freddy333

For some reason, Nanuq's posts often give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Unless things have changed recently, I believe it is still standard Rolex SA policy to replace damaged/worn or out-of-spec parts with new parts during a standard overhaul. & this is generally a requirement, not an option. They do this because it is the only way they can guarantee the watch's proper function & specs, which is a prerequisite to their accepting a watch for service in the 1st place. Rolex's policy, which for all but a few RSCs in the EU, has been carved in stone for decades & the reason why so many gen owners, especially owners of vintage watches, so often choose to take their watches to independent watchmakers, who allow them to pick & choose which parts they replace or not. Remember, unlike companies like Mercedes-Benz or Patek Philippe, who service pretty much anything they ever made, Rolex SA is not in the (vintage) watch restoring business; they are in the (new) watch selling business. As for not wanting to notice, it has been Rolex SA's policy since at least the 1980s to verify each watch accepted for service by serial number & to use that serial number to verify the format of the watch. That is, they know what dial, crystal, band, crown, etc, the watch left the factory with. Certainly, in the case of vintage watches &/or those non-critical components that Rolex themselves no longer manufacture or have available, they will not reject a watch that arrives (as mine did) with, for example, an aftermarket bezel insert. Knowing that, I made a point of informing the watchmaker of the aftermarket insert in an effort to see if Rolex could replace it with the correct part (knowing they would require such a swap if the part were available). Unfortunately, as I was well aware, TOG inserts have been extinct for decades & if Rolex had any, they were reserved for clients with VIP status. So, I think, all in all, since the rest of the watch was genuine, Rolex had no reason to suspect anything. Now, had there been an aftermarket crown, crystal or caseback, I expect I would be telling a much different story (ie., the story of RSC rejection that is typical for most frankens).

For the past few years, I have had timing issues with my assembled-from-gen-parts TOG, the cause of which I have been unable to locate. Everything appeared copacetic. So, recently, out of frustration, I decided to throw caution to the wind & let Rolex take a shot at it, even though, in spite of the numerous reports of gen owners having their gen watch rejected by an RSC because it contains an aftermarket crystal or other non-critical part, I fully expected them to detect the non-stock formation of parts & reject the watch. Almost shockingly, not only did they accept the watch for repair, but the watchmaker that performed the work on the watch phoned to let me know that repairs had been successfully completed & made a point of complimenting me on the watch's overall condition. Because this is a major RSC, I think this both compliments the watch & demonstrates that even Rolex themselves cannot always identify a vintage franken from its oem counterpart.

It has been a few years since I last purchased a new manufacture dial, but, from what I have seen in recent posts, MQ still appears to be the top dog. Just make sure you receive pics of the watch you will receive & check it carefully before he ships. This is my 5508 reference -

You might want to have a look at this.

This bezel looked worse than yours upon arrival. As long as you do not use 'quick-dry' paint (ie, use any standard paint for metal - you can even spray Krylon automotive paint into a small cup & apply from that) & follow the steps, it is pretty difficult not to end up looking like this -

It is alot easier to repaint the bezel than to deal with the hassles & potential customs issues of shipping the watch back. This is how I paint engravings on steel with metal paint in a bottle (do not use spray unless the bezel is removed from the watch) - Get some mineral spirits (paint thinner - NOT paint 'stripper') & lint-free rags or paper towels (Viva paper towels usually work well) - Use a Q-tip or small artist's paint brush to apply paint over each of the numbers. Do this fairly quickly so the paint does not begin to dry. - Moisten (do not saturate) the paper towel with mineral spirits & gently brush (do not rub or press!) over the numbers & surrounding area 1 time only. Throw the paper towel away! - Moisten a NEW paper towel with mineral spirits & gently brush a 2nd pass over the area. Throw the paper towel away! - Repeat with a NEW paper towel until the area around the engraving is clean & there is paint only inside the engraving. - Let dry according to paint instructions.

They are pricey (you will need to contact seller), but you said 'quality', so click me

Thanks, but your link is to the same type of IDE-to-SATA adapter linked in my original post. So if the IDE-to-SATA adapter results in IDE performance (ie, no performance gain over the current IDE drive), what of the other option (SATA PCI card)? Is that limited by the speed (which, if memory serves, is 33MHz?) of the PCI bus channel?

Thanks, but as it is an old computer, I wanted to use stuff that I have on the shelf. I have both drives & just wanted to know whether the SATA's performance would be moot due to the PCI or IDE connection? Either type of connection hardware is considerably cheaper (& easier to implement) than replacing the drive with SSD.

2 questions for anyone who has experience fitting a SATA drive to an older, IDE-only motherboard - 1. Will I gain any of the SATA drive's performance/data transfer speed by swapping a 250GB IDE drive for a 250GB SATA drive on an IDE-only motherboard? That is, if I connect a SATA drive via a SATA PCI card or IDE-to-SATA adapter, will I gain any of the SATA's speed benefits, or will the IDE and PCI channels the SATA's connected to bottleneck any gains, thus crippling the SATA to no more than IDE performance? If the answer above is yes (ie, the SATA drive will still produce slightly better performance than the IDE drive) - 2. What is the best way, performance wise, to connect the SATA to the motherboard--SATA card in PCI (not PCI-e!) slot or IDE-to-SATA adapter (attached to IDE jack on motherboard & SATA drive attached to adapter)? I am aware that upgrading the motherboard would be more cost-effective, but, for a variety of reasons, that is not an option here.

If the noise is coming from the crown itself (ie, the crown makes noise when removed from the movement), then it is probably due to the inner spring or plunger having deteriorated to the point where there are only pieces left that are grinding together as you attempt to turn the cap against the inner components. Unfortunately, photobucket has blocked all the pics, but this thread should help explain what is going on. This may help (sorry, all I have left on my computer) -

Excepting the Aryan 'Master's aftermarket insert, here are a few gens (with a musical theme) that I have not worn in awhile (none are for sale) -

Z-Friday Wristie

There is some very heavy metal in this thread, gents! Encore -

Please do not repost an entire post (especially those with several pics) just to add a line or 2 at the end. Either just post your comment or edit out the pics. It gets tiring having to repeatedly scroll through pages of duplicate pics.

Looks good, but I think you mean $40-$60k (not $400-$600k) for the dial. With a few rare exceptions, the value of an entire mint Newman is generally between $100-$150k.

Nicely done, especially the plate modifications.

Those 2 look fine.