freddy333

Quite honestly, unless your watch has some glaring issue that screams FAKE (causing the viewer to suspect & look for additional clues of fakery), no one (other than you) notices whether your springbars peek out of the lug holes or not.

I am better with vintage models, but my gut tells me fake/franken. At least, I would not buy without pictures more befitting a genuine Rolex watch. The pics posted are rubbish & more typical of scammers than honest sellers. Always remember - buy the seller before you buy the watch.

At this point, provenance is key. If you are paying more than rep prices, remember to buy the seller before you buy the watch (or Rolex part).

Mathematics never looked so good, even after subtracting a bit for the pics .

Exactly. Standard springbars will stick out because the lugs have been thinned with excessive polishings.

Nice. Makes me want to break out my JlC (maybe this evening), but wearing 1 of my Subs

Kev - Just take each day as it comes & do your best. That is all you can do.

As always, with reps (clones are reps), have it serviced upon receipt. Problems like this are quite typical. Arguments can always be made that the huge price differentials between gens & reps/clones cannot be justified. However, the differences (in fit & finish) are real & it is up to the buyer as to what that difference is worth.

Ending the work week still wearing my 'Graph

Scanning photos does add a cumbersome set of extra steps, but, years ago, before I got the Canon P&S, I used to scan photos taken by my Contax &, as long as your photos & scanner glass are scrupulously clean & use a high dpi setting (600-1200+), you should be able to turn out great pics. On the other hand, that is alot of work, so it might be worth investing 30-50 quid in a cheap P&S (today's entry level P&S cameras are significantly better than my 12 year-old Canon).

What is the problem now? Has the movement been (properly) overhauled since you received it? My point is that while this movement may very well have inherent flaws, you cannot really know whether a problem is due to a design flaw or simply poor overall condition. Even the generally bullet-proof 1570 will crash & burn within seconds if improperly maintained. As is the case with most reps (& pre-assembled frankens), movements from Asia tend to arrive in poor overall condition & in need of an overhaul. So the only way to gauge the inherent quality of this movement is to have it properly serviced (so the usual problems of dirt, improper lubrication & poor adjustment can be ruled out) & then see how she behaves.

The F3 is more than capable of producing excellent pics. You should read some of the tutorials in the Photography section & practice, practice, practice. Remember, pics like these (& most others) were taken with this 12 year-old, 4MP point-&-shoot Until about the mid-1970s I believe.

Diesel - I can sense the anticipatory drool forming from here. Looks like a beauty.

Ditto.

Still & again (& running within 2 secs/day, not bad for a 53 year-old non-chronometer-rated watch )

It may be Swiss-made & Rolex 'quality', but I would be surprised if it is a genuine Rolex part.

Dial refinishing - click here (for obvious reasons, I do not want to post the name publicly, but there are numerous threads on RWG discussing it that you can search out).

Patience, grasshopper. The door is now open & the horse is already out of the barn. It is just a matter of time until there are many Rolex clone movements to choose from.

Ditto Alligoat.

Yes, Andrew is 1 of the good guys in the business.

You read my mind.