freddy333

This week, I will be converting my gold Newman '39 from ETA power to Valjoux. I am awaiting the V72, which should arrive this week. In the meantime, here is a quick set of pics showing the new (custom MQ) dial in the old case. Like the MQ in my '41, this dial also has that luscious black texture only seen in early Newmans For those not around during the initial build, the case is a custom design made for me by DW (it required quite a bit of additional work upon arrival). Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication & DW had the case made for screw (Oyster) pushers instead of pump (non-Oyster) pushers. Otherwise, the pushers, crown, hands, rivet bracelet & crystal are gen. Assuming the V72 arrives on time & in good, working condition, barring any unforseen issues (which I do not expect), the transformation should be complete by the end of the week.

Never liked that Tudor, but the pic

Because of the difficulty in sourcing parts for an Asian movement, I would encourage you to either replace the movement with an ETA or replace the watch altogether.

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A.296. The 296 & 260 differ in the diameter of their pillar plate (the 260, which is what I have in my TOG, being the smaller of the 2).

Congratulations & good luck. If nothing else, it should be fun.

There is great potential, but cost depends on what is wrong with the movement & what parts are required. In general, I would expect to spend between $600-$1,000+ to put the watch into good, working order. That depends, of course, on how successful you (or your watchmaker) are in located the required parts, most of which have not been made for 25+ years.

Either the date wheel was not installed correctly or 1 of the components that lock it into place has come loose. Unfortunately, your only option is to remove movement from the case, remove the hands/dial & take a look.

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Either the auto-wind module was assembled incorrectly or its energy is not being transferred to the 1st wheel (winding barrel). You need to ease the auto-wind module down onto the movement to be sure the wheels mate properly. Otherwise, you will get what you got. 1st, remove the auto-wind module & manually wind the crown to be sure it is (now) operating correctly. If it is, carefully reinstall the auto-wind module. Once installed, gently revolve the rotor with a clean pencil eraser (or something similar) & make sure you see some movement at the barrel. If not, you will need to delve further to see whether the problem is within the module or the way it is mating onto the movement.

Looks good from what I can see in your pics. Keep in mind that nearly all 1665s have been polished/serviced multiple times over the years, so there is no standard for CG shapes. As long as yours do not look either new or like they were shaped by hand (no straight angles or tool marks ), they should be fine.

Actually, the edges of the hour marker bars should be (slightly) beveled, but just not to the same degree as MQ's dial. Until some hard-core collector designs an aftermarket dial himself, I think there will always be inaccuracies of fonts & layout on aftermarket dials. As always, the buyer must choose which set of sins offends him the least.

I have no experience with his '38 dial, but MQ's Newmans are the best currently available. As always, research & educate yourself on the gen you are targeting & then click the buy button. Basing a buy at this (price) level on others' opinions is not a wise move.

MD2020 - Your repeated pejorative rep references are unsettling, to say the least. It also seems rather odd considering they are coming from a member who requested a personal forum detailing his work on them. If you are unable to meet your customers' expectations & also fail to communicate with them in a timely manner, complaints are the logical result. Why, for the 2nd time, this should come as a surprise to you, tells me you took on too much work, lack the requisite customer service skills to smooth over the resultant bumps in the road & are repeating the cycle over & over again. MD2020's customers - Again, RWG staff are not able to mediate private transactions between members & making repeated attempts to contact MD2020 is likely to be about as effective is repeatedly pressing an elevator button. If MD2020 fails to respond within 2 weeks, try him once more. If you receive no response after that, I would encourage you to contact your bank or payment processor.

I had a couple Panerais before they became fashionable (late 90s). But once I saw 1 on someone else's wrist (it looked gargantuan &, thus, on anything other than a military pilot's wrist (while piloting in war) silly), I dumped them & never looked back.

Ending the work week wearing my Aryan 'Master

Ditto panerai153.

Due to their rarity, few collectors know about pre-Comex Subs & fewer still have seen 1. Therefore, you have a bit of latitude in your choice of (gen) dials. However, for the record, there are a few details that are consistent to all the verifiably genuine pre-Comex dials - 1. Ft 1st 2. Maxi dial (slightly larger hour markers) 3. the horizontal lines that cross the f & t in ft are at the same level The actual color or appearance of the lume varies, so the applied ('puffy') lume on your dial would not, for me, be an issue.

I am with Nanuq. It just looks funky (home brewed) & not in a good way. I also wonder if the advertising of his mods will eventually catch the ire of Rolex lawyers -