freddy333

Early (until about mid-70s) 6263/6265 Daytonas came with the folded link 7835 & later watches came with the solid link 78350.

Just to be clear - if you manually wind the crown 40 turns & then set it on a table without wearing or moving it, how long does the watch run?

I agree with Tribal. If the insert is a gen or PMWF, it will snap into place by hand (without the need for any glue or cement). Press it in at 1 point & then work your way around until the entire insert is seated. If you have the PMWF insert, you will need to place the thin, flat metal spacer (that came with the PMWF insert) in 1st (sandwiched in between the bezel & insert) & then install the insert on top of that. You should then be able to press the bezel/insert assembly back on by hand, again, starting at a single point & then working your way around the bezel until it snaps into place. You do not need & I would not use a press to install the bezel. (If the insert pops out as you are reinstalling the bezel, you can easily reinstall the insert after the bezel is back in place. Regardless of whether you install the insert with the bezel on the watch or off, the process is the same.

Thanks, RG. Actually, I replaced a couple of the screws with better 1s. It looked even worse when I received it. But you know how frustrating these things can get sometimes & everyone has a different tolerance level for dealing with them. And add in the bottom-line 'just get it done' mentality that pervades businesses these days & I guess you have to expect to end up with a movement that looks like it has been 'worked over'. However, this is also a good example of why people are wrong to think that only Rolex or a large AD can properly service an expensive watch when quite the contrary is often the case. To a professional, this is just another job to get done as cheaply & quickly as possible. But, to a hobbyist, the same work is often treated as a labor of love, where getting the job done right takes precedence over the bottom line. Of course, you cannot really make a full-time living in today's marketplace with that approach, but it works for us.

Yes, as long as the watch comes with original Tiffany paperwork. Without these, the Tiffany mark should be considered fake.

I guess if I had not already found & purchased everything from Ofrei, I would be enjoying the ride alot more. But knowing that this will be, by far, the most difficult hunt yet, the thrill of the chase for this particular beast has soured a bit. But, on the other hand, being able to wear any number of beautiful timepieces that resulted from previous sojourns seems pretty good consolation during this 1.

So you are prancing around wearing nothing but a Bucherer? Scandalous. Congrads, dluddy. It looks good on you. Late dinner with this

Thanks, all, for the encouragement. I just hope I will be able to source all of the parts. This would have been so much easier had I not ended up getting the short end of the stick on the 1036 deal with Ofrei.

You can say that again.

Outstanding work. It sure makes you wish the dial factory would finally get the correct font for the 'O' in ROLEX.

I am with Nanuq. Shady pics nearly always cover an even more shady watch. But it looks like a nicely done franken from what I can see.

An alternative that might also work is a pusher installer tool (Ofrei, Cas-Ker, Borel, etc.).

UPDATE After completing my initial 6542 GMT Master project (not to mention a minor Ofrei-related setback), I have begun work on the 2nd & final phase, the goal of which is to replace the existing 1675 dial & modified 'slow beat' ETA 2846 motor with a proper 6542 dial & Rolex 1030-to-1036 GMT conversion calibre. The base 1030 is now complete (or will be after I wipe off the Moebius I just dripped all over its pillar as I was setting up to shoot these pics ) (The damaged screw heads came that way & are NOT my work) This is base 1030, 6542 dial & gen seconds hand as God (& Rolex) intended Watch the movie (if you turn the volume up, you can hear it tick). I think they will look right at home in this dandy carrying case The 1st set of (1035) date change components should arrive in the next day or 2. However, the remaining 14 date change & (1036) GMT components required to complete the 1030's conversion to GMT spec remain yet to be found & may take some time. So, unless I get very lucky, completion of the final phase of this project could take a considerable amount of time. But, like they say, slow & steady wins the race.

Exactly. And to Dizzy - Where are the pics of your new DW?

Did you read the seller's footnote -- 50/50 on this 1. Seller has good feedback, but nothing very recent & only a couple references to watches (kids watches, Swatches, reps????). Also, the lack of movement or clear close-ups would bother me. I think I would have requested the name of the TZ member he got the watch from so you could verify the story. Assuming the story checks out with a reliable TZ'r, I would have alot more confidence. But I guess you will find out soon enough.

If the second hand appears to be skipping around on the dial, tip the watch/movement on a 45 degree angle & shake it gently. Does the hand look like it is skipping around on the dial in tandem with the motion? If so, the hand is loose & may just need to be reseated onto its pinion. If not, then the center pinion could have too much play.

Wore my beater today But off to dinner with my GMT

Ah, yeah. Welcome to the world of reps. The term 'factory' is something of a misnomer, since most rep watches are assembled in anything but what most in the west would term a 'factory'. It is not uncommon for the assembly of rep watches to be contracted out to families of home builders, who then construct the watches on their living room floor or around the dinner table (keep this in mind the next time you wonder why there are fingerprints or debris inside your rep). But even if reps were assembled under clean room conditions by Rolex-trained technicians, the fact remains that you are not going to get a solid gold rep at rep prices when the price of an ounce of gold is generally many times the cost of the entire rep watch, & you are not going to get Rolex (or any other luxury brand) parts/design quality at rep prices either. The problems associated with the corners cut in the design, manufacture & assembly of recent Super rep watches were neither accidental nor unique. On the contrary, they are to be expected considering the (drastically inflated) retail prices being charged for high end rep watches (which I believe are still mostly reasonable when you factor in the beauty & visual accuracy of some of the better reps).

Congrads on the upcoming nuptuals. The VC is a nice choice, but you should also consider a Patek Calatrava. Basic models like the 5107 or 5127 are simple & understated yet classically sophisticated & cost about the same (or even a bit less) as the VC.

A balance bridge in lieu of a cock is certainly a step in the right direction. But until I see what is under there, I will reserve judgment. There is no question that Chinese factories are getting better at making things look more accurate, but, as recent experience with GMT & secs at 6 A7750 movements have shown, they have a long way to go in terms of matching the gens' manufacturing or performance quality.

Sorry to hear that. Are you (& the watch) alright?

If you bring back something really interesting, maybe we should poll support for another whiteflint GTG?

Actually, if you already have a running 3035, I do not know why you would even entertain the thought of putting it into anything other than a gen case. Generally, people build ETA-powered frankens solely because the gen movement is too expensive & the rep dial/case parts are relatively cheap. But, in your case, you already have the expensive part, the movement, so why not just buy a gen 1601x Datejust case & dial on ebay (you can pick the pair up for the cost of the average rep watch) & then press on a pair of Clark's hands & crystal & you have a nearly gen watch. Or, for just a bit more, buy a set of gen hands & crystal & you have a Franken-gen (a gen watch cobbled together from gen parts).

3035 = Dia - 28.5mm & Height - 6.3mm You can find specs on whichever ETA you are interested in at www.eta.ch. I work mainly with Plexiglas crystals, but depending on which crystal you are looking for, most likely within a range of between $50-$300.