freddy333

Archi -- Are the initials of that store L&B and they sell Rolex? Not too long ago, I was visiting a friend in town that worked near the big Tysons mall there.

I am very sorry to hear that it did not work out, but I really appreciate the warning. Too bad, I really thought we may be onto something there. Back to the drawing board and the search for another DW I guess.

Euno -- I have a Venus/Lemania version, which I thought was the same as the Seagull and it has symmetrical (evenly spaced) pushers. Do you know of a source for a Seagull-based non-Oyster 6239 Daytona with asymmetrical (non-evenly spaced) pushers? And for less than $300? For me at least, the big selling point for the vintage Daytonas on this Japanese site is the fact that these watches DO have an asymmetrical pusher arrangement. And if you compare the $300 price to the cost (and time involved to locate all the parts) for a DW or EE, I do not see how you can say these are overpriced. Of course, this assumes that the watches on the Japanese site are what we think they are. Hopefully someone can provide more info or I will finally receive more from the site operator.

Alligoat -- Here is one of my Swiss-made aftermarket 703 crown tubes (there are 2 seals hidden behind the label) The shank portion (that screws into the case) is a bit shorter than the OEM Rolex tubes, but otherwise they appear to be the same (thread pitch, inner spline that mates with the Rolex tube tool).

I agree. I would try Ziggy first. Otherwise, phone the watchmaker and be honest and tell him that you have a rep. If he deals with Rolex, he probably will not be willing to work on your watch because he would not want to jeopardize his association with Rolex. But many independent watchmakers are struggling to make ends meet and will be more than happy to take in whatever work they can get. Just be sure to note (in writing) any parts on your watch that you do not want changed (or request that they phone you with an estimate of needed repairs before doing any work). I once had a watchmaker replace my rep crown with a generic one that did not screw down onto the crown tube, which pretty much turned my watch into a very nice looking (except for the crown) paper weight.

The labeling looks to be correct for the second generation Triplock, which I think was introduced in 1977. I believe there were a total of three versions of Triplocks used on Daytonas -- 701, 702 and 703, which is the current one. The Triplock should include 3 rubber seals. One fits down around the crown's inner shaft and slides down into the base of the crown. Another fits into the groove on the outside of the tube and the last one fits into the small groove that runs around the inside lip of the crown side of the tube.

Nanuq -- I was wondering the same thing, why did you not ask your friend about his wonderful new watch? It seems like a normal question for a friend, especially since he was obviously not hiding it.

It is the creation or improvement of a thing with my own hands (often with the assistance of like-minded others) that makes rep collecting so enjoyable for me. And RWG, being such a wealth of useful information, makes this hobby that much better. But like someone else said, the rep genie is already out of the bottle and there are so many bottles on the map already that I think it is too late to put the cap back. I think RWG will ultimately recover and grow to even greater heights after all is said and done.

Good luck.

Tim, If you are able to get to the movement, the balance [censored] may contain adjustment marks. I am pretty sure that each mark represents 5 seconds on most movements. So if the watch is running 10 seconds slow, you can advance the setting 2 marks (2 x 5 seconds = 10 seconds) to adjust it. But this is only a fine tuning adjustment, and if the watch is running very slow, it will probably need servicing or replacement. As for tapping the watch, instead, try holding the watch horizontally in your hand like a pizza and then twist your wrist back and forth. This motion is more effective in getting the balance going and will not damage the movement like 'tapping' on it can. Ziggy can probably provide more (or better) info when he responds, but I think he is on vacation so it may be awhile.

When I first got into reps and had to take the occasional watch to a watchmaker, I was always clear from the start that the watch was a rep. That way, you are less likely to have your watch confiscated. Of the four watchmakers I had used, only 1 was willing to work on my rep. In this case, I had knocked the stem off my ETA Datejust and the watchmaker replaced the rep crown with a generic crown that wound and set the time, but did not screw down onto the rep tube. 1 of the other watchmakers agreed to work on the watches I dropped off, but later phoned to say they could not work on them (no reason given). The other 2 flat out refused to accept rep watches and 1 told me he routinely contacted Rolex whenever he received a rep. Definitely proceed with caution when dealing with watchmakers (that are not members here).

I got a few Swiss made aftermarket 7030 tubes on the 'bay that are shorter than the Cousin's tube and they work and feel the same as the OEM Rolex tubes. Does this type look like it might fit better (the 2 other seals are hidden behind the label)

Oops -- I thought the watches in TTK's photobucket catalog (excepting those in his All My Genuine Watches pages) were for sale. I guess that explains why I liked it so much.

Ubi - 'EL1' (black dial 16520 Daytona) , the last item on TTK's photobucket '0003 All Rolex' catalog page http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d99/keys...%20ALL%20ROLEX/

vmena -- good point, but I am only interested in vintages and I assume (based on previous MBWs) that they will be more accurate than the average reps sold by most dealers and that they will accept gen parts (bezels, crowns, tubes, etc.). TTK -- I sent you a message a few days ago about the Daytona 16520 in your photobucket catalog, but this is the gen non-date 5513 Comex Sub that I and apparently others would be interested in as an MBW -- Also, in your travels, have you come across any sources for vintage Daytonas (other than DW or EE) that have the correct asymmetrical pusher arrangement, correct dials and working chronos? There is a Japanese site that has a number of reps that look like DWs (they appear to have the correct asymmetrical pusher layout in his photos, but it could just be due to the angle of the watch), but I cannot read Japanese so I do not know any of the construction details. I think they are priced at 35,000 yen, which translates to just under $300USD. Not too bad if they are what they appear to be. The site owner responded to my initial email asking if he has an English language section (no), but would not provide any construction details and he has ignored my two additional emails asking about two specific watches on his site. This is one of them --

Since I am one of those without HDNet, I hope someone Tivoed it and is going to upload it to Youtube and let the rest of us know when you do.

Looks gen except for the flip-lock on the clasp. It has two etched lines (like all my rep bracelets) and if I am not mistaken, the gen flip-lock is flat with no lines. I would also at least want to see a good clear pic of the movement before calling it final either way.

TTK -- Got any non-date Comex Subs in MBW, or 16520s like the one in your photo album?

Looks like a nice relume job, but the Rolex looks like it is off-center. I think the 'L' is too far to the left to be a gen dial. At least that is the first thing I look for to spot a rep.

I think the earliest versions came with Twinlock 700 series crowns, and then they switched to Triplock 701 or 702 crowns and tubes. The final 6263s came with a Triplock 703 crown and 7030 tube. I do not know which of these may be interchangeable. Did you countersink the tube into your case? It looks like you did not do that and that may be why there is so much space between the crown and the case. I think most of the rep tubes are made to fit flush with the side of the case, but the gen tube has a convex bottom to fit into a concave (countersunk) hole in a gen Daytona case. I had to do this (countersink the tube) when I replaced the rep crown and tube for gens on my Daytonas.

Maybe it is the photo or angle of the shot, but your case back engraving looks deeper and smoother (more like the type of engraving work that was typical in the 70's) than the machine engraving on my WM DRSD case back. Someone else posted photos of his DRSD rep several months ago and I think he said that he had used some type of tool to re-engrave the original MBW engraving on his case back and the result looked very gen. Unfortunately, I lost the posting and thought you might have dome something similar. Great job either way.

Beautiful work, Avitt. I have a some questions about the case back. Is the case back gen or an MBW? And what do you mean by 'tool marked'? Do you mean that you added scratches (to make it look older) or did you have the text engraved to make it look more correct for a vintage 1970's watch? I removed the paint from my WM DRSD case back, which made it look alot better. But the engraving still does not look vintage and I am wondering how to improve it?

Ditto that and mine (also about 28 months old) is one of those famously unreliable secs at 6 Daytonas. Keeps nearly perfect time and the chronos work. The watch is not a daily wearer, but it is wound at least once every month. But on the other side, I would also say that next to one of the silky smooth Venus chronos, the 7750 feels cheap and flimsy in comparison. Really cheap and flimsy! And if it suddenly locked and died while I was winding it, it would not surprise me. To lessen the chance of problems with any watch, as soon as you receive it (even before you remove the wrapping) carefully pull the stem out and slowly wind it (in one direction) about 40 turns. Then set the watch on a table and let it run for 48 hours. If the watch has a chrono, I would start the chrono after the watch starts running and test it by stopping, restarting, stopping and resetting it once or twice. Then return the watch to the table and let it continue to run for the remaining 48 hours. If the movement has any inherent manufacturing problems or issues resulting from shipping, these should become apparent during this time. It is probably also a good idea to let the watch completely run down (which should occur at our around the 48 hour mark). Then wind the watch 40 turns again and if all is well, you can be pretty sure you will be ok. But remember, like other people have said, reps do not receive the same QC that gen watches get. So breakdowns can and do occur more frequently. This is part of the price you pay for buying a rep. And regular servicing is a requirement of owning a mechanical watch, regardless of the movement's country of origin.

River -- I do not know who can do the coating, but most jewelry stores do engraving. Some will even do engraving while you wait (or within an hour or two). After a Bergeon waterproof case tester and a bezel remover, an engraving machine would be next on my list.

Most women like diamonds (and few know or care about whether a watch is quartz or mechanical), but unfortunately the CZ 'diamonds' used on reps look like cheap, fake crap. And unless she either does not plan to wear the watch often or you plan to replace it soon (before the gold plating wears off), I would stick with all stainless steel. I saw a woman wearing a white dial ladies stainless steel datejust with bar index markers this afternoon at Saks, and since it caught my eye that is what I would recommend. These are simple enough that they are pretty hard to ID as being a rep (since they do not have much bling, most people assume they must be real), so the worst that might happen is that someone will think you were too 'cheap' to buy her a $10k gold watch and settled instead for a $5k Rolex Datejust. It is a tough world. Most of the dealers here sell some variation of this http://www.ttwristwatch.com/index.php?main...9f66bcde3f8be4a Some dealers will even custom make the style you want (in case you want a different dial or whatever).