Rick James

Hey guys, so I'm looking to buy a 116520 steel cosmograph daytona. I've never bought a brand new, gen, Rolex before. My quarterly bonuses are starting to get pretty sizable so... I'm looking to treat myself. I've been browsing around rolexforums since some sellers have them on hand. There is one a local seller on those forums who seems to sell literally hundreds of new in box Rolex watches, and has amassed a ton of positive feedback. So I'm pretty sold on the seller. I do have some questions that I could ask on rolexforums, but honestly based on my long term experience here and browsing their posts there, people here are way more competent. - What is the going MSRP at the moment around the US market? - This seller has listed 116520s at $11.2k. Is there a chance it's gray market? He says this particular piece is from a US AD, but some of his other pieces are foreign ADs, most likely Asian. - What are my concerns regarding registration and warranty in a gray market situation? I've bought TAGs abroad before, had no problems with warranty/reg. - What else should I look out for on a new piece? - I'm not particularly concerned on getting sold a rep. New ones have blue lume and 3d bar codes, these things alone I haven't seen in a rep. It would have to be quite a super franken with some amazing docs to pass ;-), but any tips here are of course appreciated.

Playing with all three of these today.

Thanks guys. Yours looks good nightwatch. irolexu, you should definitely pick one up if you're in the mood for a less sporty look sometimes.

Thanks guys! Nice Carrera SSTEEL!

From top left to bottom right: 1. Breitling Superocean Steelfish- ETA movement, ETA datewheel 2. Hublot Big Bang - Basic rep in rose gold with CF dial 3. Breitling Super Avenger - Gen dial, gen Pro II 4. TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 - Basic rep purchased from Joshua 5. TAG Heuer F1 - Gen watch, quartz model with hidden digital readout/features 6. Panerai 004 - EL case-set & CG, Avitt PVD service, ETA 6497 w/ Panerai etchings, FGD pre-A t-swiss-t dial and hands, BigC/Matt crystal, t-48 crown, DNS pre-A OP6500 caseback, and RIOS 1931 vintage tan strap. 7. Panerai 212 - J-series, Gen 212 dial, gen chrono needle, h-factory 212j base, rotor screw matches gen 8. Rolex Sea-Dweller - Jackjo V2 case set, ETA movement, gen D series dial, gen insert, gen crown, gen tube, BK DWO, TC hands, TC bracelet 9. Rolex Submariner - BK's Noob 116610 C V2 10. Rolex Datejust II - Basic rep originally from Joshua, ETA movement.

Thanks guys! I like it so far.

Got this puppy in from another member on the board. Apparently it was a C&R from joshua. I haven't opened it up yet but I was told it was the nickel plated eta movement. What do you guys think?

The watch so far is keeping good time, I would say so far about +6s / day at this rate. The platinum insert mod is the painting mod? What do you think the ods are of finding a gen insert or do gens not fit? I would try painting but honestly I don't think it would come out pretty if i do it .

Just got this one in the mail from BK. Set the time and date and adjusted the bracelet. Looks good so far. What do you guys think?

I guess I should shop around some more. Did strike me as expensive. It's a real ETA movement as far as I can tell by looking at it, and was billed as such by babola when he sold his build.

Weird wonder why he said a week. I did see in one of his posts he said he hired a guy just to service movements (since I'm not modding anything.)

Thanks for the tips! Vac also got back to me saying he can do a 1 week turnaround on a movement service and mainspring replacement. Not super cheap, just under $200. Not sure what's normal price for this kind of job.

It takes time. Just like to a rando nub any watch looks like any other. A $20 quartz rolex rep would look like the real thing to some people. Some of us have reps and gens and like everything about watches and know more about watches than the majority of the population. Same with scotch, wine, etc... Just different interests and hobbies.