freddy333

1570 = no date or gmt 1575 = date Note - many 1575s are singed '1570', so the number on the movement is not necessarily the actual model. If the movement has a date, it is a 1575, if not, then it is a 1570. 1575gmt = date & gmt 1560/1570/1575 hands are all essentially the same, except for the length of their handtube (the part that fits onto the pinion). Hands made for movements with a date function have taller tubes, which means the hands will sit higher up off the face of the dial than the proper hands when fit onto a no-date movement. Sometimes, it just looks a bit odd, but other times the hands will come into contact with the crystal, which may stop the watch from running. Because of the variability of aftermarket cases, there are no hard & fast rules & no one here can tell you, for sure, whether the hands will fit your particular case. The only way to know if/how they will fit is to try them. The 1 thing I can tell you, with some degree of reliability, is that the converse rarely works (trying to fit hands made for a (no date) 1570 onto a 1575).

Any professional watchmaker can work on a Rolex, but getting parts (which, based on your description, may likely be required) may be a problem. A big problem. 1st, unless the watchmaker has a Rolex parts account, he will have to buy parts the same way you or I do (ebay, etc). Second, since alot of 1030 parts are scarce (Rolex has not made 1030 parts for many years), your watchmaker may end up having to return the movement to you as-is, if the parts required are unavailable (most watchmakers do not have the time/knowledge/patience to perform exhaustive searches for rare parts). Building frankens, especially vintage Rolex & especially when you have to rely on someone else to do the work, is a big gamble (&, potentially, a major bitch).

Glad I am not in the Mile High City, so 1 watch should suffice But just in case the weather here turns north

I saw this awhile back in 1 of his previous attempts. Probably gen & in poor condition. $1-$5k in that condition, tops. The seller is out of his mind. Period. Interwatches always tends to be high, but they do sell good stuff. DRSDs were fetching above $150k before the market crash & I think it is hard to price some rare Rolex watches because the demand is so unquenchingly strong. I would never pay that much, but I suspect there are alot of nouveau riche, with more money than (watch collecting) experience, who would. And, barring another (more serious) global economic catastrophe, I am sure the value will reach/exceed that asking price in the future.

If you are willing to spend the time, effort & money, you can fit just about any movement into just about any case. But Yuki's cases are made to fit gen movements. Read this

Try ebay or the sale sections of Timezone or vintagerolexforum.

Back to my beater

Politicians

You should use hand tools to do the shaping & leave the Dremel for the polishing.

You have to wonder what his purpose was in doing this 'review' & who (he thought) his intended audience was? Serious buyers? His friends & family? A class at school? Fodder for Youtube? Based on his own comments, it is pretty obvious that the 'very expensive' watch under 'review' (which the reviewer describes as 'a waste of money......mostly for rich people') is a rep, otherwise, why would a guy like this, who has obviously never read a GMT owners manual (which comes with the gen watch) or had the functions described to him by an AD (who would buy a $7,000 watch without knowing anything about it), get so many things wrong. But the most amazing thing about this video is that, other than knowing that 'the most low depth oriented watch you can get' is actually used to tell the time, he somehow managed to get every descriptive comment about the watch completely out of phase with the facts. Now, that is quite impressive. But I have to give him some credit for having the good taste to select a good watch brand/model. This travesty could have been alot worse.

All of the above & estate sales (check your local newspaper) as well as online/offline auction/sales sites.

I like the idea & admire your woodworking skills, but I would have used a different type of wood & left off all but the coronet marker (a la some of Rolex's wood dials of the 50s & early 60s & the 'Mystery' dial). But I know that accuracy is not generally your primary goal.

While it is unlikely that any non-WIS types will identify a problem with your watch by the stacking order of its hands, having a chs makes wristies & macro shots look alot more authentic

Pho - Buying an expensive piece of jewelry, for whatever reason, is always a very personal decision. I buy watches -- rep or gen -- only with nonessential funds. If you have the surplus cash & want/need a gen Rolex, then I would take advantage of the deal. If not, then just let it go & do not look back. Or buy a plain-jane, steel white/silver dial rep with bar index markers, which will provide maximum effect with minimal cost & risk

Thanks for this. Did they give you any idea of the ETA for the next release?

Sorry, let me clarify what I meant by 'aftermarket' with respect to Triplock tubes & tube tool splines - I was referring to the tubes that come in rep watches or those sold by rep watch sellers. The aftermarket tubes sold by the likes of cousins (which sells the longer tube version) & ofrei (which sells the shorter version) are Swiss-made (not Asian) & are similar in quality to the gens. My point was that I have never seen a rep watch that came with a tube that has splines for the tool at either end (splines at the inner end are the old style tube). So if you have a tube with splines, it is most likely either a gen or a Swiss-made aftermarket, which looks, functions & feels the same as the gen tube. At least, that has been my experience.

It all looks gen to me. To date, the only Triplock tubes I have seen with those splines running around the inside circumference (for the Rolex tube tool) are gen tubes Your crown looks like a current Triplock, which has a bit of space between the bottom of the coronet & the 3 dots (earlier Triplocks had the dots right below the coronet)

Nice. Please post pics with the bracelet when you get it together.

As Star already said, that is Yuki, a good aftermarket parts seller. His bezel assy is good, but it is not made to gen specs, so the bezel may or may fit a gen insert or case & vice-versa.

Ditto. Excellent review, Geo. Really well done. As for the Smurf itself, I remain torn. Since the gen 1st appeared at Basel, I was 1 of the few who were attracted by its shade of blue (good match with a pair of faded jeans & a t), but all that bling. :shock: Still, I had intended to pick this model up as soon as someone released a version that matched the overall quality of the GMTIIC, which this 1 certainly does. But my experience with the GMTIIC, with its similarly blingy surfaces (& more understated black insert/dial), has dulled me to the idea of buying another blingy watch that will spend most of its time in a case.

A Rolex crystal should not look white from the side, but, otherwise, nice job.

None of the gold parts look right. But it could be the picture.

I partially agree with Nanuq. I like the insert & case shape, but the minute hand is a bit too short (nice touch with the white seconds hand though ). Also, the crystal is wrong for that model & the bracelet is 1 of those hideous monstrosities that should never be fitted to a watch intended to appear authentic (search for the 'Yuki 7206 rivet bracelet' - it has issues with the springbars, but it looks & functions like the real thing). Hard to tell with these pics, but is the case a bit too thick/tall & does the dial lume (numbers & index markers) have a gloss shine ?

It looks good enough to fool anyone but a knowledgeable Rolex collector.