freddy333

A gen Newman dial, if you can find 1, would cost you $10,000-$20,000. In that context, while still psychotic, $1,100 for a pretty accurate aftermarket dial (that makes a franken look gen to most) makes some sense. Nah, it is still insane & I should be locked in a rubber room that ticks

I forgot to mention 1 other salient point - SWISS is rising on these dials, if you know what I mean.

No. His dial is made like the gen, which is designed to be pressed onto the movement's main plate, so it will not fit an ETA

I think that is just the camera angle & shadow, but I will know more when I see the dial in person. All the markers appear square to me. I have seen at least 7 different crowns on gen Newmans & the crown on this easily fits within the range of those. Otherwise, I think you nailed it. The 'fraying' is due to imperfections in the paint work & is typical of all aftermarket & some gen dials. It bothers neurotics like us, but is not an issue when the watch is viewed at an arm's length, which meets my benchmark for acceptability. I kind of agree with you about the placement (slightly too far inward) of the subdial printing, but, on the other hand, I am looking at some gens in my picture archive with similar placement, so I can live with it. That 'weird' texture along the minute track is typical of early Newman dials (mainly the 1st production runs) &, if done correctly, should be repeated (I hope) in the central whte area. This is 1 of the 1st details I look at when trying to authenticate Newman dials. The dial in question is Minh's & it matches the Minh dial in my '41, which is currently the most accurate aftermarket dial I have seen. Cost is $1,100. The 3 details that sold me on these are the properly wide horizontal P in COSMOGRAPH (this is the only aftermarket Newman I have seen that got that correct), the pad-printing that was used to make these (& the gens - pad-printing produces raised text, which reflects light from the side; laser-printing produces flat, 2-dimension text, which does not reflect light from the side) & that gently mottled texture of the minute track (& hopefully the central white area) Certainly, not perfect when viewed in magnification, but it would certainly fool me in an otherwise correct watch when viewed from an arm's length in the real world & I love the black 1 in my '41

Good, then think back on your 1st day in med school & imagine attempting some of the cardiac procedures you are learning now, back then. If you are naturally skilled, insightful & very lucky, you may just pull it off. If not, make sure you have plenty of extra donors available.

I wonder if your movement has the wrong calendar ring? If the ring is too shallow, the movement will sit too far forward, leaving the stem in the position Ziggy describes. I did not have this problem with mine, but I did have it with my Phase II GMT, which was cured by replacing the ring on the 1036 movement I sourced from another watch with the correct 1 for the 6542. My guess is that your movement came from a watch with a shallower case. Alternatively, you could use a thin, flat spacer, thick enough to raise the stem to the required height, between the dial & case opening.

Certainly, not impossible for a neophyte to put a franken together, but I would say that your chances of completing a successful build are about on par with performing successful heart surgery. My frankens are mostly or completely constructed out of gen parts, so ebay or whatever source you can locate Rolex parts from should be at the top of your list. For generic parts, tools & materials, there are many watch parts houses you can use (ofrei, cousinsuk, julesborel, etc). Before doing anything as a newbie, I would strongly recommend that you read a number of threads detailing the experiences of members who do have some watchmaking experience, because you will find that we usually run into problems. And considering the costs & limited supplies of gen parts, I would seriously think about farming the assembly work out to a watchmaker before attempting it yourself. Just sayin'...............

Can you be more specific as to what the sticking poiht or points is?

What do you think this dial is worth?

Wore my 214 today At some point, I will do the Spaceview conversion

The date window looks a bit weird (too small & odd shape) & it suffers the same issue as your EXII (obvious sanding marks all over the case). But, otherwise, looks good.

Except for the obvious sanding marks all over the case, it looks good. If you are comfortable removing the works & crystal from the case, this would be a good candidate for Nanuq's famous antiquing process (put it in a coffee can with alot of coinage & shake until done).

I do not own a DeepSea (rep or gen), so I cannot say 1 way or the other based on the auction details. However, based on the seller's fuzzy, shadowy pics & relatively low number of previous sales (all either private or relating to auto parts), I would assume these to be rep parts & that the seller is well aware of that fact.

Depends on what constitutes 'acceptable'? Is 12 +/- acceptable for the gen maker? Is 12 +/- acceptable to you?

Brilliant pic. I especially like the cloud reflections in the lens.

Not to worry, all that is needed is a slight reshaping of the calendar ring (which can be replaced if you transplant the works into a gen case later) to fit the case. Ziggy is quite capable in that dept. My DRSD is all gen except for the MBW mid-case (modded to include a working Hev) & aftermarket dial & I had to do the same thing

Yes, it is a genuine Oysterquartz, produced by Rolex as a way to migrate the line into the Quartz 'Revolution' (as it was then called) in the 70s. Very collectible piece, but parts are becoming very scarce. Were it mine, I would contact your local Rolex service center (RSC) & discuss the servicing options. Best not to let Rolex replace any of the visible metal parts (dial, handset, winding crown, bracelet) as that would reduce the watch's overall collectible value, should you care about that. Also, a light polish, to remove most of the wear (while tool watches improve with wear, I think dress watches always look better in their pristine state), is all I would do (polishing to remove ALL the scratches will also modify the case's original shape/dimensions). And congratulations on a nice find. Here is your watch (you should always post good, clear pics here if you want a useful response)

That is the right approach & good luck.

Great pic & I am guessing you have a nice stereo attached to that preamp.

Remember that gen makers (like Invicta) have relatively good QC, while rep makers do not. While exceptions do occur, it is nonsensical to expect all rep watches to feel/function the same as their gen counterparts. This is why it is always a good idea to replace the tactile parts of a rep with gen parts. The only way to assure that buttery feel of a Rolex crown is to (properly) install a Rolex crown/tube. But keep in mind, also, that part of that 'feel' comes from the fit-&-finish of a Rolex movement, which an ETA or Asian copy can mimic (to varying degrees), but not fully copy.

Click me.

Replace the tube &, if also worn, crown.

Yes, Phong's lug engravings are well done, but do not get me started on his Canal Street-like Comex casebacks.

Could be the keyless works or, if a Rolex model, a worn crown. The inner, hex-shaped section that holds the stem fits into complementary hex-shaped hole in the outer spring/plunger assembly. Over time/with use, the hex edges tend to become rounded, which allows the 2 sections of the spring/plunger assembly to 'jump' as the watch is wound, which feels like something is slipping during winding. A common problem on vintage gen crowns. Only fix is to replace the crown or plunger assembly with a donor from another crown (read this).