freddy333

'Month old'? Nah, it is truly vintage (& gen).

Only 66k on the clock? Wow. The old saw, 'You don't see 1 of those every day' never had truer meaning.

1 of my ladies A lady wearing 1 of my watches What I am wearing

That word (scrunchy) is not in my vocabulary.

380 end links are correct for a 1680 (that is what I have on my 5514). What is wrong with Yuki's clasp?

I just trimmed the end, so the strap fits much better now. Definitely tones down the polished steel bracelet's Vegas Baby vibe, but the ss bracelet is alot more comfortable.

Yuki's 7836 might fit

My rubber strap just arrived & this is what it looks like on my GMTIIC Remove the bracelet from your watch (2 springbars) & disconnect the clasp from your existing GMTIIC bracelet (1 screw & 1 clasp springbar). Then, attach the strap/clasp combo onto your watch using the original 2 springbars from your bracelet. Depending on your dexterity & tools, about a 15 minute job As you can see here, the strap is about 1 notch too long for my 7" wrist, which should (& probably eventually will) be cut to size There is not much that goes into 2 flat pieces of rubber, but the fit (onto the bracelet/case) is good & my only complaint is a lack of instructions (for those without experience r&r'ing Rolex bracelets). Although I find steel bracelets to be more comfortable, the rubber strap's dark gray, matte finish definitely tones down the GMTIIC's bling factor, giving the watch a more purposeful guise.

Sometimes, they do fit, but the quality of the tubes in rep watches are terrible. So, even if it fits, you are likely going to be replacing it in short order when the threads wear down. For this reason, when I receive a new Rolex rep, it always gets a gen or Swiss-made aftermarket tube & gen crown right off the bat. That way, I know I will not have to deal with the usual stripped tube problem that plagues most rep watches.

Andrew, from the 1st run of 50 samples. They are again available, but now with engraved (as opposed to laser etched & still somewhat misaligned) ROLEXROLEXROLEX around the inner flange (rehaut) & improved bracelets (again, with proper engraving as opposed to laser etching on the leaves) (new bracelet @ left, old @ right) While I believe the improved aesthetics & properly functioning GMT complication (that you should never use after verifying that it works when you receive the watch) are worth the gamble, I have no reason to believe the inherently finicky nature of the chs movement has been addressed or fixed. This is definitely a case of buyer beware.

In general, the CHS movements have proven to be the least reliable. However, some, like mine from the original run 3 years ago, have run without any problems (other than to test it when new, I never operate the 24-hour/GMT hand)

Ending the work week wearing my Phase 1 '42, but currently fitted with the Phase 2's 6251H jubilee

If your hands are gen (they came on a gen watch), then there is no reason to replace them. Both flat & curved-face Mercedes hands were fitted to Subs & SDs. Not sure if there is a relation to version or time period, but I have seen both forms on gens.

No doubt. Small world.

A flame with alot of carbon should make them black. Burn plastic & hold the screws (with pliers) over the sooty flame to coat the screws. Though, if scratched, some of the carbon will come off. You could probably also just use heat from a gas stove to darken them, which should last longer than carbon.

Who?

Ok, since my initial mini-review I have experienced a handful of additional (pleasant) s with the Capitols. As I write this, I am listening to Vince Guaraldi (he composed/performed the jazz music for the Charlie Brown tv shows) & the Capitols are dead flat. Some of red's comments above about studio monitors are spot-on. My studio experience is ancient (pre-1985) & limited (mostly as a performer, but I have done a wee bit of producing for friends), but speakers like the NS-10s are only used as a comparison or in those cases where the producer is consciously trying to target the low-fi (AM radio, 8-track, cassette - see, I told you it was ancient ) market. Most studios, as redwatch correctly pointed out, have not only very accurate studio monitors, but the monitoring room (or studio) where they reside is designed & tuned for optimal response as well as a number of other pro audio (not to be confused with audiophile) parameters. Those of you who are familiar with (& appreciate) B&Ws or Kefs would love the Capitols. Very flat & uneuphonic. The frequency response of most headphones are tweaked to achieve a particular 'sound'. Such is not the case with the Capitols. Another noteworthy WOW was Wings' Silly Love Songs, which is another song I heard via 2nd-gen master tape at EMI. It is a very clean recording with a very punchy (but not bloated) bass foundation. In fact, I remember thinking how 'woody' the song sounded in EMI's studio & the Capitols get that 'woody' sound nearly right. But I think the biggest eye-opener (so far) was Harry Nilsson's Good Old Desk, which is not 1 of his more well-known pieces, but it is a nice song & 1 of the most natural pop recordings ever made. There is a triangle in the mix that the Capitols reproduce so accurately in its own 3-dimensional space that you can almost point to it with your finger. 1 thing about flat transducers like the Capitols (or the Quads I use in my home system) that differentiates them from everything else is that they add very little of their own color to the sound. The old computer adage of garbage in, garbage out is very relevant with headphones like these. My ipod contains a variety of music (nearly all converted to high resolution 320kHz mp3s), which makes it very easy to pickup production differences between studios, producers, record companies & pressings. I also wore the Capitols while I did a bit of work on my motorcycle & they really isolate you from the world around you. Here is probably the best example of the Capitol's greatest strength - I have 2 mp3 copies of Nilsson's Everybody's Talkin' on my ipod. 1 came from an LP & the other from a CD. Switching back & forth between the 2 versions of the same song, I can clearly hear the air & 3-dimensional space of the sound room where Nilsson recorded his vocal tracks on the LP version, but this is lacking on the CD version. Now, I mention this not as an example of the LP vs CD debate, but only to demonstrate 1 of the Capitol's low-level resolving capabilities. Pretty impressive for a relatively compact in-ear headphone. Because of their truly flat-response, I would not recommend the Capitols for people who want all their music to sound good. But if you want to hear all of your music the way the producer & artist meant it to be heard, good or bad, these are your babies.

No. You have to use the 1 from your bracelet.

My ultimate in-ear headphones have arrived As they arrived during a busy work day, I have only been listening to them for about 15 minutes, but, already, I can tell they have, by far, the flattest mid-range I have yet heard from any type of headphone...........I have heard many. I am still getting acclimated to the feel of having the earphone so deep in my ear canal (these are customs made from impressions of my ear canal, so they are a perfect fit) & the seal they provide is both absolute &, unlike any other in-ear headphone in my experience, immediate. No fiddling to get them to sound right. Just insert, twist & they are in & fit perfectly every time. I can open my mouth, eat, drink & they stay in place without ever disrupting their seal. Also, because the outer pieces, which contain each unit's 3-way drivers, sit flush within the confines of my outer ear (as opposed to sticking out a half-inch or so as in the case of standard in-ear headphones), they will not fall out or break their seals when I put my motorcycle helmet on. But, more importantly, as I opted for the greater isolation option, they (mechanically) block out alot more ambient sound than other 'phones &, that alone, puts them head & shoulders above standard in-ears since you can listen at lower volume levels & still hear low-level details. Ok, I am hearing my 1st WOW..........The Beatles' Rocky Racoon from the recently remastered Parlophone CD set. Years ago, I heard a 2nd gen master tape of the Beatles' original recording of this song in EMI's recording studio & this is as close as I have heard (through headphones) since then. Compared to any of my previous headphones, these appear to be dead flat (a good thing, if you want to hear what the producer & artist heard in the studio). More to come, but I may be busy for awhile.

Steel Rolex bracelets (excepting the spring-type) have always been my preference due to the way they conform to the shape of my wrist (rubber & hides tend to bow). However, I just ordered a nifty aftermarket rubber strap for my CHS because the ceramic GMT's polished center links leave the watch looking too blingy for my taste. The black rubber strap tones down the GMT's gleam, giving it a more workmanlike appearance that brings it closer to its tool watch roots.

I will post pics once mine arrives (within a few days).

Beautiful, Ronin.

You could be right, Teejay. But only this once (to dump the bling).

$2,000 +/- $500, depending on condition.