freddy333

That is a pretty impressive demonstration. I still find it hard to believe you can get solid 14k gold midlinks in a rep watch that costs, in total, considerably less than the gold itself is worth on the present market. But still an impressive demo.

Stephane - I have to disagree with you. The dial in that ebay watch looks absolutely correct (gen) to me. The only reservation I have is about the case & that is only because of the location of HEV valve. The HEV on most (not all) gen 1665s is slightly above the vertical equator on the side of the case. This, for me, is what makes the Vietnamese cases special - they got the HEV location exactly correct. The MBW cases place the HEV engraving pretty much dead in the vertical center of the side of the case, which, while not absolutely wrong, seems to be fairly rare in gen cases. Here is my MBW DRSD with a working HEV. I installed it just a hair above the centerline (because of the construction of the case, it was difficult to go any higher)

With the exception of a Vietnamese DRSD caseback (which was a work of art), I have never seen a complete Vietnamese case in person & I am based my comment only on the dozen or so pictures I have seen of them. But they all appear to have the same bright shine that I do not see in vintage (prior to 1990) gen Subs or Seadwellers, which used 316L steel as opposed to the current models' 904L. On the other hand, I see very little difference between the steel used in MBWs & vintage gen Subs & Seadwellers. I think one can make a reasonable argument for spending $2,000-$4,000 on a franken copy of a $20,000+ gen watch, but I am not so sure it makes as much sense to spend $1,000+ on a franken copy of an Explorer when you can pick them up for as little as $2,000 (& I have seen them go as low as $1,500 without the bracelet). Just my 2 cents.

(low profile) 116520 on left, 116509 on right

You may have run the release in too far (happens often), which dislodged or bent the plate on the opposite side If you have the tools & experience to r & r the keyless works, you can probably fix it (in most cases, you can replace or straighten out the bent plate). If not, Ziggy (or a local watchmaker who works on chronographs) can.

Try cousinsuk.com or use what I use -- ammonia & water.

The black Sub's insert is easily the largest seller overall (the Blue/red ('Pepsi') insert is probably the most popular GMT insert).

Phong's cases are undeniably the most accurate I have seen (in spite of the oddly shiny appearance of the steel, which I have only seen on these Vietnamese cases) & I still think they are a rip-off at anything above $600 (assuming that $600 includes a gen crown/tube, insert & crystal).

PVD watches are not my cup of tea, but I know they are popular among some members which is why I am posting this. According to the seller's website, these watches have 'Fully Functional Day-Month-Military time chronograph dials', which means it does not contain a 7750 or have a working chronograph (stop watch functions). I have never seen 1 of these watches in person, so I have no idea whether the case will accept a 7750 or any other gen or aftermarket parts (so please do not ask). Also, understand that this is NOT an approved RWG collector & I cannot vouch for the reliability of this seller, so caveat emptor (buyer beware). Here is the link.

Delta - Sorry, I cannot remember who it was, but, yes, the watch the other RWG member received looked like a mixture of the worst of all 3 versions of the 116520 reps. It had the pointy-A (DAYTONA) dial that my watch originally came with (which I replaced with a dial from Josh's 116520), thick case & the 2nd gen movement (the most unreliable of all 3 versions) with a fantasy rotor. I did a quick search to see if I could locate the post with the pictures of the watch that member actually received, but I cannot locate it. I did find the thread that contained sssurfer's original link to watch-ebay.com, which is where he said his correct low profile watch came from (he has the same watch I have, which, like mine, is still running). The watch-ebay.com site now redirects to another site called idolreplicas.com (now hosted in Panama), but the new site is still using pictures of the 1st gen Daytona that I have (the 1 with the low profile case). Here is the link. The pictures on idolreplicas show the exact same 1st gen 116520 Daytona rep that sssurfer & I got a few years ago. You can identify these 1st gen reps by the pointed 'A' in Daytona, the construction of the movement/rotor & the shape of the CGs (only these 1st gen low profile cases have the same CGs - narrower than current cases, but with a very thick base that places the crown a bit further away from the case than current rep cases) This is the same movement & fantasy rotor my watch came with (I replaced the rotor with the rotor on Josh's watch, which looks almost like the gen rotor) I can also tell this is the low profile case by the way the end links do not fit flush with the bottom of the lugs. The end links were obviously made to fit the thicker profile cases (like the 116509 in the middle picture), because the outer edge of the links stand slightly proud of the plane of the bottom face of the lugs. If you have not read it yet, you should probably read pages 2 & 3 of this.

Phong appears to have increased the price on his Daytona non-screw pushers from $75/ea to $100/ea. Meanwhile, ofrei is still selling the exact same pusher assembly for $12/ea. Again, these sellers' pricing is outrageous & based solely on how much they feel they can get away with, nothing more. I am sure that eventually we will locate a more direct source for these Vietnamese cases & parts, which will result in much more realistic & reasonable (MBW-like) pricing.

Phong has good, close-up pictures of his 1665 cases. He describes the HEV as 'Complete Release Valve set with gasket'.

That is the $64k question. Pictures of it pop up now & then on non-RWG-member websites (as recently happened a month ago). But, so far, these appear to be stolen pictures because the watch that arrives is not the low profile watch pictured on the website. I got mine about 4 years ago from a seller on a UK auction site (cqout), but that seller has not been seen since then (My 1st gen 116520 rep case on right, current 3rd gen 116520 case on left)

Of course, you are correct that alot of people may not use the refund to purchase goods & services. But, historically, these types of government rebates have tended to stimulate the economy, even if only marginally. Still, as long as the hand-out moves the numbers in the right direction (even if they are already in a deep hole), it makes consumers 'feel' better about the economy, which encourages additional spending, which stimulates the economy. But time will tell.

For reference, this is James Dowling's 'big crown' Tudor 7924 (powered by a Tudor 390) This is essentially a 7928, but with a larger crown.

Gen Tudor 7016 Powered by ETA 2483 (or 2461) Here is another gen 7016

Sounds just like US banks. And, unfortunately, I do not even qualify for the 'kickback'. Good luck with that project. I want pics..........

Alot of older reps (20+ years ago) were made out of copper & painted with chrome paint. The old gag was that you could always tell a rep from a gen by the green ring that appeared on your arm after the paint began to wear off (which usually began right after your check cleared the bank). Not to worry, in the case of your watch, it was just a joke.

No green here - on either side

I am sure the problem will get sorted out.

I hope your wrist does not turn green.

Then the address on the shipping label is probably wrong & post office attempted delivery to the (wrong) address on the shipping label. Been there, done that. A pain, but all you can do is wait for Andrew to sort it out.

Wore the Daytona beater this afternoon But taking this out with my lady friend for the evening 'She's not my special lady friend, man. I'm just helping her conceive.' -- The Dude

There is your answer. The local post office attempted to deliver your package on April 9, but, for some reason, was unable to. Generally, this is because either the address on the shipping label is incorrect/unreadable or no one was at the destination address to accept the package. I believe it is general policy to make 2 delivery attempts after which the package is either returned to the sender or returned to your local post office for x number of days (usually about 1 week) to give you time to contact the post office & claim the package. If the package is not collected, it is then returned to the sender. In that case, the fault lies at your end, so I would not expect the seller to cover the cost of re-shipment.