woof*

I have seen rolex bracelet screws in ten packs on ebay in several sizes...thats all I got

I would try heat next. Good luck!

Ok....(hours later)...I'm a bit worried about losing the bezel during the course of a busy day at work. The bezel comes off too easy for me to trust it. I've tried putting a very slight bend in the tension ring without much improvement. Also as you mentioned Justin ..the insert isn't glued in and once I snapped mine back in... it still fell out. I put a few tiny pin drops of hypo cement inside the bezel..so that's ok now, but i'd really hate to look down and see the whole bezel missing!

Nice watch! There are hundreds of inserts on eBay including gen inserts. The aftermarket inserts do not have very good pearls. If you buy an aftermarket you can mod or replace the pearl with one from Ofrei or watchmaterials.com There is a ton of info here on the forum..so grab a beer and start reading!

Wow...I just read that..popped mine right off here at work It doesn't bother me that it's a little loose..at least not yet.

Glad to be back! Missed this place!

I recieved my 5512 and 1680 from Josh yesterday.. WooHoo! These vintage subs are the sole reason I got into reps in the first place(although I have 9 other reps before these two..lol) I really like the look and form. I've been collecting parts and researching and reading all I can on mods for these. Last night I opened the 5512 to grease seals and noticed two things.. 1. My LG openall 29.5 die was a bit small for the caseback. It fits the standard current range cases pefectly. Are the vintage cases a different size? 2. I've seen gen rolex movements that have the metalic marroon wheel, this movement has a light pink wheel..interesting anyway...I'm excited to start on this! Thanks to all for the help and knowledge that's givin freely here!

Last time I looked... the Watch Bitz 29.5 die was out of stock, but I see they have it now. It's half the price of the bergoen at Ofrei's so I will order one. The LG's dies mate fine on the newer range rolex's, but I noticed last night that they seemed a tad small on my new 5512 and 1680 from josh. Hope the Watch Bitz fits better.

The first one I bought was the Bergeon..but it was a knockoff and like yours, the 29.5 slips (You can buy genuine replacement dies from Ofrei though). I scored a genuine new in the box LG Openall for 28$ on the bay, and it works pefectly with no slippage.

I skipped this last step sadly and didn't realize it until it was too late. I glued it in with gorilla glue..after it was dry I saw that the sanded silver edge was faintly visible..I was sooooo happy with myself too...lol Now I wonder how to get it out without bending it.

I didn't know that about the cases ..thanks Freddy!

If I had one of those..it would be glued to my wrist too!

If you wanted a true Nato style black with the single orange thin stripe....seller squinky on ebay (not where I got my strap) he's got one.

I know this isn't the same as the Tudor strap, but similar concept... This is my 42 PO on a two piece thick nylon strap from ebay. Mine's a 20mm, but i think they also come in 22mm. It also has a gen Omega buckle. My PO has a black insert now BTW. I get comments on the combo all the time!

Great writeup Justin and nice mods! I ordered the same watch a couple days after you...should be here soon. I've been buying parts to mod mine too. I wonder how hard is it going to be to put an eta in this?

very nice

Matt..that looks killer! and that's just what I want to do....when I get a PO with a swiss mvmnt.

I used a small multitool blade. It was pretty easy..just a little pressure and leverage between the case and bezel. The insert..you press from behind the bezel with thumbs.....after going around the rim on the back it will begin to lift up. After that i used a small tool to take it the rest the way off. There is a little glue/cement on it that holds it in. The new insert was just snapped in..stays on it's own.

yeah agreed..your link looks better!

I bought my first rep a couple months ago from josh..and like all my other hobbies.. I have to modify and make them my own way. :thumbsupsmileyanim: I bought several straps and bands and settled on a 2 piece blk/orange nato style, and found on my small wrists that two piece nato's work better for on a larger watch (above 40mm) for me. I also scored a gen Omega buckle for 15$ on WUS! I was happy with this for awhile.......and then I bought a black insert...lol I have tried to pop the bezel's on my rolex subs with no luck.....(just have not found the right tool/blade so far), but my PO bezel was easy to remove and swap inserts. So I bought a heavy shark mesh on the bay..and here is where I'm at now Please excuse the pic quality..Iphone cam is all I have so far. I like both versions so much that I'm tempted to buy a second PO..but this time a swiss, so I can do the dial/hands/crowns and tube! So far just simple and humble mods..but a big difference for me!

maybe this? http://cgi.ebay.com/20mm-Watch-Band-Omega-Seamaster-Stainless-Steel-/310294764527?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item483f025bef#ht_3672wt_1141 I'm tempted to try that one, and add my PO clasp (mine works perfectly) the gap on my 5th gen bracelet bothers me too. But for now..... I bought this heavy shark mesh on the bay for around 70$. I like the mesh so well I might just stay with it. sorry bout the pics quality...Iphone is the only camera I have.

I have sooooo far to go....... Beautiful!

Lot's of good info for those of us learning Thanks for posting this

I've been following this thread too... Just ordered the 5512 and 1665! (now I need to start collecting parts)

wow! Thanks Red!