freddy333

Since I am working at home all day, I decided to decouple the current beater from my wrist (Pingo) & give the Sub a little wrist time --

Considering the shared "imperfections" both inside & outside the case, it appears to be the same franken watch.

Citizen diver here, too.

I am not a Rolex box expert, but the box in your pictures looks legit to me.

Unfortunately, most shipping companies will only accept a complaint from the shipper (not the recipient). However, assuming "oboy" is ebay & assuming you purchased THROUGH the ebay portal (i.e., not offline), they generally guarantee delivery in whatever condition the item was originally described as (e.g., good, working condition means good, working condition).

Over the years, I have had a handful of items delivered damaged (always shipping company's fault). The procedure that has always gotten me a full refund is this -- take, good clear photos of the damage to the item AND its packaging, highlighting where on the package the impact/damage occurred. Also, get a photo of the mailing label showing your full name/address &, if available, the shipper's name/address. Before complaining to ebay, contact the seller & BRIEFLY explain the damage (keep it simple/short!) and be factual, not emotional, and include 2 or 3 photos that illustrate the damage. Give the seller one week to work something out. If they either fail to respond or are unwilling to refund your purchase, then register a complaint with ebay.

It helps if you are a long-time ebay member &/or an "ebay Concierge Member", which gets you priority and a greater degree of believability. But as long as the damage is clear & significant (i.e., clear from the photos), they should cancel the sale & refund the full price.

Good luck.

Wearing my systemic WHITE suprema.....er, I mean Swatch today while whipping-up a quick cappa'.

Wearing the Pingo today

Assuming the movement is an ETA, ETA clone or some other common mechanical movement, this would be a simple, straight-forward stem replacement for any local watchmaker. This should not require anyone special. Why not google watchmakers in your area? I would phone them before taking it in to be sure they are willing to work on reps. But, these days, as long as the watchmaker is not working for an official Rolex Service Center (RSC), most do.

I would love some closer-ups, but looks good from relatively afar.

And, today, a "Posting Machine" badge. I guess it's true what they say, everything old is new again.

Chiming in --

Just received my "One year in award". My, how 15-ish years flies when you are doing something else.

7 hours ago, rmelojr1 said:

That is a HAPPY watch.
I'm not sure whether it is the textured white dial or the overall compilation, but it just makes me smile.

7 hours ago, fraggle42 said:

But life throws other things at you...

Now married, living in Houston, and life's latest trick is colon stage 4 cancer (typing this from hospital bed).

That really sucks. My best friend was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer eight years ago. After a year of treatment, he was 100% cancer-free. With a bit of luck, in five years, your biggest worry will (still) be your lack of space. Hang in there, fraggle!

Ditto the others positive comments. Nicely done!

Some very hot metal in the wristies, gentlemen. My humble contribution for your viewing enjoyment --

I can't touch your natural scenery, Nanuq, but 1 uber cool watch deserves another

Aw, shucks. When I pop in, there is little to do & none of the old faces. It looks like I missed the big reunion on the 14th.

Picking up on By-Tor's comments (good to cross paths again!), I think most of the old-timers have been in the game long enough to have gotten most, if not all, of what they wanted. I think most are now enjoying the spoils of long-time searching, learning & collecting.
 

With a couple of notable exceptions, that goes for me, too. Because my collection is more or less complete, I am more often left with confusion (about which to wear) rather than simple, daily style coordinating. But, one day, I may finally pull the trigger on a Grand Seiko Soko Special Edition or an original Doxa Black Lung (I wish I had grabbed the one Nanuq alerted me to all those many years ago now -- it is true what they say: you snooze & you lose).

Actually, I do have 1 remaining unfinished project -- I am still trying to locate a suitable simple steel case (with display caseback) for my gen Patek 23-300 caliber, hands, crown & dial --

On 6/12/2021 at 2:07 AM, rolojack said:

yes parts are the issue. I mean parts prices. I'm amazed how much money is involved to gather good parts now. But hey : still when you compare to what is asked for a new Tissot of some sort you can still build a decent watch within the affordable range. Let's say yesterday we were around the 1K glass roof for someting great. Now it's double. But so is it for everything around us! Besides clothing everything increased dramatically.

15 years ago, when many of us were called crazy for paying the (then) outrageous prices being asked for vintage Rolex parts, I used to tell people that, based on recent history, a year from now the price is likely to be (at least) 20% higher, making today's outrageous price will look like a bargain. But even I never expected the current Vintage Rolex-Mania we are now experiencing. And the mania shows no signs of dissipating any time soon. Things have gotten so crazy that, to paraphrase automatico, most of my collection (some composed of NOS Rolex parts) would be financially and literally unobtainium for me today. But the same rule applies: no matter how crazy Rolex prices are today, if you can afford it, buy it. Because it may be out of reach -- if available at all -- this time next year.

On 5/24/2021 at 8:10 PM, curiousbunny said:

Freddy? How much is your 6542? Does it accept gen movement? 

I have 2 & to answer my previous question -- the black 6542 contains a modified (to add GMT functions) ETA slow-beat, and excepting the insert (from JoeyB) & the dial (repainted by Kirk Rich--Rolex's official US dial refinisher) the white 6542 is all gen (mostly NOS as of when I assembled the parts). There are numerous threads detailing the stories of these watches that you should be able to find via the search.

On 5/24/2021 at 12:19 PM, Ronin said:

I don’t want to speak for Nanuq. But, I think what he is saying is if you think Phong is tough to work with, MQ is is tough and of lessor quality. 

My experience has been exactly the opposite, assuming you know what you want & are able to articulate it, MQ generally follows through. Remember, also, that English is not the 1st language for these guys. So you need to thread the needle between detail--getting your point across & confusion--not overwhelming them with too much info that can lead to misunderstandings.
Further, Ziggy used to send me (& post publicly) pics of the nightmarish mess he often found inside most of Phong's expensive 'new' builds.

6 hours ago, curiousbunny said:

I lost 2 screw pins. Does anyone know where to buy replacements that fits?

Been there, done that.
Unless someone here has them, I think your best (& easiest) option is to take the bracelet to your local watch maker & have him replace the pins. Most watchmakers stock these. Otherwise, most watch parts supply companies sell them, but you will need to know the size & thread pitch for proper fit.

Best option is to replace the bracelet with a better bracelet--either a gen or 1 of the generic, Swiss-made replacements most watch parts supply companies sell. These tend to be Rolex-quality, but without the brand markings.