Mapman57

WOW - is that bezel as sh**ty as it looks? and at $398......???? Must be a prototype... I have a PT 1665 which is a great base to start from for that model, at $198/eta 2846 BUT this ......?

It would make sense to post the ref number of your bracelet, clasp and end links - maybe even a picture? I suspect that most will advise to keep your gen bracelet in place - age is a value, assuming its still useable. It may be possible to buy a rep of the exact bracelet IF a replacement is required.

Chuckle chuckle......

Can you please recommend a source ....other than AD/Omega?

I expect that many of us have some pieces that do not see enough airtime on the wrist? This has been a long term keeper but sees little daylight. For its vintage its in great condition and holds a good wrist presence. Its been a business and dress watch for some years. This is my vintage Omega automatic. The Omega movement serial number dates it to around 1969, which seems correct for the style, 36mm case set and 163.0173 case back. I replaced the totally knackered bracelet two/three years ago, with this OEM 1181/215 hollow mid links, oyster style model. It was really hard to locate a suitable OEM band at that time after almost 40 years. I am not 100% sure, but it may well have been through Offrei - I do remember it being very expensive at the time! I particularly like the long elegant seconds hand on this piece, the sweep is by far the best in my box, compared to new and old, rep and gen, Asian and Swiss movements. Notice the Omega logo on the crystal in the next shot???? Nice to see the Omega logo etched into the centre of the original crystal that is relatively scratch free for over 40 years of age..... The Geneve range is often under estimated when compared to the Seamaster range but essentially the movements were from the same family..... Update: Now been wearing this these past few days and the timekeeping has been spot on and remarkably, the lume dots are holding a little charge and glow for a short while at least on the bedside cabinet Hope you enjoy some more pictures.... Look forward to any comments and questions....:munch:

Nice pick up Mikey - sounds a steal! Got the clone in my UPO and never misses a beat (only one year old) and I swap between rubber (standard on black bezel/white face), SS and leather/deploy. The head sits so nice on a leather deploy - tones the size down a little when compared with rubber. I would like to find someone in the UK who could waterproof my version for normal swimming - any ideas guys?

Maybe I'm mistaken but my PT caseback (now black ink is getting cleaned out and aged / polished look is developing - work in progress) looks as good as any out of box rep I've seen....but perhaps they are all wrong. I have cleaned and reworked it more since this shot was actually taken. I have a library of gen case back pics and it looks OK? Not perfect but OK. I think like the Gen world, the reps also evolve over time and revisions are made...? PT half the MBK price, nice movement and crown position, great bracelet, end links and clasp and need the same mods anyway to crown swap, CG's trim, crystal swap, rework lug holes, ageing and on and on..... so why not? Unless you want to build a super duper franken?

THe straight seconds hand was only on the Series 1 as was the folded band with 385 endlinks. THe series 2,3,4 had the dot seconds hand with 78360 bracelet and 580 endlinks. Just my thoughts Joshua! and I have a gen in front of me!

So....where are the pics? Hope that the deal went to plan.....

There is an interesting history to this in that Helenarou has an ebay shop as you probably know, and they started out by selling the sterile Sub, SD's and GMT IIc's in this shop without reserve prices. They would regularly sell for 40-60$ each approx 18 months ago!....even with what was claimed to be a gen eta movement! Is yours a gen eta Mickey - any obvious way to tell? Once the Rep community (I guess) cottoned on, prices got regularly bidded up and now they sell at 2-3 times that old price. Many are listed with buy it now prices, but tend not to shift. There is also a US based ebay seller moving the same stock - $ prices on ebay.com sometimes go shockingly high....so its not a bad investment Mickey I have had a number of pieces from this source over the past two years and the quality and value has been great....with reliable service and communications. And had no problem in selling them on.....as one tends to do in this hobby

Nice job.... and one heck of a $98 piece! May I send you one of mine for a day please? That was one fun packed day that you spent - very productive. Any chance you please point me at a thread that teaches the 'chemical aging/treatment of the bezel insert'? ....and once again nice job on the Comex, that just goes to show that everyone has their own preferences and interest in this hobby.

Now your talking ....thats a way oo go at the same price point and addresses most of the real issues debated here. Low beat eta with much better crown height (need to change crown though!) Thicker case style for shaving! Gen style bezel construction (but tight as a ducks *ss to rotate on mine - anybody else had his issue?) Much better positioned lug holes All in all much closer to MBK case....perhaps it is? Mkiv DRSD dial is decent as well - once you can tone it down a little with aging. 93150 Bracelet is fine. Change the crown Shave the CGs in and out Age the dial, insert and case Change the crystal and you got a MBK equiv for a lot less $ Will post a review some time soon with lots of pics.

Then sold the same watch again on 4 April for

Who knows??? However, rep prices have been getting over inflated these past 2/3 years and the latest crop have been more competitively priced - especially the Rollies like GMT IIc, Milgauss etc......so it could be possible? Some trusted dealers across the boards have been running excellent value offers on so called 'ultimates ' these past 6 months so maybe this is a way to go...

I bet this has a few tales to tell.........

Jeeez the innocence of youth is refreshing....enjoy that UPO like many before you including me!

HHi Fakemaster...that is a sorry tale. I have just picked up a 45mm UPO with leather/deploy combo and want to get a nice soft rep rubber strap and buckle for it. Do you actually sell these or can you kindly point me at the best source? If it helps the OP i am also in Europe and we might be able to do a deal if he does not wish to send it back to a distant dealer? Please PM me if any one can assist here......

Great tutorial and a must for all PAM colectors - not seen the o ring aproach before? Another possible mod on this piece could be to remove the markers from the bezel, shave them down a fix them back in at a lower level, which is more gen like. However the numbers on the markers are always a litle larger than the gen numbers and this is probably no fixable? Thanks for sharing. I just picked up a 092 Arktos - do you want a project????

I recently received a BK GMT Master II black insert model and it is excellent - you will not regret it. The best mod for my money is that BK recesses the insert in the bezel a little and this is great. The biggest tell for me is the crown, but this can easily be replaced if you wish to add more dollars. On the wrist in daily use, who will tell? I have linked a pic of mine (top)and a pic of a gen (below)!