thorne

IMO that would be MQ. I'm building a 1665 franken and am going for an MQ dial, hands, insert all in matching tritium patina.

Hello and welcome. I am in SG too.

One of the old timers, and a one time forum favorite : MBW 1680

Blast from the past. Brings back some good memories, his gilt dials were absolutely incredible. A Phong/Ivan vintage franken today would be priceless.

Adrian is absolutely awesome and a fun guy to deal with.

Good to see you again By-Tor. Your review inspired me to buy the Chrono Diver years ago

Hi there. I love the design and size of the DSSD, but for some reason I am not comfortable with the OGEV/RLS text on the SS version. I was totally kicked when the ProHunter PVD version was released and bought one from Sead. I wrote a thread about the different versions of the ProHunter rep somewhere here. As for the noob DSSD ProHunter, I’ve always thought the rep PVD on the ProHunter was a bit too shiny (probably due to the fact its not beadblasted prior to coating), and have always lusted after a matt DLC DSSD – the kind of DLC that Avitt is (was?) famous for. However as you know those are rare as hens teeth now. To my luck I ran across one such custom watch on one of the rep fora M2M sometime last year and snapped it up. The original watch modded by Pbdad had the following specs: Noob DSSD V5 Swiss ETA Sandblasted and DLC'd by Avitt Stealthed datewheel overlay Double AR sapphire crystal Completely sterile caseset (All Rolex markings removed from caseback, crown, between lugs). Waterproofing The watch was shipped off to Kenny (Matej) for a good deal of customizing including his nuclear lume, a dial swap, and a bit of paint. The whole procedure with Kenny was spot on, excellent comms, he anwered a lot of my stupid questions with great patience – and really quickly, and I couldn’t be more satisfied, he is a real stand up guy. Kenny, if you are reading this - much appreciated for everything! Kenny’s mods: Swap dial to V7 DSSD dial Satinize new dial Relume hands, markers, rebuild and relume pearl Paint seconds hand and bezel indices bright yellow Waterproofing Here is what I was looking to achieve: this is a gen I believe. Here’s some pics of the work in progress and how it looked once Kenny was done: I decided to go a bit more tactical on it and stripped the yellow off the bezel insert. I had initially planned to do the PPP mod on the insert, but kind of liked the look of the bezel insert without any paint on it, and thats how it is now. Looks awesome coupled with the double AR crystal - the dial and that yellow seconds hand just pop, even more so in the sunlight. Wearing it on a black Cudafrane strap (Benarus), as I like the look of the strap on the watch and the Cuda is a little stiffer than the Isofrane. As you can see I chipped a bit of the DLC off the lower lug at 7 o’clock just below the bezel, while attempting to get the bezel off. I was trying to get the damn thing off so that I could tighten it, cos its so loose it would turn if the wind blew strong enough. Lesson learnt and did the floss trick, so now it turns both ways. Can live with that, at least now it sits pretty firm and doesn’t rotate easily. I am anal about the pearl at 12 so I have gone from adjusting it like 20 times a day to almost none now. Just need to look into getting a matt black pen to cover up that ugly chip. So here are some pics of my tactical DSSD Code Yellow. Cheers T

Hi, there are no 21mm Rubber B straps for the DSSD, as far as I am aware. I know the available rep Rubber B strap is only 20mm wide, as opposed to the 21mm width on the DSSD. I'm considering buying one for my DSSD but am unsure about the gap at the lugs - IMO 0.5mm on either side should not be too obvious, but you never know...might look hideous in real life If anyone has tried this combo on a DSSD can you pls post up some pics, thanks!

As there does not seem to be a thread dedicated to the DSSD Prohunter variations, hopefully the following details will be useful. In case anyone is unaware of the Prohunter line, this was the brainchild of a vintage Rolex dealer, well known in gen Rolex forums. The older members will know who I’m referring to. Let us refer to him as ‘KC’ since including his name in this thread may provide this as a search result in any search engine for anyone typing his name. And I certainly don’t want to attract unnecessary attention to a rep forum. I’m sure most of us know that the gen fora know rep forums exist, however I don’t see the need to frantically wave a red flag in their direction. So….one fine day, KC decided that DLCing certain Rolex models (SD,DSSD,Daytona,etc) and charging a 30-40% markup over the MSRP would make good business sense, and people would be lining up to buy these ‘modded’ Rolexes. Well, he was right. 100 models of each line were created (I can find no references stating there were more than 100 in each case) and sold, presumably to people who had more money than they knew what to do with. Keep in mind, these models are not warrantied by Rolex – as soon as the base Rolex model was modded by applying the DLC coat, this was considered to be out of Rolex warranty terms and conditions. So these Prohunters can no longer be sent in to Rolex for service/repairs, Rolex won’t work on them. Ok, enough history, back to us. Now in this thread I will focus on the DSSD model. You are fully entitled to ask why I should focus on the DSSD only, of course. Well because: A. I like the DSSD Prohunter. A lot. No, seriously. B. Because Charlize Theron has a DSSD. And I like Charlize. A lot. Drool. Now where were we, ah yes, the DSSD Prohunter. With no offense to any DSSD owners, I love the size and look of the DSSD, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy the SS rep because I can’t stand the OGEV/RLS script. It just doesn’t work for me, maybe I’m funny that way. So when the factories released the Prohunter version – where the script is present but practically invisible thanks to the DLC coating, it was a no-brainer. The gen DSSD Prohunter was made in a run of 100 watches. There are always questions on the dials offered by the rep factories – is the single red version correct? Should I have bought the double red, was it more authentic? Are all of the rep versions fantasy models? Will my DSSD Prohunter rep look like a 1:1 to the gen? Let me try to answer some of the questions to some extent. First: Will my DSSD Prohunter rep look like a 1:1 to the gen? Short answer: At present, no (more on this anon). Long answer: Considering the gen was made in a run of 100, and has at least 6 different dial variations that I have found (and there may be more), that means each gen dial version exists in a set of about 16, assuming 100 watches/6 dial versions. So in the long run, if the factories correct all the errors, you will have a 1:1 rep to a gen of which no more than 16 exist in the entire world (considering nothing tragic has occurred to any of them). May the force be with you while walking down a dark alley. I have found the following dial versions for the gen DSSD Prohunter. The dials range from a single line in red (Sometimes DEEPSEA, sometimes PROHUNTER), double line in red, and even three lines in red. Also, on some dials, Prohunter is shown as PRO-HUNTER, whereas on others is shown as PROHUNTER. I imagine KC and team decided that having the same dial on a 100 watches wouldn’t make sound business sense if you wanted it to be unique, no. A Phantom (fancy name for stealth IMO) DSSD Prohunter also exists: I could not get a pic of the gen DSSD Prohunter caseback, but it should be similar to the gen Milgauss Prohunter caseback shown here: Another company (completely unrelated to the Prohunter company) in collaboration with the family of Jacques Piccard also released a DLC version of the DSSD, of which 86 were made. Here is a pic of the gen. Note that the JP DSSD does NOT feature the word Prohunter on the dial. And here is the gen Piccard caseback which is familiar to all those who own the rep DSSD Prohunter: Phew, with all that out of the way let’s talk about the rep versions available. The rep factories released the Prohunter in two dial versions: one with a single line (DEEPSEA) in red as follows, this is a correct gen dial version: And the other with two lines in red as follows, also a correct gen dial version: So BOTH versions of the rep have the correct dial. The caseback however is another story altogether. This is the biggest flaw on the rep watch (both versions), as it comes with the Jacques Piccard caseback, which is unrelated to the Prohunter as I mentioned earlier. However I suppose this can be remedied to some extent by replacing the Piccard mid caseback with the grey mid caseback from the SS DSSD. I have not seen a PVD DSSD with the word Deepsea in red and no Prohunter on the dial – that would be the correct dial for the Piccard. I hope this was of some help. Cheers, T

First SS I've seen with a Prohunter dial, didn't know they made these. Or did you swap the dial out?

This, without a doubt, was the crappiest rep I have EVER bought, the quality of the case/bracelet was just horrible. Already stripped it for parts and threw the rest away. In process of building a franken like matrixmouse's gen - but with blue bezel, need to get a couple more parts. Once its done I'll get pics up.

Xmas bump

No luck yet. Anyone got a busted SMP a7750 chrono (non working movt will do)? Just need the case.

Thanks guys, this is confirmed from Pap that it will fit.

Anyone got a suggestion for a TD who can supply the rep Omega SMP chrono diver complete caseset (either blue/black bezel) minus dial,hands,movement? BR T

Hi, tried searching for this but couldnt find a solution. I have the newer SMP chrono diver model in blue (no happy feet metal logo, red seamaster, a7750). I want to swap the blue dial for the old school gen white dial. Will the old school dial be a direct swap? Thanks T

Got it with the bracelet as in gen pic. Obv many flaws but always liked the white dial and the 2008 newer versions weren't made in white afaik. Will prob try a gen dial and date wheel swap at some point in future.

I have been looking for a SMP chrono for quite some time now, and then these popped up for sale on Angus' site. Too good a deal to pass up - I got the white dial which is hard to find. Here are some pics of the gen and the rep (Angus' pics). Watch got through shipping and customs etc and to my doorstep in 3 days from CN, has to be some kind of record for India. Watch feels well built and gen-like. Oiled up the bracelet and now it feels quite comfortable on the wrist. I need to be careful about stripping the crown which is a known issue with these reps. Gen Rep Plan to replace the bezel insert with a gen insert if I can find one. Other flaws I could differentiate from gen are: Seanaster on clasp Clasp script is not etched Dial script block is higher on gen Rep dial script print has minute gaps Date font is wrong Subdials are minutely larger on gen No number on caseback Caseback wave pattern flat and not raised Gen subdial hands are orange-ish rather than red Bezel insert is all wrong of course Cheers T

I have had the watch about a week now. This does not feel like a quartz at all. Its quite heavy on the wrist, not as much as my Ploprof, not as big as the 187, but still quite substantial. Build quality is fantastic and this is something you cannot figure out from the pics. I thought it would be pretty huge on the wrist but its a little bigger than my CP. I rate this as one of my best buys so far. Swapped the strap to the rubber from my CP. I took some pics for comparisons, if you have been on the forums for more than 6 months you probably own at least one of the following watches. Pics arent great, took them in a hurry on my phone, but should be enough to give you a decent idea of sizes. Cheers T

Hi, I thought I'd do a short writeup about this model because I couldnt seem to find one. Generally I do not buy quartz versions of watches because either the attention to detail per gen is not as desired, or the materials used make these look like a cheap version (which they usually are). And so, I have always bought the clone/ETA versions of watches. Now I came across this quartz version of the AP RB II recently, although I always wanted a sec@12, could not justify to myself blowing close to 650$ on a watch that I would not likely give too much wrist time. My daily wear watches rotate among my Ploprof V2, DSSD ProHunter, Chronopassion. (Yes the CP is a scratch magnet but that hasnt stopped me yet ) So this would mostly be a weekend watch. So when I found this version in quartz it looked amazing at a fraction of the price - close to 230$ shipped. Now some points to clarify about this version: although it is quartz, apparently the case used is the same as sec@12 (same dimensions) and has sapphire glass. Has correct color of subdial hands, also running sec@12. Genuine ceramic bezel, and has mag on crystal. Here are some pics: This is gen (exposed gear under center, exposed screw at about 7 o'clock, both can be seen under the skeletonised dial) Due to the quartz movement (workhorse Miyota) there are obviously some dial differences compared to the sec@12 and gen, which is easily visible to us geeks and you can see this in the photos below - subdial placement is off, probably font is close but not 100% etc. Then again if you get the sec@12 this does not have the exposed movement screws and gearwheel and this is a costly mod in itself if you really want to get your sec@12 RBII closer to gen. There are members who have got this done, you can search the posts for pics of this. Some of the pics sent me as QC by dealer: I think for less than half the price of the sec@12 I can live with these flaws.I do not think anyone I come into contact with often enough will notice subdial placement which is probably the biggest call on this (I dont know any geeks at work ). So I paid up for this and am waiting for it to arrive. Although I have got it from a dealer who is not one of our TDs, in case you want one I am sure your preferred TD can source one for you. The first thing I will do once I get this is change the strap - either rubber from my CP or I have a grey hornback incoming from Donerix, I will see which looks better, though i think the rubber will. Cheers T

Blues Traveler - Run-Around

Montauk. But you'll be extremely lucky to get one.

Also from Josh, which is why I was suggesting to reconfirm,I've gone ahead and put down the $ for it anyway from another dealer. Hi, Sorry ... The stocks are mix... Most of it is still happy feet .. and also i re confirm that the crystal is still laminated.. I suggest you consider the clone eta movt V2 model. joshua

Hi,please reconfirm that.. I have info from a number of dealers that the cheap version sells with two piece laminate, albeit better sealed than the older versions so 'not likely' to have delam issues Considering taking the plunge with this since I can't see the sense in paying so much more for the ultimate at this point