woof*

They come both ways, you need to talk to TC and see what his current offerings are. Many of us are more into vintage and like the plain rehaut. I wish he'd offer lugholes, 5513 and 1680 case sets and good vintage bracelets. Thomas gets the best parts and each project he takes on, he tries for perfection. We are lucky he came along.

I have had mine for about a year, and it still put's a smile on my face

The best! Congrats!

That's a beauty pan! I did about the same thing with my vintage Seadweller. I bought the rep from josh. I sent it to Jmb for proper Lugholes, gen crown/tube. Then a bit later I bought an Ingod great white dial, and also scored a gen service T39. Back to J...when it was finished I hated it. The case looked wrong...all bulged in the wrong places. I couldn't stand the watch. Then I happened to hook up with a nos MBW case set and sent the whole mess with a better movement back to Jmb. He swapped it all over the the MBW case. When I got it I was in love! Well then I got an email from Phong telling me he had the Hev's back in stock. Lol...yep as soon as I got the valve in the mail ...back off to J! Now it's time to finally have it finished... it needs and expert cream relume. But geeez, all those trips back and forth to J! I could have done it all as you say.... with a little planning and saved money and J's time! Again, you've got a stunner of a watch now! I want the same one, but black!

Pull the stones if gen and sell them. Toss the watch.

Yep J. Me too

Boy, I'm sorry your not into more vintage. With those parts, that watch will about kill all these others people have been showing. I believe Phong will do the case engravings for 2-300$

You know I sold mine here a few days ago for 2/3rds of that? Price is a little high on that one without a gen bracelet. They are really nice watches, and wear much larger than you might think

Finish to me looks like the Yuki clone

You will have to decide what you can live with, but if that case already has lugholes, is made by Phong and accurate.....I'd stay with it! If you really dislike the lugholes, then TC all the way

I have seen black sapphire inserts with a gold cup, they exist in the wild. I do not know what model they go with though. In fact I saw one like that in a pile of inserts a guy is selling on Vrf yesterday.

Yeah, what Ephry said....also I love lugholes! When Rolex stopped the lugholes.... was the beginning of the end for me!

Always enjoy your posts auto! Thanks!

Beautiful shot cc!

Eye bleach!!!!!! Yikes!

TRF = The Rolex Forum (mostly fans for gen modern Rolex) WUS= Watch You Seek (a giant forum for all gen brands)

Vibramute I have one I bought from the Canadian seller at your ebay link. It's good quality and good service from that seller. I don't think personally they really go well with rolex..but that's just me. I used mine on either my Omega PO or Speedy. Here is the exact bracelet on an Omega case. Very comfy....but straight ends may not rock on a Rolex well?

Ya gotta make em!

This phenomenon is not just related to watch work. I have seen countless times in other hobbies and avocations the same thing. A guy is good at repairs and mods..word gets out, and then is overwhelmed. Then you have the type of people that need almost hourly updates, and no patience....they grew up on instant gratification and think they have ordered something from Amazon...and it all crumbles. I have seen it in electronics, guitars, firearms. just tons of things. The Zigmeister had it right, and if I had the skills to develope a small cottage business I would study the way he worked. I really feel bad for Mike now and hope he really is able to get back to his business. There is a guy I know that makes guitar amplifiers. His terms: You gotta play for him and prove your worthy, 20k down as deposit, two years until completion, and if you call, email, or in any way try to contact him for an update.....you lose your deposit, amp, and he will never build one again for you. He is well known in the pro world and his used amps go for 80k plus.....and yes, I had one in the early 80's Many have scoffed at this, made fun and said horrible things about this man. The fact is, he got good at something..got overwhelmed, and made a decision to qualify customers, and make terms that worked for him. He's been successful since the 70's.

A tip on finding a really good insert. Don't just look on vrf. Look on trf and wus too. Do searches on those forums and sometimes you get lucky. I found this one, with it's dark aged pearl but new in it's packet on trf. I did a search for inserts, going three weeks back and found the one I wanted. The seller had posted it and never bumped the topic, in fact he had forgotten he posted it when I contacted him. I bought it for 100$ shipped and had it three days later. The deals and good parts are out there, you just have to be diligent and have patience. Another tip, if your going for faded...make sure the backside isn't.

Over the years, I have seen many macro photo's on Vrf of serials/ref numbers...with people asking questions. Yes, there are experts that know the different fonts etc. Eta: I am not trying to be negative at all. Heck yes I'm interested, I would love my watches to be more accurate, and at a better price. I look forward denim to seeing what you come up with

read this http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/162197-pp-closed-our-again-againand-i-am-personally-banned-from-pp-for-life/

Sounds interesting Do you have experience in the actual work?