freddy333

The major difference between the Swiss & (most) Asian versions is the fit & finish of the parts/assembly. I have seen at least 3 different versions of the 28.8k bph version of the A7750 & 1 of them (in a secs at 6 Daytona) appeared to have been manufactured to near Swiss standards. Not exactly the same, but surprisingly close. The finish quality of the parts was, to my eye, the equal of the ETA & it had a similar feel as well. But most of the Asian 7750s are built to less stringent tolerances, which is something you can feel.

I suggest you use the Search feature & do a bit of research, beginning with By-Tor's review of the Noob GMT 16710.

Yeah, you do not find good Daytona reps/frankens hanging around just any old place.

After reading this, I started to chuckle to myself. But, then, I thought, 'Why am I laughing?......If there was ever a case of the kettle calling the pot black........' Back to the beater

Modern Daytona today

Every time I pay an outrageous price to buy a gen Rolex part for use in a franken I say to myself, 'Think of it as an investment, because in a year or 2 that same part will cost twice what I just paid for it.' Looking back, that seems to have been right on the mark. Same thing with V72s.

I noted the same bezel misalignment a couple days ago, so I guess it is a (minor) design problem & not a defect in my watch. There seems to be a bit of play in the centering mechanism, which I think is the problem. The white material you see on some link screws may be GC crystal cement, which alot of watchmakers use in place of loctite because they always have it on their bench. Unfortunately, GC is not intended for use in moving parts, so it does not last very long. Loctite (blue) always works with these screws for me.

I would glue the lume onto the marker & then, after letting them dry over night (or for as long as the glue manufacture recommends), glue the marker/lume back onto the dial. I would check all of the other markers on the dial to see if any other 1s are loose before you reassemble everything. The dial does not 'snap' onto the movement (unless it is a VERY cheap rep, in which case anything is possible). There should be 2 dial 'feet' (actually 1/8" long pins) that stick out of the rear of the dial. The feet fit into corresponding holes on the front face of the movement plate. Just align the center hole & date window over the movement & you should see where the feet fit into the movement plate. The dial feet are held in place either by 2 small 'C' shaped friction locks that swing in against the sides of each foot or by 2 screws that enter the movement from the side (near where the feet enter).

Yes, medium strength (blue). If you have a tube of silicone sealant (used to seal water leaks around windows, etc.), that will work also. Any type of glue that remains pliable & does not form a permanent bond with metal should work.

The part on the dial is the index marker, which contains lume. But if I understand you correctly, the entire index marker came off the dial. The marker may have a pin on the back that fits through a small hole in the dial with a small dab of glue on the back. On some cheaper reps, the markers are just glued onto the dial (no pin). Once you locate the marker, you can use epoxy (available in any hardware or auto parts store) to glue it back on. I would not use Super Glue, because it has a habit of letting go after awhile. Your other problem is that 1 of the 2 case clamps fell into the movement. Follow the instructions in my previous message to try to shake it out. If it does not drop out, the movement MUST me dismantled & reassembled by a watchmaker. Do not try to run the watch with that part in the movement, unless you want to have to replace the movement.

Any watch can be fixed, but I do not understand either of your descriptions. If you dropped a part into the movement, try GENTLY shaking the movement to see if you can hear or shake the part out (and do it over a white piece of paper on a large table so if the part drops out it does not bounce or roll onto the floor & get lost). But do not hit it or knock it against a table, as these will likely cause more serious damage. If possible, take some good, clear close-up pictures (use the Macro setting on your camera) of the parts or areas that are causing the problem. With pictures, we can tell you where to go from there.

I had the same problem with the same screw on my GMTIIC. Loctite blue fixed it.

Doing some bookkeeping & accounts Saturday morning with this Planning to go out Saturday evening with this I think I have finally figured out why this modern watch (the GMTIIC) gets so much wrist time -- it looks alot like my beater (DRSD), but modernized & with just the right amount of bling And I keep getting unsolicited compliments on it -- 4 so far & all from women, which is unusual since women, in my experience, rarely make a point of acknowledging a man's watch. My compliments to the factory on a job truly well done (for once.........assuming the chs movement does not die a premature death) & to those RWG members who posted the 1st pictures of this watch.

There are alot of tutorials on how to reattach hands. Use the search. If the hands just came off, the watch is far from a goner. Or, better yet, take it to a local watchmaker (phone to make sure he will work on reps) & let him reassemble it. A few minutes of work, so he should not charge you more than $50-$60 tops.

Loving all but the twotone (give me steel, or give me Timex). It would be nice if the factory would put the correct 6 & 9 index markers on the Daytona though (the rep's are too big).

Having been into reps since the pre-internet days when replica watches, at least those that were built to a level of quality that were able to fool most of the people most of the time, could only be located by word of mouth (you had to know someone who knew someone) & ordered by phone or fax. You phoned or faxed in your order to a shady company that tended to operate from a nondescript warehouse or unmarked storefront in the worst part of town. QC? HA! Guarantee? You must be kidding! Refund? NO WAY! Customer Service? Who do you think we are?.......Hertz!!!!!!! You paid your money & you took your chances. Most of the time, you got something that resembled what you had ordered, but sometimes you did not. And if you were unable to open your expensive new rep's case to be sure you got the goods you paid for, you tried not to think about the possibilities since your only recourse was to pay more money & take another chance. So is it better today, when any old Joe can browse hundreds of glitzy, high tech public websites & order just about any current model watch in a rep form with just a few mouse clicks? Definitely. Do sites like RWG benefit our hobby? Definitely. But there is also a downside to the widespread acceptance & involvement of so many people in what used to be a quiet, little secret hobby -- there are far more reps of high end Swiss watches then gens, which is a major turn-around for the way things were even 10 years ago. Virtually everyone today knows that high quality rep watches exist. Maybe only a relative few know how high quality they have become, but even some gens receive gazes of suspicion due to the ubiquity & commoditization of quality rep watches. And although most gen owners are still some of the worst judges of authenticity, many more of the general public now know how to spot a 'fake' than ever before. But with more people joining the hobby, the level of quality also goes up. I have to believe that alot of the improvements in accuracy & build quality are driven directly by modders & constructors like many of the members on RWG & sites like it. But, like any other questionable activity, the more members that join & advertise your previously secret & exclusive club, the more attention you attract from the people that want to shut your club down. And, ultimately, I think that if the world economy gets bad enough so that the gen makers start losing serious market share, they will set their sights on our little club. It is just the nature of this hobby.

Yeah, I never understand why people use anything more luminescent than Bergeon lume paste (which glows very faintly, at best) or plain paint (no lume) on vintage pieces. After 30 or so years, the original tritium will have little or no glow at all. But I am still in awe of your application technique. Applying lume has never been 1 of my strong suits.

You have very talented (and steady) hands, Tak.

The difference has to do with the shape & degree of bend to allow the same bracelet to mate with different cases. I have a picture somewhere in 1 of my hard drive Rolex archives that shows a number of vintage end links, but the file may not have a descriptive name so I may not be able to locate it. But I will take a look & post it here if I find it.

Takashi - Thanks, but what I really want to know is how you were able to create such accurate lines (edges) around each of the index markers? They do not look like you painted them by hand. What tool & procedure did you use to apply the lume?

Here is my silver dial being worn by a friend Beater for me today Not sure yet, but I may wear my Patek 5107 tonight

Takahsi -- How did you get that lume effect? What lume material did you use & how did you apply it over the existing lume and still end up with nice, clean edges? Or, did you just paint over the existing lume? If that is what you did, again, how did you end up with such nice, clean edges? They do not look like you used a pin or toothpick to apply 'dots' of lume. Or, now that I look closer, is that a gen Comex dial?

Diesel, you took the words right out of my mouth.

The beater & I just arrived home from a diving expedition in search of cell phone chargers (my last 1 got eaten by a shark..........ok, it was a storm......but the shark story sounds more mariner)

Textbook example of moisture damage.