freddy333

Exactly. This comment should be pinned in the Introduction forum and required reading for ALL new members & those asking 'What is the best --?'.

I do not have alot of experience with Explorers, but all reps contain inaccuracies. The inaccuracies of 1 factory that bother me may not be visible to you & vice versa. RWG used to have a "Best Sub" link in the Introductions forum that explained why asking these types of questions are not helpful to the buyer & not appreciated by the forum members, but that link appears to be broken. You should educate yourself about the gen model you are interested in & visit an AD or 2 to try the watch on & see how it feels & how the real thing operates. Then spend some time perusing gens on the gen forums. Download lots of pics & study them like an educational course you really want a good grade in. Once you have a good idea of what the gen Explorer looks like, you can then decide for yourself which of the factories turn out the best Explorer for you. Good luck.

I should have parts within the next 2 weeks & will post pics of the completed watch shortly after that.

Bump for new members or anyone interested in seeing what is possible when a group of really smart, inventive RWG watch geeks put their collective heads together & are unaware that something cannot be done.

Update -- After exhausting all the usual sources for accurate 116710LN cases, I turned to Andrew (trustytime) & took his advice (which I have always found to be reliable) & purchased 1 of his superclone 116710LNs to use as a case donor. Anyone following a similar upgrade path should be aware that the 116710 has had 2 movements -- 3186 & 3285 -- the 3186 was discontinued in 2018 & replaced by the 3285 (main improvement is an increased, 72 hour power reserve versus the previous movement's 48 hour reserve). Therefore, all of the LNs should have been fitted with the 3186 & all recent GMTII models will be powered by the 3285. Unfortunately, my Rolex parts book predates either movement, so I cannot say with certainty what, if any, parts these 2 movements share, but I doubt there are many because the 2 movements look very different. Although the use of a complete clone watch is a very inefficient use of capital for a franken project, it is alot less costly than sourcing a gen case, which are nearly as rare as gen 14k Newman Daytonas. Most of the upgrades & overall process is similar to what I previously detailed in my Big Kahuna Daytona clone project, with the exception of the additional requirement of a clone case since the Big Kahuna was based on a clone (which came with an accurate 'clone' case) & this project is based on an old rep (which came with a good, but not 100% accurate case). Because everything that you can see, feel & operate on the final watch will be gen, it makes no sense to house it all within a 'good, but not 100% accurate case'. What began life as a correct hand stack (CHS) ETA-powered rep purchased many years ago is morphing into a super-clone. Years ago, I upgraded the watch with -- - gen xtal - gen crown/tube Recently, I swapped the ETA for an Asian 3186 clone (my experience with 4 clones has been consistent -- all met or exceeded Rolex/COSC timing specs out of the box & have maintained those specs) Currently, awaiting these incoming parts -- - Andrew's 116710LN clone (case donor) - gen dial - gen handset - gen auto-wind components (eg reverser wheels) - gen signed bridges - gen rotor - gen balance/bridge - various gen & Swiss-made screws to replace poor quality/damaged clone screws &, to do the final project the justice it will deserve, I will be replacing the solid steel caseback with a German-made display caseback, which is superior -- appears to be similar quality, but offers a slightly larger display area -- to both the Big Kahuna's ebay-sourced display caseback & Rolex's own 116506 display caseback.

Anyone know of a source for an accurate CASE (or rep with accurate CASE) to fit a gen 3186 spec movement? Need properly aligned rehaut engraving -- so ROLEXROLEXROLEX letters align with minute marks on gen dial. Thanks in advance.

Back to the Big Kahuna today --

It has been a while since I worked on that movement, but I believe the assembly order is barrel, stop lever, barrel bridge, click/click spring, crown wheel & ratchet wheel. I hope that helps.

GMT on RubberB

All that ticking must keep you awake at night.

Big Kahuna this weekend

Local jeweler.

Most obvious tells (to me) - case looks new (I would give it some patina) & dial looks new/aftermarket. Depending on the price being charged, I would either figure in the cost of a better (ie, more realistic for its age) dial or, if your goal is accuracy over cost, look for a better watch.

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aliyarana - Good 1st post! You might introduce yourself (in the Introduction forum) and tell us a little about your experience with watches &/or reps. Sounds like you have some knowledge.

Since this type of work is neither high speed nor high torque, any oil will do. Just be sure to keep the tap straight (ie, be careful not to misthread) & work easy, steady & slow.

You might find it easier to purchase an entire gen (or gen-spec, aftermarket) case rather than just a case back, which would also eliminate the question of whether the back would fit the case. & -- as a bonus -- you would end up with 1 less potential tell in the process.

Considering the beautiful locale, who cares whether the build passes the test. But nice watch.

59 is high, but I do not know what lift angle is spec'd for these clone movements? You might ask the seller why his timegrapher is set to such a high lift angle (norm is between 48-52, with 52 being the most common). The other specs look fine.

Most use whatever works -- a combination of files, sandpaper, Dremel, polishing compounds etc. The tools are less important than your ability to see what mods are required, your knowledge of what is needed to make a new/rep case appear to have naturally lived through years/decades of wear/polishing & skill in wielding whatever tools used to achieve the end you seek. Like most skills, your knowledge, experience & abilities are what counts, not the tools used to achieve a result.