freddy333

The paint may have been removed by an ultrasonic cleaner. Sorry to hear about your car, but I am glad to hear you are alright Stephane.

I think the sharpness rule fell by the wayside when NDtrading & Jewelryandwatch & other aftermarket dial resellers began producing higher quality printing (NDtrading dial - 100% aftermarket - printing was very crisp unlike typical rep dials) Now you really do need to pay attention to the tiny details (distance between index markers & lume dots, squareness of rectangle markers, correct coronet shape per dial version, texture of dial face, etc).

It may take some trial & error to find a matching set since rep makers often use whatever screws they have on hand, but this should help.

PP - I like the watch , but I love the pictures . More please.

MBK/MBW dials are made to fit ETA movements, which generally have their feet in different locations than Rolex dials. So if you want to use the MBK dial, you will need to remove the feet & use dial dots or some other semi-permanent adhesive to afix the dial to the movement. And I would re-read Stilty's caveat before proceeding. He knows what he is talking about.

Cool Proof that patience has its benefits.

Constructing a Valjoux-powered Daytona is a bit more than just transplanting, but if you can deal with the almost inevitable headaches that go with the territory, there is no reason not to transplant. No matter how much you like the generic watch, once you get the engine comfortably ticking away inside a Daytona case, you will never look back.

Another cold day with nothing but my beater to keep me warm

Yes, as has been predicted. On the other hand, this may just be part of the usual cycle that has been repeating itself over & over again for the past 25 years. Every few years, the gens make a stink & the police make some highly publicized raids (with lots of pics of reps being destroyed or confiscated (into the pockets of the police & government officials)) & everyone predicts gloom & doom. Then, quietly, things return to absolute normal & life (in the rep world) marches on. But with the economy affecting the gens' bottom lines, this really should not come as a surprise to many here.

Ditto. There was a certain chronograph in 1 of the other shots that looked suspiciously familiar as well.

It looks gen, but out of an early gold chronograph (pre-Daytona) model. When the hammer falls, it will likely be 4+ times its current price.

My thoughts exactly & I am working on it.

GMTIIC (on the left) as it arrived from the factory - CHS & keeps perfect time Now, if you want to know who has the best GMTIIC, use the Search.

Demon, I hate to say it, but you are likely to run into the same problem with the 2nd press. As Avitt said, the better presses (Bergeon) are machined much better, which means that when the jaws clamp together, the intersection between them is almost perfectly parallel. If you do not want to spend the money on a Bergeon (or 1 of the other quality Swiss-made presses), you can place the nylon dies in a bench vice, which, if you are careful not to crush your work, will produce quite satisfactory results. It would not hurt to get rubber covers for the vice's jaws so you do not deform the dies. 1 of my older threads contains a picture or 2 of this setup that you should be able to locate via the search (if you need to).

Generally, all of the above. This 1 has been sighted on my wrist today

You should change your cleaning media & wipe off the part when changing polishes, but I see no reason to clean the parts between each polishing stage. For whatever it is worth, to polish stainless steel, I use a Dremel (running at the slowest speed) with green rouge on a soft cloth wheel (these do not usually come with standard polishing kits & must be purchased separately). (Unless the part is badly pitted or deeply scratched (use sandpaper or emory for that), I have never had to use anything else.) After polishing, I then run the part through the ultrasonic to remove all of the rouge that gets into crevices & lug holes. All of these have all been heavily modded & then polished as above (Brushed sections of cases/bracelets re-finished with a Bergeon 5444 polishing pad)

I agree with Ziggy that L&R (clean & rinse) is probably about the best option. But I also make my own 'brew' when I run out of L&R Cleaning 2 drops of dishwashing liquid (not the stuff for your dishwashing machine) 2 tablespoon of pure ammonia 2 cups of warm tap water Rinsing 1 tablespoon of pure ammonia 1 tablespoon denatured alcohol 2 cups of distilled water One Dip (or store bought chlorinated spray brake cleaner) for anything held together with shellac like pallets or balance assemblies Also, to dry small, delicate parts that I do not want to run through the ultrasonic's dryer, either a can of compressed air, hand blower or warm boxwood sawdust (works especially well for balances).

That model is not supposed to 'click'. The bezel is designed to turn freely (in both directions, before you ask) without any click-stops. Below the bezel, there should be a thin, flat spacer which is slightly bent in the middle, which makes it act like a spring. When placed under the bezel, it places a small amount of upward pressure against the bezel keeping it in place (so it does not turn by itself). When you want to turn the bezel, you press down & turn. When you let go, the springy spacer locks the bezel in place where you set it. If you buy 1 of the pmwf inserts, which is often alot more accurate than the inserts that come on commercially made reps & frankens, it usually comes with the spacer, which you then bend to fit your watch.

It is a Rolex. That is what drives the price.

I thought it was a 1680. If not, then just ignore the word 'vintage' - the point is the same.

Looks like the hotel safe at the Wynn in 'Vegas.

Vintage Rolex. What more do you need to know?

Late Saturday night/Sunday morning