freddy333

It depends entirely on the details of the particular bracelets in question. Some of the best replica bracelets are very difficult to tell apart from the genuine article. If you read some of the older threads about Yuki 720x rivet bracelets, you will see what I mean. That said, most people cannot tell the difference between average reps & gens, so the knowledge, experience & sensitivity of the viewer plays a large part.

Ditto.

I would love a source for any genuine Rolex parts today. About 10 years ago, Rolex SA clamped-down on their service network members & specifically forbid them from selling or transferring any Rolex parts to anyone outside the official Rolex service network. That virtually cut-off all of my sources for the past 25 years, all of whom told me Rolex made it clear that a single infringement would likely result in their losing their Rolex service &/or dealer status. So if anyone has a current source (other than ebay), please PM me. As to the general state of frankens for buyers, it has always been a minefield & a very expensive 1 at that. As many, including myself, have stated over the years, that 'outrageous' price being asked for a vintage Rolex part or watch today will be the bargain 1 year from now. &, most likely, within 10 years, the price will double, triple or quadruple. The point is that due to diminishing supply & ever-increasing demand, price, within reason (for vintage Rolex), should never be a precluding factor for serious vintage Rolex projects. As Nanuq & Auto said, building quality frankens is a risky & expensive endeavor & 1 that is not for the impatient, bargain hunter or emotional. But the rewards outweigh the struggles if your pockets are deep enough, your eye is sophisticated enough & your plan is clear enough.

If this is a new watch, it would be best to contact the seller & seek his advice. He may offer an exchange or give you a partial rebate or discount on your next purchase - recommending that you have it fixed locally. That way, you avoid the complexity & inherent pitfalls relating to shipping a replica around the world. It is a relatively easy fix to remove, realign & re-glue the lume bit into the metal surround. The difficult part, unless you have the tools & experience, is to de-case/reinstall the watch. If you lack these, just about any competent local watchmaker should be able to handle the task for you.

Still wearing the GMT today

I mostly agree with slay. I have tried Bergeon dial feet on multiple dials, with proper surface prep & various adhesives/epoxies/cements & they always fall off. No so with good dial dots. In some cases, you may have to stack 2 or 3 dots on top of each other for proper spacing, but the only real downside to dial dots is that they must be positioned so they do not interfere with components & the adhesive can be a bit of a pain to remove during overhauls.

Many serious collectors include ephemera like original watch boxes, advertisements, pens, display materials, product catalogs & registration paperwork in their collections, which make them more interesting. If paperwork is sought for that purpose, it is fine. However, criminals use genuine papers to fool buyers into thinking a fake Rolex is genuine. That type of activity is illegal & will definitely result in the criminal being banned.

Although I am not sure I agree with your description of MQ's source or case construction techniques, I am interested in hearing more myself. Nothing you have said so far is an annoyance. Please feel free to continue.

Just past midnight & wearing my Aryan 'Master

Like all mechanical watches, to maintain function & long-life, the Valjoux chrono movement should be overhauled every 5-7 years. If done & properly treated, the watch should last for generations. The most important thing in the vintage Rolex world is the dial & movement. The 'vintage look', as you call it, is simply the result of natural age & wear. In other words, patina, which goes for all things of a certain age (eg, cars, furniture, clothes, etc). All else being equal (& appropriate), a natural looking patina is what sets a collection of newly made parts (ie a modern franken) apart from (what looks like) 'the real thing'. The former may be cool to its owner, but knowledgeable collectors know a vintage watch that looks new is almost always an Asian-made franken. & manufacturing a natural patina is, by far, the most difficult detail to get right in a vintage watch. In the case of vintage Rolex watches, patina varies in appearance from nearly new to badly damaged & all points in between. Choose your poison. $160,000? I believe a mint Newman exceeded the $2,000,000 mark last year, with the average running between $80-$200,000.

There are 3 roads to non-genuine Newmans - 1. the cheapest/easiest option, buy a rep ($300+) 2. the moderately expensive/difficult option, build an ETA 7750-powered franken ($1,000+) 3. the expensive/difficult option, build a Valjoux 72-powered franken (genuine 62xx Daytonas are powered by [Rolex] modified V72 movements) ($3,000-$6,000+) 3a. buy a pre-assembled V72-powered franken from 1 of the aftermarket parts sellers & have it professionally overhauled (these things often look like they were assembled by monkeys & arrive in dirty/dodgy condition) ($3,000-$4,000+) For option 1, do your research before you begin! Spend time looking at genuine Newmans on gen watch sites & ebay. Learn the differences between versions & Oyster/non & collect pics of gens for comparison. Then, browse the dealer listings in the Watches section. For option 2, beginning with the same rep, swap out as many of the rep components with better aftermarket or genuine Rolex components as you can afford. For option 3, get a 2nd (or 3rd) job, start saving & pulling your hair out. At the same time, start searching online for a used V72 movement & have it properly overhauled. Then, buy an aftermarket case, dial/handset & bracelet. Optionally, if you have sufficiently deep pockets, you can replace the aftermarket crown/tube, crystal, pushers, dial coronet & bracelet with genuine Rolex components. Whichever way you go, there are many threads on RWG that detail members' previous project watches & be aware that as the price rises, so too does the complexity & likelihood of problems. Rarely, do the high end franken projects go according to plan. So be prepared to deal with the inevitable problems, cost overruns & detours along the way.

??? As they say, anything is possible with vintage Rolex & I know that some of their more uncommon pre-70s bracelets were made for them by 3rd parties, but I have never heard of Rolex getting anything from Spiedel. I do know that Rolex created their (painfully) expanding Oyster bracelets as an alternative to the Twist-O-Flex, which became popular in the late 50s & 60s (I also have 1 on my Accutron). As for ill-fitting Rolex rivet (or folded link) bracelets, the most common problem is end links that do not match (or are incorrect for) the case. Because many vintage Rolex bracelets are in short supply & have permanently attached end links, unless delicate & often damaging end link transplant surgery is performed, due to their rarity & cost, often, new owners must make due with the right bracelet fitted with the wrong end links. It seems that far more of most of the common vintage bracelets left the Rolex factory fitted with end links made for models that are less popular today than they were 50+ years ago. So, often, unless you are willing to spend a great deal of time & money on the hunt for the correct match for your case/model, you often have to accept a bracelet with end links that are a close (but imperfect) match for your case. End links that appear similar may vary in length, width or curve by only a fraction of a millimeter, but that fraction can be the difference between a good fit & an unsightly gap or loose/noisy parts. Try to locate a folded link Oyster bracelet for a 6239 with the correct links & you will see what I mean.

Looks like a nice rep, but hard to make out details based on the fuzzy pic.

Why do you not remove the xtal while you are working on the case? I think you need a better fitting set of hands & some enhanced patination on the case (so it matches the faded insert), but, otherwise, nice work.

Wearing my vintage rep today

Alli, did you notice that the ROLEX COSMOGRAPH text is off-center (too far right) & the 90-degree 'step' between the dial face & subdials looks more like a ski slope? The dial has other issues that can be seen by comparing to gens.

I had a similar experience with my DRSD that actually escalated to a store manager asking if his watchmaker could verify my watch. He did & the watchmaker's reaction was similar to your Jim Carrey description above - double-take followed by red-faced submission. It pays to remember that God lies in the details. Ditto. Alot of wealthy tech guys are often mistaken for homeless people, unless you happen to catch a glimpse of their watch (or car, which you would not see when they are not in it). Many years ago, when I was in sales, I made 1 of the largest sales to a guy who looked (& smelled) like he was homeless, but who turned out to be 1 of the principals of the world's largest ad agency. He later apologized for his messy appearance saying it was due to his having been working on (1 of) his Ferraris earlier in the day. Sometimes, as the saying goes, you really cannot judge a book by its cover.

Trusty has been around a long time & is 1 of the best. You will likely love your watch. Do not forget to post pics when it arrives.

That happens quite often. Last weekend, I was eating at a crowded bar in a local restaurant wearing 1 of my Newmans & the place was packed with people waiting for tables. I became aware that there were several people peering over my shoulders & whispering things like 'Look, that guy has 1 of those Rolex Daytonas!' & 'Yeah, that's a rare watch, I've never seen a real 1 before.'