freddy333

If the end links are too wide, you may have to enlarge the opening between the lugs. This is somewhat common on aftermarket Daytona cases.

Interesting watch, but it must have been an Asian estate sale.

Sorry, I have no experience with POs. I was speaking for all reps in general.

How dare you call Mr. Slimeball an idiot. Consider yourself lucky. Most of the time, you never get a refund. Mr. Slimeball even registered a complaint about me with ebay once because I complained that he sent me a part that did not match the pic/description on his website (even though I had his own pics to prove my case, ebay took his side ).

On reps, either part may strip soon after arrival. This is a common problem with reps & something, along with having the movement professionally overhauled, that you should have corrected soon after you receive the watch. Otherwise, it is just a matter of time until the watch ends up in the bottom of a drawer.

Unless there is a watch that YOU like (in which case, you would not be asking which watch to buy), I would skip reps altogether & go with a Casio, Seiko or Timex. These gens are built better, will last longer, can be easily exchanged/returned under warranty (without having to deal with international shipping/customs issues), rarely arrive with broken/misaligned bits (a common issue with reps, especially those from sellers' budget lines) & come without the added risk of you're being outed as a poseur wearing a rep.

Unfortunately, your hunch about the dial is correct, but, otherwise, the watch looks good.

Correct. But the 5514, made exclusively for the French industrial diving company, Comex, did. The watches sold to Comex had the company's name inscribed on the dial, but the initial 5514 prototypes did not The Sea Dweller, which was essentially a modified retail version of the 5514, evolved from Rolex's work with Comex on the He valve, allowing the watch to survive decompression in hyperbaric chambers.

As an unpolished example, it works for me. Not too sure about the crown though?

Wrong in what way? The initial handful of prototype Subs made for Comex (ie, prior to having Comex signed dials) were off-the-shelf 5513s with He valves added, which is what you see.

Wearing my pre-Comex 5514

Due to the scammer-like pics, it is hard to tell the case's source, but I doubt it is gen.

The Silix case I used for my Phase I '42 had a nice bezel (it was better than the $300 bezel/insert combo I bought from CWP) (gen on left, slightly modded Silix on right) Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what the Silix number was, but it was sold as a Sub with a Cartier Sub dial 1 of my original Phase I construction threads (there were several) has the Silix model number. As I recall, it was from their budget line (ie, relatively cheap).

Check rep sellers' listings for 6542s. Some have pretty accurate bezels (that can be improved further with a bit of modding) & the cost of the entire rep is often less than the cost of an aftermarket bezel. Or check with some of the aftermarket parts sellers (like CWP) to see if they will sell their bezel without the insert.

Any dremel will do. Use the felt wheel & green rough for rough polishing (after finish sanding) & the cloth wheel & green rouge for final polishing. Refer to the dremel's instructions for wheel fitting/usage.

I usually use a small, triangular hobby file to remove older tubes. Simply wedge the file inside the tube & unscrew (or grasp the end of the file with plyers to unscrew, if the tube was cemented in). Which lower text? Submariner or Swiss? If the text resides below a clear gloss layer of paint, your only option is to remove the top layer of paint, which is likely to kill the dial. If the text is a top layer, try an eraser (the rubber bit at the end of a pencil). & why are you highlighting your text in gray? The highlighting makes it difficult to read. I do not mean to crimp your style, but plain (black) text is the easiest way to get your points across.

Ending the work week still lugging my Mystery around

I would contact UK customs & ask them (tell them all the watches are gens).

Unless you know the seller very well, I would not show them your signature. & only in cases where the seller is well known would I give them the security code on the back. If in doubt, find another seller (preferably, 1 of those listed on RWG).

I have to admit that I have never worked on a TC watch, but no rep that I have seen has any screws - locking or whatever - in the spacer ring. The only screws that relate to locking the movement into the case are either those that fit through the bridles (small tabs with holes in them that fit into a slot in the sidewall of the case) or those that install into the pillar plate itself (usually half-moon shaped or cone-shaped) & lock directly into the slot in the sidewall of the case (most recent vintage Rolex watches have these.

Oh, I thought you had a gen dial. The problem is that the date window is not cut the same size & in the same location as on the gen watch. So either the movement was meant for a different dial (where the date window was slightly shifted horizontally) or the date window was just cut wrong. Sorry.

Most likely, either you have the wrong xtal or an aftermarket (or defective gen) datewheel.

None of the movement spacers (retaining rings) I have worked with lock into place. They simply sit in the space between the outer edge of the pillar plate & inside wall of the case. The only orientation possible for the spacer is the amount of space cut into the spacer where the stem fits through. Otherwise, you simply secure the dial to the movement by eye (generally, based on the position that best centers the stem @ 3 o'clock &/or the date in the dial's date window, if fitted).