freddy333

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

Thank you, but TGIF is all it is. After a long week with nose to grindstone, I generally like to dine out somewhere special on Friday nights. And I usually wear a nice watch when I am out on the town. Today, on the other hand, I am updating accounts & wearing the good old beater But I will probably be going out to dinner with a friend this evening. The tentatively scheduled eating hole is located directly below a high end watch dealer, so it is not at all unusual to find rarefied timepieces on the wrists of restaurant patrons. It is for that reason that I often do my watch 'test drives' at this establishment. So I will probably be wearing 1 of these Most likely, either this this or this (note that this is not the eating establishment mentioned above)

Ziggyzumba can help you, but you will need to upgrade your membership to access his area.

Beater today JLC tonight

click me

Looks good. Enjoy your new toy.

Thanks for the great review Stilty. After reading Ziggy's comments & recommendation of the Horotec, I decided to do a bit of poking around myself. I compared my current set of Bergeon drivers to a 40 year old set that I got from an old watchmaker & the differences (not favorable) are pretty dramatic, especially when comparing the quality of the tips. The 40 year old Bergeon drivers & tips seem to be made of sturdier stuff than the current tools. I have also noticed that I have been replacing tips with greater frequency than ever before. So my next set of tips will be Horotecs. And for anyone needing to purchase a new set of drivers, I have to agree with Stilty (and Ziggy) that the Horotecs seem to be the best way to go (if you can afford the premium price).

Rob -- Unfortunately, my Supporter status expired today (without notice!) & my renewal payment has not yet been processed, so my mailbox remains locked & unusable. Otherwise, you would have a PM. Help will be forthcoming as soon as the RWG gears allow it to be. In the meantime, please PM me if you are able to. TT -- If you are reading this, I hope that you will wave whatever magic wands are at your disposal to expedite the process.

Enjoy your trip, but it is probably not a good idea to return with a suitcase full of 'stuff' (watches). Homeland Security is likely to nab the stuff, charge you both with trafficking in contraband & for the full retail (gen) prices of the watches. But lots of pictures would be welcome.

If you are serious about the mechanics and/or repair of watch movements, I would strongly recommend taking both levels of the TZ course. By themselves, they will not teach you how to repair watches, but they will teach you how to take them apart & give you the basic skills to reassemble a basic movement. From there, I would recommend reading 1 of the classic watch repair books. My favorite is Donald de Carle's excellent 'Practical Watch Repairing', but it is probably not the best book to begin with if you have not completed both levels of the TZ course.

The usual beater today But switching to the 2nd watch from the end (116520) when I meet an old friend for dinner this evening

julesborel.com

Nice work on both watches. I agree about the bracelet (get a gen or at least replace the clasp with a gen clasp) & would also recommend that you consider installing a working He valve since the existing etching in the side of the case is a dead giveaway.

Interesting & it might work also. But since powdered graphite seems to be 100% effective on the watches treated so far & our watches contain no aluminum (or water), I think graphite, which is available at most auto parts stores, is probably the better way to go.

I have to agree with Avitt that the local price for these cases is probably closer to $100 than $600 (or higher). The prices being charged by most of the sellers that deal in Viet Nam made parts are completely unrealistic. For example, Phong is selling non-Oyster Daytona pushers for $75/ea (which he recently lowered from $150/ea), but these are the same ones that Ofrei sells for $12/ea (yes, the exact same parts). There is a huge markup by these sellers, which will probably drop, alot, as the Viet Nam made parts get distributed more widely (or group sales occur).