freddy333

For some reason, I had a tilt for gilt today

I was thinking the problem lies more with the parents & cultures than with the kids. Whipping errant cultures into shape & making it once again politically fashionable to be able to publicly describe cultural shortcomings would cure a whole host of societal problems.

When setting the time, does your gmt hand move like this

Ditto all of the above. For many years, I railed against the Leave-It-To-Beaver-mentality of the 1950s. But, more & more, I am becoming convinced that I was seriously mistaken. There is something fundamentally wrong today.

Read this.

When it comes to avoiding noise, the lower the ISO the better.

Dial Dial lume does not just fall off. But I have seen aftermarket gmt dials made without lume. Big red flag. T<25 indicates a service or aftermarket dial. Case Lug holes counter-sunk, which Rolex did not do (but alot of modders do). New crown & (possibly) new crystal (which does not look gen). Case looks overpolished, yet it lacks any corrosion/pitting. Odd. On the other hand, caseback looks new (no wear on the splines). Very odd. The whole context of how/where it was found seems suspect &, finally, nothing about this strikes me as gen in my gut.

Am I correct that the AD is not covering the replacement cost of the pearl they damaged?

I am surprised the AD agreed to work on it at all. Most, in my experience, refuse to even open a vintage Rolex case specifically because of possibility of collateral damage like a crushed pearl. Sorry to hear the sad news.

Interesting & I hate to say this, but it all looks aftermarket.

As expected, they made some of their own wheels, so no telling how well/long the movement will work? Here are 2 views of my all-gen 1036gmt

Since dinner Saturday

Still But planning to take this out for dinner

Melissa - Welcome & read this. Most of what you need to know about reps is in that article. Briefly, for long-term satisfaction, stick with stainless steel (SS), avoid 'jewels' (they almost always look fake &, unless the wearer is an Arab sheik or rap artiste, make the watch look fake) & complications/features - simple, plain reps tend to contain the fewest mistakes & the fewer mistakes a rep has, the more genuine it looks. Be aware that nearly all rep watches contain used &/or unserviced movements. This is like buying a new replica car from someone that cannot tell you for sure what type of engine it has or whether the oil was ever changed. Therefore, it is a good idea to have the (mechanical) movement overhauled upon receipt of the watch by a professional watchmaker (about $100-$150, depending on pricing in your area). Finally, anyone that tells you a rep watch is made anywhere other than Asia is lying to you & you should not have to pay more than about $300-$400 for a basic, high quality rep watch (but remember to get it overhauled).

You have 2 choices for ETA/Sub hands - standard rep hands or hands made for Tudor Subs (which are ETA-powered, so will fit most ETA movements). However, I have only seen these types of hands sold with white lume. It is relatively easy to change lume color. Check out the pinned articles here & use the Search feature.

Ending the work week wearing my Aryan 'Master

What you did looks good. But, as was said above, use a tripod (or something to rest the camera on). And, to prevent twitching the camera when you press the shutter button, use either a remote switch or your camera's timer to control the shutter. Mostly, it all comes down to lighting/angle & (lots of) practice.

1st, I was mistaken. Rolex did make a 1065gmt (I found a pic of a known-gen 6542 in my archives with a 1065-signed bridge), so either is possible. I found this in 1 of my Rolex parts books, which both proves the existence of the 1065gmt, but also provides you with a roadmap to converting a standard 1065/1066 over to gmt form (note the printing on these balance cocks vs NDT's) The 1065/1066 balance cock is what sets these apart from the earlier 1030/1035/1036 series I do not know what NDt or Phong use to make their gmts function (based on what I have seen of their other work, I would guess they are 'custom-made' parts) &, of course, anything is possible with vintage Rolex, but the NDT movement looks like a franken - it has a 1035/1036 style cock (like my 1036gmt), but with a bridge signed '1065'.

I do not believe Rolex ever made a gmt version of the 1065; only the 1036 & 1066. Also, be careful not to buy a 1036/1066 thinking it is a gmt only to find that it has no gmt functions. Rolex made both gmt & standard versions of both calibers & they are very difficult to tell apart without good, clear macros of the bottom (dial side) of the movement. Compare to my 1036gmt before hitting the buy button.

Tritium has a half life of about 12.5 years (half-life is the time it takes half the tritium to decay). So, under most circumstances, it should glow for about 25 years.

Eric - You can always just buy a 50s DJ, OP or some other model that has a 1036 & cannibalize the watch for its motor. That way, you get a few re-sellable parts in the deal to help mitigate your costs. Well, at least a tiny bit of your costs. But before you commit to buying anything, be aware that the remaining parts required for the conversion - if you can find them - could easily cost the same (or more) again. So think seriously as to whether you are prepared to spend $5k just to power your '42. If you do, you should only accept a gen (or repainted gen) dial, as I did with my Phase II '42. That way, if/when you decide to sell, you can legitimately describe it as a gen watch with a repainted dial (& aftermarket insert) & recoup some serious Joachimstalers.

Ditto above. Dial dots should only be used as a temporary fix as they have a tendency to 'let go' when heated (by the sun) or over time.

Ditto.