freddy333

Congratulations on the DRSD. Looks great & I am wearing the same watch right now But tonight, I am off to a comedy club & dinner & I will probably go gen Hope everyone has a nice Saturday night.

Nice work, Pug. Thanks.

I think dive watches are just fun to wear. A DRSD is my daily beater. But the logical half of my brain agrees with the original post's proposition that it is silly to wear a watch that was designed as a diving 'tool' (at least in the case of vintage Subs.....current models are more bling than tool) for everyday wear on dry land. Sean Connery has the panache to pull off a Sub & a tux, I do not. But with jeans & a t, sure, why not?

Taking a little spin today

I see things a bit differently. Ever since I purchased my 1st ETA-powered Rolex rep (25 years ago), I have always felt that these watches -- those that are reasonably accurate in their design execution -- were under-priced by at least 100%. Even at $500, look what you get -- a watch that for all-intents-and-purposes IS the real thing to the vast majority of the general population. A watch that is powered by a highly reliable Swiss-made movement which, with proper servicing, should provide a lifetime of accuracy in terms of both timekeeping consistency & functional appearance relative to the gen watch it is based on. And, while not perfect, many of today's rep watches are actually quite well made. How many times have you looked down at your wrist not because you need to know the time, but just to marvel at the sheer beauty or construction quality of your latest Pan, Rolex or Patek rep acquisition? If you are like me, 'frequently' is probably the answer. Do you think to yourself, 'Not bad for a POS', or do you wonder, in amazement, why anyone would pay 10, 20 or an even larger multiplier more for a gen when your rep is so bedazzling in its display & deportment? Is a $500 price tag for a basic Sub or Luminor rep that cost no more than $50 to manufacture a 'rip off'? Well, maybe, but maybe not. Certainly, if quality is your primary benchmark, then yes. Any $200 Seiko, Timex or Bulova will exceed the overall fit-and-finish of the best rep watch. But if you compare the manufacturing cost of the average ETA-powered Bell, Breitling or Porsche Design to the price tag hanging off its typically multi-thousand dollar bracelet in an AD's case (& the gen sellers do not even have to apportion their profit margins to account for the illegal aspects of the rep business), the answer is alot less clear & I think that that seemingly extortionate $500 price starts to look alot more reasonable in that context.

Yes, but I was ignoring all of THOSE variations. So I think it comes down to the old watchmaker's line 'if it fits the case, it must be right'.

Me too & I think they are both standard issue gen bezels. I thought someone's book.....maybe Dowling's.....indicated that Rolex bolded the fonts for the in-house movement 116520, but I must have read that wrong. I have gone through more than 100 gen 16520s (not to mention the dozen or so in the Rolex book) & in addition to the 2 bezels you have on your watches, I am seeing other variations as well. For instance, look at the alignment of the 'P' & 'R' in PER HOUR. I found 5 different alignments on the gen 16520 bezels. I think I am going to run off & join a convent (that has no clocks).

Much better, thanks. Love that case.

You know, the bezels are probably fine. I am looking through my 16520 archives & there are definite variations in the bezel fonts (though not so much for 116520s), so I am sure they are fine. ___________ I also just checked my Daytona Legend is Born book & I see the same variations there. So never mind. But if you come across another source for those flat, brushed casebacks, shout.

We may very well be at the point of looking for variations that fall within the normal Rolex range of watch-to-watch variability, but do you see a difference (in person) between the boldness/thickness/depth of the fonts on the 2 bezels? The bezel on the left looks to me like the correct 16520 bezel, while the 1 on the right looks like it is stamped with the bolder/deeper fonts on a 116520. Do you see that? Again, I may be over-detailing this whole thing. Hard to tell from here.

Damn! The search goes on then. Hmmmmm............Now that I see them together & close up, I have a question.........& I may be bass-ackwards about this but........does your 16520 have a 116520 bezel on it? I thought the difference between the 16520 & 116520 bezels were that the current 1 (116520) has deeper & bolder fonts, while the previous 1 (16520) had lighter gauge fonts like the MBW. Your MBW bezel looks exactly like the bezel that came on my low profile 116520 case. Right down to the slightly elevated 'UNITS PER HOUR' text, which has always made me think the factory fit leftover 16520 rep bezels to these 1st gen 116520 reps. What do you think?

The cases (most likely out of Viet Nam) come from NDtrading & are custom made to fit the 1570. Without any mods, they are the most accurate vintage Rolex cases I have seen. But whether these bare cases are worth nearly 3 times the cost of an entire MBW watch is a judgment call.

You know it, Ubi. That is exactly what I want to see. So is this caseback fitted to your 116520 project or is that the 16520? If the 116520, can you get more? And did you find a gen or proper profile aftermarket 116520 bezel for your project? And, if so, can you get more those too?

Josh's 3rd (current) generation 116520 rep case on left, my 1st generation low profile case on right

Me a gentleman? Why, it has been nearly 6 years since I got new underwear..............well, new to me

Nothing new there. I had a relative who was a watchmaker & he used to say that he was always the last to know when something new came out (he usually heard about them from customers).

It is impossible to get a Pam on a bird's arm, so I went with the Sub.

I think you may have missed my opening premise 'The 1 thing I know is that anyone who has ever spent extra time or money to get a more accurate (to the gen) rep is, de facto, trying to pass his/her rep off as a gen.' Clearly, you do not fall into this category, so please ignore my comments referencing you & your choice of watches. And please accept my apologies.

I was going to gold star rate you, but I think your work deserves a direct response. Well done.

No, definitely not. I just find comments like that difficult to believe.

I have posted that pic so many times that it often puts me to sleep, so I wanted to include that disclaimer in case I was not the only 1. I always liked that pic, Pug.

With all due respect, there are any number of far more accurate & easy to read (at a glance) digital quartz watches available, which, in my opinion, always makes mince meat out of this hackneyed rationalization. To suggest that 1 buys a mechanical watch because of its superior accuracy or legibility strains credulity. But to each his own..........

I can tell from just this picture that the D60 is a very good camera. I need to replace my trusty old 4MP Canon soon........

Ah, I was not aware of this. That will definitely make this project more interesting (& complicated). Is this a straightforward broaching job or does it require retro-fitting additional gen wheels/pinions?

Are you directing these questions to Ubi or me? My watches are fitted with dials from Josh's 116520 reps, which are so close to the gens that it makes buying gen dials seem like a waste of money (search out By-Tor's excellent review of Stephane's stock rep from Josh for details). I do not know what dial Ubi plans to use for his project? But, based on his comments, I suspect it will be the same dial I am using (& for the same reasons).