bklm1234

it's a very thick watch with the extra gears (11 I think). it's a dilemma whether to buy this model or not. Visually it's very good except for the thickness. Mechanically it's a hit or miss. It's a known fact the movement has problems but many said theirs are holding up fine. If the thickness was more correct, I'd jump. How can you not own a daytona rep if you're a rolex fan? Wearing it is a challenge depending on your mind set. It's assumed fake until provided gen for daytona since it's so expensive. -bm

Trias is a germasian brand. Most of their watches have asian movements. There are many such "German" watch companies. I'm not surprised our rep factories produce movements for these companies. -bm

I didn't even pay attention to that. Too busy photographing and looking at other parts. I have to get a replacement dial now. Dang it. -bm

good thing about these models they are very inexpensive. v1 as low as Paul's $149+WU fee (i got it from andrew though), v2 as Silix's $145 shipped. of course they are no MBW, both price and quality. -bm

He's a dealer on RWI. I heard many good words about him. -bm

asking George to let me view his photobucket. I asked in Sept. After a few questions, e.g. where I was from, whether I bought any rep from anybody else, I didn't hear back from George. I'm asking again now that I bought a number of reps from other dealers. -bm

I think there are really only 2 models of LV being offered currently in terms of case, dial, bezel, bezel insert, crown, CGs. Josh's and Andrew's expensive models are really value-added of these 2 versions. Version 1: Paul's so called perfect sub, Andrew's, EddieLee's, Precious Time's, noobmariner, nyphomariner Version 2: Paul's W-747, Josh's, Belial2k, Ruby's, Silix's, Angus' I put Version 1 on a yellow cloth, Version 2 on a white background. Frontal: Version 1 wins on the dial print and bezel insert. The bezel pearl is round and recessed while Version 2's is flat. In addition, its date window size, shape, and position are all correct while Version 2's too big, squarish, and right. The bezel teeth on Version 2 are better because they are less slanted when viewed from the side. The gear look is more prominent and sharp. But they suffer from irregularity. Some teeth are bigger and some are smaller. So it's a toss-up on bezel teeth. Crown and CGs: Version 2's crown is smaller, more like the gen's. The case before the CG line is brushed like the gen on Version 2 while it's polished all the way on Version 1. Version 2 actually has the CGs and crown too far away from the bezel. To correct that, you need to pull the tube and sand down the base of the CGs to make it closer to the bezel. Both versions need some shaving on the inside of the CGs. Rehaut: No doubt Version 2 has a deeper rehaut. It looks a little more conical in the pics. In real life, the conical look isn't as dramatic. It looks really good. To be found out: I have a dial and date wheel for Version 1 coming which I intend to put on my Version 2. I will check if the dials are the same size and report that. Stay tuned. -bm

I'm one of those who voted gen (gloating). Apart from the correct hand-stack, correct bezel insert, which you can put a gen or high quality OEM in, the crown guards are just too good to be a rep. The transition line from the case to the CGs should be close to the bezel and it should be one straight line a little before the base of the crown. And then before the transition line, the case be brushed instead of polished. The CGs are not pointy, unlike those on the subs. The crown has short teeth and a very obvious bulge. All these can be modded. But chances are nobody pays attention to these details except a few of us. -bm

explorer II for me:

By-Tor, is your bezel insert recessed in the bezel because you sanded it very thin? -bm

There could be 2 versions of the incorrect hand-stack GMT. One version I'm familiar with is the one By-Tor has. It has fatter CGs than yours. In my opinion, those CGs, though slightly oversized, have more of the essense of those on the gen. Compare By-Tor's and yours CGs. His are more squarish and yours are more triangular. By-Tor's: Yours: And then By-Tor's date window is too far right and the mag is a little over. His crown has shorter teeth but a bigger bulge. By-Tor's (one on the right, left is gen): Yours date window seems correctly positioned, rectangle rather than taller and more squarish on By-Tor's, and mag not too much like you said. If you can, take some square-on pics of the date window, that'll be good. Don't shoot too close else it won't give the actual view. I suspect it's the same watch as the correct hand stack version other than the movement. I have the correct hand stack explorer II. Yours look very much like mine (above, before modding). I sanded the inside of the CGs and changed the crown to the one like By-Tor's already. If your watch was really the same as the correct hand stack version other than the movement, you were better off buying the correct hand version, my friend. Or it could very well be a second incorrect hand-stack version too. I don't know. Anyway, if you shave the inside of the CGs to make the crown unobstructed, it'll look stunning. -bm

I just got my Explorer II back in the mail from Joe today. Oh boy, am I happy. What a job Joe did. He's such a great guy to work with. He really took the time to communicate with me, made recommendations, and tried to save money for me. He sent me pics to illustrate what he would do and let me decide. He achieved everything I asked for and more. It's money well spent to me. I recommend Joe to anybody who wants mods done. Joe knows his stuff. Back to my watch - when my Explorer II first came, the bezel was misaligned. Note how the 6, 12, 18, 24 on the bezel don't align with 3, 6, 9, 12 on the dial. Now the bezel is perfectly lined up. Joe recommended to brush the CG from the bezel to the base of the crown because that's the way gen has it. Look how nice he made that. He also sanded the inside CGs to let the crown totally uncovered. While he had the watch, I received a crown from the incorrect hand stack version of Explorer II which I sent to Joe immediately. This crown looks more like the gen's. But it screwed too tightly and wasn't flush with the case when totally screwed in. Joe, trying to save me money, sanded down the tube and polished the thread. The result: the crown screws in and out smoothly and perfectly flush with the case. Now the CGs and the crown look just like the gen's. gen: The watch came with a good gap between the bezel and the case. It turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Joe managed to make the bezel flush with the case. The added benefit of that is now my crystal appears higher. Yowsa. It looks thick, doesn't it. The watch now can stand up to the toughest scrutiny of any WIS. Enjoy. -bm

On the genuine (I used to have 2 genuine Explorer II which has the same movement as the GMT II) and the correct hand stack version, the GMT hand is not adjustable. It just follows the minute hand. So that relationship (GMT and minute hands) is fixed and maintained by the movement. Most people use the GMT hand for home time. So when setting the time on the watch, I first set the GMT time by turning the minute hand. I set it to PST because I'm in California. And then I set my hour hand to PST as well because I haven't travelled out. As I travel between time zones, the watch allows me to set the hour hand independently with the crown pulled out one click, in one hour increment. The other 2 hands don't move at all. I set the hour hand to the local time zone I've travelled to. That's very convenient. I believe (I don't have the watch with me at the moment because I sent it to Joe to mod the CG) when you adjust the hour hand, it doesn't effect any date change either. If I'm right, your GMT hand doesn't adjust in increments so it's your job to maintain the proper GMT/hour/minute hand relationship. The GMT Master, with it's turnable bezel, can keep a third time. Many people think you should set the bezel to actual Greenwich Mean Time. Here's a link for your enjoyment. I wouldn't do it 'cause I don't have a need to keep a 3rd time zone and I kind of like having the bezel's 24 at 12 of the dial. http://www.koniaris.com/rolex/ Sorry I didn't read your other post. I would have advised you to buy the correct hand stack version. It's still a very good watch what you got. Just get the correct hand stack version for explorer II which is a even better rep (its brushed bezel is perfect unlike the GMT's bezel insert having the wrong colors. Yes your pepsi bezel has the wrong colors. Sorry). The white one at Wo-mart for $169 (be careful Paul carries the other version too) is a great deal. Belial2k carries both black and white $190 shipped. Trusty has them for about $250 shipped. And then send it to Joe to do a CG mod and make the bezel flush with the case making the crystal sit high and nice, it will be a stunning 99.9% like the gen. Don't let one purchase upset you and it's not a bad one anyway. I bought a similar version of your GMT. I sold it. Most of us have many versions of the same watches LOL.

yours: look at the cyclop being more to the right than Paul's. You can't even see the 3 o'clock indice mark. The date window is also bigger, more square than rectangular. The hand stack from the dial is GMT, hour, minute, second. The correct stack is hour, GMT, minute, second. And then the circle around the pin hole of the GMT hand is too big which is the biggest eyesore to me. Note Josh's description that it's GMT hand adjustable instead of hour hand adjustable. Functionally it's very different. With the adjustable hand version, you adjust the hour hand in 1 hour increment. So when you go between time zones, all you have to do is change the hour hand 1 hour, 2 hours, etc. The movement maintains the hour/minute hands relationship for you. Paul's and Trusty's:

WO-Mart's pepsi Trusty's pepsi EddieLee's pepsi. Eddie's dealer section is at http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showforum=67

Sad to hear that. The US must be a lot loose at least so far. But if those of us keep showing off their reps to ADs, I bet the US or any other countries' customs will become tight too. That's why I said "keep it to ourselves, don't brag".

Welcome to this awful hobby. You'll be spending a lot of money and time, my friend. To pour oil on fire, your version of GMT is not the best. There's a correct hand stack version with an independently adjustable hour hand (instead of GMT hand), correct date window/cyclop position, smaller CGs, like the gen. Paul, Andrew, and EddieLee carry that. -bm

What version is your exp? The cgs and crown look good. Does it have the correct stack? The cyclop looks a little to the right. All in all, excellent. I got Andrew's adjustable hour hand version. Red Big Joe modded the cg and changed out the crown to a more correct crown (actually from the adjustable GMT hand version). He also lined up the bezel and made it flush with the case. The result is stunning. The crystal sits high and crown and CGs are very very close to the gen. I will post a thread and pics once I receive the watch back from Joe. -bm

Then Paul's no date is the best that you can get. The pics on the website show big marker dots while in reality they have the correct size (I bought the dial from Paul and it has the right size markers. I'll tell Paul to update his pics. I told him the same thing on his Seadweller which has the correct marker size but pics show big ones). It has a shallower rehaut than Josh's, correct font for "Oyster Perpectual", non-SELs. It doesn't have external lug holes and most likely have etched crown on the crystal.

I want to do some CG work that requires removing the crown tube. I know rats tail file can remove it. What about putting it back? Thanks. - bm

I have a 2836 pulled from an explorer I that doesn't have a datewheel. I have an overlay ready, just don't have a datewheel. Anybody can tell me where to get one? Thanks. - bm

what size of hand setting tool should I get for putting back the hands for sub? thanks. -bm

I saw that The Zigmeister and vaccum use this tool to remove the tube: where can I get one? what is it called? Thanks. - bm

this is a flawless rep. the crown is better than previous and other versions. the dial markers don't touch the rehaut. perfect, perfect, perfect. Get a lumed. It's a keeper.

I am impressed. I hope Andrew will replace the movement in my explorer II I bought from him when it fails if ever. It gives me a nice comfy feeling now that g said the above. My explorer II is absolutely gorgeous.