freddy333

Buy some watches & you will be feeling like your old self in no time. Get well soon.

Although I have never gotten great results, you can try plating the parts yourself.

Ending the work week wearing my Daytona beater

Generally, you are lucky if gold plating/wrapping/capping (whatever you want to call the thin layer of 'gold' applied on top of a base metal) on a rep lasts more than a couple of years. But every once in awhile, you get lucky. This watch, purchased in 1987 & worn daily for several years, retains much of its original gold plating on the bezel & bracelet mid-links (note that the end links are gens)

Although they may exist (somewhere), I have never seen 1.

Andy - I hope you get well soon &, if it is any consolation, that pic can only be described as glorious.

Except for the dial, which is not clear enough in any of the pics to say 1 way or the other (but I am leaning towards gen), that 1 looks good to me. I have seen some variation of the inner flange (rehaut), so I do not use that as an indicator. Without seeing (& measuring) the dial out of the case, I cannot say anything about its size. Only that, if it were a pickle, it does not look like a Kosher 1 to me. The case is just missing all the tell-tale signs of an old gen case - beveling of lugs, wear on the underside where the end links rub, yada yada. On the other hand, it looks exactly like the aftermarket cases that we are all familiar with. At least that is how I see it. Oh, & coupled with the pics designed to obscure detail & the seller's lack of extensive Rolex sales experience, the line 'buy the seller' should come immediately to mind.

The dark, de-focused, shadowy pics, which are a tell-tale sign of trouble, were enough to put me off by themselves. No honest seller of such a rare/expensive timepiece would post pics like that. Additionally, wrong dial, case (in spite of the 'polishing') looks new, lug engravings wrong, bezel wrong.......need I go on? Ok, I will.......edges of lugs missing any hint of the originally beveling Rolex used back then, bracelet looks new/aftermarket & incorrect for a 653x. I am sure there are other give-aways, but those would only reveal themselves via good, clear pics (or when the buyer received the actual watch).

Seller even says dial & bezel have been replaced. I would hazard an educated guess that that is not all that was 'replaced'. On the positive side, the movement looks intact (from what I can see).

As far as I know, the 'slow beat' 2846 ETA has not been manufactured for several years, so your best bet is probably ebay. Eurotimez has flat 3 (white & silver (but not brushed silver)) ETA datewheels for sale that look pretty good.

Wearing my gold PN now But switching to my Rose Tudor when I go out to dinner

This watch/dial is, by far, the best of the bunch & it still looks wrong (but I do like the insert). In my opinion, this watch would move into the acceptable range if retrofitted with a better handset (these hands all look fake, fake, fake) & if Ziggy relumed the dial with less obviously fake lume. Still, all in all, I think you would be better off with an out-of-the-box MBW.

During the initial research for my 6542 project, I noted that some of Silix's CG-less Subs had reasonable-looking (though not 100% accurate) bezels. The model I ultimately ended up using came with a bezel which, after enhanced patination, turned out to be a near-perfect match & fit for a 6542 GMT (but wrong for a Bond Sub). But the main problem with mixing bezels is whether the bezel from watch A will fit on the case/crystal retaining ring on watch B. Because rep factories tend to use whatever components are available (or cheap), trial-&-error (with no guarantee of success) is the only rule.

Looking at By-Tor's pic, I see what you mean now. But I have to say that, even now that I am aware of it, I would never notice on someone's wrist or use that as an indicator of gen vs rep since bracelets tend to develop spaces between the links due to the inevitable stretching that occurs with usage

I am a bit less whelmed than the rest of you. The cases all look like the same fare we have been getting from other dealers & the dials all leave much to be desired. The 5514, the best of the bunch in my opinion, looks like they got the Comex font nearly right (& it may even be painted, which is even better). But, then, the lume color is hideous & all of the hour markers are misaligned. In fact, looking at it again, even the white Comex block was printed at an angle All in all, I am not sure what all the excitement is about? Feh

Welcome to the forum, Alex. The GMTIIC rep is 1 of the most accurate out-of-the-box reps around & there are many threads discussing it in detail (both good & bad points) that you should search out before making your purchase from 1 of the recommended collectors on RWG.

Sorry to be the sole dissenter here (as usual), but I do not think the rep 'engraving' looks sufficiently accurate to warrant highlighting it. Until they at least get the engraving correct, I think the less is more (harder to see) approach of the original version is better.

Sub Wednesday

Ditto.

Wearing my 16014 today

What gaps? I suspect that it has not been commented on because most of the reps do not have the gap (mine does not). Can you post a good, clear macro pic of the gap in question?

I would start by asking some of the recommended collectors (check out their section for names/contacts) & ebay.

DW is working on a 6238 as we speak. As it is, since both watches use the same base movement (A7750), you can swap the dial from this watch onto 1 of DW's A7750-powered Daytonas & you have a very reasonable 6238 (with the all-important asymmetrical pusher layout) for not much money.