bklm1234

check it out http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1681428315/the-rolex-rubber-watch-band-solution-the-everest-b bk

Damien Hirst loves Panerai http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/2011/10/damien-hirst-loves-panerai/ bk

Mickey Padge asked me to fix up his 42mm Exp2. I'm not covering the 1st part of the fix which was to rotate the dial so it's in the correct x-y axis (Mickey himself did that) and re-attaching the DWO to it (I got my watchsmith partner to do it). This post is about popping and re-installing the crystal so the cyclop is lined up to the date window. First, double-tape up the lugs Stick a utility blad between the case and the bezel Use a mallet to pound the utiltiy blade in like I did on this 39mm exp2 You'll get a gap when the blade got all the way in You can then use a caseback knife to pry off the bezel Bezel is now off the case You wouldn't scratch the lugs. Scratches are all under the bezel so no problem there You need to use a press to press DOWN (not UP) on the crystal to get it out of the bezel. It's very tight. Now put back the gut. Line up 12 o'clock to the engraved coronet on the rehaut Wipe clean the crystal, fit it on the gasket, put them on the watch Crystal and gasket are on the watch squarely Position the bezel on the watch Press the bezel down with a press Finished. But crap!! The bezel shifted. It's not lined up properly to the dial. M***ER F**K*R! Start over. Finally done and lined up. This time I was holding the bezel as I advanced the press so it wouldn't shift. Should have done that in the first place. Happy modding. -bk

@Dave123: if you actually said something like "BK, still no hard evidence George is the son, the young Ku. Just your guess", I'd think you're a critical thinker instead. How is the length of time one spends on solving a mystery an indication of credibility? If you'd like to point out some fallacies in my findings instead of casually dismissing me, I'd love to learn from you. BTW, I have a history of 2 years working with wm9. So it's not just 2 weeks IF you think "how long" is important. I titled this post "here's what happened" but you had to correct me that it should be "here're my thoughts". I don't know what else to think of you other than smartass. The Ku's that owned wm9 died. The remaining partner of the factory bought out wm9's shares. That's what happened to wm9, not my thoughts. Also note I didn't title this "Here's what happened to wm9 George" because I only stated some data points and my guess, which were my thoughts. I hope you can tell the difference.

@Dave123: What stretch? Some smartass you are.

I forgot about this. On April 25, 2010, on explaining why so much delay in shipping my components, George wrote "My cousin Allan was poisoned by carbon monoxide on Mar 27. He hasn't wake up since the accident and is like a vegetable since. We're the only two family members in this business. So, I have to take care of his part as well". Allan was the one who took care of shipping things. When I talked to the rep of the current company, I asked if the young Ku had a cousin that was poisoned by carbon monoxide, he said yes immediately. Said he's still in a vegetative state. I hate so much to accept George was the young Ku. But all the data seems to point to one conclusion. The rep made a comment that sent shivers to my spine. To paraphrase him: "I don't know if this business is cursed or the Ku's were cursed". Anyway, I worked about 2 years with George. I was mad at him for a while that he didn't reply my emails. Then I told myself George must have been very burnt out from operating wm9 after a slur of unfortunate events, the old Ku passed away, his cousin was poisoned, his warehouse got flooded, his bracelet-smith retired. I'm sure the customers never stopped mail-bombing him. It's totally understandable he would have said "enough is enough, I don't want to deal with this. I would take a back seat and just make molds for other factories". That was my theory. I was awaiting his comeback to making watches. Now this? Not the kind of closure I want but a closure after all. -bk

I just came back from a 2 week trip to China and Hong Kong. Thanks to TC, I met a representative from the company that bought out wm9. According to the rep, wm9 was owned by the Ku's family and another partner. The Ku's family is mainly the father and the son. Some other family members also worked there. Roger Ku was the father who's also the designer and master watchmaker. Wm9 George told me on Jan 1, 2010 Roger Ku passed away on Dec 20th. The last email I got from George was June 9, 2010. The rep I met told me the young Ku, the son, died in a car crash around June 2010. The rep remembered the young Ku was a stylish man, loved to drive fast, crashed his Lamborghini and died around June 2010. Was George the son? I have no way to confirm it because I never asked George's last name and the rep doesn't know the young Ku's English name. I can't help but feel a sense of loss. It's one thing George stopped emailing me since June 2010. It's another thing to think of him dead. I seriously hope George is not the son. He's just somewhere on a beach, sipping a Mai Tai. I anyhow feel bad the Ku's were gone. When the Ku's were alive, they split the market with their partner like this: the partner took Asia and the Ku's took the rest of the world. So wm9 was a brand that belonged to the Ku's. All in all, it's one company that made all the watches. When I was reselling for wm9, George told me not to sell to Asia. I now understand why. With the Ku's gone, the remaining partner bought out the whole company. I tried to call the current company the new wm9. That's not quite appropriate because the owner was never part of wm9 even it's the same company/factory that made the wm9 watches and makes the current TC subs Added 5/17/2012: I forgot about this. On April 25, 2010, on explaining why so much delay in shipping my components, George wrote "My cousin Allan was poisoned by carbon monoxide on Mar 27. He hasn't wake up since the accident and is like a vegetable since. We're the only two family members in this business. So, I have to take care of his part as well". Allan was the one who took care of shipping things. When I talked to the rep of the current company, I asked if the young Ku had a cousin that was poisoned by carbon monoxide, he said yes immediately. Said he's still in a vegetative state. I hate so much to accept George was the young Ku. But all the data seems to point to one conclusion. -bk -bk

I posted this on RG already: This one is the same thing as the wm9 v3 LV m serial. The issue of the crown hole area of the case being cut too deep leading to the problem of the crown possibly hitting the bezel can be remedied by: 1. not pressing the bezel assembly to tight to the case. With the bezel riding higher, the crown won't hit it. Of course the gap between the bezel and the case is more/wider OR 2. re-install the tube but don't screw it all the way tight to leave a gap so the crown is farther away from the bezel. I prefer this solution. It's still a very good LV. The LV insert and dial are the best components for a 16610LV to date. bk

My friend is making some really cool straps. Check out his web http://everestbands.com/ bk

Gen SD has the darnedest design on the crystal is fitted to the case. The rehaut is indeed a independent, removable ring. Using wm9's pics to illustrate this: Note the independent rehaut ring The rehaut ring placed in the case without the crystal The crystal is fitted in a reversed way compared to the sub, like this i.e. the locking down of the crystal is by means of applying the rehaut ring from under it, instead of applying the crystal retaining ring from the top as in the case of the sub. The SD's bezel clips on the SD's equivalent of the sub's "crystal retaining ring" except the SD's "crystal retaining ring" isn't a independent piece from the case. This baby is hard and requires a custom press to assemble as you can imagine. wm9/George once told me I was on my own when it came to assembling the wm9 SD. But then I never see the wm9 SD comes to a reality bk

@highoeyazmuhudee: the band aid is from polishing another case. This is a high risk hobby indeed. @freddy333: The bezel numbers have gone through a few fonts. One is like what you posted. Another is non serif like on my gen 16710, which is similar to the JO insert's on this sample. The JO insert's number are too tall though and number 12 isn't centered. It's quite an ok insert for $10. @ZK: I haven't measured the thickness of the case. It looks quite correct next to my gen 16710. One interesting thing about the bezel: gen 16710 bezel is actually thinner than gen 16610 sub bezel (~2.86mm). But all gen style sub rep bezels, including TW sub, TC/wm9, ETASwiss, are thinner (~2.64mm to ~2.74mm) than gen sub bezel. So using any one of these bezel assemblies is not far off from gen 16710. bk

There are sub, YM, and Exp2 reps in gen construction. There was never a GMT II 16710 in gen construction. Just when I planned to do a gen style GMT II 16710 using the noobfactory Exp2 case and wm9 bezel assembly, the noobfactory terminated production of both the GMT II and Exp2. Sneed12 had the same idea and did one with the noobfactory Exp2 I believe. With the new SL'd 40mm Exp2, it's possible to make an awesome gen style GMT II 16710 case again. It's even easier than using the noobfactory Exp2. Stick a utility razor blade between the Exp2 bezel and the case Pound on the razor blade with a mallet to open a gap The bezel comes off, usually together with the crystal and gasket. Use a crystal press to push the crystal down and off the bezel. Don't push the crystal off from below. That ruins the gasket and possibly break the little ridge on the underside of the crystal Now you have the bare case Notice gen style crystal has an interlocking ridge on the underside Here's the part why this case is easier to make a gen style GMT II case than the noobfactory Exp2 case You can just get a 2.35mm crystal gasket and install the crystal and retaining ring. The TW sub bezel assembly is perfect for this project. With a Clark bi-directional click spring, the bezel turns both directions like a GMT II bezel should Snap on a JewelryOutlet990 pepsi insert. CGs was trimmed. Voila, a gen style, high quality GMT II 16710. Perfect fit, perfect crystal height. Very easy. bk

pics of gen insert already fitted on the Sean/ETASWISS case I trimmed the insert to a tight snap-on, no glue needed. Notice no cutting to the numbers on the insert. So not bad even trimming was needed. 2 more pics to illustrate the nice long teeth of this slightly undersized bezel ring. If you can be assured you can get this particular bezel, go for it. It surely beats any rep bezels I have seen bk

I finished filing the gen insert to fit on the Sean (shorter) bezel. Not bad. Not cutting to the numbers, very acceptably and unnoticeable. I did file the retaining ring and the back of the insert because they were rubbing each other. I'll take pics. bk

Here are the pics of the bezel on the ETASWISS sub I assembled. ETASWISS bezel, long teeth wm9 v3 bezel, shorter teeth ETASWISS bezel on the left/tottom, wm9 on the right/top. Teeth clearly longer on the ETASWISS. This ETASWISS bezel has smaller than gen diameter so gen insert has to be filed smaller to fit in it. So which is better? Nice long bezel teeth or correct bezel diameter? But you really don't know what you will get, do you? omgiv's has correct bezel diameter but not this one I got. That's frustrating. bk

I almost finished assembling an ETASWISS sub. I put a 2824-2 in it. I too found the retaining ring smaller than the TW sub's and wm9's. The ETASWISS bezel that I got however is very different from omgiv's. The bezel teeth are the nicest, longest, closest to gen's, beating any other sub rep bezels'. But it is too small for gen insert, by quite a bit. I haven't done it but I will have to file down the edge of a gen insert to fit it. I guess there's variance from one ETAWISS bezel to the next. I'll take pics of the ETASWISS bezel that I got. bk

Great. The crystal retaining ring doesn't have to be trimmed for an insert to fit properly. Boy I hate trimming the retaining ring. 2836-2 shouldn't fit. 2836-2 has a lower stem hole position. Even if it did, the stem would be bent/curved through the crown tube to the movement. Stick with 2892-a2, 2824-2 if you want your movement to last. bk

I recommend trying to get only the v serial at this point. The clear rehaut I got (from a different source) still has the flaw (crown hole area overly cut). George made the v serials last. So your odds are better to get a real v4. It's not foolproof because all the different rehauts can still be a mix of v3's and v4's. I'm just saying to increase your odds of getting a real v4. Another point is TC posted a 2678-2 in the case, crown stem still not fitted to the movement. It raises the question how many different cases he has. 2678-2 is a thicker movement which was used in the v2. So that case may be different (may be a v2), or the 2678-2 will be force-fitted in the v4 case (the stem will be bent once fitted on the movement through the crown hole). Anyway, it's the safest for you to ask for v serial and v serial only because v2 didn't get the v serial stamping at all. @The_Rymeister: "Why do you need to mod it?" We haven't had word this exact case can take a rep dial for ETA yet. Maybe he did, correct me if I'm wrong. I asked TC to fit his ETA dial in but haven't heard back. He posted a ETA dial on a 2678-2 in this case. If that's the same case as the one in this post, then the answer is yes it takes ETA dial. If this case really can't take ETA dial, you will need to mod the dial, although not mod the case. On the v3's, I didn't actually mod the case, I just put on my custom tube that let me create the needed clearance between the crown and the body/bezel. Another thing is, the case body may be perfect (which I hope very much so because I'm lazy by nature), but the bezel assembly may still be the same old wm9 bezel assembly. I did have to trim the backs of the inserts so they could fit in the bezel bay properly, so they were a little recessed in the bezel bay, not floating. My new way is to trim the retaining ring which is better IMO because you don't want to trim the back of a gen insert. I much rather leave gen parts unmodded. I hope this clears why I charge more. It's for work/mods that I have to do. Some people seem to not realize this point about my pricing. Now you know. But that is not to say I'm non-profit. My prices are always the same as other dealers' + my labor. If I don't do more than the next dealer on a given watch, my price is practically the same as the next dealer's. If I have to do mods, I always pack a great value in the price so I give you no reason to do the mods yourself from the price standpoint. bk

Duuhhh what? Of course I knew that's what you think 'cause what you said are not facts. You can't go through a day without breaking bold statements and groundless thoughts that confuse people, can you? Just don't do it at my expense again. Stay away from me. bk

@ZK: pls don't confuse people. You don't have the facts. I do. I was wm9's exclusive reseller on the forums. wm9 was a factory, not a middle man. One of their businesses was they supplied case molds/casts to many watch companies including the likes of the noobfactory. I asked George why supplied your competitors. He said that's high volume business. Why not? It wouldn't affect his other businesses. On the complete/finished replica sales front, they used to carry other rep factories' products such as TWB, MBW, and the noobfactory products. Later on they started making and selling their first complete gen style sub, the v1 around 2007 (don't hold me to the exact year). The v1 I think was not an exclusive wm9 effort. It's very likely a collaboration of wm9 and other TW factories. At the time the market also had another gen style sub along with the v1, offered by MBW which Eurotimez rebranded it the infamous Euromariner. wm9 quickly moved onto exclusively making the v2 around 2008-2009 themselves. wm9 in 2008 was recruiting reseller. I emailed George. He said I could take the forums. He had other resellers working other markets. But as far as online/Internet, I took the forums, George took the open web markets. George was not only the factory but was also a retailer which ironically I found competing with me, not so much for business but for supplies. It was rather hard at times to get supplies I wanted. wm9 published every one of their original watch's development on their wm9 website, v2, YM, v3, v3 LV, v3 TT, SD (which of course didn't go further than having the gen taken apart). wm9 started with the v2 as the exclusive developer. Why am I so sure? The v2 was just not seen anywhere at the time and even till now. v2 was the first gen style sub complete with superlumed dial, hands and pearl, and correct CGs that essentially don't need trimming in the rep market. wm9 made a batch of flawed v2s which he sold to a Mr. Lim in Thailand, about 100 of them. Sure there was a lot of speculation wm9 wasn't a factory esp with these flawed v2s popping up somewhere else in the online market. Some people believed the same wm9 components would be available at other sources. Soon there was no more sign of the v2 available outside of wm9 which was understandable because the flawed batch sold out. Early 2009 preorders for v3 LV started. The v3 LV's official price was $600 something (can't remember exactly). But the 1st preorder price was only $375, 2nd $475, 3rd $525, 4th $595. Who if not the factory would do preorders like that? Who if not the factory could have this kind of control over prices? I being the reseller was really a sucker to support the preorders because the 1st preorder particularly carried practically no margins for me. wm9 was a middle man? You gotta be kidding? Later in 2009 we also saw the wm9 YM released. Again the watch didn't appear anywhere else, even till today. It was late 2009 when I started shipping the v3, both black and LV. Again, till today we haven't seen wm9 v3 black, LV, nor TT. I think I have said enough about wm9 being a factory. ZR, stop confusing people. I already said why I'm so sure it's a wm9 v3 or a copy. So did watcher and other knowledgeable members. Again ZR, stop saying this is something different. The Sean case is different. This is not. Why is it important to know what a sub rep is? It helps the consumer to choose wisely, value the product properly. wm9 should be more desirable than a noobmariner, than a MBW. v3 is more desirable than a v2, etc, etc. In the old days when every dealer was selling the noobmariner but tried to make like it's a different watch. How is a newbie or anyone supposed to choose? Let's not let that happen again. Where's wm9/George? Who knows? For God's sake this case could be a copy. The fact that TC found the wm9 v3 (or copy) again is a just good sign for this community. It's a more versatile case than the Sean case because it can take rep dial and gen dial without mod. I personally think we should still call it wm9 just because we all know what wm9 is. But I actually want to call it wm9 v4 because one significant improvement was made. I'm not trying to take any credit. But I did tell George the crown hole area was cut too much. George said he would fix it down the road. It could be George, it could be whoever fixed it. -bk

@ZK: so is it the TW sub out of the sub game or me? You don't get it about this case will not be exclusive to anyone, do you? It's not wm9 supplying this case. Even it was, it wouldn't be exclusive to TC since he's not even a dealer. And you think I don't get this case? Guess again. It's no big deal if this case go wild. When I sold the wm9 v3, I didn't see other subs die; I'm selling the TW sub now, I don't see other subs die including the case-only Sean case set which sells for $460 and the $400 SA3135 sub without superlume or gen construction. Did I explain enough why I charge what I charge? Why are you adamant I will be out of the sub game? Why did you have to say such mean things? You can't just say this case beats the TW sub? I have to be out of the sub game to make you happy? And stop this nonsense specuation/prophecy of yours. -bk

I was curious why the cartel wasn't in the picture of the gen constructed subs. When the MBW gen constructed came out, it was the Taiwanese dealers like River who carried it. No cartel there. Later Eurotimez branded the watch Euromariner. No cartel there. When I signed up with wm9 to sell their watches, George asked me to assemble the watches myself. I had no choice even though I actually liked the idea. With the TW sub, same thing. The supplier told me to assemble the watches myself. Having assembling and modded hundreds of these gen constructed subs, I realize why. I also understand why the noobfactory and other factories would not do gen construction. Take Josh's new SD. Is it gen constructed? NO. It's a lot easier to assemble the altered designs. The infamous noobfactory bezel for example is designed to go on the watch and not come out. The design is a ton easier to assemble, no tweaking needed. The gen constructed sub is a whole different story. How far you press down the retaining ring, how well the bezel is matched to the retaining ring, how the click wire is bent all affect how the bezel turns or not turn. You think the cartel want to deal with these details? bk

Is that the price TC will do it at? Superlumed too? Judging from the rehaut engraving font, this case is highly likely to be a wm9 v3 or a copy of it. This font, flattened Times Roman or whatever it's called, is first and only seen the wm9 v3 till now which I doubt another factory "happens" to use too 'cause it's a "wrong'er" font as compared to the wm9 v2's font or the TW sub's font. Here's a pic of the wm9 v3 TT's rehaut engraving: Not a wm9 v3 or copy? I doubt it. I charge $680 for my TW sub not only because it has my custom superlumed dial and hands but also the mods needed to fix the flaws on the case. CG trim, retaining ring trim, epoxy coat the pearl, I even polish the bezel lip when it's rough and many are, and pressure tested. Precious Time sells the same watch about $400. I sell it w/o my SL'd dial and hands for about $480 assembled by me, not the factory which doesn't care if the insert is floating, or the bezel is high above the case. And I'm the bad guy who deserves to be kicked out of the sub game? I will applaud TC if he does the assembly and mods necessary for free. I'll be surprised this case set doesn't need modding, esp. the bezel assembly and/or the crown tube. I'm excited too to see the v3 resurfaces. I hope it's the latest of the v3 because wm9 George said he would fix the flaws on the v3 I told him about. Whether TC or me or someone else found it first, it doesn't matter because the factory needs distribution. wm9 had several resellers, me being one of them. All factories need resellers. For example, I got Sean's YM case set (and possibly sub case set) and Josh's Exp2 too. I'm sure other dealers can too if they look hard enough. There's no such thing as exclusivity. And there's no magic to the price. If I can sell a watch without mods needed, I won't mark it up. Do you get it Mr. Kukuruz? Sorry to hijack the thread, TC. I just had to respond to ZK's remark. bk And the thick 2678 will fit in this case?

How does this exactly put me out of the sub game? You can appreciate this case all you want. Why put me down? bk

Finally found time to take some pics of this YM case set. It comes from Taiwan. It's primarily a straight copy of the gen YM case. It's cut for gen dial. Rep dial is a little too big to fit in it because rep dial (such as wm9, noob, TW Best) has extra wide edge beyond the minute markers. It has to be trimmed smaller to fit in this case. The crown position is exact to gen. It can take gen movement, SA3135 movement, ETA 2824-2, and ETA 2892-a2. ETA 2836-2 is simply too thick and therefore its crown hole cannot line up with this case's tube hole within tolerance. This case set has appeared at Sean's website. I put one of Sean's YMs together for a member using a ETA 2824-2 H4 (high cannon pin), wm9 YM dial, noob YM hand set. The member custom made the movement ring for the ETA. It's the same case set as this one. Some pics: Dark ring of shadow where the crystal meets the top of the rehaut - a signature look and indication of gen construction. Later I will tear the case set apart to show you the actual construction Practically identical to gen CGs. Crown is very good, just like wm9's. Let's look at the insert. Very high quality. Frosty area is little more frosty than wm9 YM insert's. Dial. Color is very good. Not dark like the TW Best YM dial. Very similar to the wm9 YM dial except the red text is less bold, and maybe a little less grits/specks on the face. The dial has feet for Rolex 3135 movement Hands. They should fit 3135 movement.http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m309/bklm1234/1%20to%201%20YM%20case%20set/IMG_1023.jpg Crown position. High and correct, the grail. Clasp and bracelet. Very nice, also just like wm9's. It doesn't have 2mm end link holes though, unlike wm9's bracelet. It uses 1.76mm springbars. Here's an analysis I posted before on the case set. This YM vs wm9's YM case: look identical on the outside bezel: 2.15mm vs 2.15mm, look identical crystal retaining ring: 2.5mm vs 2.5mm, look identical spring plate: 0.18mm vs 0.15mm, difference rather negligible spring wire: same crystal: 2.03mm vs ~2mm, basically same thickness. Both have sharp top edge. Cyclop mag looks the same as other rep's. Etched crown at 6 is also as loud as wm9's. crystal gasket: 2.38mm vs 2.7-2.9mm, both are wrong. It should be 2.3mm crown and tube: this crown and wm9 crown are just as good. This case's tube even has the same tube design which works with Rolex special tube installing tool. Summary: This YM case set is good as wm9 YM case set. Same gen construction, same crown hole position, same shape, same CGs. It's a 1:1 copy of gen with no alteration to take a rep dial. The finish is excellent outside AND inside. wm9's finish on the inside are sharp and rough but outside is excellent. Sean's bezel insert has more glitter/"frost" than wm9's. The bracelets are almost the same except this YM uses 1.76mm spring bars instead of the full sized 2mm spring bars. You can drop a Rolex 3135 or SA3135 movement in directly. If you want to use ETA movement, you need to trim the dial feet off, get a set of ETA hands, get a movement ring for ETA, and get a DWO. bk