freddy333

I have to go with dluddy here. These days, people wear whatever they like with a suit. But, traditionally, a small, simple understated watch was the rule when dressing for work or semi-formal occasions. Sport watches should, as the name describes, be worn with sports clothes.

I think you will need another A7750 for that. Try the Trading section (they pop up every once in awhile) or contact some of the collectors to see if they might have a watch that was returned for cosmetic reasons that they are willing to sell at a discount. Or check with Ziggy to see about having yours serviced, which would be a good idea even if it was running.

Looks good. Adding your own (genuine) patina is always a plus.

25 years ago, when relatively few people owned a rep (because, before the internet, they were sold mostly by word-of-mouth), no one that you would encounter on the street had the slightest inkling how to tell a gen from a rep (unless it was of the covered with fake jems & rubbed off gold paint, Canal Street variety). However, today, with reps sold by the millions via spam, everyone knows about them & most people are attuned to the fact that they are out there. Additionally, there are many more collectors & WIS types on the streets these days, who DO know what to look for. And these people are everywhere. The kid who made your latte in Starbucks this morning may have spent the previous evening culling through the latest postings on Timezone. Or the waiter in your local diner may have an uncle who has a small collection of Omegas. And most of these guys probably will not call you out when they spot your rep. They will just walk away shaking their head after pouring your coffee or doing your taxes or sharing your office printer. The point is that as reps have become more ubiquitous, so to have the number of people who can spot them. And while most cannot spot an incorrectly shaped cannon pinion from across the room, I think it is safe to say that many people CAN detect a wannabee wearing a fake Big Bang or jewel-encrusted President from a mile away.

It looks more like a sub-prime dial.

I was considering that dial myself, but I thought the damage was too extensive. I think your only options are to use it as is (if you put it into a very 'vintagized' case, it might be interesting) or have it refinished by a professional dial refinisher.

An even better question is whether anyone makes a rep of that watch? Now, that would be something.

A good part of that cheap feel comes from the cheap quality parts (& assembly practices) used to construct the watch. Some of the parts (crown/stem, crystal, bracelet, etc) can be replaced with genuine Rolex parts, which, in some cases, will go a long way toward improving the overall appearance & tactile feel of your watch. Of course, in the case of this particular watch, fitting some of these parts will require modifications to the case, which can be both time-consuming or costly. So you may consider this just info for the future. I also forgot to mention in my earlier response that the movement probably just needs to be cleaned & re-oiled (these watches usually come with an ETA movement, either Swiss or Asian-made - either of which is capable of being tuned to keep very accurate time). Contrary to what many rep vendors say, the movements used in these watches are generally either used (pulled from other used watches) or old/unserviced. In either case, this means that the movement is likely dirty, devoid of oil, contains dried-out oil or any combination of the 3. It is actually a miracle that most reps function at all upon receipt. Now, at $59, you may not consider it worth the cost of having a professional overhaul (probably in the range of $120, depending on who does the work & where you live). But if you were planning to keep or use the watch, I would look at its cheap initial cost as simply a bonus that you can use toward getting the movement serviced, which many (including me) recommend for every rep.

For the record - I am NOT searching for another case at this time. I am just curious to see if there is a cheaper, quicker & more reliable alternative to Silix for future reference.

Good points, all. I am wearing the red version today (old picture)

It is neither white nor gen, but (discounting the yellowish lume) it looks pretty good to me.

All of the parts houses sell them in assortments. This question has been answered previously, so you should be able to find info via the Search.

Seafoam - As you said, I did not see your watch (or similar CG-less Subs) listed on their site & although the price is definitely right, I am not willing to throw $59 into a black hole in the hope that I will get the golden ring. But I appreciate the info & pics. If anyone else does order from them & happens to get a CG-less Sub-style watch (with the low-profile case) like the 1 I used from Silix (ROLS176), please let me know.

Thanks for the new pics. This looks like 1 of the same Subs that Silix sells (for nearly 4 times the price). Unfortunately, it is also 1 of the models with the (incorrectly) high-profile case, which is not suitable for constructing these early CG-less Subs. However, the bezel & insert are. And since the seller has this watch, he most likely also has the low-profile version that I need. What is the website address?

Wow Can you post some good, clear pics of both sides & the caseback (I can feel the gears of creation beginning to turn once again)?

No, just enlarged them with my trusty hand drill, a few drops of 3-in-1 oil & a cobalt bit. There are numerous tutorials in the Rolex & Watch Repair forums.

I know what you mean. I would prefer being forced to eat spotted dick through a tube rather than to suffer through that horror.

I am with Alligoat. And like I said previously, buy the seller 1st. That is the best way to increase your odds of getting what you paid for.

Proof positive that we all have entirely too much free time.

I hope they find more alive. My sympathies.

TeeJay - Silix offers several Subs that share the same (incorrectly higher profile) case & only 1 that I am aware of (ROLS176, with the Cartier dial) that uses the correct low profile case. A couple other members attempted similar projects (before me) using some of these other Silix CG-less Sub cases, but the cases turned out to be too tall. You can tell if you have the correct case because, when viewed from the side, a gen 6mm Twinlock crown should protrude about 1mm above & 1mm below the side of the case. If the case height matches or exceeds the height of the crown, it is the wrong case. Yes, we got it right this time. The only thing I debated about was adding the hyphen between OYSTER - PERPETUAL. Some of the 6542s have it, some do not. Because I generally prefer 'white space', I went without. But if I did another, I would probably do it that way. He also got the spacing wrong with the bottom 2 lines. They should have been evenly spaced. I have seen a couple early gens that were spaced similar to my dial, but not quite as close. Still, I think he did a tremendous job & I am VERY happy with the results. Still noted. Poor Nanuq has been drooling over this thing for so long & with all the help he offered during its construction, I would be remiss if I did not offer him 1st option if/when I sell it.

I hate to be at variance with the prevailing negative opinion on this watch, but, all things considered, I think this is not a bad 6536 Sub rep. Of course, it contains inaccuracies, but, overall, I think it looks pretty good. Certainly, as good as any other commercially-made CG-less vintage Sub rep I have seen (from the few vendors who even have them). I would love to see some side views to see if the case is the correct (low) profile or whether they used a standard sized Sub case (which would be incorrect for this model).

Now that I see the same seller has the exact same dial, but with yellowed lume, I am even more persuaded that both are newly minted aftermarkets. However, with that said, I prefer the white lume version.

MY's hands are made to fit the gen 1030 movement (which is what phase 2 is all about), so they would not fit the modified ETA 2846 I used for this phase 1 project. I was unable to find a small GMT hand that would fit (or could be made to fit) the ETA 2846's pinion, so I 'rolled my own'. The hand consists of the tip from 1 of MY's hands which I soldered to the handshaft from the original Silix hand. I have had the small GMT hand installed for several months now. You must have just missed some of the more recent pics & posts. I only used (& took pics of) the original large GMT hand (donated from another 1675 rep watch) right after I put this watch together. But, within days of that, I assembled the small hand & installed it. MY sells dials made for the 1030 movement, which press onto the 1030's calendar ring (no dial feet on these), so they will not fit an ETA. So, for this watch, I sent him the 'Cartier' Sub dial you see in the pic of the original Silix watch above & he stripped & repainted it per my specs as you see in the new pics. Thank you. I very much appreciate the support.