you're looking for it?

You can't buy a WM9 v2 for $450-500 anymore. Used ones are going for $8-900. There is one for sale at repgeek right now.

Très jolie, ta montre!

That's true...except for when the hour hand was above the GMT hand.

I wonder if the movement is swappable with the PT CHS movement? You would need to SL the hands, but when you got all through, you would have one nice watch (presumably).

I have yet to see a CHS with the dial off. I'm curious to know if there is room for a DWO to work. You'll note that the CHS watches Angus is selling don't have Rolex date window position.