freddy333

Welcome. As you gain experience, you will probably find that more features usually equates to more inaccuracies. This is where the rep makers most often fail. Gemstones are often another deal-breaker, since they tend to look fake & there is no quicker way to spoil an otherwise well-done rep watch than to throw in some fake 'jewels'. I can tell you that I have made my share of mistakes over the years. While RWG takes ALOT of the bend out of the learning curve, I find that experience still makes for the best teacher.

And that was 1 incredible (and underrated) movie. Your buddy's acting skills have improved substantially since 'Titanic'.

Vic -- To be honest, due to the extended length & ratio of wrist-shot-to-non-wrist-shot content of most of your recent posts, I usually scroll (& scroll & scroll & scroll) past them (I really do enjoy your strap work, but not so much in a 'Wrist Check' where I expect to see mostly wrist (or, at least new watch) shots). Unfortunately, today, you included your extraordinary 'Nantucket' watch, which got lost within the scrolls. Now that is the kind of wrist shot (on a woman's wrist) that I never tire of seeing. More of those (and less of the other stuff) please.

Corgi - I think your wrist is starting to look a bit flabby. Maybe your patience needs a bit more exercise. Maybe a bit of my collection will help

Yes, it looks like an early generation 5513 that I believe was sold chiefly in the UK. I do not have it in front of me, but I think there is a similar watch in Dowling's book.

Beautiful.

Wearing this now But going to see the Duke Ellington Orchestra this evening & need something a bit trimmer (and higher-brow). So the plan is to wear this (sans the billboard)

For the right person (someone who knows about (and is cool with) your rep-collecting hobby), I do not see a problem with giving a rep as a gift. But you will definitely damage your karma (and lose alot of face) if you fail to make clear that it is a rep. As a matter of fact, I have an old Daytona rep (that I never wore) that I am giving to a lady friend as one of 3 non-watch gifts for Xmas. It is nicely made, but one of those old models with subdials that functioned as calendars instead of timers & the pushers controlled the setting of the month & date registers. But it keeps good time & will work as a really great piece of bling jewelry for a woman who does not care about watches or watch technology. But I will make it clear that the watch is a rep (not that she would care either way).

If you are shipping a contraband item (like a rep watch or replica watch parts with trademarked names on them) AND you are paying the shipping fees in cash (not check or credit card), then you can use a fake return address. The downside is that if the package cannot be delivered for some reason, it will be lost and you will be unable to collect any insurance (if the package is valuable). Many countries prohibit certain types of items (like watches) to be shipped INTO them from the US. The post office has a master book that contains a list of prohibited items & the postal employee is supposed to check the declared contents of your package against this list when they complete the customs forms. I have found that some post office employees check & some do not. It is the luck of the draw. To be safe, I would declare the contents as just "A Gift" or, if you have to be more specific, try "clock parts" or a "clock for repair" or something like that. But I try to avoid using terms that give customs officials a reason to inspect the package, so I would not use the word 'watch', if you do not have to. Also, I have recently received a couple of packages (containing gen parts) from Asian countries that arrived with large stickers on them stating something like 'For your protection, this package was opened for inspection by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security'. Had the package contained a rep watch, I am sure it would have been confiscated. (I do not know if this is true, but I recently read that having an item of contraband (like a rep watch) confiscated can cause your name to be added to some type of international 'watch list' that may cause you problems when trying to import future shipments of non-contraband goods. It may also cause you to receive increased scrutiny at airports.) I think similar inspections are being carried out on packages being sent INTO many EU countries as well. So when you receive a letter stating that your rep watch was confiscated, I think it was more likely that the package was discovered by your country's border/mail police than by a shipper like Fedex (though I think Fedex packages probably receive more scrutiny by the authorities than those that are sent via standard post).

I do not recognize that model number (5019) as being a Milgauss. The model designation I have for the honeycomb/lightening bolt second hand Milgauss is 6541. Here are a few pictures of a gen 6541 (note the Dauphine hands and the shape/thickness of the case) I have never seen a rep of this model that got the case dimensions correct.

I was wondering the same thing?

Same thing here.

True, but you have to learn what the rules (of style) are from somewhere. For me, a number of books like Flusser's provided the missing answers. Now I know why a large sports watch is not the best thing to wear with formal clothing. And considering how often these types of questions get asked, I thought this book (which I consider to be the best of the dozen or so volumes I have on the subject) ought to be highlighted & easily accessible since it would be difficult, at best, to locate via Search.

Isn't it ironic, how you tripped over my planet?

Nice watch, but what kind of car is that......a Benrus?

Moderators - This ought to be a sticky.

I know that few people adhere to established rules of dress these days, and as nice as this watch is, I think it would be better suited (no pun intended) if paired with sports (informal) clothes. But if you do decide to wear it with formal shoes (I assume along with a suit), I think the watch's presence will overpower whatever strap or bracelet you choose, so I would wear whichever strap you like.

I agree with Nanuq about the 6541, but the 1019s (with the smooth bezel) are another story. These can be made into fine watches with a standard crown/tube-ectomy & crystal upgrade. I have another 1 in the pipeline, but there are a few other (more important) projects ahead of it in the queue.

Sweet. You should have a very merry weekend, Mezz.

I would like to see a better (closer & clearer) picture like this, but from what I can see, they look great. In the meantime, you might find this useful (A black dial gen 116520)

I would really recommend using gens as models for your mods, but several people have requested additional pictures, so here they are (pardon the dust & debris) All of the actual shaping was done, by hand, with a set of small hobby files. The dremel was only used for the initial buffing (with green rouge), which was followed by hand-buffing with my usual Meguiar's Number 7 (Show Car Glaze) to remove the tiny marks left by the rouge. I hope that helps.

Try here

If you are referring to the expense of the gen Milgauss (the new one), the relatively high price tag is due, in part, to its magnetic shielding. I am sure that Rolex is also well aware of the popularity and high auction prices paid for vintage Milgausses & they are simply good business people ('if the customer is willing to pay more, then charge more'). I would consider the anniversary version (with the green tinted crystal), but I have absolutely no use for a watch with an orange color scheme. Yuk.

Gio -- I bought mine on CQout a few years ago (you can find alot of additional & very useful info here). The crown (and pushers) is gen on my watch and I purposely countersunk the gen tube so the crown would not sit flush against the case because I have a number of gen pictures (from TZ) having returned from Rolex service that way. I could have installed it normally, but I like the look and do that with all my watches (with CGs) when I upgrade crowns/tubes. I am not seeing what you are seeing about the 5 minute markers. I have compared my watch to many gens and have never noticed any difference between the markers, but these all are reps and Rolex is well known for having dial variations. So anything is possible.