freddy333

I think this replaces 1 of By-Tor's EXII wristies as my current fav. I think I am beginning to feel that familiar (& costly) urge again.

Wow.

Very cool.

Not to worry. I have a 'Paul & a 335 as well. I just prefer the look of the Rick & spent many years picking at it. Only if they are real.

Actually, other than replacing the crown/tube with gens, I think I am going to leave it just the way it is. Good luck on yours. As long as it comes through, it will be worth the wait.

I totally forgot to check it. Unfortunately, it is the same as Chris's - 737738. So the case is aftermarket, but boy is it done well. Even the engraving looks gen (aside from what is engraved).

Tribal - if the case is not gen, then it must be a genuinely-aged Vietnamese. I have never seen a vintage rep case that was made or aged like this. The crown is probably aftermarket, so I would expect the tube to be from the same source. If the movement is from Thailand, I would be VERY surprised. But, if it is, then we need to buy into whichever factory is making them, because there is nothing about the movement that would make me suspicious if a customer brought it in for repair & told me it was gen. Nothing.

And if you prefer metal-to-metal I may have a new beater. By the way, I put the watch under a bright light for 1 minute & the hands & pearl (both of which look newer than the rest of the watch) glow, but the dial remains totally dark.

Exactly. But also for gens minted during the same period. Anyone have a known gen 7016 caseback they can post good, clear pics of (I am searching my picture archives as we speak)?

And for you propeller heads (like me), the movement is working exactly as I would expect a vintage Rolex-modded ETA to work Of course, this is far from perfect (or even typical of a Rolex calibre of similar vintage), but the beat is good & steady & can be improved with some simple adjustments.

Ok, I have the watch in hand & this much I know with reasonable certainty - the (non-hacking 19.8k bph) movement, crystal (which, except for a slight yellowing (age/sun exposure), looks like the gen T39 I installed yesterday on a customer's watch), stem & case are gen (caseback is most likely gen, but it could be a repro (an excellent repro) that was made many years ago), the hands appear newly made & the dial (which has a different 'rose' & slightly different lume than Chris's) is probably an aftermarket vintage piece. However, if someone (with more Tudor experience than I have) wanted to suggest otherwise on the dial, I would be an easy sell (it is much better than NDTrading or just about any other aftermarket Tudor dial I have seen). Initially, after reading Chris's original post & the seller's story, I thought this was a batch of exact duplicate copies, which would indicate a shipment of frankens from the same source. But the lume on my watch is different than Chris's (as well as the watch pictured on the seller's website), the crystal is clearly (no pun intended) older and in poorer condition (in this case, that is a good thing) & the movement also appears to be in a different condition & age, which makes me lean more towards the possibility of these watches being mostly or all gen. But, in either case, these watches are gorgeous. Now, onto the pics (As you can see, the movement & stem have obvious signs of genuine age & wear (rusting screws, stem, etc)) (The perlaged pillar plate is correctly numbered) (Caseback has the look, finish & feel --you can usually tell by the way a caseback screws onto a case whether it is a gen or rep-- of a genuine Tudor part, but is it real............I am not sure?) (Crown is probably aftermarket) Now to the Swimsuit Competition Here are a couple of gens for comparison ____________ My conclusion, well 3 conclusions - 1. Anyone who bought 1 of these for $275 ripped off the seller - I would easily have paid $800+, as is, & still walked away thinking I got a helluva deal. 2. I can understand why Girard bought the lot thinking they were 100% gen. I am still not sure myself. 3. If you missed out on this 1............well, you missed out on the deal of a lifetime. Sorry. Oh, 1 more thing - A BIG THANK YOU to Chris5264 for not only bringing this to the membership's attention, but doing it just in time.

Simon - Someone else can advise you on the TT Sub (Sub bling is not my thing), but if you can source a 1652x rep dial, I would also mod the crown guards & you could end up with a really nice watch. Or, assuming you find the dial & mod the CGs, you could take it a step further & move the movement/dial over to a low profile case, which would take it a step closer to a gen (I posted a tutorial on how to make the perfect 116520 Daytona last year, you can Search it out). Or, since it is working, just leave it as is.

That sounds like part of the crown. Crowns usually screw onto the end of the stem, regardless of how they connect to the case. It sounds like your crown was not properly tightened onto the stem & it eventually worked itself loose & fell off. If you have a hand drill & are very careful, you may be able to gently clamp (do not overtighten!) a flat portion of the stem between the jaws of the drill (where you place the drill bit) & then carefully screw the crown back onto the stem. Of course, you would need to remove the stem from the watch 1st, which I am guessing you are not able to do. In that case, your only options are to return the watch to the seller or have a local watchmaker fix it for you (it will take a watchmaker all of 2 minutes).

Sorry, Stephane. The devil made me do it. I restored a number of them over the years, but they were all sent to Japanese collectors (who send back large numbers of dollar bills for restored Mac & Marantz). Here are a few blasts from my past - 1, 2 or 3.

Today is the 13th & I know it is the 13th because I spent the entire weekend twisting & twisting & twisting & twisting & twisting the stem of my 6542 -- to set the correct date (I am amazed that anyone was ever able to do any jet-setting in the pre-quick-set days, because date-setting must have taken up most of their time) (Thanks for the wonderful moonscape, Bazz)

I almost became a music presenter (DJ) like Stephane (in the 70s), but became a music maker instead which led into music collecting & of course you must have something to play your music collection on & once a modder always a modder - in addition to rebuilding vintage watches, I also rebuild vintage hifi gear, cars & bikes But, sometimes, you just have to get away from it all & curling up with a rare 1st edition at the end of a hectic day is also a good way to unwind But I still love music presenting, so I occasionally DJ a pirate radio show on the web

Most pushers are made to fit many different watches, so the center pin is long & must be cut or ground down to the proper length to fit your case (if you buy a Rolex-packaged pusher, the extra cost goes to having them pre-cut the pusher pin to the proper length (more or less). 1 option is to install each pusher & then estimate how long the pin needs to be & remove it & cut it to length with heavy duty wire cutters (if you choose this option, cut a bit too long & then file it down to the exact length to avoid cutting too short). The other option is to install the pusher, estimate how long it needs to be & then use a small grinding bit with a Dremel to grind the pin down to the desired length.

This is not 1 of the recently discovered batch from girards, is it?

If your girlfriend does not like it, I am sure you can find another (girlfriend) who will. Great work. Which gen Rolex datewheel did you use?

Properly serviced, the Asian 7750 seems to be as reliable as the Swiss version, so I do not know what you would gain by spending more for the Swiss movement. I primarily deal with vintage Rolex models, so I cannot answer your questions about new/current Subs/Seadwellers. Although I have only sourced parts from them, either NDTrading or Phong will sell you a Frankenstein watch (a watch assembled with a mixture of gen & aftermarket parts). Otherwise, they are diy projects (use the Search to find threads dealing with the specific Rolex model you are interested in).

This is 1 of the few repairs that you can probably do yourself if you are careful & able to remove the caseback. Alot of rep watches do not have their casebacks properly secured, so you may be able to unscrew it with a handful of masking tap (wadded-up with the sticky side facing out). Press the ball of masking tape against the caseback & unscrew. If you are unable to remove the caseback, you will need to find a watchmaker. Open your phonebook & find a watchmaker. If you are able to remove the caseback, you should see something like this (note the screw & small metal tab at 8, with a 2nd pair at 2 (under the rotor - the half-moon shaped thing that says 'Tudor Auto Prince' on it is the rotor)) My guess is that 1 or both of the screws and/or tabs are loose or missing. If they are loose, simply find a screwdriver that fits the screw & snug them up (do not force them tight!). If either screw/tab is missing, they may have dropped into the movement (a very bad thing) or, if the dial has always been slanted like it is now, then they may never have been installed in the 1st place. In either case (if you cannot find the 2 screws & the 2 tabs), you will need to take the watch to a watchmaker to have it checked out.

Most likely, 1 (or both) of the 2 tabs/screws that secure the movement in the case is loose or missing, so there is nothing holding the movement in place. This is not a good thing! However, as long as nothing has been damaged (yet), this is a very simple fix for ANY watchmaker. In the meantime, I would recommend that you not wear the watch. Instead, place the watch - dial facing UP - on a table & leave it that way until you can get it to a watchmaker to have the movement secured in place. If you keep wearing it, you are going to damage it.

I give as I get.

Diesel - Get these in white (you may need to contact them to see if they are in stock) Daytona yellow screw down push button Fluted head is 5.5 mm in diameter, while thread diameter is 2.50 mm RolPush-Yellow $49.00 Note - Most likely, these will fit without any problem (though I would recommend a quick tap to clean the threads either way). But there are no guarantees with any of these Daytona cases. The pusher holes in 1 of the cases I worked on were cut too large & these (as well as the original pushers) were too small (they kept falling out of the case). In that case, you either epoxy the pusher tubes into the case, try to order the next larger diameter pusher (if available) or replace the case.