sneed12

I've used this bezel. Size is hit or miss, that's the biggest problem. Also the price is pretty high.

Hi everybody,

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Feel free to contact me also privately if you think to have what I'm looking for....

Looks great. Nice job. So now you have 2 of these Franken Polars?? Sweet.

No, I built the other one for another member. Ever since I've wanted one of my own

The hand color is really difficult to get right, I wouldn't count on that any time soon. Certainly to date the best out of the box Explorer II reps.

No doubt. The Noob is a better case, but it requires extensive modding to be a better rep.

I have seen a myrid of white EXPII whites from 1999 forward and none are "True Black".

Every one I have seen is black, but it's a very shiny black.

Ever since I built one for Ruprekt (here) I've wanted one of my own. I snagged a lot of parts (gen dial, ETA 2893-2, Noob Explorer) that another member was selling, and put my new watch together this morning.

Here's a shot of the parts I got, plus a spare movement I had lying around, plus my other Noob Explorer II (which is for sale, now that this build is done).

Comparison shots of the dials. Gen dial is on top, original Noob dial on the right (note the gunmetal markers). On the left is the dial with black markers that is currently available new through dealers, which I swapped into this Noob case a while ago (thread on RepGeek here). You can see that the gen dial has a very light stain on the 12 o'clock marker and very very light damage to the "L" in Explorer.

I decided to use a Swiss ETA 2836-2 rather than the 2893-2 that came with the kit, since I the GMT hands I have didn't fit the 2893 (I could have ordered one, but I was impatient and I don't like the quality of WSO's stuff). I'm going to try to sell the 2893-2, and if it doesn't sell, I'll install it in my GMT IIc.

Here you see a 2836-2 w/ Noob DWO, the BK DWO that will replace the Noob one, some hands, and the gen dial.

Dial installed, BK DWO installed, hands installed.

Completed watch. Gen dial is the one with the bracelet installed, the one on the left is my old watch. As you can see, the "old" one is pretty good, actually! Weakest spots are the lume and DWO.

Case still looks too chunky to me.

I'd say to put this app to the real test run it with a real timing machine at the same time as the app and see what numbers we get. Any one have a legitimate timing machine?

ive never been able to reinstall the datewheel with the overlay still on it

I do it all the time. It's annoying, but not at all impossible.

Rolex doesn't sell parts. Good luck.

Neither is "better" they're both solid movements.

Hands will fit either.

Stem heights are not even close to being the same, so that will probably be an issue.

That dial and hands look quite good.

I wouldn't spend what he's asking, but if I were to grab one of these used I'd keep the dial and hands (assuming the lume is ok) and ditch the rest. That case sucks, and so does the pearl.

The 1680 also has a gen date wheel.

Not if it's powered by an ETA, it doesn't. Or at least, it doesn't have a gen 1570 datewheel. The numbers go the wrong way. It's not possible to make it work.

No.

I would think just throwing the metal ring in a vise and bending it flat will get it most of the way fixed. Not all the way of course.

I had the same problem, and I grind on the crystal, not the metal ring--the crystal is the cheap, replaceable part!

Judging by the position of the date window*, and knowing that Steinhart usually builds their homages a few mm bigger, I'm going to guess that case is 42mm or so. I don't think the JoeyB acrylic bezel will fit.

(*Date window position relative to edge of dial gives a good estimate of overall dial size, since it's in the ETA position. Look at a Tudor Sub dial, there isn't much room between the edge of the date window and the rehaut.)

FYI: There's no "official rep numbering institute" or anything like that.

A V3 is what we at the forums have decided to call one particular variation of some watch. There is absolutely no guarantee that the dealer uses the same nomenclature. It could easily just be a misunderstanding in good faith.

The last time I needed a replacement blue dial BK had them, but his availability varies.

Hopefully they come out with just a normal white dialed version...so my gen dial finally has a home!

If you ever get tired of waiting, I might be willing to offer your gen dial a home in MY Noob Exp II...

Any parts house will sell you one. Or you can grab one on eBay. Any of the usual places. If you have a local watchmaker they can probably sell you one too.

The simplicity of the sub, yet so difficult to rep for the manufacturers. How hard can it be?

Res loquitor. If it was easy, it would have been done.

Once you start building Subs, it starts to be come very clear what the difficulties are. It all starts with the fact that the stem height for the commonly used rep movements is off compared to the 3035/3135.

PS: When I get around to buying one of these and trying to build an ETASwiss Sub myself (which might be a while, cash is tight right now) I'll try it with a 2892. The extra .35mm of stem height doesn't sound like a lot, but I have a feeling every little bit will help.

Thanks for chiming in sneed, what movement is the case designed for, the gen 3135?

Supposedly, yes. I've never tried to fit a gen 3135 in it so I can't say for sure.

It was a pretty nice case, the construction quality was quite good, I have to say.

There have been at least two threads about this case in the past, one of them quite recently (a few months).

I built a 16610 out of one for a member, and it did take a 2824 although the build was a real pain in the ass. From what I understand, the stem height of a SA3135 is not the same as a gen 3135, and so it may or may not fit this case.

Thank you for the quick response! That is what I thought, just wanted to verify. Yes, I believe the 24-hour hand is on the bottom of the rep I recently purchased from a fellow forum-member here. I have not received it yet but from the pictures that is how it looks (if interested it is the "GMT LN" with green datewheel overlay on the sales forum that I purchased). In that case, is there anyone who will swap out movements for you on here etc? I guess a modder/watchsmith.

Thanks again!

It's not a simple swap, and it will at least double the price of your watch.

You'd need a CHS movement, hands, and probably dial. The only way to get them is to buy the complete GMT IIc CHS from Angus or someone else. I've never seen pics with the dial off so I don't know for sure if a DWO will work with it or not.

You're looking at ~$300 in parts and labor probably, for a less-reliable movement. You can of course sell your old watch and recoup some of that.