freddy333

If all GMTIIC owners will post your experience & comments, we might be able to get a better idea of the true failure rate of these new 'Super' reps. It might also be helpful if you can add a comment indicating (as close as possible) the date you received your GMTIIC. My chs GMTIIC arrived on June 6. ____________ UPDATE - I just updated the poll to separate the chs from ihs movements, so we can track differences based on hand stack layout (chs = Correct Hand Stack, ihs = Incorrect Hand Stack). Sorry for the initial confusion.

Not sure. Remember this thread was begun to gauge the number & types of problems that GMTIIC owners experience, not success stories. Maybe we should start a new GMTIIC poll asking which movement you have (chs or ihs Swiss or ihs Asian) & what state your watch is in (ok, running with problems, dead or Returned for repair/exchange)? ______________ UPDATE - I just started a new Poll thread. If you own 1 of these GMTIIC reps, please enter your experience there so we can get a better idea of the failure (or not) rate. Thanks.

I do not remember who it was, but a few months ago someone posted pics of a really nice looking rep of a modded vintage Rolex-built Panerai (you could see the Rolex badging on 1 of the bridges through the back, even though the gen probably did not have a see-through caseback). I thought I had saved the pics, but I guess not. Anyone know which watch this is?

Same here.

Either with a good crystal press Or, carefully, with a rubber-jawed vice I have to say, again, that if your crystal looks similar to this Righting it is probably not going to seal a leaky case. More likely, I would think that either the crystal was installed without a gasket or sealant (you will need to remove the crystal & apply sealant) or you have a leaking crown/tube/caseback gasket or an improperly installed crown tube, which is a frequent source of moisture entering a rep watch.

Read the story

I have to give the nod to the Beatles, but I appreciate your enthusiasm. And I would bet that Stephane, even with his marvelous Subs, will agree with me. Stephane???

Switched beaters to my Daytona for Wednesday

I agree. Welcome to the forum & the wonderful money pit of reps. Nice TR4, too. I cannot put my hand on my 4 manual just now, but you might appreciate these in the meantime

My guess, based on the satisfactory timing results I have gotten from my chs watch, is that the chs reps contain genuine ETAs But until some of these movements are completely disassembled & compared to known genuine ETA parts, the jury will remain out as to whether any of these GMTIICs -- chs or Swiss/Asian ihs -- contain a genuine Swiss movement. Something I have noticed on both of the watches I have handled (my chs & a friend's ihs) is that there is a subtle grinding when screwing the crown back into the case. I emphasize that I felt the same thing on both the chs & ihs versions. It could be something sticking in the keyless works (remember these are all surplus/used movements) or it could be something more serious. But, again, until you disassemble the movement, there is no way to know. And with the cautions Ziggy mentioned regarding broken gears when removing hands, etc., I am not about to tamper with a movement that is currently functioning/running well & keeping good time.

1 of NDtrading's better dials & a case of a dial vendor actually listening to buyers when they offer constructive suggestions for improvement (their original 5514 dial had the usual narrow crown & index markers, but they remade it after I sent Natalie some pictures & a description detailing the differences between their old dial & the gen). I am awaiting an MBW case from Eurotimez, which may re-appear sometime............

Implicit in his description is the understanding that the case can & should be used with an ETA to create a franken (Rolex Explorer). But since he does not infer the case is genuine or recommend, explicitly, that it be used to infringe Rolex's trademark, I am not sure he is actually breaking any rules. But, based on Monday's French court decision, I guess you could make the argument that his auction implies trademark infringement, which might ruffle his feathers a bit if ebay formally warns him.

Sorry, I was unable to help myself.

I think this may fit the bill. DW with gen 7835 bracelet, pushers, crystal, crown/tube & V72 assembled from the best of 3 donor 72s & modded with a combination of jewelryandwatch & other parts found on the bay I assume you are not including frankens constructed from 100% gen parts (which is essentially a gen).

Any professional watchmaker can refinish your case (that is 1 of the 1st skills a watchmaker learns). The trick is to find a local watchmaker who works on reps & does good work. A much better option would be to buy a Dremel Here is a link Some cotton polishing wheels & green rouge (buffing compound) Here is a link Here is a link And learn to do the work yourself. Not only is this a relatively easy job to master, but like the old saying goes -- If you want it done right, do it yourself.

Exactly correct. The Golden Rule governing watches (especially non-QC'd reps) & moisture - Never expose a watch to moisture/water unless it has been (recently) water pressure tested by a knowledgeable watchmaker using proper pressure-testing equipment. I feel bad for you Hike (really), but I am sure the collector will repair or replace it for you.

Doc, I agree & that is the same conclusion I came to a few days ago. In fact, I am under the impression that there are more incorrect hand stack (ihs) versions of the GMTIIC being returned with GMT issues than chs GMTIICs. And based on the growing number of GMT problem reports from ihs GMTIIC owners, it is pretty obvious that it is the GMT components themselves that are causing most of the problems & not the layout or order of the GMT/hour hands. Since By-Tor & others have reported far fewer problems with previous ihs GMT reps (which supposedly contained true, Swiss-made ETAs), I think you have to wonder if the ihs GMTIICs all contain Asian movements. So far, my 3 week old chs is still working well. But until someone disassembles 1 of them, there is no guarantee that these reps contain genuine ETA movements either. It certainly would not be the 1st time a rep buyer bought a bill of goods, whose contents did not match the bill.

You risk a far more insidious threat (assuming the rath of RWG management is itself insufficient cause) by wearing your rep into an AD -- Rolex issues frequent warnings to the dealers in their retail network to be aware of customers attempting to switch a gen watch out for a high quality (similar-looking) rep while trying on a watch. So that lady behind the counter who you think is ignorant of your rep's status may actually be sizing you up as a potential thief. This is a well known ruse that ADs worry about far more than whether you own a rep or not.

Very sharp Tourbi, Lani. I think they call that a statement piece. Wore 1 of the Datejusts during the day on Tuesday But back to the beater for a quiet Tuesday evening

Glad to hear you fixed the insert issue. The crystal offset seems to be the same on all of these reps, so I think the factory just used the same (cheap) crystal press which fitted all the crystals with the same, slight bias to 1 side. At least from what I have seen, the bias is nowhere near enough to cause leakage problems (assuming the case does not have other issues) & is nearly impossible for mere Earthlings to see with the naked eye. It is only weenies like us who notice these things from a galaxy away.

Yes, I see what you mean, Doc. Your insert is not seated fully all the way around the bezel. I think Lani found that the inserts on these watches are installed with double-sided tape, which, in your case, may be coming loose around the 3 o'clock position. Does the insert feel soft or can you push it back down? The adhesive may be coming loose or they may just not have pressed it down properly when it was installed.....hopefully

Yeah, what Alligoat said.

If the anti-shock spring on the top of your watch's balance looks like the 1 in the illustration I posted (with 3 cutouts), then it is probably a gen ETA. But, again, the ONLY way I am aware of to be sure is to disassemble the movement & inspect the parts, as Ziggy indicated.

Congrads on the new watch & sorry to hear of your problems. 1st, did you give the watch 40 winds, manually, before you put it on? Unless you perform alot of calisthenics throughout the day or manually wind the mainspring, the power reserve resulting from your normal wrist movement is unlikely to be sufficient to keep the watch going when you take it off (or sit motionless for a time). As to the 'stops when I take it off', that may be related to the weak power reserve (see above) or it may just be that your watch contains the usual surplus (used) movement in need of a proper service (contact Ziggy or take it to a local watchmaker for an overhaul) or it may be related to the secs at 6 gearing (this should help).

Exactly right. RWG is much too high profile & easy to locate via google these days. It is mostly too late to do much about it now (once google indexes you, you are indexed forever). As the global economic slowdown cuts into the top luxury brands' profit margins, I think they are quietly turning their (legal) sights towards rep-related sites like ours. Unfortunately, as is the case with terrorists, you never know what they are actually up to until it is too late.