freddy333

Looks good.

Hey, I did my best -- I left out the heavy guns (V72 DWs, etc.).

(rare 1st gen secs at 6 Daytona, which came with a gen-like low profile case shown at right compared to current (thicker) Daytona rep case at left) (7750-powered DW with proper asymmetrical pusher arrangement)

No.

Nice work.

This is why it is a bad idea to include ANY location details in anything you post online -- including emails. Even seemingly irreverent tidbits of info can be used against you by people who seek to do you harm.

I agree with Repaustria & am also curious as to what you paid for it?

Change is afoot for the beater -- another 1570 donor movement is en route But this donor comes bare (not wrapped inside a watch), so it will definitely end up in the beater with this dial (indexes may be modded a bit) and these hands

Some ADs sell them (but be careful because alot of ADs sell (& use) aftermarket spring bars). Or try posting a WTB (want to buy) message in the Sale section. Or try ebay or Rolex.

You might not need to bump your own post if you would include a link to the aftermarket insert in question. If you are speaking generally, then I can only say that aftermarket inserts can be better, worse or the same.

If you used a credit card, then you might (depending on your account type & bank's policies) have some recourse (my bank credited my money back to my account on 2 occasions after I had been ripped off by replica scammers). But if you think there are regulations protecting the purchase of illegal contraband (replica goods) on the internet, then you are very naive. Always buy the seller before you buy the watch, or, as Russians like to say 'Trust, but verify'.

I think it is simple supply & demand. There is a finite (and shrinking) supply of vintage Rolex parts & an ever-growing demand for that finite supply. Add to this the fact that Rolex no longer provides retail distribution channels for current parts (until the early 90s, most ADs sold Rolex parts 'over-the-counter') & you see the crazy price ranges we see today.

My guess is the watch's owner was involved in an accident while wearing the watch or the watch was damaged in machinery of some kind.

The printing quality of these NDtrading dials is very good, better than the MBW dials, which is 1 of the reasons I purchased 1. But, as I said, each aftermarket dial has its own set of inaccuracies & each owner must decide which dial has the least amount of objectionable sins. For me, between the MBW & NDtrading, I went with the MBW. My thinking is that if you closely inspect each dial through a loupe, the NDtrading will win because of its clearer & more precise printing quality. But when viewed normally, from a few feet away (or the distance between 2 closely spaced tables in an intimate restaurant, which is the benchmark I use), I think the MBW's more accurately sized crown & index markers give the viewer a more gen-like presentation. The new dial I posted earlier gets all of the text fonts/sizes nearly dead-on (both of the other dials got these wrong for different reasons). It gets the crown nearly dead-on (the NDtrading crown is too narrow, the MBW too imprecisely printed). It gets the date window nearly dead-on (the MBW is slightly too small). Its only serious flaw is that its 6 & 9 index markers are still slightly too narrow (though not as obviously wrong as they are on the NDtrading dial) & the lume color is still too artificial looking (if they had only used white, I could easily widen the 6 & 9 index markers & the dial would be a winner.......but, as always, they get at least 1 or 2 obvious things wrong).

It looks like a typical ebay scam. I would forward the message you received to spoof@ebay.com & see what ebay security says.

I prefer a metal bracelet on a diving watch, but nice work otherwise.

I found this on ebay - auction number 330220894818 It even has a very reasonable Buy It Now price: $1,380

Not to worry, definitely gen.

I took the liberty of modifying your picture to illustrate the missing screw & movement clamp (which is probably still floating around inside the case or movement). It is possible that the missing clamp is jamming the movement or the movement may just need cleaning & routine servicing (most reps come with unserviced movements). If the watch is still under Andrew's warranty, I would return it to him. Otherwise, any watchmaker willing to work on an ETA-powered rep can easily fix it.

The lume color is artificial looking, the crown still too narrow & some of the lettering placed oddly, but, otherwise it looks pretty good.

NDtrading on right Although the fonts on the NDtrading dial are generally more accurate than the MBW, the NDtrading suffers from a crown & 6 & 9 index markers that are too narrow and some of the lettering is irregularly spaced (example - look at the 1st 3 letters in chronometer). No aftermarket dial that I have found gets everything right, so you have to choose your set of poisons. For my money, comparing either the MBW or NDtrading dials to the aftermarket dial I posted in my 1st post, I think the 1st dial is the most accurate of the 3. Here are 2 gens for reference My current MBW DRSD

No verbal compliments from any wait staff. But once, several years ago, a waiter called me out on a rep I was wearing (quite embarrassing), which was the turning point for my never again wearing either a 'fantasy' watch or any rep that I knew had obvious problems. The Newmans receive unsolicited compliments almost every time I wear them, but I only wear them on special occasions and/or to places where I am likely to encounter other people wearing similarly rare and/or expensive watches However, my gen Datejust 1601 receives far more compliments than all the others combined, which is 1 of the reasons I ultimately chose not to steal its 1570 for use in my DRSD even though that was the sole reason I purchased it. I often catch numerous pairs of eyes in a restaurant (including the wait staff) following my wrist movements with rather more interest than one normally gets. It is actually quite odd, but, then, the dial in this watch is not called 'The Mystery Dial' for nothing In general, I would never recommend the version of the Daytona you got, but women can wear obvious fakes with little or no loss of face. Several months ago, someone posted a thread asking whether it was appropriate to give a rep as a gift & I mentioned that I had recently given a female friend 1 of my old & very obviously fake Daytona reps & she loves & has worn it every day since (replaced a quite nice gen Swiss Army diver's watch).

Same thing happened to me a few days ago. Logged in & my mailbox was suddenly full (and locked) too. It would be nice if the system automatically sent out PMs a week or so before your membership renewal was due.

I agree, mostly. In the hands of a competent modder, the MBW case (with the addition of a working Hev) is so accurate & well constructed that only the most knowledgeable Rolex specialist would even know what to look for to see the very minor differences between the MBW and Viet Nam (or gen) cases. Certainly, the average Rolex owner or 'man on the street' is unlikely to be able to call this out The 1 item I take exception with is the caseback since the Viet Nam part is noticeably more accurate than the MBW. With a bit of sanding/polishing, I doubt that even a specialist would be able to call this part out by sight alone (Note the deeper/wider engraving & proper location of the dot between the 'T' in Patent & the 'E' in Valve) Here is my modded MBW DRSD caseback for reference (Since these pics were taken, the end links have been swapped for gen 580s) But, at $450 (Phong's price), I do not see THAT much of an improvement over the MBW caseback. However, when the Viet Nam sellers come to their senses & start selling these parts for a more reasonable price ($200 or less), I would swap casebacks in a heartbeat. The dials continue to be the weak part of the equation & since the dial is the most important part of a watch, it is difficult to rationalize spending around $1,000+ for a case that is only few percent improved over the MBW. Long ago, Avitt convinced me to go with the MBW dial over an NDtrading dial & I continue to pat myself on the back for listening to him. However, I have since found an improved dial that, while still not perfect, corrects many of the sins of the NDtrading dial which make it, I believe, a quite suitable replacement (and improvement) for the original MBW DRSD dial. The only obvious flaws on this dial are the still slightly too narrow 6 & 9 index markers & questionable color of the lume. On the other hand, the crown, date window & text all look within spec to me