freddy333

Actually, Dinh and others also offer Kif shock absorber replacement bridges and appropriate-looking Rolex branded 'V727' pillar plates here. And if I remember correctly, I think the 2 Daytonas that DW had for sale were also configured this way. But if you know what to look for, you can still tell these reps from the gen articles.

Tipping hat.

Vbarrett -- Sounds more like an allergic reaction to penicillin. Stay away from the moldy stuff and you'll be photogenically wristing with the best of them in no time.

Corgi -- It is just a stock V72 (you can tell because the movement has Incabloc shock protection instead of the Kif shock absorber that Rolex always retrofitted) culled from another non-Rolex chrono that had a couple of Rolex-engraved bridges added. I have some of these bits as well (for use on one of my DW Daytonas), but I do not post pictures of any of my watches--rep or gen--on TZ

I noticed that too. And based on the 'questionably' fuzzy photos, I bet the wife story was just an excuse to test the TZ waters to see if his expensive new rep would fool the pros. Sad.

For reference, Bob Frei is not a watchmaker, which I suspect is why he does not like being asked questions that should be directed to a watchmaker. He is a parts seller and is usually more than willing to check his stock and/or locate the odd part for you (a number of RWG members (including myself) can attest to this). But he is used to dealing with experienced watchmakers who know what they are looking for. So it is a good idea to research and know what you need when making inquiries. Otherwise, you are likely to be back here posting flames about the poor treatment you received from Ofrei.

My rule of thumb: Mostly steel & mostly Rolex (partial collection) But rules are meant to be broken

There is a link there for a couple of nice bezel inserts for Subs and Seadwellers (be sure to measure your current insert before ordering as these vary depending on the rep maker).

I found that site a few years ago, which was very inspiring. I made 1 valiant attempt at a custom dial, but ultimately gave up early in the process. Too much work, too messy, too expensive (unless you plan to go into business or plan to make alot of dials) and requires too much (artistic) skill (which I am seriously lacking).

I know a couple of watchmakers in the DC area. What type of watch & work are you inquiring about?

Look here

Stilty -- I posed the same question some months back and never got a definitive answer. The 2846 that came in my MBW DRSD hacked, but two 2846s I purchased from Ofrei did not. All three movements had the same markings and I did not find any variation of components when I overhauled them. Obviously, something must be different, but I never figured out what it was. However, you can achieve a pseudo-hack with the 2846 (and other non-hacking ETAs) by pulling the stem out to the hand-setting position (all the way out) and then pulling on it further while moving the time slightly backwards. This will stop the second hand and keep it still for as long as you keep applying (outward) pressure on the stem. With a bit of practice, you can easily synchronize your watch with another time source.

I have had a few 'odd' conversations with Bob Frei, but never a problem. I order frequently from them (usually by phone) and often receive an email invoice within a day or two unless items are back ordered or out of stock. If you would prefer not to do business with Ofrei, try either cas-ker.com or cousinsuk.com.

The one on the left And I will continue to wear it as a show of my solidarity for Britney Spears until she is allowed to drink herself to death (or I find something more meaningful to do with my free time).

Touche'!

Thank you. If I was going for a discolored (yellowish) look, I probably would have used tea as well. It is very difficult to get a realistic discoloration, so I decided to play it safe & stick with white. Tourbillon - You should upgrade your membership so you can upload larger photos. Or upload them to a photo hosting service like photobucket and then you can copy the URL from the hosting service into the 'Insert Image' button URL box in your posting here.

Yes and it works (and not just for Rolexes).

For anyone who has been following this thread, here is the final result of my MBW DRSD dial after a coat of the (clear, non-yellowing) Matte Finish as mentioned in my original post (I apologize for the odd camera angles, but it is difficult to photograph such small texture details, especially when viewed through a superdome lens and ambient light reflections) As you can see, it produced a nice, realistic texture to the dial without discoloring (yellowing) the white text or index markers (which I did not want to do) The look I was going for is that of some of the dials shown on doubleredseadweller.com with white or nearly white index markers And I think the result was perfect. The matte finish also tamed the slight shininess and freshly applied contours of the original MBW index markers. As they no longer screamed 'new', the need to relume them no longer seemed mandatory (though I may still dab some Night Color on them in the future to puff them up a bit.....we shall see). I also selected not to apply the finish to the hands, as Nanuq had recommended. Although I did not have any more spare dials to test various spray techniques on, I did have some extra MBW hands (I had replaced the OEM MBW hands with a set of Clark's, which are VERY nice) and I was not totally pleased with the results. From a distance, they look nice and aged (slightly corroded). But when you get close (arm's distance and with bare eyes), the hands look like they are covered with water droplets. Maybe the amber colored varnish tones the effect down a bit, but it just looked weird to me, so I decided not to do the hands even though the argument could be made that they look too new for such an old watch (though I prefer to think that they were recently replaced during the last Rolex service). The Krylon finish also has a tendency to produce a whitish appearance as successive coats are applied. And I used this side effect to produce an interesting and quite realistic-looking slight bleached effect between the markers. The effect is so subtle in fact that it is not apparent in any of the photos. But, seen live, the black portions of the dial now look uneven & somewhat blotchy, as though the dial had long-ago suffered water damage or the natural bleaching effects of long-term overexposure to the sun. Nice. The bottom line is that this is a small detail, but a very important step towards improving the appearance of a vintage dial, especially when viewed through the merciless gaze of a loupe. In its original state, the MBW dial looks more realistic from a distance (when viewed with the naked eye) than it does under close inspection (through a loupe). But, now, the converse is true. Like peeling the skins of an onion, as you peer closer and closer, there are more (realistic-looking) details to see. If you have the skills to remove the dial, it is a very easy mod to perform -- fix the dial onto a flat surface & apply 2 light passes with the spray from about 10 inches -- and the results, as others have also suggested, speak for themselves.

Mr. Ali, no matter what ebay names he uses, is not someone that I would trust. Like Nanuq (and others) said -- buy the seller, not the part.

I am a big fan of Datejusts as well and I hate to be the dissenting voice here (my intention is not to be cruel, just giving you my opinion on the Emporer's 'new clothes'), but, for such a relatively simple model, I think this rep contains too many glaring mistakes -- 'VII' at 8 and much too-large crown etching in the crystal are inexcusable. The sloppy printing of the datewheel does not help either (Rolex QC would never allow a watch to leave the factory like that). These are the types of 'inaccuracies' that I would expect to see on a 'fake' Rolex being hawked on street corners of major cities, not from RWG's collectors.

I would strongly advise AGAINST buying ANYTHING from this seller (WHOLESALEOUTLET990). They are a complete rip-off! They lie about descriptions, sell items that do not match their descriptions and then lie when answering specific questions (example: Will these end links fit standard 2mm Rolex diameter spring bars? "Yes" (correct answer is no)). Stay away!

It looks like you have the same version of the Daytona 116509 rep that I did a mini review on here back in February. Compare my rep (which, along with a Daytona 116520 rep that I purchased 3 years ago, continues to run & keep good time) to the gen 116509

Avitt -- When you're right, you're right (and on both counts): 1. I do not want to part with the Fly (in fact, I have a V23 that I will be using to relaunch the Fly soon). 2. I have an Enicar, which has donated its V72 for my other Newman project (6241).

The donor watch contained a similar ring, but it had 3 cutouts for the stem and pushers to fit through. One of the first things I tried all those weeks ago was to fit this ring into the DW case, but, unfortunately, it did not fit (too large).

I tried something similar to that using some of the case tabs. Instead of installing them so they fit into the slots that run along the inside surface of the case, I bent them to create springs so they would press against the caseback. Unfortunately, the stiffer (thicker) tabs caused the caseback not to fit and the less stiff (thinner) tabs just bent flat when I put the caseback on. I think coil-style springs would either bend or be to tall to fit the caseback. But I appreciate the idea just the same.