freddy333

Once, many years ago, I got called out by a waiter. At the time, I did not know enough about gen details to realize how obvious the rep I was wearing actually was. The incident was very embarrassing to say the least. This was long before the Web, when reps were not as ubiquitous (or accepted) as they are today. My waiter obviously knew alot more about watches (at that time) than I did, but that was the 1st & last time I ever got called out. The experience motivated me to educate myself on gens because I do not like to make the same mistake twice.

Welcome to the Great Society.

If the prices are accurate, this is a very useful guide. Thanks for the post.

Only in public. I do not know about Bush, but Clinton had a very nice collection of expensive watches during his term as president, but he only wore them when out of the public spotlight.

Jorg Gray 6500 Chronograph

I appreciate the compliment, but please try not to re-quote entire pic threads just to add a line or 2 at the bottom.

All of the aftermarket cases are made to fit Rolex movements, so you would either need to use a spacer ring (& possibly live with an off-center crown position) or reconsider your options. If you use a dial that was not made for the movement, the date window will likely be off as well. Whichever route you go, I would highly recommend JoeyB's insert, which is made to fit a gen or aftermarket (which are made to gen dimensions) bezel. Whether it will fit a given rep bezel is unknown, so you should probably expect to do some modding there.

I have no experience with Yuki's 6542 case, but you should choose a case, in great part, based on the movement you decide to use. If you are going with a gen movement, then Yuki, NDT or JAW are the way to go & you must decide how much you are willing to pay for each case's set of inaccuracies. If you go ETA, I think your best bet is to buy a fully assembled rep & just replace parts (with gens or more accurate aftermarkets) as you see fit. From my experience, as long as the dial is fairly accurate & case is 'in the ballpark' no mere mortal will know the difference. As a perfect example, I used a cheap Silix Sub case for my ETA 2846-powered Phase I '42 (there are a handful of threads detailing the construction that you can search out) & there is really very little difference between it & the gen case I used for my Rolex 1036GMT-powered Phase II (Phase II left, Phase I right)

The only thing that bothers me about my black bezels are the lack of swan-neck 2s. If you compare the shape of the 2s in the last 2 pics above, you may see what I am talking about. Rolex themselves have not used this font for many years. But, on vintage models, they ice the cake. Although the bezels looks very close to the final version gens, those swan-neck 2s are to vintage Rolex bezels what flat-top 3s are to vintage Rolex datewheels.

Welcome back! Not my favorite style of DJ (I prefer the diamond-cut bezel with a jubilee bracelet), but a nice watch from 1 of the better sellers.

My 1st franken (circa 1987) & it even accepted gen parts (crown, end links & clasp) (click pic for more)

For a wedding, which is all about the bride (not the groom), I would go with something simple, small(-ish) & sophisticated that can be passed down to future Sparkals. Think Patek (click pics for links) JlC

The 6538 came from the factory fitted with either a 7206 or 6636, each with 80 end links. The 7206 was offered with or without springs (my 6536-1 is fitted with a 7206 with springs).The spring versions were made to compete with Spidel's Twist-O-Flex bracelets, which were popular at the time (they allowed you to slide a watch on or off your wrist without having to open the clasp). I would avoid the spring bracelets as they are very uncomfortable.

1stly, never tell any of your friends or relatives about valuables in your home. Loose lips definitely sink ships in these cases. The fewer people who know what you have, the less chance you have of being targeted by professional thieves. Certainly, the best option is to store valuables in a bank safety deposit vault. 2nd best, if you can afford it, is to have 1 of those large, heavy vault-style safes bolted to the internal structure of your house. Think small bank vault in your home. It is highly unlikely that anyone is going to be able to carry off a 2,000 pound block of steel & only a professional thief will have the tools or knowledge to break into a vault. Of course, if professional jewel thieves know you have expensive jewelry in your home, that gives them more of a reason to target you & there is little you can do to stop them. For most people, the 2 best schemes I know of are - 1. Install 2 safes - 1, the bait safe, located in an easy to spot location within your bedroom closet (containing junk jewelry), which is the 1st place most thieves will look & the other, the real safe (containing the real stuff), located in another room with the safe bolted to the internal structure of the house. 2. Buy 1 of those small, portable safes that are designed to look like a Brillo (steel wool) box or soap can or some other ordinary household cleaner & place it in a cabinet in your bathroom or kitchen. That is, somewhere that people do not generally store valuables.

Some of Phong's assembled watches are very nice, but the condition of his mechanicals often leave alot to be desired (dirty, over-oiled, ill-fitting parts, incorrect parts, kludged assemblies, etc). So you might want to have your watch properly overhauled soon to avoid serious problems. You might also check with Ziggy as he has seen alot more of his work than I have, but his comments are likely to mirror alot of mine. It has been a few years, but I think I may have used an MQ case for my 6536-1 (the dial is a modified MQ)

Ending this very rough work week wearing my Connery Sub variant

I think I would have gone with steel (as opposed to gilt) hands with white lume (to match the dial lume) & I am not sure the bezel is gen, but a stunner otherwise.

I think that if function trumps accuracy, I would go with the larger 1675-style hand & lume it with Nightcolor. It will be alot more functional in the dark that way.

That is exactly how I work as well. I would never even consider beginning a project like these, until/unless I have already mentally built the watch in my head. And this includes establishing what parts I need & exactly how I am going to modify them. Of course, as was the case when fitting the bezel during construction of my Phase I '42, there are always at least 1 or 2 things that come out of left field. But, hopefully, even these can eventually be solved with help from other members .