freddy333

Lani, $150 less than what? The gen xtal cost me $90 delivered (I cannot get any more, before anyone asks)

& some of the numbers are misaligned. Sorry to say, but I think it may be a tosser.

Spot on (the article).

A beauty. Can you post a macro of the inner flange etchings between 7 & 11 o'clock. I would like to see how they are made & if the factory corrected (by any amount) the misalignment that has plagued all of the previous GMTIIC reps.

Yes & often higher, but there are some reasonable aftermarket 8mm Brevets floating around that some of the dealers may have access to.

As long as the dial feet are in the correct locations & they are long enough to reach beyond the point where the locks come in from the side. I have had more than 1 aftermarket dial that failed on either or both points.

In theory, yes. But, when it comes to aftermarket parts, theories are just that, theories.......at least until proven otherwise.

Ditto.

Great work on the case. Now get yourself a good dial/handset (NDtrading, Yuki, etc) or, at least, have the hour markers on your dial relumed to tone down the shine.

The project spanned a couple of years (beginning with the original mods & ending a couple of months ago with the addition of the gen bezel/insert/pearl combo), but I think the total cost (excluding my time/labor) was around $2,800. The Great White is certainly easier to wear since it is much less rare & I debated long & hard over whether the faded or non-faded gen bezel looked better on my 5514 or 1665. Ultimately, as you can see, the 'dweller won the prize. The working valve just looks more authentic than any of the alternatives I tried (or that I have seen on other watches), which is why I went the extra mile to make it work. Others have suggested that their MBW came with a working valve, but, as indicated in my articles, my MBW's Hev was engraved. I cannot recall which watch the valve came from, but this was explained in 1 of the articles linked to the article I referenced. I posted a mini-tutorial on the process that you can search out, but, as I recall, the only problem I ran into was having to trim some metal off the (replaceable) calendar ring on the movement to allow the movement to properly seat into the MBW case. Other than that, everything lined up as if the case was made for the 1570. But you might search out that article to be sure since it has been a quite a while & my memory is occasionally fallible.

Yes, I saw that FS on VRF. Top notch. Thanks, All.

Like everything Ziggy puts his hand to, very well done.

For reference, my 1665 consists of an MBW mid-case (with working Hev) with aftermarket (& modded) dial & crystal (Clarks). Everything else is gen

Ending the work week the way it began

Fine work there, Cats (pic & watch). I have had a Sub stuck to my wrist all week This Sub

The only way to gen status is to buy a gen. If you mean franken (mixture of gen & aftermarket parts), then read on.............. There are probably some here who will perform the entire construction for you, but, due to the labor costs involved, you may be better off buying a pre-assembled franken from jewelryandwatch, etc & then send it to Ziggy to have the inevitable shortcuts re-done correctly (I do not know of anyone that sells pre-assembled frankens which are built to any kind of quality standards). The Yuki case is nearly 1:1, but will require some enhanced patination to make it look like a 30+ year old watch ('new' 1665s are as rare as a rare version of a hen's tooth).

As with most things that fade, most likely sun exposure. But frequent exposure (in the sun) to chlorine probably accelerates the process.

Not my style, but it looks like a nice watch & Eurotimez is, generally, a reliable collector.

As a temporary measure, yes. They can work very well. However, because they are basically just tape, the adhesive eventually weakens & things tend to slide.

If you are using a browser like Firefox, some of the page features may have been blocked. Be sure you have javascript enabled on the page. Also, once you sort out the payment issues, be prepared for a potentially lengthy wait. My last 2 Silix orders arrived some 3 months after they received payment. In my book, unless they have something you cannot source elsewhere (which was the case for my last 2 orders), nothing is worth that kind of wait.

Sad to say, but it sounds like the collection underwent a bit of a shearing recently. The GMTIIC (along with the Daytona) is the only modern Rolex I would wear. Their current lineup has become too bloated & blingy for my taste. Sort of a high end bauble for Johnson's Great Society. Even the GMTIIC is only just wearable (Rolex would do well to brush their GMT & Daytona bracelets & return them to their sporting roots).

Ditto Ubi. Assuming the crowns (or most) are at least gens, I suspect you could, at worst, play musical chairs with the caps & innards to fathom a handful of good, working crowns. So if you can get the lot for the price of a few gen crowns, it might be a worthwhile gamble.

Still wearing the same Sub