freddy333

Textbook example of moisture damage.

The only rep I have ever wanted that is not currently available (in an accurate & believable form) is the Lange 1. Otherwise, it is only the price of a handful of vintage or ultra high end gens that preclude me from ownership.

Yup, that is it. Exactly.

To each his own. When I 1st got into watches (in a serious way) some 25 years ago, I went through the gliz stage, thinking that if you are going to wear a special watch, people ought to SEE that it is special. However, being in an area with alot of 'old money', I frequently noticed that the types of people I aspired to be tended to be much more understated in their choice of wristwatch, and jewelry in general. And, like they say, with age comes wisdom. Eventually, I came around, trimming my permanent collection of all the trendy/flashy pieces & trading most of my yellow gold watches for all steel versions & have never looked back.

Bakelite was used extensively throughout the 1940s on all sorts of things, so I would assume it appeared in watches prior to the calibre 1030-powered 6542, which I believe debuted in 1954-5.

Exactly. And, hopefully, the new GMTIIC is a hint of more (similar high quality reps) to come & not just an aberration. The more time I spend with it, the more in awe I am of it. This rep sets a new benchmark of quality in the history of Rolex reps. And the chs version, if it proves to be reliable (for those owners who are able to keep from playing with the hour hand setting) in the long-term, will establish itself as a legend, at least in my book.

Phong, NDT or some other Vietnamese-source.

And here is a fine example of the original 1030-powered 6542 GMT-Master with Perspex (transparent acrylic plastic) bezel (Pic 'borrowed' from a popular vintage gen site) Perspex was originally specified by Rolex for this watch because of its inherent anti-reflective properties. Unfortunately, it also proved to be highly prone to cracking, so relatively few have remained intact to the present day. These original inserts were also rather infamous because a production 'mistake' led to some of the tritium paint used to illuminate the insert being contaminated with Strontium 90 (a radioactive material) & Rolex had to inspect and then reassure many anxious owners that their watch was 'safe'.

Nice to see you & some of the kids on RWG again.

I agree with Mickey. But these ceramic GMTs seem to have fallen into a pattern of repeated limited deliveries. So if you wait a bit, it will probably back in stock soon.

Ubi -- Try these tubes from Ofrei PP -- I like what you have done so far. It would be nice if the Silix case had the correct 1675 engravings & it fit a gen dial, but the engravings will be covered by the end links & once the dial issue is sorted out, I think you will be on your way.

This was described in the original post

Search ebay or get the 'Daytona' Triplock tube at cousinsuk.com.

I am sure that many high end gen owners feel the same way I do when I am in line at the supermarket checkout behind a group of migrant landscapers (obviously, having just finished their shift) wearing 'gold Daydates' but paying for their food with food stamps. You cannot help but think 'LOSERS' & feel disdain for these people. Although our reps/frankens are generally much less identifiable as reps & most of us can walk-the-walk, I am sure that the average gen owner feels much the same way about us when our reps get outed. Just human nature.

Excellent post (as usual) Ziggy. But since your comments centered around PAMs, I would like to add that I have had the same problems installing aftermarket DWs in ETA-powered Rolex reps (which I am no longer willing to do & for the same reasons Ziggy mentioned). I think it also needs to be said that, by far, most of the aftermarket DWs I see are being sourced from Mr. Slimeball, the infamous middle eastern aftermarket parts seller in Texas who describes his parts as being 'A High Quality Item, You Will Not Be Able To Tell The Difference From The Original.' If the original were a POS, then he is right. But in this case, when his inference suggests that his parts match Rolex quality, nothing could be further from the truth & each (or any 2 or more) of the complaints Ziggy listed above has occurred with every DW I have seen from Mr. Slimeball. One thing that buyers can look for as soon as you receive your aftermarket DW is the shape of the teeth on the inside of the DW. They should generally be 'U' shaped with smooth, rounded sides. If the 'U' has a flattened side, the wheel may hang because the 'flat' in the tooth gets stuck in the date change mechanism. Also, be sure that the top of each set of numbers roughly aligns with the center of each tooth. That is, if you draw an imaginary line along the top of the number through its corresponding tooth, the line should pass roughly through the 'peak' or center of the tooth. If the line runs between teeth or varies in location for different numbers, the dates will probably not be in proper alignment in the date window. This is a gen Rolex 1570 DW. Note the shape of the teeth & consistency of the location of the numbers relative to their corresponding teeth

Off to a (very) late business dinner with a pair of polished leather Lobbs & a gleaming ceramic GMT

The original correct hand stack (chs) version has an hour hand that mimics the gen's 'jumping'. But all of the original chs watches sold out & there has been no official/reliable word stating if/when these will be available again.

Behind every rain cloud lies a rainbow.......... Great picture.

This is the 1st 1 I have seen with the Lello DW (clearly....with a good picture) & the date font looks great. Are all the dates properly centered in the window?

Nice shirt. PM sent.

Rolex pricing has always been a little crazy, at least relative to the rest of the market. But as the world economy becomes more unstable with wilder & wilder fluctuations, Rolex pricing tends to follow suit. Oh & my 550s were NOS, but still expensive for 2 small bits of folded sheet metal.

Doc - I have a feeling that the final project will have been worth the wait & it will likely spawn others to get off their arses & begin similar projects.

In honor of Sir Paul McCartney's birthday today (take note Stephane -- Paul, born this day in 1942, is 66 -- I hope you remembered to send him a card)......... My beater al fresco

If you are patient & willing to pay the price, you should be able to find the bracelet on the bay or from 1 of the better online sellers like Stan or Andy. But 580 end links, the gens, are pretty rare & costly. I think I paid $250 for mine last year (after spending a year searching for them) & the prices for Rolex parts have been climbing steadily skyward ever since.

I was recently considering the same project, but By-Tor's reviews of the GMTII & some further conversation on the subject pretty much talked me into turning my sights to the more modern version. But since getting the GMTIIC, I put the whole 1675? project on hold (I have other fish on the fryer now anyway). But if you go that route (1675), I will be interested to see what you come up with. If it helps, Andrew or Josh have a 1675 that looks like it might be a good base to start from. But it has been a month or so since I did my initial reconnaissance work, so I cannot remember which collector or watch it was. Unless you are considering the next level up -- the Vietnamese/NDTrading route..........