freddy333

Lounging around Sunday with 1 of my Newmans

MBW cases (excluding engraved casebacks, which are usually fairly easy for a knowledgeable Rolex collector to spot as non-gen) are very good. In the case of bezels, I think you would need to upgrade to a gen if you want something appreciably better. And, even then, most could not tell the difference. If you want the most bang for your buck, replace the MBW insert with a gen, which is costly. I am pretty sure you will need to mod the MBW bezel (&/or cement the insert in) to make it fit

JAW usually ships from AZ, but I believe his parts are sourced from VN. Rep cases, including the cartel's, are not a good indicator of accuracy. Most of the aftermarket Sub cases I have seen (including NDT, JAW, MQ, etc) were made to correct (or indescribably close) dimensions.

Wishing you the best & hoping things go smooth & well.

Yes, should be an interesting auction.

Ending the work week wearing my beater

Nice work , but I would give your dial a light coat of matte varnish to knock down the shininess (especially on the lume).

Yes, but that is not the point here. Positioning your sleeves just above your watch tends to draw attention to your wrist, which can make you look like a tosser or a poser, depending on what the viewer finds on your wrist (tosser if your watch appears to be gen, poser if your watch appears to be a fake).

$25k-$40k, depending on condition. Probably not the best watch to wear at work unless you are an upper-tax bracketed company exec & do not work with your hands.

In general, as has been repeated ad nauseum, if you look like you can afford the watch you are wearing, it is less likely that anyone will suspect you. Also, doing things that draw unwarranted attention to your watch like rolling your sleeves up just above your watch (as opposed to your elbows) when it is neither cool nor a case where your sleeves might get soiled can cause strangers to view you (& your watch) with incredulity. Subtly goes a long way with watches. That is, Instead of broadcasting your watch to be sure everyone no one within eye range misses your watch, forget about it & let those occasional glimpses from under your cuff broadcast the fact that you have the confidence to broadcast yourself instead of your jewelry.

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.