freddy333

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..........

I think I would rather sit on my knowledge.

Same here. Of course, with vintage Rolex, that is not to say that they are not out there. But if they are, they are very rare.

Nice review. If I can add a few additional observations after living with 1 of the chs versions for a week & handling 1 other...... All of the index markers are slightly, but identifiably smaller on the rep. Especially the rectangular markers at 6 & 9 - they are narrower on the rep relative to the markers on the gen. But most people would not even notice it until/unless this has been pointed out to them & the differences are only really noticeable when you have the gen on hand for direct comparison. I have also noticed that the bezel on both reps intermittently centers slightly off-center so that the triangle ends up just a hair west of the 12 o'clock mark on the dial. Sometimes it aligns & sometimes it drifts about .5mm to the left. Not a big deal, but the gens seem to be dead on at all times. There are a few other differences that are not really worth mentioning because they seem to relate more to variations in the rep manufacturing process than inaccuracies of design. But the 2 very minor issues that do catch my eye (& they catch my eye only because I have spent so much time trying to find them that I have become overly sensitive to them) are the lack of AR between the cyclops & crystal and the slightly narrow 6 & 9 index markers. But even as it is, I find that I have alot of trouble telling the chs rep from the gen when they are photographed together. And, sometimes, even then...........

Yes & Paypal too. Used with care, I find both to be very useful tools.

I have not overhauled or disassembled my GMTIIC either. But I have opened the case & can verify that my watch does contain a genuine ETA movement. Nothing I can see on the pillar plate gives me any reason to suspect otherwise. The only 2 complaints I have, and this may be a clue as to why your watch took on moisture & intermittently stopped, is that the caseback & crown seals were neither new nor greased (which leaves the case virtually open to the atmosphere) & the movement does not appear to have been properly serviced before it was installed in the case. So I will definitely need to overhaul it in the near future. Fortunately, I never wear any of my watches in or near water & I replaced & greased the seals so, now at least, I know that the case is sealed against moisture & dust. But, as always, I would warn owners against wearing these watches in water unless you have had your watch professionally pressure tested.

Wow!!!!!!!!!

I emailed the seller this morning asking if he had any documentation to verify the bracelet as 'genuine Rolex'. His response -- 'NO'.

Upon closer inspection of the number stamping, I have been convinced that the bracelet is probably a fake. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how high the bidding goes. Anything beyond $200 for a fake bracelet, even a very good fake, is beyond reason as far as I am concerned. But it does say 'Rolex', so we shall see.

I am definitely addicted to this amazing chs GMTIIC rep. It is the 1st rep I have seen in over 20 years that truly merits the title 'Super Rep' right out of the box. I also wear a DJ sometimes but I have never worn a 'Rollie' (only Rolex).

It looks like a gen & the seller identifies it as such If it were an aftermarket/fake, he would have several to sell & we would be seeing them available from some of our collectors. But if it is a fake, count me in for a couple also.

Someone who owns both the gen & the chs rep recently posted a picture showing both watches side by side & the bezels look nearly identical. But if you see them both in person & know what to look for, you may be able to tell them apart. But this rep is so good that I have not even bothered to install a gen crown/tube, which I have sitting on my work table just for this watch. If/when the aftermarket crown/tube threads start having problems (they all do eventually), then I will install the gens. But this is truly the 1st rep in my experience that is accurate enough to leave as is. The only real give-away, if you have seen the gen in person, is the lack of AR beneath the cyclops (the gen crystals themselves are not AR'd). I have been thinking of trying to remove it (remove the movement, heat the crystal & use a razor blade to separate the plastic cyclops from the sapphire crystal), sending it out to be AR'd and then reattaching it (no idea what glue to use though). But since the potential for damage is greater than the amount of improvement an AR treatment would provide, I have chosen to leave it as is & just enjoy the watch in all of its glory for now.

I am sure it is the same case, dial, crystal, etc. as the chs ETA version. They just swap out the movements.

By-Tor - The watch is a beauty of course, but is that the usual bracelet? It looks polished instead of brushed in this picture........or is it just an artifact of the angle & lighting?

Breaking precedence & starting the work week off without my usual beater. This instead I have to admit that for a modern Rolex design & a totally stock rep (no mods at all), this watch feels like an old pair of Levis

1 of the most beautiful watch pictures I have ever seen. What a landscape

And in memory of those dads who cannot be with their kids today Happy Father's Day to all.

I do not know about 30 years from now, but this is what an ETA powered rep purchased in the mid 80s looks like today Additional details here

Anything is possible. But most likely it is a mod job like Phong (jewelryandwatch) & others offer for between $3,500-$4,500 & some of us have performed on our stock V72s