JoJo35

Fake for sure; stay away

IMO it all boils down to how much you want to spend; trust me, I've been there and done that. PM if you'd like some further insight. Cheers, JJ

I hope you can get it fixed, watches shouldn't just fall apart.

Looks great W, wear it well

Great article, although some watches will probably never go out of style

Any chance he would charge you if you got too close?

Thanks everyone for all of your kind comments. I'm actually torn right now about the possibility of selling this piece. Just my luck, my HP laptop died (again, what a lemon, I feel sorry for anyone else who owns a dv9410us). It has already been back to the factory three times prior, so I've decided not to fix it, and I'm searching for a new laptop now. In the mean time I have just gotten my gen 5513 back from a full service, but I can't decide which watch to wear, they both seem brand new!

My latest and final ultra franken, pieced together by none other than the Master from parts I gathered from around the world. Researching, purchasing parts, and sending for a build has certainly paid off. These projects can get expensive, but IMO, are definitely worth the effort finding the pieces and the money spent. This particular piece is a 14270 Explorer, with a super sharp unpolished gen 16200 case set, gen sapphire crystal with the cyclop removed, a gen dial, gen crown/tube, and a nearly NOS gen 78360 bracelet and end-links. The movement is a Swiss ETA 2824, with ETA mercedes hands that have been color matched to the dial by the Zigmiester with a superluminova mix of C1/C3. I'll have to admit that the gen dial and superluminova hands glow like a torch! Last but not least is the Stilty movement spacer added so the ETA movement fit perfectly. My special thanks go out to the Zigmiester and Stilty for their help in getting this one together. This was a great project! Here's a few quick snapshots, enjoy:

check the bay, nos 19 mil straps show up there from time to time

It's amazing that I can still get more excited about a "build", as opposed to just going out and buying a PN. Owning a terrific genuine collection is fantastic, and in no way am I discounting that, but this "last build" has a special place in my heart. First of all, it was put together by my good friend RG, and it was only possible because of my friend Stilty supplied the much needed movement spacer. Other than the movement & eta hands, everything else is genuine... a true "ultra" franken Secondly this really is the end of the line for me regarding frankens, since progression upward over the past five years has left no other alternative than to search for that "perfect" gilt, PN, MilSub, or Comex, etc.. name your poison! lol This particular piece had been waiting patiently after years of research led to purchasing parts from all over the globe. Finally, I got the chance to put everything together in a big box, and send them up for special treatment.... Now the wait! Thanks everyone for your comments, I promise not to tease too much, pictures will be forthcoming

Yes, I'm waiting patiently, although it's not expected until later in the week or even early next week. Stilty would be proud, and especially the Master. The very last of my frankens...

...something very special is coming

I've got the perfect tube for what you need. It's a brand new WM9 tube that fits a gen 703 crown. The good part is that the inner threads are a smaller diameter than a gen tube so it will screw into a case without breaking through the bottom. Cheers, JJ

good lord

lol... how cool is that

torresp is a lucky guy. I'd go for the one on the left, but I'm still holding out for a brown MkII

Here ya go: 130513123931

Very nice I'll take the MkIII please!

Nice job, I can see that a lot of thought and trouble went into building this. Some observations: For some odd reason, just about every transitional sub/sea dweller I've seen have pearls that have aged/darkened much more than the dial/hands, so yours is very much correct in that regard. On another note, did you mention that you have a 7020/702 crown/tube installed? PS: I've got a genuine matte dial in mint cond. If someone is seriously interested, PM me.

Thanks Z

...and it will soon be perfect weather for my old beater. As a matter of fact, I'll be doing some diving next month, so I may wear this one and let it do what it was born to do. Any other old reds floating around out there?

Nice J model Rolexaddict

I would have enjoyed wearing this on a beautiful spring day like today. Perhaps it was wound up and enjoying the moonlight on the other side of the world

Enjoyed the warm weather today with an old favorite

You're forgetting the original equipment 127 "dome". The flat top is a service crystal, and the beveled profile you show in your last pic is also similar if not identical to original equipment 127's. Some later service crystals had a different bevel profile as well (starting lower with less of an angle). That being said, the magnification of your cyclop (IMO) appears to be too weak to be genuine.