freddy333

The big question is how many of the citizen pursuers were able to make off with a watch or two without the police nabbing them?

Makes sense to me.

Thanks Hambone. All I need to tip me over is another V72 to use in the Fly's place.

Anybody got a spare V72 they can part with for a literal pittance?

Euno -- Thanks for your input and I know what you mean. I have had those feelings after turning other, lesser working watches into cases of component parts for another love that later faded. But the Newman, for me, is, has always been, and will continue to be THE grail watch. I know that some people are more immune to its wiley ways, but not me. I am totally smitten. So the project watch will definitely need to get a good Valjoux heartbeat. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to collect and stockpile Valjouxs (especially at the risk of falling in love with another donor), but this has definitely turned into a difficult conundrum.

The Flytimer

The what???

The -=FLYTIMER=-

The watch James Bond should be wearing (imagine pulling back the sleeve of your white tux to reveal this).

This watch was acquired for its Valjoux calibre, which I intended to use as a donor movement to power my Newman 6241 project watch. But a funny thing happened when I opened the package today -- something clicked & I fell in love with this watch. Like hearing the Beatles playing on your home stereo for the first time after listening and liking them on the radio. From the distance of the airwaves, they were a great little band. But, 'live', in my home, they were........well, the bloody f'ing Beatles, man! And it was like that with the Flytimer. A great little parts watch when viewed on the Web, but a bloody f'ing cool chronometer (that looks alot like a pre-Daytona, only cooler) when it's ticking (at a leisurely 18k or so) on your wrist.

Here is a shot of the Fly's nearly pristine tri-compax ticker (the photo does not do it justice -- this thing literally gleams)

So now I am not sure what the Flytimer's fate will ultimately be. But, in the meantime, it is steadily ticking away the seconds, minutes & hours on my wrist whilst I put it through its paces to check its accuracy (which, so far, is close enough for government work).

(The small red mark on my wrist adjacent to the crown is not from the Flytimer.)

3 years old (from a UK auction site) this July & still going strong

These new calibres look very interesting, indeed. But I agree with Ziggy's doomsday predictions regarding ETAs and their spares. I have a feeling that in 2 years time we will be musing about how wonderful it was to fit a rep watch with a nice, reliable Swiss-made ETA movement and then to be able to keep it running with relatively accessible spares from a number of sources (ofrei, cousins, etc.). But I am just as sure that once the supply begins to impact the Chinese markets, some clever individual or shop will come up with another movement to fill the void, and it will most likely be just as good and made in China. In fact, I can see a day when 'China Made' will become the new 'Swiss Made'.

On TZ right now, the latest version of the Jaeger RDM, w/ transparent back, can be had for ~$1000 less than the cost of building a Daytona. If I didn't have the Master Hometime, it'd already be in the mail to me. Buy it and tell your mortgage banker sorry but you have your priorities after all....

I like the way you think.

Davey -- Not sure exactly which pusher you need, but I get the (threaded insertion into case) non-screw pushers from Ofrei.com. Try here.

Here is some reference material, from the ultimate Daytona book, for you enthusiasts:

Excerpts from Rolex Daytona - A Legend is Born

I would second that and recommend that every serious Daytona fan buy one of these very expensive books. It is THE Daytona reference (excluding the current 1652xx models).

Thanks.

And I just found this in the Best book

I hope at least one of these will be what you are looking for.

You probably already know about these, but just in case, here are a couple more Comex caseback variations from doubleredseadweller.com

You probably mean this one that I posted last year (from Antiquorum)

I have never seen this version on a 1665 though.

Sorry, I missed that small detail. Try these

I assume you mean pictures of the exterior. Here are 3 from my archives showing all the variations I have seen

I have a question for you, which I will send via PM.

Thanks, Nanuq. But I think I will be just fine right here

Hey, I think I found my car keys!!.........well, someone's car keys...............

Maybe they belong to the Rolls, dumbass..

Hey, has anybody seen MY Rolls? It's the one without any Jews in it.

No, Mel, but we lost our keys during 'Apocolypto' and YOU weren't in it.

And just to keep on topic, buttered reps go great with popcorn.

If the (Queen's) throne comes with keys (to the Rolls), then you may consider me in full, formal bow.

Your majesty, do your worst.

In a NASCAR world, the top dollar goes to the car that goes fastest.

But, eventually, the beer will run dry, the hype will run down and all will be right with heaven & earth again.

But, boy, if ever there was a sure thing in the coming years & I had a spare $725k laying around..

Outstanding Avitt. Really well done.

Actually, you just jogged something else in my memory (alot of loose things floating around in there). I remember, when I read that post, noting that the watch, a 5513, was fitted with what looked like a Seadweller bezel. It was much thicker than the standard Sub bezel. There was only a side photo of the watch in the post, but I remember thinking that the bezel looked odd at the time. And only because it was posted by one of the generally trusted regulars at the time (it could have been James Dowling) that I assumed it was correct and genuine.

From what I have been able to gather in researching the Comex Subs, the first shipment of about 150 and some of the second shipment of watches Rolex delivered to Comex were just standard 5513s with a plain steel He valve added (the valves on these early watches were chrome-covered steel instead of stainless steel and often turned black due to the oxidation of the metal after the chrome wore away). The second (and later) shipments were given a unique model number, 5514, and began carrying the 'Comex' label and caseback numbering. I think that is the way it worked.

Yes, I shudder to imagine how he carries all that info without toppling over.

I believe it is the 78360 with 580 or 558B end links.

Thanks Nanuq. I figured you would have some knowledge of this.

I am with you regarding the reasoning behind the T39 on the Seadweller, but do you have any documentation indicating the T19 superdome being used on a 5514 or 5513-based Comex non-date Sub? I almost recall someone posting a gen 5514 on Timezone a few years ago with a superdome (not sure which tropic though), but I have been unable to locate either the original post or any other documentation to verify this.

(This is an addendum to the previous Chasing a Grail thread)

Looking for opinions on the best crystal to use for a 5514 project (this will be fitted with an original He valve mod as well). As far as I know, the 5514 was never issued with a T39 superdome (please let me know if you have factual info that refutes this), but I am having trouble deciding between the taller len's beveled profile or the shorter len's more square profile. Am I correct in thinking that the beveled lens was typically installed by RSC and the squared lens is probably the style that was often affixed to the watch from the factory?

I do not have a gen T21 for comparison (though that is an option as well), but I am wondering what the consensus of opinions are between these 2 (I think 1 of these is from Clarks and the other from Helfands (not sure which is which though)