freddy333

If the MBK/MBW does not meet your rep standards, they you should consider 1 of the Vietnamese frankens. Because, below that, the MBKs rule.

Have you sent the seller a photocopy of the proof of delivery yet (showing the time, date & signature)? If not, that should always be 1 of the 1st steps. If you have, then I would post full details of the sale (name of seller as well a timeline of what you said or did & what the seller's response was) to the relevant Trade Reviews section. Once we know the full details, we can provide more specific recommendations.

Go to your local AD (Authorized Rolex Dealer), try the Explorer on & familiarlize yourself with the way the watch looks & feels -- both its operation & its fit & finish. Then go to rolex.com (& any other sites that post pictures of genuine Explorers) & download as many pictures of the watch you can for comparison to the reps. Then, once you know what the gen looks like, begin your search for the best Explorer for YOU. If you need more info, use the Search feature. Good luck.

I would give the seller 2 weeks from the date the defective goods arrived back at whatever address the seller instructed you to return them to. If it has already been more than 2 weeks, I would email the seller with a short, simple & polite note stating what has occured, what you did (return the watch as per his instructions) & request a firm date for a resolution. End the note by stating that you will wait 2 business days to give the seller a reasonable time to respond, after which you will post a formal complaint (listing names) in the appropriate forum here (this is not the appropriate forum). Then, once the beans have been spilled, publicly, see what other members think & decide from there. I would use Visa as a last resort.

I appreciate the compliments, but the purpose of the post was to poll others on the state of their hunt. How is YOUR search going?

Great read. Too bad you cannot post pics (which is understandable), but thanks.

I have a couple of projects on the table at the moment which should complete my (20 year) Quest. Good luck with your unveilings.

I have done pretty well in finding most of mine

Men want wings, birds want Yamahas.

I agree. Black dial Explorer or White dial Explorer II would be the least likely to be identified as reps because of their simplicity & they can be worn with just about any style of dress.

I am not an expert on the more recent metalized dials (those with metal around the index markers), but it looks aftermarket to me.

Click the small, blue UPGRADE link at the top of every page to upgrade to Supporter status. Then you will have access to the Collectors section, which is where all the goodies can be found.

RWG is definitely a great community (as is TZ).

Ending the work week (as usual) with the trusty beater But I may break with recent precedent & risk being seen wearing yellow gold (the VC) around my wrist at a posh party tonight TGIF

I will just say a senior executive in high tech & publishing.

Love those stories, Nanuq. It is experiences like yours that make these watches so valuable. Due to its plain-jane mien, I often receive similar reactions with this. The initial (understandably) dismissive attitude when asked for the time, followed by that unmistakable deer-in-the-headlights double-take never fails to inspire

I remember when you posted this -- definitely all gen, so either the lug holes were drilled wrong or the end links (or loops within them) are slightly bent.

I would gladly trade 8 seconds of page loading time (and I HATE long page loads) for a quick & easy way to comment without having to post. But such is life.

Either you have poorly made (after-market) endlinks or your case was improperly made. My gen 93150/580/2mm springbar combo fits my MBW 1665 just fine without any modifications of any kind Maybe Ziggy could post pics of your end links?

To be honest, these days, I only wear watches that have a very low probability of being identified by the general public or average gen owner (THEY KNOW NOTHING) as anything other than a gen (no gold, 'jewels' & a minimum of bling). And I always try to match my watch to my style of dress & the environment I expect to be in. So the likelihood of being called out is vanishingly low to begin with. If I plan to be somewhere where WIS's might be in attendance, I will either wear a gen or keep my wrist under cover. All of my close/long-time friends know that I am an amateur watchmaker (since I fix many of their watches) & franken-builder. Acquaintances have often heard that I am an amateur watchmaker, so they just assume that whatever they see on my wrist is probably a gen (and it often is). The last time I was called out was a number of years ago & I was wearing a rep that deserved to be called out. I just did not know enough at the time to realize how obvious my rep was. The guy doing the calling out was my waiter & the incident was very embarrassing. Amazingly, he obviously knew alot more about watches (at that time) than I did, so all I could do was admit the truth & chalk the incident up to a learning experience. But that was the 1st & last time I ever got called out. The experience motivated me to educate myself on gens because I hate making the same mistake twice. Sorry, what was the question? ......... Do I have any pets? Yes, ant farm.

TZ or (if you know what you are doing) ebay. You should also check the For Sale section of your local newspaper, since you can actually inspect a watch being sold locally and avoid dealing with any import duties. As far as taxes go, you may need to pay whatever taxes are due on the item that is declared on the customs form.

The hand may just have been installed in the wrong position. A simple r&r may put it right again. But it may also have the ubiquitous loose hand tube problem that afflicts many of these. Ziggy will be able to check & fix it.

I agree. I would replace that chinzy riveted rep bracelet with just about anything else. A gen folded link like Nanuq's would be my 1st choice, too.

Another option is to replace the existing feet with 2 of these from ofrei & cement them on with epoxy (they should not fall off) click here To locate them on the dial, fit the Bergeon feet into the new movement & lock them into place where they normally go. But do not push the feet all the way down into the movement holes -- they should sit just a hair higher than normal, so that the bottom of the feet are about parallel with the uppermost sections of the movement. Place a small dab of butter or something soft & slightly sticky on the end of the feet to mark a spot on the dial where the foot comes into contact with it. Then, place the dial on top of the feet (in its correct location) & remove. The butter should have left 2 tiny spots on the back of the dial that mark the locations where you epoxy the feet in place (be sure to clean the butter off the dial 1st). As long as you placed the dial onto the feet in the correct location, this procedure is nearly foolproof.

I agree -- great job. But keep the pimp bezel off that watch -- it makes an otherwise beautiful watch look like a cheap fake.